Youth Internet Radio Network: Can we Innovate Democracy?

The Youth Internet Radio Network (YIRN) explores the connection between media technologies and citizenship, building on work by Hartley and Tacchi on 'radiocracy' (radio, democracy & development)4. YIRN combines: 1. Content creation: Establishing a network of young content providers across urban, regional, remote and Indigenous locations; 2. Ethnographic Action Research: Researching how young people interact as both producers and consumers of new media content and technology; 3. Technology Innovation: Identifying how different ‘communicative ecologies’ within the network influence and learn from each other; and, 4. Enterprise development: Understanding how culture and creativity combined with new technologies can be a seedbed for innovation and enterprise. Groups of young people across Queensland will be trained in how to produce content for a dedicated website - audio (music and speech), text (stories, reports, journals) and visuals (photographs, artworks). In addition, the network will allow groups of young people to interact with each other and with others (including Government) on topics and issues chosen by them - through forums, messaging services, message boards, blogs and emails. This research project investigates important questions about new media and participation. If the new economy is a network economy, if the new raw materials are information and knowledge, and if the new workforce needs content creation skills, how will these young people set about using and developing the YIRN network? How do creativity, access, networks and connectivity work together - what are the results of ensuring access and training at this level to a diverse and dispersed set of groups of young people? How does this network work as a communication space: how will the young people interact with each other? And how will they communicate with Government and other agencies? When they are participating in an interactive network are they simultaneously being citizens? Would enterprises built around creative content be civic institutions? This paper presents some of the challenges that face this research project as it seeks to discover how youth civic participation might be addressed through innovative Internet use by embracing practices that are often considered resistant and the domain of a 'subversive youth' (Hartley 1992, 21-42)

Women Artists in Botswana in the Late Twentieth Century.

Women have always played a large part in the visual arts throughout Africa. In Botswana at the present time this is illustrated most immediately by the woven baskets, seen everywhere, in galleries, shops and at roadside stalls, that have come to represent the country and its arts and crafts; and with the odd exception they are all made by women in the most rural areas. However, women in Botswana currently practice other arts, including house decoration and pottery, although, for a variety of reasons, these are less immediately obvious. In contrast to these practices, representing traditions inherited from the past, there are others of relatively recent inception. Since the 1980s Botswana has seen the emergence of a small number of women 'Fine' artists, some of whom are Botswana nationals while others are expatriates settled in the country. In contrast to arts made for immediate local use, or sold in roadside stalls, the work of these artists is exhibited in the few art galleries that now exist. During the same period, art education has also been gradually introduced into the school and university system in Botswana. Art galleries both private and public are another recent development, beginning with the National Museums and Monuments Art Gallery, which opened in 1978, and which began to facilitate local exhibitions of Botswana art, while also encouraging exhibitions of this material in other countries. In addition to local tradition and an emerging Fine Art practice, art education, museums and galleries, a series of workshops has also been developed. Some of these were set up by expatriates on a more-or-less permanent basis with the aim of training women in various art forms, while others are temporary and artist-led, giving selected groups of artists the chance to meet, work and exchange ideas. I begin this thesis, therefore, with a survey of all the arts inherited from the past, and currently practised by women in Botswana, and then, in a series of chapters I look at each of the developments, including art education, museums and galleries, and workshops; and their histories, their aims, and their achievements with particular regard to the overall development of the arts in Botswana. This thesis thereby provides a comprehensive study of all the arts practised by women in Botswana through the last thirty years

Development of an observational instrument for measuring role behavior in social work groups.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

A unified evolutionary origin for the ubiquitous protein transporters SecY and YidC.

