65 research outputs found
In the global race over 5G, liberalisation and regulatory independence are key
No full textA global race over 5G is raging, but there has been little systematic exploration of the telecom sector with a global perspective. Rabah Arezki, Vianney Dequiedt, Rachel Yuting Fan, and Carlo Maria Rossotto use a novel ranking in the adoption of telecom technology standards around the world, documenting the complementarity between telecom liberalisation and regulatory independence in driving a sustained pace of technology adoption. They also show a positive and economically significant effect of telecom adoption on stock returns, pointing to significant spillovers of telecom to the rest of the economy
'Do it Yourself' Girl Revolution: LadyFest, Performance and Fanzine Culture
No full textRiot grrrl began as an independent music and political movement in the early 1990s emerging initially in the USA and few years later in the UK. From the beginning riot grrrl embraced a 'do-it-yourself' ethos operating outside the mainstream music business organising independent music festivals, workshop events and encouraging self-published fanzines (fan magazines which were distributed primarily through word of mouth, music gigs, artists and zine book fairs or by post). These zines became recognisable forms of personal expression and made visible a specific DIY approach alongside the development of a coherent style of graphic language in the producer's use of the photocopier, handwritten and graffiti texts, cut-n-paste and ransom note lettering style, collage and the co-option of mainstream media imagery. These production techniques made fanzine publishing accessible and played a central role in the development of a non-hierarchical community.
The main intent of this talk is to explore the idea of 'event as performance' using as a case study the specific activities of riot grrrl and focussing on a series of international events called 'LadyFests' and the graphic language of self-published riot grrrl fanzines. This will be achieved by examining the origins of today's riot grrrl performances (e.g. theatre, spoken word, music events) in 1970s feminist art, as well as locating the activities within the specific context of their counter-cultural predecesors including punk and punk performance
In Search of an Author: From Participatory Culture to Participatory Authorship
No full textThe question of fidelity, which has long been at the center of adaptation studies, pertains to the problem of authorship. Who can be an author and adapt a text and who cannot? In order to understand the problem of fidelity, this thesis asks larger questions about the problems of authorship, examining how authorship is changing in new media. Audiences are taking an ever-increasing role in the creation and interpretation of the texts they receive: a phenomenon this thesis refers to as participatory authorship, or the active participation of audience members in the creation, expansion, and adaptation of another\u27s creative work. In order to understand how audiences are creating texts, first the place of the player within video games is addressed. Due to the nature of the medium, players must become active co-creators of a video game. Drawing a parallel between video game players and performance, it is argued that players must simultaneously perform and author a text, illustrating the complex and multilayered nature of authorship in video games. In the second chapter the role of the fan is examined within the context of the My Little Pony fandom, Bronies. Like players, fans take an active role in the creation of the text and destabilize the traditional notion of authorship by partially controlling of a text from the original author. By examining the place of the player and the fan the traditional notion of authorship is destabilized, and the more open and collaborative model of participatory authorship is proposed
Development of PAC-1 as a privileged agent for combination chemotherapy
No full textElucidation of the molecular mechanisms of cancers has enabled the development of molecularly targeted chemotherapeutics capable of exploiting cancer-specific cellular alterations. Small-molecule activation of procaspase-3 represents a particularly promising opportunity, based upon its determinant role in the execution of apoptosis and its widespread over-expression across many diverse cancer types. PAC-1 is a small-molecule that facilitates procaspase-3 activation by relieving physiological zinc- mediated inhibition of auto-proteolytic activation. Activation of procaspase-3 by PAC-1 was previously demonstrated to induce apoptosis in cancer cells and be efficacious in select murine tumor models. Described herein is the evaluation of PAC-1 in combination with diverse chemotherapeutics, and leveraged for the treatment of challenging cancers.
Concurrent external development of a second class of mechanistically-distinct procaspase-3 activating compounds, enabled a proof-of-concept evaluation of dual targeting of a single protein with small-molecule activators. Synergistic enhancement in protein activity, signaling pathway activation and in vivo efficacy were observed. This substantiated the hypothesis that when orthogonal mechanisms of protein activation were possible, that dramatic enhancements in biologic effect could be observed, thereby establishing a novel strategy for combining molecularly targeted chemotherapeutics.
Building upon the success of dual targeting of executioner caspases for enhanced apoptotic effect, PAC-1 was investigated as a method to broadly enhance diverse pro-apoptotic signals. Excitingly, increased anticancer activity was observed broadly in models of increasing complexity and clinical relevance (cancer cell lines, murine tumor models, canine cancer patients). Furthermore, co- administration of PAC-1 with a highly active, but toxicity-limited chemotherapeutic, was demonstrated to be both feasible and active in the treatment of a challenging canine cancer.
