bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
University-Industry Linkages and Economic Catch-Up in Asia
Authors: Lee Keun , Kang Raeyoon
Published: January 2017

University-industry linkages (UILs) are not widely spread in Asian countries, but their extent is increasing, and firms tend to be satisfied with their interaction with them. As for the mode of UILs, in Asia, formal channels such as joint or contract-based research in Korea, China, and Malaysia and small-scale consulting in Thailand are more common, which is different from the case of the United States. This implies that different modes of UILs correspond to different stages of economic development of nations and/or the different capabilities of firms in each country. We also find that those that have certain R&D capabilities and thus conduct some R&D are the most frequent users of services from universities or public research institutes (PRIs). This implies that the relationship between R&D by firms and that by universities is more complementing than substituting. The fact that the firms that already conduct R&D activities tend to collaborate more with universities or PRIs might indicate the limitation of UILs as a new vehicle for catch-up. However, beyond the dichotomized question of supplementing or substitution, what matters more is apparently the absorption capacity of firms as well as the various (teaching, research, and entrepreneurial) capabilities of universities and laboratories. If such capabilities are there, there is no doubt that UILs will be more intense. Given the low or diverse degrees of capabilities of firms and universities in latecomer economies, increasing the level of their capabilities is foremost, followed by the utilization of diverse modes of UILs, depending on specific conditions and contexts.
Too Cheap Hurt Farmers, Too Expensive Hurt Customers: The Changing Impacts of Supermarkets on Chinese Agro-food Markets
Authors: Mei Lixia , Shao Dan
Published: January 2017

The supermarket revolution has arrived in China; however, it does not play a role as active as expected. The prices of vegetables fluctuate drastically, which making farmers disinterested in their production, while customers find them too expensive to consume. In this paper, we try to explain this dilemma from various aspects, with a focus on the changing impacts of supermarkets on Chinese agro-food markets, based on a survey of 200 buyers in five large supermarkets at Wuhan, Hubei province of China; and as a result, to further understand the shifting dynamics of Chinese agricultural development and transformation, in the specific context of global agro-food production networks.
Book Review: Indigenous Peoples in Liberal Democratic States: A Comparative Study of Conflict and Accommodation in Canada and India
Authors: Subba T.B.
Published: January 2017

H. Srikanth, Indigenous Peoples in Liberal Democratic States: A Comparative Study of Conflict and Accommodation in Canada and India, Bauu Press, Colorado, 2010, 242pp. ISBN 13: 978-0-9820467-4-6
Book Review: Non-Western International Relations Theory: Perspectives on and Beyond Asia
Authors: Joshi Yogesh
Published: January 2017

Barry Buzan and Amitav Acharya. Non-Western International Relations Theory: Perspectives on and Beyond Asia, 2010, Routledge, New York
Productivity Heterogeneity and Internationalization: Evidence from Japanese Firms
Authors: Wakasugi Ryuhei , Tanaka Ayumu
Published: January 2017

This paper examines whether the rank of Japanese firms’ (using 12,504 firm level dataset) productivity sorts the modes of their internationalization and how firms’ productivity affects their choice of export and FDI to destinations with similar income level. The empirical results in the paper demonstrate that the mode of firm’s internationalization in selected regions shifts from non- internationalization to export, and from export to FDI as the productivity of firms rises. It confirms the theoretical prediction of the HMY model. The paper also finds empirical evidence that the productivity of firms internationalizing in multiple region is much higher than that of firms internationalizing in a single region, regardless of the mode of internationalization. This finding can be justified on theoretical ground that higher share in the global markets by a firm will require higher productivity.
Determinants of Farmers’ Participation in Contract Farming: The Cases of Gherkin and Paddy Seed in Andhra Pradesh, India
Authors: Swain Braja Bandhu
Published: January 2017

