Search results for: audience engagement

Authors: Ana Handel, Jamal Ellerbe, Sarah Kanzaki, Natalie White, Nathan Ousey, Sean Gallagher

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A sense of belonging is the ability for individuals to feel they are a necessary part of whatever organization or community they find themselves in. In an academic setting, a sense of belonging is key to a student’s success. The collected research points to this sense of belonging in academic settings as a significant contributor of students’ levels of engagement and trust. When universities leverage the arts, students are provided with more opportunities to engage and feel confident in their surroundings. This allows for greater potential to develop within academic and social settings. The arts also call for the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion by showcasing works of artists from all different backgrounds, thus allowing students to gain cultural knowledge and be able to embrace differences. Equity, diversity, and inclusion are all emotional facets of belonging. Equity relates to the concept of making the conscious choice to recognize opportunities to incorporate inclusive and diverse ideals into different thought processes and collaboration. Inclusion involves providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people of all ‘ingroups. In an inclusive culture, individuals are able to maximize their potential with the confidence they have gained through an accepting environment. A variety of members in academic communities have noted it may be beneficial to make certain events surrounding the arts to be built into course requirements in order to ensure students are expanding their horizons and exposing themselves to the arts. These academics also recommend incorporating the arts into extracurricular activities, such as Greek life, in order to appeal to large groups of students. Once students have an understanding of the rich knowledge cultivated through exploring the arts, they will feel more comfortable in their surroundings and thus more confident to become involved in other areas of their university. A number of universities, including West Chester and Carnegie Mellon, have instituted programs aiming to provide students with the necessary tools and resources to feel comfortable in their educational settings. Different programs include references to hotlines for discrimination and office for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Staff members have also been provided with means of combating biases and increasing feelings of belongingness in order to properly support and communicate with students. These tools have successfully allowed universities to foster inviting environments for students of all backgrounds to feel belong as well as strengthening the community’s diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through demonstrating concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion by introducing the arts into learning spaces, students can find a sense of belonging within their academic environments. It is essential to understand these topics and how they work together to achieve a common goal. The efforts of universities have made much progress in shedding light on different cultures and ideas to show students their full potential and opportunities. Once students feel more comfortable within their organizations, engagement will increase substantially.

Keywords: arts, belonging, engagement, inclusion

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Authors: Patrick Nurse, Professor Neil Sebire, Polly Livermore

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The use of digital systems in healthcare is now highly prevalent. With further advancement of technology, these systems will become increasingly utilised within the healthcare sector. Therefore understanding how clinicians (for example, doctors, nurses) interact with technology and digital systems is critical to making care safer. Seven members from the Parent/Carers’ Research Advisory Group and the Young-Persons’ Research Group at a healthcare Trust in London and three staff members contributed to an engagement workshop to assess the impact of digital systems on the practice of nurses. The group also advised on the viability of a research study to investigate this further. A wide range of issues within digital system implementation in healthcare were raised, such as ‘workarounds’, system’s training, and upkeep and regulation of usage, which all emerged as early themes during the discussion. Further discussion focused on the subject of escalation of issues, ‘workarounds’, and problem solving. While challenging to implement, digital systems are hugely beneficial to healthcare providers. The workshop indicated that there is scope for investigation of the prevalence, nature, and escalation of ‘workarounds’, this was of key interest to the advisory group. An interesting concern of the group was their worry from a patient and parental perspective regarding how nurses might feel when needing to complete a ‘workaround’ during a busy shift. This is especially relevant if the reasons to complete the ‘workaround’ were outside the nurse’s control, driven by clinical need and urgency of care. This showed the level of insight that those using healthcare services have into the reality of workflows of those providing care. Additionally, it reflects the desire for patients and families to understand more about the administration and methodology of their care. Future study should be dedicated to understanding why nurses deploy ‘workarounds’, as well as their perspective and experience of them and subsequent escalation through leadership hierarchies

Keywords: patient engagement/involvement, workarounds, medication-administration, digital systems

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Authors: Sarah Faulkner, Patrick Faulkner, Caroline Ellison

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Improved mental and physical health, community connection, and increased life satisfaction has been strongly associated with bike riding for those with and without a disability. However, much evidence suggests that people living with a disability face increased barriers to engaging in cycling compared to members of the general population. People with an intellectual disability often live more sedentary and socially isolated lives that negatively impact their mental and physical health, as well as life satisfaction. This paper is based on preliminary findings from a three-year intervention cycling project funded by the South Australian Government. The cycling project was developed in partnership with community stakeholders that provided weekly instruction, training, and support to individuals living with intellectual disabilities to increase their capacity in cycling. This project aimed to support people living with intellectual disabilities to foster and facilitate improved physical and mental health, confidence, and independence and enhance social networking through their engagement in community cycling. The program applied principles of social role valorisation (SRV) theory as its guiding framework. Preliminary data collected is based on qualitative interviews with over 50 program participants, results from two participant wellness questionnaires, as well as a perceptually regulated exercise test administered throughout the project implementation. Preliminary findings are further supplemented with ethnographic analyses by the researchers who took a phenology of life experience approach. Preliminary findings of the program suggest a variety of social motivations behind participants' desire to learn cycling that acknowledges previous barriers to engagement and cycling’s role to address feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Meaningful health benefits can be achieved as demonstrated by increases in predicted V02 max measures, suggesting that physical intervention can not only improve physical health outcomes but also provide a variety of other social benefits. Initial engagement in the project has demonstrated an increase in participants' sense of confidence, well-being, and physical fitness. Implementation of the project in partnership with a variety of community stakeholders has identified a number of critical factors and processes necessary for future service replication, sustainability, and success. Findings from this intervention study contribute to the development of a knowledge base on how best to support individuals living with an intellectual disability to partake in bike riding and increase positive outcomes associated with their capacity building, social interaction, increased physical activity, physical health, and mental well-being. The initial findings of this study provide critical academic insights into the social and physical benefits of cycling for people living with a disability, as well as practical advice for future human service applications.

