Discursive mobile phone practices and informal rules

This paper uses Discourse Analysis (DA) to investigate the socially\ud constructed discursive practices of mobile phone use; specifically it examines the\ud informal rules of mobile phone use. It qualitatively investigates mobile phone use\ud within an Australian cultural context. „Discourse theory begins with the\ud assumption that all objects and actions are meaningful, and that their meaning is a\ud product of historically specific systems of rules‟ (Howarth 2000, p. 8). Evidence\ud of socially constructed textual meanings related to mobile phone use is found in\ud the informal rules created (and practiced); those that in some way govern the use\ud of mobile phones. The research reveals that there are divergences and\ud inconsistencies within the discourse of mobile phone use, and illustrates that\ud individuals make differing personal choices in similar social contexts

The cultural connect: Mobile phone use and identity

This paper investigates the social implications and cultural constructs related to the use of mobile phones, and it explores how this use interacts with, frames and grounds the user's identity and sense of personal agency. The mobile phone conveys an impression of independence - it delivers a sense of individual freedom, fluidity, and mobility. However our consent to the mobile phone?s constant presence means that we are relentlessly contactable. A mobile phone is both personal and intimate. It offers us intimacy, yet this capacity for intimate communication may also be appropriated by others, making us unwilling objects of the intimate personal communication practices of other people. It can be used as a substitute for absent friends and it can be visually and technically embellished as a tool for self expression. This paper explores how the mobile phone shapes, and is shaped by, our personal experience

Mobile Phones: Definition, Discourse and Rules of Practice

This paper reports on a research project which investigates the social and cultural effects of mobile phone use. Examples from my research to date reveal that the communicative practices of mobile phone users are the result of a dynamic mix that is shaping an emerging new discourse; as mobile phones are used in, and are affected by the specific cultural and interpersonal dynamics of contexts. My research examines how mobile phone use is reshaping how we engage with our culture, and considers what discourses feed the meanings we have for mobile phones. This paper illustrates that the use of the mobile phone for interpersonal communication involves a complex negotiation that affects our relationships at home, with the public, with peers, as citizens, and in the workplace

ID unknown? You must be from UNAUSTRALIA: Exploring the significance of the mobile phone to Australian identity

This paper investigates and analyses the significance of mobile phone communication to an Australian identity. Mobile phones are now ubiquitous in Australia, so is it UNAUSTRALIAN to not own a mobile phone? To what extent is Australian citizenship now connected to the ownership and use of a mobile phone for communication in everyday life? Without a mobile phone does one lack access to an Australian identity? Do you live in UNAUSTRALIA if you do not own a mobile phone? Are you invisible in Australia without a mobile phone? Are you able to exert cultural and social agency without one? What does your choice not to own a mobile phone mean?This study examines the discursive processes of communication in which the mobile phone is used. It then links this use to the broader socio-cultural constructions of the mobile phone and Australianness. It analyses how discourse is part of a generative process in the lives and practices of young Australian adults and outlines how a mobile phone is the mechanism of agency as we use the mobile phone to construct our identity and engage with the wider world. Conversely the mobile phone constructs who we can be. How does being Australian influence the function, context of use, and the processes of communication via a mobile phone

The Hollow Cathode Source

The hollow cathode glow was discovered by Puschen in 1916. He recognized its value as a source for general high resolution spectroscopy and did considerable work with it. Since his original work, many modifications in the details of the hollow cathode source have been made, but the essential discharge conditions as first found by Paschen remain unchanged. Sculer\u27s change in the experimental arrangement to permit drastic cooling is the most important modifications. He was first to apply the source intensively to the study of hyperfine structures. The Schuller type source has contributed much to the rapid development of hyperfine structures

Consuming apps: The Australian woman’s slow appetite for apps

This article explores the domestication of mobile technologies by women and how their traditionally slow adoption of new technologies is being mirrored through their adoption of smart-phone applications. Building on existing gender and mobile communications literature, this paper provides a needed overview of how women are strategically deploying the use of 'apps' on their smart phones in both 'fun' and 'useful' ways. Two groups are analysed in this article. The first comprises women who only use a single Internet connection, identified as 'single connectors'. This group is contrasted with a second group who use multiple Internet connections, identified as 'triple connectors'. In this article we playfully name the social seeking Triple Connectors Social Consumers and the Mobile Internet Single Connectors have been identified as Information Seeking Consumers. 'Social networking' was identified as a 'fun' app rather than a 'useful' app by both groups of female connectors: what does this say about women and their definitions of leisure? Are women still viewing networking as part of their commitment to emotional labour rather than something that is 'useful'