Since the last one and half decades, the terms “small farmer” and “contract farming” have come into common usage in academic and policy discussions. The concern is whether small farmers would benefit from contract farming. It is very likely that since firms initiate the contract, a farmer’s participation in contract farming depends largely on firm’s criteria rather than farmer’s choice. Though some studies have discussed this issue, it needs greater attention to identify the factors that influence farmers to be in such new mode of production. In this context, the present paper seeks to identify the characteristics of contract and non-contract farmers and factors that induce farmers to participate in contract farming. The analysis is based on 295 farm households (including both contract and non-contract) from two districts of Andhra Pradesh. Binary logit model was used to identify the determinants of farmers’ participation in contract farming. The results indicate that contract farmers were generally from better segments of farming community in terms of education level, productive assets and access to market as compared to the non-contract ones. The result of binary logit model confirmed that large farmers with better irrigation facilities are more likely to be in contract mode of production. In addition, farmers having bigger family size are more likely to be in contract mode of production as compared to others. It could be argued that in this scenario, contract farming practice may lead to higher inequality in the agrarian economy. There is a need for better institutional mechanisms to make contract farming more inclusive.
The Role of Complement in Periodontal Diseases
Authors: Schenkein Harvey A.
Published: January 2017

The complement system has been implicated as both a pathogenic mechanism and a means of protection in periodontal diseases. It is well known that bacteria activate complement; such activation can initiate a number of events, including bacterial opsonization and killing, release of inflammatory agents, and modulation of other immune reactions. Cleavage of complement proteins has been observed in gingival fluids from individuals with periodontal disease and some investigators have observed complement deposition in diseased gingival tissues. Furthermore, a number of bacteria from individuals with periodontal diseases have been found to activate complement in vitro; some of these organisms appear to have the capacity to evade opsonization due to their proteolytic capacity. However, concrete evidence is not yet available that indicates that complement activation occurs in human periodontal disease and is important in either its pathogenesis or in protection against bacterial virulence factors.
Evolution of Reinforcement Learning in Uncertain Environments: A Simple Explanation for Complex Foraging Behaviors
Authors: Niv Yael , Joel Daphna , Meilijson Isaac , Ruppin Eytan
Published: January 2017

Reinforcement learning is a fundamental process by which organisms learn to achieve goals from their interactions with the environment. Using evolutionary computation techniques we evolve (near-)optimal neuronal learning rules in a simple neural network model of reinforcement learning in bumblebees foraging for nectar. The resulting neural networks exhibit efficient reinforcement learning, allowing the bees to respond rapidly to changes in reward contingencies. The evolved synaptic plasticity dynamics give rise to varying exploration/exploitation levels and to the well-documented choice strategies of risk aversion and probability matching. Additionally, risk aversion is shown to emerge even when bees are evolved in a completely risk-less environment. In contrast to existing theories in economics and game theory, risk-averse behavior is shown to be a direct consequence of (near-)optimal reinforcement learning, without requiring additional assumptions such as the existence of a nonlinear subjective utility function for rewards. Our results are corroborated by a rigorous mathematical analysis, and their robustness in real-world situations is supported by experiments in a mobile robot. Thus we provide a biologically founded, parsimonious, and novel explanation for risk aversion and probability matching.
Tax Policy under Nongeometric Physical Depreciation
Authors: Kollintzas Tryphon
Published: January 2017

This article takes into account most important features of the U.S. corporation income tax structure in the derivation of the user cost of capital from a model that allows for nonstatic expectations and nongeometric physical depreciation. The depreciation component of the derived user cost of capital is a function of the discounted future stream of after-tax replacement costs necessary to maintain indefinitely one unit of capital. This establishes a previously neglected channel through which tax policy may affect the user cost of capital and therefore fixed investment. The major implication of this finding is that tax policy changes that are perceived to be relatively temporary may have a smaller impact on fixed investment than previously thought.
Joint Products and a Positive Response to a Profit Tax
Authors: Kreutzer David , Lee Dwight R.
Published: January 2017

It is shown that rather than having a neutral (in the short run) or negative (in the long run) effect on output, a profit tax can, with joint products, increase a profit-maximizing firm's output. As counterintuitive as this result appears initially, it is a straightforward implication of joint products.
Measuring the Sensitivity of Net Interest Paid to the Business Cycle and to Inflation
Authors: Holloway Thomas M.
Published: January 2017

Net interest paid has been one of the most rapidly growing components of federal government expenditures since 1970. Unlike other components of the budget, public policy actions can have little effect on its rise—especially in the short run. For this reason, it is important to examine the forces “automatically” affecting net interest paid. This article examines the sources of change in net interest paid and provides an analytical framework to estimate the automatic effects of the business cycle and inflation. The framework incorporates the most important factors affecting net interest paid, including interest rates, budget deficits, and outstanding stocks (short-term and long-term debt and direct loans), and highlights the simultaneous relationship between net interest paid and changes in net debt (federal debt outstanding less direct loans outstanding). A sample application of the analytical framework is discussed.
Basic Needs: Paternalistic Government Welfare Policy with Distortionary Taxation
Authors: Birch Thomas D.
Published: January 2017