Keywords: cycling, disability, social inclusion, capacity building

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Authors: Serafino Di Rosario

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ReS is a sustainable hand-built temporary acoustic shell, developed since 2011 and built during the architectural workshop at Villa Pennisi in Musica in Acireale, Sicily, each year since 2012. The design concept aims to provide a portable structure by reducing the on-site construction problems and the skills required by the builders together with maximizing the acoustic performance for the audience and the musicians. The shell is built using only wood, recycled for the most part, and can be built and dismantled by non-specialized workers in just three days. This paper describes the research process, which spans over four years and presents the final results in form of acoustic simulations performed by acoustic modeling software and real world measurements. ReS is developed by the ReS team who has been presented with the Peter Lord Award in 2015 by the Institute of Acoustics in the UK.

Keywords: acoustic shell, outdoor natural amplification, computational design, room acoustics

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Authors: Seema Dutt Bandhu, Yashi Bansal, Tania Moudgil, Barinder Kaur

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Introduction: Scleral perforation during the passage of suture needle is a known complication of strabismus surgery. The present study was conducted to evolve a safe and easy technique of passing the suture needle through the sclera. A scleral tunnel was created with a 26-guage needle through which the suture needle was passed. The rest of the steps of strabismus surgery were carried out as usual. Material and Methods: After taking clearance from the Institutional Ethics Committee, an interventional study was carried out on twenty patients. The scleral tunnel technique was performed on the patients of strabismus after taking written informed consent. Before passing the suture needle through the sclera during strabismus surgery, a tunnel through approximately half the thickness of the sclera was created with the help of a bent 26-gauge needle. The suture needle was then passed through this tunnel. Rest of the steps of the surgery were carried out in the conventional manner. In a control group of same number of patients, the surgery was performed in the conventional method. Both the groups were followed up for any complications. Ease of passing suture and surgeons’ satisfaction with the technique was noted on a 10-point Likert scale. Results: None of the patients in either group suffered from any complications. Four surgeons participated in the study. The average Likert scale score of the surgeons for satisfaction with the technique was 4.5 on a scale of 5. The score for ease of passage of suture needle was 5 on a score of 5. Discussion: Scleral perforation during passing the sutures through the sclera is a known complication of strabismus surgery. Incidence reported is 7.8% It occurs due to inappropriate engagement of the scleral tissue or passage of the suture needle along a wrong axis during the process of passing the suture needle. The needle track technique eases the passage of passing the suture needle through the sclera as the engagement of the scleral tissue can be done with greater control with a 26-guage needle. The surgeons have reported that they are highly satisfied with the technique and they have reported that the technique eased the passage of the suture needle through the sclera.

Keywords: suture, scleral tunnel, strabismus, scleral perforation

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Authors: M. Shukry

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According to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, every human being is entitled to rights in life that should be respected by others and protected by the state and community. Such rights are inherent regardless of colour, ethnicity, gender, religion or otherwise, and it is expected that all humans alike have the right to live without discrimination of any sort. However, that has not been the case with Aborigines in Australia. Over a long period of time, the governments of the State and the Territories and the Australian Commonwealth denied the Aboriginal and Indigenous inhabitants of the Torres Strait Islands such rights. Past Australian governments set policies and laws that enabled them to forcefully remove Indigenous children from their parents, which resulted in creating lost generations living the trauma of the loss of cultural identity, alienation and even their own selfhood. Intending to reduce that population of natives and their Aboriginal culture while, on the other hand, assimilate them into mainstream society, they gave themselves the right to remove them from their families with no hope of return. That practice has led to tragic consequences due to the trauma that has affected those children, an experience that is depicted by Jane Harrison in her play Stolen. The drama is the outcome of a six-year project on lost children and which was first performed in 1997 in Melbourne. Five actors only appear on the stage, playing the role of all the different characters, whether the main protagonists or the remaining cast, present or non-present ones as voices. The play outlines the life of five children who have been taken from their parents at an early age, entailing a disastrous negative impact that differs from one to the other. Unknown to each other, what connects between them is being put in a children’s home. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the play’s text in light of the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights, using it as a lens that reflects the atrocities practiced against the Aborigines. It highlights how such practices formed an outrageous violation of those natives’ rights as human beings. Harrison’s dramatic technique in conveying the children’s experiences is through a non-linear structure, fluctuating between past and present that are linked together within each of the five characters, reflecting their suffering and pain to create an emotional link between them and the audience. Her dramatic handling of the issue by fusing tragedy with humour as well as symbolism is a successful technique in revealing the traumatic memory of those children and their present life. The play has made a difference in commencing to address the problem of the right of all children to be with their families, which renders the real meaning of having a home and an identity as people.