After demonstrating that PAC-1 was capable of enhancing pro-apoptotic signaling initiated by diverse cytotoxic chemotherapeutics, the concept was explored for the treatment of brain cancers. PAC-1 penetrates the blood-brain barrier, suggesting potential for the treatment of brain cancers. Capitalizing on its ability to enhance pro-apoptotic signaling, PAC-1 was explored both as a single agent, and in combination with a DNA alkylating agent clinically used for the treatment of glioblastoma. Both strategies demonstrated antitumor activity in vivo, suggesting significant clinical utility.
This work builds upon the foundation of research of PAC-1 as a single agent and suggests numerous exciting clinical pathways. Combination chemotherapy is critical for the management of many cancers, thus demonstration of increased anticancer activity in PAC-1-based combinations, and establishment of feasibility, will support its clinical development.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2018-08-01The student, Rachel Botham, accepted the attached license on 2016-06-30 at 08:26.The student, Rachel Botham, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2016-06-30 at 08:38.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2016-07-01 at 14:47.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #9728 on 2016-11-10 at 12:20:00Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-10T18:27:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3
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Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are: Sexuality and Gender Exploration in Contemporary Slash Fanfiction
No full textIn recent years, slash fanfiction has become a place for trans and non-binary inclusivity in romance narratives. Slash creates a safe space for queer and non-binary fans to express their sexuality and gender identity, thus encouraging the normalization of non-heteronormative people and lifestyles. The first chapter of this thesis, dedicated to the slash fanfiction author, examines the interwoven relationships between the fan, the piece of media (or, canon), and contemporary social outcries for LGBTQ+ inclusivity in romance narratives. Combining both Roland Barthes’ “Death of the Author” and Kristina Busse’s Framing Fan Fiction, I define the fluid relationship between author and reader, and who actually has authority over the text at hand. The second chapter analyzes what these fan authors are writing and how they have methodically created worlds that not only show trans and non-binary characters, but normalize their lives, bodies, and relationships. Through the fan-generated genre known as the Omegaverse, or A/B/O dynamics, heteronormative standards for sexuality and gender are left aside, as the world features men who can get pregnant, woman who have phalluses, and some characters who have both a penis and the ability to get pregnant. Using Judith Butler’s “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution” and Eve Ng and Julie Levin Russo’s “Envisioning Queer Female Fandom,” I prove how the Omegaverse directly validates trans and non-binary bodies and how fanfiction has lead to the integration of queer bodies in contemporary media
Lessons from the Middle East and East Asia
No full textThis paper documents the existence of a
"middle-income trap" for the Middle East and North
Africa region. It argues that the economic woes of the
Middle East and North Africa offer new insights into the
debate on the trap which has thus far focused on the East
Asia and Pacific region. The results are two-folds. First,
non-parametric regressions show that the average rate of
economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa has not
only been significantly lower than that in the East Asia and
Pacific region, but it has also tended to drop at an earlier
level of income. Second, econometric results point to Middle
East and North Africa having experienced a relatively slow
pace of technology adoption in general-purpose technologies.
