The integration of technology into STEM education has been shown to increase classroom interaction and thus has the potential to improve student's learning. However, current approaches are designed to support specific scenarios and therefore have predefined functional scopes and limitations. This results in lecturers having to adjust their preferred teaching strategy to the currently used system. Hence, our goal is to allow lecturers to customize the system's functionality to their strategy in mind. As a solution, we created a prototype called stARS (scenario-tailored Audience Response System) that builds on top of a uniform metamodel and allows lecturers to create customized teaching scenarios using a graphical editor. First user studies have confirmed that users with different modeling abilities are able to understand the metamodel and use the graphical editor. In order to demonstrate the intuitive use of our prototype, this paper presents concepts to support both the starting phase and modeling of complex scenarios. However, an implementation in real-life scenarios has to be conducted to show its applicability.

Corporate storytelling is a recognized marketing strategy, however the usage of it is regarded to be unclear from a theoretical perspective. Further, the internal usage of storytelling among organizations is more common than the external use. Hence, this research was aimed towards storytelling for external stakeholders.

This thesis will describe a system for the production of generative music through specific methodology, and provide an approach for the delivery of this material. The system and body of work will be targeted specifically at the personal listening audience. As the largest current consumer of music in all genres of music, this represents the largest and most applicable market to develop such a system for. By considering how recorded media compares to concert performance, it is possible to ascertain which attributes of performance may be translated to a generative media. In addition, an outline of how fixed media has changed how people listen to music directly will be considered. By looking at these concepts an attempt is made to create a system which satisfies societies need for music which is not only commodified and easily approached, but also closes the qualitative gap between a static delivery medium and concert based output. This is approached within the context of contemporary classical music. Furthermore, by considering the development and fragmentation of the personal listening audience through technological developments, a methodology for the delivery of generative media to a range of devices will be investigated. A body of musical work will be created which attempts to realise these goals in a qualitative fashion. These works will span the development of the composition methodology, and the algorithmic methods covered. A conclusion based on the possibilities of each system with regard to its qualitative output will form the basis for evaluation. As this investigation is seated within the field of music, the musical output and composition methodology will be considered as the primary deciding factor of a system's feasibility. The contribution of this research to the field will be a methodology for the composition and production of algorithmic music in realtime, and a feasible method for the delivery of this music to a wide audience.

Community colleges serve a diverse population of learners including many older students counting on the community college for enhanced skills or personal enrichment. Many of these colleges target this population with programs designed specifically to meet the needs and goals of the older adult but may not consider this population when designing a website. Older users of a community college website have similar needs to the traditional student; however, little was known about the impact of the typical navigational links on the successful completion of tasks and obtaining information for this type of user. It is essential for educational institution website designers to understand which navigational links will provide the best usability for older adults with differing levels of experience. Previous research has found that usage-oriented links and pages that offer both usage and subject-oriented links yield statistically higher performance than subject-oriented links. Other research has found that presenting navigational links in the form of an action enhances usability. For this study, three websites were created utilizing navigational links in the form of usage-oriented links, subject-oriented navigational links, and then a combination of both to conduct a usability study to expand on previous work. This study was designed to determine the impact of such navigation on obtaining the correct answer, time on task, and the user's perception of the navigation. The research question, Does website usability and the user's perception of usability vary for older users based on navigational links, task type, and audience type? was addressed through two hypotheses and data which were obtained during the study. The first hypothesis: Website navigation, task type, and audience type significantly affect usability, was based on performance, and was measured on the two components, correct answer ratio (CAR) and navigation time (NT). The results indicated that the older user's ability to complete tasks faster and more accurately depended on the user's experience level, the difficulty of the task, and the types of navigational links presented, with usage-based navigation being the more effective solution. The second hypothesis: Website navigation, task type, and audience type significantly affect perceptions of usability, was based on perception questions presented after task completion and was measured by a four question post-test questionnaire, which used a 7-point Likert scale. This study found the older user's perception of usability varied based on the navigational links presented, but the experience level of the participant or the task type did not have a significant effect on the perception of usability. Therefore, it is recommended that designers of educational sites present navigational links in a goal-oriented, action-based format to support the end users of all ages and to enhance usability of the institution's website. This research found that if developers emphasize accuracy and the need to navigate quickly as a goal of an educational website for the older user, the website should be designed using a usage-based navigation structure. This research provides the detail to support a better understanding of which navigation type results in higher usability for the older user and enhances the guidelines of website design for this population.

