Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Dynamic Modeling Of Gnss Troposphere Wet Delay For Estimation Of Precipitable Water Vapour, Ahmed El-Mowafy, Johnny Lo

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Proper dynamic modelling of the troposphere wet delay using the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) measurements is important in precise point positioning and in estimation of the PrecipitableWater Vapour (PWV) for weather forecast. The random walk (RW) and the first-order Gauss-Markov (GM) autocorrelation models are commonly used for this purpose. However, it was found that these models consistently underestimate the temporal correlations that exist among the troposphere wet delay. Therefore, a new dynamic model is proposed. The performance of the proposed model in following the autocorrelation of actual data is demonstrated and its impact on the near-real time estimation of …

Predictors Of Grandparental Investment Decisions In Contemporary Europe: Biological Relatedness And Beyond, David A. Coall, Sonja Hilbrand, Ralph Hertwig

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Across human cultures, grandparents make a valued contribution to the health of their families and communities. Moreover, evidence is gathering that grandparents have a positive impact on the development of grandchildren in contemporary industrialized societies. A broad range of factors that influence the likelihood grandparents will invest in their grandchildren has been explored by disciplines as diverse as sociology, economics, psychology and evolutionary biology. To progress toward an encompassing framework, this study will include biological relatedness between grandparents and grandchildren, a factor central to some discipline's theoretical frameworks (e.g., evolutionary biology), next to a wide range of other factors in …

Reducing Depression During The Menopausal Transition: Study Protocol For A Randomised Controlled Trial, Osvaldo P. Almeida, Kylie Marsh, Leon Flicker, Martha Hickey, Andrew Ford, Moira Sim

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: The menopausal transition (MT) is a biological inevitability for all ageing women that can be associated with changes in mood, including depressive symptoms. There is tentative evidence that women who develop depression during the MT have greater risk of subsequent depressive episodes, as well as increased health morbidity and mortality. Thus, preventing depression during the MT could enhance both current and the future health and well-being of women. This study aims to test the efficacy of a client-centred health promotion intervention to decrease the 12-month incidence of clinically significant symptoms of depression among women undergoing the MT.Methods/Design: This randomised …

Mental Models For The Negation Of Conjunctions And Disjunctions, Guillermo Macbeth, Eugenia Razumiejczyk, María C. Crivello, Claudia Bolzán, Carolina I. Pereyra Girardi, Guillermo Campitelli

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study investigates why reasoning that involves negation is extremely difficult. We presented participants with reasoning problems containing sentences with negation of conjunctions and disjunctions in order to test predictions derived from the Mental Models Theory of human thought. According to this theory, reasoning consists of representing and comparing possibilities. Different sentential forms would require different cognitive demands. In particular, responses to a sentential negation task would be modulated by working memory load. This prediction would hold for correct responses but also for the general pattern of responses that includes incorrect responses when the task offers different response options. A …

Exchange Rate Exposure Of Sectoral Returns And Volatilities: Further Evidence From Japanese Industrial Sectors, Prabhath Jayasinghe, Albert K. Tsui, Zhaoyong Zhang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In this paper we argue that the commonly employed exposure coefficient/beta is inadequate for capturing the entire impact of exchange rate changes on firms' future operating cash flows. Instead, we employ the bivariate Glosten-Jagannathan-Runkle generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity mean model to investigate four aspects of exchange rate exposure, including sensitivity of stock returns to exchange rate changes, sensitivity of stock returns to the volatility of exchange rate changes, sensitivity of conditional variance of returns to exchange rate volatility, and the dynamic conditional correlation between returns and exchange rate changes, respectively, using data from 10 industrial sectors in Japan. We find …

Digital Play: The Challenge Of Researching Young Children's Internet Use, Donell Holloway

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Children’s Internet use is rapidly changing. Tweens' (9–12) usage patterns now resemble those of teenagers five to six years ago, and younger children’s (5–8) usage is approaching that of tweens. Primary school aged children are increasingly engaging in virtual worlds with social network functions (game sites such as Club Penguin, Minecraft or Webkinz). These digital public spaces carry with them opportunities as well as risk. With policy resources often targeting high school children, there is a need to map the benefits, risks and competencies associated with these trends, and develop recommendations for parents and policy makers. This paper analyses the …

