#OkBoomer, time to meet the Zoomers’: studying the memefication of intergenerational politics on TikTok

TikTok, a short video platform featuring content between 15 and 60 seconds long, has become a popular and rapidly growing social media application around the world. As a platform catering for light entertainment, TikTok champions virality and encourages memetic remixes. Meme videos, mostly featuring lip-syncs, dance routines, and skits, have become one of the defining features of the platform. These seemingly trivial videos have been utilised by young TikTokers to advocate for various causes. This paper uses #OkBoomer memes as a case study to examine the political culture of young people and Gen Z in particular. By analysing how intergenerational politics has been ‘memefied’, this study delineates how Gen Z imagines and expresses a generational sentiment towards ‘Boomers’ as the imagined other. They do so through short video cultures and practices on TikTok, drawing upon the networked experiences of their peers. Specifically, the paper considers the key controversial issues, meme forms and meme functions across the #OkBoomer memes on TikTok, and its eventual mainstreaming in society

Enhancing student learning experience with technology-mediated gamification: An empirical study

We evaluated the use of gamification to facilitate a student- centered learning environment within an undergraduate Year 2 Personal and Professional Development (PPD) course. In addition to face-to-face classroom practices, an information technology-based gamified system with a range of online learning activities was presented to students as support material. The implementation of the gamified course lasted two academic terms. The subsequent evaluation from a cohort of 136 students indicated that student performance was significantly higher among those who participated in the gamified system than in those who engaged with the nongamified, traditional delivery, while behavioral engagement in online learning activities was positively related to course performance, after controlling for gender, attendance, and Year 1 PPD performance. Two interesting phenomena appeared when we examined the influence of student background: female students participated significantly more in online learning activities than male students, and students with jobs engaged significantly more in online learning activities than students without jobs. The gamified course design advocated in this work may have significant implications for educators who wish to develop engaging technology-mediated learning environments that enhance students' learning, or for a broader base of professionals who wish to engage a population of potential users, such as managers engaging employees or marketers engaging customers

Enhancing student learning experience with technology-mediated gamification: An empirical study

We evaluated the use of gamification to facilitate a student- centered learning environment within an undergraduate Year 2 Personal and Professional Development (PPD) course. In addition to face-to-face classroom practices, an information technology-based gamified system with a range of online learning activities was presented to students as support material. The implementation of the gamified course lasted two academic terms. The subsequent evaluation from a cohort of 136 students indicated that student performance was significantly higher among those who participated in the gamified system than in those who engaged with the nongamified, traditional delivery, while behavioral engagement in online learning activities was positively related to course performance, after controlling for gender, attendance, and Year 1 PPD performance. Two interesting phenomena appeared when we examined the influence of student background: female students participated significantly more in online learning activities than male students, and students with jobs engaged significantly more in online learning activities than students without jobs. The gamified course design advocated in this work may have significant implications for educators who wish to develop engaging technology-mediated learning environments that enhance students' learning, or for a broader base of professionals who wish to engage a population of potential users, such as managers engaging employees or marketers engaging customers

WHAT GETS TRANSFERRED IN L3 ACQUISITION? DITRANSITIVES AND PASSIVIZATION OF THE DOUBLE OBJECT CONSTRUCTION IN L3 MANDARIN

Ph.D

Trainee Responses to Hurricane Harvey: Correlating Volunteerism With Burnout

Background: Natural disasters take a heavy toll not only on their victims, but also on physicians who suffer vicarious trauma and burnout. New trainees in Houston, from entering PGY1 residents to entering fellows, underwent even more upheaval and stress during Hurricane Harvey. Many responded to calls for volunteer help.Objective: To investigate the impact of Hurricane Harvey on new trainees at our institution, and correlate volunteerism with measures of burnout and resilience.Methodology: Thirty three new trainees out of 90 (43% of population) from all specialties in our institution voluntarily responded to an online survey on the impact of Hurricane Harvey on their lives, whether or not they volunteered and in what form, and answered questions drawing from the abbreviated Maslach burnout survey and Resiliency Quiz. Statistical analyses were conducted using GraphPad Prism and Excel data analysis.Results: The top areas impacted were emotional health (32%), eating habits (29%), family (25%) and finances (25%). The main voluntary activities were covering for colleagues who could not make it to hospital (50%), donating money and supplies (36%), and cleaning and rebuilding (36%). Volunteering was associated with feelings of appreciation (76%), happiness (62%), thankfulness (57%), purposefulness (43%) and pride (33%). Fewer volunteers scored lowly in personal achievement as compared to non-volunteers (10 vs. 38%, p = 0.05).Significance: Hurricane Harvey affected health, finances and family of new trainees, more than half of whom volunteered to help. Volunteers had a greater sense of personal achievement as compared to non-volunteers. This may be due to having more volunteers among less burnt-out trainees or because volunteering reduced burnout and stress responses/trauma. These results suggest that volunteer opportunities should be made available in programs targeting resident burnout