Recent changes in the media environment have generated serious debates about whether these changes will foster or hamper the proper functioning of democracy. Along this line, the tendency toward audience fragmentation has arisen as one of the main concerns that might undermine a healthy democracy. People are not likely to discuss common social problems and understand each other in fragmented society, much less agree on methods to solve them. This dissertation investigates whether the environmental changes result in the audience fragmentation. This study first clarifies conceptual and operational definition of fragmentation. It is conceptualized as division of the general public into small groups not communicating with each other, and operationalized as existence of a common agenda by means of incidental news exposure facilitated by structural factors of online communication, an exemplar of the new information environment. Data from several different methods are employed to investigate effects of new media on fragmentation: a content analysis, a survey, and a laboratory experiment. The results provide evidence supporting that the public still can share experiences by learning a common agenda from the media on the Internet, the medium considered an icon of the new media environment. Findings of the content analysis found significant positive correlations between news agenda of different media outlets, indicating that there is a common agenda in the media. Environmental factors of the media environment rather than individual differences in political predispositions have strong influence on people’s incidental news exposure, a key route to acquire a common agenda. A series of analyses based on the survey found that overall frequency of Internet use significantly predicted individuals’ reports of incidental news exposure online, whereas there was no significant relationship between political predispositions and incidental exposure. It also appears that certain online activities such as getting entertainment/sports information significantly predicted the incidental news exposure. The incidental news exposure was found to have actual effects on people’s learning of a common agenda and recognition/recall of information carried by stimulus messages in the experiment. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of communication research and media/democracy. / text

<p>ABSTRACT</p><p>Title: How do you get the students to listen? – A study of Academic Works communication towards students (Hur får du en student att lyssna? – En studie av Academic Works kommunikation mot studenter)</p><p>Number of pages: 38 (41 including enclosures)</p><p>Author: Fredrik Hansson</p><p>Tutor: Peder Hård af Segerstad</p><p>Course: Media and Communication studies C</p><p>Period: Autumn 2007</p><p>University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University.</p><p>Aim: The purpose of this paper is to study the strategies involved in the communication process between an organisation and its target audience. The study also aims to examine the company Academic Work and its communication efforts towards the targeted audience students.</p><p>Method/Material: In order to examine the aim above, interviews were made with two persons involved in the communication of Academic Work. In addition to the interviews, a questionnaire was carried out at campus Ekonomikum, Uppsala University.</p><p>Main results: The main result can be summarized as:</p><p>· Academic Works communications have a lot of resemblance with the papers presented theory.</p><p>· Events and direct meetings is the communication effort by Academic Work that has the biggest impact on student’s awareness and knowledge of the company.</p><p>· A large majority of the students at campus Ekonomikum at Uppsala University are interested in working part-time and are aware of Academic Work. Despite this, only a few percents of the students participating in the questionnaire are working or have ever worked for Academic Work.</p><p>Keywords: Communication, students, Academic Work, target audience, strategies, message, media channel.</p>

Language is the most common and crucial element newspapers apply to express meaning. Language is a system of linguistic signs combined by rules to create meaning. Newspapers use language, among other or sign systems (e.g. photographs, graphics, content and layout) to communicate. These systems support each other and perform as a unit to reflect a newspaper's character and function. South Africa has a diversity in language, culture, background and literacy levels and the media's target audiences differ significantly. The ways in which these systems are thus applied, diverge to satisfy the various needs of audiences. These needs include being informed, entertained, aesthetically pleased, emotionally involved and mobilized (persuaded). Audiences also seek a reflection of their values, views and cultures in the media. / Thesis (M.A. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

