Selling National Security: Journalism, Political Actors, and the Marketing of Counterterrorism Policy

The social construction of terrorism in the public sphere naturally limits and directs logical policy options. In the United States, media are a primary vehicle for the construction of social problems and accompanying policy solutions, as much of public discourse takes place in media narratives. News media play a major part in political communication, both between government and governed as well as among different segments of government. Social construction in media is shaped by journalistic values and preferences, occurs within an active and influential policy process, and is shaped by powerful policy actors. Government-based policy actors, or governmental policy entrepreneurs, are of particular interest, as their strategies of political communication are also shaped by the “mediatization” of politics— the process by which political actors internalize and make political decisions that prioritize media logic. Moreover, the strategies they select are dependent on the individual’s or agency’s power to effect policy change. In terrorism coverage, governmental policy entrepreneurs have a substantial amount of leverage over narratives. This dissertation is an exploratory examination of the influence that governmental policy entrepreneurs have on terrorism news narratives in two ways: via a directed qualitative content analysis of news coverage on the Boston Marathon Bombing in 2013, and interviews with current and former journalists. Its goals are to document the way that governmental policy entrepreneurs apply claims-making strategies involved in the construction of terrorism as a social problem within the public sphere of the American news media, and to iv systematically examine the political and organizational forces influencing the “behind-thescenes” production of these news narratives. This approach allows the claims-making strategies of governmental policy entrepreneurs that appear in media coverage to be contextualized within the values and operations of journalism that result in the claims’ inclusion in news narratives. The findings of the content analysis establish a descriptive framework of the forms that governmental policy entrepreneurial strategies may take during a specific type of open policy window: a terror attack. Governmental policy entrepreneurs hinted at needed funding or legislative change toward new policies or used frames that reified existing preferred policies. Democrats constructed the problem of terrorism as an issue that the Democratic Party was effectively handling and the Boston Marathon Bombing as an anomaly within an otherwise effective system—agenda-affirming responses contradicting the Republican claims-making strategy. Conversely, Republicans framed the problem—terrorism—as an ever-present risk and a significant and likely-to-occur cost relative to the status quo. Interviews with 26 journalists from a variety of media indicated that governmental policy entrepreneurs who have access to news narratives on terrorism and counterterrorism likely gain this access as a result of a confluence of three factors: an open policy window, sound use of media logic, and source power. Most respondents noted that their most important sources were current or former members of government, including federal and local law enforcement. Many reported that they and their journalistic colleagues actively challenged narratives concerning policy options or counterterrorism actions that could have an adverse impact on civil rights and liberties, public or military safety, how America is viewed overseas, or the U.S. economy. When asked which precise journalistic strategies they used to challenge government messages, however, journalists who were interviewed described “challenging” information from government sources by consulting other members of their source networks—most of whom were also currently or formerly in government. In other words, when these journalists actively challenged information from the government, they did so by consulting other government sources. In addition, many respondents reported that providing context to audiences was important when covering terrorism. One of the primary ways they do this, however, is to connect aspects of new terror events to pre-existing knowledge about terrorism, especially via interviews with v current or former government “experts”. By asking these experts about how a new terror event fits into the structure of terrorism they already understand (for instance, by inquiring about “lone wolves” and connecting terror cells), journalists may inadvertently and uncritically be incorporating a new face to the existing frame of an old enemy. In short, “piggybacking”, or the policy entrepreneurial strategy of connecting new events to existing cognitive and emotional symbols, may be directly facilitated by “contextualizing” efforts by journalists in stories about terrorism. This is the first study to systematically describe the types of claims-making symbols and frames governmental policy entrepreneurs use during a focusing event of a terror attack, and then situate those symbols and frames within the larger context of the production processes of journalism and the negotiation of newsworthiness to explore how these symbols and frames reach news narratives intact. It also advances knowledge of the media-government relational system by informing methodological choices of future quantitative and qualitative studies of journalistic and policy-setting processes with regard to terrorism and counterterrorism. Finally, this study joins multiple theoretical literatures from media criminology, political communication, and policy analysis. This multidisciplinarity can greatly aid future theoretical orientations by expanding both criminological and political communication paradigms

