Mode Of Communication Research Articles

Leveraging the AAPPL to promote positive washback in K‐12 language teaching

AbstractIn recent years, the use of external proficiency‐based tests to measure learners' language ability has increased significantly, in part thanks to the Seal of Biliteracy movement. However, there exists very limited research investigating the influence of such tests and their subsequent outcomes data on teachers' practices. As such, this study examines the washback effects of the ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL) on teachers' instruction and planning in an urban Midwest K‐12 district. Survey and interview data revealed that teachers increased their use of ACTFL key documents, placed more emphasis on target language usage, and sought to balance their use of the three modes of communication to better meet learners' needs and facilitate their proficiency development. This evidence of positive washback was observed among teachers across languages and levels and was enhanced by the opt‐in approach to test implementation and the close link between testing and teaching. For some, the AAPPL served as a catalyst to further align their curricula and instruction. Recommendations are offered for those who may wish to implement a standards‐based external language assessment such as the AAPPL as a means by which to foster professional growth and promote teachers' adoption of proficiency‐oriented practices.

Telemedicine in geriatric oncology - lessons learned from the COVID-19 experience.

Telemedicine quickly became integrated into healthcare caused by the Coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. Rapid use of telemedicine into healthcare systems was supported by the World Health Organization and other prominent national organizations to reduce transmission of the virus while continuing to provide access to care. In this review, we explored the effect of this swift change in care and its impact on older adults with cancer. Older adults are susceptible to the COVID-19 virus caused by various risk factors, such as comorbidity, frailty, decreased immunity, and cancer increases vulnerability to infection, hospitalization, and mortality. We found three major themes emerged in the literature published in the past 18months, including access to care, telemedicine modes of communication, and the use of technology by older adults with cancer. These findings have brought insight into issues regarding healthcare disparities. The utilization of telemedicine by older adults with cancer has potential future benefits with the integration of technology preparation prior to the patient's initial visit and addressing known health disparities. The hybrid model of care provides in-person and or remote access to clinicians which may allow older adults with cancer the flexibility needed to obtain quality cancer care.

Sign Language Interpreter

Sign language serves as a vital mode of communication for millions of individuals worldwide who are deaf or hard of hearing. However, there exists a significant communication barrier between sign language users and those who do not understand sign language. To address this challenge, this project presents a Sign Language Interpreter, a software solution leveraging real-time image processing techniques.. Keywords — Machine Learning, Real time image processing, Hand tracking, Gesture Recognition, Adaptive learning, MERN development.

From code to care: Clinician and researcher perspectives on an optimal therapeutic web portal for acute myeloid leukemia.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a rapidly progressing cancer of the blood and bone marrow, is the most common and fatal type of adult leukemia. Therapeutic web portals have great potential to facilitate AML research advances and improve health outcomes by increasing the availability of data, the speed and reach of new knowledge, and the communication between researchers and clinicians in the field. However, there is a need for stakeholder research regarding their optimal features, utility, and implementation. To better understand stakeholder perspectives regarding an ideal pan-Canadian web portal for AML research, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 17 clinicians, researchers, and clinician-researchers. Interview guides were inspired by De Laat's "fictive scripting", a method where experts are presented with scenarios about a future technology and asked questions about its implementation. Content analysis relied on an iterative process using themes extracted from both existing scientific literature and the data. Participants described potential benefits of an AML therapeutic portal including facilitating data-sharing, communication, and collaboration, and enhancing clinical trial matchmaking for patients, potentially based on their specific genomic profiles. There was enthusiasm about researcher, clinician, and clinician-researcher access, but some disagreement about the nature of potential patient access to the portal. Interviewees also discussed two key elements they believed to be vital to the uptake and thus success of a therapeutic AML web portal: credibility and user friendliness. Finally, sustainability, security and privacy concerns were also documented. This research adds to existing calls for digital platforms for researchers and clinicians to supplement extant modes of communication to streamline research and its dissemination, advance precision medicine, and ultimately improve patient prognosis and care. Findings are applicable to therapeutic web portals more generally, particularly in genomic and translational medicine, and will be of interest to portal end-users, developers, researchers, and policymakers.

