A seismic shift? An evaluation of the impact of new media on perceptions of freedom of expression and privacy

New media platforms have changed the media landscape forever, as they have altered our perceptions of the limits of communication, and reception of information. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp enable individuals to circumvent the traditional mass media, converging audience and producer to create millions of ‘citizen journalists’. This new breed of journalist uses these platforms as a way of, not only receiving news, but of instantaneously, and often spontaneously, expressing opinions and venting and sharing emotions, thoughts and feelings. They are liberated from cultural and physical restraints, such as time, space and location, and they are not constrained by factors that impact upon the traditional media, such as editorial control, owner or political bias or the pressures of generating commercial revenue. A consequence of the way in which these platforms have become ingrained within our social culture is that habits, conventions and social norms, that were once informal and transitory manifestations of social life, are now infused within their use. What were casual and ephemeral actions and/or acts of expression, such as conversing with friends or colleagues or swapping/displaying pictures, or exchanging thoughts that were once kept private, or maybe shared with a select few, have now become formalised and potentially permanent, on view for the world to see. Incidentally, ‘traditional’ journalists and media outlets are also utilising new media, as it allows them to react, and disseminate news, instantaneously, within a hyper-competitive marketplace. However, in a world where we are saturated, not only by citizen journalists, but by traditional media outlets, offering access to news and opinion twenty-four hours a day, via multiple new media platforms, there is increased pressure to ‘break’ news fast and first. This paper will argue that new media, and the culture and environment it has created, for citizen journalists, traditional journalists and the media generally, has altered our perceptions of the limits and boundaries of freedom of expression dramatically, and that the corollary to this seismic shift is the impact on the notion of privacy and private life. Consequently, this paper will examine what a reasonable expectation of privacy may now mean, in a new media world.

The use of the Dade County student assistance profile in the identification of at -risk students at a minority senior high school

Current high school completion rates in Dade County and across the nation are considered to be unacceptable. This has led to the development of student assistance profiles to aid in the early identification of students considered to be at risk to allow for some form of intervention. The purpose of this research was to examine the current Dade County Public Schools profile as applied to one specific high school in which most of the students are Hispanic (mostly of Mexican descent) and Black (African-Americans, as well as recent Haitian immigrants). Additionally, the effectiveness of the alternative intervention program provided at this high school--a school within a school--were evaluated. School records of the 1992 in-coming ninth grade class became the initial data base. The individual student records of this cohort were then examined over a four-year period until their expected date or graduation. The DCPS profile used to identify potential dropouts from this group was evaluated, using chi-square and multivariate analysis, to determine its overall effectiveness, as well as the effectiveness of the individual indicators which comprise the profile. The Student Assistance Profile was found to an effective predictor, but it over-identified students from this cohort, particularly minorities, to the extent that it became largely ineffective, especially considering the limited resources available for intervention. The intervention program was found to be ineffective in reducing the dropout rate. Further analysis of the individual indicators used in the DCPS profile as they applied to this school population resulted in the development of an improved profile. By reducing the number of indicators to those found to be most highly associated with failure to graduate--academic performance and absences--a simpler student assistance profile was developed which appears to be better suited to high schools with similar demographics and budget restraints. ^

Gender Benders: Shakespeare's Rosalind and Woolf's Orlando

English Renaissance playwright, William Shakespeare and twentieth century modernist author, Virginia Woolf’s works, “As You Like It” (1599) and “Orlando” (1928), respectively posit a vision of gender that transcends the physical sex of the body. The play’s heroine, Rosalind, and the novel’s protagonist, Orlando, each challenge the stability of the binary categories of male and female, demonstrating how gender is not absolute but rather a constantly adapting and evolving construct. This thesis traces the development of Rosalind and Orlando by analyzing and comparing both protagonists’ journeys towards concordia discors, considering how gender transformation plays a pivotal role in helping both figures transcend prescribed gender roles and restraints placed upon them by family and society. Both Rosalind and Orlando mount challenges to prescribed gender norms during periods when conservative gender roles were strictly enforced. By doing so, each character positions themselves as pivotal and progressive representations of gender performance for their time.

