Redden, G. (2003). "Read the Whole Thing: Journalism, Weblogs and the Re-mediation of the War in Iraq."

The Net’s uses are now diverse, covering many aspects of commerical, public and private life. The idea that it transforms all activities in the same or equivalent ways is no longer tenable. This paper examines a particular form of online activity—weblogging, and how it has allowed for specific new forms of popular political communication in the context of the Second Gulf War. After describing the basics of weblogging, the paper discusses Western media coverage of the war and then shows how ‘warbloggers’ positioned themselves vis-à-vis media coverage and propaganda, creating commentaries that frequently combined media and political criticism. While bloggers of every political hue offered a range of perspectives and personal styles, some general tendencies are evident in warblogging discourse. The piece ends by questioning the significance of warblogging in terms of its potential contribution to democratic communication

On the Popular and the Critical: Hop on Pop and the 'New Generation' of Cultural Studies

This review essay is an attempt to take up the call for 'future debates within and about cultural studies'. It is shaped by a particular set of interests to do with my position as an early career researcher for whom the questions of what cultural studies is and might become have certain implications. For me, reading Hop on Pop calls forth a different subject position than does reading many other field-defining anthologies. The difference is the volume’s appeal to the present and its claim upon the future. It asks me to make something of the sense of discipline I have thus far developed as a student, and put it on the line to intervene in the issue of what kinds of cultural studies members of my generation might seek to develop

Redden, G. (2003). "Read the Whole Thing: Journalism, Weblogs and the Re-mediation of the War in Iraq."

The Net’s uses are now diverse, covering many aspects of commerical, public and private life. The idea that it transforms all activities in the same or equivalent ways is no longer tenable. This paper examines a particular form of online activity—weblogging, and how it has allowed for specific new forms of popular political communication in the context of the Second Gulf War. After describing the basics of weblogging, the paper discusses Western media coverage of the war and then shows how ‘warbloggers’ positioned themselves vis-à-vis media coverage and propaganda, creating commentaries that frequently combined media and political criticism. While bloggers of every political hue offered a range of perspectives and personal styles, some general tendencies are evident in warblogging discourse. The piece ends by questioning the significance of warblogging in terms of its potential contribution to democratic communication