Keywords: aboriginal, audience, Australia, children, culture, drama, home, human rights, identity, Indigenous, Jane Harrison, memory, scenic effects, setting, stage, stage directions, Stolen, trauma

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Authors: Camilla Elphick, Graham Hole, Samuel Hutton, Graham Pike

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Pupil size has been found to change irrespective of luminosity, suggesting that it can be used to make inferences about cognitive processes, such as cognitive load. To see whether identifying a target requires a different cognitive load to rejecting distractors, the effect of viewing a target (compared with viewing distractors) on pupil size was investigated using a sequential video lineup procedure with two lineup sessions. Forty one participants were chosen randomly via the university. Pupil sizes were recorded when viewing pre target distractors and post target distractors and compared to pupil size when viewing the target. Overall, pupil size was significantly larger when viewing the target compared with viewing distractors. In the first session, pupil size changes were significantly different between participants who identified the target (Hits) and those who did not. Specifically, the pupil size of Hits reduced significantly after viewing the target (by 26%), suggesting that cognitive load reduced following identification. The pupil sizes of Misses (who made no identification) and False Alarms (who misidentified a distractor) did not reduce, suggesting that the cognitive load remained high in participants who failed to make the correct identification. In the second session, pupil sizes were smaller overall, suggesting that cognitive load was smaller in this session, and there was no significant difference between Hits, Misses and False Alarms. Furthermore, while the frequency of Hits increased, so did False Alarms. These two findings suggest that the benefits of including a second session remain uncertain, as the second session neither provided greater accuracy nor a reliable way to measure it. It is concluded that pupil size is a measure of face recognition strength in the first session of a target present lineup procedure. However, it is still not known whether cognitive load is an adequate explanation for this, or whether cognitive engagement might describe the effect more appropriately. If cognitive load and cognitive engagement can be teased apart with further investigation, this would have positive implications for understanding eyewitness identification. Nevertheless, this research has the potential to provide a tool for improving the reliability of lineup procedures.

Keywords: cognitive load, eyewitness identification, face recognition, pupillometry

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Authors: Tiantian Feng

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There is a dearth of research on the literary circle as a teaching strategy in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes in Chinese colleges and universities and even fewer empirical studies on its impacts. In this one-quarter, design-based project, the researcher aims to increase students’ engagement, cooperation, and, on top of that, reading comprehension performance by utilizing a researcher-developed, adapted reading circle model in an EFL reading course at a Chinese college. The model also integrated team-based learning and portfolio assessment, with an emphasis on the specialization of individual responsibilities, contributions, and outcomes in reading projects, with the goal of addressing current issues in EFL classes at Chinese colleges, such as passive learning, test orientation, ineffective and uncooperative teamwork, and lack of dynamics. In this quasi-experimental research, two groups of students enrolled in the course were invited to participate in four in-class team projects, with the intervention class following the adapted literature circle model and team members rotating as Leader, Coordinator, Brain trust, and Reporter. The researcher/instructor used a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach to quantitatively analyze the final grades for the pre-and post-tests, as well as individual scores for team projects and will code students' artifacts in the next step, with the results to be reported in a subsequent paper(s). Initial analysis showed that both groups saw an increase in final grades, but the intervention group enjoyed a more significant boost, suggesting that the adapted reading circle model is effective in improving students’ reading comprehension performance. This research not only closes the empirical research gap of literature circles in college EFL classes in China but also adds to the pool of effective ways to optimize reading comprehension performance and class performance in college EFL classes.

Keywords: literature circle, EFL teaching, college english reading, reading comprehension

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Authors: Sînziana Iancu

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In an era marked by rapid urbanization and technological advancement, the concept of smart cities has emerged as a pivotal solution to address the complex challenges faced by urban centres. As cities strive to enhance the quality of life for their residents, the development of smart cities has gained prominence. This study embarks on a comparative analysis of two distinct smart city models, Singapore and Bucharest, to assess their resilience and technological advancements. The significance of this study lies in its potential to provide valuable insights into the strategies, strengths, and areas of improvement in smart city development, ultimately contributing to the advancement of urban planning and sustainability. Methodologies: This comparative study employs a multifaceted approach to comprehensively analyse the smart city development in Singapore and Bucharest: * Comparative Analysis: A systematic comparison of the two cities is conducted, focusing on key smart city indicators, including digital infrastructure, integrated public services, urban planning and sustainability, transportation and mobility, environmental monitoring, safety and security, innovation and economic resilience, and community engagement; * Case Studies: In-depth case studies are conducted to delve into specific smart city projects and initiatives in both cities, providing real-world examples of their successes and challenges; * Data Analysis: Official reports, statistical data, and relevant publications are analysed to gather quantitative insights into various aspects of smart city development. Major Findings: Through a comprehensive analysis of Singapore and Bucharest's smart city development, the study yields the following major findings: * Singapore excels in digital infrastructure, integrated public services, safety, and innovation, showcasing a high level of resilience across these domains; * Bucharest is in the early stages of smart city development, with notable potential for growth in digital infrastructure and community engagement.; * Both cities exhibit a commitment to sustainable urban planning and environmental monitoring, with room for improvement in integrating these aspects into everyday life; * Transportation and mobility solutions are a priority for both cities, with Singapore having a more advanced system, while Bucharest is actively working on improving its transportation infrastructure; * Community engagement, while important, requires further attention in both cities to enhance the inclusivity of smart city initiatives. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study serves as a valuable resource for urban planners, policymakers, and stakeholders in understanding the nuances of smart city development and resilience. While Singapore stands as a beacon of success in various smart city indicators, Bucharest demonstrates potential and a willingness to adapt and grow in this domain. As cities worldwide embark on their smart city journeys, the lessons learned from Singapore and Bucharest provide invaluable insights into the path toward urban sustainability and resilience in the digital age.

