Wave interaction with a rubble-mound breakwater has been studied experimentally in the thesis. The breakwater may contain multi-layer anisotropic but homogeneous media. Fluid outside the porous layer field is assumed to incompressible and viscous,and the flow field is irrational. The study applies the velocity potential to describe the wave field with small amplitude incident wave. Under the consideration of linearity, Analytical solution is solved from boundary value program by the method of separation of variables. It bases on dispersion equation. Try to find the range and position of the complex eigenvalues in each porous column and to solve the velocity potential in the field by numerical methods. Wave reflection, transmission, and energy dissipation with a rubble-mound breakwater have been investigated experimentally, and consider the wave close linear wave theory, the wave steepness smaller than 0.035. Three different sizes of grain are used to construct the porous base, they are 16mm, 25mm, and 35mm, respectively. Single and double layers of porous base are considered. Some of the reflection coefficient are convergence, but they are the unreasonable results. Maybe the trouble is in the process of the computation with determination of .eigenvalues. When the wave has long period, the double-layer porous model reduces more wave energy, when the wave has short period, the single-layer porous and the smaller porous material model can disappears more wave energy. The characteristic of internal resistance in the porous has the difference along with the wave period. When the model crest is higher than the sea level, the consumption of wave energy are more when it is shorter along with the wave period. As a submerged breakwater, the effect for disappears wave energy to be limited.

This study is about how women entrepreneurs are represented in Taiwan¡¦s business magazines. The role of mass media is to transmit information and establish the cultural value in a society. Hence, mass media is a key source of the construction of gender stereotype. Comparatively, women entrepreneurs are the minority in the society. We have difficulties in getting the first-hand information of their venturing process and experience. Mass media, under these circumstances, is the primary source of our perception of the women entrepreneurs. Many previous studies have suggested that the media tend to summarize the experience of women entrepreneurs from a masculine perspective, over-simplify the gender differences, draw particular attention on the private domain of women entrepreneurs and emphasize the stereotype of female. In this study, our major research question is ¡¥how are women entrepreneurs, in Taiwan, represented by the news media.¡¦ The study has adopted discourse analysis as research method and the related reports are all from the most three popular magazines in Taiwan. By analyzing words and sentences, the study try to reveal preferences and standpoints of media. After analyzing 87 reports, we could say that the media prefer to represent women entrepreneurs in the following ways. 1. Women entrepreneurs are rare in the society. 2. Describe women entrepreneurs with masculine traits. 3. Women entrepreneurs have to show feminine traits at some time, not too aggressive all the time. 4. The influences from women entrepreneurs¡¦ fathers and husbands. 5. Represent the stereotype of women entrepreneurs. 6. Focus on marriage and family status of women entrepreneurs.

Abstract The process of Democratization has brought various impacts on the relations between the Nation and the Media. This thesis is to discuss the changes resulted from the impacts in 3 periods: Marshal-law, Post-marshal-law and DPP Administration. They are viewed with the angle of Media both internally and externally. The relations between the Nation and the Media had a significant change when Marshal-law was lifted In addition, the rapid growth of commerce and the rising of the civil-consciousness had amplified the changes, especially when the three factors (Nation, Market, and the Society) evolved through time. In Marshal-law period, the ruling was the political party and the administration combined. The Media was dictated directly and unilaterally by the government using the means of setting regulations and controlling the organization from within. In other words, the Media then was government-owned propaganda instrument. Between Post-marshal-law and the new Party¡¦s assuming the office, the controlling force has lessened. Only the KMT Intelligence Department was still shadowing over the Union of Journalists and the Television Broadcast Systems. However, the market diversification was also observed due to policy and regulation abolishment. And that was the beginning of interactive-relations. From year 2002 onward, the new administration has withdrawn the control significantly. Nevertheless, this study has observed that the attempt to manipulate the Media by ways of using the influence of the Commerce existed.