This article analyzes government welfare policy in a general equilibrium setting with distortionary taxation. Government welfare policy is in accordance with the preferences of donor-taxpayers who want the consumption-leisure bundle of recipients to satisfy “basic needs.” The main focus is on the optimal level of employment for a destitute welfare recipient from the donor-taxpayer's perspective. This optimal level depends on the distortionary cost of taxation, whether the donor regards leisure or work as a basic “need,” and the distribution of the recipient's income if work is required. It is argued that donor appropriation of income resulting from mandatory recipient work in the private sector is not necessarily superior to either letting recipients retain their income or having the government appropriate the recipient's income from mandatory public sector employment.
Commodity Taxation for Maximum Revenue
Authors: Kay John , Keen Michael
Published: January 2017

When product quality and variety can be varied, the yield from a commodity tax is likely to depend not only on the overall rate but also on the form of the tax. This article compares specific and ad valorem taxes from a perspective of revenue maximization. The analysis shows that both kinds of tax are likely to distort nonprice behavior, but suggests that revenue considerations will commonly point to predominantly specific taxation.
An Atypical Case of Mucocutaneous Blastomycosis in the Greater Toronto Area
Authors: Liu Annie , Shear Neil , Wong John , Klieb Hagen B. E.
Published: January 2017

Blastomycosis is an uncommon infection caused by Blastomyces dermatitidis. While management is fairly straightforward, diagnosis can be quite challenging. We describe a case of a healthy 37-year-old man who presented with progressive mucocutaneous lesions, without lung or other systemic involvement. Treatment with itraconazole resulted in complete resolution of signs and symptoms. This case showcases the variety of blastomycosis clinical presentation and the importance of blastomycosis in the differential diagnosis of verrucous and papillomatous mucocutaneous lesions.
Farewell Old Friend or Bye-Bye Bully Boy? The Closure of a ‘Media Icon’ and Challenging the ‘Free Press’ Paradigm
Authors: Bromley Michael , Neal Regan
Published: January 2017

The closure of The Bulletin magazine was widely reported and commented on by journalists and others in the media who sought to apportion blame for this rupture, to explain it as an aberration and to reassert the norm of the ‘free’ press and the Fourth Estate. In the past, such paradigm repair would have gone unchallenged as those in the media controlled what appeared there. With the advent of accessible digital information and communication technologies, however, members of the public are encouraged to have their say. This study compared the ways in which journalists and their sources and members of the public framed the closure of The Bulletin. In the era of dialogic mediated communications, journalists and others in the media can no longer assume that contrary voices will be silenced.
Play School Keeps it Real
Authors: Hill Lisa
Published: January 2017

This article examines the television show Play School and the consistency with which it has engaged Australian children for over 40 years. Drawing on Susan Howard's findings that relate the effects of television on children to their perceptions of reality, Play School is deconstructed to reveal the techniques used to appeal to the preschool aged child's own experience of what is ‘real’. Examining episodes produced 20 years apart, these strategies are seen as constants throughout the show's history, and are further shown to accommodate a changing socio-cultural landscape and remain relevant to their young audience.
Sleeping with the Enemy: Disintermediation in Internet Advertising
Authors: Sinclair John , Wilken Rowan
Published: January 2017

The advent of internet advertising has changed the basis of the intermediary role which the advertising agency traditionally has occupied between advertisers and the media. This is disintermediation, or ‘cutting out the middle man’. The intrinsic and distinctive properties of the internet as a commercial medium, and its interactive character, have given rise to the phenomenon of search advertising, which diminishes the need for an advertising agency. This article outlines and analyses the challenge which Google and the other search services pose to advertising agencies, and the strategies which the global advertising industry has been taking up in response. In particular, evidence of Google's steps towards assuming the functions of an advertising agency, and even of a traditional advertising media owner, are canvassed, and set against an account of the global agency groups’ moves into specialist digital companies, and how they are working with the search services.
Whither Culture? Australian Horror Films and the Limitations of Cultural Policy
Authors: Ryan Mark David
Published: January 2017

