News and the Overloaded Consumer: Factors Influencing Information Overload Among News Consumers

News producers continue to increase their volume of production and delivery platforms in an effort to reach and maintain news consumers. However, consumers may not necessarily find more news desirable. Previous studies have suggested that information surplus can lead to negative outcomes for consumers, but research of outcomes related to news production and consumption has been scant. This study explores novel areas of news surplus and overload, empirically examining factors associated with the degree of perceived overload across a broad spectrum of news delivery platforms. The findings reveal that the majority of today's news consumers feel overloaded with the amount of news they are confronted with. Gender, news interest, and the use of specific news platforms and outlets predict the degree of that overload. News access through platforms and outlets such as computers, e-readers, and Facebook is positively associated with overload, whereas other platforms such as television and the iPhone are negatively associated with overload. Implications for media psychology and news consumption are discussed.Journalis

Spatio-temporal characteristics of the Agulhas leakage: a model inter-comparison study

Investigating the variability of the Agulhas leakage, the volume transport of water from the Indian Ocean to the South Atlantic Ocean, is highly relevant due to its potential contribution to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and the global circulation of heat, salt and freshwater, hence to the global climate. As observations of the leakage are scattered in time and space, ocean model outputs are unavoidable to describe its mechanisms of variability. However, the Agulhas leakage is part of a system that still represents a challenge to modellers, because of its degree of non-linearity. As a consequence, this thesis reports the study of the mechanisms of variability of the Agulhas leakage in six ocean model outputs of varying resolution, vertical discretization and boundary conditions. Inter-comparing several model outputs allow one to identify which characteristics of variability are robust. It also provides valuable information on the model speci_cs required to correctly represent the mechanisms of variability of the Agulhas leakage and hence its contribution to climate variability. The Agulhas leakage is estimated at the Good Hope line, a section through the centre of the Cape Basin, using a Eulerian threshold integration method based on the thermo- haline properties of water masses along the line. The threshold method also takes into account the thermohaline biases of each model. Other methods have been tested but the former was selected because it yields an Agulhas Leakage that represents 60% of the actual magnitude as determined by a passive tracer method (only available in one simulation) and captures nearly all of the temporal variability

Spatio-temporal characteristics of the Agulhas leakage: a model inter-comparison study

Investigating the variability of the Agulhas leakage, the volume transport of water from the Indian Ocean to the South Atlantic Ocean, is highly relevant due to its potential contribution to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and the global circulation of heat, salt and freshwater, hence to the global climate. As observations of the leakage are scattered in time and space, ocean model outputs are unavoidable to describe its mechanisms of variability. However, the Agulhas leakage is part of a system that still represents a challenge to modellers, because of its degree of non-linearity. As a consequence, this thesis reports the study of the mechanisms of variability of the Agulhas leakage in six ocean model outputs of varying resolution, vertical discretization and boundary conditions. Inter-comparing several model outputs allow one to identify which characteristics of variability are robust. It also provides valuable information on the model speci_cs required to correctly represent the mechanisms of variability of the Agulhas leakage and hence its contribution to climate variability. The Agulhas leakage is estimated at the Good Hope line, a section through the centre of the Cape Basin, using a Eulerian threshold integration method based on the thermo- haline properties of water masses along the line. The threshold method also takes into account the thermohaline biases of each model. Other methods have been tested but the former was selected because it yields an Agulhas Leakage that represents 60% of the actual magnitude as determined by a passive tracer method (only available in one simulation) and captures nearly all of the temporal variability

Experiment requirements: Vitamin D metabolites and bone demineralization, Spacelab 2, experiment no. 1

As a contribution toward an understanding of the molecular basis of bone loss, mineral imbalance, and increasing fecal calcium under conditions of prolonged space flight, the blood levels of biologically active vitamin D metabolites of flight crew members will be quantitatively measured. Prior to the mission, the refinement of existing and the development of new techniques for the assay of all vitamin D metabolites will provide an arsenal of methods suitable for a wide range of metabolite levels. In terms of practical application, the analysis of human and animal plasma samples, Spacelab crew plasma samples, and flight hardware are envisioned

The temporal response of bone to unloading

Rats were suspended by their tails with the forelimbs bearing the weight load to simulate the weightlessness of space flight. Growth in bone mass ceased by 1 week in the hindlimbs and lumbar vertebrae in growing rats, while growth in the forelimbs and cervical vertebrae remained unaffected. The effects of selective skeletal unloading on bone formation during 2 weeks of suspension was investigated using radio iostope incorporation (with Ca-45 and H-3 proline) and histomorphometry (with tetracycline labeling). The results of these studies were confirmed by histomorphometric measurements of bone formation using triple tetracycline labeling. This model of simulated weightlessness results in an initial inhibition of bone formation in the unloaded bones. This temporary cessation of bone formation is followed in the accretion of bone mass, which then resumes at a normal rate by 14 days, despite continued skeletal unloading. This cycle of inhibition and resumption of bone formation has profound implication for understanding bone dynamics durng space flight, immobilization, or bed rest and offers an opportunity to study the hormonal and mechanical factors that regulate bone formation

A 14-day ground-based hypokinesia study in nonhuman primates: A compilation of results

A 14 day ground based hypokinesia study with rhesus monkeys was conducted to determine if a spaceflight of similar duration might affect bone remodeling and calcium homeostatis. The monkeys were placed in total body casts and sacrificed either immediately upon decasting or 14 days after decasting. Changes in vertebral strength were noted and further deterioration of bone strength continued during the recovery phase. Resorption in the vertebrae increased dramatically while formation decreased. Cortical bone formation was impaired in the long bones. The immobilized animals showed a progressive decrease in total serum calcium which rebounded upon remobilization. Most mandibular parameters remained unchanged during casting except for retardation of osteon birth or maturation rate and density distribution of matrix and mineral moieties

Regulatory Biology: Depressed Metabolic States

Exobiological aspects of depressed metabolism and thermoregulation are discussed for subsequent development of biological space flight experiments. Included is a brief description of differential hypothermia in cancer chemotherapy

Extended-Service Schools: Putting Programming in Place

Spurred by the desire to provide youth with safe havens in non-school hours, enhanced educational experiences, and other developmental opportunities, a movement to open up schools has taken root in cities across the country. More than just an attempt to take advantage of schools' resources and facilities, the movement aims to build a new kind of institution -- one that unites schools and community-based organizations to create vital centers of activity for children, youth, and their families. This interim evaluation report of the Wallace-Readers Digest Funds Extended-Service Schools Adaptation examines what it takes to get a community-oriented school-based youth program off the ground, the early challenges that can be expected, and how the ESS sites addressed their challenges