4,031 research outputs found

    The Politics of Platformization: Amsterdam Dialogues on Platform Theory

    Get PDF
    What is platformization and why is it a relevant category in the contemporary political landscape? How is it related to cybernetics and the history of computation? This book tries to answer such questions by engaging in multidisciplinary dialogues about the first ten years of the emerging fields of platform studies and platform theory. It deploys a narrative and playful approach that makes use of anecdotes, personal histories, etymologies, and futurable speculations to investigate both the fragmented genealogy that led to platformization and the organizational and economic trends that guide nowadays platform sociotechnical imaginaries

    Essays in Leadership Communication

    Get PDF
    This work centers around leadership communication: how our (dis)information-rich and uncertain global environment has posed challenges to and offered opportunities for this key leadership behavior, and how leaders engage in difficult communications with their stakeholders. I focus on leader-stakeholder two-way dynamics to investigate leader communication in critical moments when they deliver undesirable information to their stakeholders and respond to tough questions from their stakeholders. Essay I reviews research on leader communication and discusses those challenges and opportunities. Essay II uses 107 million Twitter posts to examine stakeholder responses to political leaders’ COVID-19 communications and illustrates the evolving leader-stakeholder relationship throughout different phases of the global pandemic. Essay III explores organizational leaders’ response strategies when facing difficult questions from stakeholders in high-stakes corporate environments. In conclusion, I aim to highlight leaders’ indispensable responsibilities to communicate effectively, benevolently, and responsibly, enhancing the field’s current understanding of crisis leadership, followership, and strategic leadership

    Transition 2.0: Re-establishing Constitutional Democracy in EU Member States

    Get PDF
    The central question of Transition 2.0 is this: what (and how) may a new government do to re-establish constitutional democracy, as well as repair membership within the European Union, without breaching the European rule of law? This volume demonstrates that EU law and international commitments impose constraints but also offer tools and assistance for facilitating the way back after rule of law and democratic backsliding. The various contributions explore the constitutional, legal, and social framework of 'Transition 2.0'.Dieser Band zeigt, dass das EU-Recht und die internationalen Verpflichtungen zwar Zwänge auferlegen, aber auch Instrumente und Hilfestellungen bieten, um den Weg zurück in die Europäische Union nach Rechtsstaatlichkeitsdefiziten und demokratischen Rückschritten zu erleichtern. Die verschiedenen Beiträge untersuchen den verfassungsrechtlichen, rechtlichen und sozialen Rahmen des "Übergangs 2.0"

    Positive Determinism of Twitter usage development in crisis communication: Rescue and relief efforts after the 6 February 2023 earthquake in Turkiye as a case study

    Get PDF
    This study examined the impact of Twitter usage development in crisis communication in Türkiye during the 6 February 2023 by showing the development of its use during the 1999 Izmit and 2000 Izmir earthquakes. As well as its usage in the 48 h following the 2023 earthquake. It found that Twitter’s positive determinism has evolved over time from gathering information to actively supporting victims’ rescue. Twitter was crucial for finding casualties and providing onthe-ground updates during critical moments, confirming the media’s surveillance function. During the first 48 h of the 2023 earthquake, Twitter significantly affected the rescue and relief activities, enabling individuals trapped beneath the debris to contact, seek, and receive assistance. Twitter’s importance has increased in political communication by opinion leaders and government authorities, and President Erdo ˘gan’s engagement via Twitter was critical in expressing solidarity and coordinating rescue and relief efforts. This study concluded that Twitter has become an indispensable tool for obtaining and disseminating information, as well as aiding and identifying individuals in need. It was widely used by official accounts, informational accounts, and citizens, and effectively aiding rescue and relief efforts, especially in the first 48 h after the disaster

    RISKS OF PRETERM BIRTH AND OTHER COMPLICATIONS IN TWIN PREGNANCIES: SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS AND META-ANALYSES

