There has been a multitude of studies focused on the COVID-19 pandemic across fields and disciplines as all sectors of life have had to adjust the way things are done and adapt to the constantly shifting environment. These studies are crucial as they provide support and perspectives on how things are changing and what needs to be done to stay afloat. Connecting COVID-19-related studies and big data analytics is crucial for the advancement of industrial applications and research areas. Applied Big Data Analytics and Its Role in COVID-19 Research introduces the most recent industrial applications and research topics on COVID-19 with big data analytics. Featuring coverage on a broad range of big data technologies such as data gathering, artificial intelligence, smart diagnostics, and mining mobility, this publication provides concrete examples and cases of usage of data-driven projects in COVID-19 research. This reference work is a vital resource for data scientists, technical managers, researchers, scholars, practitioners, academicians, instructors, and students.

The purpose of Research At Grass Roots is to accompany the novice researcher, in both the social sciences and human service professions, step by step through the research process. The description of the research process is probably unique in that this view has been developed over at least two decades through work with postgraduate students. The section for experienced researchers is less structured and discusses current topics of interest such as evaluation research, intervention research, participatory action research, and analysis of concepts such as evidence-based practice.

The interplay between scientific theory and research, and between research and professional practice, has once again been highlighted. This encompasses important debates for experienced researchers and practitioners, including crucial concepts for novice researchers to master as early as possible in their academic careers.

The section dealing with different models for combining quantitative and qualitative styles of research has been updated to include recent debates and developments in the field of mixed methods designs. Both sections dealing with qualitative and quantitative designs and analysis have been substantially revised and updated. We have included contributions from experienced researchers such as Prof. Willem Schurink, a qualitative researcher and doctoral supervisor, Prof. Wim Roestenburg, a senior academic and researcher, and Dr Allen Bartley, an international contributor and expert in statistical analysis. Prof. Minrie Greeff has again provided insight from her vast experience of research interviewing. Salient features of the previous three editions have been retained in order to ensure that we continue to meet the needs of current users of this very successful book.

This book explores the media ecologies of literature - the ways in which a literary text is interwoven in its material, technical, performative, praxeological, affective, and discursive network and which determine how it is experienced and interpreted. Through novel approaches to the complex, contingent and interdependent environments of literature, this volume demonstrates how questions about the mediality of literature - particularly in the wake of digitization - shed a new light on our understanding of textuality, reading, platforms and reception processes. By drawing on recent developments in advanced media theory, Media Ecologies of Literature emphasizes the productivity of innovative re-conceptualizations of literature as a medium in its own right. In an intentionally wide historical scope, the essays engage with literary texts from the Romantic to the contemporary period, from Charlotte Smith and Oscar Wilde to A. L. Kennedy and Mark Z. Danielewski, from the traditionally printed novel to audiobooks and reading apps.

Spatial Regression Analysis Using Eigenvector Spatial Filtering provides theoretical foundations and guides practical implementation of the Moran eigenvector spatial filtering (MESF) technique. MESF is a novel and powerful spatial statistical methodology that allows spatial scientists to account for spatial autocorrelation in their georeferenced data analyses. Its appeal is in its simplicity, yet its implementation drawbacks include serious complexities associated with constructing an eigenvector spatial filter. This book discusses MESF specifications for various intermediate-level topics, including spatially varying coefficients models, (non) linear mixed models, local spatial autocorrelation, space-time models, and spatial interaction models. Spatial Regression Analysis Using Eigenvector Spatial Filtering is accompanied by sample R codes and a Windows application with illustrative datasets so that readers can replicate the examples in the book and apply the methodology to their own application projects. It also includes a Foreword by Pierre Legendre.

We are at a defining point in the history of news. Following a surge of fake news, clickbait and conspiracy theories, the 2020s have ushered in a welter of existential threats for public service broadcasting. So, where do we go from here? Former Today editor and head of BBC television news Roger Mosey thinks public service broadcasters must buck the trends and in this incisive book he offers twenty core ways in which the news can save itself by getting smarter, sharper, more diverse, more nuanced and less exposed to pummelling by politicians. Mosey sees two possible futures: one in which the incitements of populist demagogues and the passions of social media are ever dominant - or one where we fight hard to retain media that has an interest in the public good and preserves truth, fairness and evidence-based judgements. From one of British broadcasting's most experienced voices comes the definitive exploration of Britain's news output and what must change if we are to avoid a future of uninspiring news, uninformed decision-making and accountability-dodging politicians.

