Agenda-Setting With Local and National Issues

Three factors lead to the hypothesis that agenda-setting should be weaker at the local political level compared to the national level: (1) the more directly observable nature of local political problems, (2) the nature and strength of local interpersonal political communication networks, and (3) the relatively heavier media coverage of national political issues. This hypothesis was supported with data from respondents assigned at random to either local or national issue conditions and from a content analysis of television and newspaper coverage in Toledo, Ohio, of local and national issues. Contrary to the findings of certain previous studies, network television was found to exercise a stronger agenda-setting influence than newspapers at the national level. Newspapers, on the other hand, were the dominant agenda-setter at the local level. The relative agenda-setting influences of television versus newspapers are consistent with other data from this study concerning the relative strengths of the various media as sources of issue information.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67066/2/10.1177_009365027700400404.pd

A kapwa-infused paradigm in teaching Catholic theology/catechesis in a multireligious classroom in the Philippines

The increasing religious diversity in educational space has raised a legitimate question on how Catholic theology/ catechesis must be taught in Philippine Catholic universities given the institutional mandate to educate students “into the faith of the Church through teaching of Christian doctrine in an organic and systematic way” (Wuerl, 2013, 1). On this note, the paper makes reference to “centered plural- ism” (CP), a positional posture espoused by Georgetown University in dealing with this predicament. In an attempt to (re) appropriate CP into local context, there is a need to explore the Filipino conception of self/others as enveloped within the indigenous concept of kapwa. Hereon, the paper finds that CP is not just feasibly suitable in local context but with kapwa's more inclusive description of the relationship of self and others, a CP‐based teaching paradigm in theology/ catechesis is a promising project in the educational scene of the Philippines

Policy ideas through the prism of knowledge regimes and framing

Policymakers are often confronted with problems that involve ambiguity and uncertainty (Zahariadis, 2003). In order to make sense of such problems and to identify possible solutions, they are on the lookout for policy ideas

Underground railroads: citizen entitlements and unauthorized mobility in the antebellum period and today

In recent years, some scholars and prominent political figures have advocated the deepening of North American integration on roughly the European Union model, including the creation of new political institutions and the free movement of workers across borders. The construction of such a North American Union, if it included even a very thin trans-state citizenship regime, could represent the most significant expansion of individual entitlements in the region since citizenship was extended to former slaves in the United States. With such a possibility as its starting point, this article explores some striking parallels between the mass, legally prohibited movement across boundaries by fugitive slaves in the pre-Civil War period, and that by current unauthorized migrants to the United States. Both were, or are, met on their journeys by historically parallel groups of would-be helpers and hinderers. Their unauthorized movements in both periods serve as important signals of incomplete entitlements or institutional protections. Most crucially, moral arguments for extending fuller entitlements to both groups are shown here to be less distinct than may be prima facie evident, reinforcing the case for expanding and deepening the regional membership regime

The Ethical Implications of an Elite Press

Newspaper publishers are well into the process of bifurcating what once was a single mass-market product. Particularly for larger papers, website versions are taking over the mass-market role, while remaining print products are moving toward targeting a much smaller and more elite readership. This article explores theoretical and ethical issues raised by such a two-tiered newspaper structure and suggests directions for empirical study. Broadly, concerns center on the widening knowledge gap between print and online newspaper readers and its implications for civic discourse and democratic vitality. More narrowly, issues encompass a potential bifurcation of normative standards, including diverging markers of credibility, accuracy, and privacy

Review of Large Carnivore Conservation: Integrating Science and Policy in the North American West

The management and conservation of large carnivores is of worldwide concern and is as much about human values, interactions, and governance as carnivore biology. Susan Clark and Murray Rutherford continue their work on coexisting with large carnivores ( Clark et al. 2005 ) with a new edited volume Large Carnivore Conservation: Integrating Science and Policy in the North American West . Large Carnivore Conservation that expands on the same themes as their previous work with case studies from Arizona to the Yukon. While focusing on the North American West, Clark and Rutherford hope to provide a holistic approach to carnivore management in general

The Role of Media for Inflation Forecast Disagreement of Households and Professional Forecasters