Keywords: bucharest, resilience, Singapore, smart city

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Authors: Terrell Strayhorn

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The lack of diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is a persistent and concerning issue. One contributing factor to the underrepresentation of minority groups in STEM fields is a lack of sense of belonging, which can lead to lower levels of academic engagement, motivation, and achievement. In particular, Black students have been shown to experience lower levels of sense of belonging in STEM compared to their white peers. This study aimed to explore the effects of a psychological intervention on Black students' sense of belonging in physics and math courses at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and predominantly white institutions (PWIs). The study used a randomized controlled trial design and included 305 Black undergraduate students enrolled in physics or math courses at HBCUs and PWIs in the United States. Participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. The intervention consisted of a brief psychological, video-based intervention designed to enhance sense of belonging, which was delivered in a single session. The control group received no intervention. The primary outcome measure was sense of belonging in physics and math courses, as assessed by a validated self-report measure. Other outcomes included academic engagement, motivation, and achievement as measured by physics and math (course) grades. Preliminary results show that the intervention has a significant positive effect on Black students' sense of belonging in physics and math courses, with a moderate effect size. The intervention also had a significant positive effect on academic engagement and motivation, but not on academic achievement. Importantly, the effects of the intervention were larger for Black students enrolled at PWIs compared to those enrolled at HBCUs. Findings, at present, suggest that a brief psychological web-based intervention can enhance Black students' sense of belonging in physics and math courses, and that the effects may be particularly strong for Black students enrolled at PWIs, although they are not negligible for Black students at HBCUs. This is an important finding given the persistent underrepresentation of Black students in STEM fields, the growing number of Black students at PWIs, and the potential for enhancing sense of belonging to improve academic outcomes and increase diversity in these fields. The study has several limitations, including a relatively small sample size and a lack of long-term follow-up. Future research could explore the generalizability of these findings to other minority groups and other STEM fields, as well as the potential for longer-term interventions to sustain and enhance the effects observed in this study. Overall, this study highlights the potential for psychological interventions to enhance sense of belonging and improve academic outcomes for Black students in STEM courses, and underscores the importance of addressing sense of belonging as a key factor in promoting diversity and equity in STEM fields.

Keywords: sense of belonging, achievement, racial equity, postsecondary education, intervention

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Authors: Sarah J. C. Slabbert

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The uptake of research as part of the diffusion or adoption of innovation by practitioners, whether individuals or organisations, has been a popular topic in agricultural development studies for many decades. In the classical, linear model of innovation theory, the innovation originates from an expert source such as a state-supported research organisation or academic institution. The changing context of agriculture led to the development of the agricultural innovation systems model, which recognizes innovation as a complex interaction between individuals and organisations, which include private industry and collective action organisations. In terms of this model, an innovation can be developed and adopted without any input or intervention from a state or parastatal research organisation. This evolution in the diffusion of agricultural innovation has put forward new challenges for state or parastatal research organisations, which have to demonstrate the impact of their research to the legislature or a regulatory authority: Unless the organisation and the research it produces cross the knowledge paths of the intended audience, there will be no awareness, no uptake and certainly no impact. It is therefore critical for such a research organisation to base its communication strategy on a thorough understanding of the knowledge needs, information sources and knowledge networks of the intended target audience. In 2016, the South African Water Research Commission (WRC) commissioned a study to investigate the knowledge needs, information sources and knowledge networks of Water User Associations and commercial irrigators with the aim of improving uptake of its research on efficient water use in irrigation. The first phase of the study comprised face-to-face interviews with the CEOs and Board Chairs of four Water User Associations along the Orange River in South Africa, and 36 commercial irrigation farmers from the same four irrigation schemes. Intermediaries who act as knowledge conduits to the Water User Associations and the irrigators were identified and 20 of them were subsequently interviewed telephonically. The study found that irrigators interact regularly with grower organisations such as SATI (South African Table Grape Industry) and SAPPA (South African Pecan Nut Association) and that they perceive these organisations as credible, trustworthy and reliable, within their limitations. State and parastatal research institutions, on the other hand, are associated with a range of negative attributes. As a result, the awareness of, and interest in, the WRC and its research on water use efficiency in irrigated agriculture are low. The findings suggest that a communication strategy that involves collaboration with these grower organisations would empower the WRC to participate much more efficiently and with greater impact in agricultural innovation networks. The paper will elaborate on the findings and discuss partnering frameworks and opportunities to manage perceptions and uptake.

Keywords: agricultural innovation systems, communication strategy, diffusion of innovation, irrigated agriculture, knowledge paths, research organisations, target audiences, water use efficiency

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Authors: Annette Davies

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This paper examines a collection of four fan letters written by two fans to the early film star, Lillian Gish. The letters were sent to Gish between 1929 and 1962 and were later archived at the New York Library of Performing Arts in Manhattan, New York. This paper also analyzes the media's portrayal of Gish during the time period of these written letters in order to identify parallels between the portrayal of Gish in the media and the perception of Gish by her fans, which is espoused in these fan letters. The media analyzed includes newspapers, fan magazines, Paine's 1932 biography Life and Lillian Gish, a film publicity poster for Gish's film Intolerance, and the film roles performed by Gish. Several parallels are found and assessed using the four processes of audience involvement with a media persona-transportation, parasocial interaction, identification, and worship.

