Representations of power: A critical multimodal analysis of U.S. CEOs, the Italian Mafia and government in the media

In September 2008, the collapse of the bank Lehman Brothers led to a financial crisis and the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s, threatening the entire global financial system. Some of the effects of the crisis included evictions, foreclosures and high and prolonged unemployment. Despite the fact that bankers and corporate executives are widely known to bear much of the blame for the crisis (“The origins of the financial crisis,” 2013), very few have actually been convicted of any crime. In addition, recent investigations of the relationship between the New York Federal Reserve and banks such as Goldman Sachs have revealed that even the regulators assigned to keep banks in check have become “too risk averse and deferential to the banks it supervised” (Bernstein 2014). Yet, the public has largely “learned to accept the implicit idea that some people have simply more rights than others. Some people go to jail, and others just don’t” (Taibbi 2014, xix). Similarly, in Italy, there is a large public consensus that many politicians and corporate executives are allies of Mafia groups such as ‘Ndrangheta and Cosa Nostra (who are engaging in activities such as setting up bogus firms in order to receive public subsidies, money laundering, fraudulent real estate schemes, etc.), yet few of them ever end up being prosecuted or serving jail time. In fact, while the government has created numerous task forces to combat Mafia groups, the ‘Ndrangheta has continued to gross billions of euros and has become a global presence, active in countries such as Germany as well as in South America (Conti 2014). The present paper seeks to understand why these CEOs and Mafia organizations are not often punished for their crimes and why there is little public outcry about it. We are concerned with one element that plays a crucial role: the lack of connection between their actions and their representation in the media. The representation of social actors in public discourse has always played an important role in how the public perceives them, how they are treated by legal and government entities and what the consequences of their actions are (van Leeuwen 1996). Discourses not only represent what is happening, but also evaluate, justify, highlight or background certain aspects of it (van Leeuwen, 2008, 6). Consequently, this multimodal critical discourse analysis will attempt to reveal less-than-obvious discursive strategies that (re)produce dominant ideologies of criminality and how groups in power, convicted or accused of crimes, are treated in the discourse. To do this, we take a qualitative approach that examines online newspaper articles reporting crimes committed by CEOs in the U.S. and Italian Mafia groups. Our focus is on the metonymic strategies

Representations of power: A critical multimodal analysis of U.S. CEOs, the Italian Mafia and government in the media

In September 2008, the collapse of the bank Lehman Brothers led to a financial crisis and the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s, threatening the entire global financial system. Some of the effects of the crisis included evictions, foreclosures and high and prolonged unemployment. Despite the fact that bankers and corporate executives are widely known to bear much of the blame for the crisis (“The origins of the financial crisis,” 2013), very few have actually been convicted of any crime. In addition, recent investigations of the relationship between the New York Federal Reserve and banks such as Goldman Sachs have revealed that even the regulators assigned to keep banks in check have become “too risk averse and deferential to the banks it supervised” (Bernstein 2014). Yet, the public has largely “learned to accept the implicit idea that some people have simply more rights than others. Some people go to jail, and others just don’t” (Taibbi 2014, xix). Similarly, in Italy, there is a large public consensus that many politicians and corporate executives are allies of Mafia groups such as ‘Ndrangheta and Cosa Nostra (who are engaging in activities such as setting up bogus firms in order to receive public subsidies, money laundering, fraudulent real estate schemes, etc.), yet few of them ever end up being prosecuted or serving jail time. In fact, while the government has created numerous task forces to combat Mafia groups, the ‘Ndrangheta has continued to gross billions of euros and has become a global presence, active in countries such as Germany as well as in South America (Conti 2014). The present paper seeks to understand why these CEOs and Mafia organizations are not often punished for their crimes and why there is little public outcry about it. We are concerned with one element that plays a crucial role: the lack of connection between their actions and their representation in the media. The representation of social actors in public discourse has always played an important role in how the public perceives them, how they are treated by legal and government entities and what the consequences of their actions are (van Leeuwen 1996). Discourses not only represent what is happening, but also evaluate, justify, highlight or background certain aspects of it (van Leeuwen, 2008, 6). Consequently, this multimodal critical discourse analysis will attempt to reveal less-than-obvious discursive strategies that (re)produce dominant ideologies of criminality and how groups in power, convicted or accused of crimes, are treated in the discourse. To do this, we take a qualitative approach that examines online newspaper articles reporting crimes committed by CEOs in the U.S. and Italian Mafia groups. Our focus is on the metonymic strategies

