Book review - Media Talk and Political Elections in Europe and America

Review of Media Talk and Political Elections in Europe and America edited by Mats Ekström and Andrew Tolson

Press freedom is necessary to advance environmental protections across the globe

Journalists face increasing threats and obstacles to investigating environmental conditions internationally. In new research, Jeff Ollerton, Matt Walsh and Ted Sullivan find that press freedom goes hand in hand with a higher level of environmental protection. Therefore, for countries to address the climate crisis, they need an open, well-resourced media

Healthy Aging

It has been scientifically proven that preventative measures such as regular physical activity and healthy eating are crucial in maintaining good health, reducing the impact of disease, delaying disability, and reducing the need for expensive long term care for older adults. Among individuals in Maine aged 65 or older, 43 percent are overweight, 18 percent are obese, and 36 percent do not do any leisure time physical activities. Most of these individuals suffer from one or more chronic health problems. This can be avoided by incorporating moderate physical activity, good nutrition, and no smoking, thus delaying disability by as much as ten years. Options for health strategies among older adults involve wellness programs, physical activities, preventing falls, nutrition, and cross-cutting. However, weather is a huge barrier to these options in the state of Maine. By establishing networks and community opportunities, the health of older individuals can be bettered for an extended period of time

What Happens When You Assume: Identifying Graduate Student Information Literacy Support Needs

Graduate students are expected to conduct research at an advanced level, which includes a higher degree of field-specific knowledge and autonomy than many of them experienced as undergraduates. It stands to reason, then, that they need advanced information literacy and research skills. However, while it might be true that graduate students need these skills, discussions around information literacy instruction for graduate students often assume a baseline of literacy or research expertise that they may not actually have. Many graduate students need what could be considered more “introductory” support before they can get to their “advanced” objectives for a variety of reasons, and it’s important for graduate student-serving librarians to identify student needs in order to meet them where they are. From a variety of viewpoints, contexts, and disciplinary perspectives, this panel will explore the following: ways to determine where graduate students are in terms of their information literacy skills; what their needs are, from both their own point of view and those of graduate-serving teaching faculty; and strategies for addressing those needs. Specifically, the panelists will touch on topics such as discipline-specific nuance, students returning for graduate degrees or certificates after a long hiatus, students with differing objectives for their graduate studies (e.g., going to school to be a scholar as opposed to getting a master’s degree to improve one’s professional prospects), and collaborations with graduate teaching faculty, among other things. This will be a traditional panel discussion with a moderator, four panelists, and a list of questions to address and discuss, as opposed to the several miniature presentations panel format that is common at library conferences. There will be 35-40 minutes of discussion amongst the panelists and 10-15 minutes of Q&A, followed by an invitation to all conference attendees to find us and discuss these issues further

Facebook and disintermediation in three UK general elections

Through interviews with top-level British political journalists and communications strategists, this paper explores use of Facebook as a campaign tool in the UK General Elections of 2015, 2017, and 2019. Findings demonstrate increasing sophistication in political actors’ use of Facebook as a disintermediation device, bypassing the media to speak directly to voters. However, both sets of interviewees also expressed concern about effects of removing political gatekeepers on verification of information and accountability of information providers

Party platform: disintermediated campaigning on Facebook in three UK general elections

This paper explores the use of Facebook as a campaign tool in the UK General Elections of 2015, 2017, and 2019. Through a content analysis of the Facebook accounts of British political parties and their leaders, plus interviews with key political journalists and communications specialists, it demonstrates increasing sophistication in political actors’ use of Facebook as a disintermediation device, bypassing the media to speak directly to voters. This study aims to document the evolution of political communication on Facebook along with its impact on the nation’s political journalism. Drawing on content analysis of political Facebook accounts plus semi-structured interviews, it documents the changing strategies employed to reach and engage voters through social media and their implications for journalists’ gatekeeping role. All data have been collected and analysed. Preliminary findings indicate increasing sophistication in political actors’ use of Facebook as a disintermediation device, with campaigners effectively side-lining journalists to engage and motivate voters directly. Campaigners’ overall strategy was to use social media to encourage engagement that would generate message spillover, from those actively engaged in politics to those less interested. Political campaigners saw a value in bypassing journalists to speak directly to supporters and, by extension, other potential voters – essentially seeking to replace journalistic gatekeepers with social media influencers. Journalists, for their part, worried about the potential for unverified information to flow unchecked. The lack of substantive policy discussion on social media was also troubling, and both groups of interviewees raised concerns about journalists being more focused on gossip than investigation. Ongoing social media developments and the skyrocketing use of AI will undoubtedly shape the next UK election. Parties seem certain to continue escalating their disintermediation strategies. How journalists respond will be of considerable importance and a topic ripe for additional scholarly exploration

Preliminary GN&C Design for the On-Orbit Autonomous Assembly of Nanosatellite Demonstration Mission

Small spacecraft autonomous rendezvous and docking (ARD) is an essential technology for future space structure assembly missions. The On-orbit Autonomous Assembly of Nanosatellites (OAAN) team at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) intends to demonstrate the technology to autonomously dock two nanosatellites to form an integrated system. The team has developed a novel magnetic capture and latching mechanism that allows for docking of two CubeSats without precise sensors and actuators. The proposed magnetic docking hardware not only provides the means to latch the CubeSats, but it also significantly increases the likelihood of successful docking in the presence of relative attitude and position errors. The simplicity of the design allows it to be implemented on many CubeSat rendezvous missions. Prior to demonstrating the docking subsystem capabilities on orbit, the GN&C subsystem should have a robust design such that it is capable of bringing the CubeSats from an arbitrary initial separation distance of as many as a few thousand kilometers down to a few meters. The main OAAN Mission can be separated into the following phases: 1) Launch, checkout, and drift, 2) Far-Field Rendezvous or Drift Recovery, 3) Proximity Operations, 4) Docking. This paper discusses the preliminary GN&C design and simulation results for each phase of the mission

Can Scotland achieve its aim of narrowing health inequalities in a post-pandemic world?

In this commentary we explore the potential for the devolved Scottish Government to achieve its stated aim of narrowing health - and broader societal (including economic) - inequalities within both the restrictions of limited devolved powers, and in the context of post-pandemic uncertainty. We do so by focussing on two questions: first, where were we with regards to inequalities policy in Scotland before the pandemic? And second, what are the likely implications of the pandemic for inequalities, and inequalities policymaking, in the country

A gene × gene interaction between DRD2 and DRD4 is associated with conduct disorder and antisocial behavior in males

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Antisocial behaviors are complex polygenic phenotypes that are due to a multifactorial arrangement of genetic polymorphisms. Little empirical research, however, has been undertaken that examines gene × gene interactions in the etiology of conduct disorder and antisocial behavior. This study examined whether adolescent conduct disorder and adult antisocial behavior were related to the dopamine D2 receptor polymorphism (DRD2) and the dopamine D4 receptor polymorphism (DRD4).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A sample of 872 male participants from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) completed self-report questionnaires that tapped adolescent conduct disorder and adult antisocial behavior. DNA was genotyped for DRD2 and DRD4.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Multivariate regression analysis revealed that neither DRD2 nor DRD4 had significant independent effects on conduct disorder or antisocial behavior. However, DRD2 interacted with DRD4 to predict variation in adolescent conduct disorder and in adult antisocial behavior.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results suggest that a gene × gene interaction between DRD2 and DRD4 is associated with the development of conduct disorder and adult antisocial behavior in males.</p