In March 2020, Tom Hanks announced he had contracted COVID-19 while shooting the Elvis Presley Biopic in Australia. On Instagram, he encouraged fans to take the disease seriously and be aware of how severe of a disease it was. Character brands and nostalgia have been found to foster trust in products and encourage relationships with those brands. Using the lens of nostalgia and uses and gratification to examine Tom Hanks as a character brand, the researcher analyzed five blockbuster films with Tom Hanks as the lead character. The study used narrative thematic analysis to observe Hanks and the depictions of character identity, trauma, mortality, affectional emotion, memory, and catharsis in these films. The goal was to better understand how nostalgia might contribute to brand trust between the audience and the celebrity.

[pt] Vários estudos indicam que live stream, ou transmissão ao vivo, é um tópico emergente de pesquisa na área de Interação Humano- Computador. Um tipo de transmissão é a live stream para compartilhar conhecimento (knowledge sharing live stream – KSLS). A Embrapa Gado de Leite, unidade descentralizada da Embrapa (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária), utiliza KSLSs para disseminar os resultados de suas pesquisas. Neste trabalho, apresentamos um diagnóstico sobre o uso de transmissões ao vivo para compartilhar conhecimento a partir da experiência da Embrapa Gado de Leite. Propomos avaliar o quão adequado é o uso de live streams para compartilhar conhecimento, apresentar comportamentos e preferências dos espectadores e identificar oportunidades de melhoria nas funcionalidades desta ferramenta. Para isso, acompanhamos nove KSLSs realizadas pela empresa, aplicamos um questionário on-line e fizemos entrevistas com parte do público que participou das transmissões. Além disso, analisamos estatísticas de acesso e o log dos chats. Nossos resultados indicam que live stream é uma ferramenta adequada para compartilhar conhecimento e que o público se interessa por mecanismos de interação além de comentários no chat, que é a funcionalidade atualmente disponível na plataforma de streaming utilizada neste trabalho. Desta forma, apresentamos lições aprendidas sobre preferências e comportamentos dos espectadores e sobre oportunidades de aprimoramento na dinâmica e nas funcionalidades de KSLSs, permitindo que o conteúdo técnico seja transferido por meio de interações mais ricas. / [en] Several studies indicate that live stream is an emerging research topic in Human-Computer Interaction. A specific type of these broadcasts is the knowledge sharing live stream (KSLS). The Embrapa Dairy Cattle, a decentralized unit of Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), uses KSLSs to disseminate its research results. In this work, we present a diagnosis about the use of live streams to share knowledge based on the Embrapa Dairy Cattle experience. We propose to evaluate how adequate it is to use live streams to share knowledge, present viewers behaviors and preferences, and identify opportunities for improvement in this tool s features. For this, we monitored nine KSLSs carried out by the company, applied an online survey, and conducted interviews with part of the public who participated in the broadcasts. Also, we analyzed access statistics and chat logs. Our results indicate that live stream is an adequate tool for sharing knowledge and the public is interested in interaction mechanisms in addition to comments in the chat, which is the feature currently available on the streaming platform used in this work. In this way, we present lessons learned about viewers preferences and behaviors and opportunities for improvement in KSLSs dynamics and features, allowing technical content to be transferred through richer interactions.

For centuries, repetition in one form or another has been seen as a significant element in the artistic palette. In numerous formats of expression, duplication and looping became a significant tool utilized by artisans in a multitude of creative formats. Yet within the realm of film, the Griffith and Eisenstein models of cinematic editing techniques (as the most popular-- and near-monolithic--narrative aesthetic criteria) effectively disregarded most other approaches, including looping. Despite the evidence for the consistent use of repetition and looping in multiple ways throughout the course of cinematic history, some theorists and practitioners maintain that the influx of the technique within digital cinema in recent years represents a sudden breakthrough, one that has arrived simply because technology has currently advanced to a point where their utilization within digital formats now makes sense both technologically and aesthetically. This situation points to a cyclical problem. Students of film and video frequently are not taught aesthetical or editorial options other than standard industry procedures. Those who are interested in varying techniques are therefore put in the position of having to learn alternative practices on their own. When they do look beyond visual norms to try applying different approaches in their projects, they risk going against the views of their instructors who are only interested in implementations of the standard methods which have been in the forefront for so long. Yet the loop s importance and prevalence as a digital language tool will only likely grow with the evolution of digital cinema. With this is mind, the dissertation addresses the following questions: To what extent can various forms of repetitive visuals be found throughout film history, and are not simply technical manifestations that have merely emerged within digital cinema? How might current educational practices in the realm of film and video work to inform students of techniques outside of the common narrative means? Finally, what other sources or strategies might be available to enlighten students and practitioners exploring both the history surrounding--and possible applications of--techniques based upon early cinema practices such as the loop?

