Peace journalism: A paradigm shift in traditional media approach

Power, politics and profit have been the key factors in determining the media’s traditional approach towards conflict. But in recent decades, the debate on ‘peace journalism’ as an approach to conflict has gained momentum and several scholars (Galtung, 1973; Lynch, 2005; Bell, 1998; Howard, 2003; Allan, 2007; Keeble, 2010) have argued in favour of the concept. However, many questions pertaining to the extent of effectiveness of peace journalism and its application to other forms of media remain unanswered. This article is an attempt to explore answers to these questions. It argues that there is a beginning of a paradigm shift in the traditional media’s approach to conflict situations. While peace journalism was been linked with conflict resolution and advocacy, there is now greater acceptance of it as an attitude that frames a news story. There are also examples to show that it is being applied to other media such as photojournalism, documentary making, film production, investigative journalism, community and specialised media. At the same time, advocates and practitioners of peace journalism face several challenges as there is no universal standard to deal with conflicts

A consumer-driven approach

Reviewed book edited by: Stephen Quinn and Kim Kierans Publication date: May, 2011 This book is a second volume of studies of innovations at selected media companies in the Asia-Pacific region. The book is divided into ten chapters, covering a range of new media innovations in various countries of the region. Each chapter focuses of the trends and usage of a particular form of media in each country.&nbsp

PAKISTAN: Media, politics and the threats to journalists in Pakistan

This article examines how the fundamental right of freedom of expression for news media in Pakistan continues to be threatened both by the government and conflicting parties, an issue that is compounded by the threat to the journalists’ safety and survival. Giving examples of three Pakistani journalists who lost their lives after their investigations during the America’s so called ‘War on Terror’, the article gives an account of the nature of the dangers and threats that are faced by the journalists in Pakistan who report on armed political conflicts. Drawing on the experiences of five other journalists, who were interviewed during research visits to Pakistan in 2012 and 2014, the author also reflects on the role of journalists in the light of the social responsibility theory and explores some of the factors that contribute towards making conflict reporting a dangerous business in Pakistan.Pictured: Figure 1: The Press in Stress report in 2012. Shown in the cover image is a curbside radio-seller in Quetta. FM radio is hugely popular in Balochistan. Image: Aurangzazib Kha

T granules in human platelets function in TLR9 organization and signaling

Human and murine platelets (PLTs) variably express toll-like receptors (TLRs), which link the innate and adaptive immune responses during infectious inflammation and atherosclerotic vascular disease. In this paper, we show that the TLR9 transcript is specifically up-regulated during pro-PLT production and is distributed to a novel electron-dense tubular system-related compartment we have named the T granule. TLR9 colocalizes with protein disulfide isomerase and is associated with either VAMP 7 or VAMP 8, which regulates its distribution in PLTs on contact activation (spreading). Preincubation of PLTs with type IV collagen specifically increased TLR9 and CD62P surface expression and augmented oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) sequestration and PLT clumping upon addition of bacterial/viral ODNs. Collectively, this paper (a) tracks TLR9 to a new intracellular compartment in PLTs and (b) describes a novel mechanism of TLR9 organization and signaling in human PLTs

Modulation of APOL1-miR193a Axis Prevents Podocyte Dediffrentiation in High Glucose Milieu

The loss of podocyte (PD) molecular phenotype is an important feature of diabetic podocytopathy. We hypothesized that high glucose (HG) induces dedifferentiation in differentiated podocytes (DPDs) through alterations in the apolipoprotein (APO) L1-microRNA (miR) 193a axis. HG-induced DPD dedifferentiation manifested in the form of downregulation of Wilms’ tumor 1 (WT1) and upregulation of paired box 2 (PAX2) expression. WT1-silenced DPDs displayed enhanced expression of PAX2. Immunoprecipitation of DPD cellular lysates with anti-WT1 antibody revealed formation of WT1 repressor complexes containing Polycomb group proteins, enhancer of zeste homolog 2, menin, and DNA methyltransferase (DNMT1), whereas silencing of either WT1 or DNMT1 disrupted this complex with enhanced expression of PAX2. HG-induced DPD dedifferentiation was associated with a higher expression of miR193a, whereas inhibition of miR193a prevented DPD dedifferentiation in HG milieu. HG downregulated DPD expression of APOL1. miR193a-overexpressing DPDs displayed downregulation of APOL1 and enhanced expression of dedifferentiating markers; conversely, silencing of miR193a enhanced the expression of APOL1 and preserved DPD phenotype. Moreover, stably APOL1G0-overexpressing DPDs displayed the enhanced expression of WT1 but attenuated expression of miR193a; nonetheless, silencing of APOL1 reversed these effects. Since silencing of APOL1 enhanced miR193a expression as well as dedifferentiation in DPDs, it appears that downregulation of APOL1 contributed to dedifferentiation of DPDs through enhanced miR193a expression in HG milieu. Vitamin D receptor agonist downregulated miR193a, upregulated APOL1 expression, and prevented dedifferentiation of DPDs in HG milieu. These findings suggest that modulation of the APOL1-miR193a axis carries a potential to preserve DPD molecular phenotype in HG milieu.</jats:p

