Muddled Boundaries of Digital Shrines

International audienceBased on an online ethnography study of 274 YouTube videos posted during the Virginia Tech or the Newtown massacres, this article discusses how users resort to participatory media during such mediatized events to create a digital spontaneous shrine. The assemblage of this sanctuary on a website hosting billions of user-generated contents is made possible by means of folksonomy and website architecture, and a two-fold social dynamic based on participatory commitment and the institutionalization of a collective entity. Unlike “physical” spontaneous shrines erected in public spaces, these digital shrines connect the bereaved with provocative or outrageous contributions, notably tributes from school shooting fans using participatory media to commemorate the killer’s memory. This side effect, generated by the technical properties of the platform, compromises the tranquility of the memorial and muddles the boundaries and the contents of such sanctuaries

Digital capital as access and competence: A national-level study of the UAE

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE) context, this study investigates the relationship between demographic and socioeconomic factors (gender, age, education, income, employment status, field of work, device type, and religion) and two critical dimensions of digital capital: digital access and digital competence. Applying factor analyses to a nationally representative sample (n=493), the study examines the influence of age, education, income, and geographic location. The results show that higher income and education levels are strongly linked to greater digital competence and access. Age differences are also important, with young adults showing the highest digital competence. The UAE has a unique socioeconomic context, and while some well-established dimensions of digital inequality persist (such as income and education), others are absent (notably the gender dimension). This study contributes to a better understanding of digital inequalities embedded within broader social stratification patterns in a multicultural and technologically advanced society

Sexual Assault Campus Climate Surveys: Insights from the First Wave

One tool to help institutions of higher education (IHEs) to address campus sexual assault is the campus climate survey (CCS); yet little is known about the CCS implementation process. This study used a mixed methods approach to examine the implementation process of CCSs deployed during the 2015/16 academic year at 244 IHEs throughout the United States. Quantitative results indicate CCSs were designed primarily by the Title IX officer and campus administration; assessed victimization rates and knowledge about campus resources; and were voluntary. Qualitative findings generate concerns surrounding generalizability, participation rates, validity of data, and suggestions for improvement for future CCSs

The Behavioural Aspects of Financial Literacy

In this paper, we investigate the contribution of behavioural characteristics to the financial literacy of UAE residents after controlling for demographic factors. Specifically, we test the relationship between financial literacy and behavioural biases such as representativeness, self-serving, overconfidence, loss aversion, and hindsight bias. Using data collected through survey questionnaires, we apply the methodology developed by the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to compute financial literacy scores. Our overall results show that all behavioural biases except for overconfidence bias are positively related to financial literacy. Furthermore, some biases exhibit a stronger quantitative relationship with financial literacy than others. For example, hindsight bias displays the strongest link to financial literacy, followed by self-serving bias. The weakest but still statistically significant effect is loss aversion bias. Although biases, in general, have negative connotations, behavioural biases appear to be related to higher levels of financial literacy

Evaluation du pH à l'intérieur de mini-granules enrobées par spectrométrie de fluorescence

Les systèmes à libération contrôlée tels que les mini-granules enrobées sont exposés à des changements de pH lors de leur passage dans le tractus gastro-intestinal. Il peut s agir d un problème lorsque les bases faibles présentant une solubilité aqueuse pH-dépendant doivent être libérées. Actuellement, peu de connaissances sur les changements de pH dans les systèmes réservoirs sont disponibles. La micro-électrode de pH et la résonance paramagnétique électronique sont proposées pour contrôler ces modifications. Néanmoins, ces méthodes restent invasives. Il existe également la microscopie confocale à balayage laser qui utilise un marqueur fluorescent incorporé dans des systèmes matriciels. L objectif de cette étude est d évaluer les changements de pH à l intérieur de mini-granules enrobées contenant du verapamil hydrochloride par une approche non-invasive, la spectroscopie à fluorescence. Les mini-granules ont été fabriquées par un procédé d extrusion-sphéronisation et enrobées avec un mélange de polymères à base de Kollicoat SR et de Kollicoat IR. Une fois les fluorophores appropriés à l étude via une phase de screening, deux d entre eux ont été sélectionnés pour l analyse fluorimétrique. Ces derniers incorporés à l intérieur des mini-granules ont été par la suite enrobées. Le pH à l intérieur de ces systèmes réservoirs après exposition dans le milieu de dissolution a pu être déterminé par spectroscopie à fluorescence.Controlled release systems such as coated pellets are exposed to environmental changes in pH during their passage through the gastrointestinal tract. This can be an issue, when weakly basic drugs with strongly pH-dependent solubility are to be released. So far, relatively little is known about the pH changes occuring within the reservoirs. Microprobes and electron paramagnetic resonance measurements have been proposed to monitor potential alterations. Nevertheless, these methods are invasive. Also, confocal laser scanning microscopy using a fluorescent marker in matrix pellets has been suggested. That is why, the purpose of this study was to monitor pH changes inside coated pellets containing verapamil HCl using a non-invasive approach, the fluometric method. The pellets were produced by extrusion-spheronisation process and coated with a polymer blend of Kollicoat SR:Kollicoat IR. Once the fluorophores suited for this study analyzed via a screening phase, two of them were selected for the fluometric method. The latter were incorporated into pellets, which were subsequently coated and the pH changes within the reservoir systems upon exposure to the dissolution medium could have been determined by fluorescence spectroscopy.ANGERS-BU Médecine-Pharmacie (490072105) / SudocSudocFranceF