Evaluating the effectiveness of three communication modes in promoting repeat voluntary donation behavior in first-time blood donors at a tertiary care blood center in North India

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Due to rapid technological advancements, several new methods such as telephone (TP), e-mail, social media, WhatsApp (WA), and Short Message Services are being used as effectively among blood centers worldwide for postdonation communication with blood donors’ education and motivation to recruit and retain them as repeat and regular voluntary nonremunerated blood donors. The present study was aimed at determining the effectiveness of WA, TP, and personal communications (PCs) as modes of communication to recruit and retain first-time replacement blood donors to become repeat and regular voluntary blood donors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This 1-year observational prospective study was conducted in the Post Graduate Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion in Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu. Three hundred first-time blood donors selected for the study were divided into three groups comprising 100 blood donors each as per the mode of communication strategy adopted, namely postdonation PC, TP, and WA groups. RESULTS: The repeat donation rate was highest in the TP group (61%), followed by the WA group (47%) and PC group (37%). The mean repeat donation was found to be significant in the TP group (P = 0.007) and WA group (P = 0.021) as compared PC group while there was no significant difference between the TP group and WA groups (0.751). CONCLUSION: In our study, it was found that of the three communication modes, namely personal, TP, and WA, telephonic communication with a repeat donation rate of 61% was the most effective mode of communication in for motivating and converting first-time blood donors into repeat regular voluntary blood donors.

A new strategy for accelerating recovery of anaerobic granular sludge after low-temperature shock: In situ regulation of quorum sensing microorganisms embedded in polyvinyl alcohol sodium alginate

Low-temperature could inhibit the performance of anaerobic granular sludge (AnGS). Quorum sensing (QS), as a communication mode between microorganisms, can effectively regulate AnGS. In this study, a kind of embedded particles (PVA/SA@Serratia) based on signal molecule secreting bacteria was prepared by microbial immobilization technology based on polyvinyl alcohol and sodium alginate to accelerate the recovery of AnGS system after low temperature. Low-temperature shock experiment verified the positive effect of PVA/SA@Serratia on restoring the COD removal rate and methanogenesis capacity of AnGS. Further analysis by metagenomics analysis showed that PVA/SA@Serratia stimulated higher QS activity and promoted the secretion of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) in AnGS. The rapid construction of EPS protective layer effectively accelerated the establishment of a robust microbial community structure. PVA/SA@Serratia also enhanced multiple methanogenic pathways, including direct interspecies electron transfer. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that PVA/SA@Serratia could effectively strengthen AnGS after low-temperature shock.

Integrated Performance Assessments: Providing Equitable Instruction and Assessment for ELLs/MLLs

AbstractIn this Teaching Issues article, we make the case for using Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs) to get a better picture of ELLs/MLLs learning progress and language development and thus, contributing to more equitable learning environments in both instruction and assessment practices. An Integrated Performance Assessment allows learners to use the three modes of communication—interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational—to communicate their learning and demonstrate language development in an integrated way. We show how IPAs can be used as assessments for, of, and as learning; they promote more authentic teaching and assessment methods, in both formative and summative ways. To illustrate the potential opportunities IPAs can offer over traditional teaching and assessment methods, we share a classroom‐ready example designed by a teacher who participated in a 15‐month professional development project. We posit that IPAs value the resources ELLs/MLLs bring to the classroom and allow them to use these resources in their learning, as well as promote authentic language use and provide a window into ELLs’/MLLs’ progress in ways that advance their learning and language development through collaboration and interaction.

