The Future of News Literacy in a Connected World

The University of Hong Kong’s “Cyber News Verification Lab” was founded in June 2016, and is arguably the first of its kind in Asia, as a focused, experiential project developing undergraduates’ online verification skills. It has been hailed as “Ahead of the curve” in online and social media fact checking education by the industry’s groundbreaking verification journalists. In September 2016, Meedan, (a founding partner of First Draft News including Google News Labs) joined the experiment by providing access and technical support to their open source verification platform called ‘Check’. The project led to a significant increase in the quality of verification techniques and critical thinking actions by students. This paper discusses the curriculum design and initial findings from the Cyber News Verification Lab implemented into News Literacy courses at HKU in Semester 2, 2016-17. The paper also outlines current developments towards a news literacy verification rating scale – that arose from measures created by the instructor to assess student outcomes from the experiential project

The psychological wellbeing of women operating mining machinery in a fly-in fly-out capacity

The present study aimed to address the gap in the current mining research by investigating women’s experiences of working in the mining industry in a “bluecollar” work role and the impact of fly-in fly-out (FIFO) mining on their wellbeing. An Interpretative Phenomenological Approach (IPA) was used as a framework to explore the experiences of 19 female machine operators through in-depth interviewing at one mineral mine site in Queensland, Australia. IPA analysis revealed three themes as identified by the participants. The first theme described how workplace barriers to job progression were salient issues for the women, particularly in respect to discrimination from male supervisors and hematite restrictions unique to this mine. The second theme titled, suspension of short term living for long term gain resulted in women putting their home responsibilities and relationships on hold. However, women with children in the study were able to describe how they could manage their family and work responsibilities with the aid of a significant other. Adaptation to the lifestyle was the third theme and women were also able to utilise adaptation and coping mechanisms to manage the discrimination and obtain a sense of belonging. As a part of adapting to the FIFO lifestyle, the women spoke of the need for time out for solitude as a response to living and working in close proximity to colleagues and partners. Further research exploring women’s capacity to juggle child and family needs with FIFO is suggested

Exploring a delinquent past : women's experiences as adolescents involved in delinquent activities

Historically, research on adolescent delinquency has focused on statistically determined causal risk factors and has been conducted utilizing male participants (Barron, 2000; Chesney-Lind & Sheldon, 2004). As summarized by Chesney-Lind and Sheldon (2004) “delinquency theory has ignored girls and as a result there is considerable question whether existing theories that were developed to explain boys’ delinquency can explain girls’ as well” (p. 98). Using a basic interpretive qualitative research design (Merriam, 2002b), the study’s purpose was to explore and gain a better understanding of the personal experiences of women who were involved in delinquent activities during adolescence. Five women between the ages of 19 and 59 years participated in three interviews. The data collection interview focused on the women’s experiences as an adolescent female involved in delinquent activities. The participants’ descriptions lead to the identification of four descriptive categories: experiences with abuse, experiences with substance use, experiences with challenging and complicated relationships, and experiences that made a positive difference. These four categories of experiential description are discussed in terms of application(s) to counselling practice and future research

Resources for improving journalists' understanding of the economic and financial parameters of Australia's agricultural and commodity producers

The research addresses how an understanding of the fundamentals of economics will better inform general journalists who report on issues or events affecting rural and regional Australia. The research draws on practice-based experience of the author, formal economics studies, interviews with news editors from Australian television news organisations, and interviews from leading economists. A guidebook has also been written to help journalists apply economic theories to their reporting. The guidebook enables reporters to think strategically and consider the 'big picture' when they inform society about policies, commodity trade, the environment, or any issues involving rural and regional Australia

Modifiable potential risk factors in familial and sporadic frontotemporal dementia

Objective: Only a few studies have evaluated modifiable risk factors for frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Here, we evaluated several modifiable factors and their association with disease phenotype, genotype, and prognosis in a large study population including Finnish and Italian patients with FTD and control groups. Methods: In this case-control study, we compared the presence of several cardiovascular and other lifestyle-related diseases and education between Finnish and Italian patients with familial (n = 376) and sporadic (n = 654) FTD, between different phenotypes of FTD, and between a subgroup of Finnish FTD patients (n = 221) and matched Finnish patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n = 214) and cognitively healthy controls (HC) (n = 100). Results: Patients with sporadic FTD were less educated (p = 0.042, B = -0.560, 95% CI -1.101 to -0.019) and had more heart diseases (p < 0.001, OR = 2.265, 95% CI 1.502-3.417) compared to patients with familial FTD. Finnish FTD patients were less educated (p = 0.032, B = 0.755, 95% CI 0.064-1.466) compared with AD patients. The Finnish FTD group showed lower prevalence of hypertension than the HC group (p = 0.003, OR = 2.162, 95% CI 1.304-3.583) and lower prevalence of hypercholesterolemia than in the HC group (p < 0.001, OR = 2.648, 95%CI 1.548-4.531) or in the AD group (p < 0.001, OR = 1.995, 95% CI 1.333-2.986). Within the FTD group, clinical phenotypes also differed regarding education and lifestyle-related factors. Interpretation: Our study suggests distinct profiles of several modifiable factors in the FTD group depending on the phenotype and familial inheritance history and that especially sporadic FTD may be associated with modifiable risk factors.Peer reviewe

