Access Media Research Articles

Dermatopathology education in the era of modern technology.

Continuing technological advances are inevitably impacting the study and practice of dermatopathology (DP). We are seeing the transition from glass slide microscopy to virtual microscopy, which is serving both as an accessible educational medium for medical students, residents and fellows in the form of online databases and atlases, as well as a research tool to better inform us regarding the development of visual diagnostic expertise. Expansion in mobile technology is simplifying slide image attainment and providing greater opportunities for phone- and tablet-based microscopy, including teledermatopathology instruction and consultation in resource-poor areas with lack of specialists. Easily accessible mobile and computer-based applications ("apps"), including myDermPath and Clearpath, are providing an interactive medium for DP instruction. The Internet and social networking sites are enabling rapid global communication of DP information and image-sharing, promoting collaborative diagnostic research and scholastic endeavors.

Civil society and online connectivity: controlling corruption on the net?

Over the past years, an increasing number of studies have looked at the use of internet and communications technology (ICT) in the fight against corruption. While there is broad agreement that ICT tools can be effective in controlling corruption, the mechanisms by which they are doing this are much less clear. This paper attempts to shine some light on this relationship. It focusses on the role of ICT in empowering citizens and supporting civil society. It argues that enlightened citizens can use internet access and social media to inform themselves on corruption, mobilise support for anti-corruption movements and gather information in order to shine a lisght on particularistic practices. Defining corruption as a collective action problem, the paper provides quantitative evidence to support its claim that ICT can support collective action of an informed citizenry and thus contribute to the control of corruption.

Audible Image Description as an Accommodation in Statewide Assessments for Students with Visual and Print Disabilities

Introduction Although image description has been identified as an accommodation for presentations conducted in the classroom, only a few U.S. states have approved it for use in high-stakes assessments. This study examined the use of audible image description as an assessment accommodation for students with visual and print disabilities by investigating student comprehension under multiple conditions. Methods Students in three western states in grades three through eight who had visual ( n = 117) or print ( n = 178) disabilities participated in an abbreviated test constructed of retired assessment questions in English language arts, mathematics, and science, that were aligned with each state's instructional standards, under conditions with and without standardized description of graphic images. The study used a within-subjects block design to collect and compare comprehension data under conditions where audible image description was both used and not used in an abbreviated test. Results Results indicated that students who read braille were more likely to respond correctly under the audible image description condition, and students with visual and print disabilities who used print were equally likely to respond correctly regardless of condition. Discussion Braille readers were more likely to obtain a correct answer when audible image description accompanied the question. Audible image description did not affect the likelihood of a correct response from students with print disabilities or students with visual disabilities who read print. Implications for practitioners Audible image description is an accommodation that may help braille readers perform better on tests. Although the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and Smarter Balanced consortia are taking steps to include image (or picture) descriptions in their assessment accommodations, teachers may want to develop a standard method for describing images and familiarize their braille readers to the strategy by including it in instruction and in classroom tests. Readers are referred to the National Center on Accessible Media's online guidelines for image description.

Entrevista a Clive Phillpot

Clive Phillpot es un comisario de exposiciones, escritor y bibliotecario inglés. Entre 1977 y 1994 fue Director de la Biblioteca del Museo de Arte Moderno (MoMA) en Nueva York, donde fundó y comisarió la Colección de Libros de Artista. Anteriormente fue el bibliotecario de la Chelsea School of Art, en Londres. Ha escrito y editado numerosos artículos y libros relacionados con el libro de artista, cuyo concepto Phillpot ha contribuido decisivamente a definir. En los años sesenta y setenta el libro de artista emergió como un medio artístico accesible, al ser barato, portátil y distribuido masivamente. En esta entrevista intento comprender si aquellas expectativas han sobrevivido, actualizadas y transformadas en el fenómeno contemporáneo de la novela de artista.

User-Generated Captions: From Hackers, to the Disability Digerati, to Fansubbers

User-Generated Captions: From Hackers, to the Disability Digerati, to Fansubbers

Penonton Festival Film di Yogyakarta

This study explore the demography, behavior, the information needed and accessible media audience of the Festival Film Pelajar Jogjakarta (FFPJ), Festival Film Dokumenter (FFD) and Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival. A quantitative descriptive method using questionnaire through convenience survey was employed. Finding show that most of the festival attendees are teenagers and young people who study in university. JAFF’s audience is more heterogeneous compares to other festivals. Repeated visit is relatively low. The most influential information sources are: friends recommendation, website and social media. Most of the festivalgoers choose the festival programs carefully based on website information and catalogue message.

