Television, business entertainment and civic culture

This short commentary piece arises from completing an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)–funded research project into the relationship between representations of business on factual television in the United Kingdom and the public’s perception and understanding of entrepreneurship. What we would like to do here is reflect on some of the implications of this work with specific regard to the research agenda around the media and civic culture. We remain convinced that even in the digital age, popular television remains a central entry point into debates about the relationship between broader civic and political culture

Sen and the art of educational maintenance: evidencing a capability, as opposed to an effectiveness, approach to schooling

There are few more widely applied terms in common parlance than ‘capability’. It is used (inaccurately) to represent everything from the aspiration to provide opportunity to notions of innate academic ability, with everything in between claiming apostolic succession to Amartya Sen, who (with apologies to Aristotle) first developed the concept. This paper attempts to warrant an adaptation of Sen’s capability theory to schooling and schooling policy, and to proof his concepts in the new setting using research involving 100 pupils from 5 English secondary schools and a schedule of questions derived from the capability literature. The findings suggest that a capability approach can provide an alternative to the dominant Benthamite school effectiveness paradigm, and can offer a sound theoretical framework for understanding better the assumed relationship between schooling and well-being

The celebrity entrepreneur on television: profile, politics and power

This article examines the rise of the ‘celebrity entrepreneur’ on television through the emergence of the ‘business entertainment format’ and considers the ways in which regular television exposure can be converted into political influence. Within television studies there has been a preoccupation in recent years with how lifestyle and reality formats work to transform ‘ordinary’ people into celebrities. As a result, the contribution of vocationally skilled business professionals to factual entertainment programming has gone almost unnoticed. This article draws on interviews with key media industry professionals and begins by looking at the construction of entrepreneurs as different types of television personalities and how discourses of work, skill and knowledge function in business shows. It then outlines how entrepreneurs can utilize their newly acquired televisual skills to cultivate a wider media profile and secure various forms of political access and influence. Integral to this is the centrality of public relations and media management agencies in shaping media discourses and developing the individual as a ‘brand identity’ that can be used to endorse a range of products or ideas. This has led to policy makers and politicians attempting to mobilize the media profile of celebrity entrepreneurs to reach out and connect with the public on business and enterprise-related issues

Neural correlates of impaired vision in adolescents born extremely preterm and/or extremely low birthweight

BACKGROUND: Adolescents born extremely preterm (EP; <28 weeks' gestation) and/or extremely low birthweight (ELBW; <1000 g) experience high rates of visual impairments, however the potential neural correlates of visual impairments in EP/ELBW adolescents require further investigation. This study aimed to: 1) compare optic radiation and primary visual cortical structure between EP/ELBW adolescents and normal birthweight controls; 2) investigate associations between perinatal factors and optic radiation and primary visual cortical structure in EP/ELBW adolescents; 3) investigate associations between optic radiation and primary visual cortical structure in EP/ELBW adolescents and the odds of impaired vision. METHODS: 196 EP/ELBW adolescents and 143 controls underwent magnetic resonance imaging at a mean age of 18 years. Optic radiations were delineated using constrained spherical deconvolution based probabilistic tractography. Primary visual cortices were segmented using FreeSurfer software. Diffusion tensor variables and tract volume of the optic radiations, as well as volume, surface area and thickness of the primary visual cortices, were estimated. RESULTS: Axial, radial and mean diffusivities within the optic radiations, and primary visual cortical thickness, were higher in the EP/ELBW adolescents than controls. Within EP/ELBW adolescents, postnatal corticosteroid exposure was associated with altered optic radiation diffusion values and lower tract volume, while decreasing gestational age at birth was associated with increased primary visual cortical volume, area and thickness. Furthermore, decreasing optic radiation fractional anisotropy and tract volume, and increasing optic radiation diffusivity in EP/ELBW adolescents were associated with increased odds of impaired vision, whereas primary visual cortical measures were not associated with the odds of impaired vision. CONCLUSIONS: Optic radiation and primary visual cortical structure are altered in EP/ELBW adolescents compared with controls, with the greatest alterations seen in those exposed to postnatal corticosteroids and those born earliest. Structural alterations to the optic radiations may increase the risk of impaired vision in EP/ELBW adolescents.Claire E. Kelly, Jeanie L. Y. Cheong, Carly Molloy, Peter J. Anderson, Katherine J. Lee, Alice C. Burnet

Local genomic adaptation of coral reef-associated microbiomes to gradients of natural variability and anthropogenic stressors

Holobionts are species-specific associations between macro- and microorganisms. On coral reefs, the benthic coverage of coral and algal holobionts varies due to natural and anthropogenic forcings. Different benthic macroorganisms are predicted to have specific microbiomes. In contrast, local environmental factors are predicted to select for specific metabolic pathways in microbes. To reconcile these two predictions, we hypothesized that adaptation of microbiomes to local conditions is facilitated by the horizontal transfer of genes responsible for specific metabolic capabilities. To test this hypothesis, microbial metagenomes were sequenced from 22 coral reefs at 11 Line Islands in the central Pacific that together span a wide range of biogeochemical and anthropogenic influences. Consistent with our hypothesis, the percent cover of major benthic functional groups significantly correlated with particular microbial taxa. Reefs with higher coral cover had a coral microbiome with higher abundances of Alphaproteobacteria (such as Rhodobacterales and Sphingomonadales), whereas microbiomes of algae-dominated reefs had higher abundances of Gammaproteobacteria (such as Alteromonadales, Pseudomonadales, and Vibrionales), Betaproteobacteria, and Bacteriodetes. In contrast to taxa, geography was the strongest predictor of microbial community metabolism. Microbial communities on reefs with higher nutrient availability (e.g., equatorial upwelling zones) were enriched in genes involved in nutrient-related metabolisms (e.g., nitrate and nitrite ammonification, Ton/Tol transport, etc.). On reefs further from the equator, microbes had more genes encoding chlorophyll biosynthesis and photosystems I/II. These results support the hypothesis that core microbiomes are determined by holobiont macroorganisms, and that those core taxa adapt to local conditions by selecting for advantageous metabolic genes