Comparing visual skills in sedentary and active work environments

A comparative study was conducted between training recruits (n = 138) and undergraduate university (n = 169) students to assess whether physical activity enhances visual skills. The results indicated that recruits, who lead an active lifestyle, possess superior skills in eye-hand coordination and reaction time. However, students possess superior skills in tracking and sequencing.This paper was initially delivered at the Annual Congress of the Biological Sciences Division of the South African Academy for Science and Art, ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute, Roodeplaat, Pretoria, South Africa on 01 October 2010.http://www.satnt.ac.zaam2014ay201

The technologies of isolation: apocalypse and self in Kurosawa Kiyoshi's Kairo

In this investigation of the Japanese film Kairo, I contemplate how the horrors present in the film relate to the issue of self, by examining a number of interlocking motifs. These include thematic foci on disease and technology which are more intimately and inwardly focused that the film's conclusion first appears to suggest. The true horror here, I argue, is ontological: centred on the self and its divorcing from the exterior world, especially founded in an increased use of and reliance on communicative technologies. I contend that these concerns are manifested in Kairo by presenting the spread of technology as disease-like, infecting the city and the individuals who are isolated and imprisoned by their urban environment. Finally, I investigate the meanings of the apocalypse, expounding how it may be read as hopeful for the future rather than indicative of failure or doom

Evaluation of a flexible NOTA-RGD kit solution using Gallium-68 from different ⁶⁸Ge/⁶⁸Ga-generators : pharmacokinetics and biodistribution in nonhuman primates and demonstration of solitary pulmonary nodule imaging in humans

PURPOSE : Radiopharmaceuticals containing the motive tripeptide arginyl-glycyl-asparatic acid (RGD) are known to target ανβ3 integrins during tumor angiogenesis. A more generic kit radiolabeling procedure accommodating Ga-68 from different generators was developed for NOTA-RGD and evaluated for its versatile use and safety in subsequent in vivo applications. The [⁶⁸Ga]NOTA-RGD kit was further verified for its expected biodistribution and pharmacokinetics in nonhuman primates and its clinical sensitivity to detect solitary pulmonary nodules (SPN) in cancer patients. PROCEDURES : Single vial kits containing 28–56 nmol of NOTA-cyclo-Arg-Gly-Asp-d-Tyr-Lys (NOTA-RGD) and sodium acetate trihydrate buffer were formulated. Versatility of the NOTARGD radiolabeling performance and adaption to a TiO2- and a SnO2-based generator type, characterization and long-term storage stability of the kits were carried out. The blood clearance and urine recovery kinetics as well as the image-guided biodistribution of [⁶⁸Ga]NOTA-RGD was studied in a vervet monkey model. [⁶⁸Ga]NOTA-RGD kits were further tested clinically to target solitary pulmonary nodules. RESULTS : The kits could be successfully formulated warranting integrity over 3–4 months with a good [⁶⁸Ga]NOTA-RGD radiolabeling performance (radiochemical purity 995 %, decay corrected yield 76–94 %, specific activity of 8.8–37.9 GBq/μmol) The kits met all quality requirements to be further tested in vivo. [⁶⁸Ga]NOTA-RGD cleared rapidly from blood and was majorly excreted via the renal route. The liver, spleen, heart and intestines showed initial uptake with steadily declining tissue activity concentration over time. In addition, the [⁶⁸Ga]NOTA-RGD kit allowed for delineation of SPN from non-malignant lung tissue in humans. CONCLUSIONS : A more versatile radiolabeling procedure using kit-formulated NOTA-RGD and different generator types was achieved. The uncompromised in vivo behavior and efficient targeting of SPN warrants further investigations on the clinical relevance of [⁶⁸Ga]NOTA-RGD derivatives to implement initial guidelines and management of patients, with regard to integrin targeted imaging.Nuclear Technologies in Medicine and the Biosciences Initiative (NTeMBIhttps://link.springer.com/journal/113072018-06-30Nuclear Medicin