Reconsidering Public Relations’ Infatuation with Dialogue: Why Engagement and Reconciliation Can Be More Ethical Than Symmetry and Reciprocity

Advocates of dialogic communication have promoted two-way symmetrical communication as the most effective and ethical model for public relations. This article uses John Durham Peters’s critique of dialogic communication to reconsider this infatuation with dialogue. In this article, we argue that dialogue’s potential for selectivity and tyranny poses moral problems for public relations. Dialogue’s emphasis on reciprocal communication also saddles public relations with ethically questionable quid pro quo relationships. We contend that dissemination can be more just than dialogue because it demands more integrity of the source and recognizes the freedom and individuality of the source. The type of communication, such as dialogue or dissemination, is less important than the mutual discovery of truth. Reconciliation, a new model of public relations, is proposed as an alternative to pure dialogue. Reconciliation recognizes and values individuality and differences, and integrity is no longer sacrificed at the altar of agreement

Electronics systems test laboratory testing of shuttle communications systems

Shuttle communications and tracking systems space to space and space to ground compatibility and performance evaluations are conducted in the NASA Johnson Space Center Electronics Systems Test Laboratory (ESTL). This evaluation is accomplished through systems verification/certification tests using orbiter communications hardware in conjunction with other shuttle communications and tracking external elements to evaluate end to end system compatibility and to verify/certify that overall system performance meets program requirements before manned flight usage. In this role, the ESTL serves as a multielement major ground test facility. The ESTL capability and program concept are discussed. The system test philosophy for the complex communications channels is described in terms of the major phases. Results of space to space and space to ground systems tests are presented. Several examples of the ESTL's unique capabilities to locate and help resolve potential problems are discussed in detail

Resonance enhanced turbulent transport

The effect of oscillatory shear flows on turbulent transport of passive scalar fields is studied by numerical computations based on the results provided by E. Kim [Physics of Plasmas 13, 022308 (2006)] . Turbulent diffusion is found to depend crucially on the competition between suppression due to shearing and enhancement due to resonances, depending on the characteristic time and length scales of shear flow and turbulence. Enhancements in transport occur for turbulence with finite memory time either due to Doppler or parametric resonances. Scalings of turbulence amplitude and transport are provided in different parameter spaces. The results suggest that oscillatory shear flows are not only less efficient in regulating turbulence, but also can enhance the value of turbulent diffusion, accelerating turbulent transport

The Effect of Different Methods of Handling Chicken Manure on the Viability of Weed Seed

It is well known that weeds spread and are perpetuated by means of seed and vegetative reproduction. The seeds in turn are spread by various agencies such as wind, water, animals and man. These agencies are aided by especially adapted seed mechanisms for dissemination

The prevalence of medical reasons for non-participation in the Scottish breast and bowel cancer screening programmes

Objective: Increasing uptake of cancer screening is a priority for health systems internationally, however, some patients may not attend because they are undergoing active treatment for the cancer of interest or have other medical reasons that mean participation would be inappropriate. This study aims to quantify the proportion of non-participants who have a medical reason for not attending cancer screening.<p></p> Methods: Medical reasons for not participating in breast and bowel screening were defined a priori on the basis of a literature review and expert opinion. The notes of 700 patients at two GP practices in Scotland were reviewed, to ascertain the prevalence of medical reasons amongst non-participants. Simple proportions and confidence intervals were calculated.<p></p> Results: 17.4% of breast and 2.3% of bowel screening non-participants had a medical reason to not participate. The two most common reasons were previous breast cancer follow up (8.86%) and recent mammogram (6.57%).<p></p> Conclusion: These patients may not benefit from screening while also being distressed by receiving an invitation. This issue also makes accurate monitoring and target-setting for improving uptake difficult. Further work is needed to estimate robustly the extent to which medical reasons account for screening non-participation in a larger population.<p></p&gt

Microarray Analysis of Bacterial Gene Expression: Towards the Regulome

Microarray technology allows co-regulated genes to be identified. In order to identify genes that are controlled by specific regulators, gene expression can be compared in mutant and wild-type bacteria. However, there are a number of pitfalls with this approach; in particular, the regulator may not be active under the conditions in which the wild-type strain is cultured. Once co-regulated genes have been identified, proteinbinding motifs can be identified. By combining these data with a map of promoters, or operons (the operome), the regulatory networks in the cell (the regulome) can start to be built up

Factors that Influence Marital Satisfaction in Couples Raising a Child with Cerebral Palsy

This study examined factors that influence marital satisfaction in couples raising a child with cerebral palsy. The theoretical frameworks for this study were drawn from family systems theory and the social ecology model. Twenty-eight married couples raising a child between the ages of 3-17 years, with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy, comprised the sample for this study. Participants were classified as raising a child who is mildly/moderately or severely impaired by cerebral palsy. Participants were recruited through referrals of professionals working in local organizations that provide services and support for persons with disabilities and their families. Data were analyzed using correlation, and two-tailed 1 tests. Analysis was based on the following research question: To what extent is the marital satisfaction of couples raising a child between the ages of 3-17 years with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy influenced by couple cohesion and adaptability, individual coping style, and sources of family and community support? Statistical analysis revealed that for most couples, cohesion and adaptability as measured by FACES II were associated with higher levels of marital satisfaction. For wives, Coping Style I: Maintaining Family Interaction, Cooperation, and an Optimistic Definition of the Situation as measured by the Coping Health Inventory for Parents was found to be positively associated with their marital satisfaction. Husband \u27s coping style was not found to be significantly and positively correlated with their level of marital satisfaction. Analysis of family and community support were not performed due to low alpha reliabilities for both husbands and wives on the Family Support Scale, and the failure of its subscales to hold together. Bivariate correlations of the severity of the child \u27s disability with the parent\u27s level of marital satisfaction were nonsignificant for both husbands and wives. Findings from this study support the notion that marital satisfaction in couples with a child with cerebral palsy may be enhanced by couple cohesion and adaptability. Wives who cope by strengthening family life and relationships, and who have a positive outlook on liFe may also experience greater levels of marital satisfaction. Future research with larger samples of couples is needed to replicate these findings

The rehabilitative value of sub-economic housing as illustrated by Schauder Township, Port Elizabeth, Cape Province, Union of South Africa, 1938-1948

[From Introductory discussion]. The modern approach to any sociological problem is characterised by the attempt to analyse the contributory factors in such a way that their inter-active association is clearly discernible. The simple concept of "single cause and effect" is now recognised to be a traversity of social fact. Social Pathology, therefore, may be said to attempt to isolate the multiple factors involved in a given situation, and to endeavour to determine thelr mode of inter-action in order that remedial techniques may be applied effectively. Slum conditions are obviously pathologic, by which it is understood that the environment imposes strains upon the individual to which there is ineffective adjustment. The rehabilitation of such a population would involve the converse process, restoring individuals to a condition where they are able to cope in every respect with the demands of life at their respective class levels. It is very rare indeed that only a single factor is involved in a social pathological condition and for this reason it is quite possible that one- sided efforts at rehabilitation - such as the attempt to re-house ALL slum dwellers in sub-economic houses - have a tendency to increase the pathology in another direction. Rehabilitation must therefore be based on multi-factorial analysis in which allowance is, as far as possible, made for the inter-connection of each of the individual deviations from the normal. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the effect of good housing conditions on the 2335 Coloured slum families re-housed in sub-economic houses at Schauder Township, Port Elizabeth, from the time that these houses were first available for occupancy