"Hushed to a whisper" : of veiled device and strained connection in Francis Coppola's The conversation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Media Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

This thesis is an analysis of The Conversation, a film directed by Francis Coppola and released by Paramount Pictures in 1974. The central theme underpinning this study is that a pattern of "unnatural connections" is evident both in and within the text itself and in the sphere of critical judgements contributing to issues of potential audience responses. The notion of "unnatural connection" is discussed in relation to the following terms, each crucial to a complete understanding of the text: authorial intentionality, in particular the relationship to creative collaboration, questions of mode and genre, tragedy and technology, issues of detection, and dilemmas of the existential. The thesis concludes with a speculative commentary on notions of disorientation, disciplinary apparatus, inversion, and spectator positioning

A phenomenological study of anticipated intimacy and sexual expression needs of aging male and female baby boomers.

The purpose of this study was to understand the phenomenon of how heterosexual Baby Boomers define and understand intimacy, sexual expression, along expectations and desires relating to their respective expressions across the lifespan through their individual experiences and reflections. A set of guiding questions were used in a hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative research design. Data was gathered from thirteen subjects (n=13) using the Rappaport Time Line (RTL) that was used to develop individualized semi-structured interviews and follow-up interviews that were professionally transcribed. These were coded to identify emergent themes. Results of the study provided insight into the phenomenon of how heterosexual Baby Boomers define and understand intimacy, sexual expression, expectations and desires relating to their respective expressions across the lifespan

Specific plasma endocrine and protein changes in the conventionally reared and artificially reared neonatal pig from birth to six weeks of age

Forty-eight artificially reared (AR) and twenty conventionally reared (OR) crossbred pigs were used to characterize specific endocrine and protein changes from birth to six weeks of age. AR pigs were delivered by cesarian section on day 114 of gestation, allowed to nurse for the first 48 hours following birth and then fed a commercial milk replacer diet. CR pigs were born naturally and maintained with the sow until six weeks of age. Blood samples (5 ml), hematocrits, and body weights were taken from all pigs on days 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 after birth. Total cortisol (TC), unbound cortisol (UB-C), cortisol bound to corticosteroid binding globulin (CBG-C), cortisol bound to albumin (ALB-C), total protein (TP), albumin, tyroxine (T4), and triiodothyronine (T3) were measured in plasma. Overall mean body weights of CR pigs were greater (P \u3c .01) than AR pigs. Hematocrits in both groups of pigs were lowest (P \u3c .01) on days 3 and 7. Hematocrits increased (P \u3c .01) by day 14 to values similar to that observed on day 1. Concentrations of TC were higher at birth (P \u3c .01) than on days 7 to 42 in both groups of pigs (55.6 vs. 19.2 ng/ml). Similarly, UB-C was highest at birth (29.9%) and decreased (P \u3c .01) to its lowest value by day 42 (11.9%). A decline in UB-C for CR pigs began by day 21 in contrast to day 28 for AR pigs. Levels of CBG-C were lowest (P \u3c .01) in both groups of pigs on days 7-21 with an overall mean of 33%. CBG-C for CR and AR pigs peaked on day 42 (54.1%) and day 35 (76.4%), respectively. ALB-C was correlated negatively with CBG-C (r = -.87; P \u3c .01). Total plasma protein and albumin concentrations in CR and AR pigs were lowest (P \u3c .01) at birth and increased to their highest levels by day 14. Overall mean total protein and albumin concentrations for AR pigs (3.2 and 2.2 g/dl, respectively) were lower than for CR pigs (3.9 and 2.4 g/dl, respectively). For both CR and AR pigs T4 concentrations were highest (P \u3c .01) at birth (7.8 μg/dl) and declined (P \u3c .01) to basal levels by day 7 (4.6 μg/dl). CR pigs overall mean T4 concentration was higher (P \u3c .01) than that of AR pigs. T3 concentrations were at or below the detectable limit of the T3 assay (0.5 ng/ml). These results suggest that plasma endocrine and protein changes in the neonatal pig can be influenced by method of rearing

