The Sophisticated, Discerning Recreation Customer

Higher standards of enjoyment and expectation are being established by more sophisticated, discerning recreation customers. Better market targeting and a greater concern for improved service must be recognized by recreation enterprises and the recreation/tourism industry if they are going to survive and prosper in the next two decades, like they have prospered in the past two decades

Unlocking desire : young women reflect on early experiences of sexual desire and the development of the sexual self

The goal of this research was to explore how young women make meaning of early experiences of sexual desire, and how these experiences contribute to the development of their sexual selves. The development of the sexual self is one of the fundamental building blocks to adulthood for adolescents, but there are many strong and some diametrically opposing viewpoints on how the discussion around sexuality should be framed. Much of the literature has focused on the health risks and social consequences of sexual activity, such as unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (Brook, Brook, Rubenstone, Zhang & Rivera, 2010) with less examination of the positive aspects of this phenomenon (e.g. pleasure, respect, emotional connection). In 1988, Michelle Fine opened a dialogue with adolescent women about their experience of and opinions about sexual desire, attempting to shed light on the consequences of suppressing this discourse, including disconnection from their physical selves, possible victimization, and a denial of pleasure. In the last two decades, there has been interest in the concept of sexual desire and its role in the development of sexual subjectivity. Sexual subjectivity is particularly important in the lives of young women, who live, work and learn in a patriarchal society which objectifies their bodies and sexual identities (Levy, 2005; Tolman, 2002a). I interviewed 5 women (19-25 years old) about how they make meaning of their early experiences of sexual desire and how this contributes to the development of their sense of sexual selfhood. I recruited participants using posters placed across a university campus to facilitate interest. I used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) as developed by Smith, Flowers and Larkin (2012) to understand how participants perceive their experiences to have influenced their feelings and ideas about their sexual desires. My study design also addressed how they retrospectively view early experiences and understandings of sexual desire to have contributed to the development of their sexual identities. In my interviews I also employed the listening guide developed by Gilligan (1982) and Brown and Gilligan (1991). Analysis revealed an overarching theme of unlocking desire with trust and connection, as well as superordinate themes of exploring desire through fantasy and imagination, the power of desire, the spectrum of desire and reflections on lived experiences of female desire. The current research study will be discussed in relation to previous literature (e.g. commonalities, distinctions, its strengths and weaknesses). Finally, future directions for the research, as well as implications for counselling practice, will be elucidated

Media Analytics for Personalization in Advertisement

In the realm of advertising, strategic placement and presentation of advertisements are crucial for attracting potential clients. Media companies employ various tactics, such as visually appealing features and vibrant colors, to capture the attention of consumers. However, achieving this objective is not always straightforward, as some advertising strategies may be perceived as irrelevant or disturbing by recipients. This Master's thesis aims to explore the relationship between audience interaction and the perception of advertisements on media platforms, with the overarching goal of enhancing advertising effectiveness and addressing ethical concerns associated with targeted advertising. To delve into this topic comprehensively, this study utilizes real-time data provided by Amedia, one of the largest media companies in Norway. Through an extensive analysis of this real-world data, the research aims to explore the correlation between audience interaction and the perception of advertisements on media platforms. This investigation involves the extraction of relevant features from advertisement images, leading to the creation of a new dataset. Concurrently, predictive machine learning models are developed to gain insights into effective advertising strategies for media companies, with a focus on personalization. Furthermore, a comprehensive user study is conducted to gain insights into user behavior within media platform advertisements. By uncovering the interplay between visual features, user behavior, and advertising effectiveness, this research contributes to improving personalized advertising strategies in the context of media companies.Masteroppgåve i informasjonsvitskapINFO390MASV-INF

Image Memorability Prediction with Vision Transformers

Behavioral studies have shown that the memorability of images is similar across groups of people, suggesting that memorability is a function of the intrinsic properties of images, and is unrelated to people's individual experiences and traits. Deep learning networks can be trained on such properties and be used to predict memorability in new data sets. Convolutional neural networks (CNN) have pioneered image memorability prediction, but more recently developed vision transformer (ViT) models may have the potential to yield even better predictions. In this paper, we present the ViTMem, a new memorability model based on ViT, and evaluate memorability predictions obtained by it with state-of-the-art CNN-derived models. Results showed that ViTMem performed equal to or better than state-of-the-art models on all data sets. Additional semantic level analyses revealed that ViTMem is particularly sensitive to the semantic content that drives memorability in images. We conclude that ViTMem provides a new step forward, and propose that ViT-derived models can replace CNNs for computational prediction of image memorability. Researchers, educators, advertisers, visual designers and other interested parties can leverage the model to improve the memorability of their image material

Improved local planning for reservoir-oriented recreation opportunities

Water-based recreation is becoming an increasingly important aspect of water-resources management. However, there is a great deal of uncertainty about its local socio-economic impact. This uncertainty has played a key role in debates over the construction of reservoirs in Illinois. While much attention has been given to predicting expected impacts of reservoirs, there has been little investigation of the actual impacts, and very little attention has been given to evaluating the effectiveness of various approaches to dealing with those local impacts that do indeed result from water-resources-management projects. This study looks at the actual recreation-induced local impacts of Lake Shelbyville, a multipurpose reservoir constructed by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers in central Illinois. The reservoir began filling in 1969 and is a major recreation attraction (three million visitor days annually) in a predominately agricultural region. The study is exploratory. It identifies significant impacts and suggests how these impacts may be predicted and dealt with. Significant attention is given to impacts on local government costs and revenues as well as needed intergovernmental cooperation. It is clear that local impacts were significantly different from what was expected and that local residents and recreationists using the lake could benefit from improvements in local planning and intergovernmental cooperation.U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological SurveyOpe

EVOLUTION OF FINISHED COMPUTER SYSTEMS: The Dilemma of Enhancement

The notion of computer systems as finished products that operate in a stable environment leads to viewing system enhancement as an error correcting activity. However computer systems change due to new requirements stemming from organisational changes and the users\u27 experience with the system. Because of this, it is more fruitful to view system enhancement as an evolving activity. This is a better basis for balancing the technical and functional quality of a computer system during its working life. On this basis we suggest that system enhancement should be planned, and that techniques known from system development should be applied also during enhancement. Both development and enhancement aim at adjusting computer systems to changes in usage. By means of a case study we show how our proposals for changes in the organisation of enhancement tasks in the computer department may be realized

Executive Dysfunction in MCI: Subtype or Early Symptom

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may take several forms, and amnestic MCI (aMCI) has been recognized as an early stage of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Impairment in executive functions including attention (eMCI) may be indicative of several neurodegenerative conditions. Executive impairment is frequently found in aMCI, it is significant for prognosis, and patients with eMCI may go on to develop AD. Recent studies have found changes in white matter integrity in patients with eMCI to be more sensitive than measures of cortical atrophy. Studies of genetic high-risk groups using sensitive cognitive neuroscience paradigms indicate that changes in executive function may be a cognitive marker useful for tracking development in an AD pathophysiological process

Tools for Schools and Communities: An Online Toolbox for Enhancing SCHIP Outreach and Awareness

Covering Kids & Families-Wisconsin (CKF), a program supported through the University of Wisconsin-Extension, has developed an online toolbox to better serve individuals in need of and eligible for public health insurance coverage. Lack of health insurance coverage is an increasing concern nationwide, yet information to access public coverage programs is disparate and confusing. When in need, uninsured individuals may turn to familiar organizations in their communities for assistance. The CKF toolbox can serve as both a resource of relevant information and as a template for community leaders who assist the uninsured but who are, themselves, unclear of the details