Schools in the UnitedStates are required to supply specific specialty services such as speech, occupational and physical therapy under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Because of their geographic locations and sparse populations, many rural communities do not have these specialties. The alternative of traveling to metropolitan areas where these services are more readily available is hard on the children and their families. INTEGRIS Health and the Hugo Public Schools collaborated in a two-year speech teletherapy pilot study to test speech therapy services delivered over two-way, interactive videoconferencing. The effectiveness and satisfaction of this mode of delivery was measured. A comparison of lost therapy time due to technical difficulties was also made.Steps taken to develop and implement the school teletherapy program, outline of a typical session, perceptions of rural administration, clinical outcomes, lessons learned and future applications will be discussed.

This paper argues that the systemic nature of contemporary consumer surveillance undermines the most fundamental principle of free market economics: consumer sovereignty. Specifically, this paper argues that the rise of an ‘information’ or ‘knowledge’ society in conjunction with neoliberal capitalism has entrenched routine forms of surveillance within commercial strategies by employing networked databases as a primary medium for the articulation of consumer sovereignty (choice/demand). The communicative relationship between consumers and producers within the market involves effectively ‘listening’ (and then responding) to consumer needs and wants in a timely manner. Surveillance is therefore not only necessary for the operation of globalized consumer capitalism, it is also the primary means by which consumer communicate their sovereignty within the marketplace. By turning to the work of Harold Innis and the intellectual tradition known as medium theory, this paper will theorize how in linking the actions of individual consumers to the decision-making capacities of trans-national corporations (TNC), the prevalence of consumer databases violates the fundamental neutrality of the market, and thus sovereignty, of individual consumers. In sum, by treating the database as a distinct communication medium, this paper will highlight how the commercial mediation of identity under neoliberalism can conceal the potential for the uneven geographic development, the marginalization of ‘less valuable’ consumer segments, and the exploitation of individual vulnerabilities through behavior and profile modeling.

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Polystyrene-b-[polystyrene-r-poly(acrylic acid)] block-random copolymers (BRCs) were used to stabilise polystyrene latexes prepared using a semi-batch emulsion process. The representative BRC used in this work was effective in stabilising the semi-batch...

This article examines the benefits and drawbacks of for-credit, unpaid internships geared towards the public good. Attention is focused specifically on communication internships with nongovernmental, non-profit, and community-based organizations. Drawing on a series of semi-structured interviews with students, staff, faculty, and host organizations, the author advances a critical model of service learning that more fully recognizes the labour of community partners and encourages students to consider what role they can and should play in advancing the public good. The article also highlights two key issues vis-à-vis public interest internships that are of particular relevance to the field of communications. The first is a disconnect between, on the one hand, communications as a theoretical field of study and, on the other hand, the skills communication students are typically expected to bring with them into their placements. The second is a growing tension between what different members of the university community expect out of public interest internships: politically safe forms of community engagement palatable to university administrations versus more activist-oriented placements with organizations and movements that contest structures of control both on and off campus. The author contends that communication programs must critically reflect upon how politically benign and/or contentious internships support their pedagogical goals and what resources need to be in place to meet these objectives.

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This article examines Malaysia's civil society resistance to a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, focusing specifically on the role played by domestic mainstream and alternative media in raising awareness of trade negotiations. While challenges to a Malaysia-United States FTA may appear muted -especially if compared with the outpouring of dissent witnessed on the streets of Thailand and South Korea against similar deals with the United States -Malaysia's civil society agents have employed a range of mechanisms to oppose the agreement. Although these activists have focused their efforts on different sections of the proposed FTA -from intellectual property rights to food sovereignty to government procurement procedures -all share a common call for greater transparency in the negotiation process and greater public and parliamentary consultation. This article takes a critical look at who is involved in these resistance efforts, their key issues of concern, limitations to their success, and, most importantly, their relationship with and use of local media.