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Diversity and web design
No full textThe ability to target consumer segments and achieve a match between the product or promotional instrument and the consumer self-concept is stressed in the marketing literature. The online quality of a website has been said to have a positive impact on intention to use a website and perform a search, with preference for a website linked to perceptions of its credibility. Website preferences cam also encourage or discourage consumers’ purchasing intentions and the perceived visual attractiveness of a website is said to have a greater impact on e-loyalty and consumer retention than traditional attributes such as product selection and price. The important impact of preferences necessitates an understanding of the factors in a website that can appeal or not to people. Unfortunately, until as recently as 2004, studies investigating website aesthetics were anchored in the universalist paradigm which assumed that reactions would be universally held rather than differentiated according to demographic variables. A Canadian study in 2005 documented differences in reaction by gender but this study was inadequate in using a single commercial stimulus which had not been selected on any particular basis. Prior to this, research on web aesthetics was rooted in the universalist aesthetic in assuming that a single set of factors would suit all tastes.
The overview describes the work by the author to ascertain the extent to which website productions differ by segmentation variables and the extent to which preferences can also be segmented. The author’s work has isolated the impact of segmentation variables (gender, personality and nationality) on website productions and of gender on website preferences and the overview focuses on gender since the impact of this variable has been explored in relation to productions and preferences
A study of the design and construction of buildings in the Pombaline quarter of Lisbon
Get PDFIn the year 1755, the lower part of the city of Lisbon was hit by a severe
earthquake. Immediately following the earthquake a complex reconstruction
process began, which introduced new urban, architectural and constructional
concepts. This resulted in the creation of new innovative rentable buildings
termed the Pombaline rentable buildings, after the Marquis of Pombal who
directed their construction.
This thesis comprises a wide ranging and detailed study of these buildings.
At the beginning of this work, in Chapter I, "The Pombaline rentable building"
is placed in its historical context. The origins of the old city are described and its
historical development within Portugal. The results and consequences of the 1755
earthquake are outlined, and the subsequent process of reconstruction is
described. All immediate measures, decrees, and proposals for the reconstruction
of the city, plus Manuel da Maia's Dissertations, are carefully compared and
analysed, as are the various plans proposed for the reconstruction.
The preceding periods of Portuguese Architecture are studied to identify
possible origins for the architecture of the Pombaline rentable buildings. Also a
clear definition of the Pombaline Rentable building and the limits of the genuine
Pombaline area are established.
In Chapter II the general methodology used in the research is described, which
includes a survey of 315 buildings and a documentary search for material
relating to the construction of the buildings.
In Chapter III an analysis is made of the general external and internal
architectural characteristics of the rentable buildings. An extensive search for
original drawings, produced drawings only of the elevations of the main streets.
These are carefully analysed and compared with existing buildings and a
classification system is developed. A complete survey by the author of the
buildings' interiors, for which no documentary information exists, reveals a
great complexity and variety of interior plans. To achieve a systematic
classification of the interiors particular aspects are analysed including, the types
of stairs, the organization of the interior spaces, the building location and the
finishing details.
Chapter IV describes some of the technical innovations shown by the rentable
buildings, particularly those referring to earthquake resistance in construction
and to prefabrication. During the survey of plans and elevations the Author
identifies evidence for the existence of prefabrication, in terms of sizes of
components, tolerances and detailing. This evidence is supported indirectly by
documentary material although the extent of documentation is very limited.
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Possible evidence for an evolutionary development in the internal plan and
design of the buildings based upon the position of stairs in the buildings is
presented in Chapter V. An attempt is made to relate this classification to the dates
of construction of the different buildings. This is achieved by an analysis of
previous tax records which enable numbers of buildings constructed on different
streets at different periods to be determined. Based on this analysis the evidence
for an evolutionary development is discussed.
In Chapter VI the Pombaline rentable buildings of Lisbon are compared with
other contemporary developments at Porto Cövo, Vila Real and Manique do
Intendente in order to assess the influence of the Pombaline development, both in
terms of the architecture and the construction processes, on other construction
projects outside Lisbon.