Waged domestic work in Argentina: the regulation of care provision

This paper addresses the condition of domestic work in Argentina, in a perspective that draws from the literature on care work. In this approach, domestic work can be interpreted as one of the mercantile forms in which care work is socially organized, due to the persistence of the traditional sexual division of labor and the weakness of public policies. From these considerations, I develop a quantitative study on the levels of informality, precarity, and wage inequality that characterize domestic work in that country. Thereafter, I discuss the main measures adopted by the Argentine government since 2003, with the goal of reducing legal discrimination of domestic workers and promoting their formalization. On this basis, the paper highlights the advances in the recognition of domestic workers’ labor rights, while emphasizing how social and cultural restraints still permeate labor relations in this sector.

Divided Conquerors: the Rump Parliament, Cromwell's Army and Ireland

This article reassesses the relationship that existed in the period 1649–53 between war in Ireland and politics in England. Drawing upon a largely overlooked Irish army petition, it seeks to remedy an evident disconnect between the respective historiographies of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland on the one hand and the Rump Parliament on the other. The article reconstructs some of the various disputes over religion, authority and violence that undermined the unity of the English wartime regime in Ireland. It then charts the eventual spilling over of these disputes into Westminster politics, arguing that their impact on deteriorating army-parliament relations in the year prior to Oliver Cromwell’s expulsion of the Rump in April 1653 has not been fully appreciated. The key driver of these developments was John Weaver, a republican MP and commissioner for the civil government of Ireland. The article explains how his efforts both to place restraints on the excessive violence of the conquest and to exert civilian control over the military evolved, by 1652, into a determined campaign at Westminster to strengthen the powers of Ireland’s civil government and to limit the army’s share in the prospective Irish land settlement. Weaver’s campaign forced the army officers in Ireland to intervene at Westminster, thus placing increased pressure on the Rump Parliament. This reassessment also enables the early 1650s to be viewed more clearly as a key phase in the operation of the longer-term relationships of mutual influence that existed between Dublin and London in the seventeenth century.

Bodily Experience and Restricted Conditions in Contemporary Art

The Doctoral research was carried out with the primary purpose of reviewing past practice designs and for identifying how body movements contributes to these designs. The context in which the body movements are understood are that of discipline enforced by culture and other physio-biological restraints. A discussion on the relationships of body experience in restricted conditions are carried out, which includes the interaction between movement and space in the application of painting, moulding, biological markers, and moving images. The discipline, socially acceptable practices and regulations present in the researcher’s personal life and culture frame the artworks and a fascinating exploration of dynamics between freedom of movement in artwork construction and restrain of behaviour has been analyzed. In the process of art production, significant points discussed were with respect to the identification, succession and repetition of habitual acts. In addition, bodily movement could be considered as a synthesis of spatiality and temporality. The key point which contains the elements of time and space remains relevant to my creative practice and theoretical research. The core interest of my practice is in understanding the settings and simple rules for bodily movement, which is inspired by the past and forms a possible creation for the future. In this research, the attempt was not to display a comprehensive understanding on how body influences the design of art but rather to explain how understanding body movements provides a trace of my works, from origin, the working process and to completion. Relevant artworks and reflection of personal experiences are discussed as needed to help the reader gain more insight on the interactions of body in art creations.

Resident Rights, March 26, 2015

Resident rights are guaranteed by the Federal 1987 Nursing Home Reform Law and Iowa Code. It requires long-term care facilities to promote and protect the rights of residents and places a strong emphasis on individual dignity and self-determination. Staff shall provide privacy and maintain dignity and respect. Residents shall be free from abuse and restraints. Residents may participate in planning of care and medical treatment.

