The credibility of the American news media is increasingly under fire. Despite an exponential expansion of information available in the digital media era, increased political news coverage and commentary has brought growing apprehension over how much of today’s news can be trusted and believed. 24-hour cable news channels are among the media most often subject to this criticism. At the same time, the media operates under First Amendment freedom of press protection, a constitutional guarantee granted with the understanding that democracy can only succeed when its citizens are well informed. In the great experiment of our republic, a freely functioning news media fills this critical role, but only to the extent that it can be trusted to portray the truth. This research questioned the media’s ability to inform the public due to the proliferation of political news and commentary. Utilizing social judgment theory, this study offered two hypotheses: that news consumers will find more credibility in political news when presented by media outlets they favor due to political preferences, and that they will also find more credibility in non-political news when presented by media they favor due to political preferences. The study examined if there is a bleed over effect on the credibility of non-political news due to political news coverage. An experiment was conducted in which two politically diverse populations, Republicans and Democrats, where asked to rate the credibility of six stories. Three of the stories were political, three non-political. While the content of those stories remained constant for all study participants, the media brands associated with the stories alternated between Fox News and CNN to determine if the media source alone influences perceptions of credibility. Results from members of both political parties provided support for each hypothesis. Republicans assigned greater credibility to both political and non-political news stories when presented by their network of preference, Fox News. By comparison, Democrats demonstrated greater trust when those same stories where branded by their preferred network, CNN.

Ce travail s'inscrit dans le cadre de la vérification formelle de programmes. La vérification de modèle permet de s'assurer qu'une propriété est vérifiée par le modèle du système. Cette thèse étudie la vérification paramétrée de réseaux composés d'un nombre non borné de processus identiques où le nombre de processus est considéré comme un paramètre. Concernant les réseaux de protocoles probabilistes temporisés nous montrons que les problèmes de l'accessibilité et de synchronisation sont indécidables pour des topologies de communication en cliques. Cependant, en considérant des pertes et créations probabiliste de processus ces problèmes deviennent décidables. Pour ce qui est des réseaux dans lequel les messages n'atteignent qu'une sous partie des composants choisie de manière non-déterministe, nous prouvons que le problème de l'accessibilité paramétrée est décidable grâce à une réduction à un nouveau modèle de jeux à deux joueurs distribué pour lequel nous montrons que l'on peut décider de l'existence d'une stratégie gagnante en coNP. Finalement, nous considérons des stratégies locales qui permettent d'assurer que les processus effectuent leurs choix non-déterministes uniquement par rapport a leur connaissance locale du système. Sous cette hypothèse de stratégies locales, nous prouvons que les problèmes de l'accessibilité et de synchronisation paramétrées sont NP-complet. / This thesis deals with formal verification of distributed systems. Model checking is a technique for verifying that the model of a system under study fulfills a given property. This PhD investigates the parameterized verification of networks composed of many identical processes for which the number of processes is the parameter. Considering networks of probabilistic timed protocols, we show that the parameterized reachability and synchronization problems are undecidable when the communication topology is a clique. However, assuming probabilistic creation and deletion of processes, the problems become decidable. Regarding selective networks, where the messages only reach a subset of the components, we show decidability of the parameterized reachability problem thanks to reduction to a new model of distributed two-player games for which we prove decidability in coNP of the game problem. Finally, we consider local strategies that enforce all processes to resolve the non-determinism only according to their own local knowledge. Under this assumption of local strategy, we were able to show that the parameterized reachability and synchronization problems are NP-complete.

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The object of this diploma thesis is the definition of the report as a method of radio production in the broadcasting of the Czech public radio, which is Czech Radio (Český rozhlas). In the theoretical part, the author deals with the definition and description of particular radio genres and with the genesis of the distinction of news, journalistic, documentary and dramatic forms of radio production. Looking forward for context and application of the radio reporting method in their production processes. Using definitions and expert studies of media and radio theorists, she names the basic attributes of these genres. This paper is a cross-section of popular and unpopular forms of contemporary radio production through prism reporting methods. The practical part of the diploma thesis is based on qualitative analysis of selected programs of Czech Radio. The analysis of the materials in the research part works with the prescribed theoretical concepts of radio work and it is also based on the research. The programs studied are analyzed based on the occurrence of reportage methods and elements in different genres. Part of the qualitative research is the sound and text analysis of individual works. The comparison method is based on the means of expression, the technical parameters and the working methods of...

