It is well known that the evolution of 4G-based mobile multimedia network systems will contribute significantly to future m-health applications that require high bandwidth and fast data rates. Central to the success of such emerging applications is the compatibility of broadband networks such as mobile WiMAX (IEEE 802.16e) and RSVP A, and especially their rate adaption issues combined with the acceptable real time medical quality of service requirements. The design of effective broadband mobile healthcare systems usmg emerging WiMAX and RSxP A networks is important from the medical perspective especially in applications such as remote medical ultrasound diagnostic systems. In this thesis, we introduce a new cross layer design approach for medical video streaming over mobile WiMAX and RSVP A networks. In particular, we propose an approach based on optimising medical Quality of Service (m-QoS) in mobile WiMAX network environments described in this work. Preliminary performance analysis of the proposed cross layer algorithm has been evaluated via simulation studies. These results show that the proposed cross layer optimizer achieves improved performance compatible with the necessary medical QoS requirements and constraints for the relevant clinical application. Furthermore, this work addresses the relevant challenges of cross layer design requirements for real time rate adaptation of ultrasound video streaming in Mobile WiMAX and RSVP A networks. The comparative performance analysis of such approach is validated in two experimental m-health testbed systems for both Mobile WiMAX and RSVP A networks. The experimental results show an improved performance of Mobile WiMAX compared to the RSVP A using the same cross layer optimisation approach. Additionally, we map the medical QoS to typical WiMAX QoS parameters in order to optimise the performance of these parameters in typical m-health scenarios. Preliminary performance analysis of the proposed multiparametric scenarios is evaluated to provide essential information for future medical QoS requirements and constraints.

<p> Over 85% of all adults are active on social media. Social media is challenging as an information-sharing community because there is no formal review process before the information is published. College students are among the most active users of social media and have been shown to be ineffective in determining credible information online. Eighty-three students from two universities participated in a voluntary, online survey that assessed the relationship between gender, enrollment year, and academic major of college students and how the students navigated social media to obtain nutrition information. Variables were tested using a chi-square analysis; if determinants were <i>n</i> &lt; 5 a Fisher&rsquo;s exact test was run. </p><p> Results indicated that female students were significantly more likely to use Instagram, <i>x</i>² = 5.224, <i>p</i> = 0.022 or Pinterest, <i>p</i> = 0.002, to access nutrition information and placed higher importance on the quality of photos than males, <i> x</i>² = 4.953, <i>p</i> = 0.026. Additionally, female students were more likely to search for healthy recipes, <i>x </i>² = 11.044, <i>p</i> = 0.001, weight loss information, <i>x</i>² = 7.675, <i>p</i> = 0.006, and to trust chefs, <i>x</i>² = 6.863, <i>p</i> = 0.009 and food bloggers, <i>p</i> = &lt; 0.001. Descriptively, it was found that students are more likely to search for broad nutrition topics such as general nutrition tips, weight loss, and healthy recipes. Students were found to trust both credible (registered dietitians, physicians) and non-credible professionals (personal trainers, nutritionist). Future research should expand on how students use social media for nutrition/health information using a larger, more culturally diverse subject pool with a more detailed focus on implications of social media as a nutrition source.</p><p>

<p> The United States is competing on a global level for jobs in the STEM fields but retention and graduation rates in the engineering disciplines are lower than desired. African American males make up 5 % of the population of American colleges and universities (Strayhorn, 2010) and many of those pursuing an engineering degree often are not academically prepared for a career in engineering. There are African American males who have successfully persisted in engineering; however, limited research is provided about the success of these African American males and their experiences in engineering programs. The purpose of this study was to understand factors that impact successful persistence of African American male engineering majors at a predominantly White institution. Critical Race Theory was used as a framework to gain a broader scope of the underlying themes interwoven into the fabric of American society and a better understanding of the perceptions about African American male engineering majors. A qualitative case study was conducted to understand real-world phenomena through the experiences of successful African American male engineering majors. Using constant comparative analysis technique, two major themes were identified: Overcoming challenges and social identity. Early academic experiences, developing a positive identity, and a connection to others experiencing similar challenges were found to contribute to successful persistence.</p><p>

