How to test 'real' campaign effects: linking survey data to content analytical data

Die Verfasser legen zunächst eine inhaltsanalytische Untersuchung des Wahlkampfs zur Bundestagswahl 1990 vor, die Auskunft über Thematik und Themenpräsentation im Wahlkampf gibt. Diese Ergebnisse werden in einem zweiten Schritt mit Umfragedaten aus dem entsprechenden Zeitraum verknüpft. Die Verbindung von Inhaltsanalyse und Umfragedaten erlaubt es, direkte Auswirkungen der Wahlkampfberichterstattung in den Medien auf die Wähler zu messen und zu analysieren. Hier steht die Frage nach den Auswirkungen der Fernsehberichterstattung auf die Einstellung der Wähler im Vordergrund des Interesses. Die Untersuchung zeigt, daß sich der Einfluß der Medienberichterstattung auf politische Einstellungen eher langsam und kumulativ vollzieht. (ICE

Campaign effects on voter choice in the German election of 1990

'Anhand von Panel-Daten, die bei einer Umfrage in Deutschland während des Bundestagswahlkampfs 1990 erhoben wurden, entwickeln wir ein Modell zur Beurteilung der Wirkung des Wahlkampfes auf das individuelle Wahlverhalten und das Wahlergebnis. Unsere Ergebnisse entsprachen den Untersuchungen von Lazarsfeld et al. aus den 40er Jahren und der neueren amerikanischen Forschung. Wir fanden heraus, daß die Wirkung des Wahlkampfes auf deutsche Wähler vor allem in der Verstärkung früherer Präferenzen und der Aktivierung latenter Wahl-Dispositionen bestand, die auf grundlegenden individuellen Einstellungen wie Parteizugehörigkeit und Rechts-Links-Ideologie beruhen. Zugleich zeigt die Analyse, daß die Anzahl der Personen, die entgegen ihren Dispositionen und früheren Präferenzen ihre Stimme abgaben, annähernd 14 Prozent der Wählerschaft ausmacht. Davon war der Anteil der Pro-Regierungs-Entscheidungen überwältigend groß. Deshalb nehmen wir an, daß der Bundestagswahlkampf von 1990 den von der ursprünglichen Disposition der Wählerschaft aus gesehen gleichstarken Wettstreit in einen soliden Sieg der Regierungskoalition umwandelte. Die Ergebnisse werden hinsichtlich ihrer theoretischen und normativen Implikationen diskutiert.' (HSübers)'Using national survey panel data collected in Germany during the 1990 Bundestag election campaign, we develop a model to assess the effect of the campaign on individual votes and the election outcome. We find that the dominant effects of the campaign on German voters, as in the Lazarsfeld et al. studies from the 1940s and in more recent U.S. research, were the 'reinforcement' of earlier preferences and the 'activation' of latent vote dispositions based on fundamental individual attitudes such as party affiliation and left-right ideology. At the same time, the analysis shows that the number of campaign converts, those who vote against their dispositions and prior preferences, was approximately 14 percent of the electorate. The vote division among these individuals was overwhelmingly pro-government, suggesting that the 1990 German campaign altered a sufficient number of votes to turn what was an even contest, based on the electorate's initial political dispositions, into a solid government coalition victory. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical as well as normative implications.' (authotr's abstract

Agenda-Setting in der Blogosphäre? Eine empirische Überprüfung

Auf der Makroebene der Blogosphäre gibt es die sogenannten „A-Blogger“. Diese zeichnen sich dadurch aus, dass ihr Weblog (Blog) im Gegensatz zur großen Mehrheit der Blogs über sehr viele Inlinks-verfügt. In der Literatur sind verschiedene theoretische Ansätze zu finden, die sich mit der Frage beschäftigen, welche Funktion den A-Bloggern in der Blogosphäre zukommt. So wird beispielsweise davon gesprochen, dass sie eine Agenda-Setting-Funktion für die Blogosphäre einnehmen. Das bedeutet, dass sie die in der Blogosphäre diskutierten Themen vorgeben und somit die anderen Blogs, die über deutlich weniger Links verfügen, in deren Themenwahl beeinflussen. Anhand eines Datensatzes (Burton, Java et al. 2009) soll überprüft werden, ob eine Agenda-Setting-Funktion der deutschen A-Blogger für die deutschsprachige Blogosphäre bestätigt werden kann. Als Methode wird die Hyperlinkanalyse eingesetzt

