Discourses of positionality and the challenges of democratization in the global south: The case of Nepal and Cameroon

In this article, we argue that to conceptually and empirically grasp the dynamics and challenges of processes of civic participation, i.e., the deliberation and empowerment of disenfranchised and marginalized populations in the Global South, communication for social change scholars need to pay more attention to three issues: the quality of citizens’ self-perceptions in relation to their local milieu, inter-citizen perceptions and relations at the local level and lastly, the attendant consequences of these on citizens’ sense of efficacy. To grasp and comprehend the interplay of these three issues, we propose the adoption of Floya Anthias’ concept of narratives of location and positionality and demonstrate the heuristic vitality of this notion through a discussion of some local discourses of positionality in Nepal and Cameroon

Video Streaming using Message Accelerator

Virtual Network Computing or VNC is a largely used client application for accessing ?les and applications on remote computers. When there is high latency between the client and the server, VNC can undergo from major losses in throughput. These losses become obvious in the case of video, where updates are both large and continuous. Message Accelerator proxy for VNC is simple but highly effective solution for video performance while maintaining the advantages of a client-pull system. By operating on the server, it sends updates to the client at a rate corresponding to proxy-server interactions which are quicker than client-server interactions. When testing using video, our Message Accelerator design results in frame rates superior than plain VNC when running under high latency circumstances. Message Accelerator uses the pipelining system for updating the frames, which increases its performance to a great extent. Message Accelerator here is not a hardware part but software that we have to just apply in our video streaming program. DOI: 10.17762/ijritcc2321-8169.160413

Stimulated emission and time-resolved photoluminescence in rf-sputtered ZnO thin films

Stimulated emission (SE) was measured from ZnOthin filmsgrown on c-plane sapphire by rf sputtering. Free exciton transitions were clearly observed at 10 K in the photoluminescence(PL), transmission, and reflection spectra of the sample annealed at 950 °C. SE resulting from both exciton-exciton scattering and electron hole plasma formation was observed in the annealed samples at moderate excitation energy densities. The SE threshold energy density decreased with increasing annealing temperature up to ∼950 °C. The observation of low threshold exciton-exciton scattering-induced SE showed that excitonic laser action could be obtained in rf-sputtered ZnOthin films. At excitation densities below the SE threshold, time-resolvedPL revealed very fast recombination times of ∼74 ps at room temperature, and no significant change at 85 K. The decay time for the SE-induced PL was below the system resolution of \u3c45 ps

Patient empowerment, eating behaviours and illness control: pre-post outcomes from DWELL delivery in UK and France

Diabetes self-management programmes can improve clinical and healthy lifestyle outcomes. Research has demonstrated that improved engagement with type 2 diabetes (T2D) care is associated with greater empowerment beliefs and a perceived internal control over their illness. As part of the DWELL evaluation study, an interim subset of 139 participants in the UK and 53 participants in France were assessed pre- and post-intervention on measures of weight, BMI, waist circumference and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), as well as self-efficacy beliefs (DES-SF), healthy eating behaviours (DEBQ) and perceptions of illness (IPQ-R). Pre-post comparisons in both countries demonstrated statistically significant decreases in weight (UK: Z = 6.71, p<.001, FR: Z = 3.33, p<.05), BMI (UK: Z = 6.70, p<.001, FR: Z = 3.21, p<.05), waist circumference (UK: Z = 6.71, p<.001, FR: Z = 3.24, p<.05) ,and HbA1c (UK: Z = 6.29, p<.001, FR: Z = 4.18, p <.001). Importantly, participation in the DWELL programme was associated with increased self-efficacy beliefs (UK: Z = 5.63, p<.001, FR: Z = 5.54, p<.001), greater perceived personal control over their diabetes (UK: Z = 3.17, p<.05, FR: Z = 2.20, p<.05), reduced negative feelings about their illness (UK: Z = 3.01, p <.05, FR: Z = 2.19, p<.05) and decreased eating in response to external food cues (UK: Z = 3.79, p<.001, FR: Z = 2.34, p<.05). In the UK, participants also reported an increased optimism for treatment control of their diabetes (Z = 3.06, p <.05) and for their long-term prognosis (Z = 1.99, p<.05). These preliminary findings support the efficacy of the DWELL programme in improving diabetes-related biomedical outcomes, as well as improvements in patient empowerment, healthy eating habits and increased perceived illness control. Further analysis, available at a later date, will include a larger sample of participants, including longitudinal data with follow-ups six- and 12- months post participation in the DWELL programme

Excitonic fine structure and recombination dynamics in single-crystalline ZnO

The optical properties of a high quality bulk ZnO, thermally post treated in a forming gas environment are investigated by temperature dependent continuous wave and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) measurements. Several bound and free exciton transitions along with their first excited states have been observed at low temperatures, with the main neutral-donor-bound exciton peak at 3.3605 eV having a linewidth of 0.7 meV and dominating the PL spectrum at 10 K. This bound exciton transition was visible only below 150 K, whereas the A-free exciton transition at 3.3771 eV persisted up to room temperature. A-free exciton binding energy of 60 meV is obtained from the position of the excited states of the free excitons. Additional intrinsic and extrinsic fine structures such as polariton, two-electron satellites, donor-acceptor pair transitions, and longitudinal optical-phonon replicas have also been observed and investigated in detail. Time-resolved PL measurements at room temperature reveal a biexponential decay behavior with typical decay constants of similar to170 and similar to864 ps for the as-grown sample. Thermal treatment is observed to increase the carrier lifetimes when performed in a forming gas environment