O processo de luto em pessoas idosas defilhadas e a CIF: um estudo exploratório

Introdução: O luto provocado pela morte dos filhos, o defilhar, desperta fortes sentimentos de raiva, culpa e de censura, sendo estas mortes vividas como uma falha na capacidade de dar e proteger a vida. Superar uma perda desta magnitude implica reestruturar psicologicamente e socialmente. Ainda são muito poucos os estudos realizados para identificar e caraterizar estratégias de superação do luto e menos ainda quando dizem respeito ao defilhar. Objetivos: O objetivo deste estudo é analisar numa amostra de mulheres que perderam um filho (defilhadas) com idade igual ou superior a 60 anos, as narrativas de superação do seu processo de luto e mapeá-las à Classificação Internacional de Funcionalidade, Incapacidade e Saúde (CIF). Métodos: Foi elaborado um protocolo com os seguintes instrumentos: Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ), informações sociodemográficas (idade, género, estado civil, nível educacional, localização geográfica, quantos filhos tem, quando faleceu o filho(a), se foi morte súbita ou esperada, se toma medicação antidepressiva, soníferos ou ansiolíticos e se sim, há quanto tempo), Inventário de Luto Complicado (ILC) e uma entrevista semiestruturada. O protocolo foi administrado a uma amostra de 8 mulheres. Resultados: Os resultados globais sugerem que apesar de grande parte do processo de superação do luto ser bastante emocional, foi possível classificá-lo utilizando o referencial CIF. Dentro do componente ’Funções do Corpo‘, verificou-se o predomínio das funções emocionais nas categorias ‘o que mudou na sua vida’, ‘superação da dor’ e ‘estratégias adotadas’; no componente ‘Atividades e Participação’ destacaram-se aquelas associadas à religião e espiritualidade, nas categorias ‘superação do luto’, ‘estratégias adotadas’ e ‘o que mais gosta de fazer’; no componente ’Fatores Ambientais‘ (‘apoio e relacionamentos’) sobressaiu o apoio proporcionado pela família próxima nas categorias ‘superação da dor’, ‘estratégias adotadas’, apoios físicos ou humanos recebidos’ e ‘o que mais gosta de fazer’. Conclusão: Foi possível mapear à CIF o processo de superação do luto por defilhadas idosas. No entanto, para se obterem dados mais conclusivos, são necessários mais estudos em amostras com maiores dimensões, que abranjam ambos os géneros e com faixas etárias mais amplas. Também é necessário adaptar o protocolo ao referencial CIF de forma a obterem resultados mais precisos.

Productivity factors and fish production and their fisheries management concerns

The fundamental purpose of fisheries management is to ensure sustainable production over time from fish stocks, preferably through regulatory and enhancement actions that promote economic and social well being of the fishers and industries that depend on the resource. To achieve this purpose, management authorities must design, justify and administer (enforce) a collection of restraints on fishing and fishery-related activities. Productivity and management of the fisheries should be based on the understanding that they are complex and dynamic systems. Physical, chemical and biological components support a community of organisms that is unique to the these systems. All these components are in constant change but mainly dictated by human interference in the water body ecosystem.

Relatório de estágio de qualificação profissional

Relatório EPE - Relatório de estágio em Educação Pré-Escolar: O presente relatório de estágio de qualificação profissional surge como parte integrante do 2º ciclo de estudos do mestrado em educação pré-escolar e ensino do 1º ciclo do ensino básico, na escola superior de educação do instituto politécnico do Porto, no âmbito da unidade curricular de prática pedagógica supervisionada, no contexto de educação pré-escolar. Este relatório visa refletir o percurso da mestranda ao longo do período de prática profissional no contexto. Com a perspetiva de que melhor se compreendam as ações desenvolvidas, este documento incide nos referentes teóricos e legais que sustentaram as ações da mestranda, bem como na teoria subjacente à sua prática. Neste sentido, durante o seu percurso, a mestranda baseou-se em práticas construtivistas, que fomentam a aprendizagem ativa das crianças, bem como o processo de investigação-ação por parte do educador. No que concerne ao paradigma da investigação-ação, este pressupõe a observação, planificação, avaliação e reflexão. Importa salientar que o processo reflexivo se revelou constante ao longo de todo o processo, uma vez que a reflexão permite uma avaliação constante das práticas, bem como a sua adequação às diferentes crianças e situações. Relativamente ao processo educativo, centrou-se nas relações estabelecidas com as crianças, com a restante comunidade educativa da instituição e com os encarregados de educação. Estas relações contribuíram, de forma fulcral, para a formação pessoal e evolução da mestranda bem como para o desenvolvimento das suas competências profissionais.