Keywords: celebrity, congruency, fan, persona

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Authors: Amy Williamson, Kerry Armstrong, Jason Edwards, Patricia Obst

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Australian national policy endorses a responsive approach to work health and safety (WHS) regulation, combining positive motivators (education and guidance), with compliance monitoring and enforcement to encourage and secure compliance with legislation. Despite theoretical support for responsive regulation, there is limited evidence regarding how to achieve best results in practice. Using positive psychology as a novel paradigm, this study aims to investigate how non-punitive regulatory interactions can be improved to further encourage regulatory compliance in the construction industry. As part of a larger project, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 inspectorate staff and 11 managers in the Australian (Queensland) construction industry. Using an inductive, grounded approach, an in-depth qualitative investigation was conducted to identify the positive psychological principles which underpin effective use of the non-punitive aspects of responsive regulation. Results highlighted the importance of effective engagement between inspectors and industry managers. This involved the need to interact cooperatively and encourage compliance with WHS legislation. Several strategies were identified that assisted regulatory interactions and the ability of inspectors to engage. The importance of communication and interpersonal skills was reported to be critical to any interaction, regardless of the nature of the visit and regulatory tools used. In particular, the use of clear and open communication fostered trust and rapport which facilitated more positive interactions. The importance of respect and empathy was also highlighted. The need for provision of guidance and direction on how to achieve compliance was also reported. This related to ensuring companies understand their WHS obligations, providing specific advice regarding how to rectify a breach and meet compliance requirements, and ensuring sufficient follow up to confirm that compliance is successfully achieved. In the absence of imminent risk, allowing companies the opportunity to comply before further action is taken was also highlighted. Increased proactive engagement with industry to educate and promote the vision of safety at work was also reported. Finally, provision of praise and positive feedback was reported to assist interactions and encourage the continuation of good practices. Evidence from positive psychology and organisational psychology was obtained to support the use of each strategy in practice. In particular, the area of positive leadership provided a useful framework to consider the factors and conditions that drive positive interactions within the context of work health and safety and the specific relationship between inspectors and industry managers. This study provides fresh insight into key psychological principles which support non-punitive regulatory interactions in the area of workplace health and safety. The findings of this research contribute to a better understanding of how inspectors can enhance the efficacy of their regulatory interactions to improve compliance with legislation. Encouraging and assisting compliance through effective non-punitive activity offers a sustainable pathway for promoting safety and preventing fatalities and injuries in the construction industry.

Keywords: engagement, non-punitive approaches to compliance, positive interactions in the workplace, work health and safety compliance

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Authors: Maria Visitacion N. Gumabay, Byron Joseph A. Hallar, Annjeannette Alain D. Galang

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This study was intended to provide a more efficient and convenient way for mobile users to enhance their knowledge about ASEAN countries. The researchers evaluated the utility of the developed crossword puzzle application and assessed the general usability of its user interface for its intended purpose and audience of users. The descriptive qualitative research method for the research design and the Mobile-D methodology was employed for the development of the software application output. With a generally favorable reception from its users, the researchers concluded that the iSEA Mobile Based Learning Application can be considered ready for general deployment and use. It was also concluded that additional studies can also be done to make a more complete assessment of the knowledge gained by its users before and after using the application.

Keywords: mobile learning, eLearning, crossword, ASEAN, iSEA

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Authors: Elif Esiyok

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Brand placement practices have become a popular advertising strategy, which is widely used in movies. Whether these brands are remembered by the audience after the film, or if they affect the purchasing preferences of the consumers has become one of the most important topics in the field of advertising. From this point, in this study, the "Devil Wears Prada" movie which includes high amount of brand placements is chosen. The movie watched to the undergraduate students in Turkey to measure the impact of brand placements on the attitudes of the consumers relating with a specific brand. In total 100 students were the subjects of this study. The participants were selected through using a simple random sampling method. The findings revealed that there is a significant difference between male and females in terms of brand recall. Female students were remembered the fashion brands more than the males, whereas males generally recalled the automotive brands and restaurant names.

Keywords: brand placement, brand recall, advertising, media

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Authors: Ajeni Ari

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In addressing gender and transport, considerations of mobility disparities amongst users are important. Public transport (PT) policy and design do not efficiently account for the varied mobility practices between men and women, with literature only recently showing a movement towards gender inclusion in transport. Arrantly, transport policy and designs remain gender-blind to the variation of mobility needs. The global movement towards sustainability highlights the need for expeditious strategies that could mitigate biases within the existing system. At the forefront of such plan of action may, in part, be mandated inclusive infrastructural designs that stimulate user engagement with the transport system. Fundamentally access requires a means or an opportunity to entity, which for PT is an establishment of its physical environment and/or infrastructural design. Its practicality may be utilised with knowledge of shortcomings in tangible or intangible aspects of the service offerings allowing access to opportunities. To inform on existing biases in PT planning and design, this study analyses qualitative data to examine the opinions and lived experiences among transport user in Ireland. Findings show that infrastructural design plays a significant role in users’ engagement with the service. Paramount to accessibility are service provisions that cater to both user interactions and those of their dependents. Apprehension to use the service is more so evident with women in comparison to men, particularly while carrying out household duties and caring responsibilities at peak times or dark hours. Furthermore, limitations are apparent with infrastructural service offerings that do not accommodate the physical (dis)ability of users, especially universal design. There are intersecting factors that impinge on accessibility, e.g., safety and security, yet essentially, infrastructural design is an important influencing parameter to user perceptual conditioning. Additionally, data discloses the need for user intricacies to be factored in transport planning geared towards gender inclusivity, including mobility practices, travel purpose, transit time or location, and system integration.