In a globalized world full of noise, brands are constantly launching messages through different channels. For the last two decades, brands, marketers, and creatives have faced the difficult task of reaching those individuals who do not want to watch or listen to what they are trying to tell them. By producing fewer ads or making them louder or more striking, more brands and communications professionals are not going to get those people to pay more attention to their messages; they will only want to avoid advertising in all media. Examining the Future of Advertising and Brands in the New Entertainment Landscape provides a theoretical, reflective, and empirical perspective on branded content and branded entertainment in relation to audience engagement. It reviews different cases about branded content to address the dramatic change that brands and conventional advertising are facing short term. Covering topics such as branded content measurement tools, digital entertainment culture, and government storytelling, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for marketers, advertising agencies, brand managers, business leaders and managers, communications professionals, government officials, non-profit organizations, students and educators of higher education, academic libraries, researchers, and academicians.

International advertising is an important discipline in social sciences studies. Many books and articles have been published in international advertising, however only few of them contain information about advertising industry and research in specific international countries/regions. This book intends to give a local/global perspective to international advertising. Therefore, this book provides an ideal resource for academicians, researchers, advertising and marketing experts and students on a global perspective. This book includes information about international advertising and different international cultures. It covers specific countries and specific international regions regarding advertising. This text also includes a literature review of the advertising industry for various countries and regions. This book, within the social science studies discipline, is comprised of articles in international advertising about specific countries and international regions.

In nineteenth-century Toronto, people took to the streets to express their jubilation on special occasions, such as the 1860 visit of the Prince of Wales and the return in 1885 of the local Volunteers who helped to suppress the Riel resistance in the North-West. In a contrasting mood, people also took to the streets in anger to object to government measures, such as the Rebellion Losses bill, to heckle rival candidates in provincial election campaigns, to assert their ethno-religious differences, and to support striking workers. Expressive Acts examines instances of both celebration and protest when Torontonians publicly displayed their allegiances, politics, and values. The book illustrates not just the Victorian city's vibrant public life but also the intense social tensions and cultural differences within the city. Drawing from journalists' accounts in newspapers, Expressive Acts illuminates what drove Torontonians to claim public space, where their passions lay, and how they gave expression to them.

Innovative methodological approaches are vital for experienced researchers and early-career researchers alike to conduct research. In order to provide them with the best possible resources, the methodologies must be comprehensive and describe the data sources, approaches to data collection, and approaches to data analysis that are typically employed within the given methodological approach. Methodological Innovations in Research and Academic Writing serves as a resource for graduate students and higher education faculty and presents a number of methodological innovations in research as well as applied examples of these methodologies in practice. The chapters focus on the application of methodological approaches (through the presentation of real-world examples) and descriptions of the epistemological foundations of the given methodologies so that researchers can fully articulate and justify their methodological choices in the context of their research design. It is a crucial guide for graduate students who are designing and writing their doctoral dissertations as it introduces them to the best practices related to rigorous research design and academic writing. This book is ideal for graduate students, higher education faculty, researchers, and academicians.

Ethical Practice of Statistics and Data Science is intended to prepare people to fully assume their responsibilities to practice statistics and data science ethically. Aimed at early career professionals, practitioners, and mentors or supervisors of practitioners, the book supports the ethical practice of statistics and data science, with an emphasis on how to earn the designation of, and recognize, "the ethical practitioner". The book features 47 case studies, each mapped to the Data Science Ethics Checklist (DSEC); Data Ethics Framework (DEFW); the American Statistical Association (ASA) Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice; and the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) Code of Ethics. It is necessary reading for students enrolled in any data intensive program, including undergraduate or graduate degrees in (bio-)statistics, business/analytics, or data science. Managers, leaders, supervisors, and mentors who lead data-intensive teams in government, industry, or academia would also benefit greatly from this book. This is a companion volume to Ethical Reasoning For A Data-Centered World, also published by Ethics International Press (2022). These are the first and only books to be based on, and to provide guidance to, the ASA and ACM Ethical Guidelines/Code of Ethics.