Platforms And Activism: Sharing 'My Make It Possible Story' Narratives, Debbie Rodan, Jane Mummery

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Although livestock welfare issues were once barely visible to mainstream consumers, animal welfare activists now combine traditional public media advocacy with various media platforms to spread their campaign message as widely as possible. For instance, Animals Australia’s ‘Make it Possible Campaign’ has used billboards, print media, television, radio, YouTube, Facebook, blogs, website stories, and Twitter to make livestock welfare issues visible to consumers. Such variety of platforms make it possible for animal activist groups such as Animals Australia to not only hail and mobilise consumers in a way that was not possible previously, but also to attract supporters, advertise their …

Mediating Legal Reform: Animal Law, Livestock Welfare And Public Pressure, Jane Mummery, Debbie Rodan, Katrina Ironside, Marnie Nolton

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Legal protection of animal welfare in Australia is problematic with livestock (defined here as all animals farmed for use and profit, including poultry and aquatic animals) being effectively excluded from the majority of animal protection statutes. Such legal exclusions, joined with the inherent challenges of legal reform in this field – significant issues to do with standing, costs bearing and jurisdiction – have increased the difficulties of successful litigation. Despite explicit recognition of the necessity for reform in Australian animal law – in 2008 the Australian Law Reform Commission journal, Reform, took as its subject the ‘next great social justice …

Icts For Agricultural Extension: A Study In Ratnagiri District Of Maharashtra, India, Niketa Gandhi, Leisa Armstrong

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study describes an assessment of attitudes of farmers from the Lanja tehsil of Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra in order to understand the information seeking behavior and reasons for the farmers seeking this agricultural information through different sources. To meet the objective of the study, a structured questionnaire and interviews were conducted to gather information on number of aspects related to the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) from 100 randomly selected framers. Additional semi- structured questionnaire and checklist was provided to the key stakeholders. The farmer based questionnaire sought demographic data, information requirement data and uses of ICT …

Role Of Icts In Improving Drought Scenario Management In India, Shubhangi S. Wankhede, Niketa Gandhi, Leisa Armstrong

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Drought is a natural phenomenon that affects social, economic and environmental sectors. It is caused due to low or no rainfall in the specific region and for some duration of time. Reduced soil moisture and ground water level are the other causes for drought. Based on its intensity, drought has impacts on various sectors like agriculture, transportation, forest fire, environment and many more. Agriculture is the major sector being affected by drought resulting in low crop production and having great detriment to economy of the country. In this paper, an attempt is made to study the different causes and effects …

Industry Needs And Tertiary Journalism Education: Views From News Editors, Trevor A. Cullen, Stephen Tanner, Marcus O'Donnell, Kerry Green

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This research paper discusses the findings from a 2012 Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) sponsored project that canvassed the views of news editors around Australia about the "job readiness" of tertiary educated journalism graduates. The focus of this paper is limited to responses from news editors in Western Australia. Data was collected via face to face interviews with eleven news editors in Perth, Western Australia. The editors work in print, online, broadcast and television and all of them employ journalism graduates. The aim was to assess whether the five university based journalism programs in Perth provide graduates with the …

Examining Ipo Success In The Emerging Growth Enterprise Market Of China, Hai Long, Zhaoyong Zhang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Adopting a sample of the initial 243 IPOs from the emerging Growth Enterprise Market of China (GEMC) over the 2009 to 2011 period, this study develops a regression model to investigate the relationships between these factors and suggests that the firm’s net profit and its growth rate substantively determine the IPO volume. In addition, this study adopts probit models to test the influence of the four factors on IPO likelihood, and shows that: 1) fundraising amount, as one of the most significant IPO determinants, is positively associated with IPO probability on the new listing market; 2) the net profit, as …

No Taste For Health: How Tastes Are Being Manipulated To Favour Foods That Are Not Conducive To Health And Wellbeing, Lelia R. Green

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background : “The sense of taste,” write Nelson and colleagues in a 2002 issue of Nature, “provides animals with valuable information about the nature and quality of food. Mammals can recognize and respond to a diverse repertoire of chemical entities, including sugars, salts, acids and a wide range of toxic substances” (199). The authors go on to argue that several amino acids—the building blocks of proteins—taste delicious to humans and that “having a taste pathway dedicated to their detection probably had significant evolutionary implications”. They imply, but do not specify, that the evolutionary implications are positive. This may be the …

