Practical Communication Research Articles

Analysing spatial patterns of climate change: Climate clusters, hotspots and analogues to support climate risk assessment and communication in Germany

The spatial visualization of current and future climate conditions is one key component for assessing related impacts and risks in a given territory. A suitable combination of statistical methods and visualisation techniques allows the creation of outputs that support the interpretation and understanding as well as communication of the complex climate analysis to a wider target audience. The present paper describes the adopted approaches to portray information about climate change in Germany until the end of the 21st century in meaningful maps with the aim to communicate it to the public as well as decision makers. In particular, the conducted analyses focused on the assessment of climate regions, climate hotspots and climate analogues. The maps showing the resulting spatial patterns 1) divide the country in seven climate clusters, 2) reveal different hotspot areas of climate change in terms of key indicators for the middle and the end of the century and 3) provide current and future climate shifts of German cities to analogue regions in Europe. Results are accompanied with recommendations and interpretation aids supporting the correct use for practical applications and communication purposes. The final map products resulting from these analyses and published in the frame of the Climate Impact and Risk Assessment for Germany 2021 were taken up by different national media outlets (print and audio), education experts as well as stakeholders, showing benefits and limitations of the visualisation choices.

Communication and relationship building in pharmacy education: Experiences from a student-patient buddy project

Background and purposeIn order to deliver patient-centred pharmaceutical care, pharmacy students need to develop the appropriate competences and skills. During their regular study program, they have limited long-term patient contact. We therefore implemented a student-patient buddy project to give students opportunity to practice and learn from the patient contact. Educational activity and settingA student-patient buddy project was implemented in a 10-week first-year master experiential learning course, including a community pharmacy internship. The pharmacist paired the student with a community-dwelling patient. Student learning activities included: (1) three meetings at the university to prepare and discuss buddy contact moments, (2) three buddy contact moments, (3) discussion with the internship providing pharmacist, and (4) a written reflection report. FindingsIn total, 66 students participated from April to June 2021. Most students found patient contact fun and a useful learning experience. Students mentioned that patients were very open and there was opportunity to build a relationship. The first conversation was experienced as exciting and sometimes difficult. Understanding the person was perceived as important. Internship pharmacists were positive about the project and saw learning benefits for students, as well as added value for the pharmacy, mainly because patients seemed to appreciate the contact. SummaryA student-patient buddy project is a good way to expand the limited long-term “real” patient care experiences of pharmacy students. This enables them to practice communication and building relationships with patients.

Representing and Implementing Moral Values to Foreign Students in Indonesian Textbooks for Learners Other Than Indonesians

The textbook "Sahabatku Indonesia" published by the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia in 2019 has an important position for foreign students who are studying Indonesian. This book consists of 7 series. The book contains information about practical communication rules and exercises in Indonesian. In the communication training material various discourse units are presented which contain information on Indonesian culture. One aspect of culture that is taught is the moral aspect that accompanies language activities. This study aims to describe the representation and implementation of moral values introduced to foreign students in textbooks. These moral values come from moral values that are unique to the Indonesian nation and also universal morals. This research was conducted using a qualitative descriptive approach. The data source for this research is the 7 book series “My Indonesian Friends”. The data is in the form of written verbal units containing moral values and sometimes illustrations are added to accompany the communication exercises. Data were analyzed using content analysis and supported by Appraisal Theory (AT) to see aspects of moral values. This finding illustrated that on "Sahabatku Indonesia" textbook emphasizes inculcating moral values of learners in maintaining harmony and social interactions harmony in their living environment. The moral values contained in the text are as many as 13 moral themes. The implementation in the book can be found in the form of narrative text and picture illustrations. Understanding those moral values made a meaningful contribution to curriculum developers and textbook writers as a basis for consideration in determining their policies.