Chapter VII discusses the principal findings of the research and their
importance in the context of Portuguese architecture
Representing Wales: experience on screen 1985-2010
Get PDFThis doctoral submission arises from the experience of working in broadcasting in Wales over a period spanning five decades. It focuses on one of my abiding concerns throughout: the under-represented experience of the community (the post-industrial working class of the South Wales coalfield) in which I grew up – and, more broadly, of those not especially powerful or privileged, elsewhere in Wales and the world; and how, in the broadcasting mainstream, in the UK and beyond, the quantum of the representation of such experience could be increased and its quality improved. The submission consists of a portfolio of four of my documentaries - The Waste Game (1987); Everyman: A Place Like Hungerford (1988); Do Not Go Gentle (2001); and Tonypandy Riots (2011) – and an overview which examines the characteristic features of my programme-making in the context of the development of the documentary and of television in Britain; explores the nature of representation in broadcasting, and its importance in validating the complex experiences and identities of ‘peripheral’ communities in the UK; explains how my understanding of community, forged in Wales, became problematic in the eyes of the London-based press when it informed in turn my representation of a particular and traumatic English social experience; and delineates strategies I have helped to form and articulate, both within the BBC and as an independent producer, which are intended to ensure that the under-represented experience of the periphery becomes more visible on the screen.After an Introduction which examines the interrelated group of meanings bound up in the idea of ‘representation’, and explains why they were of significance to a tyro producer/director from the Rhondda, each Chapter of the overview details the genesis, production and impact of one of the four documentaries in the portfolio, in chronological order, with an intermediate Chapter covering a period I spent away from hands-on production, engaged at a senior corporate level with issues of Welsh representation on the BBC networks. A Postscript expresses my conviction that the progress in the representation of marginal experience which I have witnessed and been party to can only be truly fruitful if the imaginative human relationship between programme-makers and those they represent is one of mutual trust and respect. This submission represents a significant contribution to knowledge in several ways. First, the portfolio of documentaries and the wider corpus of my work analysed and assessed here form a high-profile cluster of broadcast output made in the English-language in Wales. Such programmes were comparative rarities when my career began, and remain under-represented on the British screen. This intimate account of the detail and context of their production adds to the limited body of academic scrutiny such work has received. Second, at a time when the relationship between ‘the devolved nations’ of the UK and England is of particular political significance, this study constitutes a detailed consideration of a dimension of ‘British’ identity beyond those of age, ethnicity, class and gender which is just as complex in terms of the implications of its representation on the screen, and deserves as much attention. Third, this portfolio of work was produced within a broadcasting system and an institutional structure which, I argue, was signally failing to offer proportionate representation to the kind of experiences I was concerned with. This study offers a unique ‘insider’s view’ of power-struggles over the issue at the BBC and the development of a key intervention in which I was centrally involved. Finally, the portfolio itself and the broader career which it has been my privilege to enjoy are testimony to the (at least partial) efficacy of some of the strategies examined here for surmounting and moving beyond the economic barriers and cultural constraints which have historically prevented Welsh experience being fully visible, and which continue to disadvantage the Welsh producer. This account of the rationale for these strategies – and of the use made of them by the individual programme-maker and the incorporated production entity in the marketplace for factual television in the UK and beyond – may fill in some useful detail in the roadmap taking us towards a more complete representation of human experience
The effects of education and direct contact on explicit and implicit attitudes towards older people
No full textFibrinogen, homocyst(e)ine, and C-reactive protein concentrations relative to sex and socioeconomic status in British young people
No full textAbstract This study assesses the prevalence of recently identified coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors in young people of differing socioeconomic status (SES). From November 2001 through March 2002, 100 boys and 108 girls, of age 12.9 ± 0.3 years, selected from differing SES were assessed for CHD risk factors. Measurements included fibrinogen (Fg), homocyst(e)ine (Hcy), and C-reactive protein (CRP). Fibrinogen was significantly greater among boys from a higher SES compared with those from a low SES (P 0.05). Differences according to sex (P 0.05) were identified for Fg and CRP. The data indicate the prevalence of recently identified CHD risk factors in this cohort of British schoolchildren. For the purpose of this article, the phrase young people embraces both children and adolescents. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 17:809-813, 2005.© 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc
Supporting mentors as assessors of clinical practice
No full textThis article presents a brief history of national and regional changes in pre-registration nurse education together with an overview of how these were adopted in Wales. The development and functions of the practice facilitator role are described and the results of a small-scale audit are discussed. The audit sought to elicit if the training and support given to mentors via the practice facilitators were effective and how this strengthened the credibility of the assessment process of students in practice
The need for a culture-sensitive approach to teacher education in English as a foreign language
No full textThe aim of this Portfolio is to provide insight into some characteristics of I lungarian
learners of English, and to use this as evidence in pointing out the need for a change in
current teacher education practices in the preparation of English teachers.
The Portfolio comprises two projects. Project `A, ' Ihingal-ia» t ieivs about Native Eiiglislr
, Sppeakiiig Insiniclors, explores the positive and negative experiences of Hungarian learners
with native English speaking instructors. With the help of qualitative research and analysis
the learners' needs and expectations are highlighted. Project `B, ' The L inguaage Leariii, ig
SIralegie Used by Ilungariarl Learners of English, investigates the learning strategies of
I lungariann learners and their general approach to learning. From the qualitative analysis of
the data particular features emerge which have not been documented in the literature before.
The research results point out those features of the learner which prevailing teacher
education models do not prepare novice teachers for. The portfolio is based on I lungarian
experience but an international relevance is also demonstrated. The two projects are each
placed in the wider context of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL), and thus they
provide evidence that besides preserving some universally valid elements of teacher
education models, it is necessary to find ways of catering for particular local needs.
Instead of imposing the values and beliefs represented by Anglo-American teacher
education approaches, textbooks or methods, there are local, context-specific features
which have to also be taken account of. At a time when English is primarily used for
international communication, teachers can only be prepared in a training program which,
instead of the present Anglo-American cultural dominance, adopts an intercultural
approach. The final section of the portfolio outlines the possible elements of such a
culture-sensitive teacher education model for teaching English as a foreign language
A woman centred service in termination of pregnancy: a grounded theory study
No full textThe issue of abortion is contentious. It challenges those involved emotionally and ethically and, although in the UK it is set within legal parameters, it remains controversial. The involvement of nurses and midwives in abortion care has not been explored to any great depth. In the UK, there has be
Television and the local press: formations of value in making must-see TV
No full textThis article addresses an under-researched area in the analysis of contemporary broadcasting, namely the public life of Welsh television in the regional or local press. Focussing specifically upon BBC Wales’s Coal House (Indus Films), the article considers the importance of promotional discourse in the making of television history. In the process it argues that we need to be attentive to the diverse meanings of multiplatform as a concept and should not discount the regional or local press as a site in which television criticism may be forged and contested. Through textual analysis of over forty press cuttings, the article argues that the press read Coal House through the lens of their own commercial attachment to an imagined community, but that in so doing, they often chimed with broadcasters and viewers’ concerns with cultural value and a sense of the past in Wales today