Media Framing Of Waste Issues In Selected Malaysian English Newspapers: A Study Of The New Straits Times And The Sun

This study deals with quantitative and qualitative aspects of content analysis to examine how environmental and waste issues were covered and how wastes issues were framed in selected Malaysian English newspapers. Articles regarding environmental issues published from January 2003 to December 2007 in the New Straits Times and The Sun were analyzed based on a coding protocol. Waste-related articles were analyzed to determine the presence of Entman’s (1993) four framing functions: to define problems, to diagnose causes, to make moral judgments and to suggest solutions, as well as other applicable function. A total of 616 articles on waste issues were collected from January 2003 to December 2007

MEDIA FRAMING OF WASTE ISSUES IN SELECTED MALAYSIAN NEWSPAPERS

Human beings generate waste everyday in their lives. Due to population growth, improvements in standards of living and changing lifestyles of the people, more wastes will be generated. Hence, members of the public need to be informed, educated, acknowledged and reminded of their role to reduce wastes and to overcome waste problems. The media have a role as information transmitter and educator to the public; exposing and creating awareness among the public regarding  environmental issues inclusive of waste control and management issues. This paper reports parts of a content analysis study which examined how environmental issues were covered and how waste issues were framed in selected Malaysian English-language newspapers. Articles regarding environmental issues published from January 2003 to December 2007 in The Sun and New Straits Times were analyzed. The study found 7,962 articles on environmental issues. Waste issues made up 7.7% of this coverage. For this paper, the 616 articles on waste issues were further examined to determine the presence of Entman’s (1993) four framing functions: to define problems, to diagnose causes, to make moral judgments, and to suggest solutions. Most prominent framing function was suggestion of solutions (47.1%) followed by problem definition (38%). Moral evaluations had the least presence with only 12.2%. The analysis also found another framing function: stating consequences in 34.9% of all waste articles. The paper concludes that media framing of waste issues in selected Malaysian newspapers focused on defining problems, stating consequences as well as suggesting solutions. Thus, media were to some extent performing the role of information transmitter and educator to the public. Keywords: content analysis, media framing, environmental issues, waste issues

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Media framing of waste issues in selected Malaysian newspapers

Human beings generate waste everyday in their lives. Due to population growth, improvements in standards of living and changing lifestyles of the people, more wastes will be generated. Hence, members of the public need to be informed, educated, acknowledged and reminded of their role to reduce wastes and to overcome waste problems. The media have a role as information transmitter and educator to the public; exposing and creating awareness among the public regarding environmental issues inclusive of waste control and management issues. This paper reports parts of a content analysis study which examined how environmental issues were covered and how waste issues were framed in selected Malaysian English-language newspapers. Articles regarding environmental issues published from January 2003 to December 2007 in The Sun and New Straits Times were analyzed. The study found 7,962 articles on environmental issues. Waste issues made up 7.7% of this coverage. For this paper, the 616 articles on waste issues were further examined to determine the presence of Entman’s (1993) four framing functions: to define problems, to diagnose causes, to make moral judgments, and to suggest solutions. Most prominent framing function was suggestion of solutions (47.1%) followed by problem definition (38%). Moral evaluations had the least presence with only 12.2%. The analysis also found another framing function: stating consequences in 34.9% of all waste articles. The paper concludes that media framing of waste issues in selected Malaysian newspapers focused on defining problems, stating consequences as well as suggesting solutions. Thus, media were to some extent performing the role of information transmitter and educator to the public