The role of the print media in constructing controversies in sport

Sport is important to Australians and, by extension, sports writing is also important. Print sports journalists now operate in a professional and social environment that has assumed a new complexion in recent years. The emergence of the print media provided a rapid means of informing the public about the happenings in sport, and thus, it can be argued, that sport flourished. This study proposes to examine the role of the print media in their coverage of sporting controversies by exploring the way the print media handled three recent sporting conflicts. This critical inquiry of the media focuses on ethical issues of privacy and sensationalism, the influence and bias of the media, and the specific role of the media in sporting conflicts. The media\u27s role in such cases is often difficult to define. However, the results suggest that there is room for improvement in various aspects of the print media in its coverage of sporting controversies. A qualitative interview technique and content analysis was employed to explore the role of the print media in covering sporting controversies. Data was inductively analysed into categories which focused on the research questions. The 12 subjects interviewed for the study were divided into three categories - athletes, sporting administrators and sporting journalists. In addition to the interviews, research was undertaken in newspapers, periodicals, academic journals, texts and the electronic media to reach a common theme. The major theme to emerge is that the print media has the potential to be extremely influential and has the potential to generate conflicts into issues which may not necessarily deserve the bold headlines which the press often affords the stories. However, there are many times when the print media may be unfairly criticised for their reporting of sporting conflicts. There is a strong argument that sports writing in Australia will need to improve. Given the enormous public interest in sport in this country, it is quite extraordinary that most have made no serious attempt to treat the subject on an intelligent basis in the media. A case can be made that greater accuracy, far more disclosure of sources, less appearance of conflict, a less predictable pattern of partisan bias and crisper writing should be expected of the sportswriter. Many stories in these case studies were reported in a similar vein, which could indicate that a large number of this country\u27s journalists have a pack mentality and will follow each other in both topics and writing styles. This can lead to distortion and inaccuracies. This nation\u27s newspapers play a major role in the culture of Australians, who are obsessed with sport and will no doubt continue their obsession. Given that this study used a small sample, further study about the role of the print media in the coverage of sporting controversies is recommended to clarify the veracity of the present study\u27s findings

Unifying inflation and dark matter with the Peccei-Quinn field: observable axions and observable tensors

A model of high scale inflation is presented where the radial part of the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) field with a non-minimal coupling to gravity plays the role of the inflaton, and the QCD axion is the dark matter. A quantum fluctuation of $\mathcal{O}(H/2\pi)$ in the axion field will result in a smaller angular fluctuation if the PQ field is sitting at a larger radius during inflation than in the vacuum. This changes the effective axion decay constant, $f_a$, during inflation and dramatically reduces the production of isocurvature modes. This mechanism opens up a new window in parameter space where an axion decay constant in the range $10^{12}\text{ GeV}\lesssim f_a\lesssim 10^{15}\text{ GeV}$ is compatible with observably large $r$. The exact range allowed for $f_a$ depends on the efficiency of reheating. This model also predicts a minimum possible value of $r=10^{-3}$. The new window can be explored by a measurement of $r$ possible with \textsc{Spider} and the proposed CASPEr experiment search for high $f_a$ axions.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

PET and P300 Relationships in Early Alzheimer\u27s Disease

The P300 (P3) wave of the auditory brain event-related potential was investigated in patients with probable Alzheimer\u27s disease to determine whether P300 latency discriminated these patients from controls and whether prolonged P300 latency correlated with rates of brain glucose metabolism as measured by Positron Emission Tomography. P300 latency was prolonged by more than 1.5 standard deviations from age expectancy in 14 of 18 patients, but none of 17 controls. In these subjects P300 latency was shown to be inversely correlated with relative metabolic rates of parietal and, to a lesser extent, temporal and frontal association areas, but not with subcortical areas

Potential for seasonal prediction of the Atlantic sea surface temperatures using the RAPID array at 26°N

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) plays a critical role in the climate system and is responsible for much of the meridional heat transported by the ocean. In this paper, the potential of using AMOC observations from the 26 ∘ N RAPID array to predict North Atlantic sea surface temperatures is investigated for the first time. Using spatial correlations and a composite method, the AMOC anomaly is used as a precursor of North Atlantic sea-surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs). The results show that the AMOC leads a dipolar SSTA with maximum correlations between 2 and 5 months. The physical mechanism explaining the link between AMOC and SSTA is described as a seesaw mechanism where a strong AMOC anomaly increases the amount of heat advected north of 26 ∘ N as well as the SSTA, and decreases the heat content and the SSTA south of this section. In order to further understand the origins of this SSTA dipole, the respective contributions of the heat advected by the AMOC versus the Ekman transport and air–sea fluxes have been assessed. We found that at a 5-month lag, the Ekman component mainly contributes to the southern part of the dipole and cumulative air–sea fluxes only explain a small fraction of the SSTA variability. Given that the southern part of the SSTA dipole encompasses the main development region for Atlantic hurricanes, our results therefore suggest the potential for AMOC observations from 26 ∘ N to be used to complement existing seasonal hurricane forecasts in the Atlantic

