Unleashing Cable T.V., Leashing the FCC: Constitutional Limitations on Government Regulation of Pay Television

Article examines the Federal Communications Commission’s 1975 decision to prohibit cablecasters from showing certain types of programming, on the rationale that pay cablevision, through successful competitive bidding, would ‘siphon’ this programming away from broadcast television and deprive the general public of popular programming. Article discusses the history behind the decision, the court of appeals’ treatment of the FCC rules and the decision’s possible effect on future pay cable regulation

Nurse-Run Sexually Transmitted Infections Screening Clinics on a University Campus

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), chlamydia, and gonorrhea prevalence in young adults is higher than in any other segment of the population and has been increasing at alarming rates. Young adults on university campuses experience high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STI), yet many are not getting tested due to a lack of easy-to-access screening opportunities. Young men who have sex with men and minorities are at increased risk. Methods: This DNP Project was a program evaluation of the nurse-led STI screening clinics held at a northeastern university in the fall of 2016. The evaluation included patient and provider surveys, which collected demographic information, risk factors, as well as satisfaction feedback. The health service laboratory provided data on positivity rates and numbers of tests conducted before and during the study period. The goal was to assess the effectiveness of off-site clinics in increasing testing rates, decreasing positivity rates, and in reaching high-risk students. Results: Surveys indicated that students at high-risk for STIs or HIV attended the clinics in high numbers. Patient satisfaction was high at 95% overall, although there were confidentiality concerns related to billing insurance. The HIV and STI testing rate increased by 25% and 33% respectively between 2015 and 2016. Chlamydia and gonorrhea positive test rates increased between 2015 and 2016. Posters and the website were the most noted method of communication. Staff satisfaction was high, 67% of staff indicated a need for increased staffing. Discussion: Nurse-led STI clinics were able to increase STI and HIV screening opportunities particularly for those at increased risk for STI or HIV acquisition. Positivity rates are increasing nationwide and increased awareness, screening and treatment is needed

Picture as visual text

We can no longer ignore the fact that a picture is not neutral

AN ANALYSIS OF THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF PARENT/CHILD READING UTTERANCES WHILE READING DIFFERENT GENRES

The purpose of this study was to investigate how different genres affect the quality and quantity of parent/child reading utterances. I analyzed the reading utterances of parent/child dyads with preschool aged child while reading informational and narrative books contributing to this line of research by systematically selecting books based on scholarly criteria to minimize variability within and between genres. I invited families whose children attended preschool at a private school to participate in this study. On a weekly basis, over a six week period, participating families selected an informational book and a narrative book to be read. Each newly selected book was read at least once during that week. Each reading was audio-taped and tapes were transcribed, coded, and analyzed. Results indicate that genre affects both the quality and quantity of parents' and children's reading utterances. Both parents and children generated more total utterances and comprehension related utterances when reading informational books than when reading narrative books. Two parents demonstrated a marked increase in their use of comprehension related utterances while reading informational books than when reading narrative books. Four of the six children demonstrated a marked increase in their use of comprehension related utterances while being read informational books compared to narrative books. I then conducted a more fine-grained analysis to examine the parents' and children's reading utterances while reading specific informational books and specific narrative books. Regardless of genre, the type of book being read affected the number of utterances generated by the parents and children differently. The children demonstrated a preference for narrative books over informational books. Finally, I found that three themes, supported with vignettes, emerged from the data: Lost Opportunities, Grasped Opportunities, and Influences on Reading Behaviors. All three emergent themes addressed parent/child interactions and the affect they had on the reading sessions

The Effect of Iconicity on Weak Hand Drop in American Sign Language

The research community generally accepts that signed and spoken languages contain both iconicity and arbitrariness. Iconicity's impact on statistical distributions of motivated forms throughout signed language lexicons is clear (e.g. Occhino, 2016). However, there has been little work to determine whether the iconic links between form and meaning are relevant only to a sign's initial formation, or if these links are stored as part of lexical representations. In the present study, 40 Deaf signers of American Sign Language were asked to rate two-handed signs in their citation form and in one-handed (reduced) forms. Twelve signs were highly iconic. For each of these highly iconic sign, a less iconic but phonologically similar sign of the same grammatical category was also chosen. Signs were presented in carrier sentences and in isolation. Participants preferred one-handed forms of the highly iconic signs over one-handed forms of their phonolgogically similar but less iconic counterparts. Thus, iconicity impacted the application of a synchronic phonological process. This finding suggests that lexical representations retain iconic form-meaning links and that these links are accessible to the phonological grammar