The Passive Journalist: How sources dominate the local news

This study explores which sources are “making” local news and whether these sources are simply indicating the type of news that appears, or are shaping newspaper coverage. It provides an empirical record of the extent to which sources are able to dominate news coverage from which future trends in local journalism can be measured. The type and number of sources used in 2979 sampled news stories in four West Yorkshire papers, representing the three main proprietors of local newspapers in the United Kingdom, were recorded for one month and revealed the relatively narrow range of routine sources; 76 per cent of articles cited only a single source. The analysis indicates that journalists are relying less on their readers for news, and that stories of little consequence are being elevated to significant positions, or are filling news pages at the expense of more important stories. Additionally, the reliance on a single source means that alternative views and perspectives relevant to the readership are being overlooked. Journalists are becoming more passive, mere processors of one-sided information or bland copy dictated by sources. These trends indicate poor journalistic standards and may be exacerbating declining local newspaper sales

Intraoperative length and tension curves of human eye muscles. Including stiffness in passive horizontal eye movement in awake volunteers

Intraoperative continuous-registration length and tension curves of attached and detached eye muscles were made in 18 strabismic patients under general anesthesia. For relaxed eye muscles, we found an exponential relation between length and tension. An increased stiffness was quantified in Duane's syndrome, Graves' disease, orbital-floor fracture, and superior oblique palsy. The stiffnesses of agonist and antagonist were remarkably similar, not only in uncomplicated squint, but also when only one of the two had initially become stiffer. After intravenous administration of succinylcholine chloride, the eye muscles contracted, and the exponential length and tension curve changed into a set of straight, parallel lines. In addition, we measured stiffness in passive horizontal eye movement in awake volunteers and found 0.52 to 1.26 g/degrees (other eye in 5° of adduction), confirming other published results

Length-tension curves of human eye muscles during succinylcholine-induced contraction

We have made intraoperative, continuous-registration, length-tension diagrams of detached eye muscles in 80 strabismus patients under general anaesthesia. In 47 of these we repeated the measurements after contraction evoked by succinylcholine chloride. In contracting horizontal and vertical rectus muscles, we found a linear relation between length and tension. In contracting oblique muscles, however, the relation between length and tension was frequently nonlinear. In superior oblique palsies, the superior oblique was found to be stiff after elongation and before injection of succinylcholine, and it did not contract after injection of succinylcholine. The ipsilateral inferior oblique did contract after injection of succinylcholine, but with a higher spring constant than usual (ie, contracture of the ipsilateral antagonist). In three cases the superior oblique contracted vividly after administration of succinylcholine despite the presence of excyclotropia, stereopsis, torticollis (two cases) and a hypertropia that increased in adduction, in down-gaze, in adduction and down-gaze and on ipsilateral head-tilt. In a case of general fibrosis syndrom we found almost normally contracting vertical recti, which is compatible only with a supranuclear or misdirectional cause. These cases demonstrate the usefulness of the assessment of the length-tension diagram of an eye muscle during surgery, before and during contraction evoked by succinylcholine chloride

Fermes de la mer : description du programme de recherches agricoles subventionné par le Centre de recherche pour le développement international

Version anglaise disponible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI : Fish farming : an account of the aquaculture research program supported by the International Development Research CentreDécrit l'historique et les objectifs des projets concernant l'amélioration génétique des poissons et l'utilisation d'hormones, les méthodes de pisciculture, la nutrition animale, les parasites et les maladies animales, la conchyliculture, et la dulcaquiculture

Fish farming : an account of the aquaculture research program supported by the International Development Research Centre

French version available in IDRC Digital Library: Fermes de la mer : description du programme de recherches agricoles subventionné par le Centre de recherche pour le développement internationalMonograph outlining the aquaculture research projects supported by IDRC. Describes the background and objectives of the projects involving shellfish and freshwater fish breeding and the use of hormones; fish culture methods; animal nutrition; animal diseases and parasites

Alpha, Betti and the Megaparsec Universe: on the Topology of the Cosmic Web

We study the topology of the Megaparsec Cosmic Web in terms of the scale-dependent Betti numbers, which formalize the topological information content of the cosmic mass distribution. While the Betti numbers do not fully quantify topology, they extend the information beyond conventional cosmological studies of topology in terms of genus and Euler characteristic. The richer information content of Betti numbers goes along the availability of fast algorithms to compute them. For continuous density fields, we determine the scale-dependence of Betti numbers by invoking the cosmologically familiar filtration of sublevel or superlevel sets defined by density thresholds. For the discrete galaxy distribution, however, the analysis is based on the alpha shapes of the particles. These simplicial complexes constitute an ordered sequence of nested subsets of the Delaunay tessellation, a filtration defined by the scale parameter, $\alpha$. As they are homotopy equivalent to the sublevel sets of the distance field, they are an excellent tool for assessing the topological structure of a discrete point distribution. In order to develop an intuitive understanding for the behavior of Betti numbers as a function of $\alpha$, and their relation to the morphological patterns in the Cosmic Web, we first study them within the context of simple heuristic Voronoi clustering models. Subsequently, we address the topology of structures emerging in the standard LCDM scenario and in cosmological scenarios with alternative dark energy content. The evolution and scale-dependence of the Betti numbers is shown to reflect the hierarchical evolution of the Cosmic Web and yields a promising measure of cosmological parameters. We also discuss the expected Betti numbers as a function of the density threshold for superlevel sets of a Gaussian random field.Comment: 42 pages, 14 figure

The re-birth of the "beat": A hyperlocal online newsgathering model

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Journalism Practice, 6(5-6), 754 - 765, 2012, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/17512786.2012.667279.Scholars have long lamented the death of the 'beat' in news journalism. Today's journalists generate more copy than they used to, a deluge of PR releases often keeping them in the office, and away from their communities. Consolidation in industry has dislodged some journalists from their local sources. Yet hyperlocal online activity is thriving if journalists have the time and inclination to engage with it. This paper proposes an exploratory, normative schema intended to help local journalists systematically map and monitor their own hyperlocal online communities and contacts, with the aim of re-establishing local news beats online as networks. This model is, in part, technologically-independent. It encompasses proactive and reactive news-gathering and forward planning approaches. A schema is proposed, developed upon suggested news-gathering frameworks from the literature. These experiences were distilled into an iterative, replicable schema for local journalism. This model was then used to map out two real-world 'beats' for local news-gathering. Journalists working within these local beats were invited to trial the models created. It is hoped that this research will empower journalists by improving their information auditing, and could help re-define journalists' relationship with their online audiences

Proximity as a Journalistic Keyword in the Digital Era : A study on the “closeness” of amateur news images

Proximity is an ambiguous journalistic notion for which there is no single definition. In this article, we re-evaluate the relevance and use of the concept in the digital news environment. Based on interviews with journalists in Finland and audience focus groups in Finland and the United Kingdom, we ask how new forms of visual amateur production incorporated into professional news journalism have transformed the concept. The concept of proximity has evolved from being a criterion of news selection into a central imperative of news production aiming to engage audiences. Through the prism of amateur news imagery, proximity appears as a spatio-temporal, emotional and strategic keyword.Peer reviewe

Speaking of trade: Its effect on agriculture

This archival publication may not reflect current scientific knowledge or recommendations. Current information available from the University of Minnesota Extension: https://www.extension.umn.edu