Media ownership and the exploitation of media power for corporate self-interest: a case study of News International's coverage of the BBC and OFcom

This work examines whether there is an agenda on the part of the newspapers owned by News International (Rupert Murdoch’s UK media company) where reporting on matters with regards to the British Broadcasting Corporation and Ofcom. The agenda, examined via the content analysis of the relevant articles published in three Murdoch owned newspapers compared with three non-Murdoch owned newspapers of equal standing, proves an already existing theory discussed by the press and academics alike that Rupert Murdoch is particularly hostile towards both bodies; the BBC because it is a rival news provider, and a prominent, trusted voice in Britain; and Ofcom, because of its role as a regulator that has often stood between Murdoch and his commercial expansion plans. The research answers three key questions: to what extent News International’s newspapers seek to undermine organisations and competitiors that in some way interfere with the company and/ or proprietors expansion plans; to what extent this agenda is manifested in News International’s newspapers; and to what extent these compare with equal-standing, non-News International owned newspapers. The findings identify a clear bias in the reporting, demonstrating for the first time that Murdoch exploits his newspapers in pursuit of commercial self-interest. This work demonstrates how the news agenda can be deliberately manipulated to suit the commercial self-interest of dominant owners, and provides evidence of the way in which proprietors such as Murdoch can exploit their dominance of media markets mthrough the distorted or biased coverage of rival institutions or regulators in a bid to influence both popular opinion and the decisions of politicians and policymakers, thus undermining the democratic process

Prognos (R) in the diagnosis of amalgam hypersensitivity - A diagnostic case-control study

Objective: We aimed to investigate whether the Prognos (R) device might be a useful tool in the diagnosis of disorders suspected to be due to dental amalgam fillings. Participants and Methods: A diagnostic case-control study was performed in 27 patients who complained about health problems attributed to amalgam ( cases), 27 healthy volunteers with amalgam fillings ( controls I), and 27 healthy amalgam-free volunteers ( controls II). All participants were tested before and after application of 300 mg DMPS (2.3-dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid) with Prognos, a diagnostic device for the energetic measurement of Traditional Chinese Medicine meridians. In addition, mercury was measured in blood, urine, and saliva, and a lymphocyte transformation test (LTT) was performed. Results: Diagnoses derived from the first and second Prognos testing did not agree above chance (Cohen's Kappa = -0.11, 95% confidence interval -0.33 to 0.10; p = 0.30). Agreement for secondary outcome measures was poor, too. Prognos measurements did not differ between cases and controls. Correlations with measurements in urine, blood and saliva were low. Conclusion: In this study Prognos could not be shown to be a useful tool in the diagnosis of disorders suspected to be due to dental amalgam fillings

Ovine pedomics : the first study of the ovine foot 16S rRNA-based microbiome

We report the first study of the bacterial microbiome of ovine interdigital skin based on 16S rRNA by pyrosequencing and conventional cloning with Sanger-sequencing. Three flocks were selected, one a flock with no signs of footrot or interdigital dermatitis, a second flock with interdigital dermatitis alone and a third flock with both interdigital dermatitis and footrot. The sheep were classified as having either healthy interdigital skin (H), interdigital dermatitis (ID) or virulent footrot (VFR). The ovine interdigital skin bacterial community varied significantly by flock and clinical condition. The diversity and richness of operational taxonomic units was greater in tissue from sheep with ID than H or VFR affected sheep. Actinobacteria, Bacteriodetes, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the most abundant phyla comprising 25 genera. Peptostreptococcus, Corynebacterium and Staphylococcus were associated with H, ID and VFR respectively. Sequences of Dichelobacter nodosus, the causal agent of ovine footrot, were not amplified due to mismatches in the 16S rRNA universal forward primer (27F). A specific real time PCR assay was used to demonstrate the presence of D. nodosus which was detected in all samples including the flock with no signs of ID or VFR. Sheep with ID had significantly higher numbers of D. nodosus (104-109 cells/g tissue) than those with H or VFR feet

Changes in health complaints after removal of amalgam fillings

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether removal of all amalgam fillings was associated with long-term changes in health complaints in a group of patients who attributed subjective health complaints to amalgam fillings. Patients previously examined at the Norwegian Dental Biomaterials Adverse Reaction Unit were included in the study and assigned to a treatment group (n = 20) and a reference group (n = 20). Participants in the treatment group had all amalgam fillings replaced with other restorative materials. Follow-ups took place 3 months, 1 and 3 years after removal of all amalgam fillings. There was no intervention in the reference group. Subjective health complaints were measured by numeric rating scales in both groups. Analysis of covariance was used to compare changes in health complaints over time in the two groups. In the treatment group, there were significant reductions in intra-oral and general health complaints from inclusion into study to the 3-year follow-up. In the reference group, changes in the same period were not significant. Comparisons between the groups showed that reductions in intra-oral and general health complaints in the treatment group were significantly different from the changes in the reference group. The mechanisms behind this remain to be identified. Reduced exposure to dental amalgam, patient-centred treatment and follow-ups, and elimination of worry are factors that may have influenced the results