This study is an attempt to investigate communicative and effective preaching. It suggests some guidelines for the praxis of communicative preaching for contemporary preachers in the light of Hebrews. Hebrews was written in an elevated rhetorical style and contains one of the longest sustained lines of argumentation in the New Testament. The research is expanded in order to arrive at the answers to the question: • How can a preacher effectively communicate his/her message to his/her audience in their situation in the light of Hebrews? In order to reach this aim, Hebrews and the rhetorical strategies used in this book are investigated to disclose basis-theoretical principles for communicative preaching. Communication principles are investigated in order to extract meta-theoretical principles that can be utilised in communicative preaching. In addition, three published sermons are analysed in order to evaluate the results of this study. After having scrutinised these elements, a final conclusion is deduced. Basis-theoretically, the research reveals the following guidelines: • Communicative preaching should provide the opportunity for hearers to listen to the real speakers, God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, from the Scripture itself. • A preacher should have the ability to interpret and apply the Biblical texts in relation to people's situation and must testify his/her faith in Jesus Christ in his/her daily life. • A preacher should have the specific goal of his/her preaching in mind and use a literary style that is suitable for the level of his/her hearers' understanding. • A preacher must keep in touch with his/her hearers in their real-life situation in order to recognise their real problems and try to solve these in the course of preaching. • A sermon should be well structured by means of logical development. • A sermon should contain a transition or transitions that are created by digressions between two movements of sermon units in order to keep the hearers' attention. • A sermon should persuade the hearers not only by means of logos but also through the example of the preacher's own good character. • A sermon should employ the interplay of positive and negative feelings in order to establish emotional dynamics in the process of preaching. Meta-theoretically, the processes, forms of communication, and the principles of public speaking are investigated in order to understand the principles of communication. This research finds the following guidelines: • Communication is a transactional process in which source and receiver play interchangeable roles throughout the act of communication. • To communicate effectively, a sender has to understand his/her audience and adjust his/her message to the audience because public speaking is an audience-centred process. • A speaker's speech should suit his/her goal. Guidelines that were obtained as a result of the research include the following: • A preacher has to analyse both the Biblical text and his audience. • A preacher has to apply the goal and the theme of the text in relation to his/her audience's situation. • A preacher has to logically organise his/her sermon in order to win his/her audience's attention through the principles of effective communication. • A preacher should persuade his/her listeners not only by means of the logical development of the sermon, but also through the example of his/her own good character. • A preacher should employ emotional appeal to have an impact on his/her listeners. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Homiletics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

The study looks into the 2008 American Presidential Election from two sides; the way the news channels frame the event and the way a sample of the audiences interpret it. Drawing on literature concerning framing theory which describes the practices employed by mass media to present world events in familiar and understandable formats to audiences, the study examines the coverage of the 2008 American Presidential Election on three trans-border news channels broadcasting in Arabic. A number of stories covering the American election campaign broadcasted on Alarabiya, Alhurra and Aljazeera, are included. The study assesses general frames used to describe the event by each channel. The analysis reports the frames generally employed by the three channels are relatively similar, suggesting a global effect on the media in following the Anglo-American model of journalism when reporting international events. The differences appear when reporting regional issues between the two Arabic trans-border channels Alarabiya and Aljazeera on one side and Alhurra on the other suggesting a link between journalistic ideology and framing. The second part of this thesis is the exploratory audience study which attempts to provide insights into perception of Arab news coverage - particularly in Saudi Arabia. The audience study uses a questionnaire and focus group methodologies on a sample of participants with high television news consumption levels, measuring the perception of news channels credibility in specific and credibility of media in general, and exploring the possible presence of a link between consumption level of news and perceived news credibility. Moreover, examining how audience analyse news and how their opinions about the event have been shaped by media framing.

This thesis is a socio-cultural study of the development of female stand-up comedy in the first decade of the twenty-first century within a multi-racial and multi-cultural Britain. It also engages with the theory and practice of performance and asks the question: ‘In what ways can it be said that female stand-up comics perform the comic side of bodily abjection?’ This question is applied to three groups of female case-studies which include: those who came into stand-up comedy in the 1980s; second-generation transnationals who became established at the end of the twentieth century; and twenty-first century newcomers to stand-up comedy. This third group also includes the author of this thesis who uses her own embodied experience as research, and Lynne Parker whose Funny Women organization was set up in 2002 to facilitate female entry into stand-up comedy. Alongside these three groups the subject of females as audience of female stand-up comedy is also explored. The issue of bodily abjection is explored in relation to seminal works on abjection by Julia Kristeva (1982) and Mary Douglas (1966) and regarding theories of the grotesque as posited by Mikhail Bakhtin (1984) and Mary Russo (1995). These texts are used in this thesis to argue that abjection is a significant aspect of both the context and content of contemporary female stand-up comedy and that the orifices, surfaces and processes of the body are still pertinent to twenty-first century female stand-up comedy.