Presidents and Media during Initial Federal-Level Hurricane Relief: A study of presidential crisis communication efforts

Public relations serves a huge role in almost every sector, including politics. Crisis communication, a subset of public relations, is very important in a setting that constantly undergoes crises. The response to these crises matters a great deal on the federal level because the outcomes can affect such a wide variety of policies and even elections. Because of this, I wanted to focus on one type of crisis that every president is almost guaranteed to face: hurricanes. To examine the effectiveness of federal-level crisis communication, I look at Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden’s responses to the worst hurricane during their terms and determine the elements of each that are most important in developing messages. It is important to address this in order to understand what methods work best in curating messages for disasters that affect a large portion of the population. I will use the Strategic Framing Taxonomy along with artifacts like Twitter posts, photographs, news footage, and statements or press releases to analyze the different messages from each president

Moxifloxacin: A Unique Cause of Severe Hypoglycemia

As a class, quinolone antibiotics have been rarely associated with hypoglycemia in non-diabetic patients and rare reversible episodes of hypoglycemia documented in the literature typically occur within the duration of action of the medication. In this case, however, we believe the effect of the medication persisted much longer

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ELITE SWIMMING TURN

Swimming turn performance significantly contributes to overall swimming performance. Consequently, the characteristics that determine superior performance of the turn are of interest for performance improvement. The present study aimed to characterise the biomechanical properties of the swimming turn amongst an elite level population and identify any characteristic differences between genders and turn type. To achieve this aim retrospective data collected from the Wetplate Analysis System was analysed. Data provided from this system reported 26 parameters related to swimming turn performance. Analysis identified significant differences between the characteristics of the freestyle and butterfly turn, and between the turns of male and female athletes. Results from the present study are of interest for the development of turn-specific training interventions

Investigating support, sanctioning and behaviour change mechanisms in family-based interventions

This thesis investigates the use of conditionality mechanisms in family-based intensive interventions in England to achieve behaviour change in families who are perceived to exhibit problematic conduct in society. Conditionality can be defined as a contractual relationship based on ideas of social responsibility, where the citizen receives social assistance from the state, which is reciprocated by practices of positive behaviour change by the citizen (Dwyer, 2004; Deacon, 2004). The use of intensive intervention projects to challenge problematic behaviour in families has been a key strategy in social and family policy in England since 1997, however similar models of intensive case work approaches were used during the 1940s (Ball et al, 2016; Starkey, 2002). Intensive interventions are based on a key worker model and can be described as a holistic approach to support all family members in order to tackle the root causes of problems that are costly to society. However, if the family does not engage with the project they risk being subject to penalties (Flint, 2011a). When the Conservative-Coalition Government was elected in 2010 there was some ambiguity as to whether the use of intensive interventions would continue (Nixon et al, 2010). However, the 2011 urban riots appeared to be a trigger for David Cameron, the Prime Minister at the time, to reinstate a need for people to take responsibility, which could be learnt through the morals, values and routines that are embedded within paid labour (Arthur, 2015). Alongside ongoing welfare reform, the Troubled Families Programme was launched in 2012 and claimed it would ‘grip’ families and their problems and ‘make’ them change their behaviour by using enforcement if necessary (DCLG, 2012). This thesis explores the extent to which an intensive intervention project can ‘make’ individuals change their behaviour, and if so, by what means this may be achieved. The research has used a qualitative and longitudinal methodology and has explored the interactions between families engaged with, and the practitioners employed by different service providers in a large northern English city. Part of the methodology involved following 10 families subject to interventions over a seven-month period, in order to capture the micro-processes of behaviour change. The findings of the research are framed and analysed using Foucault’s conceptualisation of disciplinary power traditionally associated with projects of this nature (Garrett, 2007a; 2007b). This research found that existing governance logics are present in these intervention practices, but there are interesting nuances in the practitioner-family relationship that are not explored in existing academic critiques of governance and social control. However, despite these nuances that centre on the complex interaction between individual agency and practitioner authority, punitive tools (rather than supportive mechanisms) which can be used to influence behaviour though conditionality, can nevertheless, have profound effects on the lives of society’s most marginalised families and these raise ethical implications about the current direction of contemporary welfare policy

Translating policy to practice: Theory-based formative research to improve EC OTC access and messaging in Italy

