An analysis of the correlation among fashion newspaper coverage and public relations in the United Kingdom

This study examines the relationship between fashion PR and fashion coverage in UK newspapers and suggests that such coverage is overwhelmingly generated by PR, to the extent that little if any independent fashion journalism actually exists. Despite the fact that existing research on news sources has pointed to the rising influence of PR on media content, the connection between fashion PR and journalism remains unstudied and overlooked. However, the amount of fashion content within UK newspapers has grown significantly over the past two decades, and now occupies a significant amount of space, extending well beyond fashion pages and supplements. This thesis uses empirical evidence to shed light upon the largely closed world of fashion PR and its relationship with fashion journalism. Quantitative and qualitative research methods have been used in order to explore the original hypothesis. They include content analysis of a cross section of UK newspapers during 2004; semi-structured interviews in 2005/06 with fashion PR professionals, fashion journalists and fashion industry insiders; as well as participant observation within a fashion PR agency in 2005. The author’s personal experience within fashion PR and fashion journalism has played a key role in developing insights into a trading relationship which both parties have traditionally had difficulty discussing. The research has found that fashion journalism recycles large amounts of PR material, usually with few checks or criticisms. Newspapers in general do not fund original, i.e. non-PR based, fashion research. Thus, supplying ready-made copy to the fashion press, PR acts as the main provider of access to the latest collections, sample clothes, interviews with designers, celebrities and ‘approved gossip’, hence exerting massive leverage over journalists. Fashion journalists on the other hand remain the gate-keepers as they decide which fashion company ultimately gets coverage. Therefore arguably their main responsibility lies within choosing amongst PR sources as well as when and how to use those. However it has to be noted that even then their power is circumscribed as they cannot ignore some fashion PR. As a result this thesis claims that, despite a limited role in selecting material, fashion journalism is journalism in name only and that it exhibits few if any of the other characteristics that are traditionally ascribed to the profession. This research has found that despite increased amounts of coverage fashion does not rank highly within the hierarchies of UK newspapers and is of limited importance in terms of traditional news values. Arguably this is why it is often overlooked in studies of journalism and print media. However it does attract large advertising budgets and is thus given pre-booked editorial space. This makes it an important area within UK newspapers, which with its lifestyle rather than news focus operates independently of the news desk. The fact that the largely female fashion department is not as closely overseen by the largely male editorial staff as other areas of newspapers allows room for maximum PR activity. One of this thesis's contributions to knowledge derives from its critical examination of this under-examined area within the news media. Fashion PR is also overlooked in the more limited scholarly research into the PR industry, which tends to privilege political or corporate communication. Consequently another contribution to knowledge arises from the way in which this thesis critically examines this important PR sector and explores the nature of its work. One aspect of this is the use of celebrities within fashion PR, demonstrating that this is ubiquitous and more prominent than in any other comparative sector. This study further claims that PR plays an important part in the manufacturing and maintenance of celebrities for the purpose of fashion promotion. However the principal contribution to knowledge derives from the examination of how these two disciplines - fashion journalism and PR - relate to each other. This often furtive relationship has hitherto eluded academic study, arguably due to an underlying conspiracy of silence as well as the informal nature of their relationship. The research has identified contemporary fashion PR as a multifaceted cultural phenomenon with vast economical power that forms the crucial connecting link between the fashion industry and fashion journalism – and hence the wider public, extending its authority into various directions. The overall aim of this study is to contribute to the restricted literature on the topic by providing a sound base towards the creation of a symbiotic relationship between the disciplines of fashion PR and fashion journalism

