A flood of communications in a drought: a frame analysis of the City of Cape Town's communications during the 2017-2018 water crisis

Like many other urban areas around the world, Cape Town, South Africa relies on governmental management authorities to ensure water supply. Recently, a three year drought from 2015 to 2018 caused a major water shortage, threatening water supply to the city. In response, the City engaged in multiple mitigation efforts, amongst which was a major communications campaign to inform the public and encourage conservation behaviour. Drawing on literature on water crisis management and framing theory, this thesis analyses how the water crisis was framed in communications made available online by the City of Cape Town (CCT) to the public between March 2017 and March 2018. To answer this question, the project adopted a frames study approach to determine the types and characteristics of communication items released by the City of Cape Town, as the water managing authority, during the recent water crisis. The study established that a range of frames were employed by the CCT in communicating the drought. Through an analysis of the trends in the framing of the water crisis messages the study further identified the shifts in framing and messaging throughout the water crisis response period. Six key frames were identified, namely ‘the City success story'; ‘obscurity and ambiguity'; ‘consumption is key'; ‘the situation is controllable'; ‘together we can beat the drought'; and ‘us versus them'. It was found that while there may have been a lack of strategic planning regarding public communications which resulted in conflated messages, the City's communications campaign was nonetheless effective in that it correlated with a significant drop in private – individual and household – water consumption which delayed Day Zero (when water supply would be cut-off and daily water rations would only be available at collection points for the public). The key implication of this study is that despite contradictions, idiosyncrasies and lack of planning, a heterogenous range of messages in communicating a crisis can reach and evoke appropriate responses from multiple audiences of the public

Frequency Agile OFDM System for Radio Communication in High Frequency Bands

High Frequency (HF) radio communication existed as the primary source of over-the-horizon communication for decades prior to the wide implementation of satellite and cellular networks. Even today, should satellite communication become unavailable, the robust backup of HF vitally supports long distance data transmission without the need of a cellular infrastructure. This capability is of particular importance to naval applications while at sea. Frequency choice, however, becomes critical in supporting reliable HF communication as too high of a frequency will not return to earth and too low of a frequency will result in high absorption rates within the atmosphere. A potential solution to explore is to use Software Defined Radio to implement dynamic frequency assignment at regular intervals based on predictive modeling software. Once the optimal frequency is selected and available bandwidth determined, additional parameters can then be optimized to support high data rate reliable transmissions. To overcome the turbulent atmospheric conditions within the atmosphere as bandwidth is increased, we study implementation of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) to enable a multichannel approach to support the available bandwidth. The concept of applying cognitive radio as sensors become available is also introduced for future implementation

Discourses of cinematic culture and the Hollywood director :the development of Christopher Nolan's auteur persona

PhD ThesisThis thesis examines how the concept of the auteur functions in contemporary Hollywood film industry and popular culture through a consideration of extra-textual components of cinematic discourse. By analysing a director’s films along with the industrial and cultural factors surrounding those films, a method for understanding contemporary auteurism in Hollywood is presented. Case study Christopher Nolan has earned a reputation as a director who produces films which are critical and popular successes and also reveal stylistic and thematic consistency across genre and industrial contexts. Building on ideas from Michel Foucault and Timothy Corrigan, this thesis adapts the ideas of the author function and the commercial auteur to examine how Nolan’s auteur persona is developed and used by industry and audiences in understanding his films. Drawing on a hybrid theoretical framework incorporating auteur, star, and reception studies as well as post-structuralist theories on authorship, this thesis analyses how Nolan’s auteur persona is constructed across a range of texts, but especially through DVD extras (official discourse), professional reviews (critical discourse), and responses from the general public (audience discourse). The analysis exposes the mechanisms within the discursive surround which create a distinct auteur persona that helps differentiate Nolan and his films in the marketplace. The research demonstrates that the auteur is an enduring and dynamic concept that is prevalent through all aspects of film culture including in the films, but also from production to critical reviews to audience discussion. Furthermore, due to technological changes, audience discourse plays an increasingly active role in shaping the auteur persona, often adapting the auteur concept to negotiate meanings for films. Ultimately the auteur persona acts as a way to understand not only how the auteur concept functions in cinema to organise economic, artistic, and cultural conditions, but also how film knowledge is developed intertextually in contemporary culture by varied audiences

Quality of Systematic Reviews of Treatment Studies in Neurogenic Communication Disorders

To support evidence based clinical practice, efforts have been initiated to complete systematic reviews of the treatment literature. We searched the literature for systematic reviews of treatment research in neurogenic communication disorders and evaluated the quality of those reviews for 27 criteria (Auperin et al., 1997). Two examiners coded 15 studies identified (6 aphasia, 6 dysarthria, 3 apraxia of speech). Reviews tended to provide good information pertaining to study identification and description. Weaknesses across reviews involved lack of statistical analyses and methods to avoid selection bias. Results of our study suggest ways to improve the quality of future systematic reviews

An Implicit Theory of Self-Esteem: The Consequences of Perceived Self-Esteem for Romantic Desirability