Effect of early tranexamic acid administration on mortality, hysterectomy, and other morbidities in women with post-partum haemorrhage (WOMAN): an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. Early administration of tranexamic acid reduces deaths due to bleeding in trauma patients. We aimed to assess the effects of early administration of tranexamic acid on death, hysterectomy, and other relevant outcomes in women with post-partum haemorrhage. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited women aged 16 years and older with a clinical diagnosis of post-partum haemorrhage after a vaginal birth or caesarean section from 193 hospitals in 21 countries. We randomly assigned women to receive either 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid or matching placebo in addition to usual care. If bleeding continued after 30 min, or stopped and restarted within 24 h of the first dose, a second dose of 1 g of tranexamic acid or placebo could be given. Patients were assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight numbered packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Participants, care givers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. We originally planned to enrol 15 000 women with a composite primary endpoint of death from all-causes or hysterectomy within 42 days of giving birth. However, during the trial it became apparent that the decision to conduct a hysterectomy was often made at the same time as randomisation. Although tranexamic acid could influence the risk of death in these cases, it could not affect the risk of hysterectomy. We therefore increased the sample size from 15 000 to 20 000 women in order to estimate the effect of tranexamic acid on the risk of death from post-partum haemorrhage. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ISRCTN76912190 (Dec 8, 2008); ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00872469; and PACTR201007000192283. Findings Between March, 2010, and April, 2016, 20 060 women were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive tranexamic acid (n=10 051) or placebo (n=10 009), of whom 10 036 and 9985, respectively, were included in the analysis. Death due to bleeding was significantly reduced in women given tranexamic acid (155 [1·5%] of 10 036 patients vs 191 [1·9%] of 9985 in the placebo group, risk ratio [RR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·65–1·00; p=0·045), especially in women given treatment within 3 h of giving birth (89 [1·2%] in the tranexamic acid group vs 127 [1·7%] in the placebo group, RR 0·69, 95% CI 0·52–0·91; p=0·008). All other causes of death did not differ significantly by group. Hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (358 [3·6%] patients in the tranexamic acid group vs 351 [3·5%] in the placebo group, RR 1·02, 95% CI 0·88–1·07; p=0·84). The composite primary endpoint of death from all causes or hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (534 [5·3%] deaths or hysterectomies in the tranexamic acid group vs 546 [5·5%] in the placebo group, RR 0·97, 95% CI 0·87-1·09; p=0·65). Adverse events (including thromboembolic events) did not differ significantly in the tranexamic acid versus placebo group. Interpretation Tranexamic acid reduces death due to bleeding in women with post-partum haemorrhage with no adverse effects. When used as a treatment for postpartum haemorrhage, tranexamic acid should be given as soon as possible after bleeding onset. Funding London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Pfizer, UK Department of Health, Wellcome Trust, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

REVIEW: A moment for self-reflection: Review of War Isn't Hell, Its Entertainment: Essays on Visual Media and the Representation of Conflict, edited by Rikke Schubart, Fabian Virchow, Debra White-Stanley and Tanja Thomas

War Isn't Hell, Its Entertainment treats one of the most debated issues of our times i.e. the relationship between war and media, in a similar manner. The book offers no apology for the existence of such a relationship.&nbsp

Building Peace through Journalism in the Social/Alternate Media

Social media networks are rapidly rewriting the traditional principles and protocols of war and conflict reporting. This paper endorses the argument that with the help of new media technologies, journalists can enhance the peacebuilding efforts in societies and communities. Their writings in the alternate media can provide ‘compelling form of engagement’ between the audiences and the people affected in the areas of violent conflict. But, the paper further argues, this requires a broadening of the orthodox model of journalistic objectivity that has so far been in place. It examines the possibilities of new models in the light of the existing journalism paradigms as argued by scholars including Galtung and Ruge (1965), Lynch and McGoldrick (2005), Shinar (2007), Hackett (2011) and Shaw (2011). It concludes on the need to have a model that is ‘a more natural fit’ for the 21st century by giving journalists the ‘flexibility’ to enable people to make their own judgments as to where the truth lies; and to open up the possibilities for dialogue and engagement in conflict resolution. (author's abstract

Thrombopoietin receptor agonist (TPO-RA) treatment raises platelet counts and reduces anti-platelet antibody levels in mice with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP)

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune bleeding disorder in which autoantibodies and/or autoreactive T cells destroy platelets and megakaryocytes in the spleen and bone marrow, respectively. Thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RA e.g. Romiplostim and Eltrombopag) have made a substantial contribution to the treatment of patients with ITP, which are refractory to first-line treatments and approximately 30% demonstrate sustained elevated platelet counts after drug tapering. How TPO-RA induce these sustained responses is not known. We analyzed the efficacy of a murine TPO-RA in a well-established murine model of active ITP. Treatment with TPO-RA (10 ug/kg, based on pilot dose escalation experiments) significantly raised the platelet counts in ITP-mice. Immunomodulation was assessed by measuring serum IgG anti-platelet antibody levels; TPO-RA-treated mice had significantly reduced IgG anti-platelet antibodies despite the increasing platelet counts. These results suggest that TPO-RA is not only an efficacious therapy but also reduces anti-platelet humoral immunity in ITP