A Simple Double-Spin Closed Method for Preparing Platelet-Rich Plasma

Objective: To describe and analyze a new protocol for the extraction of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for use in clinical practice and compare this technique with methods that have been previously described in the medical literature. Methods: Sixteen blood samples from healthy volunteers were collected. PRP was prepared using our new double-spin technique, consisting of successive centrifugation of blood samples with two different spins, without opening the container. Descriptive analysis of cell counts in baseline and PRP samples was undertaken. Comparison between cell and platelet count in baseline and PRP samples, as well as the statistical analysis, were done. Results: The mean platelet concentration ratio was 3.47 (SD: 0.85; 95% CI: 3.01-3.92; range: 2.48-5.71). The baseline whole blood platelet count correlated positively to the PRP platelet count (rP = 0.56; 95% CI: 0.09- 0.88; P = 0.023). The PRP was enriched for lymphocytes and monocytes but presented significantly lower counts of neutrophils and eosinophils in comparison to baseline. Conclusion: Results show a safe and easily reproducible method to obtain PRP for use in clinical daily practice.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Teaching Engineering Ethics using BLOCKS Game

The aim of this study was to investigate the use of a newly developed design game called BLOCKS to stimulate awareness of ethical responsibilities amongst engineering students. The design game was played by seventeen teams of chemical engineering students, with each team having to arrange pieces of colored paper to produce two letters each. Before the end of the game, additional constraints were introduced to the teams such that they faced similar ambiguity in the technical facts that the engineers involved in the Challenger disaster had faced prior to the space shuttle launch. At this stage, the teams had to decide whether to continue with their original design or to develop alternative solutions. After the teams had made their decisions, a video of the Challenger explosion was shown followed by a post-game discussion. The students’ opinion on five Statements on ethics was tracked via a Five-Item Likert survey which was administered three times, before and after the ethical scenario was introduced, and after the video and post-game discussion. The results from this study indicated that the combination of the game and the real-life incident from the video had generally strengthened the students’ opinions of the Statements

Impact on the Quality of Life of an Educational Program for the Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders: a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) are a major cause for concern in public health and the main causes of sick leave. Treatments for WMSD have given disappointing results; prevention is the best strategy, but results of preventive measures have not been consistent. To the best of our knowledge there are few studies in literature that evaluated the impact of a specific program aimed at preventing WMSD on the quality of life of employed persons.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>One hundred and one clerical and production workers in a steel trading company were enrolled in an open-label randomized controlled clinical trial (parallel groups) to compare the efficacy of an educational program for primary prevention of WMSD with control intervention. The primary outcome was a change in the physical functioning domain of the quality of life (QL) measured by Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36). The intervention group underwent six consecutive weekly sessions concerning specific orientations for the prevention of WMSD, while the control group received general health education in an identical schedule. The SF-36 and theses Work Limitation Questionnaire (WLQ) were evaluated at weeks zero, five and 26.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Baseline characteristics of the interventions groups were comparable, and both groups comprised predominantly young healthy individuals. No significant differences in the variation of the SF-36 and WLQ between the groups were observed at weeks five and 26. However, both groups demonstrated improvement in some aspects of SF-36, suggesting that both educational interventions have beneficial impacts on QL.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A specific educational program aimed at the preventing of WMSD was comparable with general health orientation for the improvement of QL and work capacity in a sample of healthy workers during a six month period.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00981877">NCT00874718</a></p> <p>Trial Registration</p

Social Networks among Elderly Women: Implications for Health Education Practice

The general aim of the present study was to examine and help clarify the properties of the distinctions between social networks and social support, their relationship to health status, and their impli cations for health education practice. More specifically, a secondary data analysis was conducted with 130 white women, community resi dents, between the ages of 60 and 68, which examined the relationship between psychological well-being and social network characteristics. These characteristics are categorized along three broad dimensions: structure—links in the overall network (size and density); interaction— nature of the linkages themselves (frequency, homogeneity, content, reciprocity, intensity, and dispersion); and functions which networks provide (affective support and instrumental support). A combination was made and relative strength investigated of several network char acteristics representative of the quality of interactions (i. e., reciprocal affective support, intensity, and affective support) and those repre senting the quantity of interactions (i.e., size, density, and frequency).Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67277/2/10.1177_109019818301000304.pd