Going native: long-running television serials in the UK

This article examines in detail the development of the long-running serial in the UK, from its beginnings on radio in the 1940s, through the move to television in the mid 1950s and then up to the present day. It pays particular attention to language use throughout this period, focusing on the move from Standard English to a wide range of regional dialects during the four decades when these serials were at the height of their popularity, routinely dominating the television ratings. It then examines the development of long-form serials in languages other than English, firstly Welsh from the mid 1970s on, and then Gaelic intermittently from the early 1990s to the present day, and finally Scots, a highly minoritised Germanic language spoken mostly in the Scottish Lowlands. It compares both the current health and the future prospects of Gaelic and Scots with a particular focus on the challenges faced by both. Additional insights into the particular case of Gaelic are provided via interviews with a number of stakeholders

Habit, aggregation and long memory: evidence from television audience data

Many economic outcomes appear to be influenced by habit or commitment, giving rise to persistence. In cases where the decision is binary and persistent, the aggregation of individual time series can result in a fractionally integrated process for the aggregate data. Certain television programmes appear to engender commitment on the part of viewers and the decision to watch or not is clearly binary. We report an empirical analysis of television audience data and show that these series can be modelled as I(d) processes. We also investigate the proposition that temporal aggregation of a fractionally-integrated series leaves the value of d unchanged.

Provisional BioBrick Language (PoBoL)

This BioBricks Foundation Request for Comments (BBF RFC) describes a semantic markup language for publishing and sharing information about BioBricks on the World Wide Web. This BBF RFC includes the recommendation for the minimal information expected when creating a Provisional BioBrick Language (PoBoL) description of BioBricks and for the implementation of the language using Web Ontology Language (OWL)

BBF RFC 30: Draft of an RDF-based framework for the exchange and integration of Synthetic Biology data

This Request for Comments (RFC) suggests a framework for the description, exchange and interlinking of Synthetic Biology data. The framework would create an open process for the evolution and “rolling” standardization of data models. It describes how data and data models are to be published, how they are exchanged and integrated between different parties, and how they can be extended, corrected and interlinked in a decentralized fashion. These goals are achieved by embracing the RDF (Resource Description Framework), a set of W3C standards. A one-sentence summary of this proposal would there- fore be: “Use RDF according to the W3C standards.” The PoBoL pro ject (Provisional BioBrick Ontology Language, http://pobol.org) is based on this idea. This RFC does not describe a data model per se but only outlines a possible architecture and rules of data exchange

Morbidity trends of musculosceletal diseases and antireumatic drug utilization: longitudinal study based on routinely collected data

Cilj: istražiti desetogodišnje kretanje pobola od bolesti mišićno-koštanog sustava (BMKS) registriranog u primarnoj zdravstvenoj zaštiti (PZZ) u RH i procijeniti je li potrošnja lijekova za tu grupu bolesti u skladu s kretanjem pobola. Materijali i metode. Iz Hrvatskog zdravstvenostatističkog ljetopisa od 2005. do 2014. godine prikupljeni su podatci o pobolu od BMKS (M01-M99) po dobim skupinama u ordinacijama PZZ. Iz izvješća Hrvatske agencije za lijekove i medicinske proizvode, prikupljeni su podatci o potrošnji lijekova skupine M, podskupina i svakog lijeka pojedinačno. Rezultati. BMKS zauzimaju treće mjesto ukupnog pobola; broj dijagnoza je rastao više od ukupnog pobola (8,6%-10,6%). Najveći udio čine starije osobe, a najčešće dijagnoze bile su bolesti kralježnice, artroze i upalne artropatije. Jedino u grupama skolioze i osteoporoze opaženo je opadanje. Potrošnja lijekova bila je u skladu s pobolom, porasla je s 37,3 DDD na 53,8 DDD, čime su na 4.-6. mjestu u sveukupnoj farmakološkoj, a 8. u financijskoj potrošnji lijekova. Nesteroidni antireumatici su vodeći (84%); dva najčešća trošena lijeka su diklofenak i ibuprofen; prvi sa silaznim, a drugi s uzlaznim trendom. Zaključci. Pobol od BMKS i potrošnja lijekova će najvjerojatnije i dalje rasti. Sve se manje koriste rizičniji antireumatici (diklofenak), a sve više nisko rizičan, ibuprofen.Aim. This survey investigated ten-year morbidity trend of usculoskeletal diseases (MSD) registered in the Croatian primary health care (PHC) and trends in antirheumatic drug utilization. Methods. Morbidity data (diagnoses M00-M99) registered in PHC for ten consecutive years were collected from the Croatian health service yearbooks (2005-2014). Data on MSD (M01-M09) drug utilization were obtained from the Croatian Agency for Medical Products and Medical Devices annual reports. Results. MSD were on the third place in total morbidity, with a growing tendency and a share of 8.6%-10.6% in total morbidity. They were more frequent in the elderly, with back-pain as the leading diagnosis, followed by degenerative and inflammatory rheumatism. Only scoliosis and osteoporosis showed decreasing tendency. Antirheumatic drug utilization are sharing morbidity trends, with an increase from 37.3 to 53.8 DDD and is in proportion with financial burden. NSAIDs are the leading group of drugs with a share of 84%. Diclofenac and ibuprofen were prescribed most frequently, diclofenac with a decreasing, and ibuprofen with an increasing trend. Conclusion. Growing trends in MSD morbidity and NSAIDs utilization will presumably continue in the future, with a relative decrease of higher risk drugs (diclofenac) and increase in lower risk drugs (ibuprofen)

Eesti legendaarne kirurg August Pobol

August Pobol sündis Põltsamaa kihelkonnas Kurista vallas talupidaja pere 11. lapsena. Pärast Aleksandri gümnaasiumi lõpetamist astus ta Tartu Ülikooli arstiteaduskonda, mille täieliku kursuse läbikuulamise järel 1914. a mobiliseeriti ta tsaariarmeesse sõjaväearstiks. Eesti Arst 2009; 88(7−8):530−53

How Narrow is Narrowcasting? Are regional dialects standardised for national TV?