Illustration narratives between the East and the West: An individual artist’s perspective

Abstract This article is a personal account of my experience of how illustrations are perceived in different countries, as I have observed them during my art education in India and Germany. I will try to illuminate the reasons for such varied perceptions and how the atmosphere of art academies shapes these differences. This will be followed by an examination of the consequences when certain notions of what constitutes art cross national borders in the global world. Finally, I will try to establish how academic notions of art have very little resonance with common people’s perception within their own countries and elsewhere, and why illustrations that are looked down upon in academic circles are a more accessible medium for the masses.

Early career researchers and their publishing and authorship practices

This study presents findings from the first year of the Harbingers research project, a 3‐year longitudinal study of early career researchers (ECRs), which sought to ascertain current and changing habits in scholarly communication. The study recruited 116 science and social science ECRs from seven countries who were subject to in‐depth interviews, and this paper reports on findings regarding publishing and authorship practices and attitudes. A major objective was to determine whether ECRs are taking the myriad opportunities proffered by new digital innovations, developing within the context of open science, open access, and social media, to publish their research. The main finding is that these opportunities are generally not taken because ECRs are constrained by convention and the precarious employment environment they inhabit and know what is best for them, which is to publish (in high impact factor journals) or perish.

Polio monologues: translating ethnographic text into verbatim theatre

Mass vaccination programmes mean that poliomyelitis is almost a forgotten memory in the Global North. But in reality its effects continue as many people who contracted paralytic polio in childhood may develop functional deterioration (Post-Polio Syndrome or PPS) in later adulthood; mass migration and escape from violence means that it is also re-emerging in contemporary societies. Thus it is crucial for different audiences to have opportunities to engage with, and understand the life histories of polio survivors and their personal experiences of disease and disability across biographical and historical time. This article discusses the process of using recorded delivery verbatim techniques, with disabled and non-disabled actors, to translate ethnographic research about social history of polio into a creative accessible medium for new generation audiences to learn about the hidden, often contested, histories of disability and disease that may collide with professional, medical and public discourse. Our contention is that ethnodrama can give a voice to the voiceless, and enable them to contribute to the production of new knowledge, health interventions and policy instruments that affect their lives.

A column switching ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method to determine anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol in plasma samples.

This study reports a fast, sensitive, and selective column switching ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method to determine the endocannabinoids (eCBs), anandamide (AEA), and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) in plasma samples. This bidimensional system used a restricted access media column (RP-8 ADS, 25mm×4mm×25μM) in the first dimension and a core-shell Kinetex C18 (100mm×2, 1.7mm×1μM) column in the second dimension, followed by detection in a mass spectrometer triple quadrupole (multiple reactions monitoring mode) operating in the positive mode. RP-8 ADS was used for trace enrichment of eCBs (reverse phase partitioning) and macromolecular matrix size exclusion; the core-shell column was used for the chromatographic separation. The column switching UHPLC-MS/MS method presented a linear range spanning from 0.1ng mL-1 (LOQ) to 6ng mL-1 for AEA and from 0.04ng mL-1 (LOQ) to 10ng mL-1 for 2-AG. Excluding the LLOQ values, the precision assays provided coefficients of variation lower than 8% and accuracy with relative standard error values lower than 14%. Neither carryover nor matrix effects were detected. This high-throughput column switching method compared to conventional methods is time saving as it involves fewer steps, consumes less solvent, and presents lower LLOQ. The column switching UHPLC-MS/MS method was successfully applied to determine AEA and 2-AG in plasma samples obtained from Alzheimer's disease patients. Graphical abstract A column switching ultra high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method using RP-8 ADS column and core shell column to determine endocannabinoids in plasma samples.

A novel application of mark-recapture to examine behaviour associated with the online trade in elephant ivory.

The illegal trade in elephant ivory is driving the unlawful killing of elephants such that populations are now suffering unsustainable reductions. The internet is increasingly being used as a platform to conduct illegal wildlife trade, including elephant ivory. As a globally accessible medium the internet is as highly attractive to those involved in the illegal trade as it is challenging to regulate. Characterising the online illegal wildlife (ivory) trade is complex, yet key to informing enforcement activities. We applied mark-recapture to investigate behaviour associated with the online trade in elephant ivory on eBay UK as a generalist online marketplace. Our results indicate that trade takes place via eBay UK, despite its policy prohibiting this, and that two distinct trading populations exist, characterised by the pattern of their ivory sales. We suggest these may represent a large number of occasional (or non-commercial) sellers and a smaller number of dedicated (or commercial) sellers. Directing resource towards reducing the volume of occasional sales, such as through education, would enable greater focus to be placed upon characterising the extent and value of the illegal, “commercial” online ivory trade. MRC has the potential to characterise the illegal trade in ivory and diverse wildlife commodities traded using various online platforms.