Bastard Immigrants: Asylum Seekers Who Arrive By Boat And The Illegitimate Fear Of The Other, Lelia R. Green, Anne Aly

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The human capacity to marginalise and discriminate against others on the basis of innate and constructed characteristics is evident from the long history of discrimination against people whose existence is ‘illegitimate’, defined as being outside the law. What is inside or outside the law depends upon the context under consideration. For example, in societies such as ancient Greece and the antebellum United States, where slavery was legal, people who were constructed as ‘slaves’ could legitimately be treated very differently from ‘citizens’: free people who benefit from a range of human rights (Northup). The discernment of what is legitimate from that …

The Internet And The Google Age: Introduction, Jonathan D. James

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

No abstract provided.

The Internet: Friend, Foe Or Target?, Jonathan D. James

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In this concluding chapter, I give an overview of how the Internet, a byproduct of our times, is shaping our culture and society in profound ways. I note some of the major concerns and perils of the Internet age and I conclude by pointing out how and why certain countries are targeting the Internet in terms of increased regulation and surveillance.

Inclusive Services For Children And Families From Cald Backgrounds In An Australian Context, Margaret Sims, Anna U. Targowska, Judith C. Kulisa, Susan C. Teather

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The current Australian government is proposing an agenda focused around social inclusion in an attempt to address the complex issues associated with inequality evident in this country. Despite valiant attempts, many agencies struggle to offer inclusive services, particularly to families who have migrated to Australia from culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) backgrounds. In this study, we surveyed a range of programs identified by key informants as offering inclusive service delivery with the aim of identifying those aspects of their practice they believed facilitated successful inclusion. We then attempt to position our findings within recently emerging critiques of the concept of …

Teachers And Teacher Aides Initiating Five-Year-Olds Into Science, Anne M. Thwaite

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Apprenticing children into discourses necessary for success at school begins at a very early age. In this paper I look at five-years-olds being introduced to Science and Technology while at the same time being involved in talk around literacy. The various adults who surround the children engage differentially in talk and action while merging the discourses of literacy and science. Data for this study were obtained during the course of the project ‘Early literacy through science in Indigenous and culturally diverse communities’, funded by Edith Cowan University in Australia from 2009–2010, in which the author was involved as a researcher. …

Indigenous Parenting Support In The Dampier Peninsula: July – December 2013 Participatory Action Research Evaluation Report, Andrew Guilfoyle, Sasha Botsis

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

We assessed the activities / events run by the Indigenous Parenting Support (IPS) program in the Dampier Peninsula, from July – December 2013. We evaluated their impact against the Communities for Children – IPS Program Guideline Deliverables, and include the strengths, challenges, and recommendations for each deliverable; along with our general observations and recommendations, and recommendations for activities and methods for the first 6 months of 2014.

• Continue with Current Activities: The IPS has overcome major risks and engaged the communities in a range of community bound diverse activities. We observed a diverse range of activities which have …

Expertise And The Representation Of Space, Michael H. Connors, Guillermo Campitelli

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

No abstract available.

The Acquisition Of Expertise In The Classroom: Are Current Models Of Education Appropriate?, Craig P. Speelman

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The study of expertise tends to focus on humans who can perform extraordinary feats. Although the way in which expertise is acquired is often characterized as similar to everyday skill acquisition, the attainment of basic numeracy skills is rarely considered in the same context as the attainment of expertise. It is clear, though, that average numeracy skills possess all the hallmarks of expert performance. In this paper I argue that the traditional classroom of Western education systems pays insufficient attention to the idea that effective numeracy skills represent a level of expertise that requires a particular form of training. Using …

Listing Requirements Lose Ipo-Screening Functions: Evidence From The Emerging Growth Enterprise Market Of China, Hai Long, Zhaoyong Zhang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Using two multivariate regression models based on prior studies, this paper aims to examine whether the listing requirements of the GEMC are able to help the exchange to screen high quality IPO firms. It suggests that the approved IPO companies have better performances than failed ones, but listing requirements of the GEMC are unable to screen high quality issuers to go public, because the majority of listed companies performed poorly rather than better after their IPOs. This result is against previous findings that regard an IPO market as a screening device.

