Magazine Advertising Sales

In my thesis I will discuss magazine advertising sales and how technology and the current economic situation are affecting them, and what this means for the state of magazines. I will also look at strategies magazines are using to continue earning revenue. I will analyze various magazines strategies, and determine which ones are successful and which ones are not. Another topic I will discuss is how different magazines are responding to the above mentioned and why certain magazines are struggling more than others

The Moderating Effect of In-group Ostracism on Needs Threat: A gendered social identity increases effects of Cyberball-ostracism

Extant literature fails to converge on the possible moderating factors capable of enhancing or reducing the powerfully aversive experience of being ostracised. In particular, in-group-out-group distinctions have been shown in some studies to moderate ostracism-distress, while most report no moderating effect. Accordingly, the present study proposes that ostracism administered by a source group (female) that is central to a person’s social identity, will be more impactful than ostracism administered by a source group that is not. In the present study, a sample of 81 university students (81 female) were included or ostracised by either an in-group (female) or out-group (male) ostracism source, on a between-subjects basis, while playing the game, Cyberball. Participants were required to report how they felt while playing Cyberball to determine mood affect, and perceived threat to fundamental needs (belonging, self- esteem, meaningful existence, and control), as well as providing a self-report indicating the importance of being a woman to their self-identity. Consistent with previous research, in-group ostracism moderated the level of mood and fundamental needs, that is; ostracism hurts more and social inclusion feels better when administered by in-group as opposed to out-group members. In a first point of difference, this effect was enhanced as a function of the extent to which the participant identified with the ostracism source. As a second point of difference, this effect was evidenced in the reflexive rather than reflective stage of a proposed temporal response of ostracism. These results are considered to make an important contribution to the ensuing debate for an inter-group vs. temporal perspective for ostracism response. Scope for future research is discussed, but recommendations for a between-subjects exploration of time (reflexive vs. reflective), as well as target gender (male vs. female), to explore possible extraneous variables is highlighted

The effectiveness of pilates exercise in people with chronic low back pain: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the effectiveness of Pilates exercise in people with chronic low back pain (CLBP) through a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). DATA SOURCES:A search for RCTs was undertaken using Medical Search Terms and synonyms for "Pilates" and "low back pain" within the maximal date range of 10 databases. Databases included the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature; Cochrane Library; Medline; Physiotherapy Evidence Database; ProQuest: Health and Medical Complete, Nursing and Allied Health Source, Dissertation and Theses; Scopus; Sport Discus; Web of Science. STUDY SELECTION:Two independent reviewers were involved in the selection of evidence. To be included, relevant RCTs needed to be published in the English language. From 152 studies, 14 RCTs were included. DATA EXTRACTION:Two independent reviewers appraised the methodological quality of RCTs using the McMaster Critical Review Form for Quantitative Studies. The author(s), year of publication, and details regarding participants, Pilates exercise, comparison treatments, and outcome measures, and findings, were then extracted. DATA SYNTHESIS:The methodological quality of RCTs ranged from "poor" to "excellent". A meta-analysis of RCTs was not undertaken due to the heterogeneity of RCTs. Pilates exercise provided statistically significant improvements in pain and functional ability compared to usual care and physical activity between 4 and 15 weeks, but not at 24 weeks. There were no consistent statistically significant differences in improvements in pain and functional ability with Pilates exercise, massage therapy, or other forms of exercise at any time period. CONCLUSIONS:Pilates exercise offers greater improvements in pain and functional ability compared to usual care and physical activity in the short term. Pilates exercise offers equivalent improvements to massage therapy and other forms of exercise. Future research should explore optimal Pilates exercise designs, and whether some people with CLBP may benefit from Pilates exercise more than others

The Public’s Case Against DTE Energy: Extracting Profits, inducing health harms, and damaging democracy

Together with our partners, MEJC and LittleSis, We The People Michigan finds that DTE has extracted profit from its customers through hundreds of thousands of shutoffs, the second highest amount of rate hikes in the country, and unnecessary power outages that leave customers without power. They have invested heavily in new fossil fuel power plants that place significant health burdens on customers while blocking renewable energy initiatives. Finally, this report digs into the campaign donations of DTE executives, board members, and PAC to reveal how they utilize dark money to advance their profit-driven agenda

Identification and predictability of soil quality indicators from conventional soil and vegetation classifications

The physical, chemical and biological attributes of a soil combined with abiotic factors (e.g. climate and topography) drive pedogenesis and some of these attributes have been used as proxies to soil quality. Thus, we investigated: (1) whether appropriate soil quality indicators (SQIs) could be identified in soils of Great Britain, (2) whether conventional soil classification or aggregate vegetation classes (AVCs) could predict SQIs and (3) to what extent do soil types and/ or AVCs act as major regulators of SQIs. Factor analysis was used to group 20 soil attributes into six SQI which were named as; soil organic matter (SOM), dissolved organic matter (DOM), soluble N, reduced N, microbial biomass, DOM humification (DOMH). SOM was identified as the most important SQI in the discrimination of both soil types and AVCs. Soil attributes constituting highly to the SOM factor were, microbial quotient and bulk density. The SOM indicator discriminated three soil type groupings and four aggregate vegetation class groupings. Among the soil types, only the peat soils were discriminated from other groups while among the AVCs only the heath and bog classes were isolated from others. However, the peat soil and heath and bog AVC were the only groups that were distinctly discriminated from other groups. All other groups heavily overlapped with one another, making it practically impossible to define reference values for each soil type or AVC. The two-way ANOVA showed that the AVCs were a better regulator of the SQIs than the soil types. We conclude that conventionally classified soil types cannot predict the SQIs defined from large areas with differing climatic and edaphic factors. Localised areas with similar climatic and topoedaphic factors may hold promise for the definition of SQI that may predict the soil types or AVCs

Survival disparities in Indigenous and non-Indigenous New Zealanders with colon cancer: the role of patient comorbidity, treatment and health service factors

Background Ethnic disparities in cancer survival have been documented in many populations and cancer types. The causes of these inequalities are not well understood but may include disease and patient characteristics, treatment differences and health service factors. Survival was compared in a cohort of Maori ( Indigenous) and non-Maori New Zealanders with colon cancer, and the contribution of demographics, disease characteristics, patient comorbidity, treatment and healthcare factors to survival disparities was assessed. Methods Maori patients diagnosed as having colon cancer between 1996 and 2003 were identified from the New Zealand Cancer Registry and compared with a randomly selected sample of non-Maori patients. Clinical and outcome data were obtained from medical records, pathology reports and the national mortality database. Cancer-specific survival was examined using Kaplane-Meier survival curves and Cox hazards modelling with multivariable adjustment. Results 301 Maori and 328 non-Maori patients with colon cancer were compared. Maori had a significantly poorer cancer survival than non-Maori ( hazard ratio (HR) 1.33, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.71) that was not explained by demographic or disease characteristics. The most important factors contributing to poorer survival in Maori were patient comorbidity and markers of healthcare access, each of which accounted for around a third of the survival disparity. The final model accounted for almost all the survival disparity between Maori and non-Maori patients ( HR 1.07, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.47). Conclusion Higher patient comorbidity and poorer access and quality of cancer care are both important explanations for worse survival in Maori compared with non-Maori New Zealanders with colon cancer