Quantification of variable palmar ligaments around the triquetrum-hamate joint determined by lunate type

The ligaments of the wrist are highly variable and poorly described, which is more obvious on the ulnar side of the wrist. Previous studies highlighted the potential differences within the ligaments of the wrist but no consensus has been reached. Poor tissue description and inconsistent use of terminology hindered the reproducibility of the results. Improved understanding of the morphological variations between carpal bones may facilitate improved understanding of the ligamentous structure within the wrist. This study aims to identify the potential variations between carpal bones that could be used to separate palmar ligamentous patterns around the triquetrum-hamate joint into subgroups within the sample population. Investigations were performed following a detailed nomenclature and a clear definition of ligamentous structures to facilitate detailed description and reproducible results. Quantitative analyses were conducted using 3D modelling technique. Histological sections were then analysed to identify the structure of each ligamentous attachment. Variable patterns of ligamentous attachments were identified. Differences were not only obvious between samples but also between the right and left hands of the same person. These identifications suggested that the palmar ligamentous patterns around the triquetrum-hamate joint are best described as a spectrum with a higher affinity of the triquetrum-hamate-capitate ligament and the lunate-triquetrum ligament to be associated with type I lunate wrists on one extreme and type II lunate wrists with the palmar triquetrum-hamate ligament, triquetrum-hamate-capitate ligament and palmar radius-lunate-triquetrum ligament attachments at the other extreme. Histological analyses confirmed pervious established work regarding the mechanical role of ligaments in wrist joint biomechanics. Also, there were no significant differences between the quantitative data obtained from the Genelyn-embalmed and unembalmed specimens (p>0.05). The current study demonstrated variable ligamentous patterns that suggest different bone restraints and two different patterns of motion. These findings support previous suggestions regarding separating the midcarpal joint into two distinct functional types. Type I wrists were identified with ligamentous attachments that are suggestive of rotating/translating hamate whilst type II wrists identified with ligamentous attachments that are suggestive of flexing/extending hamate motion based upon the patterns of the ligamentous attachments in relation to the morphological features of the underlying lunate type of the wrist. This opens the horizon for particular consideration and/or modification of surgical procedures, which may enhance the clinical management of wrist dysfunction.

Descripción de resultados de la reconstrucción de placa plantar en inestabilidad de la segunda articulación metatarsofalángica

Objetivo: Describir los desenlaces funcionales, complicaciones postoperatorias, dolor y satisfacción de un grupo de pacientes con diagnóstico de inestabilidad de segunda articulación metatarsofalángica y lesión de la placa plantar, que fueron intervenidos quirúrgicamente para su reconstrucción en el Hospital Universitario de cuarto nivel Fundación Santa Fé de Bogotá, en el periodo comprendido entre Enero de 2010 hasta Diciembre de 2015. Métodos: Estudio descriptivo de corte transversal que evalúa desenlaces funcionales, dolor y satisfacción para un grupo consecutivo de pacientes con diagnóstico de inestabilidad de la segunda articulación metatarsofalángica que fueron intervenidos quirúrgicamente mediante reconstrucción de la placa plantar entre Enero de 2010 a Diciembre de 2015 en el Hospital Universitario Fundación Santa fe de Bogotá. Resultados: El procedimiento se realizó a 39 pacientes (40 MTF), encontrando mejoría en dolor, función y satisfacción. El dolor postoperatorio paso de severo a leve en el 80% de los pacientes, 67.5% de los pacientes presentaron prueba de aprehensión positiva, 85% alineamiento adecuado, el reporte de escala de AOFAS postoperatoria fue de 87, y los resultados fueron satisfactorios en un 94.5%. La principal complicación con la cirugía fue la extensión residual del dedo operado (22.5%). Conclusiones: La reconstrucción de la placa plantar en casos de inestabilidad metatarsofalángica ha demostrado tener resultados satisfactorios, en el presente estudio encontramos mejoría respecto a dolor, función y satisfacción posterior a la realización del procedimiento. Sin embargo puede presentar complicaciones como extensión residual del dedo o elevación, rigidez y recidiva.