The Utilization of Social Media: A Case Study of the U.S. General Services Administration Experience

With 73 percent of people 18 and older actively using social media, it is becoming a mainstream method of communication for the American public (Lenhart et al. 2010, 18). If the government wants to effectively engage the public, it must leverage this opportunity. There is an apparent need for the government to keep up with the media shift by incorporating the use of social media into its traditional communication methods. Social networking sites have offered a way for the government and the public to engage each other in a two-way communication because they allow interaction among users. If the government effectively uses social media to reach out to the public, its efforts could better address the public interest, learn from the community, and improve relationships. This case study uses Murdough’s (2009) social media metrics and construct to examine the social media program that was implemented in Region 4 of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). Data from the region’s primary Twitter account were measured to determine if the region is effectively reaching and engaging its target audience, which are the American public and federal employees. Overall, the results from this case study reveal the region’s progress thus far. The study also discusses strengths and weaknesses of the current program. While the analysis provides recommendations for the region’s social media program to better serve its audience, the findings from this study serve as a benchmark

Mapping steps along a pathway to evaluate an experiential transdisciplinary approach to professional learning for ecological researchers

The workshop “Cammino di Feudozzo” is a step of a constant research of constructing new ways “to be a researcher” and communicating Ecology. The path of this experience focused on an experiential approach, fit to reinforce and develop plural, relational systemic perspectives, and on a participative observation good to bring out both a collective vision and personal experience. The workshop has been an opportunity for the participants to face different languages and narrations, ways of dialoguing; to welcome points of view of other people; to practice manifold glances. The workshop holistic approach invested also the participants’ attitudes towards social relationships. New perspectives, critical thoughts and visions about more participative processes were fostered by the exploration of physical and emotional experiences which revealed the limits of “being a scientist”. As a consequence the evaluation pathways and strategies required new objectives and a research approach, owing to the uniqueness of this workshop experiences. The fields of evaluation focused on the participants’ beliefs, posture towards the workshop experiences and mainly on the changes of ideas, attitudes, interests, ways of dialoguing and communicating. This paper refers about some general evaluation elements and comments, but also some remarkable evidences of self-evaluation by the participants. All the evaluation issues offer the chance to meditate about the doubts and perplexity of the “researchers under pressure” and their searching for innovative models, languages and narrations

Effects of Ylang ylang essential oil on physiological and socio- psychological variables in females

Thesis (M. Tech.(Somatology)) - Central University of Technology, Free state, 2013The role of the modern woman has drastically altered within the last 20 years. Aiming to find a balance and adequate time to address both family and work demands requires fine planning and compromise, most likely leading to a woman who is overstressed, fatigued, impatient and anxious. A fatigued body, induced by stress overload, may result in an elevation in blood pressure, pulse rate and breathing rate. These physiological alterations may predispose individuals to cardiovascular disease and a compromised immune system. Currently, the dynamics between physiological changes within the body and the influence of aromatherapy essential oils are not well defined or researched. Limited information is available to explain the influence of aromatherapy essential oils as a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) on female physiological parameters, specifically blood pressure, pulse rate and breathing rate. The aim of the research study firstly was to evaluate the physiological alterations in the female human body in response to aromatherapy Ylang ylang essential oil, and secondly, to determine the perceptions regarding the physiological and psychological abilities of the participants upon completion of the treatment course. The outcome of this study will contribute to the scientific knowledge of aromatherapy essential oils as a CAM therapy. A single blind, experimental case-control study design was followed. This research study recruited 36 voluntary female participants from the Bloemfontein area between the ages of 20 and 45 years. The 36 participants were divided equally into group A and B. Group A commenced with the face control (carrier oil only), followed by three face experimental treatments (Ylang ylang essential oil blend). Thereafter, the back control was conducted, followed by three back experimental treatments. Similarly, group B commenced with three back experimental treatments, followed by the back control. The three face experimental treatments followed and concluded with the face control. Demographic and post-treatment questionnaires were utilised to ascertain demographic data and any perceptive physiological and psychological changes. The blood pressure, pulse rate and breathing rate physiological parameters were measured by utilizing the Nihon Kodhen apparatus. Physical stress indicators such as elevated pulse rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and breathing rate increased during stress were reduced at a quicker rate in aromatherapy treatments where Ylang ylang essential oil was present. Dermal application of Ylang ylang essential oil produced more prominent improvements when applied to the back area, indicating that a larger absorption surface provides superior improvements in the physical parameters. Most participants perceived an improvement in stress levels, concentration levels, energy levels and self esteem levels. In general, it seems probable that Ylang ylang essential oil had a positive effect on stress and had a reductive effect on some of the physiological parameters. The topic of complementary and alternative therapies is a diverse one. Various opinions, whether justifiable or not, are possibly influencing the public domain which has become directed at CAM therapies as alternatives to conventional medicine. The most evident and probable shortcoming in CAM therapy research lies in the lack of scientific research and evidence. Thus, more research is required in order to contribute to this field of study by adding knowledge and provide a better understanding of the topic. This study has contributed to the knowledge of CAM therapies