Spatial Modulation (SM) is a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) transmission technique which realizes low complexity implementations in wireless communication systems. Due the transmission principle of SM, only one Radio Frequency (RF) chain is required in the transmitter. Therefore, the complexity of the transmitter is lower compared to the complexity of traditional MIMO schemes, such as Spatial MultipleXing (SMX). In addition, because of the single RF chain configuration of SM, only one Power Amplifier (PA) is required in the transmitter. Hence, SM has the potential to exhibit significant Energy Efficiency (EE) benefits. At the receiver side, due to the SM transmission mechanism, detection is conducted using a low complexity (single stream) Maximum Likelihood (ML) detector. However, despite the use of a single stream detector, SM achieves a multiplexing gain. A point-to-point closed-loop variant of SM is receive space modulation. In receive space modulation, the concept of SMis extended at the receiver side, using linear precoding with Channel State Information at the Transmitter (CSIT). Even though receive space modulation does not preserve the single RF chain configuration of SM, due to the deployed linear precoding, it can be efficiently incorporated in a Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA) or in a Virtual Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (VMIMO) architecture. Inspired by the potentials of SM, the objectives of this thesis are the evaluation of the EE of SM and its extension in different forms of MIMO communication. In particular, a realistic power model for the power consumption of a Base Station (BS) is deployed in order to assess the EE of SM in terms of Mbps/J. By taking into account the whole power supply of a BS and considering a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) multiple access scheme, it is shown that SM is significantly more energy efficient compared to the traditional MIMO techniques. In the considered system setup, it is shown that SM is up to 67% more energy efficient compared to the benchmark systems. In addition, the concept of space modulation is researched at the receiver side. Specifically, based on the union bound technique, a framework for the evaluation of the Average Bit Error Probability (ABEP), diversity order, and coding gain of receive space modulation is developed. Because receive space modulation deploys linear precoding with CSIT, two new precoding methods which utilize imperfect CSIT are proposed. Furthermore, in this thesis, receive space modulation is incorporated in the broadcast channel. The derivation of the theoretical ABEP, diversity order, and coding gain of the new broadcast scheme is provided. It is concluded that receive space modulation is able to outperform the corresponding traditional MIMO scheme. Finally, SM, receive space modulation, and relaying are combined in order to form a novel virtual MIMO architecture. It is shown that the new architecture practically eliminates or reduces the problem of the inefficient relaying of the uncoordinated virtual MIMO space modulation architectures. This is undertaken by using precoding in a novel fashion. The evaluation of the new architecture is conducted using simulation and theoretical results.

The first line of defence against wireless attacks in Radio Frequency Identi cation (RFID) systems is authentication of tags and readers. RFID tags are very constrained in terms of power, memory and size of circuit. Therefore, RFID tags are not capable of performing sophisticated cryptographic operations. In this dissertation, we have designed light-weight authentication schemes to securely identify the RFID tags to readers and vice versa. The authentication schemes require simple binary operations and can be readily implemented in resource-constrained Radio Frequency Identi cation (RFID) tags. We provide a formal proof of security based on the di culty of solving the Syndrome Decoding (SD) problem. Authentication veri es the unique identity of an RFID tag making it possible to track a tag across multiple readers. We further protect the identity of RFID tags by a light-weight privacy protecting identifi cation scheme based on the di culty of the Learning Parity with Noise (LPN) complexity assumption. To protect RFID tags authentication against the relay attacks, we have designed a resistance scheme in the analog realm that does not have the practicality issues of existing solutions. Our scheme is based on the chaos-suppression theory and it is robust to inconsistencies, such as noise and parameters mismatch. Furthermore, our solutions are based on asymmetric-key algorithms that better facilitate the distribution of cryptographic keys in large systems. We have provided a secure broadcast encryption protocol to effi ciently distribute cryptographic keys throughout the system with minimal communication overheads. The security of the proposed protocol is formally proven in the adaptive adversary model, which simulates the attacker in the real world.