Regulatory T Cells in Asthma

Asthma is characterized by T helper cell 2 (Th2) type inflammation, leading to airway hyperresponsiveness and tissue remodeling. Th2 cell-driven inflammation is likely to represent an abnormal response to harmless airborne particles. These reactions are normally suppressed by regulatory T cells, which maintain airway tolerance. The anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 is likely to play a central role. The role of the cytokine transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) is more complex, with evidence for immune suppression and remodeling in the airways. In asthmatic individuals there is a breakdown in these regulatory mechanisms. There is emerging evidence that early life events, including exposure to allergen and infections, are critical in programming effective regulatory pathways to maintain pulmonary homeostasis. In this review we examine the clinical and experimental evidence for T regulatory cell function in the lung and discuss the events that might influence the functioning of these cells. Ultimately, the ability to enhance regulatory function in affected individuals may represent an effective treatment for asthma

Reduced neural sensitivity to social stimuli in infants at risk for autism

In the hope of discovering early markers of autism, attention has recently turned to the study of infants at risk owing to being the younger siblings of children with autism. Because the condition is highly heritable, later-born siblings of diagnosed children are at substantially higher risk for developing autism or the broader autism phenotype than the general population. Currently, there are no strong predictors of autism in early infancy and diagnosis is not reliable until around 3 years of age. Because indicators of brain functioning may be sensitive predictors, and atypical social interactions are characteristic of the syndrome, we examined whether temporal lobe specialization for processing visual and auditory social stimuli during infancy differs in infants at risk. In a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study, infants aged 4–6 months at risk for autism showed less selective neural responses to social stimuli (auditory and visual) than low-risk controls. These group differences could not be attributed to overall levels of attention, developmental stage or chronological age. Our results provide the first demonstration of specific differences in localizable brain function within the first 6 months of life in a group of infants at risk for autism. Further, these differences closely resemble known patterns of neural atypicality in children and adults with autism. Future work will determine whether these differences in infant neural responses to social stimuli predict either later autism or the broader autism phenotype frequently seen in unaffected family members

Partnerships and Pedagogy: Transforming the BA Online

[EN] There has been much written recently round the “digital revolution” of universities (Nascimento Cunha et al., 2020). Indeed, in 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need for universities to adapt and adopt new technological tools for teaching and learning, as both the global world we live in changed, and as students adapted to the continually evolving digital landscape. The BA Online is a new interdisciplinary online presence for the humanities and social sciences, and includes a focus on constructive alignment, innovative learning objects, and social learning. The semester-long courses were built as a supported social learning experience that is purposefully constructed with a narrative. This article reveals how the BA Online project was realised through the use of partnerships, particularly that of the university learning designers who worked very closely with both the online learning platform FutureLearn and academic staff in curriculum design and course transformation.Lloyd, C.; Herb, A.; Kilmister, M.; Coleborne, C. (2021). Partnerships and Pedagogy: Transforming the BA Online. En 7th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'21). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 925-932. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd21.2021.13001OCS92593

Longitudinal analysis of NASA public relations and New York Times newspaper articles (1963-2011)

Using Grunig & Hunt’s models of public relations, this thesis provides a longitudinal content analysis of NASA press materials and New York Times newspaper articles from 1963 to 2011 with regards to various sampled crewed and uncrewed spaceflight missions. Additionally, semi-structured interviews with space industry practitioners, including NASA public affairs officers, journalists, and astronauts, were gathered to provide additional insight to content analysis. From the 1960s up until the 1990s, NASA used a public information model to inform journalists about key facts. After the 1990s, NASA public affairs used a mixed motives model, tailoring to their audiences and messages. While in the beginning, NASA could rely on journalists to share their narrative and instead focused on disseminating the scientific results to the press. Present-day NASA has developed strategies and tactics to support their brand narrative and acknowledge their various audiences that interact with the agency.Advertisin