QUEERING DIGITAL LITERATURE AND DIGITAL WELL-BEING IN JEFF GARVIN’S SYMPTOMS OF BEING HUMAN

The development of digital technology and communication has brought about rapid transformation in the field of literature. Books, articles, blog posts, tweets, and conferences, that constitute the digital humanities have grown exponentially in the 21st century. The emergence of the digital space has received a quick response from various literary genres, and in no exception, queer literature, which ranges from online book publications to documenting queer experiences through blogs and more generic social networking sites like Facebook and Instagram, has not only become a popular and affordable space for the queer community but more than a socializing space across the globe. Queer literature on digital space can now be seen as the fastest-growing genre of literature that evolved. Jeff Garvin’s Symptoms of Being Human, which is written in the form of blog posts, explores the way in which this digital space has provided an opportunity for queer literature and the community to thrive by curating their identities online, reaching out to like-minded people across the globe, documenting their experiences, and educating the public about their unacknowledged identity and sexuality. The paper examines how this new mode of communication paved the way for digital well-being by maintaining a balance between the digital and the real world, accommodating and acculturating social space, acting morally and responsibly, and effectively managing digital and real-life interactions, as demonstrated in Jeff Garvin’s Symptoms of Being Human.

Simulation of e-learning visualization technology based on image enhancement in the communication mode of public performance art videos

With the simulation of public performing arts video communication modes, this study aims to explore the application of image-enhanced electronic learning visualization techniques in this field. Through the introduction of this technology, it aims to improve the effect of e-learning and enhance learners' understanding and perception of public performing arts videos. Through the acquisition and processing of public performing arts videos, the image enhancement technology is used to improve the image clarity and color saturation. Based on the e-learning platform, the enhanced video will be transmitted online, so that learners can watch through electronic devices and carry out corresponding learning operations. Finally, the learning effect of traditional learning and image-based e-learning. The results show that e-learning visualization technology based on image enhancement can significantly improve learners' understanding and feelings of public performing arts videos. Through the enhanced video images, learners can more clearly observe the actors' performance movements, facial expressions and other details, so as to better understand the connotation and communication meaning of the public performing arts.

Primary mode of communication for people with total laryngectomy in the UK: a cross-sectional survey.

This study aimed to report on the UK rate of surgical voice restoration usage and investigate the factors that influence its uptake. A national multicentre audit of people with total laryngectomy was completed over a six-month period (March to September 2020) in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This study is a secondary analysis of the data collected, focusing on the primary communication methods used by people with total laryngectomy. Data on surgical voice restoration were available for 1196 people with total laryngectomy; a total of 852 people with total laryngectomy (71 per cent) used surgical voice restoration. Another type of communication method was used by 344 people. The factors associated with surgical voice restoration in the multiple regression analysis were sex (p = 0.003), employment (employed vs not employed, p < 0.001) and time post-laryngectomy (p < 0.001). This study provides an important benchmark for the current status of surgical voice restoration usage across the UK. It found that 71 per cent of people with total laryngectomy used surgical voice restoration as their primary communication method.

Assessing penmanship of Chinese handwriting: a deep learning-based approach

AbstractThe rise of the digital era has led to a decline in handwriting as the primary mode of communication, resulting in negative effects on handwriting literacy, particularly in complex writing systems such as Chinese. The marginalization of handwriting has contributed to the deterioration of penmanship, defined as the ability to write aesthetically and legibly. Despite penmanship being widely acknowledged as a crucial factor in predicting language literacy, research on its evaluation remains limited, with existing assessments primarily dependent on expert subjective ratings. Recent initiatives have started to explore the application of convolutional neural networks (CNN) for automated penmanship assessment. In this study, we adopted a similar approach, developing a CNN-based automatic assessment system for penmanship in traditional Chinese handwriting. Utilizing an existing database of 39,207 accurately handwritten characters (penscripts) from 40 handwriters, we had three human raters evaluate each penscript’s penmanship on a 10-point scale and calculated an average penmanship score. We trained a CNN on 90% of the penscripts and their corresponding penmanship scores. Upon testing the CNN model on the remaining 10% of penscripts, it achieved a remarkable performance (overall 9.82% normalized Mean Absolute Percentage Error) in predicting human penmanship scores, illustrating its potential for assessing handwriters’ penmanship. To enhance accessibility, we developed a mobile application based on the CNN model, allowing users to conveniently evaluate their penmanship.