Recent Trends In Temperature And Relative Humidity In Bawku East, Northern Ghana, Kwasi Frimpong, Jacques D. Oosthuizen, Eddie J. Van Etten

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Extensive analyses of trends in mean annual and mean seasonal minimum and maximum temperatures and relative humidity were examined for Bawku East, northern Ghana, for the period 1961 to 2012. Mean monthly maximum and minimum temperatures were used to analyse and establish recent temperature trends on an annual and seasonal basis. The year was divided into rainy and dry seasons for the seasonal trends. Mean monthly relative humidity at 6 am and 3 pm from 1961 to 2012 were considered to show recent trends in humidity since temperature and humidity interact to determine the heat exposure for outdoor workers. Regression …

British Cultural Narrative In Winston Churchill's Political Communication, Andres L. Faza

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study uses Winston Churchill's "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech, delivered to the House of Commons following the evacuation of Dunkirk, France in June 1940, as a source text by which to examine Churchill's use of British cultural narratives in political communication. Narrative and heuristic theories are proposed as means by which listeners process such messages. A number of rhetorical devices are defined, in order to inform a discussion of the narratives identified, particularly the means by which those narratives were rhetorically embedded in the text. After a careful examination of the source text, the narratives of knighthood …

Illegitimate, Helen V. Bonavita, Lelia Green

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

No abstract provided.

Hierarchical Graphical Bayesian Models In Psychology, Guillermo Campitelli, Guillermo Macbeth

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The improvement of graphical methods in psychological research can promote their use and a better comprehension of their expressive power. The application of hierarchical Bayesian graphical models has recently become more frequent in psychological research. The aim of this contribution is to introduce suggestions for the improvement of hierarchical Bayesian graphical models in psychology. This novel set of suggestions stems from the description and comparison between two main approaches concerned with the use of plate notation and distribution pictograms. It is concluded that the combination of relevant aspects of both models might improve the use of powerful hierarchical Bayesian graphical …

Moved But Not Gone: An Evaluation Of Real-Time Methods For Discovering Replacement Web Pages, Martin Klein, Michael L. Nelson

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Inaccessible Web pages and 404 “Page Not Found” responses are a common Web phenomenon and a detriment to the user’s browsing experience. The rediscovery of missing Web pages is, therefore, a relevant research topic in the digital preservation as well as in the Information Retrieval realm. In this article, we bring these two areas together by analyzing four content- and link-based methods to rediscover missing Web pages. We investigate the retrieval performance of the methods individually as well as their combinations and give an insight into how effective these methods are over time. As the main result of this work, …

(Dis)Abled Gaming: An Autoethnographic Analysis Of Decreasing Accessibility For Disabled Gamers, Kyle David Romano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within the context of culture, disability has long existed as a stigmatizing quality (Goffman, 1963). As a result, people with disabilities are often overlooked or completely omitted from various, cultural artifacts. This exclusion of people with disabilities is largely recognized as unproblematic because their disabilities imply an inevitable failing. Through my own experiences as a disabled gamer, I have recognized that video games have also framed gamers with disabilities as problematic. Video games are largely constructed in a one-size-fits-all mentality (Grammenos, 2014), where very specific people, with very specific kinds of bodies, are granted access to play them. Since disabled …

Online On The Mobile: Internet Use On Smartphones And Associated Risks Among Youth In Europe, G Stald, Lelia Green, M Barbovski, L Haddon, G Mascheroni, B Sagvari, B Scifo, L Tsaliki

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This report analyses how children aged 9-16 changed their internet use between 2010, when most children used fixed computers and laptops, and 2013, with over one-quarter (c. 28%) of 9-12 year olds, and three-fifths (c. 60%) of 13-16 year olds, accessing the internet via a smartphone.

The Syrian Civil War: Four Concentric Forces Of Tensions, Majid Rafizadeh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The ongoing Syrian conflict has been subject to considerable amount of political polemics. Nevertheless, little scholarly work has been conducted in order to comprehend the complexities as well as underlying reasons behind the intensity, scope, and duration of the conflict in Syria. Through qualitative methodology, this research examines the character of the Syrian conflict, by conducting an in-depth and nuanced case study of the Syrian civil war. While some theories of intrastate conflict and civil wars, concentrate on the domestic character of internal conflicts within states, transnational theories focus on external factors in examining intrastate conflicts. Both theoretical framework fail …