Media Relations Practitioner\u27s Attitudes toward the Effectiveness of their Undergraduate Public Relations Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate public relations practitioners\u27 attitudes toward their educational background as it relates to media relations practice. A systematic, stratified sample of media relations practitioners was selected from the membership lists of Public Relations Society of America and the International Association of Business Communicators. A mailed survey was used to gather response data addressing the following research questions: 1. Do media relations practitioners express satisfaction with the undergraduate public relations education they completed? 2. Do media relations practitioners believe the undergraduate public relations education they completed prepared them for their roles as media relations practitioners? 3. Do media relations practitioners find it necessary to complete supplemental training beyond that offered in the undergraduate curriculum to gain competence in the field? 4. If responses from media relations practitioners indicate that the undergraduate public relations curriculum they completed did not effectively prepare them for the field, what components do they believe would provide an effective undergraduate public relations curriculum

When Good Ideas Flow Two Ways

Describes the collaboration between Bank Street College Graduate School of Education and the Bank Street School for Children.https://educate.bankstreet.edu/progressive/1013/thumbnail.jp

Distributed Energy Resources : An Assessment of New Jersey’s Clean Energy Future

The demand for renewable energy in New Jersey will continue to grow as economic opportunities and community support drive development. The effective integration of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) will transform energy production, storage, and use. To achieve sustainable energy production, the current reliance on fossil fuels must be reduced and replaced with less carbon-intensive energy sources that optimize the electric grid. DERs help pioneer the path to a clean energy transition where the implementation of new renewable energy projects will diversify New Jersey’s energy portfolio and provide a more resilient, equitable, and independent energy source. This thesis investigates different perspectives of small wind and solar energy options that are supported by state and governmental initiatives in New Jersey and shows a quantitative review to support these programs. The research combines various scopes, resources, and methods to analyze current perspectives involved in the wind and solar industry with capacities under 10 MW (megawatt). The first assessment will consist of analyzing stakeholder values on sustainable community solar placement characteristics consisting of environmental and social-economic factors, and governmental support. The second assessment involves the aggregation of onshore wind turbine life cycle data and costs in combination with various life extension and disposal strategies to verify small-wind as a carbon-friendly and cost-effective energy source. In Chapter 1, we review the current conditions and motivation to transition to a clean energy resource, such as the current reliance on fossil fuels and the associated negative impact on local economies and ecosystems. Additionally, we explain how DERs can play a core role in facilitating energy goals better than large-scale utility projects through providing an opportunity to optimize the electric grid, the ability to account for flexible load demands, and increased targeted consumer economic benefits (such as reduced rates). The impact of implementing DERs is strategic and will be critical in supporting the energy transition process. A fundamental principle for sustainable energy development is the optimization of the grid. In Chapter 2, environmental, social, and technical land use characteristics are utilized to determine strategic community solar placement. In this objective we analyzed 9 completed survey responses from solar providers and environmental organizations to gain clarity on their beliefs toward the community solar program, its impact on communities and the environment, challenges, and the future of the industry. The information that was collected through the survey was categorized into a Saaty Rating Scale using an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to determine the relative importance of each variable. This data was then represented spatially using an intuitive mapping analysis tool, ArcGIS Pro, to visualize optimal shared solar locations. In Chapter 3, we utilize a Life Cycle Cost Assessment (LCCA) that estimates the environmental and economic impacts of a 1.5 MW onshore wind turbine using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC). This objective involves scenario analysis of various disposal and life extension options. The assessment can inform policymakers who want to achieve economically viable clean energy alternatives. In Chapter 4, we review policies and implications of this study and how DERs can play a role in promoting sustainable energy practices that are eco-conscious and provide benefits to low to moderate income populations. These methods assist in providing a comprehensive understanding of small-scale wind and solar that can support environmental-focused policies and future decision-making

Discussion, Cooperation, Collaboration: The Impact of Task Structure on Student Interaction in a Web-based Translation Exercise Module

A major challenge facing the online translation instructor is to design learning opportunities that encourage communication and the sharing of ideas between students. This article asks how such group interaction may be facilitated and evaluates, in particular the impact of task structure on student interaction in an online translation exercise module. Drawing on an empirical study carried out at Dublin City University during the academic year 2003/14, the article compares levels of intermessage referencing, the number and size of message clusters, and extent and type of cognitive presence evident in messages posted by students given three different types of task structure: those involving discussion groups, cooperative groups and collaborative groups. The article concludes that online interaction is most successful in discussion groups, followed in order of positive outcomes by cooperative groups and collaborative groups