Institutional Regulation of the CIS Observer Mission in Election Campaigns and Coverage of Its Activities in the Media

This study is aimed at studying the institutional, organizational and legal problems of interaction between the media and international observers during elections and referendums in the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The issue of countering foreign interference in the electoral process was not considered in the work.Aim. Eliminate methodological problems in defining the content of the term “international observation”, and proving the need to institutionalize the process of covering the activities of international observers in the media.Tasks. Identify the necessary areas of media activity when covering the activities of international observers during elections and referendums.Methods. The state of the modern election monitoring environment indicates the existence of a fine line between the need to ensure openness of electoral processes and the inadmissibility of interference in the internal affairs of states. It is necessary to identify restrictive thresholds for the activities of the media when covering the processes of international observation of elections and referendums and their institutionalization in relevant advisory documents based on the presumed impartiality of both international observers and the media.Results. The study showed that the most important task of the process of legitimizing the electoral process is to ensure its full coverage of the activities of all its subjects in the media. International monitoring media coverage should cover a wide range of issues throughout the entire electoral process from start to finish, including; activities of observers during the official election campaign before the start of voting; on election day and during the vote counting process; in the period after the elections from the moment the official results are announced until the formation of new authorities. At the same time, at all stages, coverage should cover a wide range of issues of the essence of the electoral process and its management; legal regulation of elections and referendums and existing institutional structures to support the process.Conclusions. Media coverage of the activities of international observers should be considered not only as one of the most important modes of political communication, but also as a means of countering selective absenteeism. Objective and impartial coverage of the activities of international observers in the media can undoubtedly contribute to both the internal political mobilization of the population and the international recognition of the state.

Design and application of a power frequency electric field measuring device for a high‐humidity environment

AbstractThe power frequency electric field is the most important electromagnetic environmental factor in alternating current power transmission projects. The humidity has a negative influence on available electric field measuring devices, which may lead to discrepancies of up to seven times the actual value at a relative humidity exceeding 80%. The changes in the support and probe shell impedance may be the reason for the error. The optimization measures include modifying the communication mode, designing a suitable structure and circuit for the probe, and using composite insulating material with strong hydrophobicity for the support. A three‐axis omnidirectional electric field measuring device was developed based on wireless communication and composite support. The variation of the measured electric field strength value is less than 1% at relative humidities ranging from 45% to 90% in the laboratory, and the measured results obtained in high humidity at the high‐voltage test site and under the transmission line demonstrated high accuracy. The research demonstrates that the composite support can be used to improve the performance of conventional devices. The proposed device can better meet the needs for accurate measurement of electric field strength in a high‐humidity environment and overcome the technical problems raised by the IEC standard.

The resilience of Hermite–Gaussian and orbital angular momentum modes for free space optical communication in atmospheric turbulence

The resilience of Hermite–Gaussian and orbital angular momentum modes for free space optical communication in atmospheric turbulence

Silencing or silent transmission? An exploratory study on trauma communication in Kurdish refugee families.

Trauma communication in refugee families is increasingly recognized as an important relational dynamic influencing psychosocial well-being, yet studies exploring interactional dynamics and meaning making at play in intra-family trauma communication remain scarce. This article reports on a qualitative study with Kurdish refugee families including parents (N = 10) and children (N = 17) resettled in Belgium, aiming to explore practices on trauma communication within refugee family relationships. In a multiple-phased qualitative design, semi-structured family interviews and participant observation administered in the homes of the participant families are followed by parental interviews involving a tape-assisted recall procedure to investigate observed intergenerational trauma communication and parent-child interactions. Data analysis shows parents and children seldom explicitly talked about the families' lived experiences of trauma. This silence was especially related to parental wishes to avoid their children's future involvement in violence. However, findings also indicate how the intra-family transmission of memories of collective violence occurs in many subtle ways. Four modes of indirect trauma communication could be distinguished: (1) focusing on the repetition of violence in the present; (2) transmission of the collective trauma history; (3) family storytelling; and (4) interaction with meaningful objects of the past. These findings shed light onto the interwoven nature of personal-familial and collective trauma and loss and illuminate the meanings of silence and disclosure in the context of the Kurdish diaspora. In the final section, we discuss our findings and outline its clinical implications for family therapeutic practices in refugee trauma care.