New Approaches to Data-Driven Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement: An Introduction to the Second NACOLE/CJPR Special Issue

In April of 2016, National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) and John Jay College partnered to sponsor the Academic Symposium “Building Public Trust: Generating Evidence to Enhance Police Accountability and Legitimacy.” This essay introduces the Criminal Justice Policy Review Special Issue featuring peer-reviewed, empirical research papers first presented at the Symposium. We provide context for the Symposium in relation to contemporary national discourse on police accountability and legitimacy. In addition, we review each of the papers presented at the Symposium, and provide in-depth reviews of each of the manuscripts included in the Special Issue

4-Methoxycarbonyl Curcumin: A Unique Inhibitor of Both Inflammatory Mediators and Periodontal Inflammation

Peer reviewe

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Influence of Cytokines on HIV-Specific Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity Activation Profile of Natural Killer Cells

There is growing interest in HIV-specific antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) as an effective immune response to prevent or control HIV infection. ADCC relies on innate immune effector cells, particularly NK cells, to mediate control of virus-infected cells. The activation of NK cells (i.e., expression of cytokines and/or degranulation) by ADCC antibodies in serum is likely subject to the influence of other factors that are also present. We observed that the HIV-specific ADCC antibodies, within serum samples from a panel of HIV-infected individuals induced divergent activation profiles of NK cells from the same donor. Some serum samples primarily induced NK cell cytokine expression (i.e., IFNγ), some primarily initiated NK cell expression of a degranulation marker (CD107a) and others initiated a similar magnitude of responses across both effector functions. We therefore evaluated a number of HIV-relevant soluble factors for their influence on the activation of NK cells by HIV-specific ADCC antibodies. Key findings were that the cytokines IL-15 and IL-10 consistently enhanced the ability of NK cells to respond to HIV-specific ADCC antibodies. Furthermore, IL-15 was demonstrated to potently activate “educated” KIR3DL1+ NK cells from individuals carrying its HLA-Bw4 ligand. The cytokine was also demonstrated to activate “uneducated” KIR3DL1+ NK cells from HLA-Bw6 homozygotes, but to a lesser extent. Our results show that cytokines influence the ability of NK cells to respond to ADCC antibodies in vitro. Manipulating the immunological environment to enhance the potency of NK cell-mediated HIV-specific ADCC effector functions could be a promising immunotherapy or vaccine strategy

Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world. Methods: This international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the GlobalSurg 1 study and other studies that have been found to affect the likelihood of SSI were entered into risk adjustment models. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day SSI incidence (defined by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for superficial and deep incisional SSI). Relationships with explanatory variables were examined using Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02662231. Findings: Between Jan 4, 2016, and July 31, 2016, 13 265 records were submitted for analysis. 12 539 patients from 343 hospitals in 66 countries were included. 7339 (58·5%) patient were from high-HDI countries (193 hospitals in 30 countries), 3918 (31·2%) patients were from middle-HDI countries (82 hospitals in 18 countries), and 1282 (10·2%) patients were from low-HDI countries (68 hospitals in 18 countries). In total, 1538 (12·3%) patients had SSI within 30 days of surgery. The incidence of SSI varied between countries with high (691 [9·4%] of 7339 patients), middle (549 [14·0%] of 3918 patients), and low (298 [23·2%] of 1282) HDI (p < 0·001). The highest SSI incidence in each HDI group was after dirty surgery (102 [17·8%] of 574 patients in high-HDI countries; 74 [31·4%] of 236 patients in middle-HDI countries; 72 [39·8%] of 181 patients in low-HDI countries). Following risk factor adjustment, patients in low-HDI countries were at greatest risk of SSI (adjusted odds ratio 1·60, 95% credible interval 1·05–2·37; p=0·030). 132 (21·6%) of 610 patients with an SSI and a microbiology culture result had an infection that was resistant to the prophylactic antibiotic used. Resistant infections were detected in 49 (16·6%) of 295 patients in high-HDI countries, in 37 (19·8%) of 187 patients in middle-HDI countries, and in 46 (35·9%) of 128 patients in low-HDI countries (p < 0·001). Interpretation: Countries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication