Comment on "Electron transport through correlated molecules computed using the time-independent Wigner function: Two critical tests"

The many electron correlated scattering (MECS) approach to quantum electronic transport was investigated in the linear response regime [I. Baldea and H. Koeppel, Phys. Rev. B. 78, 115315 (2008)]. The authors suggest, based on numerical calculations, that the manner in which the method imposes boundary conditions is unable to reproduce the well-known phenomena of conductance quantization. We introduce an analytical model and demonstrate that conductance quantization is correctly obtained using open system boundary conditions within the MECS approach.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures. Physical Review B, to appea

IMPACT OF ALTERNATIVE GRID PRICING STRUCTURES ON CATTLE MARKETING DECISIONS

Quality grade, yield grade, and other feedlot performance factors explain much of the variation in profit under grid pricing. Thus, feedlot owners can change profits by adjusting time on feed to influence these performance factors. This research uses growth models, logistic regression, and an optimization process to determine how the optimal number of days on feed changes under different grid pricing structures. It was found that large quality or small yield discounts increases the optimal number of days on feed and small quality or large yield discounts result in fewer days on feed. Losses associated with a grid having large quality discounts are minimized as cattle fed for more days are able to obtain Choice premiums despite the discounts for more Yield Grade 4 and 5 carcasses. Given small quality discounts, cattle fed for a shorter length of time can obtain the Yield Grade 1 and 2 premiums without a large loss in revenue due to grading Select or Standard. Under cash pricing, cattle are fed for very long periods because there are no discounts applied to the carcasses and, therefore, the more weight they gain, the more revenue they generate. During periods of low feed prices, cattle can be fed longer so more cattle grade Prime but also have more Yield Grade 4 and 5 cattle.grid pricing, profits, animal growth, logistic regression, days on feed, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,

Media Reporting

The news media representation of children and young people as victims and offenders of crime

Media representations of dangerousness

Media representations reflect a wide conceptualisation of ‘dangerousness’, which often bears little relation to professional definitions. This article considers the press representation of ‘dangerous offenders’ and wider notions of ‘dangerousness’ and ‘risk’, and discusses their construction in terms of both the determinants of newsworthiness and as a wider sociological phenomenon

Sex Crime and the Media: Press Representations in Northern Ireland

The relationship between media images and popular consciousness is complex and notoriously difficult to unpack (Reiner et al., 2000a; Livingstone, 1996; Sparks, 1992; Cumberbatch, 1989; Young, 1981). Yet, as Miller and Philo (1999) point out, it would be absurd to suggest that there is no relationship at all. Indeed, it has become trite to suggest that the media do more than merely ‘reflect’ social reality. They can be instrumental in the orchestration of moral panics (Wilczynski, 1999; Thompson, 1998; Maguire, 1997; Goode and Ben-Yehuda, 1994; Jenkins, 1992; Cohen, 1980), they can be important symbolic mechanisms used in the construction of ideology (Schudson, 2000; Rolston and Miller, 1996; Herman and Chomsky, 1994; Fishman, 1978; Cohen and Young, 1973) and they can inform the political processes aimed at dealing with social crises (Beckett, 1994; Miller, 1993; Hall et al., 1978). In short, how media represent social phenomena is central to how we, as media consumers with limited first hand experience (Young, 1981), make sense of them and their ‘place’ in our everyday lives (Philo, 1999; Gamson et al., 1992; Sparks, 1992; Ericson et al., 1991; Entman, 1989). In recent decades, sex crime, in all its myriad forms, has become a staple of media discourse (Thomas, 2000; Kitzinger, 1996; Marsh, 1991; Soothill and Walby, 1991; Smith, 1984; Ditton and Duffy, 1983). At the same time, the problem of sex crime – and 2 especially the sexual abuse of children – has become a major source of fear and anxiety (Wilson and Silverman, 2002; West, 2000, 1996; Grubin, 1998; Hebenton and Thomas, 1997). Media representations of sex crime give important indicators of the nature and extent of the problem, of how we should think and feel about it, of how we should respond to it, and of preventive measures that might be taken to reduce the risk of victimisation. Yet without exception, research exploring the representation of sex crime in popular discourses has evidenced high levels of sensationalism, stereotyping and inaccuracy (see, inter alia, Kitzinger, 1999a, 1999b; Howe, 1998; Meyers, 1997; Lees, 1995; Soothill, 1995; Skidmore, 1995; Benedict, 1992; Franklin and Parton, 1991; Soothill and Walby, 1991; Caputi, 1987; Nelson, 1984). In this chapter I want to present an overview of the research literature and then elaborate on some of the key findings of my own research, which explored the construction of sex crime in the Northern Ireland press