Synthesis and NMR Characterization of a New Series of Thiazole-2-Carboxaldehyde Thiosemicarbozone Compounds

This work will be the synthesis of a series of thiazole-carboxaldehyde-thiosemicarbazone ligands. After the synthesis and purification of these ligands, the new compounds went through analysis using the NMR spectrometer and obtaining data on +H NMR, 13C NMR, HSQC (heteronuclear single quantum coherence) 1H-13C NMR and HSQC 1H-15N NMR, to obtain evidence for our predicted structures. After the analysis was complete, we reacted the new ligands with palladium to form their metal complexes

Where's all the 'good' sports journalism? Sports media research, the sociology of sport, and the question of quality sports reporting

Across newsrooms and journalism schools, questions as to what constitutes or ‘counts’ as excellent reporting are currently inciting much debate. Among the various frameworks being put forward to describe and encourage ‘excellent’ journalism in its various forms, sport is seldom mentioned – a legacy perhaps of its perennial dismissal as trivial subject matter. This essay grew from our curiosity as to whether the reverse was also true: that is, whether and what those who study sports journalism and sports media – in particular sociologists of sport – have contributed to understandings of ‘best’ and even excellent journalistic practice. We identified and analysed 376 articles from eight leading scholarly journals that feature sports media research with the aim of examining instances where ‘excellent’ sports reporting was either highlighted, described or advocated. After outlining the major themes that emerged from this analysis, we reflect on why so few of the sampled articles explicitly advise on what best practice sports journalism might look like – especially when it comes to coverage of the sport-related social issues that sociologists of sport tend to focus on – and why so little theoretical attention has been afforded to the question of excellent sports journalism more generally. While there are good sociological reasons for focusing on problematic sports reporting, on structural and systemic issues in which media are implicated, and on producing alternatives to hegemonic sports media, we conclude that it is high time for instances of excellent sports journalism to be afforded the theoretical and empirical attention long granted to their ‘bad’ journalistic counterparts

A blueprint for change? : exploring how the London organizing committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) framed Olympic 'sustainability partner' BP

The London Organizing Committee of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) came under substantial public scrutiny regarding several of its corporate partnerships (Gibson, 2012; Smedley, 2012). Specifically, a number of resistance groups mobilized around LOCOG’s selection of BP (formerly British Petroleum) as a ‘sustainability partner’. In pledging to host the first ‘truly sustainable Games’, this partnership appeared paradoxical to some, as BP has a history marred by environmental degradation and disaster – most notably the Deep Water Horizon oil spill of 2010 (National Commission, 2011; World Wildlife Foundation, 2007; Mattera, 2010). This thesis critically examines how LOCOG framed the BP-LOCOG relationship – focusing specifically on how the Games’ organizing committee promoted certain interpretations of ‘sustainability’ through this partnership. By examining numerous public relations texts produced by LOCOG, I show how the organizing committee framed BP as not only a ‘key partner’, but also as an ‘expert and motivator’ around sustainability – and suggest that the ‘specialty’ designations awarded to BP facilitated these framings. Further, I argue that a number of explicit and underlying assumptions were revealed in LOCOG’s justifications and framing of this partnership. These include: a) collaboration is a key strategy for dealing with environmental problems, b) innovation comes from business and is a key solution to environmental problems, c) growth and sustainability are compatible, and d) ‘the Games must go on’ despite environmental consequences. I then discuss potential problems with these seemingly innocuous assumptions and framings – concentrating especially on how particular responses to environmental problems are presented as the ‘only’ responses. This thesis concludes with reflections on the study’s contributions to the area of sport mega-events and the environment. Particular attention is paid to the value of studying the public relations strategies of Games’ organizing committees, deconstructing the role of partnerships in the framing of a sustainable Olympics, and investigating the way that consensus around particular responses to environmental issues is sought through responsive PR practices.Education, Faculty ofKinesiology, School ofGraduat