Sites of persistence of Fusobacterium necrophorum and Dichelobacter nodosus: a paradigm shift in understanding the epidemiology of footrot in sheep

Sites of persistence of bacterial pathogens contribute to disease dynamics of bacterial diseases. Footrot is a globally important bacterial disease that reduces health and productivity of sheep. It is caused by Dichelobacter nodosus, a pathogen apparently highly specialised for feet, while Fusobacterium necrophorum, a secondary pathogen in footrot is reportedly ubiquitous on pasture. Two prospective longitudinal studies were conducted to investigate the persistence of D. nodosus and F. necrophorum in sheep feet, mouths and faeces, and in soil. Molecular tools were used to detect species, strains and communities. In contrast to the existing paradigm, F. necrophorum persisted on footrot diseased feet, and in mouths and faeces; different strains were detected in feet and mouths. D. nodosus persisted in soil and on diseased, but not healthy, feet; similar strains were detected on both healthy and diseased feet of diseased sheep. We conclude that D. nodosus and F. necrophorum depend on sheep for persistence but use different strategies to persist and spread between sheep within and between flocks. Elimination of F. necrophorum would be challenging due to faecal shedding. In contrast D. nodosus could be eliminated if all footrot-affected sheep were removed and fade out of D. nodosus occurred in the environment before re-infection of a foot

Perl Testing: A Developer's Notebook

Is there any sexier topic in software development than software testing? That is, besides game programming, 3D graphics, audio, high-performance clustering, cool websites, et cetera? Okay, so software testing is low on the list. And that's unfortunate, because good software testing can increase your productivity, improve your designs, raise your quality, ease your maintenance burdens, and help to satisfy your customers, coworkers, and managers. Perl has a strong history of automated tests. A very early release of Perl 1.0 included a comprehensive test suite, and it's only improved from t

Organisationsförändringar : En fallstudie om samspel och effekter vid ett företagsförvärv

Anställdas och organisationers förändringsvilja och förändringsbenägenhet blir viktiga förutsättningar för att klara av en allt mer internationaliserad och hårdnad konkurrens. Den snabba utvecklingen i affärsvärlden bidrar till att det ständigt sker stora förändringar genom sammanslagningar och uppköp. I den här magisteruppsatsen undersöker vi genom en kvalitativ metod effekterna av aktörernas samspel i samband med ett företagsförvärv. Studien utgår från följande frågeställning: Hur ser aktörernas samspel ut vid ett företagsförvärv och vilka är dess effekter? Studiens syfte är att analysera aktörernas samspel och effekterna av det undersökta fallets förändringsarbete, samt att utifrån det här utreda om det finns ett behov av att förändra implementeringsstrategin vid framtida förvärv. För besvara vårt syfte och vår problemformulering har vi gjort en fallstudie av företagsförvärvet mellan Udac (Uppsala datacentral) och SYSteam AB. Vi fann sammanslagningen mellan företagen intressant eftersom den i hög grad präglades av att parterna ursprungligen var mycket olika. I uppsatsens teoriavsnitt tar vi upp olika aspekter som berör ämnet förändringsarbete. De här begreppen ligger sedan till grund för datainsamlingen som skedde genom fyra djupintervjuer med representanter från båda företagen. Studiens resultat visar på ett antal viktiga aspekter som företag bör ta hänsyn till vid förvärv. Företag måste vara lyhörda inför kulturella skillnader. Ju större skillnad desto mer respekt och varsamhet krävs. Det är viktigt att uppmärksamma subkulturer, att undvika att skönmåla förvärvets effekter och tänka på att närvaro och handling är viktigare än ord. Företagen måste ha en öppen kommunikation då det dämpar oron och de anställda får bättre möjlighet att förstå behovet av en förändring. Det är viktigt att den nya ägaren är på plats ofta eftersom det reducerar spekulationer. Ytterligare en viktig aspekt att ta hänsyn till är att inte vara konflikträdd. Konflikter har många gånger en positiv effekt på lång sikt. Sist men inte minst kräver organisationsförändringar ett stort tålamod. Det är viktigt att komma ihåg att en omfattande kulturförändring kan ta fem till tio år att uppnå