The provision of information appears to be an important property of self-esteem as evidenced by previous research concerning the status-tracking and status-signaling models of self-esteem. The present studies examine whether there is an implicit theory of self-esteem that leads individuals to assume targets with higher levels of self-esteem possess more desirable characteristics than those with lower levels of self-esteem. Across 6 studies, targets with ostensibly higher levels of self-esteem were generally rated as more attractive and as more desirable relationship partners than those with lower levels of self-esteem. It is important to note, however, that this general trend did not consistently emerge for female targets. Rather, female targets with high self-esteem were often evaluated less positively than those with more moderate levels of self-esteem. The present findings are discussed in the context of an extended informational model of self-esteem consisting of both the status-tracking and status-signaling properties of self-esteem

Facilitating a “Last Class Workshop” – A tool for course evaluation and evolution

Recognizing that the last session of class at the end of term is often not very materially productive, we searched for a way to make this last class meaningful and functional. In this presentation, we describe our implementation of and research surrounding a workshop oriented towards obtaining real-time course evaluations, and driving course evolution (Bleicher, 2011). During this session we will describe models of the “Last Class Workshop” for in-person learning as well as both synchronous and asynchronous online learning environments, alongside data speaking to its success in these environments (Styles & Polvi 2022). We will describe the preparative work required of students and instructors. The success of the “Last Class Workshop” depends on the openness of the facilitator to accepting feedback of all types, and on the active engagement and deliberate self-reflection of students (Bovill et al., 2011, Pintrich, 2004), and much of the preparation before the session is oriented towards appropriately framing it for success in these areas. We’ll invite the audience to participate in a mock mini-workshop to illustrate the dynamics and utility of this tool. Fundamentally, the “Last Class Workshop” is built on the idea that the students themselves are the best source of constructive critique, innovative adaptations, and meaningful updates in a course. It is not difficult to implement, has a noticeable impact on participants, and can provide transformative feedback. This research was approved by the University of Toronto Research Ethics Board Protocol #42582 and #40718

Why are childless women childless? Findings from an exploratory study in Victoria, Australia

Childlessness in Australia is increasing yet there is limited research exploring women&rsquo;s reasons for childlessness. Previous research has typically examined&nbsp;childlessness within the context of fertility rather than childlessness itself. The limited&nbsp;research that has moved beyond looking at involuntary childlessness has labelled women with a type of childlessness during recruitment rather than exploring women&rsquo;s reasons for childlessness as a part of the research process.&nbsp;The aim of this&nbsp;mixed methods exploratory study (n = 50) was to describe women&rsquo;s reasons for childlessness. Findings indicate that almost half of the women did not wish to have children. Reasons for childlessness included: having never wanted to have children; having never been in the &lsquo;right&rsquo; relationship; and being in a relationship where the partner did not want to have children. The findings provide insight into women&rsquo;s&nbsp;reasons for childlessness, how they feel about their decision, circumstance and&nbsp;position as a woman in a pronatalist society.</div

Experiences of women with ovarian cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic: Examining intolerance of uncertainty and fear of COVID-19 in relation to psychological distress

Purpose: Our research aimed to examine the role of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) in psychological distress (PD) among women with ovarian cancer. Fear of COVID-19 (FCOV) was examined as a mediator, and participant health status and the reopening status of their geographic region were examined as moderators. Design: A cross-sectional quantitative design was employed. Participants: Participants (n ¼ 100) were recruited through various online sources and completed the study via Qualtrics. Methods: Moderated mediation models and post-hoc linear regression analyses were used to determine the role of predictor variables in PD. Results: No significant moderators or mediators were found. Despite a strong correlation between FCOV and IU, both variables explained unique variance in the anxiety and stress models, while FCOV was not significant in the depressive symptoms model. Implications for Providers: Both IU and FCOV should be considered in helping women with ovarian cancer manage their PD during the COVID-19 pandemic

Quiero un perrito

Victoria Rodrigo, PhD- Serie Leamos’ EditorProfessor of Spanish World Languages and Cultures DepartmentGeorgia State Universityhttps://scholarworks.gsu.edu/wcl_leamos/1015/thumbnail.jp

Prevalence of suspected poor bone health in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - A cross-sectional exploratory study

Background: Compared to the general population, adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have an increased prevalence of osteoporosis. Despite the known risk factors and potential complications of compromised bone health in COPD, little is known about whether poor bone health is routinely suspected. We measured, in people with COPD, the prevalence of those who had one or more indicators suggestive of suspected poor bone health, and compared the characteristics of those with versus without these indicators. Methods: Data were collected from adults with COPD presenting to three tertiary hospitals. Indicators of suspected poor bone health were defined as any of the following criteria: (i) self-reported problems with bone health, (ii) previous imaging for bone health, (iii) history of fragility fracture or, (iv) advised to use medication/supplements to optimise bone health. Characteristics compared between those with versus without indicators of suspected poor bone health comprised age, sex, body mass index (BMI), FEV1% predicted and recruitment setting. Results: 361 participants were included (age 70 ± 10, BMI 27.9 ± 7.8 kg/m2, FEV1 % predicted 49 ± 20; 161 [45 %] female). Indicators suggestive of suspected poor bone health were present in 53 % (95 % confidence interval [CI] 47-58) of the participants. The odds of this outcome increased with advancing age (odds ratio; OR [95 % CI] 1.05 [1.03 to 1.08]) and being female (OR [95 % CI] 3.4 [2.2 to 5.7]) . Conclusion: In people with COPD, the odds of having indicators suggestive of suspected poor bone health increase with advancing age and in females. Further work is required to promote the importance of bone health in this population