A reinforcement sensitivity perspective on adolescents' susceptibility to the influence of soap opera viewing on alcohol attitudes

Previous research found support for an association between exposure to alcohol-related media content and alcohol attitudes, intentions and behavior. Nevertheless, research on what makes young people susceptible to the occurrence of this relationship is scarce. The current study examined the behavioral activation (BAS) and inhibition system (BIS) as moderators of the relationship between soap opera viewing and alcohol attitudes. A cross-sectional survey was carried out among a sample of 922 adolescents (M-age=14.96years, SD=.85, 56% girls). Regression analyses showed no association between total television viewing and alcohol attitudes, but did confirm that soap opera viewing is associated with positive attitudes towards alcohol use. Moderation analyses indicated that BAS did not moderate this relationship, while BIS did; the relationship between soap opera viewing and positive attitudes toward alcohol was only significant for adolescents with a low BIS-profile. These results provide support for the premise that an elevated BIS protects adolescents from the effect of soap opera viewing frequency on their alcohol attitudes

A call for action to the fish world: a guide to fish-related paragraphs of the plan of implementation of the world summit on sustainable development

It contains tables and a selected verbatim set of the paragraphs and sub paragraphs of the recent Plan of Implementation of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August-4 September 2002. The selected paragraphs and sub-paragarphs are those most relevant to the sustainable use, management and conservation of fish and other living aquatic resources.Living resources, Fisheries, Sustainability, Resource conservation

The Territorial Dimension of the Cohesion Policy

This paper will focus on exploring the territorial dimension of the cohesion policy of the EU as it was stated in the Community Strategic Guidelines on Cohesion, as being the capacity of the cohesion policy to adapt to the particular needs and characteristics of specific geographical challenges and opportunities. In this respect, the main territorial disparities, which led the EU decision factors to promote the territorial guidelines of the cohesion, will be emphasized. Particular attention will be paid to the various policies with impact on the territorial cohesion, as well as to the place of the territorial development on the European Agenda, namely the European Spatial Development Perspective and the Territorial Agenda of the European Union. In the end, the Romanian approach of the territorial cohesion will be presented in the framework of the programming period 2007-2013.territorial features; disparities; cohesion

From a fossil-fuel to a biobased economy : the politics of industrial biotechnology

Industrial biotechnology involves the replacement of petrochemical processes and inputs with more energy-efficient and renewable biological ones. It is already being used in the production of biofuels and bioplastics and has been touted as a means by which modern economies can be shifted toward a more competitive, low-carbon growth model. This paper does two things. First, it outlines the policy framework established in the European Union and the narrative of a knowledge-based bioeconomy (KBBE) underpinning this. Second, it argues that the ‘win – win’ rhetoric contained within the KBBE narrative is misleading. Among the different groups commenting on the use of industrial biotechnology, the paper locates cleavages between farmers and agribusiness, between those convinced and those sceptical of environmental technofixes, and between procorporate and anticorporate NGOs. Taken together, they show the purported transition from a fossil-fuel to a bio-based economy to be a resolutely political one