Late Quaternary climate and environmental reconstruction based on leaf wax analyses in the loess sequence of Möhlin, Switzerland

We present the results of leaf wax analyses (long-chain n-alkanes) from the 6.8 m deep loess sequence of Möhlin, Switzerland, spanning the last  ∼  70 kyr. Leaf waxes are well preserved and occur in sufficient amounts only down to 0.4 m and below 1.8 m depth, so no paleoenvironmental reconstructions can be done for marine isotope stage (MIS) 2. Compound-specific δ2Hwax analyses yielded similar values for late MIS 3 compared to the uppermost samples, indicating that various effects (e.g., more negative values due to lower temperatures, more positive values due to an enriched moisture source) cancel each other out. A pronounced  ∼  30 ‰ shift towards more negative values probably reflects more humid conditions before  ∼  32 ka. Radiocarbon dating of the n-alkanes corroborates the stratigraphic integrity of leaf waxes and their potential for dating loess–paleosol sequences (LPS) back to  ∼  30 ka

The concept of news values and its influence on the topic selection in weekly magazine Respekt

The subject of this thesis is news, or, more particularly, the theory of news values, which was first published in 1965 by Johan Galtung and Mari Holmboe Ruge. Following the first chapter dealing with some aspects connected with the theory, such as tabloidization, story selection or the gatekeeping theory, is an in-depth description of the original concept of news values and a summary of its main impacts on the field of media studies. The thesis also introduces later studies, revising or interchanging the original concept. After that, the Czech weekly magazine Respekt is briefly introduced, for it is this particular magazine to which two news values concepts (the original by Galtung and Ruge and a later re-worked version by Harcup and O'Neill) are applied in quantitative content analysis. Within the monitored period of the first half of 2009, the values from both concepts are analysed on the front page topic, first on the front page itself (as conceived by the magazine, the front page always features a large hand- painted image), then within the referred article. As a conclusion, the results show the rate of presence of the values from both concepts, which leads to a general evaluation of the theory of news values and its influence on the story selection in Respekt

The communication of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia in the 2006 Parlametary Elections

Department of Marketing Communication and Public RelationsKatedra marketingové komunikace a public relationsFakulta sociálních vědFaculty of Social Science

The concept of news values and its influence on the topic selection in weekly magazine Respekt

The subject of this thesis is news, or, more particularly, the theory of news values, which was first published in 1965 by Johan Galtung and Mari Holmboe Ruge. Following the first chapter dealing with some aspects connected with the theory, such as tabloidization, story selection or the gatekeeping theory, is an in-depth description of the original concept of news values and a summary of its main impacts on the field of media studies. The thesis also introduces later studies, revising or interchanging the original concept. After that, the Czech weekly magazine Respekt is briefly introduced, for it is this particular magazine to which two news values concepts (the original by Galtung and Ruge and a later re-worked version by Harcup and O'Neill) are applied in quantitative content analysis. Within the monitored period of the first half of 2009, the values from both concepts are analysed on the front page topic, first on the front page itself (as conceived by the magazine, the front page always features a large hand- painted image), then within the referred article. As a conclusion, the results show the rate of presence of the values from both concepts, which leads to a general evaluation of the theory of news values and its influence on the story selection in Respekt

The communication of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia in the 2006 Parlametary Elections

Department of Marketing Communication and Public RelationsKatedra marketingové komunikace a public relationsFakulta sociálních vědFaculty of Social Science

Performance of different luminescence approaches for the dating of known-age glaciofluvial deposits from northern Switzerland

Abstract Luminescence properties of two samples taken from sand lenses in proglacial outwash de-posits of a piedmont glacier that reached the Swiss midlands during the Last Glacial Maximum are investigated in detail. Deconvolution of CW-OSL decay curves shows that the fast component dominates the OSL signal of quartz. The chemistry of single feldspar grains, in particular the K content in different grains, is determined using wavelength dispersive spectrometry (electron microprobe), revealing an average 12.9 wt.% K of the grains contributing to the IRSL signal. D e distributions are investigated in order to gain insights into partial bleaching, and agreement is found for quartz OSL and feldspar IR50 and pIRIR225 ages for small aliquots and single grains when applying the Minimum Age Model. These ages are also consistent with independent age control. For one sample, ages determined using the Central Age Model result in highly overestimated ages for both feldspar and quartz.</jats:p

n-Alkane composition from the Loess Paleosol Sequence Möhlin, Switzerland

We have measured leaf wax n-Alkanes from a Loess Paleosol Sequence (location: 47.56819 / 7.88053) ranging back to MIS 4. The data set contains n-Alkane patterns, Deuterium and Radiocarbon. We also present some calculations, derived from the Patterns: Average chain length gives a hint whether trees/shrubs or grasses were the dominant vegetation. The higher the value, the higher the contribution of grasses. ACL=(27 x nC_27+29 x nC_29+31 x nC_31+33 x nC_33)/(nC_27+nC_29+nC_31+nC_33 ) OEP is a marker for degradation. The higher the values, the less degraded are the n-alkanes. OEP=(nC_27+nC_29+nC_31+nC_33)/(nC_26+nC_28+nC_30+nC_32 ) For more information, further calculations and discussion see the related manuscript

Palaeoclimate records 60-8 ka in the Austrian and Swiss Alps and their forelands

The European Alps and their forelands provide a range of different archives and climate proxies for developing climate records in the time interval 60-8 thousand years (ka) ago. We review quantitative and semi-quantitative approaches for reconstructing climatic variables in the Austrian and Swiss sector of the Alpine region within this time interval. Available quantitative to semi-quantitative climate records in this region are mainly based on fossil assemblages of biota such as chironomids, cladocerans, co-leopterans, diatoms and pollen preserved in lake sediments and peat, the analysis of oxygen isotopes in speleothems and lake sediment records, the reconstruction of past variations in treeline altitude, the reconstruction of past equilibrium line altitude and extent of glaciers based on geomorphological evidence, and the interpretation of past soil formation processes, dust deposition and permafrost as apparent in loess-palaeosol sequences. Palaeoclimate reconstructions in the Alpine region are affected by dating uncertainties increasing with age, the fragmentary nature of most of the available records, which typically only incorporate a fraction of the time interval of interest, and the limited replication of records within and between regions. Furthermore, there have been few attempts to cross-validate different approaches across this time interval to confirm reconstructed patterns of climatic change by several independent lines of evidence. Based on our review we identify a number of developments that would provide major advances for palaeoclimate reconstruction for the period 60-8 ka in the Alps and their forelands. These include (1) the compilation of individual, fragmentary records to longer and continuous reconstructions, (2) replication of climate records and the development of regional reconstructions for different parts of the Alps, (3) the cross-validation of different proxy-types and approaches, and (4) the reconstruction of past variations in climate gradients across the Alps and their forelands. Furthermore, the development of downscaled climate model runs for the Alpine region 60-8 ka, and of forward modelling approaches for climate proxies would expand the opportunities for quantitative assessments of climatic conditions in Europe within this time-interval