This paper investigates the effects of media coverage and macroeconomic conditions on inflation forecast disagreement of German households and professional forecasters. We adopt a Bayesian learning model in which media coverage of inflation affects forecast disagreement by influencing information sets as well as predictor choice. Our empirical results show that disagreement of households depends on the content of news stories (tone) but is unaffected by reporting intensity (volume) and by the heterogeneity of story content (information entropy). Disagreement of professionals does not depend on media coverage. With respect to the influence of macroeconomic variables we provide evidence that disagreement of households and professionals primarily depends on the current rate of inflation

Reduction in Fracture Rate and Back Pain and Increased Quality of Life in Postmenopausal Women Treated with Teriparatide: 18-Month Data from the European Forsteo Observational Study (EFOS)

The European Forsteo Observational Study was designed to examine the effectiveness of teriparatide in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis treated for up to 18 months in normal clinical practice in eight European countries. The incidence of clinical vertebral and nonvertebral fragility fractures, back pain, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL, EQ-5D) were assessed. Spontaneous reports of adverse events were collected. All 1,648 enrolled women were teriparatide treatment-naive, 91.0% of them had previously received other anti-osteoporosis drugs, and 72.8% completed the 18-month study. A total of 168 incident clinical fractures were sustained by 138 (8.8%) women (821 fractures/10,000 patient-years). A 47% decrease in the odds of fracture in the last 6-month period compared to the first 6-month period was observed (P < 0.005). Mean back pain VAS was reduced by 25.8 mm at end point (P < 0.001). Mean change from baseline in EQ-VAS was 13 mm by 18 months. The largest improvements were reported in the EQ-5D subdomains of usual activities and pain/discomfort. There were 365 adverse events spontaneously reported, of which 48.0% were considered related to teriparatide; adverse events were the reason for discontinuation for 79 (5.8%) patients. In conclusion, postmenopausal women with severe osteoporosis who were prescribed teriparatide in standard clinical practice had a significant reduction in the incidence of fragility fractures and a reduction in back pain over an 18-month treatment period. This was associated with a clinically significant improvement in HRQoL. Safety was consistent with current prescribing information. These results should be interpreted in the context of the open-label, noncontrolled design of the study

Latent provisions for building information modeling (BIM) contracts: a social network analysis approach

The effective adoption and use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) require appropriate contract design to fairly allocate the contracting parties’ rights and responsibilities. Several standards for BIM protocols and contracts have been developed for the industry. However, the awareness and the use of these are rather limited, leading to unclear provisions in BIM contracts. Therefore, the research aims to identify the influential legal aspects that serve as the latent contract provisions in BIM contracts. A questionnaire survey was conducted to survey experts and active BIM users in construction projects. The data were analyzed using social network analysis (SNA) by assuming interdependent relationships among various the legal aspects in BIM contacts. The key legal aspects associated with BIM contracts pertain to the roles and responsibilities of the project participants. The results also reveal that data security is the center of all latent legal aspects in the contracts. The study provides significant new insights into clarifying the required contract provisions in BIM contracts

Classification of bipolar disorder in psychiatric hospital. a prospective cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study has explored the classification of bipolar disorder in psychiatric hospital. A review of the literature reveals that there is a need for studies using stringent methodological approaches.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>480 first-time admitted patients to psychiatric hospital were found eligible and 271 of these gave written informed consent. The study sample was comprised of 250 patients (52%) with hospital diagnoses. For the study, expert diagnoses were given on the basis of a structured diagnostic interview (M.I.N.I.PLUS) and retrospective review of patient records.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Agreement between the expert's and the clinicians' diagnoses was estimated using Cohen's kappa statistics. 76% of the primary diagnoses given by the expert were in the affective spectrum. Agreement concerning these disorders was moderate (kappa ranging from 0.41 to 0.47). Of 58 patients with bipolar disorder, only 17 received this diagnosis in the clinic. Almost all patients with a current manic episode were classified as currently manic by the clinicians. Forty percent diagnosed as bipolar by the expert, received a diagnosis of unipolar depression by the clinician. Fifteen patients (26%) were not given a diagnosis of affective disorder at all.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results indicate a considerable misclassification of bipolar disorder in psychiatric hospital, mainly in patients currently depressed. The importance of correctly diagnosing bipolar disorder should be emphasized both for clinical, administrative and research purposes. The findings questions the validity of psychiatric case registers. There are potential benefits in structuring the diagnostic process better in the clinic.</p