    Get PDF
    Background The rates of twin pregnancies have increased globally due to the substantial increase in artificial reproductive techniques (ART) worldwide. Preterm birth is a major contributing factor to twins' significantly higher perinatal morbidity and mortality rates. Early identification of twin pregnancies at high risk of preterm birth is vital to offer targeted care and closer surveillance. This thesis focused on predicting preterm birth in twin pregnancies using maternal clinical characteristics, biochemical markers and chorionicity. In addition, maternal and perinatal outcomes among ART twin pregnancies compared to non-ART and naturally conceived twins were evaluated. Methods Systematic reviews and meta-analyses were performed. Findings Teenage pregnancies, nulliparity, obesity (BMI >35 kg/m2), and a previous history of preterm birth was significantly associated with early and late preterm birth in twin gestations among the maternal clinical characteristic studied. Of the various biochemical predictors studied, positive fetal fibronectin was associated with a significantly increased risk of preterm birth. Monochorionicity was significantly associated with an increased risk of preterm birth at all gestations evaluated. ART twins showed significantly higher risks for most maternal complications, including preterm birth, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, diabetes, antepartum haemorrhage, postpartum haemorrhage, and caesarean section. Perinatal complications such as congenital malformation, birth weight discordance, neonatal morbidity, and admission to neonatal intensive care units were also significantly higher among ART neonates. ART neonates and their mothers were observed to be at higher risk of adverse outcomes even when adjusted for chorionicity. Conclusion Maternal clinical characteristics, biochemical predictors, and monochorionicity are significantly associated with early and late preterm birth in twin pregnancies. ART twin pregnancies demonstrate significantly higher adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. The risk estimates based on each predictor can be used to identify, counsel and provide targeted care to women with twin pregnancies at high risk of preterm birth. Women seeking fertility treatment should be counselled regarding the increased maternal and neonatal risks associated with ART twin pregnancies

    Exploring Mauritian upper secondary students’ conceptions of and approaches to learning biology.

    Get PDF
    Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.The low enrolment in science subjects, particularly biology, beyond the compulsory level (Grade 9) is a matter of concern to the Mauritian education authorities, teachers and other stakeholders, as it is a prerequisite to a wide range of university degrees and professional careers. Many studies have tried to explain the low enrolment in biology at secondary and tertiary levels, however, little is known about how conceptions of learning (COL) and approaches to learning (AL) respond to the issue. Conceptions of learning refer to students' or learners' views on their educational experiences and preferred methods of carrying out the learning process. Approaches to learning are the ways that students or learners learn or accomplish their academic assignments. Arguably, the existence of positive COL and AL in learning biology increases learners’ chances of achieving the intended learning outcomes and improved student performances. This invariably creates positive perceptions of the subject and possibly helps to attract more students to study biology at School Certificate level and consequently at Higher School Certificate level. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore Mauritian upper secondary school students’ COL and AL. The approaches to learning and conceptions of learning theoretical perspectives informed this study. This study adopted a pragmatic approach with the assumption that using a variety of research methods would result in an informed grasp of the problem. An explanatory mixed methods sequential research design was used to first collect quantitative data, and then gather qualitative data to explain the quantitative results. Convenience sampling was employed with respect to the schools where the participants were drawn from. Quantitative data were collected from 497 Grade 11 biology students through survey questionnaires before purposely selecting 16 of them to participate in the face-to-face individual semi-structured interviews. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data, whereas coding, categorisation, pattern recognition, and inference were used to analyse the qualitative data. Analysis of the quantitative and the qualitative data identified COL and AL, much of which resonate with the theoretical framework that guided this study. The study revealed that Mauritian students had mixed conceptions and thus, adopted mixed or hybrid approaches to learning biology. The study also revealed that the students’ COL influenced their AL. The findings of this study have significance for curriculum designers, resource people, and secondary school educators who want to improve biology instruction
    • …
    corecore