Keywords: public transport, accessibility, women, transport infrastructure

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Authors: Munirah Alaboudi

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This paper discusses a research project carried out with 12 first-year graduate students enrolled in research methods course prior to undertaking a graduate thesis during the academic year 2019. The research was designed for the objective of creating research methods course structure that embraces an individualized and activity-based approach to learning in a highly engaging group environment. This approach targeted innovating the traditional research methods lecture-based, theoretical format where students reported less engagement and limited learning. This study utilized action research methodology in developing a different approach to research methods course instruction where student performance indicators and feedback were periodically collected to assess the new teaching method. Student learning was achieved through utilizing the flipped classroom approach where students learned the material at home and classroom activities were designed to implement and experiment with the newly acquired information, with the guidance of the course instructor. Student learning in class was practiced through a series of activities based on different research methods. With the goal of encouraging student engagement, a wide range of activities was utilized including workshops, role play, mind-mapping, presentations, peer evaluations. Data was collected through an open-ended qualitative questionnaire to establish whether students were engaged in the material they were learning, and to what degree were they engaged, and to test their mastery level of the concepts discussed. Analysis of the data presented positive results as around 91% of the students reported feeling more engaged with the active learning experience and learning research by “actually doing research, not just reading about it”. The students expressed feeling invested in the process of their learning as they saw their research “gradually come to life” through peer learning and practice during workshops. Based on the results of this study, the research methods course structure was successfully remodeled and continues to be delivered.

Keywords: research methods, higher education instruction, flipped classroom, graduate education

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Authors: Alena Radina

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On the global stage, national image is shaped by historical memory of wars and alliances, government ideology and particularly media stereotypes which represent countries in positive or negative ways. News magazine covers are a key site for national representation. The object of analysis in this paper is the portrayals of the US, Germany, China, and Russia in the front pages and cover stories of “Time”, “Der Spiegel”, “Beijing Review”, and “Expert”. Political comedy helps people learn about current affairs even if politics is not their area of interest, and thus satire indirectly sets the public agenda. Coupled with satirical messages, cover images and the linguistic messages embedded in the covers become persuasive visual and verbal factors, known to drive about 80% of magazine sales. Preliminary analysis identified satirical elements in magazine covers, which are known to influence and frame understandings and attract younger audiences. Multimodal and transnational comparative framing analyses lay the groundwork to investigate why journalists, editors and designers deploy certain frames rather than others. This research investigates to what degree frames used in covers correlate with frames within the cover stories and what these framings can tell us about media professionals’ representations of their own and other nations. The study sample includes 32 covers consisting of two covers representing each of the four chosen countries from the four magazines. The sampling framework considers two time periods to compare countries’ representation with two different presidents, and between men and women when present. The countries selected for analysis represent each category of the international news flows model: the core nations are the US and Germany; China is a semi-peripheral country; and Russia is peripheral. Examining textual and visual design elements on the covers and images in the cover stories reveals not only what editors believe visually attracts the reader’s attention to the magazine but also how the magazines frame and construct national images and national leaders. The cover is the most powerful editorial and design page in a magazine because images incorporate less intrusive framing tools. Thus, covers require less cognitive effort of audiences who may therefore be more likely to accept the visual frame without question. Analysis of design and linguistic elements in magazine covers helps to understand how media outlets shape their audience’s perceptions and how magazines frame global issues. While previous multimodal research of covers has focused mostly on lifestyle magazines or newspapers, this paper examines the power of current affairs magazines’ covers to shape audience perception of national image.

Keywords: framing analysis, magazine covers, multimodality, national image, satire

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Authors: Armel Mbon

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This paper discusses the first-person point of view in Maugham's 'Mr. Know-All.' It particularly analyses the narrator's position in relation to the story told in this short story, with the intention of disclosing the latter's prejudice against Mr. Kelada, the protagonist, and, consequently, its hindrance to globalisation. It thus underlines the fact that this protagonist and other travellers are different colours, but one person on this ship epitomises globalisation. The general attitude of readers is that they are inclined to easily believe the narrator while forgetting that fiction is the work of a taler, a teller, but, first and foremost, a liar. The audience, whether it is disconnected from the setting or not, also tends to forget that "travellers from afar can lie with impunity." In fact, the nameless narrator in Maugham's short story has a persona that leaves a lot to be desired. He is prejudiced against Mr. Kelada, known as Mr. Know-All, as will be evidenced by the scrutiny of his diction. This paper finally purports to show that those who proclaim globalisation loudly are not ready to live together.

Keywords: narrator, persona, point of view, diction, contrast, globalisation

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Authors: Kyle De Freitas, Margaret Bernard

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Enabling data mining analysis among a wider audience of educators is an active area of research within the educational data mining (EDM) community. The paper proposes a framework for developing an environment that caters for educators who have little technical data mining skills as well as for more advanced users with some data mining expertise. This framework architecture was developed through the review of the strengths and weaknesses of existing models in the literature. The proposed framework provides a modular architecture for future researchers to focus on the development of specific areas within the EDM process. Finally, the paper also highlights a strategy of enabling analysis through either the use of predefined questions or a guided data mining process and highlights how the developed questions and analysis conducted can be reused and extended over time.

Keywords: educational data mining, learning management system, learning analytics, EDM framework

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Authors: Maria Ilyushkina

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The article addresses the problem of translating vocative texts with intertextual references and describes the influence of language on how knowledge and meaning are developed in the field of advertising. The starting point of the article takes advertisements from the sphere of tourism and the way we choose, translate, and interpret intertexts. The article focuses on the perception and understanding of the information in printed texts advertising recreational facilities and services for tourists as the target audience by representatives of other cultures and the knowledge intertexts convey. The authors argue that intertextuality complicates translation leading to knowledge asymmetries. Studying typical communicative failures is considered to be of great importance, allowing for improvement in the practice of translation in the sphere of advertising as well as preventing the fallacious transfer of knowledge when translating foreign intertexts.