Wählerstimmen durch Wahlkämpfe? Eine Analyse der Bundestagswahl 1990

'Mit Paneldaten zur Bundestagswahl 1990 testen wir ein Modell, das entwickelt wurde, um Wahlkampfeffekte auf das individuelle Wahlverhalten und den Wahlausgang zu messen. Die dominanten Effekte im deutschen Wahlkampf sind einerseits die 'Verstärkung' von vorhandenen Präferenzen und andererseits die 'Aktivierung' latenter Wahldispositionen, die auf solch fundamentalen individuellen Eigenschaften wie Parteieneingang und Links-Rechts-Einschätzung basieren. Diese Befunde bestätigen die Lazarsfeld et. al. Studien der frühen vierziger Jahre und auch neuere Wahlstudien in den USA. Gleichzeitig zeigen die Analysen, daß immerhin 13 Prozent der Wähler im Laufe des Wahlkampfes 'konvertierten', d. h. anders als bei ihren ursprünglichen politischen Einstellungen und Wahlabsichten stimmten. Diese Verschiebung war zugunsten der Regierung und wohl dafür verantwortlich, daß ein anfängliches Kopf-an-Kopf-Rennen in einem soliden Sieg der Regierungskoalition mündete.' (Autorenreferat)'Using national survey panel data collected in Germany during the 1990 federal election campaign, we develop a model to assess the effect of the campaign on individual votes and the election outcome. We find that dominant effects of the campaign on German voters were the 'reinforcement' of earlier preferences and the 'activation' of latent vote dispositions based on fundamental individual attitudes such as party affiliations and left-right ideology. At the same time, the analysis shows that the number of campaign converts, those who vote against their dispositions and prior preferences, was approximately 13 per cent of the electorate. The vote division among these individuals was overwhelmingly pro-government, suggesting that the 1990 German campaign altered a sufficient number of votes to turn what was an even contest, based on the electrorate's initial dispositions, into a solid government coalition victory. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical as well as normative implications.' (author's abstract)

PKMζ Differentially Utilized between Sexes for Remote Long-Term Spatial Memory

It is well established that male rats have an advantage in acquiring place-learning strategies, allowing them to learn spatial tasks more readily than female rats. However many of these differences have been examined solely during acquisition or in 24h memory retention. Here, we investigated whether sex differences exist in remote long-term memory, lasting 30d after training, and whether there are differences in the expression pattern of molecular markers associated with long-term memory maintenance. Specifically, we analyzed the expression of protein kinase M zeta (PKMζ) and the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor subunit GluA2. To adequately evaluate memory retention, we used a robust training protocol to attenuate sex differences in acquisition and found differential effects in memory retention 1d and 30d after training. Female cohorts tested for memory retention 1d after 60 training trials outperformed males by making significantly fewer reference memory errors at test. In contrast, male cohorts tested 30d after 60 training trials outperformed females of the same condition, making fewer reference memory errors and achieving significantly higher retention test scores. Furthermore, given 60 training trials, females tested 30d later showed significantly worse memory compared to females tested 1d later, while males tested 30d later did not differ from males tested 1d later. Together these data suggest that with robust training males do no retain spatial information as well as females do 24h post-training but maintain this spatial information for longer. Males also showed a significant increase in synaptic PKMζ expression and a positive correlation with retention test scores, while females did not. Interestingly, both sexes showed a positive correlation between retention test scores and synaptic GluA2 expression. Furthermore, the increased expression of synaptic PKMζ, associated with male memory but not with female memory, identifies another potential sex-mediated difference in memory processing

Acute Physiological Stress Promotes Clustering of Synaptic Markers and Alters Spine Morphology in the Hippocampus

GluA2-containing AMPA receptors and their association with protein kinase M zeta (PKMζ) and post-synaptic density-95 (PSD-95) are important for learning, memory and synaptic plasticity processes. Here we investigated these synaptic markers in the context of an acute 1h platform stress, which can disrupt spatial memory retrieval for a short-term memory on the object placement task and long-term memory retrieval on a well-learned radial arm maze task. Acute stress increased serum corticosterone and elevated the expression of synaptic PKMζ while decreasing synaptic GluA2. Using co-immunoprecipitation, we found that this stressor promotes the clustering of GluA2, PKMζ and PSD-95, which is consistent with effects reported from overexpression of PKMζ in cell culture. Because PKMζ overexpression has also been shown to induce spine maturation in culture, we examined how stress impacts synaptic markers within changing spines across various hippocampal subfields. To achieve this, we employed a new technique combining Golgi staining and immmunohistochemistry to perform 3D reconstruction of tertiary dendrites, which can be analyzed for differences in spine types and the colocalization of synaptic markers within these spines. In CA1, stress increased the densities of long-thin and mushroom spines and the colocalization of GluA2/PSD-95 within these spines. Conversely, in CA3, stress decreased the densities of filopodia and stubby spines, with a concomitant reduction in the colocalization of GluA2/PSD-95 within these spines. In the outer molecular layer (OML) of the dentate gyrus (DG), stress increased both stubby and long-thin spines, together with greater GluA2/PSD-95 colocalization. These data reflect the rapid effects of stress on inducing morphological changes within specific hippocampal subfields, highlighting a potential mechanism by which stress can modulate memory consolidation and retrieval

Environmental Enrichment Increases Glucocorticoid Receptors and Decreases GluA2 and Protein Kinase M Zeta (PKMζ) Trafficking During Chronic Stress: A Protective Mechanism?