A comprehensive review of ZnO materials and devices

The semiconductor ZnO has gained substantial interest in the research community in part because of its large exciton binding energy (60 meV) which could lead to lasing action based on exciton recombination even above room temperature. Even though research focusing on ZnO goes back many decades, the renewed interest is fueled by availability of high-quality substrates and reports of p-type conduction and ferromagnetic behavior when doped with transitions metals, both of which remain controversial. It is this renewed interest in ZnO which forms the basis of this review. As mentioned already, ZnO is not new to the semiconductor field, with studies of its lattice parameter dating back to 1935 by Bunn [Proc. Phys. Soc. London 47, 836 (1935)], studies of its vibrational properties with Raman scattering in 1966 by Damen et al. [Phys. Rev.142, 570 (1966)], detailed optical studies in 1954 by Mollwo [Z. Angew. Phys.6, 257 (1954)], and its growth by chemical-vapor transport in 1970 by Galli and Coker [Appl. Phys. Lett.16, 439 (1970)]. In terms of devices, Au Schottky barriers in 1965 by Mead [Phys. Lett.18, 218 (1965)], demonstration of light-emitting diodes (1967) by Drapak [Semiconductors 2, 624 (1968)], in which Cu2O was used as the p-type material, metal-insulator-semiconductor structures (1974) by Minami et al. [Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.13, 1475 (1974)], ZnO∕ZnSe n-p junctions (1975) by Tsurkan et al. [Semiconductors 6, 1183 (1975)], and Al∕Au Ohmic contacts by Brillson [J. Vac. Sci. Technol.15, 1378 (1978)] were attained. The main obstacle to the development of ZnO has been the lack of reproducible and low-resistivity p-type ZnO, as recently discussed by Look and Claflin [Phys. Status Solidi B241, 624 (2004)]. While ZnO already has many industrial applications owing to its piezoelectric properties and band gap in the near ultraviolet, its applications to optoelectronic devices has not yet materialized due chiefly to the lack of p-type epitaxial layers. Very high quality what used to be called whiskers and platelets, the nomenclature for which gave way to nanostructures of late, have been prepared early on and used to deduce much of the principal properties of this material, particularly in terms of optical processes. The suggestion of attainment of p-type conductivity in the last few years has rekindled the long-time, albeit dormant, fervor of exploiting this material for optoelectronic applications. The attraction can simply be attributed to the large exciton binding energy of 60 meV of ZnO potentially paving the way for efficient room-temperature exciton-based emitters, and sharp transitions facilitating very low threshold semiconductor lasers. The field is also fueled by theoretical predictions and perhaps experimental confirmation of ferromagnetism at room temperature for potential spintronics applications. This review gives an in-depth discussion of the mechanical, chemical, electrical, and optical properties of ZnO in addition to the technological issues such as growth, defects, p-type doping, band-gap engineering, devices, and nanostructures

4H–SiC photoconductive switching devices for use in high-power applications

Siliconcarbide is a wide-band-gapsemiconductor suitable for high-power high-voltage devices and it has excellent properties for use in photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSSs). PCSS were fabricated as planar structures on high-resistivity 4H–SiC and tested at dc bias voltages up to 1000 V. The typical maximum photocurrent of the device at 1000 V was about 49.4 A. The average on-state resistance and the ratio of on-state to off-state currents were about 20 Ω and 3×1011, respectively. Photoconductivity pulse widths for all applied voltages were 8–10 ns. These excellent results are due in part to the removal of the surface damage by high-temperature H2 etching and surface preparation. Atomic force microscopy images revealed that very good surface morphology, atomic layer flatness, and large step width were achieved

Ways to Improve Uptake of Tier 2 Weight Management Programmes in BAME Communities in Medway: A Qualitative Study

Overweight and obesity is usually determined by Body Mass Index (BMI). Twelve BAME adults participated in the interviews: six were female, ten were first-generation migrants, three were retirees, none lived with a disability, and all were concerned about their excess weight. There were four themes from the data and eight subthemes obtained. To improve the uptake of the weight management service provided in Medway, the participants recommended the use of strategies such as indigenous food labelling, BAME-led clinics, the use of translated leaflets, the recruitment of local weight management champions, better coordination of services, appropriate communication strategies, and further research. This study investigated a small sample of English-speaking participants, which may not represent all people from BAME backgrounds in Medway and across the United Kingdom (UK). This study investigated the perspectives of residents who are overweight or obese, as well as weight management concerns among ethnically diverse adults. It also investigated how to increase the use of weight management services in Medway, England. In Medway, 69.2% of adults are living with overweight or obesity, which is considerably higher than the national average of 62%. Indigenous food labelling, BAME-led clinics, the use of translated leaflets, the recruitment of local weight management champions, better coordination of services, appropriate communication strategies, and further research are essential ingredients that can be used to improve access to and uptake of weight management programmes in BAME communities