Mass media discourse: a critical analysis research agenda

In this article, I aim to revisit some key issues in approaches to research on mass media texts from a discourse analytical perspective and to present a rationale, as well as a Critical Discourse Analysis (henceforth, CDA) framework for analysis of mass media discourse. I then consider a number of areas of critical research interest in mass media discourse locally and elsewhere. Examples of actual CDA research on mass media discourse are reviewed in terms of topics of apparent popular interest among practitioners such as racist discourse in news reporting, language of globalization and neo-capitalism, and war news reporting, before listing methodological, as well as topical agenda by a major proponent in the field for further work. The article concludes that CDA’s multidisciplinary approach to research on mass media discourse helps reveal hidden socio-political issues and agenda in various areas of language as social practice and in doing so potentially empowers the individual and social groups

Optimization of received power and SNR for an indoor attocells network in visible light communication

White LEDs Visible Light Communication (VLC) is applied in communication and illumination simultaneously. It provides unrestrained frequency spectrum and a large bandwidth that produces a higher transmission rate and speed in short-range communication. Also, VLC was considered as a promising alternative technology to the radio frequency in the next generation of communication systems. In this paper, the optical attocells configuration and LEDs distribution are proposed for optimizing the received power and Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) in the Line of Sight (LOS) propagation link. Besides that, the trade-off between minimum SNR and received power are investigated. The simulation results showed that the proposed model can save 6.25% of the total transmitted power, and the optical received power versus semi-angle and field of view have with about increased 16.5% and 27.54% respectively. Moreover, the SNR also has 7.4% improvement. Hence, the proposed configuration model has improved the performance of VLC systems and has widen the window for future improvement

Performance evaluation of optical attocells configuration in an indoor visible light communication

Visible light communication VLC is deemed as futuristic technology applied for both illumination and data communication due to the low-cost energy consumption, long life expectancy, huge bandwidth, and high security compared to radio frequency RF. Uncovered area, minimum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and received power results from the non-uniform distribution of small base stations (i.e. Optical attocells) in the room. In this paper, the researchers propose a new LEDs distribution of five optical attocells configuration model in order to optimize the received power distribution and SNR at the center of the room for indoor VLC system. The optical attocells configuration in terms of received power to fill the uncovered area at the center of the room has been investigated. The simulation results showed that the proposed attocells configuration saved 24.9% of the transmitted power. Besides that, the whole room was covered uniformly. As a result, the received power and SNR are improved

Penanaman Jiwa Kewirausahaan Santri Pondok Pesantren An Nur

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui berbagai upaya yang dilakukan pesantren dalam menanamkan jiwa wirausaha santri di Pesantren An Nur Kedung Banten. Penelitian menggunakan metode kualitatif dan termasuk jenis penelitian lapangan. Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan yaitu observasi, wawancara dan dokumentasi. Hasil penelitian ini berupa Pesantren An Nur Kedung Banteng dalam menanamkan jiwa wirausaha yaitu: pertama, percaya diri, keorisinilan (kreativitas dan inovasi) yang terdapat dalam kegiatan khitabah yang dilaksanakan oleh santri. Kedua, berorientasi pada hasil, yang dapat diketahui melalui semua kegiatan yang diberikan di pesantren semata-mata untuk menggapai visi pesantren. Ketiga, menanamkan mental disiplin, yaitu dengan memberikan aturan baik secara tulisan maupun budaya yang terjadi di pesantren. Dan keempat, kepemimpinan, yang dilaksanakan dengan optimalisasi unit usaha yang dimiliki pesantren baik perniagaan, peternakan, perikanan dan pertanian

Roles of mangroves in coastal protection

This project is to research the effectiveness of mangroves plant to act as a coastal protection. After the tsunami in 2004, it can be observed that coastal areas protected by mangroves forest received lesser damages. Malaysia also has some severe problems with the erosion which can be lessen by mangroves. Mangroves have proven to be a potential natural protection especially for areas with low and mild waves. The performance of mangroves varies depending on their physical characteristics and group composition. For this, the study on mangroves effect on wave attenuation in term of wave velocity and wave height was done. Observation during site visit and lab experiments also involved during this research. Experiment done by scaling and modeling natural mangroves trees into smaller model. Wave Flume in Hydraulics Lab used for testing purpose. From the experiments, we observed wave will be attenuated after passing the mangrove model (about 19-28%). Velocity also decreased after passing the mangrove model (about 3-20%). Hence, the findings of this research is that wave attenuated after passing through mangroves forests, leading to decreasing of impact received by coastal areas. It will prove the theory of Mangroves can acts as a natural coastal protection

Post-September 11 discourse : the case of Iran in The New York Times.