Making over the Talent Show

Dissertação de mestrado em Bioquímica, apresentada ao Departamento de Ciências da Vida da Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra.O tamarilho, Cyphomandra betacea (Cav.) Sendt é uma pequena árvore da família Solanaceae que produz frutos comestíveis bastante nutritivos, com um interesse económico crescente. Várias linhas de investigação têm demonstrado o interesse desta espécie para a compreensão de aspectos específicos da morfogénese in vitro, em particular da indução de embriogénese somática (ES), processo chave para a clonagem de plantas, o que abre portas para a propagação de plantas em larga escala. A indução de ES em tamarilho consiste num processo em duas fases no qual os calos embriogénicos (CE) e os calos não embriogénicos (CNE) são inicialmente produzidos (fase de indução) num meio rico em auxina e, após a sua transferência para um meio sem auxina, formam embriões (fase de desenvolvimento). Análises proteómicas comparativas de extractos proteicos de tamarilho permitiram identificar uma proteína (NEP-­‐TC, 26,5 kDa) presente de forma consistente em calos não embriogénicos, com um possível papel inibidor da embriogénese somática. Esta proteína foi associada à família SpoU de metiltransferases (MTase) de RNA dependentes de SAM, por elevada homologia da sua sequência com proteínas dessa família identificadas em Arabidopsis thaliana. Esta família de MTases está anotada como envolvida na metilação de RNA, especificamente tRNA e rRNA, sendo esta reacção essencial na sua estabilização. Neste trabalho, procurou-­‐se analisar o envolvimento da NEP-­‐TC no processo de embriogénese somática, partindo-­‐se da optimização dos protocolos de extracção, separação e caracterização de perfis proteicos de CNE e CE de tamarilho. Verificou-­‐se que a obtenção de um perfil característico deste material, num extracto adequado aos ensaios de actividade realizados, foi conseguido com a utilização do tampão de extracção Tris-­‐HCl pH 8,4 com 100mM de NaCl associado à maceração in vivo do material. A caracterização funcional da NEP-­‐TC como uma MTase de RNA dependente de SAM nunca foi até agora demonstrada experimentalmente. Procurou-­‐se, aclarar essa hipótese através de duas linhas de investigação: (1). Realização de ensaios de actividade enzimática de forma a avaliar a acção de metiltransferases em extratos proteicos totais de CE e CNE, com a presença da NEP-­‐TC. (2). Estudos imunocitoquímicos que permitissem a localização histológica da NEP-­‐TC. Os resultados mostraram que em extractos proteicos totais obtidos de CNE de tamarilho, a actividade específica de MTase é superior comparativamente a extractos obtidos de CE de tamarilho e de CNE de Arabidopsis wild type e knockout para o gene da proteína homóloga da NEP-­‐TC. Conseguiu-­‐se ainda, através da utilização de um soro com anticorpo anti-­‐NEP-­‐TC, localizar a proteína em células de CNE de tamarilho, em particular na região citosólica em torno do núcleo, enquanto que em CE essa detecção não se verificou. Os dados obtidos enquadram-­‐se na caracterização proteómica anteriormente feita para perfis proteicos de extractos destes materiais e na actividade de MTase desta enzima.Estes resultados juntamente com outros previamente obtidos, contribuem com mais informação para o estabelecimento da relação entre a NEP-­‐TC e as enzimas MTases SpoU bem como para a definição da NEP-­‐TC como uma proteína chave no controlo processo de indução de ES.The tamarillo, Cyphomandra betacea (Cav.) Sendt, is a small solanaceous tree with a rising economic interest due to the edible fruits it produces. Several lines of research have demonstrated the usefulness of this species for understanding specific aspects of in vitro morphogenesis, in particular the induction of somatic embryogenesis (SE), a key process for plant cloning and large scale plant propagation. The induction of SE in tamarillo is of a two-­‐step process in which both embryogenic callus (EC) and non-­‐embryogenic callus (NEC) are initially produced in the same explant on an auxin-­‐rich medium (induction stage) and later transferred to an auxin free medium in which embryo development (developmental stage) occurs. Comparative proteomic analyses of tamarillo extracts have identified a protein (NEP-­‐TC, 26.5 kDa) consistently present in non-­‐embryogenic callus, with a putative inhibitory role on somatic embryogenesis. This protein has been associated with SpoU SAM-­‐dependent RNA MTase family, by sequence similarity with SpoU proteins identified in Arabidopsis thaliana. This SAM dependent RNA MTase family specifically methylates tRNA and rRNA, promoting their stabilization. In this study, attempts to elucidate the role of NEP-­‐TC on tamarillo somatic embryogenesis were carried out., For this purpose protocols for extraction, separation and characterization of protein profiles and extracts suited for the enzymatic activity assays with tamarillo’s NEC and EC were built up. It was found that an extraction Tris-­‐HCl buffer, pH 8.4, with 100 mM NaCl associated with in vivo maceration of the material gave the best results. The association of NEP-­‐TC with SAM dependent RNA MTases has never been experimentally demonstrated so far. Two lines of investigation were pursued to clarify this hypothesis: (1). Activity tests to evaluate the methyltransferase activity of EC and NEC protein extracts, with NEP-­‐TC. (2). Immunocytochemical studies for the localization of NEP-­‐TC. The results showed that, in total protein extracts obtained from tamarillo’s NEC, the specific activity was higher than in protein extracts obtained from tamarillo’s EC and Arabidopsis wild type and knockout for NEP-­‐TC SpoU homologous gene NEC. Immunolocalization assays performed with an antibody against NEP-­‐TC indicated that this protein is present in tamarillo’s NEC cells, particularly in the cytosolic region around the nucleus, whereas this detection was not found in EC. These data support the results obtained through proteomic characterization of protein profiles of these calli and NEP-­‐TC METase activity.These results, together with other data previously obtained in this embryogenic system, seem not only to indicate that a close relationship between NEP-­‐TC and SpoU enzymes occurs but also that NEP-­‐TC is a key protein controlling somatic embryogenesis.Actividade enzimática, Calo embriogénico, Imunolocalização, RNA Metiltransferases, S-­‐adenosil-­‐L-­‐metionina

The Great British Binge Drinking Debate

Guy Redden questions some of the assumptions behind recent measures to discourage binge drinking

The New Age: towards a market model

The problem of how the New Age may be defined is widely acknowledged among commentators. It is hard to delineate and does not fit easily into existing analytical categories. This paper will review how scholars have conceptualised the movement. It will discuss the problems inherent in attempting to specify its constituents, fix its limits, and characterise its organisational forms. The later sections advances the argument that some of its most distinctive characteristics may be accounted for by acknowledging the market dynamics at play in New Age milieux. It is proposed that the diffuse overall shape of the movement is the result of determinate commercial institutional arrangements