Anonymous source usage in traditional and public journalism during 2004 election campaign: A content analysis study

Anonymous source usage has been a much debated topic in mass communication circles ever since the Watergate scandal. This study examines the use of anonymous sources in traditional and public journalism newspapers during the 2004 Presidential campaign. A content analysis was done on four newspapers---two traditional journalism and two public journalism papers---from two states, West Virginia and Ohio, both swing states during the election. Every article written by a staff writer on George Bush, John Kerry, Dick Cheney and John Edwards from June 1, 2004 to November 2, 2004 was analyzed for anonymous source usage. The results of the study indicate that traditional journalism newspapers use significantly more anonymous sources and attributions but it also shows that both traditional and public journalism use very few anonymous quotes

Investigation of internal fluid pressure in cells

Articular cartilage is a connective tissue that covers the ends of bones in joints, providing a nearly frictionless bearing surface for efficiently transmitting loads to the underlying joint. It is made up of specialized cells called chondrocytes that are responsible for its growth and maintenance. Studies indicate that cells remodel the tissue in response to mechanical loading. However the mechanism by which cells sense and respond to mechanical signals is poorly understood.;Studies also suggest the presence of internal fluid pressure in cells and change in this fluid pressure is believed to play a role in cellular mechanical signal transduction. This study attempted to ascertain the presence of fluid pressure in cells via the role it plays in changing cell volume and area through 3-D cell poking experiments using a laser scanning confocal miscroscope. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Computer simulations of confined systems

Jayendran Rasaiah of the University of Maine is supported by an award from the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry program with partial funding provided by the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research for the development of computational methods to simulate water and other solvents in confined systems, such as carbon nanotubes and the interior of proteins. Other systems which are being studied include capillary evaporation of water between hydrophobic plates, water near surfaces and water between charged membranes. The development of better water potentials for a variety of applications is a major goal of the research. Rasaiah is also developing efficient and accurate methods to analyze the chemical potential of water using a combination of particle insertion and multiple histograms for insertion and removal of particles. The work is having a broader impact on our understanding of water in confined spaces, a common situation in biological systems

Computer Simulations of Ions, Dipoles, DNA Elasticity and Interfaces

Jay Rasaiah of the University of Maine is supported by a grant from the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Program to continue his research on condensed phase fluid systems. Proposed research focuses on four topics: 1) ionic mobility and association, water structure and dynamics in supercritical solutions; 2) phase transitions of polar fluids; 3) intrinsic elasticity of DNA; and 4) structure and dynamics of water and ions in contact with hydrophobic surfaces and electrodes. Rasaiah will use a combination of molecular simulations and formal theory to attack these problems. Computer simulations involving water will use an extended SPC/E model that includes the effects of polarization.Ionic solutions are of central importance in many biological and industrial processes. A molecular level understanding of the properties of these solutions is the fundamental key to exploiting their use to solve a great number of scientifically important problems. Rasaiah\u27s research will help further the fundamental understanding of ionic mobility and association in supercritical solutions, and in solutions in contact with metal surfaces. It will also further our understanding of the properties of DNA. This work has a potential impact on a number of biologically and industrially important processes

The comparative performance of active and passive equity-only funds in South Africa

Thesis (M.M. (Finance & Investment)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, 2017The world has and is still witnessing a tremendous growth in various categories of mutual funds. Active fund managers continue to grow globally with many asking for exorbitant fees for their research and investment services. Equally, passive funds in the form of Exchange Traded Funds (ETF's) and index trackers have also continued to grow. This massive growth does not preclude funds domiciled in South Africa. Passive investments have grown by about 51 percent a year in the last 10 years in South Africa. As at 2016, there are over 3000 mutual funds domiciled in South Africa. Amidst these growing funds is the ongoing debate relating to the question of which fund management style yields the best outcome. The global debate relating to passive versus active fund management has raged for decades with no clear winner. The extant literature provides mixed evidence on the competitive advantage to either investment strategies. Surprisingly, the evidence for South Africa remains scanty, with a handful of authors addressing the issue. This study therefore, sets out to examine the comparative performance of all equity-only active mutual and passive funds domiciled in South Africa. In addition, it analyses the performance persistence of active and passive funds in different business cycles. A major contribution of this study is that it examines, for the first time, the applicability of the Fama-French five factor model on South African mutual funds. It also employs a battery of econometric methods to address the issue at hand. Relying on data from 2003 to 2016, the study presents evidence that both active and passively managed mutual funds do not earn abnormal returns but rather underperform the benchmark. However, the active portfolio performs relatively better than the passive portfolio, although both underperform the market. The study also documents evidence of time-varying performance; both active and passive funds record their worst underperformance during periods of financial crisis. The study also shows that passive portfolios tend to track the market performance more than active portfolios and that both fund categories tend to be sensitive to global market movements, suggesting that global factors matter for the riskiness of these funds. Finally, it is shown that in terms of driving factors, both active and passive fund managers generally give more preference to small cap returns than large cap returns. In addition, they are more growth oriented, as indicated by the negative coefficients for the HML factor.MT201

Dynamics and Structure of Ionic Solutions and Polar Fluids

Jayendran Rasaiah of the Chemistry Department of the University of Maine at Orono is funded jointly by the Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division and the Office of Experimental Programs to Stimulate Competitive Research, to study the dynamics and structure of ionic solutions and polar fluids. In this research the mobility of ions in solution will be investigated by molecular dynamics, the phase transitions in polar fluids by Gibbs ensemble simulations, the dynamics of the electric double layer by integral equations, and the theory of bolaform electrolytes using integral equations. This research should produce new insights in the understanding of transport and equilibrium properties of electrolytes in systems of biological and technological relevance

'Teacher leadership made visible' : a case study of three teacher leaders in a semi-urban secondary school in KwaZulu-Natal.

Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.South African schools during the era of apartheid were characterized by hierarchical and bureaucratic management structures that, for the most part, stifled the leadership potential of all those within the organization. With the onset of democracy in South Africa in 1994, there has been a radical shift in education policy and legislation which propagates making schools democratic organizations in which distributed leadership practices and collaboration is the norm. Within the distributed leadership framework, leadership is not synonymous with the work of those in formal management positions but rather the work of leadership involves multiple individuals. As such there is now a platform for the definitive engagement in the promotion of teacher leadership in South African schools. However, despite this enabling policy framework, teacher leadership practices are not embedded in the culture of many South African schools. This could be attributed to teacher leadership being its infancy stage in South Africa and the notion of teacher leadership not being valued