Tree TDMA MAC Algorithm Using Time and Frequency Slot Allocations in Tree-Based WSNs

In this paper, we propose a tree-based time division multiple access (Tree TDMA) media access control (MAC) algorithm based on the IEEE 802.15.4 PHY standard. The method involves the simultaneous use of two algorithms, a time slot allocation algorithm (TSAA) and a frequency slot allocation algorithm (FSAA), at low power consumption to support voice and data communication to solve the problems afflicting prevalent MAC protocols in tree topology networks. The TSAA first generates routing paths through the control channel in a super frame prior to transmitting packets, and allocates time slots for each node to transmit packets. The FSAA then allocates frequencies to each path according to the routing paths generated following its application. The overhearing problem and the funneling effect in TDMA as well as carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) MACs are resolved by these two algorithms because a given node and its neighbors are orthogonal in terms of time and frequency. The problem of inter-node synchronization is addressed by periodically sending a beacon from higher to lower nodes, and the issue of low power is solved by leaving unsigned time slots in an idle state. To test the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, we used a MATLAB simulation to compare its performance with that of contention-based CSMA MAC and non-contention-based TreeMAC in terms of network throughput, network delay, energy efficiency, and energy consumption. We also tested the performance of the algorithms for increasing number of nodes and transmission packets in the tree topology network.

World Wide Web of Exploitations – the Case of Peacetime Cyber Espionage Operations Under International Law:: Towards a Contextual Approach

The emergence of cyber espionage, as well as the ability to leak gathered sensitive information, has exacerbated the complexity of determining the legality of espionage under international law. Cyber espionage, just like other cyber operations, offers a highly sophisticated, relatively inexpensive, and accessible medium to achieve certain informational, political, and operational goals. The indeterminacy of cyber espionage in international law has given rise to various arguments as to which international norms and principles are applicable to cyber espionage. Divergent positions, however, focus only on certain aspects of cyber espionage. For this reason, the scope of legal treatment of cyber espionage is limited and lacks context. The purpose of this article is to reject this dichotomous approach and propose a more nuanced framework for addressing cyber espionage in international law. Cyber operations should be analyzed on a continuum that triggers different norms depending on the context and consequences. The contextual approach focuses on the effects of a cyber operation and the context in which it occurs to determine the relevant set of norms applicable to it.

Information Gatekeeping and Media Bias

We develop a model to study the political economy implications of information gatekeeping, i.e., a policy of granting access only to friendly media outlets and denying access to critical ones. While an incumbent prefers positive bias, granting access improves her re-election probability only if coverage is sufficiently credible in the eyes of the public. Information gatekeeping can induce a quid pro quo relationship: media provides coverage with positive bias in exchange of future access, thereby affecting electoral outcomes in favor of incompetent incumbents. The degree of access media enjoy increases with competence of incumbents over those issues under public focus.

Comparative analysis of Islamic quality standard hotels in Malaysia and Indonesia

The study has contributed to determine the perception of Indonesian and Malaysian tourists regarding the Islamic standardisation for hotels. The theory of planned behaviour has been considered to analyse the respective perceptions of tourists. For the statistical analysis, ANOVA and Pearson correlation techniques were used. Planned behaviour variable is found to be insignificant, as it has a value greater than 0.05. The perceived value and awareness of Muslim tourists in hotels have played a vital role to help the tourists in selecting hotels with IQS. The hotel managements must update their products and services information online as it is a convenient and accessible medium for customers. While selecting the hotels with IQS, greater perceived value and awareness among the tourists seems to have an impact on their behavioural intentions.

Predict and prevent from misbehaving intruders in heterogeneous vehicular networks