Background: Italy\u27s 2015 emergency contraception (EC) policy has increased access and reduced some barriers for women to obtain EC. EC is now available over-the-counter for individuals 18 years and older; however, women living in Italy continue to face knowledge and access barriers. Conscientious objection, where providers and pharmacists refuse to prescribe or dispense EC due to personal beliefs, further complicates access and dissemination. Objective: The purpose of the current paper is to understand EC knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among women living in Italy. Additionally, a secondary purpose is to explore the impact of the 2015 EC policy. Methods: Thirty in-person interviews were conducted among women living in or around Florence, aged 18 to 50 years, and using the Italian healthcare system at the time of study enrollment. Researchers used an expanded grounded theory approach to understand women\u27s experiences with EC with diffusion of innovations serving as a conceptual lens for data analysis. HyperRESEARCH, a data management system, assisted with open and axial coding and theme development. Results: Women described low observability of the 2015 policy, expressing surprise regarding increased EC availability. Participants suggested increased messaging in strategic locations to overcome this barrier. Participants held both positive and negative attitudes toward EC. While some perceived the relative advantage of EC compared with unintended pregnancy, others expressed concerns about irresponsibility and EC safety. Finally, conscientious objection impacted healthcare access, despite participant desire for autonomous EC decision-making, suggesting support for increased EC access despite provider barriers. Discussion: Findings offer practical recommendations to guide EC messaging in Italy to increase women\u27s knowledge and to empower women’s access. Additionally, opportunities for communication strategies and access campaigns to improve attitudes and increase knowledge and uptake of over-the-counter EC are discussed

Baking power: French-Canadian and Franco-Ontarian cultural identity as defined by evolving traditional foodways in Astorville, Ontario

Questions about cultural identity and allegiance are complicated. What makes a person French, French-Canadian or Franco-Ontarian? What is the difference between these various labels? How do demographics, gender, and age impact the ways in which cultural allegiance is created, maintained, or discarded? What defines a person’s membership in a cultural group? Is it one’s ability to speak the language? To make and/or eat cultural foods? If one of these fails to be present, can the person still be a part of the group? In our multicultural country, and especially in rural communities in Northern Ontario where Francophones find themselves to be part of a minority, such questions do not have simple answers. Studying cultural retention in such communities necessitates paying attention to more than just who is speaking French and/or to who is an activist for French rights. It also requires understanding how individual attitudes and behaviours are like and/or unlike those of others and of the larger group. Foodways are one of the specific cultural practices that can tell us about the group. Indeed, traditional foods have been shown to be very political expressions of personal values and opinions. What power does French-Canadian food have over those who make it? What does it tell us about those who claim allegiance to this cultural group? This interdisciplinary case study of Astorville, Ontario, relates to the fields of food studies, cultural studies, history, gender studies, material culture studies, performance studies, and autoethnography. By studying foodways, which are closely connected to heritage, language, religious practices, and rituals, this project seeks to understand how minority groups resist and/or acquiesce to societal pressures to conform to the culture of the majority. Knowing that modernisation and urbanisation have changed the lifestyle of once agricultural communities, that women now participate in the workforce, and that an individual’s personal history is an important factor in determining how one subscribes to cultural norms, this is an important time to understand the cultural evolution taking place in communities, like Astorville, Ontario, where the French population has gone from a majority to a minority since it was established.Doctor in Philosophy (PhD) in Human Studie

Short-term improvements in diet quality in people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are associated with smoking status, physical activity and body mass index: the 3D case series study.

Dietary intake impacts glycaemic control through its effect on weight and glucose-insulin homeostasis. Early glycaemic control is associated with improved outcomes and reduced mortality for people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). To date, the diet quality of people with T2D has only been studied cross-sectionally. The objective of this paper is to quantify short-term improvements in diet quality and to identify factors associated with improvements after T2D diagnosis among participants in the 3D study. This paper presents data from the 3D study of 225 Australian adults, newly diagnosed with T2D. Telephone interviews collected demographic, diet, physical and health data at baseline and 3 months. Diet quality was assessed using the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) tool to examine short-term changes in diet quality after diagnosis. Participants were categorised into two groups: those who improved their diet quality by 3 months (increase in DASH score of 3 or more) and those who did not. Factors associated with change in DASH scores were clinically and statistically evaluated. The 3D cohort was comparable to Australian cohorts with diabetes by gender and body mass index (BMI) but differed by age, remoteness and socioeconomic status. Mean (SD) baseline DASH score was 24.4 (4.7), in the midrange of possible scores between 8 and 40. One third of participants improved their DASH score by 3-months. This group had lower diet quality (p < 0.001), lower BMI (p = 0.045), higher physical activity levels (p = 0.028) and were less likely to smoke (p = 0.018) at baseline. Diet quality changes after diagnosis do not appear to be associated with demographic characteristics but were associated with lifestyle behaviours. Strategies targeted at better supporting smokers, those with low physical activity and higher BMI are required. Future research should investigate how the diet quality changes people make around time of diagnosis are related to long-term health outcomes