This thesis considers the modulation division based on the concept of uniquely factorable constellation pair (UFCP) and uniquely decodable constellation group (UDCG) in multiuser wireless communication networks. We first consider a two-hop relay network consisting of two single-antenna users and a two-antenna relay node, for which a novel distributed concatenated Alamouti code is devised. This new design allows the source and relay nodes to transmit their own information to the destination node concurrently at the symbol level with the aid of the UFCP generated from both PSK and square QAM constellations as well as by jointly processing the noisy signals received at the relay node. Moreover, an asymptotic symbol error probability (SEP) formula is derived for the ML receiver, showing that the maximum diversity gain function is achieved, which is proportional to $\ln \mathtt{SNR}/\mathtt{SNR}^2$. Then, we concentrate on the point-to-point correlated multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) communication systems where full knowledge of channel state information (CSI) is available at the receiver and only the first- and second-order statistics of the channels are available at the transmitter. When the number of antenna elements of both ends goes to infinity while keeping their ratio constant, the asymptotic SEP analysis is carried out for either optimally precoded or uniformly precoded correlated large MIMO fading channels using the zero-forcing (ZF) detector with equally likely PAM, PSK or square QAM constellations. For such systems, we reveal some very nice structures which inspire us to explore two very useful mathematical tools (i.e., the Szego's theorem on large Hermitian Toeplitz matrices and the well-known limit: $\lim_{x\to\infty}(1+1/x)^x=e$), for the systematic study of asymptotic behaviors on their error performance. This new approach enables us to attain a very simple expression for the SEP limit as the number of the available antenna elements goes to infinity. In what follows, the problem of precoder design using a zero-forcing decision-feedback (ZF-DF) detector is also addressed. For such a MIMO system, our principal goal is to efficiently design an optimal precoder that minimizes the asymptotic SEP of the ZF-DF detector under a perfect decision feedback. By fully taking advantage of the product majorization relationship among eigenvalues, singular-values and Cholesky values of the precoded channel matrix parameters, a necessary condition for the optimal solution to satisfy is first developed and then the structure of the optimal solution is characterized. With these results, the original non-convex problem is reformulated into a convex one that can be efficiently solved by using an interior-point method. In addition, by scaling up the antenna array size of both terminals without bound for such a network, we propose a novel method as we did for the ZF receiver scenario to analyze the asymptotic SEP performance of an equal-diagonal QRS precoded large MIMO system when employing an abstract Toeplitz correlation model for the transmitter antenna array. This new approach has a simple expression with a fast convergence rate and thus, is efficient and effective for error performance evaluation. For multiuser communication networks, we first consider a discrete-time multiple-input single-output (MISO) Gaussian broadcast channel (BC) where perfect CSI is available at both the transmitter and all the receivers. We propose a flexible and explicit design of a uniquely decomposable constellation group (UDCG) based on PAM and rectangular QAM constellations. With this new concept, a modulation division (MD) transmission scheme is developed for the considered MISO BC. The proposed MD scheme enables each receiver to uniquely and efficiently recover their desired signals from the superposition of mutually interfering cochannel signals in the absence of noise. Using max-min fairness as a design criterion, the optimal transmitter beamforming problem is solved in a closed-form for two-user MISO BC. Then, for a general case with more than two receivers, a user-grouping based beamforming scheme is developed, where the grouping method, beamforming vector design and power allocation problems are addressed by employing weighted max-min fairness. Then, we consider an uplink massive single-input and multiple-output (SIMO) network consisting of a base station (BS) and several single-antenna users. To recover the transmitted signal matrix of all the users when the antenna array size is large, a novel multi-user space-time modulation (MUSTM) scheme is proposed for the considered network based on the explicit construction of QAM uniquely-decomposable constellation groups (QAM-UDCGs). In addition, we also develop a sub-constellation allocation method at the transmitter side to ensure the signal matrix is always invertible. In the meanwhile, an efficient training correlation receiver (TCR) is proposed which calculates the correlation between the received sum training signal vector and the sum information carrying vector. Moreover, the optimal power allocation problems are addressed by maximizing the coding gain or minimizing the average SEP of the received sum signal under both average and peak power constraints on each user. The proposed transmission scheme not only allows the transmitted signals with strong mutual interference to be decoded by a simple TCR but it also enables the CSI of all the users to be estimated within a minimum number of time slots equal to that of the users. Comprehensive computer simulations are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed uniquely decomposable space-time modulation method in various network topologies and configurations. Our modulation division method will be one of the promising technologies for the fifth generation (5G) communication systems. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Встреча является незаменимым событием в любой организации, где люди могут просто делиться знаниями и информацией или обсудить важные решения. Чтобы облегчить эту деятельность, большинство исследований сосредоточено на улучшении программного обеспечения, помогающего участникам выбрать оптимальное время. Это исследование нацелено на эту область и устранение существующих проблем. Прежде всего, поскольку переговорная комната может быть зарезервирована только для встречи, назначенной на определенное время, есть некоторые обстоятельства, что эти ресурсы используются недостаточно. Например, встреча может быть закончена раньше запланированного времени или даже не состояться вообще, но по-прежнему оставляет место в программном обеспечении для планирования и запрещает другим сотрудникам её использовать. Чтобы решить эти проблемы выше, в этой диссертации рассматривается разработка умной системы управления и планирования помещений в режиме реального времени, мониторинг занятости помещений для поддержки специальных встреч и максимизации эффективности их загрузки. / The meeting is an indispensable event in any organization where people can simply share knowledge and information or discuss important decisions. To facilitate this activity, most of the research has focused on improving software to help participants choose the best time. This study aims to address this area and address existing issues. First of all, since a meeting room can only be reserved for a meeting scheduled for a specific time, there are some circumstances that these resources are underutilized. For example, a meeting might end earlier than scheduled, or even not take place at all, but still leaves room in the scheduling software and prohibits other employees from using it. To address these issues above, this dissertation looks at developing a smart real-time room management and scheduling system, monitoring room occupancy to support ad hoc meetings, and maximizing room utilization.

Journalists have insisted that John Oliver has inspired a new kind of journalism. They argue that Oliver's show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has inspired real-world action, a phenomenon journalists have called the "John Oliver Effect." Oliver, a comedian, refuses these claims. This thesis is the result of in-depth research into journalists' claims through the lens of agenda-setting. By conducting a qualitative content analysis, I evaluated the message characteristics of framing devices used on Oliver's show, then compared those message characteristics to the message characteristics and framing devices employed by legacy media.

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