Sexing up the international

This thesis takes sexuality as its subject matter and uses a methodology informed by postcolonial studies to explore new possibilities for thinking about the international, its construction, and its contemporary politics. I argue that postcolonial readings of sexuality can impel us to rethink the meanings and politics of international theory and to challenge notions that have come to appear fixed and unchanging. The thesis canvasses how such an intervention might occur – calling especially for a focus on the local and the everyday – and considers both the utility and the limits of the contributions sexuality might make to a rethinking of international theory. My arguments are made with reference to a series of specific examples from contemporary East and Southeast Asia: the nationalistically imbued gendered and sexed figures of the national serviceman and the Singapore Girl in Singapore; the political and social repercussions of the trial of former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on charges of sodomy; newly emerging homosexual identities in Hong Kong; and the connections between sexuality and disease that inform the Thai response to HIV/AIDS. These case studies exemplify some of the ways in which sexuality can work to recast traditional scholarly understandings of the international. They also illuminate a series of aspects that shape the encounter between sexuality and the international, encompassing issues of nationalism, globalization, metaphor, spatiality and knowledge politics. Through my analysis of these issues, I argue for a broadening out of the source materials that inform knowledge about the international and the pursuit of alternative modes of reading processes of international change and exchange. I contend that scholarship of the international needs to pay more attention to instances where the borders separating everyday, national and international spaces break down, and where we might detect new forms of knowledge about the nature, politics and functioning of the international realm

El treball en equip al CEP de Palma per a la intervenció en centres amb projectes d’innovació en competències bàsiques el curs 2010-2011

En aquest article es fa una valoració de la trajectòria seguida durant el procés d’intervenció per part de 15 assessors del CEP de Palma a 25 centres (23 de primària i 2 de secundària) durant el curs escolar 2010- 2011, tot comparant els objectius inicials amb els resultats obtinguts a través d’una avaluació del programa formatiu, i es fan propostes de millora per al futur que es resumeixen en una frase: fer més visibles les persones més invisibles dels centres: els/les alumne

A Strategy for GC/MS Quantification of Polar Compounds via their Silylated Surrogates: Silylation and Quantification of Biological Amino Acids

Substitution of polar functionalized compounds with silylated (e.g., trimethylsilylated) surrogates prior to GC/ MS analysis is a widely used analytical strategy. Calibration is a most demanding step of this strategy. In fact, a calibration function is usually acquired by converting known amounts of the pure analyte to its silylated surrogate using the same conditions employed for processing unknown samples. The cumbersome need of acquiring a new calibration function prevents, to a large extend, the possibility of modifying silylation and instrumental settings on a sample by sample basis as would be appropriate in a number of cases. The modified standard additions calibration method, suggested in this paper, overcomes this difficulty by integrating in a single analytical procedure calibration and sample analysis. Furthermore, the suggested procedure compensates for matrix effects which may be a serious source of inaccuracy and is a tool that can be used during method development in order to find the most suitable silylation conditions for a given analyte. The implementation and benefits of the modified standard additions calibration method are explored in this paper on the basis of a symbolic but enlightening experiment dealing with the very representative GC/MS quantification of biological amino acids via their trimethylsilylated derivatives

Same-Sex Parents and Their Children: Brazilian Case Law and Insights from Psychoanalysis

This Article argues that maternal and paternal functions can be performed by same-sex parents from a psychological point of view. Consequently, the legal recognition of their relationship with their children meets the principle of human dignity pursuant to the Brazilian Federal Constitution

Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) Assay by Adsorptive Cathodic Stripping Voltammetry (Adcsv) at the Hanging Mercury Drop Electrode (HMDE)

In this study the interactions of Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) with a mercury surface are investigated. Firstly, by using Cyclic Voltammetry, it is demonstrated that Riboflavin can be efficiently accumulated, by adsorption from buffered solutions containing an excess of NaClO4, onto the mercury drop of a HMDE. Secondly, it is shown that the adsorbed Riboflavin can be reduced through an electrochemical reaction whose stoichiometry is extricated by confronting simulated with experimental CV voltammograms acquired in a range of pH between about four and nine. Finally, the cathodic current, sustained by the surface reduction of Riboflavin, is exploited for assaying Riboflavin via Differential Pulse Adsorption Cathodic Stripping Voltammetry (DP AdCSV) within the frame of the standard additions calibration procedure. By applying the suggested DP AdCSV procedure with standard voltammetric equipment, typical DP settings and pre-electrolysis time of about 10 s, a linear response is maintained if Riboflavin concentration in the electrolysed solution does not exceed about 2 mg/l. On the other side, a limit of detection (expressed as the concentration of Riboflavin in the electrolysed solution) of 7 μg/l has been achieved with a pre-electrolysis time of 68 s

pH and Acid-Base Equilibrium Calculations via a Matrix Representation of Solutions of Acids and/or Bases

In this article we implement the idea of representing an aqueous solution of acids and/or bases with a matrix from which the pH and equilibrium concentrations of all species in any described solution can be extracted. Given that this matrix can be readily generated using an ad hoc MS Excel sheet, whatever pH calculation is reduced to the problem of selecting a row from the matrix by using as a guide the proton balance equation in the solution. A special scheme is presented allowing the needed proton balance relation to be derived from the specified solution data in all cases. This preserves the fundamental unity of the topic without sacrificing chemical understanding and simplicity. By consequence, the presented calculation technique is eminently suitable to be used in introductory courses as a complement, an extension or a substitute whenever the usual way of dealing with the topic (which, in general, consists in developing a menu of special cases, formulas and/or algebraic procedures) is judged insufficient. A MS Excel file named , attached to the present paper as supporting material, allows the matrix representation of any given solution to be developed in a very short time