Development of the method for the pharmaceutical availability testing of clotrimazole from multiphase semi-solid vaginal dosage forms

Introduction: The intravaginal drug administration enables treatment of the local and systemic diseases. The anatomy and physiology of a vagina provide several difficulties for drug technologists due to the small amount and continuous production of vaginal discharge, especially in the case of lipophilic drugs often characterized by insufficient solubility. The application of poorly soluble drug substances in the form of nanoemulsions improves their availability. However, in the case of nanoemulsion-based vaginal dosage forms, no standardized methods have been defined for testing the amount of a drug released from encapsulated form. Aim of the study: Comparison and development of a method for testing the availability of active pharmaceutical substances from vaginal nanoemulsion-based drug forms. Materials and methods: The nanoemulsion and reference products (cream and suspension) were placed in a dialysis bag separating them from the acceptor medium. The changes in the concentration of the free fraction of the model active substance – clotrimazole were assessed. The experiments were performed using 2 static methods of different mixing method (magnetic stirring and USP apparatus III) and 2 dynamic methods including the flow of the medium through the flow-through cell at 2 mL/min and 2 mL/h. The experiments were conducted for 5 h. Results: Incomplete release of the active pharmaceutical ingredient was observed for all tested formulations over the experiment. Despite the delivery of a fresh portion of the medium, low concentrations of the free clotrimazole fraction were observed for both flow-through methods i.e., a maximum of about 7.5% of the dose for the 2 mL/min flow rate and 5% for the 2 mL/h flow rate. In stationary methods, the maximum recorded concentrations of the free fraction of the drug corresponded to approx. 25% of the initial amount. For the pilot stationary method, high standard deviations (SD) were observed, which affected the low discriminatory properties of the method. The method based on the reciprocating cylinder dissolution apparatus provided results exhibiting smaller SD and more significant differences between the tested formulations. The highest concentrations among the evaluated formulations were observed for nanoemulsion or nanoemulsion and suspension, depending on the used test technique. Significantly lower doses of the drug were released from the cream in almost every test. Conclusions: The selection of the method used to assess the pharmaceutical availability of an active pharmaceutical ingredient has a crucial impact on the release profiles obtained. The stationary method using a reciprocating cylinder apparatus (USP apparatus III) had the highest measurement precision and provided the most discriminatory results

Teacher and Peer Responses to Warning Behavior in 11 School Shooting Cases in Germany

Warning behavior prior to an act of severe targeted school violence was often not recognized by peers and school staff. With regard to preventive efforts, we attempted to identify barriers to information exchange in German schools and understand mechanisms that influenced the recognition, evaluation, and reporting of warning behavior through a teacher or peer. Our analysis is based on inquiry files from 11 cases of German school shootings that were obtained during the 3-year research project "Incident and case analysis of highly expressive targeted violence (TARGET)." We conducted a qualitative retrospective case study to analyze witness reports from school staff and peers. Our results point to subjective explanations used by teachers and peers toward conspicuous behavior (e.g., situational framing and typical adolescent behavior), as well as reassuring factors that indicated harmlessness (e.g., no access to a weapon). Additionally, we found organizational barriers similar to those described in US-American case studies (e.g., organizational deviance)