Fresh Starts: School Form and Student Outcomes

Seemingly endless tinkering and adjustment of the structure of education in the United States over the past century has led to the adoption of different school forms at different times. Currently the middle school is the dominant form of schooling for the middle years of education; however, the middle school is a relatively new form that replaced the junior high school, which itself replaced previous schooling forms. Despite the rhetoric of policymakers and practitioners, little research has considered what school forms work for what kinds of adolescents across what dimensions. In this article, we show that for both academic and non-academic outcomes, how school systems structure the transition from 8th to 9th grade makes almost no difference. Where differences appear, they are small and point to the benefits of school transitions for providing fresh starts to adolescents in socially difficult situations. The policy implications are correspondingly clear: the optimal school structure for any school district is the one that maximizes building space, reduces crowding, and achieves administrative rationality

Crop quality from 2009/2010 and grain storage management needs

Corn in 2009 was extremely wet and had low test weights (often 52 lb/bu and less) that did not increase significantly after drying. The situation was caused by a wet, cold growing season that was 20-25% short on heat units, followed by a cloudy, humid fall, with just enough heat to put field molds in their optimal growing conditions. This was the source of higher-than-normal damaged (moldy) kernel levels out of the field, with progressively higher risk of vomitoxin, zearalenone, and fumonisin from west to east in the Corn Belt. Mycotoxins do not go away in storage; they will show up in 2009 corn carryover. Storage molds do not normally produce toxins to the extent that field molds do, but experience is limited in extreme high-damage cases. On the plus side, tests showed that higher moisture and lower test weight by themselves did not inherently reduce ethanol yield on a dry weight basis

My Way or the Highway: a More Naturalistic Model of Altruism Tested in an Iterative Prisoners' Dilemma

There are three prominent solutions to the Darwinian problem of altruism, kin selection, reciprocal altruism, and trait group selection. Only one, reciprocal altruism, most commonly implemented in game theory as a TIT FOR TAT strategy, is not based on the principle of conditional association. On the contrary, TIT FOR TAT implements conditional altruism in the context of unconditionally determined associates. Simulations based on Axelrod\'s famous tournament have led many to conclude that conditional altruism among unconditional partners lies at the core of much human and animal social behavior. But the results that have been used to support this conclusion are largely artifacts of the structure of the Axelrod tournament, which explicitly disallowed conditional association as a strategy. In this study, we modify the rules of the tournament to permit competition between conditional associates and conditional altruists. We provide evidence that when unconditional altruism is paired with conditional association, a strategy we called MOTH, it can out compete TIT FOR TAT under a wide range of conditions.Game Theory; Altruism; Prisoners' Dilemma; TIT FOR TAT; MOTH; Docking; Netlogo

Can Gambling Increase Savings? Empirical Evidence on Prize-Linked Savings Accounts

This paper studies the adoption and impact of prize-linked savings (PLS) accounts, which offer random, lottery-like payouts to individual account holders in lieu of interest. Using micro-level data from a bank offering these products in South Africa, we show that a PLS product was attractive to a broad group of individuals, across all age, race, and income levels. Financially-constrained individuals and those with no other deposit accounts were particularly likely to open a PLS account. Participants in the PLS program increased their total savings on average by 1% of annual income, a 38% increase from the mean level of savings. Deposits in PLS did not appear to cannibalize same-bank savings in standard savings products. Instead, PLS appears to serve as a substitute for lottery gambling. Exploiting the random assignment of prizes, we also present evidence that prize winners increase their investment in PLS, sometimes by more than the amount of the prize won, and that large prizes generate a local “buzz” which lead to an 11.6% increase in demand for PLS at a winning branch

Marketing Stadiums as Event Venues: Modified Balanced Scorecard (mBSC) Evaluation of Minor League Baseball Websites as an eMarketing Tool

Maximizing and gaining access to stadium related revenue streams, including non-game day social and corporate event rentals, is a critical factor for the financial viability of professional sports teams. Minor League Baseball (MiLB) teams and Independent baseball league (Indy) teams are no exception and franchise owners strive to maximize ancillary business opportunities, including stadium usage year-round. Currently, teams are marketing their venues through various mediums, including their websites. Considering the implications of eMarketing on MiLB and Indy teams’ ability to target and solicit social and corporate event customers it is critical to evaluate current eMarketing efforts. This study employs the Modified Balanced Scorecard (mBSC) approach to website evaluation and aims to a) evaluate the contents and design of minor league (MiLB and Indy) baseball teams’ websites as a marketing tool for their stadiums and b) to identify trends of minor league baseball stadium use as social and corporate event venues. Research findings provide researchers and industry professionals with empirical evidence of the current positioning of minor league baseball stadiums as social and corporate event venues. The authors also discuss how teams can improve their eMarketing strategy to better engage social and corporate event clients