Polls and the political process: the use of opinion polls by political parties and mass media organizations in European post‐communist societies (1990–95)

Opinion polling occupies a significant role within the political process of most liberal-capitalist societies, where it is used by governments, parties and the mass media alike. This paper examines the extent to which polls are used for the same purposes in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and in particular, for bringing political elites and citizens together. It argues that these political elites are more concerned with using opinion polls for gaining competitive advantage over their rivals and for reaffirming their political power, than for devolving political power to citizens and improving the general processes of democratization

STUDI EVALUATIF TENTANG MANAJEMEN SISTEM PERENCANAAN PENYUSUNAN PROGRAM DAN PEN6ANG6ARAN (SP4) PADA IKIP BANDUNG

While many studies have examined the barrier effects of large rivers on animal dispersal and gene flow, few studies have considered the barrier effects of small streams. We used displacement experiments and analyses of genetic population structure to examine the effects of first-order and second-order streams on the dispersal of terrestrial red-backed salamanders, Plethodon cinereus (Green, 1818). We marked red-backed salamanders from near the edges of one first-order stream and one second-order stream, and experimentally displaced them either across the stream or an equal distance farther into the forest. A comparison of return rates indicated that both streams were partial barriers to salamander movement, reducing return rates by approximately 50%. Analysis of six microsatellite loci from paired plots on the same side and on opposite sides of the second-order stream suggested that the stream did contribute to genetic differentiation of salamander populations. Collectively, our results imply that low-order streams do influence patterns of movement and gene flow in red-backed salamanders. We suggest that given the high density of first-order and second-order streams in most landscapes, these features may have important effects on species that, like red-backed salamanders, have limited dispersal and large geographic ranges

A Positive Deviance-based Antenatal Nutrition Project Improves Birth-weight in Upper Egypt

The positive deviance approach identifies and promotes existing uncommon healthy behaviours. A positive deviance-informed antenatal project was pilot-tested in Al-Minia Governorate, Upper Egypt, during 2003–2004, after a positive deviance study in 2000 found that successful pregnancies had increased consumption of meat and vegetables, daytime rest, and antenatal care; less second-hand smoke exposure; and symptoms of no urinary tract infection. Accordingly, health facilities were upgraded in target and comparison areas to provide quality antenatal care, including treatment of urinary tract infection. Additionally, in the target villages, women at-risk of delivering low-birth-weight infants were enrolled in weekly ‘IMPRESS’ (improved pregnancy through education and supplementation) sessions with counselling and supplemental food. In total, 519 women (344 target, 175 comparison) were enrolled in the third or fourth month of pregnancy and were followed through delivery. Birth-weights of the target mothers increased 2.2 times more than birth-weights of the comparison mothers over baseline (mean increase: 0.58 vs 0.26 g respectively, p<0.01). Similarly, the decrease in prevalence of low birth-weight from baseline was greater in the target villages than in the comparison mothers (% of decrease: 26.9 vs 11.9 respectively, p<0.01). The target at-risk women were far more likely than their counterparts to report eating more food (54.9% vs 10.6%), more meat (57.1% vs 4.2%), more vegetables (66.9% vs 5.3%), increasing daytime rest (64.1% vs 11.7%), and avoiding second-hand smoke (91.3% vs 51.6%) during pregnancy. The cost per 100 g of improvement in birth-weight was US$ 3.98. The Government of Egypt and partners are scaling up the elements of the project

An Immune Basis for Malaria Protection by the Sickle Cell Trait

BACKGROUND: Malaria resistance by the sickle cell trait (genotype HbAS) has served as the prime example of genetic selection for over half a century. Nevertheless, the mechanism of this resistance remains the subject of considerable debate. While it probably involves innate factors such as the reduced ability of Plasmodium falciparum parasites to grow and multiply in HbAS erythrocytes, recent observations suggest that it might also involve the accelerated acquisition of malaria-specific immunity. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We studied the age-specific protection afforded by HbAS against clinical malaria in children living on the coast of Kenya. We found that protection increased with age from only 20% in the first 2 y of life to a maximum of 56% by the age of 10 y, returning thereafter to 30% in participants greater than 10 y old. CONCLUSIONS: Our observations suggest that malaria protection by HbAS involves the enhancement of not only innate but also of acquired immunity to the parasite. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms might yield important insights into both these processes