Screening for gestational diabetes : a systematic review and economic evaluation

Background Screening for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has been controversial, with some expert bodies advising universal screening, others selective screening, and yet others advising against screening at all. This has partly been a result of debate about the definition of GDM, and partly because of the profusion of different tests available, both for screening and definite diagnosis. In the UK, there is no national policy on screening, and a variety of practices exist in different parts of the country. There have also been doubts about the treatment of GDM, and particularly about management of minor degrees of glucose elevation, which are better described as glucose intolerance rather than true diabetes. Objectives To provide an updated review of current knowledge, to clarify research needs, and to assist with policy making in the interim, pending future research. Methods A literature review was carried out, with a particular focus on screening methods and costs, and an appraisal of screening for GDM against the criteria for assessing screening programmes used by the UK National Screening Committee (NSC). Results There is still debate about what is meant by GDM – the threshold for diagnosis is not soundly based; the terms GDM and impaired glucose tolerance are not used in a standard fashion in pregnancy; there is almost certainly a continuum of risk to the baby, rather than there being separate normal and abnormal groups; and the key risk factor in most women may be maternal overweight, with glucose intolerance being an associate of that. In addition there are some rare genetic conditions, which affect a few women, such as glucokinase and hepatic nuclear factor disorders. GDM is usually defined according to divergence from normal glucose levels, but glucose levels are usually raised in pregnancy, and so diagnosis by normal levels in non-pregnant women may misclassify many normal pregnant women as abnormal. This may lead to anxiety and the inconvenience of extra investigations and ‘disease’ care. The Caesarean section rate appears to be increased by the diagnosis alone. Ideally, the condition should be defined by the incidence of adverse effects. However, the most common reported complication of GDM is ‘macrosomia’ in the baby. This is usually defined by arbitrary weight cut-offs (usually a birth weight of 4000 g, but sometimes 4500 g), but such neat thresholds fail to distinguish between larger than average healthy babies and those that have the abnormal growth patterns associated with high insulin levels in the womb. Screening for GDM fails to meet some of the NSC criteria. A number of screening tests have been used but some, such as glycosylated haemoglobin and fructosamine, have proved unsatisfactory and can be discarded. Others, such as urine testing or random blood glucose, are far from satisfactory, although they may be cheap to do. There is marked international variation. Risk factors such as weight, age and family history are useful for selective screening but some patients with GDM would be missed. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) is convenient and reliable, but some pregnant women have normal fasting levels but raised levels of glucose after meals, and would be missed by screening based on FPG alone. Glucose challenge tests (GCTs) are based on glucose levels after a glucose drink, but also have shortcomings. The definitive diagnosis is usually by oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), but the glucose load and timing vary in different countries; taking a 75 g glucose load is unnatural, makes some women sick, and the reproducibility of the test is poor. More natural methods such as test meals have been used, but not widely. Conclusions Interim conclusions There are clearly some women whose glucose levels rise sufficiently in pregnancy to cause harm to their babies. However, there are also many women with lower levels of glucose intolerance whose babies are not at risk, but who may suffer anxiety and inconvenience as a result of being classed as abnormal. On balance, the present evidence suggests that we should not have universal screening, but a highly selective policy, based on age and overweight. The best test at present, for those deemed to need testing, is probably the GCT, preferably combined with an FPG. The benefits of a follow-up OGTT are doubtful

Effects of polyacrylamide (PAM) and gypsum on irrigated and dryland potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.).

An experiment was conducted at Lincoln University to investigate the effects of irrigation, micronised polyacrylamide (PAM) and gypsum on the growth and yield of 'Ilam Hardy' potatoes in 2001-2002. At the final harvest, tuber yields were similar (59 500 kg ha⁻¹). Environmental factors dominated results, particularly January rainfall, which was 150% of the 16-year average. Economic yield (tubers> 113g) was not affected by any treatment and was >80% of total tuber yield. Premium size tubers (> 170g) were 65% of total tuber yields and no treatment affected tuber size distribution. The maximum crop growth rate was higher from irrigated (189 kg DM ha⁻¹ d⁻¹) than dryland plots (174 kg DM ha⁻¹d⁻¹). This reflected differences in leaf area index at two times during the later growth period. Mean crop growth rate, as a result, was also lower (118 kg DM ha⁻¹ d⁻¹) compared to irrigated plots (130 kg DM ha⁻¹ d⁻¹). The duration of growth was similar (125 days) for all treatments. There was no effect of any treatment on soil adherence to tubers. Aggregate stability was increased 24% by gypsum application. However, poor initial soil structure caused by years of intensive cultivation meant this only increased to 2.4% and was unlikely to have had any affect on crop growth and yield

The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of computed tomography screening for coronary artery disease : systematic review

