Why crisis management missions do not increase the visibility of the European Union

The European Union’s (EU) Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and its accompanying Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) missions are tools used to increase the international profile of the EU. Using three different databases, this study features a content analysis that evaluates how much and what kind of media coverage CSDP missions receive. In general, the news coverage is positive, but limited. This article argues that the problem is structural: the very nature of the missions themselves, whether EU or NATO, makes them poor vehicles for EU promotion for political, institutional, and logistical reasons. By definition, they are conducted in the middle of crises, making news coverage politically sensitive. The very act of reporting could undermine the mission. Institutionally, all CSDP missions are intergovernmental; therefore, the member states control the coverage. Logistically, the missions are usually located in remote, undeveloped parts of the world, making it difficult and expensive for European and international journalists to cover. Moreover, these regions in crisis seldom have a thriving, local free press. The author concludes that although a mission may do good, CSDP missions cannot fulfill their primary political function of raising the profile of the EU

A LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVE ON FAMILY ENGAGEMENT: QUALITATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS OF SECONDARY DATA

The purpose of the study was to explore the leadership actions and activities that contributed to the implementation of a schoolwide family engagement initiative in a school. A qualitative content analysis of secondary data design was used to investigate the intentional actions and activities of a school leadership team during the implementation of a family engagement initiative within an elementary school. The Coherence Framework (Fullan & Quinn, 2016) provided a lens for which to investigate schoolwide change across drivers and sub-drivers. The findings of this study describe intentional leadership actions and activities when communicating with families, conducting formal assessments, and facilitating professional development. Patterns from the analysis indicate school leaders engage in intentional leadership actions and activities across all drivers and sub-drivers within the Coherence Framework (Fullan & Quinn, 2016). Family engagement practices are driven by core beliefs and consideration of the establishment of collective efficacy within the Coherence Framework may better support implementation of school change within family engagement implementation

The Stories Nations Tell: Sites of Pedagogy, Historical Consciousness, and National Narratives

As Canada prepares to turn 150, this article discusses what curricular shifts are necessary to reconcile history education’s disciplinary tools with practices of historical consciousness that will encourage learners to consider the moral dilemmas associated with Canada’s colonial legacy, silenced histories, and multiple shifting identities in the present. It introduces a conceptual Framework of Canadian National Narratives that captures current constructions of Canadian national identity communicated in Canadian sites of pedagogy. Taking into consideration debates around historical consciousness as a pedagogical project, this article recommends that curricular imperatives in history education critically expose students to a country’s master national narrative templates and those narratives that contest and rebuke them through frameworks such as the Canadian one detailed in this article. Given the current historical moment, it suggests such national narrative frameworks would form part of a new curricular imperative titled the Narrative Dimension that would offer a way forward for history education in Canada and throughout the world

Reducing the volume, exposure and negative impacts of advertising for foods high in fat, sugar and salt to children: a systematic review of the evidence from statutory and self-regulatory actions and educational measures

Purpose: To identify and review evidence on 1) the effectiveness of statutory and self-regulatory actions to reduce the volume, exposure or wider impact of advertising for foods high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) to children, and 2) the role of educational measures. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic review of three databases (Medline, CINAHL and PsycINFO) and grey literature was carried out. Relevant evidence included studies evaluating advertising bans and restrictions, advertising literacy programmes and parental communication styles. Relevant media included TV, internet, radio, magazines and newspaper advertising. No studies were excluded based on language or publication date. Findings: Forty-seven publications were included: 19 provided evidence for the results of statutory regulation, 25 for self-regulation, and six for educational approaches. Outcome measures varied in approach, quality and results. Findings suggested statutory regulation could reduce the volume of and children's exposure to advertising for foods HFSS, and had potential to impact more widely. Self-regulatory approaches showed varied results in reducing children's exposure. There was some limited support for educational measures. Discussion: Consistency in measures from evaluations over time would assist the development and interpretation of the evidence base on successful actions and measures to reduce the volume, exposure and impact of advertising for foods HFSS to children

Mission impossible: why crisis management missions do not increase the visibility of the European Union

The European Union’s (EU) Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and its accompanying Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) missions are tools used to increase the international profile of the EU. Using three different databases, this study features a content analysis that evaluates how much and what kind of media coverage CSDP missions receive. In general, the news coverage is positive, but limited. This article argues that the problem is structural: the very nature of the missions themselves, whether EU or NATO, makes them poor vehicles for EU promotion for political, institutional, and logistical reasons. By definition, they are conducted in the middle of crises, making news coverage politically sensitive. The very act of reporting could undermine the mission. Institutionally, all CSDP missions are intergovernmental; therefore, the member states control the coverage. Logistically, the missions are usually located in remote, undeveloped parts of the world, making it difficult and expensive for European and international journalists to cover. Moreover, these regions in crisis seldom have a thriving, local free press. The author concludes that although a mission may do good, CSDP missions cannot fulfill their primary political function of raising the profile of the EU

The Importance of Attraction in Everyday Life: The Cultural-Ecological Moderation Hypothesis in Consumer Context

Research documents the importance of attraction in everyday life, such that life outcomes are more positive for good-looking people than less good-looking people. Theory and research in cultural psychology provide evidence that this relationship between appearance and outcomes varies as a function of cultural and ecological circumstances. In particular, the cultural-ecological moderation hypothesis suggests that engagement with cultural models that promote a construction of relationship as choice amplify the importance of attraction and attractiveness in everyday life. The present work tests this hypothesis by investigating the effect of consumerism context on judgments about life outcomes of people with good-looking and less good-looking appearance (appearance discrimination). In Study 1, appearance discrimination was greater among participants who completed measures in the presence of images depicting technology-related consumer products than participants in a non-consumer control condition. Results of Study 2 revealed no statistically significant variations in appearance effects as a function of experimental conditions. In Study 3, appearance discrimination in evaluations of personality traits was greater among older participants who completed the survey near a shopping mall (consumer context) than among older participants who completed the survey in a park (non-consumer context). Additionally, appearance discrimination in evaluation of anticipated life outcomes was greater among young participants than among older participants. Although results provide some evidence for the cultural-ecological moderation hypothesis, conclusive experimental evidence awaits further research

Evidence in the Carotenoid Biosynthetic Pathway for Variation in Evolutionary Rates

Many cellular reactions occur in linear metabolic pathways where gene products act sequentially to produce needed compounds. The interrelationships between the products of these loci raises the question of whether they evolve in concert or independently. Previous research addressing this question indicated that in the anthocyanin pathway, which produces important secondary metabolites in plants, the genes encoding downstream enzymes show an accelerated rate of evolution when compared to upstream loci. The hypothesized cause of these differences has been attributed to relaxed selective constraint. This pattern and process has not, however, been tested in other systems. The carotenoid biosynthetic pathway, which also produces important colored secondary metabolites in plants, presents an appropriate system for an additional test. To produce a dataset suitable for this test, known mRNA sequences from four carotenoid biosynthetic enzymes of Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) were used to identify homologous sequences in taxa representing a broad range of angiosperms. Comparisons between Phytoene desaturase, Zeta-carotene desaturase, Lycopene beta-cyclase and Zeaxanthin epoxidase show that the downstream enzymes in the pathway have greater nucleotide diversity, nonsynonymous substitution rates and synonymous substitution rates. Evidence for selective constraint and an increase in the proportion of nucleotide sites under selective constraint has also been observed