Keywords: advertising, translation, intertext, Russian culture, knowledge asymmetries, tourism, vocative texts

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Authors: Gabriela Quintana Vigiola

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Social sustainability is an issue scarcely addressed by different authors, being one of its key factors the psychosocial processes of sense of place, sense of community and appropriation. In Caracas’s barrios (Venezuela) these were developed through sharing the construction of the place and different struggles that brought the neighbours together. However, one of the main problems they face is criminal violence, hence being its social sustainability threatened and affected by it. This matter can be addressed by acknowledging communities’ sense of place and engaging in cultural events.

Keywords: Caracas’ barrios, cultural engagement, developing countries, social sustainability

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Authors: Sananda Mukherjee, Nandini Lakshmikantha

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Films are considered as the most influential form of mass media. To attract audience films are made on various themes and issues which are assumed to have an impact on the behavioural pattern of the society. Among the various issues that have been bothering Indian society, health is primary. Thus it is important and interesting to study how health is being projected in Bollywood which is largely considered by the world as Indian cinema. This study tries to focus its attention on some select popular movies made in the recent decade and will try to analyse its content and significance of the same with the contemporary Indian society. It is evident that some of the movies made projecting health issues have earned good box office revenues, but have they been successful in making the public understand the significance of health issues they have been trying to project, is an interesting area to understand.

Keywords: box office, health issues, Indian cinema, social awareness

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Authors: Berkay Buluş, Aytekin İşman, Kübra Yüzüncüyıl

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Developments in media and communication technologies have changed the way we use media. The importance of convergence culture has been increasing day by day within the framework of these developments. With new media, it is possible to say that social networks are the most powerful platforms that are integrated to this digitalization process. Although social networks seem like the place that people can socialize, they can also be utilized as places of production. On the other hand, audience has become users within the framework of transformation from national to global broadcasting. User generated contents make conventional media and new media collide. In this study, these communication platforms will be examined not as platforms that replace one another but mediums that unify each other. In the light of this information, information that is produced by users regarding new media platforms and all new media use practices are called convergence culture. In other words, convergence culture means intersections of conventional and new media. In this study, examples of convergence culture will be analyzed in detail.

Keywords: new media, convergence culture, convergence, use of new media, user generated content

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Authors: Bartholomew Badar

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An NFT is a digital certificate with rights to own an asset, including various valuable digital goods such as art pieces, music items, collectibles, etc. The market for NFTs started developing in 2017 and has lately seen increased growth as crypto-currencies and the blockchain market continue to gain popularity. This study aims to understand potential uses for NFTs concerning the music industry and record labels. Independent artists struggle to distribute and sell their music without the help of a record label. The NFT marketplace could be a great tool to eliminate this problem. The research objective is to identify possibilities for independent artists to own their music rights and share value with an audience. We see a trend of new-school music artists trying to enter the music NFT market by creating visualizers, beats, cover art, etc. To analyze various existing music NFT assets and determine whether or not independent artists could monetize their music without a record label is the main focus of this scholarly paper.

Keywords: blockchain, crypto-currency, music, artist, NFT

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Authors: Lisa M. Coleman

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The focus on disability, LGBTQ+, and internationalization has certainly been the subject of much research and programmatic across higher education. Many universities have entered into global partnerships with varying success and challenges across the various areas, including laws and policies. Attentiveness to the specific nuances of global inclusion, diversity, equity, belonging, and access (GIDBEA) and the leadership to support these efforts is crucial to the development of longstanding success across the programs. There have been a number of shifts related to diversification across student and alumni bodies. These shifts include but are not limited to how people identify gender, race, and sexuality (and the intersections across such identities), as well as trends across emerging and diverse disability communities. NYU is the most international campus in the United States, with the most campuses and sites outside of its county of origin and the most international students and exchange programs than any other university. As a result, the ongoing work related to GIDEBA is at the center of much of the leadership, administrative, and research efforts. Climate assessment work across NYU’s diverse global campus landscape will serve as the foundation to exemplify best practices related to data collection and dissemination, community and stakeholder engagement, and effective implementation of innovative strategies to close gap areas as identified. The data (quantitative and qualitative) and related research findings represent data collected from close to 22,000 stakeholders across the NYU campuses. The case study centers on specific methodological considerations, data integrity, stakeholder engagement from across student-faculty, staff, and alumni constituencies, and tactics to advance specific GIDBEA initiatives related to navigating shifting landscapes. Design thinking, incubation, and co-creation strategies have been employed to expand, leverage, actualize, and implement GIDBEA strategies that are – concrete, measurable, differentiated, and specific to global sites and regions and emerging trends.

Keywords: disability, LGBTQ+, DEI, research, case studies

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Authors: A. Chandra, M. Arthur, L. Mize, A. Pomeroy-Stevens