The paper concludes that barriers to the adoption of
general-purpose technologies related to the lack of
contestability in key sectors could constitute an important
channel of transmission for the middle-income trap
Hydrology, channel morphology, and holocene sedimentation record of the Central Passaic River Basin, NJ
No full textThe Passaic River Basin, which spans 935 mi² over northern New Jersey and parts of New York, is defined by both its glacial and post-glacial history. The retreating ice sheet (~22-18 ka) created Glacial Lake Passaic, impounded behind the Watchung Mountains until a new outlet was opened at Little Falls. Glacial rerouted the Passaic River to a northeastward course, with wetlands developing on the glacial lake sediments. One such wetland, the Great Piece Meadows, covers 2,343 acres of undeveloped floodplain within the Central Basin. Three oxbows within these wetlands, named Oxbow2, RC, and TZS, were cored to determine the flooding and geomorphological history of the central Passaic’s floodplain. Radiocarbon dates and grain size data suggests that oxbow TZS was cut off from the main channel around 9-9.5 ka B.P., and that the Oxbow2 and RC were cut off around 3.6 B.P. These dates fall within a transition from a dry to a wet period during the Holocene, which may have been a cause for the avulsions. Using mercury soil concentrations, deposition from the past ~180 years were determined to be within the upper 5-17 cm of the cores. The Passaic’s central and lower basin have long been plagued by flooding problems, with the worst flood on record occurring in 1903. Analysis of peak discharge at gages along the Passaic and its tributaries for 27 major floods confirms observed flashy discharge of the tributaries and the backup of floodwaters from Little Falls to the central basin during flooding. While the Passaic Basin’s morphology makes it prone to flooding, there are anthropogenic factors as well. While peak discharges for major floods in the Passaic have decreased since the turn of the century, major flood frequency is increasing. Reservoirs are shown to significantly decrease annual runoff and flood discharge along rivers directly downstream from them, but while they can reduce the intensity of flooding, they do not prevent major floods. Annual average runoff ratio values have increase for most areas of the Passaic Basin’s streams as well, despite the construction of reservoirs and diversions for water supply. This implies that an increase in urban and suburban development is a factor in the river’s increasing flooding problems.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesby Rachel Mackenzie Fil
‘The kids from yesterday’: My chemical romance’s first when we were young festival performance and playing with ageing, outsider identities and nostalgia
No full textMy Chemical Romance’s (MCR) first headline performance at the When We Were Young (WWWY) festival in Las Vegas in October 2022 offered a rich and playful visual presentation of their history as a band. They played with multiple visual representations of youth and ageing that linked both to their visual and thematic history through stage costumes and merch design and with the notion of selling out by playing this commercial exploitation of nostalgia for lost youth. This article offers insights from the author – an older, queer female fan from the United Kingdom who attended this performance as a late-coming MCR fan. The MCR performance is examined in relation to WWWY as a festival of nostalgia, as a location for multiple fan identities, for example, gender, queerness and age and as a commercial enterprise, in the context of the often-fraught notion in punk-related scenes of ‘selling out’. The conclusion is that the nostalgic experience of a festival like WWWY was exploited by MCR as a setting for satire of their return as a band in middle age, for nostalgic festival goers and for fans of the band, where some of the insider/outsider tensions represented by the band remained
Corrigendum: A Severe Lack of Evidence Limits Effective Conservation of the World's Primates
No full textIn the originally published version of this article, the author's name, Kathy Slater, was incorrectly spelt in the author list and within the “Author Biographical” section. This has now been corrected online.Additional co-authors: Fabiano R de MELO, P Fan, Cyril C Grueter, Diana C Guzmán-Caro, Eckhard W Heymann, Ilka Herbinger, Minh D Hoang, Robert H Horwich, Tatyana Humle, Rachel A Ikemeh, Inaoyom S Imong, Leandro Jerusalinsky, Steig E Johnson, Peter M Kappeler, Maria Cecília M Kierulff, Inza Koné, Rebecca Kormos, Khac Q LE, Baoguo Li, Andrew J Marshall, Erik Meijaard, Russel A Mittermeier, Yasuyuki Muroyama, Eleonora Neugebauer, Lisa Orth, Erwin Palacios, Sarah K Papworth, Andrew J Plumptre, Ben M Rawson, Johannes Refisch, Jonah Ratsimbazafy, Christian Roos, Joanna M Setchell, Rebecca K Smith, Tene Sop, Christoph Schwitzer, Kathy Slater, Shirley C Strum, William J Sutherland, Maurício Talebi, Janette Wallis, Serge Wich, Roman M Wittig, Hjalmar S Küh
The 'reality' of the Australian 'Junior Masterchef' television series for preadolescents and their parents
No full textThe increase in reality-styled programs on television and in their appeal to young viewers has not been matched by research on what motivates children to watch such programs and if there are any flow-on effects in the home for the children and their families. Current research is limited to mainly North American and European populations of adolescents and adults which reduces the application of findings to Australian children. The present mixed- methods study surveyed Australian pre-adolescent children’s (N= 38) engagement and motivation to watch the Australian series of ‘Junior Masterchef’ and if their involvement with the program was associated with cooking, food and family connectedness. Additionally, parents (N=39) of the children were surveyed to ascertain their awareness of the series, together with their perceptions of children cooking in the home and family connectedness. The children’s (N=16) and parents (N=9) experiences were further explored through focus group interviews using Thematic Analysis. Overall, three factors motivated children to watch the program: education, excitement/entertainment value and vicarious participation. Involvement with the program was not associated with cooking in the home, food engagement or family connectedness. Despite this, family connectedness was highly valued by the children. The benefit of the program for parents was increased ‘family time’ which was an important factor for their experiences of family connectedness. Parents reported their children’s interest in cooking increased when viewing ‘Junior Masterchef’, however, cleaning up and time restrictions were considerations that limited opportunities for children to actively participate
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