Environmental enrichment (EE) housing paradigms have long been shown beneficial for brain function involving neural growth and activity, learning and memory capacity, and for developing stress resiliency. The expression of the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor subunit GluA2, which is important for synaptic plasticity and memory, is increased with corticosterone (CORT), undermining synaptic plasticity and memory. Thus, we determined the effect of EE and stress on modulating GluA2 expression in Sprague-Dawley male rats. Several markers were evaluated which include: plasma CORT, the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), GluA2, and the atypical protein kinase M zeta (PKMζ). For 1 week standard-(ST) or EE-housed animals were treated with one of the following four conditions: (1) no stress; (2) acute stress (forced swim test, FST; on day 7); (3) chronic restraint stress (6 h/day for 7 days); and (4) chronic + acute stress (restraint stress 6 h/day for 7 days + FST on day 7). Hippocampi were collected on day 7. Our results show that EE animals had reduced time immobile on the FST across all conditions. After chronic + acute stress EE animals showed increased GR levels with no change in synaptic GluA2/PKMζ. ST-housed animals showed the reverse pattern with decreased GR levels and a significant increase in synaptic GluA2/PKMζ. These results suggest that EE produces an adaptive response to chronic stress allowing for increased GR levels, which lowers neuronal excitability reducing GluA2/PKMζ trafficking. We discuss this EE adaptive response to stress as a potential underlying mechanism that is protective for retaining synaptic plasticity and memory function

Murine malaria is associated with significant hearing impairment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>malaria has been suspected to cause hearing loss. Developmental, cognitive and language disorders have been observed in children, surviving cerebral malaria. This prospective study aims to evaluate whether malaria influences hearing in mice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty mice were included in a standardized murine cerebral malaria model. Auditory evoked brainstem responses were assessed before infection and at the peak of the illness.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A significant hearing impairment could be demonstrated in mice with malaria, especially the cerebral form. The control group did not show any alterations. No therapy was used.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This suggests that malaria itself leads to a hearing impairment in mice.</p

Apoptosis of the fibrocytes type 1 in the spiral ligament and blood labyrinth barrier disturbance cause hearing impairment in murine cerebral malaria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Experimental murine malaria has been shown to result in significant hearing impairment. Microscopic evaluation of the temporal bones of these animals has revealed regular morphology of the cochlea duct. Furthermore, the known vascular pathologic changes being associated with malaria could not be found. Immunohistochemistry for ICAM1 showed a strong marking in the <it>stria vascularis</it>, indicating a disturbance of the endocochlear potential. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of apoptosis and the disturbance of the blood labyrinth barrier in the murine malaria associated hearing impairment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The temporal bones of seven mice with cerebral malaria-four with hearing impairment, three without hearing impairment-were evaluated with immunohistochemistry for cleaved caspase 3 to detect apoptosis and connexin 26, a gap junction protein being a cornerstone in the endocochlear potassium recirculation. Furthermore five animals with cerebral malaria were treated with Evans blue prior to sacrification to detect disturbances of the blood labyrinth barrier.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cleaved caspase 3 could clearly be detected by immunohistochemistry in the fibrocytes of the spiral ligament, more intensively in animals with hearing impairment, less intensively in those without. Apoptosis signal was equally distributed in the spiral ligament as was the connexin 26 gap junction protein. The Evans blue testing revealed a strong signal in the malaria animals and no signal in the healthy control animals.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Malfunction of the fibrocytes type 1 in the spiral ligament and disruption of the blood labyrinth barrier, resulting in a breakdown of the endocochlear potential, are major causes for hearing impairment in murine cerebral malaria.</p

The gender specific frequency of risk factor and CHD diagnoses prior to incident MI: A community study

BACKGROUND: CHD is a chronic disease often present years prior to incident AMI. Earlier recognition of CHD may be associated with higher levels of recognition and treatment of CHD risk factors that may delay incident AMI. To assess timing of CHD and CHD risk factor diagnoses prior to incident AMI. METHODS: This is a 10-year population based medical record review study that included all medical care providers in Olmsted County, Minnesota for all women and a sample of men residing in Olmsted County, MN with confirmed incident AMI between 1995 and 2000. RESULTS: All medical care for the 10 years prior to incident AMI was reviewed for 150 women and 148 men (38% sample) in Olmsted County, MN. On average, women were older than men at the time of incident AMI (74.7 versus 65.9 years, p < 0.0001). 30.4% of the men and 52.0% of the women received diagnoses of CHD prior to incident AMI (p = 0.0002). Unrecognized and untreated CHD risk factors were present in both men (45% of men 5 years prior to AMI) and women (22% of women 5 years prior to first AMI), more common in men and those without a diagnosis of CHD prior to incident AMI (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: A CHD diagnosis prior to incident AMI is associated with higher rates of recognition and treatment of CHD risk factors suggesting that diagnosing CHD prior to AMI enhances opportunities to lower the risk of future CHD events