Examining the views of education managers of Shahid Sadougi University of Yazd on how to improve the education system with an agility approach: a study with a qualitative approach

: Organizations need agility in the current turbulent, complex and uncertain environment and rapidly changing markets. The purpose of this study is to design a model of agility in the educational system in Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences with a theme analysis approach.
 Method: The statistical population of this study was the staff, university experts, managers and officials of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. In order to develop the model of agility in Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, non-probabilistic judgmental or purposeful sampling method has been used. This sampling method is based on the researcher's theoretical understanding and previous experience of the study population. In order to analyze the data, interviews and theme analysis have been used and the interviews have continued until data saturation is achieved.
 : Based on the findings based on interviews with experts and theme analysis, there are 5 main levels in the agility of the educational system in Yazd University of Medical Sciences, including educational components with 3 sub-levels (educational goals, educational needs assessment, and educational topic). Attitudinal-motivational components with 4 sub-classes (organizational culture, social justice, accountability and foresight), speed components with 2 sub-classes (cartime and technology), management components with 6 sub-classes (employee selection, employee empowerment, Management abilities, supervision, evaluation and allocation of financial resources (and components of qualification and competency) were identified with 3 subclasses (training and practical skills, organizational communication and flexibility).
 Conclusion: Fierce competition in the business environment, increasing customer expectations, globalization, cultural and social issues, limited skilled human resources, information technology changes, innovation and initiative are among the driving factors for changes in organizations' environment, which necessitate attention to agility in The organization doubles.

Virtual objective structured clinical examinations — a novel approach to teaching and evaluating leadership skills in medical students

The objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is a simulation-based method of learning and assessment that allows for mistakes and feedback. Its uniformity, objectivity, and reproducibility are among its greatest strengths. Unfortunately, OSCEs rarely directly assess non-clinical skills or focus on leadership skills, such as conflict management. Leadership training is an underrepresented component of the medical school curriculum. Although OSCEs cannot evaluate leadership in its entirety, we have demonstrated the feasibility of using OSCEs to simulate realistic scenarios for students to apply and practise communication, collaboration and professional skills associated with leadership.

Photonic-chip-based dense entanglement distribution

The dense quantum entanglement distribution is the basis for practical quantum communication, quantum networks and distributed quantum computation. To make entanglement distribution processes stable enough for practical and large-scale applications, it is necessary to perform them with the integrated pattern. Here, we first integrate a dense wavelength-division demultiplexing system and unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometers on one large-scale photonic chip and demonstrate the multi-channel wavelength multiplexing entanglement distribution among distributed photonic chips. Specifically, we use one chip as a sender to produce high-performance and wideband quantum photon pairs, which are then sent to two receiver chips through 1-km standard optical fibers. The receiver chip includes a dense wavelength-division demultiplexing system and unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometers and realizes multi-wavelength-channel energy-time entanglement generation and analysis. High quantum interference visibilities prove the effectiveness of the multi-chip system. Our work paves the way for practical entanglement-based quantum key distribution and quantum networks.

Collaborative Learning Supported by Blockchain Technology as a Model for Improving the Educational Process

After COVID-19, new accreditation standards include the need for developing better learning and teaching environments. This will be supported and connected with digitization, entrepreneurship, social inclusion, and a circular economy. The orientation towards equity and quality in education clearly imposes the need for an individual approach to each student separately. This situation is especially pronounced in higher education institutions in the field of technology, whose primary goal is very often individual training for use of highly specialized software and hardware tools. In such a situation, it is necessary to move away from the classical ex-cathedra methodology and develop student-centered learning environments. Global accreditation systems for teaching, learning, practice, and business communication can be simplified using blockchain. On the basis of blockchain technology (BCTs), this paper proposes a Collaborative Learning and Student Work Evaluation (CLSW) model that includes a multi-frontal teaching method (VFN) and combines scientific peer-review standards. BCTs are used to protect student project and assessment data storage and transmission. Assisting higher education institutions in finding “employable capabilities” of proactive students is the idea of CLSW. Before implementing the CLSW paradigm, a poll of lecturers’ views on BCTs was conducted. The poll results show a desire and willingness to teach with BCTs. The model’s fundamental capabilities and the key participants’ duties were described in a project framework. Additionally, this research and proposed model can improve educational process sustainability in general, as it is an open platform easily accessible by all the interested parties, thus contributing to life-long learning.