Indispensable to the research practice carried out by so-called "contracting researchers," who are often based in the Global North, "facilitating researchers," often based in those conflict-affected areas of the Global South that contracting researchers are contracted to study, are usually the ones who truly regulate the access and flow of knowledge. Yet as often as not, they are referred to merely as 'fixers', with their contributions systematically erased in final research texts. Facilitating Researchers in Insecure Zones brings together first-hand accounts by several facilitating or "brokering" researchers in three settings afflicted by armed conflict--namely, DR Congo, Sierra Leone and Jharkhand, India--in order to highlight the varied and crucial roles they play. In so doing, this volume also bears witness to the insecurities and resource-scarcities they have to navigate in order to facilitate the research of others. Ultimately, their experiences and insights point to more equitable fieldwork and more collaborative processes of knowledge production. For its first-hand accounts of fieldwork in insecure zones, as well as for its diverse geographical and topical coverage, this book is a must-read for researchers and students researching interested in ethnographic and fieldwork methods and ethics, particularly as they apply to conflicts and to research in the Global South.

Public involvement has the power to promote an active circulation of media content and can generate economic and cultural value for organizations. The current perspectives on interactions between audiences, organizations, and content production suggests a relational logic between audiences and media through new productivity proposals. In this sense, it is interesting to observe the reasoning of audience experience through the concepts of interactivity and participation. However, there is a gap between the intentions of communication professionals and their organizations and the effective circulation and content retention among the audiences of interest, as well as the distinction between informing and communicating. Navigating Digital Communication and Challenges for Organizations discusses communication research with a focus on organizational communication that includes a range of methods, strategies, and viewpoints on digital communication. Covering a range of topics such as internal communication and public relations, this reference work is ideal for researchers, academicians, policymakers, business owners, practitioners, instructors, and students.

A productive writer writes regularly, produces goal-directed written work and enjoys the process. Productive writing addresses the problem of why some people publish with ease and others struggle, and seeks to take the non-productive writer and turn him or her into a prolific one. Important themes in the book are dealing with writer's block, procrastination and making time to write. An array of explanations, research and activities is presented to encourage exploring, thinking, speculating, testing, documenting, questioning and developing authority. Crafting the document itself is just one part of the writing spectrum. The increasing focus on research and publishing at universities and universities of technology makes this book an important contribution to the available literature on research. Addressing throughput for postgraduate students and output for academic staff, the book is aimed at both these categories. Productive writing complements two earlier research books by Cecile Badenhorst, Research writing and Dissertation writing, and focuses on important aspects of research that are not covered in those books.

The American Statistical Association (ASA) and the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) have longstanding ethical practice standards that are explicitly intended to be utilized by all who use statistical practices or computing, or both. Since statistics and computing are critical in any data-centered activity, these practice standards are essential to instruction in the uses of statistical practices or computing across disciplines. Ethical Reasoning for a Data-Centered World is aimed at any undergraduate or graduate students utilizing data. Whether the career goal is research, teaching, business, government, or a combination, this book presents a method for understanding and prioritizing ethical statistics, computing, and data science - featuring the ASA and ACM practice standards. To facilitate engagement, integration with prior learning, and authenticity, the material is organized around seven tasks: Planning/Designing; Data collection; Analysis; Interpretation; Reporting; Documenting; and Engaging in Team Work. This book is a companion volume to Ethical Practice of Statistics and Data Science, also published by Ethics International Press (2022). These are the first and only books to be based on, and to provide guidance to, the American Statistical Association (ASA) and Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) ethical guideline documents.

How did the Israeli military learn to cope with the ubiquity of media technologies that routinely document their power abuses? Why did they re-appropriate these to tighten their grip on Palestinian civilians? This book explains why a high-tech nation with advanced military technologies came to rely on the everyday media habits performed by soldiers and civilians. Daniel Mann argues that the intensification of the security regime in Palestine, and the increasingly personal use of media technologies by both soldiers and civilians, are deeply entangled. The book traces how, beginning in the 1990s, the integration of media into the lives of civilians and Israeli soldiers enabled Israel to transfer responsibilities to individual users, who in turn became legally and ethically liable for state abuses of power. Drawing on declassified documents, found footage, and social media, Mann shows how both media and warfare have been remodelled around the figure of the defensive, isolated, and insular 'individual'. Mann suggests that the focus on representations and their close visual analysis paradoxically hinders our ability to understand media. Instead of zooming into fine details, we must step back to reveal the assemblage of images, users, and infrastructure that together serve to maintain the racial, legal and aesthetic divide between Israel and Palestine.