This study examined how discursive strategies and related linguistic devices were employed by The New York Times (TNYT) to portray Iran after the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on September 11, 2001, and how the media representation may have contributed to negative and/or positive outcomes in terms of geopolitical relations. The study also investigated how sociopolitical assumptions were manifest in producing news about Iran and how the news discourse continued to shape the power relations between the nation and the U.S. in particular, and the world at large. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as a multidisciplinary approach, the analysis focused on 171 front-page TNYT news articles from 2001 until 2009. Analysis of the discursive strategies and linguistic means revealed that the news media depicted an overall negative picture of Iran after the September 11 or “9/11” attacks. The effect of this rather stereotypical construction of Iran in TNYT was that of the negative Other, a nation of people that formed part of George W. Bush’s contentious “axis of evil” thesis–malevolent, untrustworthy, violent, and a threat to world peace

Techniques for signal to noise ratio adaptation in infared optical wireless for optimisation of receiver performance

The challenge of creating a new environment of links for wireless infrared and optical local area networks (LANs) is driving new innovations in the design of optical transceivers. This thesis is concerned with a systematic approach to the design of receivers for indoor optical wireless communication. In particular, it is concerned with how to offer bandwidth adjustment capability in a receiver according to the dynamic service quality of the incoming signals. Another part of the discussion of the thesis is how one can properly choose the front-end preamplifier and biasing circuitry for the photodetector. Also, comparison is made between different types of amplifier, and the methods of bandwidth enhancement. The designs of six different techniques of integrating transimpedance amplifiers, with photodetectors to adapt an adjustable bandwidth control receiver are discussed. The proposed topologies provide an adjustable range of bandwidths for different frequency ranges, typically between 52Hz to 115MHz. The composite technique designs were used to incorporate into a system with an automatic gain control to study its effect, on an optical wireless receiver which had bandwidth adjustment and automatic gain adjustment. Theoretical analysis of noise performance for all the designed circuits is also presented. The theory and design of obstacles of indoor optical wireless receiver delivery, in addition to techniques for mitigating these effects, are discussed. This shows that infrared is a viable alternative to ratio for certain applications

Design of cyclic prefix characteristic-based OFDM system for WiMAX technology

Worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) offers the wireless connectivity using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation is a proficient wireless technology that capacities high-speed data transmission facilities. The existing WiMAX techniques have the problem of increase in inter-symbol interference (ISI) and bit error rate (BER) at reduced power spectrum that degrades the performance of WiMAX system due to high data rate transmission. The utilization of different adaptive modulation techniques seen as a potential solution to reduce the ISI and BER for high data rate transmission. In this paper, OFDM is adapted using advanced modulation technique for WiMAX system. The technique proposes the cyclic prefix (CP) is utilized that include supplementary bits at the stage of the transmitter. The proposed technique offers minimization of ISI and improvement in BER. It is defined that performance of the existing CP system is equated with the designed single cyclic prefix (SCP) and double cyclic prefix (DCP) and non-cyclic prefix (NCP). BER, probability of error, and power spectral density are utilized to analyse the performance of the designed system. The OFDM based SCP and DCP and NCP for WiMAX are demonstrated for modulation techniques such as; QPSK, BPSK, and QAM. It is determined that BPSK has the smallest BER when compared to QPSK, 16-QAM, and 64-QAM modulations. It is also demonstrated that QPSK is also very competent, however, it has a higher BER as compared to BPSK modulation. It is also observed that 16-QAM and 64-QAM are less efficient in terms of BER compared to QPSK and BPKS modulations. 64-QAM offers the high data rates, and due to high SNR ratio. The designed system is tested for under AWGN and Rayleigh fading channel, and effect power spectral density of signal to noise ratio on OFDM for rayleigh fading channel are demonstrated for SCP and DCP and NCP. It is determined that the OFDM transmitter with proposed DCP for random signals is efficiently reducing the BER and ISI for WiMAX system

On the role of oral feedback in ESL postgraduate thesis writing supervision

The provision of oral feedback to ESL students at the postgraduate level plays an interventionist role in their development as writers. It is through such feedback that the students are expected to be guided towards achieving their writing goals. Supervisors provide written feedback and this is usually supported with oral feedback which appears to play a crucial role in the supervision process in that it helps in the formation of scholarly identities, scaffolds students' academic writing and learning, fosters autonomy, equality, and learning skills among ESL learners, develops students' dialogical skills, helps students focus on their research, and guides them to conform with dissertation/thesis writing. However, ESL students' own cultural background and social circumstances may affect the efficacy of the oral feedback process. Some limitations of existing studies are discussed and key directions for future research on the role of oral feedback in ESL postgraduate supervision settings are suggested