Learning to learn: pathway to practice

University students need to adapt to the changing demand of professional practices. This concern has informed the development of graduate attributes and pedagogical concepts – such as long-term learning – which inform the curriculum. This paper draws on two research exercises conducted in collaboration with both students and alumni in the field of design, to provide a better understanding of the students' awareness of the transferable skills embedded in their university courses and to determine how relevant these skills might be in professional practice. The students’ and alumni’s voice is key to this research project and exemplified through specific quotes. Critically reflecting on the students’ and alumni’s comments about their journey from student to practitioner enables us to discuss the key skills and capabilities identified, in order to nurture resilience to changes in the workplace and proficiency in ‘learning to learn’: practical knowledge, collaboration, communication and adaptability.

In-person and virtual delivery of a multigenerational, unfolding case study to support student learning and skill development in interprofessional collaboration

A multigenerational case study in an outpatient clinic setting was utilized to allow advanced practice nursing and graduate level social work students to practice interprofessional collaboration. The primary objective of this event was for the learners to better understand each other's roles and practice communication techniques to facilitate the development of a collaborative plan of care. The learning activity included pre-event didactic education, collaborative plan of care development with unfolding case details, and facilitator-led debriefing. A pre/post reflection and survey were used to assess the impact and value of the experience and understanding of the partnering profession. In the third year, the delivery format was switched to virtual. Analysis showed that students valued the learning opportunity whether delivered in person or virtually. Overall, the event was shown to be effective both in-person and virtually implemented in promoting integrated care.

Factors influencing the lived experience of paramedics facing ethical dilemmas: a case comparison

Paramedics encounter ethical dilemmas at work, and while previous research has improved ethics education and practice, more can be learned from the lived experience of paramedics facing ethical challenges. This paper explores the lived experience of two paramedics, one with five years’ experience, the other twenty, presented with comparable cases. The participants, who were interviewed in a broader qualitative study exploring practical wisdom, were asked to select a case involving ethical decision-making from their own practice experience. Semi-structured interviews employed the five-step Critical Decision Method as a framework to explore various aspects of the decision-making process. The two cases were identified as exemplars of prominent themes suitable for discussion. The findings highlighted several factors that influence paramedic ethical decision-making, including practical wisdom, communication and teamwork, clinical support, and education. This case comparison identifies a greater need to focus education on the fostering of practical wisdom, and the development of non-technical skills such as communication and teamwork, supported by interprofessional education endeavours. Furthermore, greater access to support for paramedics must be available to further evolve practical wisdom. The combination of improved education and support will likely cater for the full spectrum of ethical challenges faced by paramedics in their work.

Quantum Dots Integrated Deep-Ultraviolet Micro-LED Array Toward Solar-Blind and Visible Light Dual-Band Optical Communication

Optical wireless communication (OWC) systems are emerging as a crucial technique for the development of next-generation data transmission and acquisition, with a particular interest in the solar-blind deep-ultraviolet (DUV) as well as visible-light (VL) band, owing to their superior advantages in either free space or underwater application scenarios. A light-emitting device, which normally acts as a signal transmitter in OWC, capable of generating dual wavelengths, would certainly expand the capacity and functionality of OWC. Herein, we propose to vertically integrate DUV micro-LED-array with CdSe/ZnS blue color quantum dots to emit dual wavelengths, and strikingly, the device exhibits a bandwidth of 254 and 36 MHz and obtained the data rate of 586 and 55 Mbps using the on–off keying (OOK) modulation scheme, at the emission of 275 and 470 nm, respectively. Importantly, the associated bit error rate is under the forward error correction threshold, indicating the feasibility of implementing this low-cost and compact device for practical solar-blind and VL dual-band communication, i.e., in marine science and ocean exploration.

Terahertz Receiver based on Room-Temperature Rydberg-Atoms

Realization of practical terahertz wireless communications still faces many challenges. The receiver with high sensitivity is important for THz wireless communications. Here we demonstrate a terahertz receiver based on the cesium Rydberg atoms in a room-temperature vapor cell. The minimum detectable THz electric field is calibrated. With this receiver, the phase-sensitive conversion of amplitude-modulated or frequency-modulated terahertz waves into optical signals is performed. The results show that the atomic receiver has many advantages due to its quantum properties. Particularly, the long distance THz wireless communications is achievable using this receiver. Furthermore, the atomic receiver can be used in the THz wireless-to-optical link.