Caffeine for apnea of prematurity and brain development at 11 years of age

Objective Caffeine therapy for apnea of prematurity has been reported to improve brain white matter microstructure at term-equivalent age, but its long-term effects are unknown. This study aimed to investigate whether caffeine affects (1) brain structure at 11 years of age, and (2) brain development from term-equivalent age to 11 years of age, compared with placebo. Methods Preterm infants born ≤1250 g were randomly allocated to caffeine or placebo. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on 70 participants (33 caffeine, 37 placebo) at term-equivalent age and 117 participants (63 caffeine, 54 placebo) at 11 years of age. Global and regional brain volumes and white matter microstructure were measured at both time points. Results In general, there was little evidence for differences between treatment groups in brain volumes or white matter microstructure at age 11 years. There was, however, evidence that the caffeine group had a smaller corpus callosum than the placebo group. Volumetric brain development from term-equivalent to 11 years of age was generally similar between treatment groups. However, there was evidence that caffeine was associated with slower growth of the corpus callosum, and slower decreases in axial, radial, and mean diffusivities in the white matter, particularly at the level of the centrum semiovale, over time than placebo. Interpretation This study suggests any benefits of neonatal caffeine therapy on brain structure in preterm infants weaken over time and are not clearly detectable by MRI at age 11 years, although caffeine may have long-term effects on corpus callosum development.Claire E. Kelly, Wenn Lynn Ooi, Joseph Yuan-Mou Yang, Jian Chen, Chris Adamson, Katherine J. Lee ... et al

White matter microstructure correlates with mathematics but not word reading performance in 13-year-old children born very preterm and full-term

Individuals born very preterm (VPT; 1 standard deviation below FT mean) had significantly reduced neurite density compared with VPT children without an impairment. Reading performance was not significantly associated with any of the white matter microstructure parameters. Additionally, the associations between white matter microstructure and mathematics and reading performance did not differ significantly between VPT and FT groups. Our findings suggest that alterations in white matter microstructure, and more specifically lower neurite density, are associated with poorer mathematics performance in 13-year-old VPT and FT children. More research is required to understand the association between reading performance and white matter microstructure in 13- year-old children.Simonne E. Collins, Megan Spencer-Smith, Ines Mürner-Lavanchy, Claire E. Kellya, Philippa Pyman, Leona Pascoe, Jeanie Cheong, Lex W. Doyle, Deanne K. Thompson, Peter J. Anderso

Long-term development of white matter fibre density and morphology up to 13 years after preterm birth: a fixel-based analysis

Background It is well documented that infants born very preterm (VP) are at risk of brain injury and altered brain development in the neonatal period, however there is a lack of long-term, longitudinal studies on the effects of VP birth on white matter development over childhood. Most previous studies were based on voxel-averaged, non-fibre-specific diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures, such as fractional anisotropy. In contrast, the novel diffusion MRI analysis framework, fixel-based analysis (FBA), enables whole-brain analysis of microstructural and macrostructural properties of individual fibre populations at a sub-voxel level. We applied FBA to investigate the long-term implications of VP birth and associated perinatal risk factors on fibre development in childhood and adolescence. Methods Diffusion images were acquired for a cohort of VP (born <30 weeks' gestation) and full-term (FT, ≥37 weeks' gestation) children at two timepoints: mean (SD) 7.6 (0.2) years (n ​= ​138 VP and 32 FT children) and 13.3 (0.4) years (n ​= ​130 VP and 45 FT children). 103 VP and 21 FT children had images at both ages for longitudinal analysis. At every fixel (individual fibre population within an image voxel) across the white matter, we compared FBA metrics (fibre density (FD), cross-section (FC) and a combination of these properties (FDC)) between VP and FT groups cross-sectionally at each timepoint, and longitudinally between timepoints. We also examined associations between known perinatal risk factors and FBA metrics in the VP group. Results Compared with FT children, VP children had lower FD, FC and FDC throughout the white matter, particularly in the corpus callosum, tapetum, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, fornix and cingulum at ages 7 and 13 years, as well as the corticospinal tract and anterior limb of the internal capsule at age 13 years. VP children also had slower FDC development in the corpus callosum and corticospinal tract between ages 7 and 13 years compared with FT children. Within VP children, earlier gestational age at birth, lower birth weight z-score, and neonatal brain abnormalities were associated with lower FD, FC and FDC throughout the white matter at both ages. Conclusions VP birth and concomitant perinatal risk factors are associated with fibre tract-specific alterations to axonal development in childhood and adolescence.Claire E.Kelly, Deanne K.Thompson, Sila Genc, Jian Chen, Joseph YM.Yang, Chris Adamson ... et al