Public media\u27s social media experiments: risk, opportunity, challenge

Through a survey of US public radio stations and case studies of four stations successfully using social media, this study provides a snapshot of the realities for US public radio stations wanting to use social media to engage audiences. Results of a survey of 77 station staff, along with case studies of four stations\u27 social media projects, reveal ambivalence about social media

Teaching Elementary Accounting To Non-Accounting Majors

A central recurring theme in business education is the optimal strategy for improving introductory accounting, the gateway subject of business education. For many students, especially non-accounting majors, who are required to take introductory accounting as a requirement of the curriculum, introductory accounting has become a major obstacle for achieving their goal of obtaining undergraduate degree in business. This paper reviews a variety of common but underutilized strategies for presenting learning opportunities to non-accounting majors in their first accounting course. Effective teaching methodologies that will promote active learning to help non-accounting majors develop interest in accounting and enhance their critical thinking skills in the acquisition of accounting knowledge are explored. Included in this review are discussions about the adjustments that can be made relative to class size and individuality in the early pre-course stages. Teaching strategies such as the use of remedial modules, case studies, hands-on student participation opportunities, within or separate from the classroom lecture, mini-quizzes, and mnemonics are discussed. Guidance is offered to accounting academics who wish to fulfill their responsibility to students in the most difficult, rule-dominated, math-oriented, and consequently, high risk course of introductory accounting

Assessment of the Toxic Effect of Mixed Effluents from Trans-Amadi Industrial Layout on Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus) in Okrika River, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

The toxic effect of the mixed effluent (industrial, domestic and municipal) discharged into Okrika River on Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was assessed. Tilapia samples were collected at about 500 meters from point of entry of mixed effluent into the River (downstream) and about 1.5 kilometers from the point of entry of mixed effluent into the River (upstream) while Tilapia from a fish pond affiliated to Rivers State Sustainable Development Authority (RSSDA) was used as control. Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity were assayed in the liver homogenate. Alanine amino transferase, ALT; Alanine aspartate transferase, AST and Alkaline phosphatase, ALP were investigated in the fish blood serum. Histopathologic section of the liver was also examined. Results showed that liver MDA concentration increased significantly (p<0.05) in downstream samples (2.45 ± 0.77 to 6.09 ± 1.57nm/mg tissue) with no significant change in upstream liver MDA.   Also, the Hepatic GST was significantly increased in downstream (5.59 ± 1.09 to 16.80 ± 0.71 IU/L) as well as significant decrease upstream (5.59 ± 1.09 to 3.65 ± 1.48 IU/L) in comparison with the control.  ALT, AST, ALP activities in the exposed fish serum showed marked increases downstream (ALT: 99.8 ± 3.5 IU/L; AST: 277.02 ± 39.8 IU/L; ALP: 40.38 ± 11.4 IU/L) at P<0.05 when compared to the control (ALT: 77.8 ± 14.3 IU/L; AST: 150.8 ± 50.7 IU/L; ALP: 15.34 ± 5.6 IU/L). Histology of the liver showed vacuolar degeneration, focal areas of necrosis and aggregation of inflammatory cells between the hepatocytes. This study elucidates negative biochemical changes on the metabolism of the fish due to the presence of mixed effluent in the River. Keywords: Toxicity, Histopatology, Tilapia, Effluent and Glutathione S-transferas

Conceal, Don\u27t Feel: Gender Differences in Implicit and Explicit Expressions of Emotions

Previous studies revealed that gender-role conforming men rated themselves lower on emotional scales (Etherton, Lawson, & Graham, 2014) and expressed emotion less freely than women in experimental situations (Brody, Lovas, & Hay, 1995). Further, men with high gender-role stress indicated fear of losing control over emotions (Jakupcak, 2003). The purpose of the current study was to explore if the physiological response to emotional suppression is similar to that associated with fear and anxiety. Gender-role conforming men and women experienced fearful and emotional stimuli. Experimenters recorded explicit and implicit reactions before and after exposure. Results showed females experienced greater changes in response after stimuli exposure compared to males. Implications of this research may indicate that males experience increased stress associated with emotional suppression

Physico-Chemical Evolution, Gill Mda Concentration And Histology Of Tilapia Exposed To Mixed Effluent In Okrika River, Rivers State, Nigeria