BACKGROUND: Protein transporters translocate hydrophilic segments of polypeptide across hydrophobic cell membranes. Two protein transporters are ubiquitous and date back to the last universal common ancestor: SecY and YidC. SecY consists of two pseudosymmetric halves, which together form a membrane-spanning protein-conducting channel. YidC is an asymmetric molecule with a protein-conducting hydrophilic groove that partially spans the membrane. Although both transporters mediate insertion of membrane proteins with short translocated domains, only SecY transports secretory proteins and membrane proteins with long translocated domains. The evolutionary origins of these ancient and essential transporters are not known. RESULTS: The features conserved by the two halves of SecY indicate that their common ancestor was an antiparallel homodimeric channel. Structural searches with SecY's halves detect exceptional similarity with YidC homologs. The SecY halves and YidC share a fold comprising a three-helix bundle interrupted by a helical hairpin. In YidC, this hairpin is cytoplasmic and facilitates substrate delivery, whereas in SecY, it is transmembrane and forms the substrate-binding lateral gate helices. In both transporters, the three-helix bundle forms a protein-conducting hydrophilic groove delimited by a conserved hydrophobic residue. Based on these similarities, we propose that SecY originated as a YidC homolog which formed a channel by juxtaposing two hydrophilic grooves in an antiparallel homodimer. We find that archaeal YidC and its eukaryotic descendants use this same dimerisation interface to heterodimerise with a conserved partner. YidC's sufficiency for the function of simple cells is suggested by the results of reductive evolution in mitochondria and plastids, which tend to retain SecY only if they require translocation of large hydrophilic domains. CONCLUSIONS: SecY and YidC share previously unrecognised similarities in sequence, structure, mechanism, and function. Our delineation of a detailed correspondence between these two essential and ancient transporters enables a deeper mechanistic understanding of how each functions. Furthermore, key differences between them help explain how SecY performs its distinctive function in the recognition and translocation of secretory proteins. The unified theory presented here explains the evolution of these features, and thus reconstructs a key step in the origin of cells

An exploratory study to determine possible causes for apathy of citizens toward civic responsibilities

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University, 195

What outcomes have mindfulness and meditation interventions for managers and leaders achieved? A systematic review

No systematic review had previously been conducted examining the benefits mindfulness or meditation interventions for leaders and managers. However, the literature suggested that such interventions would have a positive impact on leaders’ own well-being, their leadership capability, their “post-conventional” leadership capacity, and their direct reports. The purpose of this study was therefore to systematically review research on mindfulness or meditation interventions for managers and leaders. Our review identified 19 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Findings indicate some encouraging signs that mindfulness and meditation interventions may improve aspects of leaders’/managers’ well-being and resilience, and leadership capability, possibly including their “post-conventional” leadership, but research results are very variable in quality and strength, and there was no evidence on benefits for participants’ direct reports. The studies reviewed explored a diversity of interventions, but provided little insight into which mindfulness and meditation interventions for managers and leaders are most effective, in what context they are best applied, or for whom they are most suitable. While the sub-set of studies that measured mindfulness found that the interventions used did increase participants’ mindfulness, there was no exploration of whether improved mindfulness was the mechanism by which other positive outcomes were achieved

Adolescents' exposure to tobacco and alcohol content in YouTube music videos

AIMS: To quantify tobacco and alcohol content, including branding, in popular contemporary YouTube music videos; and measure adolescent exposure to such content. DESIGN: Ten-second interval content analysis of alcohol, tobacco or electronic cigarette imagery in all UK Top 40 YouTube music videos during a 12-week period in 2013/14; on-line national survey of adolescent viewing of the 32 most popular high-content videos. SETTING: Great Britain. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2068 adolescents aged 11–18 years who completed an on-line survey. MEASUREMENTS: Occurrence of alcohol, tobacco and electronic cigarette use, implied use, paraphernalia or branding in music videos and proportions and estimated numbers of adolescents who had watched sampled videos. FINDINGS: Alcohol imagery appeared in 45% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 33–51%] of all videos, tobacco in 22% (95% CI = 13–27%) and electronic cigarettes in 2% (95% CI = 0–4%). Alcohol branding appeared in 7% (95% CI = 2–11%) of videos, tobacco branding in 4% (95% CI = 0–7%) and electronic cigarettes in 1% (95% CI = 0–3%). The most frequently observed alcohol, tobacco and electronic cigarette brands were, respectively, Absolut Tune, Marlboro and E-Lites. At least one of the 32 most popular music videos containing alcohol or tobacco content had been seen by 81% (95% CI = 79%, 83%) of adolescents surveyed, and of these 87% (95% CI = 85%, 89%) had re-watched at least one video. The average number of videos seen was 7.1 (95% CI = 6.8, 7.4). Girls were more likely to watch and also re-watch the videos than boys, P < 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: Popular YouTube music videos watched by a large number of British adolescents, particularly girls, include significant tobacco and alcohol content, including branding