An Ecological Approach to Dynamic and Static Camera Framing Techniques

Media practitioners and scholars have long pointed out that a camera’s angle, movement, and distance are a fundamental part of video communication, as they alter the message in meaningful ways that in turn affect the viewer’s experience. Drawing on J. J. Gibson’s ecological approach to perception, this paper argues that camera effects are not arbitrary, but are rooted in how video interplays with our perceptual and motor systems, rendering it a universally accessible mode of communication. Through a comprehensive review of empirical and experimental studies on camerawork, the ecological paradigm is proposed as a coherent framework capable of explaining seemingly unrelated camera effects, with great potential to drive future research in audiovisual communication.

Evidence-Informed Approach to De-Prescribing of Atypical Antipsychotics (AAP) in the Management of Behavioral Expressions (BE) in Advanced Neurocognitive Disorders (NCD): Results of a Retrospective Study

IntroductionDiagnosis of behaviors in advanced neurocognitive disorders (aNCD) is one of exclusion, and the framework has been laid out in DSM-V. However, clinical assessments in aNCD become increasingly unreliable, and commonly used psychometric tools for clinical assessments lack reliability and validity, thereby making outcomes unreliable. Consequently, the syndromic and symptom management approaches for behaviors in aNCD behaviors have yielded poor results. To address this, the focus has shifted towards understanding the ‘meaning’ of behaviors in aNCD, recognizing them as a ‘mode of communication’. To date, there are no existing frameworks to ascribe ‘meaning’ to behaviors in aNCD.ObjectivesLuBAIR™ paradigm is the first step in offering such a framework for understanding the ‘purpose’ and ‘meaning’ of behaviors in NCD. The ‘meaning’ ascribed to each behavioral category was used to guide the use of atypical antipsychotics in their management. De-prescribing was attempted on patients who qualified to enter this retrospective study. De-prescribing was defined as successful if individuals were completely withdrawn from AAP and remained off them for 60 days without the re-emergence of behaviors.MethodsThe data collected on the second occasion, in the successful and failed de-prescribed groups, were compared in this retrospective study. MANOVA, Chi-Square paired t-test statistical analyses were used to detect the differences in the behavioral categories between the two cohorts. Cohen d was used to measure effect size.ResultsPatients who did not have Mis-Identification and Goal-Directed Expressions were more likely to successfully de-prescribe: X2 (1, N = 40) = 29.119 p &lt; 0.0001 and X2 (1, N = 40) = 32.374, p &lt; 0.0001, respectively. Alternatively, the same behavioral categories were more likely present in patients who failed de-prescribing: MANOVA and paired t-test (p &lt; 0.0001). Atypical antipsychotics, in their role as an antipsychotic and mood stabilizer, may be used to manage Mis-Identification and Goal-Directed Expressions, respectively.ConclusionsLuBAIR paradigm has the potential to guide the development of specific behavioral care plans and the use of AAP in managing individual behavioral categories. AAP use can be justified for managing Misidentification and Goal-Directed Expressions. Vocal expressions may warrant the use of AAP, pending further study. The LuBAIR paradigm offers guidance for de-prescribing AAP for all other behavioral categories in the LuBAIR Inventory. This study is also a preliminary step in validating the psychological theories used to support the individual categories. This workshop will educate the participants on the LuBAIR paradigm and its application in developing person-centered interventions for behaviors in a NCD.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Triangulating visual and textual corpus-assisted discourse analysis to study social actor representations: the case of Saudi women in the British and Saudi news media