This study proposes the implementation of a Strategic Ontological Police Force Knowledge Management Framework with the Dubai Police Force. Recent research in knowledge management has reiterated the potential benefits of effective knowledge management in both public and private sector organisations. Effective knowledge management allows organisations to accrue rewards such as increased productivity, enhanced performance, and competitive advantage. However, the process of transitioning to new models and frameworks of knowledge management can pose a number of difficulties, particularly within organisations that have entrenched managerial practices. This study posits that the implementation of an effective knowledge management strategy must take into account the cultural and administrative specificity of the organisation, and the wider socio-cultural context in which it operates, in order to ensure that an appropriate framework is devised. The core characteristics of the proposed Knowledge Management framework of the Dubai Police Force must be one where the organisational structure first and foremost permits transparency and an avenue stream for sharing knowledge. This framework must enhance common understanding within the organisation hence ontology is utilised to capture this. New technology must be shared amongst all levels within the organisation and training at all levels is required to be homogenous. The thesis finds that knowledge sharing within the Dubai Police Force to be largely absent with a degree of apathy amongst staff members. Further, the findings show the staff to be unaware of the nature to which knowledge sharing could benefit the police force in the long run. There was also an attitude whereby staff members concentrated on their own particular tasks, goals and achievements and not those of other individuals, which if noted, would be to the benefit of the organisation. The thesis found that the entire infrastructure lacked cooperation at all levels to the detriment of the entire police force. In light of the knowledge framework and contribution, the recommendations serve to consider how people, cultures and technology interact to create a strategy for knowledge transfer within the institution rather than an environment consisting of workers the knowledge management technologies should ensure a process that includes personal development contributing to the overall organisation and training programmes.

<p> Science and decision making in commercial fisheries management take place in the context of uncertainty. This research demonstrates ways that local knowledge held by fishermen can be used to mitigate that uncertainty. This dissertation documents local knowledge of fishermen in Poland and Alaska, and contributes to the development of methods for utilizing that local knowledge in commercial fisheries management. Specific case study examples were developed through exploratory interviews with fishermen in the two study regions. Interviews were conducted with Baltic cod (<i>Gadus morhua</i>) fishermen in Poland and Pacific halibut (<i>Hippoglossus stenolepis</i>) fishermen in Alaska. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to analyze local knowledge about ecosystems, as well as preferences held by fishermen about regulations. Cultural consensus analysis was used to quantify agreement among fishermen in Poland about the abundance and condition of cod, and generalized additive modeling was used to show how fishermen and scientists attributed different causes to similar observed phenomena. Multiple factor analysis and logistic regression were used to demonstrate how fishing characteristics influence encounters with incidental catch in the commercial fishery for halibut in Southeast Alaska. Finally, an analytic hierarchy process model was used to shed light on preferences halibut fishermen have about data collection methods on their vessels. All findings show how the inclusion of fishermen&rsquo;s local knowledge in fisheries management need not be limited to informal conversations or public testimony at meetings in order to be meaningfully interpretable by managers.</p><p>