Semantic Communications With Discrete-Time Analog Transmission: A PAPR Perspective

Recent progress in deep learning (DL)-based joint source-channel coding (DeepJSCC) has led to a new paradigm of semantic communications. Two salient features of DeepJSCC-based semantic communications are the exploitation of semantic-aware features directly from the source signal, and the discrete-time analog transmission (DTAT) of these features. Compared with traditional digital communications, semantic communications with DeepJSCC provide superior reconstruction performance at the receiver and graceful degradation with diminishing channel quality, but also exhibit a large peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) in the transmitted signal. An open question has been whether the gains of DeepJSCC come at the expense of high-PAPR continuous-amplitude signal, which can limit its adoption in practice. In this letter, we first show that conventional DeepJSCC does suffer from high PAPR. Then, we explore three PAPR reduction techniques and confirm that the superior image reconstruction performance of DeepJSCC can be retained while the PAPR is suppressed to an acceptable level. This is an important step towards the implementation of DeepJSCC in practical semantic communication systems.

Channel Estimation and Performance Analysis of a Wide-FOV Visible Light Communication System With Random Receiver Orientation and Location

A practical visible light communications (VLC) system accounting for the effect of the random orientation and the random location of the photo-detector receiver is considered in this paper. The characterizations of the random orientation of the receiver, modeled as the receiver employing wide field of view (FOV) for data detection, and the random location of the receiver are utilized to derive the statistics for the scenarios in which (i) only the orientation of the receiver is random, (ii) only the location of the receiver is random, and (iii) both the orientation and location of the receiver are random. Furthermore, the receiver structures for a fully coherent VLC system and a VLC system employing the least-squares technique for channel estimation are proposed. Employing the receiver structures, the closed/series-form expressions for the symbol error probabilities are derived for all three scenarios of practical VLC channel models. The numerical results particularly show the crucial role of the ratio of the distance of the location of the receiver from the center of the receiving plane to the distance from the light-emitting diode (LED) to the center of the receiving plane in the performance of all the considered VLC systems.

Covert Communication for Spatially Sparse mmWave Massive MIMO Channels

Covert communication, also known as communication with low probability of detection, aims to provide reliable communication for legal users and prevent any other user from detecting the occurrence of legal communication. Motivated by the strong need of security links of the next generation communication systems, we study covert communication with millimeter-wave (mmWave) massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) hybrid beamforming. Consistent with existing studies on covert communication, we use the Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence and the total variation (TV) distance as the covertness measure. Under both covertness measures, for block fading channels, we derive the covert transmission rate with and without artificial noise. These results are obtained by optimizing the transmit power and the jamming power to satisfy the covertness constraints and to maximize the transmission rate. Specifically, when artificial noise is allowed, we show that there exists an optimal jamming power to achieve the covert transmission rate given the transmit signal power. Furthermore, we propose a metric to measure the inherent sparsity of the mmWave massive MIMO channel in the spatial domain, and study its effect on the covertness measures and the corresponding covert transmission rates. Our results provide insights and benchmarks for the design of practical covert communication systems with mmWave massive MIMO.

An analytical framework for low-power underwater backscatter communications

Acoustic underwater backscatter enables ultra-low-power communication with applications in ocean exploration, monitoring, navigation, and aquaculture. Unlike traditional communication systems, acoustic backscatter does not require active signal generation. Instead, it communicates data by modulating existing acoustic signals, requiring few microwatts of power for operation. Backscatter communication enables ultra-low power sensors by switching between absorbing and reflecting acoustic waves transmitted from a central station. The energy burden is shifted to the transmitting station, and the acoustic power supplied by the station can power the sensor, allowing for battery-free operation. Initial demonstrations of underwater backscatter communication were encouraging; however, the theoretical and practical limits are still unknown. In this work, we develop a multiphysics analytical framework for the communication and power link budget of underwater backscatter. The framework calculates practical communication and power-up range, transmitter power budget, and signal-to-noise ratio, accounting for transducers’ characteristics and the underwater communication channel. The analytical predictions are validated for practical transducers using high-fidelity piezo-acoustic finite element simulations and experimental measurements. The framework will guide future backscatter systems design, identifying practical operation ranges and optimal frequencies for data transmission and batteryless operation.