N1-methylpseudouridine found within COVID-19 mRNA vaccines produces faithful protein products

Synthetic mRNA technology is a promising avenue for treating and preventing disease. Key to the technology is the incorporation of modified nucleotides such as N1-methylpseudouridine (m1Ψ) to decrease immunogenicity of the RNA. However, relatively few studies have addressed the effects of modified nucleotides on the decoding process. Here, we investigate the effect of m1Ψ and the related modification pseudouridine (Ψ) on translation. In a reconstituted system, we find that m1Ψ does not significantly alter decoding accuracy. More importantly, we do not detect an increase in miscoded peptides when mRNA containing m1Ψ is translated in cell culture, compared with unmodified mRNA. We also find that m1Ψ does not stabilize mismatched RNA-duplex formation and only marginally promotes errors during reverse transcription. Overall, our results suggest that m1Ψ does not significantly impact translational fidelity, a welcome sign for future RNA therapeutics

Markedly enhanced absorption and direct radiative forcing of black carbon under polluted urban environments

Black carbon (BC) exerts profound impacts on air quality and climate because of its high absorption cross-section over a broad range of electromagnetic spectra, but the current results on absorption enhancement of BC particles during atmospheric aging remain conflicting. Here, we quantified the aging and variation in the optical properties of BC particles under ambient conditions in Beijing, China, and Houston, United States, using a novel environmental chamber approach. BC aging exhibits two distinct stages, i.e., initial transformation from a fractal to spherical morphology with little absorption variation and subsequent growth of fully compact particles with a large absorption enhancement. The timescales to achieve complete morphology modification and an absorption amplification factor of 2.4 for BC particles are estimated to be 2.3 h and 4.6 h, respectively, in Beijing, compared with 9 h and 18 h, respectively, in Houston. Our findings indicate that BC under polluted urban environments could play an essential role in pollution development and contribute importantly to large positive radiative forcing. The variation in direct radiative forcing is dependent on the rate and timescale of BC aging, with a clear distinction between urban cities in developed and developing countries, i.e., a higher climatic impact in more polluted environments. We suggest that mediation in BC emissions achieves a cobenefit in simultaneously controlling air pollution and protecting climate, especially for developing countries

Rapid Syphilis Testing Uptake for Female Sex Workers at Sex Venues in Southern China: Implications for Expanding Syphilis Screening

: Accessibility of syphilis testing services is critical in syphilis control programs for female sex workers (FSWs), but few FSWs attend public STI clinics or other testing sites. Introduction of free rapid syphilis testing (RST) into outreach programs for FSWs will help improve test uptake. : Commercial sex venues were identified in two cities in South China. In cooperation with health advocacy organizations, health outreach teams from local public health or medical facilities approached all types of sex venues in study areas to offer free RST. Acceptability and uptake of RST among FSWs were evaluated. : A total of 2812 FSWs were offered RST and 2670 (95.0%) accepted syphilis testing. 182 (6.8%) FSWs had a positive RST result among whom 136 (74.7%) were willing to attend an STD clinic for confirmatory testing and treatment. More than half (89, 66.4%) of those with syphilis were not willing to notify their sex partners. Multivariate logistic analysis showed that syphilis test uptake was associated with residing in Jiangmen (AOR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.15-2.77), older age (AOR, 2.11, 95% CI, 1.17-3.79 for age of 31 years or above), and not working at a service venue (AOR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.10-2.34). : RST at sex venues is well accepted by FSWs when it is integrated into ongoing outreach services. Such programs provide excellent opportunities for expanding syphilis screening efforts among specific subgroups of FSW who are difficult to reach through clinic-based programs.<br/