E-electioneering 2010: Trends in social media use in Australian political communication

In the wake of the 'turning point' 2004 US presidential election, the Obama campaign of 2008, the 2010 UK election and e-democracy movements globally, Australians went to the polls in 2010 in a media-hyped flurry of tweeting, YouTube videos, Facebook befriending and 'liking', blogging and other social media activities. Following a study showing that the 2007 Australian election was not a 'YouTube election', as claimed by many media and commentators, and that social media use in the campaign was mostly non-interactive promotional messaging, a study was undertaken during the 2010 federal election campaign to gain comparative data and updated insights. This article reports quantitative and qualitative content analysis of social media use by 206 federal political candidates and the two major political parties during the 2010 Australian election to identify trends in the volume of e-electioneering content and activity, as well as the main ways in which social media are being used in political communication

E-Electioneering 2007-13: Trends in online political campaigns over three elections

Following the 2004 US presidential election campaign, which was described as 'a critical turning point' in use of social media, and particularly the 2008 Obama campaign, there has been increasing focus on use of social media for political campaigning and what is termed e-electioneering and e-democracy. However, studies of election campaigns between 2010 and 2012 in a number of countries have identified what Steve Woolgar (2002) calls cyberbole in relation to social media for political engagement. With substantive patterns of change in political communication yet to be identified, a quantitative and qualitative study of social media use in the 2013 Australian federal election campaign was conducted using the same methodology as studies of the 2007 and 2010 campaigns to gain comparative longitudinal data. This identified trends in the volume of e-electioneering and the ways in which social media are being used for political communication and democratic engagement

Designing for dementia: Iterative grief and transitional objects

© 2018 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Designers increasingly are exploring how to support individuals transitioning through loss and grief and coming to terms with a loved one’s death. For people living with dementia and their families, the loss and grief they experience is iterative and ongoing. This paper discusses design research to make sensory textile objects for people with advanced dementia, intended to support positive well-being, shared experiences, and “in the moment” pleasure. It draws on theories relating to transitional and transformational objects to show how these textiles support those living with dementia as they transition into greater dependency and move toward the end of life. It shows how, after their death, the objects become memorials and symbolic representations, further supporting family members through their experience of loss

Conversations at the edge of play: media, communication and cultural intersections with dementia

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. The mean age of the global population is increasing significantly. Incidences of dementia are also predicted to rise and this will impact society as a whole as well as individuals, who will find they are primary carers for one or more family members with the disease. Dementia carries a stigma and is not openly discussed. Discourse continues to be led by bio-medical approaches that focus on the need to ‘fight’ the disease and often leaves individuals feeling ill-prepared and powerless to act. This paper reports on an innovative approach that engages with material culture production; it uses textiles as media to encourage people to share their personal experiences of dementia. The pilot project involved the general public in the making of bespoke sensory objects to promote ‘in the moment pleasure’ for people with later stage dementia, while facilitating an exchange of information about dementia both formally and informally with participants engaged in the making process. The study found that while participants’ individual knowledge and understanding of dementia varied significantly, each participant was able to contribute, share their knowledge and become empowered through activity

Intermittent quakes and record dynamics in the thermoremanent magnetization of a spin-glass

A novel method for analyzing the intermittent behavior of linear response data in aging systems is presented and applied to spin-glass thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) (Rodriguez et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 037203, 2003). The probability density function (PDF) of magnetic fluctuations is shown to have an asymmetric exponential tail, demonstrating that the demagnetization process is carried by intermittent, significant, spin rearrangements or \emph{quakes}. These quakes are most pronounced shortly after the field removal, $t/t_w \approx 1$ and in the non-equilibrium aging regime $t/t_w >>1$. For a broad temperature range, we study the dependence of the TRM decay rate on $t$, the time since the initial quench and on $t_w$, the time at which the magnetic field is cut. The $t$ and $t_w$ dependence of the rate is extracted numerically from the data and described analytically using the assumption that the linear response is subordinated to the intermittent process which spasmodically release the initial imbalances created by the quench.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures. The paper has been expanded and restructured, the figures have been enlarged and improved. Final version, to appear in Phy. Rev.

Roles and Responsibilities of Deans and Directors in Digital Initiatives and Campus IRs

Three library deans will share their perspectives on developing organizations that can sustain digital initiatives and IR, and to assess those initiatives. Peggy Seiden will set the stage by discussing the organizational change, budgetary decisions and political work that allow college and university libraries to move forward with this work. Karen Schneider will talk about the political and practical opportunities facilitated by creating a culture of respect for numbers and assessment. Kenning Arlitsch will focus on the development of RAMP (Repository Analytics and Metrics Portal) as an example of a diagnostic tool whose aggregated dataset about IR use holds enormous research potential for the library community