<p> This dissertation explores the structure of political attitudes on the political parties&rsquo;, as well as mass public levels in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco. I present the dimensionality, nature and structuration of political ideologies in these countries. In doing so, I describe the determinants, constituents, and components constructing parties&rsquo; and citizens&rsquo; political maps that are constantly competing for electoral, as well as actual, relevance within all societal domains. This work provides the first systematic empirical analysis of party systems in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco. It explores three basic characteristics of the party system in each case: the number of relevant parties, level of ideological polarization and the degree of parties&rsquo; institutionalization. </p><p> The dissertation begins with analyzing political parties&rsquo; policy positions obtained from a content analysis of their manifestos. The content analysis measure parties&rsquo; political preferences on thirty political issues distributed on seven policy domains: foreign relations, democracy, economy, religion, culture, welfare and social groups while party politics literature in the Arab World is increasingly attempting to identify the most relevant political conflicts in the region, the empirical investigation of parties&rsquo; policy preferences in the region is non-existent. I provide evidence that political parties&rsquo; attitudes structure, political ideology, is organized on two dimensions: an economic, as well as a cultural one. The extent to which the economy should be regulated and whether Islam should play an active role in organizing politics and society constitute the main conflicts constructing the attitudes structure of Arab political parties in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco. </p><p> Next, I analyze the attitudes structures of mass publics in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco to compare these to their political parties&rsquo; counterparts. Using the Sixth Wave of the World Values Survey, 2010&ndash;2014, the dissertation concludes that mass publics&rsquo; attitudes structures in these four Arab nations are differ from their parties&rsquo; equivalents&rsquo;. Ordinary citizens in the Arab World seem to structure their attitudes according to four dimensions: Welfare, Religion, Economy and Culture. Despite the extensive literature arguing that political elites and actors, mainly political parties, influence the structure of attitudes on the mass level, this dissertation presents evidence that contradicts such an assessment. This result indicates that elite political preferences may prove irrelevant in shaping mass publics political ideologies in certain contexts such as the Arab World. It also corroborates the assumption suggesting that political parties compete on a different ideological space than citizens. The attitudes structure on the mass level is shown to be more complex than that on the parties&rsquo; level. </p><p> Finally, I present an in-depth analysis of Algerian, Egyptian, and Jordanian and Moroccan party systems. The evidence indicates that party systems&rsquo; number of relevant actors, level of ideological polarization and the degree of institutionalization differ across countries. Morocco reflects the most stable system with few stable parties, medium level of ideological polarization and parties&rsquo; with strong organizations and deep roots in society. On the other hand, Jordan exhibits the weakest party system with a single relevant mass party, absent ideological polarization and weak parties. Algeria and Egypt withered similar political histories producing party systems with a strong state backed party and few strong opposition actors, high ideological polarization between Islamists and liberals and few highly institutionalized parties.</p><p>

<p> The 21st century has seen a pervasive theme in STEM continue from the 20^th century: women do not pursue and persist in STEM careers at anywhere near the rate of men. Furthermore, STEM education has fallen short in preparing its students to enter the workforce as entrepreneurial knowledge workers prepared to innovate. As STEM and entrepreneurship receive unprecedented attention in scholarly circles, the first purpose of this mixed methods study at an independent day school was to examine the impact of a <i> predominately female</i> STEEM (i.e., science, technology, engineering, entrepreneurship and mathematics) teaching staff on girls&rsquo; perceptions of STEEM. The second purpose of this study was to examine the impact of adding <i> entrepreneurship</i> to a STEM curriculum. The ultimate goals of this study were to inform local policy and practice. </p><p> Through teacher interviews, student focus groups, and a student survey, this study investigated the impact of female teachers and a recently established entrepreneurship-infused curriculum. The theory of action guiding this school is that female STEEM teachers and the inclusion of entrepreneurship skills and projects can improve girls&rsquo; perceptions of the STEM classroom, helping them to view STEM as less gender-oriented (i.e., male-oriented), and thereby make these classes feel more welcoming to girls. This is aimed at increasing their adoption of STEM majors in college and STEM careers after they graduate. </p><p> This study has four major findings. First, the predominantly female STEEM faculty appeared to build girls&rsquo; confidence in their STEEM classes. Second, the STEEM teachers use active learning and critical thinking to engage the girls in their classes. Third, the introduction of entrepreneurship appears to have helped increase girls&rsquo; interest in STEM. Last, even while discussing their efforts to increase girls&rsquo; engagement with STEM, many teachers celebrate gender blindness. </p><p> These findings raised a number issues that should be important educators and (especially) school leaders. These include the importance of high standards for girls in STEEM classes, the value of including real world experiences in STEEM lessons, the success of expanding STEM with a less traditionally academic area and the challenges that gender blindness can perpetuate for educators and their students.</p>

This study examines the role of propaganda and popular culture in constituting the American political tradition through the study of NFL films by employing a decidedly overlooked theoretical conception of the American political tradition—the countersubversive tradition thesis. Originally put forth by Michael Rogin, the countersubversive tradition is defined as “the creation of monsters as a continuing feature of American politics by the inflation, stigmatization, and dehumanization of political foes.” It is my belief that in looking at what constitutes the individual characteristics of the countersubversive tradition in a text like a sports film it is easier to see how it fits into similar theories offered by political scientists and others about the intersections of pop culture, sport, propaganda, and political tradition.