This paper is about the representation of minorities in mass media, and the tension between fully representing the diversity of that group and remaining accessible to the widest possible audience. The case study is the Welsh-language soap opera Pobol Y Cwm, and whether the regional dialects of Welsh are ‘toned down’ to ensure comprehensibility for all Welsh speakers. The first aim of the article is to bring language into the discussion of how minorities are represented in Public Service Broadcasting (PSB). A second and more general aim is to open up a frame for further research into the tensions that arise in representing local diversity and harnessing national/group identity. As a contribution to the sociology of globalisation, this article will be looking for a middle ground between the totalising ‘McDonaldisation’ thesis – where all cultural diversity is eradicated – and equally strong counterclaims about the vigorous reassertion of diversity (e.g. Katz and Liebes, 1990). I argue that neither is correct, and that we are facing a much more gradual and incipient erosion of cultural diversity as local minority cultures are packaged in global media forms; and that this must be understood as a constant ongoing process with a historical trajectory, not an end point that is ever ‘reached’ – either by total homogenisation or by persistent diversity. The case of local dialects in PSB therefore serves as an exemplar of the limitations in showcasing diversity within minorities in mass media

MODELING INSTITUTIONS, START-UPS AND PRODUCTIVITY DURING TRANSITION

The transition paths from plan to market have varied markedly across countries. Central and Eastern European and the Baltic countries, which opted for a fast and profound transformation of their institutions including business climates, rapidly narrowed the productivity gap with advanced economies. In contrast, in countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which embarked on reforms later and contented with less depth, the productivity gap remains substantial. While the literature has focused mainly on empirical studies, this paper develops a dynamic search model of the firm start-ups that is consistent with the above trends. The model shows that an enabling institutional set up stimulates start-ups of highly productive firms at an earlier stage of transition, underscoring the importance of reforms. The role of the state sector as an employer during transition rises in countries where reforming institutions is particularly costly.Start-ups, dynamic search model, business climate, productivity, transition

Innovation Policy and Development in the ICT Paradigm: Regional and Theoretical Perspectives

Innovation policy forms a foundation, and probably the most important one, of economic development in any society, especially in today’s society driven by information and communication technologies (ICT). The Schumpeterian processes of creative destruction need stewardship – creative destruction management – and this paper aims to explore some key aspects of innovation policies from the perspective of the current ICT paradigm. The basic feature of the latter is the trend towards globalisation, towards facilitation of heterogeneity, diversity, and adaptability, which leads to market segmentation and niche proliferation as well as to production disaggregation and segment relocation. Analysis of innovation policies of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries shows that their current national innovation system based innovation policies are lacking several crucial features. First, one of the central arguments of creative-destruction management is paradigm-based, activity-specific priority-setting, but such wide-scale selection mechanisms have been and are still missing, and currently innovation policies by themselves can not lead to economic restructuring. Second, the whole concept of innovation systems has to a large extent focused on activities related to the production and use of codified scientific and technical knowledge leading to the situation where existing policies have essentially nothing to do with the average companies. Third, the current paradigm is characterised by globalised and open financial markets which, in case of the CEE countries, have enforced speculative economic growth, fuelled by domestic consumption and based on foreign borrowing. Finally, while the state is generally considered an important factor influencing how concrete innovation systems develop, linkages to policymaking itself and administrative capacities are quite missing and need to be revived, including the reconsideration of governance.innovation, economic development, innovation policy, ICT Paradigm, open innovation, governance, dissertations,

Television drama production in small nations: mobilities in a changing ecology

For small nations, the television industry functions on a number of interlinking levels constructing a sense of identity, contributing towards a democratic public sphere, and providing an important cultural and economic resource. Television drama is particularly important to these functions due to its ability to tell stories about and for a nation. However, the ecology of television drama production is changing in terms of technological innovation, greater competition, downward pressure on costs, and evolving audience consumption patterns. Set within this context, this article investigates the television industry of a particular small nation, Wales, and its most recent creative infrastructure project, the BBC’s Roath Lock Studios. One of the key features of the Welsh production ecology is mobility, and the authors frame this research around three aspects of mobility, which condition the making of television drama: how production and symbolic value are mobilized in small nations, the consequences of production mobility between regions and nations, and the impetus for content mobility through the international sale of series and formats. These forms of mobility are intimately linked to the negotiation of power, which circumscribes all indigenous drama production, but which may be felt more acutely by smaller nations where access to talent, greater limits on resources and questions of sustainability condition the everyday realities of television professionals. Using interviews with key stakeholders in the field of television drama production in Wales, this article argues that the voice and lived experience of television practitioners and stakeholders is a vital element in the academic critique of cultural and industrial developments in television production. The research suggests that Roath Lock would seem to be a success within its principal term of reference, which is to house more efficient and well-made drama for the BBC network and for S4C. On a more subjective level, it has been used by a variety of stakeholders to create positive perceptions of Welsh creative industries and ‘put Wales on the map’, to compete with other locales within and outside the United Kingdom, for international productions, capital investment, talent and industry legitimacy. However, real concerns remain about whether it enables drama production that adequately represents contemporary life in Wales, and delivers on the cultural aspirations of television workers and viewers