Insights from Social Media into Literacy Practice and Intergenerational Communication in Korea: Recent Cases of Illiteracy

Literacy has recently become a hot topic. Recent cases on social/news media in South Korea include simsimhan sakwa (sincere apology) and sahul (three days). To discuss literacy issues and provide feasible solutions, this study explores the insights from social media into literacy practice in South Korea with reference to recent cases of illiteracy. Based on the concepts of New Literacy Studies, Bakhtin’s dialogism, Bourdieu’s capital, and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, this study concludes that no case is directly applicable to social media literacy since the fundamental problems did not result from any personalized content or different perceptions of reality. However, cases on YouTube including chosengchey and yamincengum are consistent with social media literacy. The problems can be partially solved by emphasizing Sino-Korean morphemes and by raising students’ vocabulary level in any subject matter. More importantly, intergenerational problems in communication should be resolved through efforts to better understand each other. Without awareness, tolerance, appreciation, and appropriateness in literacy practices, the intergenerational gap in communication will not be eliminated; communication between generations is at the heart of the problem.

Understanding Corporate Sustainability Disclosures from the Securities Exchange Commission Filings

As sustainability becomes fundamental to companies, voluntary and mandatory disclosures or corporate sustainability practices have become a key source of information for various stakeholders, including regulatory bodies, environmental watchdogs, nonprofits and NGOs, investors, shareholders, and the public at large. Understanding sustainability practices by analyzing a large volume of disclosures poses major challenges, given that the information is mostly in the form of text. Applying machine learning and text analytic methods, we analyzed approximately 25,428 disclosure reports for the period of 2011 to 2020, extracted from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings and made available at the Ceres website via application programming interfaces (APIs). Our study identified six industry clusters from the K-means and six main topics from the latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) method that related to the disclosure of climate-change-related environmental concerns. Both methods produced overlapping results that further reinforce and enhance our understanding of climate-change-related disclosure at various levels, such as sector, industry, and topic. Our analysis shows that companies are concerned primarily with the topics of gas emission, carbon risk, climate change, loss and damage, renewable energy, and financial impact when disclosing climate-change-related issues to the government. The study has implications for corporate sustainability practices, the communication and dissemination of such practices to stakeholders at large and furthering our understanding of sustainability in general.

Where do dangers lurk in informed consent and documentation and what are common technical mistakes?

In legal expert discussions, the following questions are usually raised: Is the procedure indicated? Have all diagnostic and therapeutic steps been carried out lege artis? Has sufficient informed consent been provided? Is there adiagnostic or treatment error? Did this cause any damage? Is the damage causally related to the error? Consideration of these fundamental questions in daily practice and good communication between patient-physician, physician-patient, and between physicians themselves is good protection in legal disputes.

Envisioning a More Inclusive Future for Digital Journalism: A Diversity Audit of Journalism Studies (2013–2021)

Recent years have seen an increasing amount of self-reflective discussion among media and communication scholars, about the hegemonic structures and inclusive participation within the field. In the scholarly community of journalism studies, similar reflections have emerged in recent years. Digital Journalism has also been actively pursuing a diverse and equitable scholarship in its journal. As part of the 10th anniversary issue of Digital Journalism, this article offers a systematic diagnosis of the diversity within published journalism scholarship between 2013 and 2021. In total, 3068 publications from a group of five journalism journals—Digital Journalism, Journalism, Journalism Studies, Journalism Practice, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly—were analysed. The operationalisation of ‘diversity’ focuses on both the authorship and content levels. Findings from this study suggest that (1) Digital Journalism published research papers mostly from and on the Global North, (2) the gender distribution of corresponding authors in the journal is slightly less balanced than the group average, (3) the methodological approaches employed in Digital Journalism are more asymmetric towards quantitative and computational approaches in comparison to the group average. Based on the empirical evidence, this article makes several recommendations to Digital Journalism, and to the field at large, to achieve better equity and inclusiveness.