Reporting On Recession: Journalism, Prediction, And The Economy

This paper examines the difficulties that recession coverage poses for journalists and the implications of how news work shapes that subject. It argues that in trying to predict and cover recession, journalists reify this systemic process into an independent entity. Recession comes to be presented as a lurking threat that remains “out there” even when the economy is strong, rising periodically to threaten society when boom becomes bust. Moreover, other themes in reportage - a cyclic view of temporality and tropes of sin/punishment – also encourage economic instability

Testing of molded high temperature plastic actuator road seals for use in advanced aircraft hydraulic systems

Molded high temperature plastic first and second stage rod seal elements were evaluated in seal assemblies to determine performance characteristics. These characteristics were compared with the performance of machined seal elements. The 6.35 cm second stage Chevron seal assembly was tested using molded Chevrons fabricated from five molding materials. Impulse screening tests conducted over a range of 311 K to 478 K revealed thermal setting deficiencies in the aromatic polyimide molding materials. Seal elements fabricated from aromatic copolyester materials structurally failed during impulse cycle calibration. Endurance testing of 3.85 million cycles at 450 K using MIL-H-83283 fluid showed poorer seal performance with the unfilled aromatic polyimide material than had been attained with seals machined from Vespel SP-21 material. The 6.35 cm first stage step-cut compression loaded seal ring fabricated from copolyester injection molding material failed structurally during impulse cycle calibration. Molding of complex shape rod seals was shown to be a potentially controllable technique, but additional molding material property testing is recommended

Voices of the University : anniversary culture and oral histories of higher education

This article uses the case study of the University of Warwick’s ‘Voices of the University: Memories of Warwick, 1965-2015’ project to explore the politics and practicalities of institutional oral histories and anniversary culture. It sketches the project's aims and its position within the university’s wider anniversary celebrations. We then explore how interviewees reflect on the University at fifty and argue that a significant portion of interviewees seek to use their interviews to tell an alternative institutional history. This article finishes with an exploration of student protest. Using interviews with students and staff, we reflect on how the highly-publicised protests in the 1970s have been remembered. Overall, this article argues that anniversary culture prompts individuals to consider who owns institutional memories

Teaching Journalism Students About Confidential Whistleblower Sources: An Analysis Of Introductory News Writing Textbooks

Whistleblowers are a key journalistic source for many current news stories. However, reporters pursuing these major stories must navigate the dilemma between transparent full disclosure and protecting their confidential source. Professional journalists begin their journey as students, and students begin their journey in the classroom with a teacher and a textbook. But are journalism students being trained to deal effectively, and sensitively, with a whistleblowing source who may bring complex needs and difficulties to the news gathering process? This study explores how contemporary introductory news writing textbooks tackle issues surrounding the use of unnamed whistleblower sources. Beginning with a quantitative analysis as its foundation, the study explores, qualitatively, the advice being offered to students on how to handle these sources. We suggest that there are a number of important gaps that characterize textbooks when it comes to whistleblowing and associated concepts, with scant attention being paid to, for example, differentiation among varying types of anonymous source, the contextualization of a whistleblower’s unique circumstances, and the potential of positive source motivation. Suggestions are included for enhancing textbook content in this important area