The great evolution of communication technologies and potential availability of network access mediums and service providers have led to the appearance of heterogeneous network concept. This paradigm refers to the seamless and ubiquitous interoperability between multi-coverage protocols with different access techniques. A heterogeneous vehicular network (HetVNet) is a heterogeneous network where a vehicle is a smart node equipped with various communication technologies such as Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) and cellular network (3G/4G). The purpose of HetVNet is ensuring a wide area coverage to all vehicles in a large scale network, thus achieving the Always Best Connected (ABC) paradigm where the best continuous connectivity is offered to clients. In addition, HetVNet enables the acquisition and processing of a large amount of data from wide geographical areas via smart vehicles to offer various categories of services to drivers and passengers. There are many challenges in HetVNet and security is one of them since, on one hand, vehicles exchange vital data (about congestions, accidents, hazards, road-works, etc.) and on the other hand they form a specific network with particular characteristics (frequent fragmentation, dynamic topology, no centralized authority, etc.). Intrusion detection systems (IDS) act as a second wall of defense when cryptography is broken and already proved their effectiveness against both external and internal intruders. Therefore, in this research work we propose and implement an intrusion detection and prediction scheme able to detect and especially predict the future misbehavior of a malicious vehicle. The attack prediction technique proposed in this paper is based on a game theory to prevent the occurrence of malicious vehicles. Moreover, the proposed detection scheme detects the most dangerous attacks that target a HetVNet such as false alerts and Sybil attacks. This detection uses a rules-based technique to model a normal behavior of a vehicle. Simulations performed using NS-3 show that our scheme exhibits a high accuracy prediction, faster attack detection, and a low communication overhead compared to current detection frameworks.

Can the Digital Surpass the Analog: DAB+ Possibilities, Limitations and User Expectations

Abstract Radio is by far the most accessible medium. With its mobility and availability, it attracts listeners by its simplicity and friendliness. The present information situation is characterized by the convergence of computers, mobile devices, telecommunication and broadcasting technologies and the divergence of different ways of delivering and storing media. Consumers are overwhelmed by new electronic gadgets appearing every year. They are astonished by new technical innovations that are being designed to ease their life and change their habits. Even the broadcasting sector itself is facing significant changes, especially a growing competition between the private and public sector. This article reviews the current status of analog and digital broadcasting technologies. It analyzes a case study of user expectations related with today’s digital media, particularly radio transmission. We discuss the principal possibilities, limitations and user expectations related with digital audio broadcasting, as well as the economic, technological, regulatory and frequency management factors.

Secure Wireless Image Communication Using LSB Steganography and Chaotic Baker Ciphering

The popularity of wireless multimedia applications in real life and the open nature of wireless media for access make the security of confidential multimedia over wireless channels a major task. This paper proposes a two multi-layer security algorithm using steganography with encryption that strengthens the image security through its transmission over a wireless channel. The steganography conceals the data existence within a cover medium, while the encryption hides the data meaning by using specific algorithms. The suitability of image as a cover medium is due to abundance of redundant bits, and bulk data capacity. The chaos based encryption algorithms are adopted in this paper. In this work a confidential image is embedded into a cover image using least significant bit steganography, and then the output stego image is encrypted using a 2-D Logistic map or 2-D chaotic Baker map. The encrypted stego image is then transmitted over a wireless AWGN channel and the reverse processes are implemented to extract the received secret image. Several experiments have been carried out to examine the suitability of the proposed algorithms for securing high sensitivity images through transmission over wireless channels at different noise levels.

Determinants of Preferences for Advertisement and Communication in the Promotion of Anti-Malaria Products in Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria

One of the strategies for promoting malaria prevention and control globally is advertisement of anti-malaria products. This study was designed to determine users’ preferences for style of advertisement and communication of anti-malaria products in Ibadan. Data collection involved twelve Key Informant Interviews and 500 copies of a questionnaire. Radio was the most preferred and most accessible medium of advert in both rural and urban areas. A large majority (86.4%) of rural dwellers preferred advertisements in form of speeches, house-to-house campaigns, face-to-face counselling and rallies. Whereas, advertisement in forms of drama (44.0%) and music (16.0%) were preferred by the urban dwellers. Results show that advertisements and communication programs on anti-malaria products do not relay messages on drug reaction and its treatment, and cost of anti-malaria products. Hence, advertisements and communicative programmes for controlling malaria would be more effective if the social and environmental factors influencing preferences for advertisement are put into consideration.

Video on Demand for People with Disability: Traversing Terrestrial Borders

Within Australia, the approach taken to the ways in which disabled people access television is heavily influenced by legislation and activism from abroad. This is increasingly the case as television moves to online modes of distribution where physical and legislative boundaries are more fluid. While early investigations of the intersections between television and the concept of abroad focused on the impacts of representation and national reputation (Boddy), the introduction of new media technologies saw a shifting focus towards the impact and introduction of new media technologies. Drawing on Chan’s definition of media internationalisation as “the process by which the ownership, structure, production, distribution, or content of a country’s media is influenced by foreign media interests, culture and markets” (Chan 71), this article considers the impacts of legislative and advocacy efforts abroad on Australian television audiences with disabilities accessing subscription Video on Demand (VOD)...