Discussion, cooperation and collaboration: group learning in an online translation classroom

The study is an empirical investigation into the implementation of a variety of grouplearning structures in an online translation classroom. Drawing on the academic literature in the fields of translation didactics, social constructivism and e-learning, it describes the design and implementation of an online module in economic translation at Dublin City University during the academic years 2003/4 and 2004/5. The main body of the work evaluates the comparative strengths and weaknesses of three group-learning structures implemented in the online module. These are labelled 'discussion groups', 'cooperative groups' and 'collaborative groups' respectively. A case-study approach is adopted in the study, with transcripts of online discussions representing the main data source. These are analysed using the 'Community of Inquiry' Model, a content analysis model derived from the research literature on Web-based learning. Findings from this analysis technique are triangulated with numerical measurements of student participation and online interaction, and with qualitative evaluation of student perceptions, in order to establish which task structures are most effective in promoting learning on the basis of group interaction via text-based computer conferencing. In addition, the study draws conclusions about the methodologies available for the study of group learning in an online environment, the advantages of Web-based translator training, and the disadvantages and challenges arising from such an approach. The study has a contribution to make on a number of fronts. It explores the implications of designing translation instruction for Web-based delivery, it adds to the literature on online group-learning structures, and it presents a model for instructors and researchers to investigate the quality of the educational experience in an online translation classroom

Regulation 5.35: Coerced treatment of detained asylum seekers on hunger strike: Legal, ethical and human rights implications

In September 1992 three Cambodian asylum seekers launched a hunger strike refusing all food and taking only small quantities of water. They were detained in Villawood Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) in Sydney, Australia. All three were hospitalized for dehydration and after two weeks on the hunger strike were ‘thought to be in grave danger of death’.2 The then Australian Minister for Immigration sought orders in the Supreme Court of New South Wales to permit the administration of lifesaving medical treatment to two of the women without their consent. The court issued an interim order permitting the government ‘to feed or to administer nourishment to the defendants against their will in order to prevent their death or serious bodily damage and for that purpose to use such force as is reasonably necessary.’3 Prior to the full hearing of the case the Australian government passed a law giving the Secretary of the Department of Immigration power to authorize medical treatment to be given to a person in immigration detention without their consent. This law is contained in regulation 5.35 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth). The regulation authorizes the use of ‘reasonable force’ to administer medical treatment including the reasonable use of restraint and sedatives. This power has been used in respect of detained asylum seekers on hunger strike, most notably for rehydration and naso-gastric feeding

Rediscovering Rural Ireland: The Case for Prioritising Rural Interventions to Return Resilience to Rural Communities.

[We] are living through a period of profound change and transformation of the shape of society and its underlying economic base ... The nature of production, trade, employment and work in the coming decades will be very different from what it is toda

A retrospective public health analysis of the Republic of Ireland's Food Harvest 2020 strategy: absence, avoidance and business as usual

The concept of an Ecological Approach to health and including Health in All Policies warrants inter-sectoral and transdisciplinary collaboration to improve health determinants and reduce health inequities. Agriculture policies, which greatly influence food production and its environmental impacts as well as food availability and dietary consumption, are therefore of interest to public health. Increasing rates of non-communicable diseases linked to diets containing high levels of processed foods, increasing numbers of households unable to access nutritious food and the environmental consequences of the food system are amongst the major health challenges of today, both globally and in Ireland. In 2010, Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries published Food Harvest 2020 a roadmap for Irish agriculture for the subsequent decade prepared against a backdrop of rising diet-related ill-health and increasing environmental concerns. This article critically analyses the process of consultation and stakeholder involvement in the development of Food Harvest 2020 from a public health perspective. Publically available documents including submissions to the Food Harvest 2020 consultation process were the primary source of data. This study highlights a distinct absence of public health representation in the process, an avoidance of some key public health challenges and the dominance of a ‘business as usual’ approach

Rediscovering Rural Ireland: The Case for Prioritising Rural Interventions to Return Resilience to Rural Communities.

[We] are living through a period of profound change and transformation of the shape of society and its underlying economic base ... The nature of production, trade, employment and work in the coming decades will be very different from what it is toda