Managing media uncertainty: exploring multiple futures with multiple strategies

The UK Media Industry operates in a highly turbulent environment, and one that is primarily characterised by rapid changes in digital technologies and the threat of new competitive entrants (Kung 2008; Doyle, 2013; Oliver, 2013). Similarly, new digital technologies have dis-intermediated value chains (Barwise and Picard, 2012) and changed the dynamics of the industry to the extent that traditional broadcast media companies no longer act as the sole intermediaries of mediated content. Indeed, innovative Internet Protocal TV (IPTV), Web TV and streaming services provided by the likes BT Vision, YouTube and Amazon Prime are making significant in-roads into traditional audience market share, particularly amongst the younger demographic. This type of competitive environment makes it difficult for media executives who are responsible for planning and executing Corporate Level Strategy. This in turn places increased scrutiny on the strategic planning tools that are used to undertake a rational and comprehensive analysis of the competitive dynamics and inform strategy formulation. This paper will present empirical findings and reflections on a scenario planning project that sought to develop a long-term Corporate Level Strategy for YouTube. As such, it is positioned within the ‘Strategy as Practice’ (Whittington, 1996; Jarzabkowski & Kaplan, 2015) domain as it combines academics with an interest in the practice of media management, with media practitioners. This view of media strategy focuses on the ‘doing of strategy’ and is particularly interested in the methods and tools that executives use to develop their media organisation’s strategy. As such, this paper presents empirical findings and reflections on a scenario planning project with media industry practitioners who sought to develop a long-term Corporate Level Strategy in the most uncertain of media environments. The use of Scenario Planning as a management tool is apt, since Oliver (2013) found it to be ‘Power Tool’ in the management of UK media firms due to the high levels of usage and satisfaction that companies were reporting

Assessing female sexual offenders\u27 motivations and cognitions : an exploratory study

Semi-structured interviews eliciting cognitions and motivations were carried out with 15 incarcerated female child sexual abusers (nearly 50% of the current UK female sexual offender prison population). Qualitative analysis indicated that four of the five motivational schemas (implicit theories) suggested by Ward (Ward, 2000; Ward & Keenan, 1999) to underlie male sexual offenders\u27 cognitions could be clearly identified in women, these were: Uncontrollability (UN, identified in 87% of participants), Dangerous world (DW, 53%), Children as sexual objects (CSO, 47%) and Nature of harm (NH, 20%). Entitlement, the final implicit theory (IT), commonly found in males, was not identified in any participants in the sample. Further analysis indicated that there were four main motivational types of offender based on combinations of these ITs. These were: (1) presence of DW/CSO, indicating sexual motivation and cognitions with fear of violence; (2) presence of DW/no CSO, indicating fear of violence with no sexual cognition or motivation; (3) presence of CSO/no DW, indicating sexual motivation and cognition; the NH IT also strongly featured in this group; and (4) presence of UN/no DW or CSO, indicating lack of control, sometimes with sense of protection for the victim. Suggestions are made on how the results can inform theoretical developments in the field as well as policy and practice

Utilization of the Kentucky AIDS Drug Assistance Program versus Kentucky Medicaid Using Medication Possession Ratio: Policy Implications for Public Program

Uninsured and underinsured people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) are able to utilize federally funded AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) to cover the price of their HIV-related medications. In Kentucky, this program also provides support services through social workers, a dedicated pharmacist, and medications by mail order. With the Affordable Care Act, many patients previously covered by the Kentucky AIDS Drug Assistance Program (KADAP) will be newly eligible for Medicaid and will no longer receive services through KADAP. There is concern that people in this situation will be at a disadvantage without these services and, in turn, be less adherent to their medications. People living with HIV/AIDS should regularly take ≥95% of their medications in order to prevent medication resistance and disease-related morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study is to determine the average medication adherence of patients in KADAP and Kentucky Medicaid, evaluate whether people enrolled in Medicaid have significantly lower adherence compared to KADAP, and determine if any demographic variables are associated with medication nonadherence in either program through multivariate regression. With this information, recommendations will be made regarding what can be done from programmatic and policy standpoints to increase medication adherence in this population. Pharmacy claims and demographic data were collected from the Kentucky Clinic Pharmacy and the Bluegrass Care Clinic at the University of Kentucky for all of 2011. Medication adherence was calculated using the medication possession ratio (MPR), which calculates the percentage of time the patient has their medications on hand each month based on pharmacy claims data. The average MPR for KADAP patients is 84.7% (n=2,2024; range: 14.9%-100%) and the average MPR for Medicaid patients is 77.3% (n=55; range: 16.4%-100%). When KADAP and Medicaid data were combined, 3 variables were significantly associated with MPR in multivariate regression: age (coef: 0.123, p Younger, black KADAP patients tend to have lower MPRs and Kentucky Medicaid patients have significantly lower MPRs than KADAP patients. In order to increase adherence, the policy regarding Medicaid and KADAP co-enrollment should be changed to allow newly eligible Medicaid patients to continue using KADAP’s services without financial need. Additionally, pharmacy call lists could be made, with priority on younger, black KADAP patients, for refill reminders and to open dialogue between the patient and the pharmacist regarding medication concerns