The physico-chemical evaluation and histological studies on Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) exposed to mixed effluent (industrial, domestic and municipal) from Okrika River were investigated. Tilapia samples were collected at about 500 meters from point of entry of mixed effluent into the River (downstream) and about 1.5 kilometers from the point of entry of mixed effluent into the River (upstream) while Tilapia from a fish pond affiliated to Rivers State Sustainable Development Authority (RSSDA) was used as control. Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration was assayed in the gill homogenates in the Tilapia fish blood serum. It was observed that the biological oxygen demand (BOD), total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), conductivity, chromium and cadmium were significantly higher in concentrations in the Okrika River exceeding FEPA regulations in Nigeria. Aside chromium whose concentration was more upstream of the river, BOD, TDS, TSS, conductivity and cadmium show more concentration downstream of the river. Results showed an increase in gill MDA concentration upstream samples (0.00±0.00 to 1.51± 0.24nm/mg), downstream samples (1.51±0.24 to 2.32±0.66nm/mg) and the control samples (2.32±0.66 to 2.70±0.89nm/mg). No significant change was also observed in gill MDA concentration of both downstream and upstream samples when compared with the control. Histology of the gill showed vacuolar degeneration, focal areas of necrosis and aggregation of inflammatory cells between the hepatocytes. From the investigation, the mixed effluents discharged into the river are toxic to the marine environment. Key words:  Physico-chemical, Histological, Effluent, Malondialdehyde and Tilapia

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Mortality in Diesel-Exposed Railroad Workers

Diesel exhaust is a mixture of combustion gases and ultrafine particles coated with organic compounds. There is concern whether exposure can result in or worsen obstructive airway diseases, but there is only limited information to assess this risk. U.S. railroad workers have been exposed to diesel exhaust since diesel locomotives were introduced after World War II, and by 1959, 95% of the locomotives were diesel. We conducted a case–control study of railroad worker deaths between 1981 and 1982 using U.S. Railroad Retirement Board job records and next-of-kin smoking, residential, and vitamin use histories. There were 536 cases with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 1,525 controls with causes of death not related to diesel exhaust or fine particle exposure. After adjustment for age, race, smoking, U.S. Census region of death, vitamin use, and total years off work, engineers and conductors with diesel-exhaust exposure from operating trains had an increased risk of COPD mortality. The odds of COPD mortality increased with years of work in these jobs, and those who had worked ≥ 16 years as an engineer or conductor after 1959 had an odds ratio of 1.61 (95% confidence interval, 1.12–2.30). These results suggest that diesel-exhaust exposure contributed to COPD mortality in these workers. Further study is needed to assess whether this risk is observed after exposure to exhaust from later-generation diesel engines with modern emission controls

Reef response to sea-level and environmental changes during the last deglaciation: Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 310, Tahiti Sea Level

The last deglaciation is characterized by a rapid sea-level rise and coeval abrupt environmental changes. The Barbados coral reef record suggests that this period has been punctuated by two brief intervals of accelerated melting (meltwater pulses, MWP), occurring at 14.08-13.61 ka and 11.4-11.1 ka (calendar years before present), that are superimposed on a smooth and continuous rise of sea level. Although their timing, magnitude, and even existence have been debated, those catastrophic sea-level rises are thought to have induced distinct reef drowning events. The reef response to sea-level and environmental changes during the last deglacial sea-level rise at Tahiti is reconstructed based on a chronological, sedimentological, and paleobiological study of cores drilled through the relict reef features on the modern forereef slopes during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 310, complemented by results on previous cores drilled through the Papeete reef. Reefs accreted continuously between 16 and 10 ka, mostly through aggradational processes, at growth rates averaging 10 mm yr-1. No cessation of reef growth, even temporary, has been evidenced during this period at Tahiti. Changes in the composition of coralgal assemblages coincide with abrupt variations in reef growth rates and characterize the response of the upward-growing reef pile to nonmonotonous sea-level rise and coeval environmental changes. The sea-level jump during MWP 1A, 16 ± 2 m of magnitude in ~350 yr, induced the retrogradation of shallow-water coral assemblages, gradual deepening, and incipient reef drowning. The Tahiti reef record does not support the occurrence of an abrupt reef drowning event coinciding with a sea-level pulse of ~15 m, and implies an apparent rise of 40 mm yr-1 during the time interval corresponding to MWP 1B at Barbados. © 2012 Geological Society of America

Factors affecting the pre- and post-elective abortion contraception choices in Iowa

To characterize the contraceptive uses and identify contraceptive concerns and preferences among Iowa women seeking abortion