During the 1920s and 30s, Mexican artists, teachers and state officials collaborated to stage educational plays in working class neighborhoods and rural communities in an effort to foster revolutionary citizens. The authors of live-action drama and hand-puppetry, known as teatro guiñol, infused their comedies and morality plays with the lessons of Mexico's revolution, endeavoring to improve rural life, strengthen class-consciousness and promote artistry among spectators young and old. In support of these initiatives, the Ministry of Education constructed thousands of open-air stages throughout rural Mexico, trained teachers to operate puppet theaters and disseminated scripts in its biweekly magazine. Many of the initiators of these projects viewed the role of theater in contradictory terms; it was a means both to elevate the standards of national culture as well as to nurture the folkloric artistry that was to be fountain of a "cosmic race." However, subsequent officials would manage theater as part and parcel of the state's adoption of socialist education, resulting in an important role for didactic theater in the state's repertoire of civic festival. Moreover, communist activists and avant-garde artists penned works of popular and puppet-theater inspired by the pedagogical practices of Russia's 1917 revolution and sought to further advance Mexico's social transformation. Engaging with literary critics, historians, and scholars of cultural studies, my study adds the role of lesser-known artists and intellectuals back into the mix to understand the multi-stranded, negotiated process that took place within the realm of post-revolutionary cultural politics. I examine play scripts written by teachers and artists, policy directives from mid-level ministry officials and reports filed by rural teachers. In this way I identify explicit and implicit moralizing messages in the plays, paying close attention to overlapping and colliding projects as well as narrative strategies and stylistic elements that relate to specific political agendas. Through an exploration of the context in which plays were produced and performed, my study shows how teachers and artists facilitated state projects even as they attempted to fashion didactic theater to suit their pragmatic needs, artistic sensibilities or more radical agendas.

This exploratory study, conducted in an integrated watershed management project in rural Nepal, was intended to explore elements that empower women as a group. The study also explores the contributions of functional literacy to the empowerment process. Experiences of five different mothers' groups from both Brahman and Gurung backgrounds informed the understandings presented in this study. The women's experiences are different, partly due to cultural differences. Open-ended interviews, document reviews and observations are the main sources used to identify empowering factors. Major factors which contribute to empowering women as a collective group found in this study include both programmatic and non-programmatic interventions. This implies that looking at empowerment of women in developing countries through one lens and drawing conclusions on that basis is premature. Women's lives are influenced by political, social, cultural, economic, and educational situations. Therefore, to consider one component in isolation is inappropriate if the objective is to achieve a multi-faceted goal like empowerment. The study implies that empowerment, which occurs at different levels at different points in one's life, is a fluid process. Finally, several issues deserve further attention. Functional literacy, assumed to be thought-controlling and mechanical, can contribute to the empowerment process. Functional literacy, which promotes knowledge and skills needed for the learners' daily lives, raises motivation and participation in actions. Engaged in action which makes their daily lives easier and given opportunities, women find it useful to explore other possibilities to improve their situations. This trend keeps women engaged in action, reflection, and dialogue, enhancing their confidence, self-esteem, and ability to take charge of their situations. Areas where the study showed investigation is needed include: how can positive socio-cultural traditions be built up to strengthen community-based women's groups? What roles and attitudes do men hold regarding women's participation in individual and community development processes? How can raising men's awareness about and participation in family health and sanitation issues be incorporated into the programs? How can a multi-caste group function as a cohesive unit? And how much do issues of caste, as opposed to economic conditions, affect the process?