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Background: Lower and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Asia face rapid urbanization resulting in both economic opportunities (the urban advantage) and emerging health challenges. Urban health risks are magnified in informal settlements and include infectious disease outbreaks, inadequate access to health services, and poor air quality. Over the coming years, urban spaces in Asia will face accelerating public health risks related to migration, climate change, and environmental health. These challenges are complex and require multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder solutions. The Building Health Cities (BHC) program is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to work with smart city initiatives in the Asia region. BHC approaches urban health challenges by addressing policies, planning, and services through a health equity lens, with a particular focus on informal settlements and migrant communities. The program works to develop data-driven decision-making, build inclusivity through stakeholder engagement, and facilitate the uptake of appropriate technology. Methodology: The BHC program has partnered with the smart city initiatives of Indore in India, Makassar in Indonesia, and Da Nang in Vietnam. Implementing partners support municipalities to improve health delivery and equity using two key approaches: political economy analysis and participatory systems mapping. Political economy analyses evaluate barriers to collective action, including corruption, security, accountability, and incentives. Systems mapping evaluates community health challenges using a cross-sectoral approach, analyzing the impact of economic, environmental, transport, security, health system, and built environment factors. The mapping exercise draws on the experience and expertise of a diverse cohort of stakeholders, including government officials, municipal service providers, and civil society organizations. Results: Systems mapping and political economy analyses identified significant barriers for health care in migrant populations. In Makassar, migrants are unable to obtain the necessary card that entitles them to subsidized health services. This finding is being used to engage with municipal governments to mitigate the barriers that limit migrant enrollment in the public social health insurance scheme. In Indore, the project identified poor drainage of storm and wastewater in migrant settlements as a cause of poor health. Unsafe and inadequate infrastructure placed residents of these settlements at risk for both waterborne diseases and injuries. The program also evaluated the capacity of urban primary health centers serving migrant communities, identifying challenges related to their hours of service and shortages of health workers. In Da Nang, the systems mapping process has only recently begun, with the formal partnership launched in December 2019. Conclusion: This paper explores lessons learned from BHC’s systems mapping, political economy analyses, and stakeholder engagement approaches. The paper shares progress related to the health of migrants in informal settlements. Case studies feature barriers identified and mitigating steps, including governance actions, taken by local stakeholders in partner cities. The paper includes an update on ongoing progress from Indore and Makassar and experience from the first six months of program implementation from Da Nang.

Keywords: informal settlements, migration, stakeholder engagement mapping, urban health

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Authors: Mohamad Reza Asariha

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Crises are an integral part of social life, and their diversity is increasing day by day. Every aspect of life for humans involves a crisis, and these crises are becoming more varied over time. In times of crisis, the media has a special responsibility to inform the public and raise awareness of the situation. The public can be calmed by the media and inspired to take positive action or vice versa; the media can terrorize the public and cause mayhem. Media are regarded as one of the most significant forms of communication in the information age. Media plays an important role in different stages of crises. Before a crisis occurs, they can prevent the spread of the crisis and reduce its losses by warning about the consequences. At the time of the crisis, they can minimize the crisis by creating a scientific and rational atmosphere, or as mediators between the crisis agents and the interest groups, they can minimize the political clashes and be effective in attracting and participating the audience in crisis management. There is widespread access to the media, so it has a significant role in moderating and changing public opinion.

Keywords: media, crisis, crisis communication, crisis management, emergency situations

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Authors: Aikaterini Tavoulari, Mike Richardson

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Objective: This abstract presents a multisensory participatory design project, inspired by a deafblind PhD student's ambition to climb Mount Everest. The project aims to explore accessible routes for filmmaking and video content creation, catering to the needs of individuals with hearing and sight loss. By engaging participants from the Southwest area of England, recruited through multiple networks, the project seeks to gather qualitative data and insights to inform the development of inclusive media practices. Design: It will be a community-based participatory research design. The workshop will feature various stations that stimulate different senses, such as scent, touch, sight, hearing as well as movement. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with these multisensory experiences, providing valuable feedback on their effectiveness and potential for enhancing accessibility in filmmaking and video content. Methods: Brief semi-structured interviews will be conducted to collect qualitative data, allowing participants to share their perspectives, challenges, and suggestions for improvement. The participatory design approach emphasizes the importance of involving the target audience in the creative process. By actively engaging individuals with hearing and sight loss, the project aims to ensure that their needs and preferences are central to the development of accessible filmmaking techniques and video content. This collaborative effort seeks to bridge the gap between content creators and diverse audiences, fostering a more inclusive media landscape. Results: The findings from this study will contribute to the growing body of research on accessible filmmaking and video content creation. Via inductive thematic analysis of the qualitative data collected through interviews and observations, the researchers aim to identify key themes, challenges, and opportunities for creating engaging and inclusive media experiences for deafblind audiences. The insights will inform the development of best practices and guidelines for accessible filmmaking, empowering content creators to produce more inclusive and immersive video content. Conclusion: The abstract targets the hybrid International Conference for Disability and Diversity in Canada (January 2025), as this platform provides an excellent opportunity to share the outcomes of the project with a global audience of researchers, practitioners, and advocates working towards inclusivity and accessibility in various disability domains. By presenting this research at the conference in person, the authors aim to contribute to the ongoing discourse on disability and diversity, highlighting the importance of multisensory experiences and participatory design in creating accessible media content for the deafblind community and the community with sensory impairments more broadly.

Keywords: vision impairment, hearing impairment, deafblindness, accessibility, filmmaking

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Authors: M. Kiarna, S. Junjira, S. Casey, M. Nolwazi, M. S. Marcos, A. T. Tatiana, L. Cassandra

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This paper details a rebrand design project developed for a non-profitable organization called Te Roopu Waiora (TRW), which is currently located in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. This social enterprise is dedicated to supporting the Māori community living with sensorial, physical and intellectual disabilities (whānau hauā). As part of a year three bachelor design brief, the rebrand project enabled students to reflect on Kaupapa Māori principles and appropriately address the values of the organisation. As such, the methodology used a pragmatic paradigm approach and mixed methods design practices involving a human-centred design to problem solving. As result, the student project culminated in the development in a range of cohesive design artefacts, aiming to improve the rentability and perception of the brand with the audience and stakeholders.

Keywords: design in Aotearoa New Zealand, Kaupapa Māori, branding, design education, human-centered design

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