Investigations of social actor representations across media present a large and important body of research in corpus-assisted discourse studies (cads). However, most studies focus exclusively on one mode, the text, whilst other modes of communication (for example, visuals) are either considered partially or not at all. Whilst insights from textual analyses are invaluable in revealing salient and nuanced patterns of social actor representations in the media, visual accompaniments can reinforce particular ‘angles’ creating lasting perceptions for readers and viewers. Though some approaches exist to study considerable numbers of images, visual media data can be complex rendering them difficult to be studied alongside textual cads. This paper uses a triangulation of visual and textual cads analysis to explore social actor representations in media texts and images. It does so by focussing on the representations of Saudi women in the UK and Saudi news media within the context of evolving women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. The study shows how such triangulation can be conducted in a doable and systematic way and how it can enrich cads research on discursive representations of social actors across contexts.

Collaborative Communication: A Qualitative Study of Roles and Emphases of Health Care Providers in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Clinical nursing in obstetrics and gynecology is a technically demanding job. Doctors and nurses have different professional backgrounds and work priorities, and there are differences in communication modes, which can easily lead to poor communication between medical staff and their patients. Therefore this study aims to examine the different communication roles and emphases of obstetrician and gynecologists, nurses and midwives in different sections of SEGUE framework, and further navigate the effectiveness and differences of offline and online provider-patient communication. This study employs in-depth interviews to address the research questions. A total of 24 health care providers, including 8 doctors, 5 midwives and 11 nurses, were interviewed face-to-face or by telephone. Doctors pay more attention to the "giving information" stage, while nurses pay more attention to "set the stage" and "elicit information" steps. Midwives and nurses spend more time with patients before and after labor. In addition to information giving, they also accommodate the "understand the patient's perspective" and "end the encounter" steps. Nurses and midwives would attach greater importance to "understanding of patients' perspective". Online medical consultation is more convenient for patients, which can be used as a follow-up complement to offline medical consultation. The health care providers of different types in obstetrics and gynecology communicate collaboratively with patients, highlighting the equally important role of midwives and nurses when communicating with patients. Nurses focus on "set the stage" and "elicit information" stage. Midwife is another important information source and medical care provider, especially for pregnant women in stable conditions. Nutrition clinic of midwife could be recommended for hospitals in second- and third-tier cities, which could help to alleviate obstetricians' workload. The provision of an online collaborative consultation could be beneficial supplement after face-to-face doctor-patient communication.

Community health worker outreach to farmworkers in rural North Carolina: Learning from adaptations to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Community health workers represent a critical part of the health outreach and services for migrant and seasonal farmworkers ('farmworkers') in rural areas of the United States. We sought to identify adaptations to farmworker patient engagement and health outreach made by community health workers during the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this qualitative study, we used semi-structured interviews with community health workers from August 2020 to February 2022 (n = 21). Two coders used thematic analysis to identify three themes related to the experiences of community health workers in conducting health education and outreach to farmworkers prior to and following the onset of the pandemic. We found themes related to pre-pandemic outreach efforts to provide health education resource sharing with farmworkers and pandemic-related outreach efforts that included adoption of porch drops and distanced delivery of health education, adaptation of modes of health education and communication through technology and the internet, and taking on new roles related to COVID-19. Finally, we identified changes that reverted after the pandemic or will continue as adaptations. Community health workers created practice-based innovations in outreach in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These innovations included new COVID-19 related roles and new modes of health education and outreach, including the use of digital resources. The changes developed for emergency use in COVID-19, particularly related to internet and technology, have likely altered how community health workers conduct outreach in North Carolina going forward. Funders, community health worker training programs, and researchers should take note of these innovations. Community health workers who typically come from patient populations and provide critical navigation and connection with the health care system advised on the design and creation of this research project, including serving on an advisory board. Two authors have experience working as community health workers.