Municipal public relations.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University Includes bibliographical references (leaf 62)

Create-A-Culture: An Experiential Approach To Cross Cultural Communication Dynamics

This small group activity uses a pseudo-simulation approach to explore dynamics of enculturation, acculturation, third culture, and diaspora and the resulting influences upon cross-cultural communication competence. All human communication contexts are influenced by perceptual patterns which, in turn, are shaped by culture-based norms and views. Furthermore, as asserted by E.T. Hall, significant linkages exist between a group’s cultural influences and its communication practices. This guided, collaborative learning exercise also draws on the inherent diversity within the students’ personal cultural backgrounds and previous culture-based studies as they work together to create new (hypothetical) co-cultural groups. Through this multi-step exercise, students “experience” the long term processes by which a group develops its culture—as manifested in its observable elements, values, and contextual sensibilities. Students are encouraged to use their imaginations as informed by their historical, geographical, and anthropological knowledge in order to consider beyond their own personal cultural realities. This activity, which can be adjusted to a wide variety of class sizes and session-lengths, accomplishes several additional pedagogical objectives, including: collaborative learning, exploration of culture-based principles, and the application of systems theory to human communication practices (input-throughput-output)

Welcome to our Special Occasion [teaching S.O. Speaking via a banquet approach]

Teaching the Special Occasion Speaking unit poses a unique challenge: to effectively cover diverse goals and contexts while providing sufficient opportunity for student presentational experience. For this activity, after completing the instruction and exposure to the key concepts and example videoclips, the instructor then distributes a banquet program handout for a hypothetical class reunion which specifies a variety of specific special occasion talks (sample included). Students are divided into pairs or small groups to create a specified speech to be delivered as part of the upcoming banquet program—to be conducted as a roleplaying activity at the end of this class session. Variations include: spreading activity over two sessions, instructor supplying newsclippings to provide speech content, and incorporating oral feedback and a second opportunity to deliver the speech. This collaborative workshop format also helps reduce communication apprehension. Although every student will not create & deliver every type of S.O. speech, every student does get hands-on experience with the basic tasks of creating a S.O. speech and with explicitly adapting to a communication context

What’s Wrong With This Slide? Helping students develop their presentation graphics skills from the inside out

As a means of enhancing students’ aesthetic awareness and skill in the creation of presentation visuals, this activity uses a small group, problem solving approach to deconstruct and then reconstruct slide show content. By grounding design choices in principles of color and visual theory and using samples of actual ineffective slides and/or of raw content from written sources, each team analyzes and devises a brief but “well-constructed” slide show by coordinating key factors (e.g. enhancement to message, adaptation to audience’s sensibilities, effective aesthetic design). Ultimately, each team reveals its creation and explains the structural, aesthetic, and software choices. This activity, which can be adjusted to a wide variety of class sizes and session-lengths, accomplishes several additional pedagogical objectives, including: collaborative learning, critical analysis, and the opportunity for practice in presenting with visual aids

Argumentation Analysis Presentation: Evaluating rhetoric-in-action

Via a small group project format, students conduct a close analysis of a persuasive message (a speech, an editorial, a position statement, etc.) Referring to models of argumentation (e.g. Toulmin [1958], Eemeren & Grootendorst [2004] , Rieke, Sillars, & Peterson [2012]), the team members work cooperatively to examine the communicator’s rhetorical choices in structuring claims, selecting data, and establishing warrants. After assessing the effectiveness of the message, each team presents its findings to the class. This activity accomplishes several additional learning objectives, including: collaborative learning, critical analysis, applied communication, reinforcement of classic rhetorical canons and/or Aristotelian forms of artistic proof, and an opportunity for student presentation

The metabolism of levulose: a consideration of analytical methods and normal tolerance

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston Universit

Microbusiness, macro-impact: capitalizing on potential

Small business

A Bayesian information criterion for singular models

We consider approximate Bayesian model choice for model selection problems that involve models whose Fisher-information matrices may fail to be invertible along other competing submodels. Such singular models do not obey the regularity conditions underlying the derivation of Schwarz's Bayesian information criterion (BIC) and the penalty structure in BIC generally does not reflect the frequentist large-sample behavior of their marginal likelihood. While large-sample theory for the marginal likelihood of singular models has been developed recently, the resulting approximations depend on the true parameter value and lead to a paradox of circular reasoning. Guided by examples such as determining the number of components of mixture models, the number of factors in latent factor models or the rank in reduced-rank regression, we propose a resolution to this paradox and give a practical extension of BIC for singular model selection problems

EU-Asia Free Trade Areas? Economic and Policy Considerations

This paper analyzes key aspects of the changing economic relationship between the European Union (EU) and Asia, and explores the potential economic ramifications of deeper EU-Asian economic cooperation. The author investigates the possible costs to the EU of remaining “disengaged” from the Asian integration process and the likely impact of multi-nested EU-Asian trade agreements. His empirical review of CGE models revealed trivial effects of several possible EU-Asian accords (e.g., EU-India, EU-ASEAN, EU-Republic of Korea). In part, this is a result of relatively small trade shares, open markets, and restrictions in the models, particularly in that they excluded behind-the-border effects. He also presents two CGE models that estimate the potential negative effects of Asian/Asia-Pacific regional accords on the EU, and likewise found small effects. Nevertheless, using a highly-disaggregated (partial-equilibrium) approach, he argues that high-quality FTAs in Asia could be quite detrimental to the EU, particularly in key sectors. The push toward a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific could be particularly worrisome to the EU. It is therefore concluded that it makes sense for the EU to be more aggressive in pursuing prospective trade agreements with Asia.asia eu economic cooperation; asia eu trade; free trade areas