Integrating technology into the mathematics curriculum

This is a Graduate Review of the actual work being implemented by a group of six math teachers at Lakeview Elementary. The initiative began because of an on-going problem of students receiving low-test scores in mathematics. Students also had a difficult time retaining the mathematics concepts and skills being taught. Through discussions and surveys, a possible solution was found . A Literacy Technology Challenge Grant from the Department of Education was awarded to help teachers learn to integrate technology within the math curriculum. Teachers are also learning new strategies that will allow students to actually grasp the concept and meaning of rational numbers by using these technologies

Eslicarbazepine acetate as a replacement for levetiracetam in people with epilepsy developing behavioral adverse events

BACKGROUND: Psychiatric and behavioral side effects (PBSEs) are a major cause of antiepileptic drug (AED) withdrawal. Levetiracetam (LEV) is a recognized first-line AED with good seizure outcomes but recognized with PBSEs. Eslicarbazepine (ESL) is considered to function similarly to an active metabolite of the commonly used carbamazepine (CBZ). Carbamazepine is used as psychotropic medication to assist in various psychiatric illnesses such as mood disorders, aggression, and anxiety. AIM: The aim was to evaluate the psychiatric profile of ESL in people who had LEV withdrawn due to PBSEs in routine clinical practice to see if ESL can be used as a possible alternative to LEV. METHODS: A retrospective observational review was conducted in two UK epilepsy centers looking at all cases exposed to ESL since its licensing in 2010. The ESL group was all patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy who developed intolerable PBSEs to LEV, subsequently trialed on ESL. The ESL group was matched to a group who tolerated LEV without intolerable PBSEs. Psychiatric disorders were identified from case notes. The Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) was used to outcome change in mood. Clinical diagnoses of a mental disorder were compared between groups using the Fisher's exact test. Group differences in HAM-D scores were assessed using the independent samples t-test (alpha=0.05). RESULTS: The total number of people with active epilepsy in the two centers was 2142 of whom 46 had been exposed to ESL. Twenty-six had previous exposure to LEV and had intolerable PBSEs who were matched to a person tolerating LEV. There was no statistical differences in the two groups for mental disorders including mood as measured by HAM-D (Chi-square test: p=0.28). CONCLUSION: The ESL was well tolerated and did not produce significant PBSEs in those who had PBSEs with LEV leading to withdrawal of the drug. Though numbers were small, the findings suggest that ESL could be a treatment option in those who develop PBSEs with LEV and possibly other AEDs

The Moral Justifications of the Justice-Experienced: Recidivism in Dark Triadic Morally Disengaging Offenders

Little is known about the cognitions of those who commit violent crimes; even less is known about the justification process of those who reoffend after completing a prison sentence. The proposed study suggests analyzing the moral disengagement strategies and personality traits of incarcerated adults to identify recidivism risk factors. Current literature indicates that nonhomicide violent offenders’ use of moral disengagement cognitions that justify the violation of socially accepted morals will moderate the relationship between psychopathic, Machiavellian, and narcissistic personality traits and offenders’ risks of recidivating. Furthermore, it is anticipated that an interaction will exist between moral disengagement and this so-called dark triad of personality traits, with distinct patterns of dark triadic personality traits and moral disengagement strategies showing simple effects. However, it is expected that the greatest recidivism risk will emerge among dark morally disengaged offenders with psychopathic personality traits who use the moral disengagement strategies comprised in the behavioral locus—euphemistic language, advantageous comparison, and moral justification. Findings from the proposed study will aid in constructing treatment programs that are effective at reducing recidivism by increasing the understanding of the adverse cognitive distortions of the justiceexperienced mind that are capable of overwhelming hardened societal moral standards

Family Dinner Across Generations: My How Times Have Changed?

In an effort to determine differences between family dinners across generations, this study examined typical family dinners of participants and how they have changed across the four generations addressed. Previous qualitative research has been conducted to determine communication frames that occur during family dinners and the effect of parenting styles on family dinners, but little research connecting generational differences to family dinners has been published. Data were collected from a homogeneous sample of twenty-four women living in three counties across the Commonwealth of Kentucky. By asking open ended questions during interviews, similarities and differences between family dinners across generations were identified, and target approaches to increase the frequency of future family dinners were discussed