Thesis (M.Sc. Agriculture (Pasture Science)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) is believed to be adapted to the arid and semi-arid regions, highly tolerant to pests, diseases and drought. It has the potential to produce a high forage biomass with fewer inputs under good production practices. The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential of finger millet as a fodder crop on the Pietersburg Plateau under rainfed and irrigation conditions, planted in rows and broadcast. The study was conducted for two consecutive seasons (2017 and 2018) at the Syferkuil Experimental Farm (SEF), University of Limpopo. Treatments consisted of two watering treatments (irrigation and rainfed) and two planting methods (broadcast and row planting). Seeding rate was 10 kg ha-1 with the inter row spacing of 25 cm. Irrigation had a significant effect on the dry matter production of finger millet (P ≤ 0.05). During 2017 growing season, under rainfed condition, the crop experienced zero production due to low rainfall. The total dry matter production of finger millet under rainfed conditions in 2018 was 3371 kg ha-1 for row planting and 3770 kg ha-1 for broadcasting. The dry matter production of finger millet under irrigation and row planting was 5318 kg ha-1 compared to 3371 kg ha-1 produced under row planting in the rainfed conditions. Broadcasting under irrigation produced 4890 kg ha-1 whereas broadcasting under rainfed conditions yielded 3770 kg ha-1. Planting method had no significant effect on the dry matter production of finger millet (P ≤ 0.05). The total dry matter production in 2017 was 5668 kg ha-1 and 5122 kg ha 1 under row planting and broadcast respectively, 2018 season produced the total dry matter production of 5122 kg ha-1 under row planting and 4892 kg ha-1 under broadcast. Finger millet planted under rainfed in rows had the CP% of 14.76 and 16.87% when broadcasted. In all the treatments CP% was higher than 10%. The ADF% was 33.02% under rainfed conditions and it ranged between 30.99% and 31.53% in 2017 and 2018 for row planting under irrigation. Finger millet can be considered an alternative fodder crop for livestock farmers in the Pietersburg Plateau

The controversy over the effects of television viewing on human behavior has drawn a great deal of attention over the last decade. This study sought to investigate this area by looking at cortical response to television viewing. The subjects in the study consisted of 24 men and 24 women (m=l9 .6 years) who were monitored for bilateral EEG alpha (8-13 Hz) brain wave production while viewing a television commercial (verbal and nonverbal/ spatial) and were then tested for recall at the end of the session. The analysis of variance for a split-plot factorial design (S.P.F. 222.43; Kirk, 1968) revealed that while there were no differences between cerebral hemispheres, there were significant increases in the amount of alpha brain .wave production (p <. 01) during the trials. The results of this study support the first hypothesis that "EEG alpha levels will increase with repeated exposure to televised commercials." The significance of this finding is that it contrasts sharply with earlier research and indicates that repeated viewing of the same commercial results in an erosion of the viewer's interest.

The master thesis is solving a problem of physical security of documents in Document Management System (DMS) in the company Icontio CR s.r.o. This fact will improve the security of the whole system and also the security of data placed in it. The main purpose of this thesis is a proposal of a security module, methods of coding and other functionalities which are going to be neccesarily implemented. Side purpose is a creation of the Access management, structures of data libraries in the DMS system, structures of users in the Active Directory and a suggestion of multilevel workflow. Introduction of these changes should bring the physical security of data, new view on data and simplifying the work with them in all fields of interest.

Selbst im Bereich von Digital TV sitzt der Pinguin in der 1. Reihe. Mit einer DVB-Karte soll es möglich sein, digitale Programmvielfalt am PC zu erleben. Aber neben TV sind natürlich noch Funktionen wie Teletext verfügbar. Der PC läßt sich sogar in einen fernbedienbaren Videorecorder und DVD-Player verwandeln. Der Vortrag soll einen Überblick der unterstützten Hardware geben und ausgewählte Softwareentwicklungen vorstellen.