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the main causes of mortality and morbidity in the UK and other Western countries. The disease can be asymptomatic until the first event, which may be a fatal myocardial infarction (heart attack). Half of all heart attacks occur in people who have had no prior warning of coronary disease, and almost half will die from the first attack. Risk scores based on well-known factors such as age, blood pressure, smoking, cholesterol and diabetes have been used to assess risk, but are imperfect: not all high-risk people develop heart disease, and many low-risk people do. Indeed, depending on which cut-off is used to define high risk, most heart attacks occur in low-risk people, because the number of people at low risk is much greater than the number at high risk. There is therefore a need for a better way of identifying those at risk so that they can treat themselves with lifestyle measures, or receive drug therapy such as statins and antihypertensive drugs as appropriate. Computed tomography (CT) is a form of radiological imaging that can detect calcium deposits in the coronary arteries. This calcification is a marker for CHD, and so CT imaging could be a way of detecting asymptomatic but serious CHD. CT is quick and non-invasive, but does involve a relatively large radiation dose

EORNA, a barley gene and transcript abundance database

A high-quality, barley gene reference transcript dataset (BaRTv1.0), was used to quantify gene and transcript abundances from 22 RNA-seq experiments, covering 843 separate samples. Using the abundance data we developed a Barley Expression Database (EORNA*) to underpin a visualisation tool that displays comparative gene and transcript abundance data on demand as transcripts per million (TPM) across all samples and all the genes. EORNA provides gene and transcript models for all of the transcripts contained in BaRTV1.0, and these can be conveniently identified through either BaRT or HORVU gene names, or by direct BLAST of query sequences. Browsing the quantification data reveals cultivar, tissue and condition specific gene expression and shows changes in the proportions of individual transcripts that have arisen via alternative splicing. TPM values can be easily extracted to allow users to determine the statistical significance of observed transcript abundance variation among samples or perform meta analyses on multiple RNA-seq experiments. * Eòrna is the Scottish Gaelic word for Barley.</p

Mealtime Behaviour and Parent-Child Interaction: A Comparison of Children with Cystic Fibrosis, Children with Feeding Problems, and Nonclinic Controls

Examined the role of family interaction factors in dietary compliance problems reported by parents of children with cystic fibrosis (CF). The family mealtime interactions of children with CF, children with feeding problems and nonclinic controls were observed, and parents monitored children's eating behavior at home. Parents of children with CF reported more concern about feeding problems and recorded more disruptive mealtime behavior than parents of nonclinic children. Observational data showed children with CF to display overall rates of disruptive mealtime behavior not significantly different from either comparison group. Mothers of children with CF were observed to engage in higher rates of aversive interaction with their child than did mothers of nonclinic controls. Fathers of children with CF reported lower marital satisfaction than fathers of controls. Both mothers and fathers of children with CF reported lower parenting self-efficacy than non-CF families. Clinical implications are discussed

Psychosocial impact of alternative management policies for low-grade cervical abnormalities : results from the TOMBOLA randomised controlled trial

Background: Large numbers of women who participate in cervical screening require follow-up for minor cytological abnormalities. Little is known about the psychological consequences of alternative management policies for these women. We compared, over 30-months, psychosocial outcomes of two policies: cytological surveillance (repeat cervical cytology tests in primary care) and a hospital-based colposcopy examination. Methods: Women attending for a routine cytology test within the UK NHS Cervical Screening Programmes were eligible to participate. 3399 women, aged 20–59 years, with low-grade abnormal cytology, were randomised to cytological surveillance (six-monthly tests; n = 1703) or initial colposcopy with biopsies and/or subsequent treatment based on colposcopic and histological findings (n = 1696). At 12, 18, 24 and 30-months post-recruitment, women completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). A subgroup (n = 2354) completed the Impact of Event Scale (IES) six weeks after the colposcopy episode or first surveillance cytology test. Primary outcomes were percentages over the entire follow-up period of significant depression (≥8) and significant anxiety (≥11; “30-month percentages”). Secondary outcomes were point prevalences of significant depression, significant anxiety and procedure-related distress (≥9). Outcomes were compared between arms by calculating fully-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for initial colposcopy versus cytological surveillance. Results: There was no significant difference in 30-month percentages of significant depression (OR = 0.99, 95% CI 0.80–1.21) or anxiety (OR = 0.97, 95% CI 0.81–1.16) between arms. At the six-week assessment, anxiety and distress, but not depression, were significantly less common in the initial colposcopy arm (anxiety: 7.9% vs 13.4%; OR = 0.55, 95% CI 0.38–0.81; distress: 30.6% vs 39.3%, OR = 0.67 95% CI 0.54–0.84). Neither anxiety nor depression differed between arms at subsequent time-points. Conclusions: There was no difference in the longer-term psychosocial impact of management policies based on cytological surveillance or initial colposcopy. Policy-makers, clinicians, and women themselves can be reassured that neither management policy has a significantly greater psychosocial cost

Biopsy and selective recall compared with immediate large loop excision in management of women with low grade abnormal cervical cytology referred for colposcopy : multicentre randomised controlled trial

Peer reviewedPublisher PD