The majority of the Texas population now lives in urban areas. In rural areas, the traditional Extension audience prefers to receive Extension information at an Extension meeting, from a county agent??s visit to the farm, or a farm demonstration. A rural county Extension agent can invite their target audience to a seminar and probably have almost the entire audience attend. In an urban county, most county Extension agents would not even have a location large enough to hold their target audience. The Extension seminar/meeting model has been successful for many years and will continue to meet the needs of the rural Extension audience and most urban audiences. To determine the preferred delivery method in an urban audience and test the delivery method for gain in knowledge, participants at two garden seminars were asked to complete a questionnaire after attending breakout sessions about landscape maintenance practices. The same information was delivered by different methods; newspaper, television, Extension fact sheet, and a presentation. Participants were asked questions about what they learned in each session, how they preferred to received information, what was their primary source for information, how they perceived their landscape knowledge expertise before and after treatment, and about their past contact with Extension. Results indicate a gain inknowledge from newspaper, video, fact sheet, and presentation; most participants preferred and were receiving most information about landscape maintenance from print media particularly newspaper; participants who perceived their expertise as high before and after the treatment scored higher on the landscape knowledge test; and over half the participants had some previous contact with Extension. The results may be used to guide urban county Extension agents to select education delivery methods to effectively deliver best management practice information to homeowners about landscape maintenance.

This thesis addresses how the Joel Osteen ministry uses mass media at its Lakewood church, located in Houston, Texas, and at its services around the nation. I studied this ministry?s religious use of media to understand what it communicates about the church or ministry itself. To assist in my analysis, I have applied the concept religious individualism. Herein, this concept describes an individual who sees him- or herself as separate from their Christian community (or affiliation) which stems from a belief in a God who is also directly involved in the lives of individuals. Religious individualism is acted out in four observable characteristics which include: displaying emotion to seek attention, taking personal responsibility for one?s spiritual growth, expecting God?s future blessing, and seeking one?s personal needs in a church above communal needs. I used this definition to determine whether Lakewood illustrated these traits in order to make an inference on how this would inform its use of mass media. I applied both field observation skills and qualitative content analysis in this study. My own observation was used during my own observation of the Lakewood services, while content analysis was used to analyze blog and newspaper articles covering Osteen-led services. Findings from both methodologies revealed that the Osteen ministry does not merely employ mass media as a tool but integrates it into the very image of the church, making its use necessary and natural. This conclusion was reached as both methodologies showed Lakewood and the Osteen ministry exemplifying each trait of religious individualism. In observance of its religious individualism, it appeared natural for the ministry and church to use media as it helped enforce the importance of each trait to the audience. Likewise, the results from both the field observation and content analysis show that the audience responded to Lakewood?s use of mass media as inseparable from the services. Perhaps paradoxically, it became necessary for the ministry to use mass media to reach an audience that expected to be addressed in a personal way, based on a value of personal needs being met.

Acute otitis media (AOM) is the most common diagnosis for which antibiotics are prescribed for children in the United States. Previous trials evaluating an optional antibiotic prescription are limited and have significant limitations. None have evaluated an optional prescription in the urgent care setting. We conducted a randomized, controlled trial in an urban emergency department in which children aged 6 months to 12 years diagnosed with AOM were randomly assigned a "wait-and-see prescription" (WASP) or a "standard treatment prescription" (STP). Structured phone interviews were conducted 4-6, 11-14, and 30-40 days after enrollment to determine the proportion of each group that filled the antibiotic prescription and outcomes related to the clinical course. Substantially more parents in the WASP group (N=138) did not fill the antibiotic prescription compared to the STP group (N=145) (62% vs. 13%; P<0.001). There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in the frequency of subsequent fever, otalgia or unscheduled visits for medical care. Within the WASP group, both fever (OR = 4.0, 95% confidence interval, 1.7-9.5) and otalgia (OR = 4.5, 95% confidence interval, 1.7-11.5) were associated with filling the prescription. The WASP approach substantially reduced unnecessary use of antibiotics in children and is a reasonable alternative to routine use of antimicrobials for treatment of AOM.

Thesis (M.A.) - Simon Fraser University, 2006. / Theses (School of Communication) / Simon Fraser University. Also issued in digital format and available on the World Wide Web.

Dissertation (Ph.D.) - Simon Fraser University, 2006. / Theses (School of Communication) / Simon Fraser University. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 276-296). Also issued in digital format and available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 101 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-89).

Zugl.: Saarbrücken, Univ., Habil.-Schrift, 2008