Cultural policy that attempts to foster the Australian film industry's growth and development in an era of globalisation is coming under increasing pressure. Throughout the 2000s, there has been a substantial boom in Australian horror films led by ‘runaway’ horror film Saw (2004), Wolf Creek (2005) and Undead (2003), achieving varying levels of popularity and commercial success worldwide. However, emerging within a national cinema driven by public subsidy and valuing ‘quality’ and ‘cultural content’ over ‘entertainment’ and ‘commercialism’, horror films have generally been antithetical to these objectives. Consequently, the recent boom in horror films has occurred largely outside the purview and subvention of cultural policy. This paper argues that global forces and emerging production and distribution models are challenging the ‘narrowness’ of cultural policy — a narrowness that mandates a particular film culture, circumscribes certain notions of value and limits the variety of films produced domestically. Despite their low-culture status, horror films have been well suited to the Australian film industry's financial limitations; they are a growth strategy for producers and a training ground for emerging filmmakers.
The Globalisation of the Korean Advertising Industry: Dependency or Hybridity?
Authors: Kim Kwangmi Ko , Cha Heewon
Published: January 2017

This study aims to examine how globalisation has moulded the identity and structure of the Korean advertising industry, and to analyse its transformations through the conceptual lens of hybridity: whether it is an industry dominated by global power, represented by transnational advertising agencies and transnational corporations, or one hybridised through globalisation. The Korean advertising industry was officially opened to foreign investment in 1987 as part of a trade pact with the United States. While transnational advertising agencies (TNAAs) have become well established in Korea over the past 20 years, local interests have come to coexist with the TNAAs through both competition and cooperation. Advertisers in the Korean market still maintain strong in-house agencies as a counterbalance to the growth of TNAA forces, simultaneously providing insight into the nature of globalisation and regionalisation. The analysis thus indicates that the Korean advertising industry represents a ‘hybrid’ rather than a ‘dependent’ mode of existence.
Advertising in Contemporary India's Rapidly Changing Media Environment
Authors: Ciochetto Lynne
Published: January 2017

The introduction of neo-liberal policies, the opening of the economy and the deregulation of the media stimulated a massive expansion in advertising in India in the early 1990s. Print advertising had been the dominant sector, but the proliferation of television channels stimulated the expansion of television advertising. By the end of the decade, the advertising industry was dominated by foreign companies, products and advertising agencies, but the strategies used had become increasingly ‘Indianised’ and customised to local audiences. The fracturing of the market through the proliferation of media choices meant advertising strategies were differentiated by product category, company ownership (foreign or local), media and target audience. Social and cultural changes have also had an impact on strategies: these include the expansion of the middle classes, challenges to the traditional extended family, changing roles of women in work and private life, and the advent of the internet and cell phones as new media with specific audiences.
Globalising Women: How Global Women's Magazines in China and Singapore Transmit Consumer Culture
Authors: Frith Katherine
Published: January 2017

This article outlines some of the moral and cultural issues involved in the commercialising of Asian women by describing how the entrance of foreign women's magazines is changing the form and tone of women's magazines in both Singapore and China — respectively amongst the smallest and largest countries in Asia, but sharing a similar culture and language. While the populations of these two countries differ significantly in terms of income and education, nonetheless the rising incomes of middle-class women in both countries have attracted the attention of luxury brands and led to the rise of global women's magazines in both nations. Are women's magazines just frivolous and fun, or do they shape women's attitudes and values? Do the images in global media contribute to the empowerment of women or do they merely entangle them in a web of conspicuous consumption?
Communication Services in Remote Indigenous Communities
Authors: Papandrea Franco
Published: January 2017

Access to and use of modern communication services in remote Indigenous communities in Australia lags considerably behind that in the rest of Australia because of inadequate supply arrangements and prevalent economic and social conditions. This article presents some findings of research on the availability and use of telephone and internet services in remote Indigenous communities in central Australia. The research involved the collection of community-wide data on the availability of telephone and internet services as well as details of individual user experience in the use of those services. In evaluating the findings, the article suggests potential improvements to programs for the delivery of better communication services in remote communities.
The Funny Thing about Scottish Independents…
Authors: Hibberd Lynne
Published: January 2017

The Comedy Unit is one of the most successful independent production companies in Scotland. Established in 1995 by former employees of BBC Scotland and based in Glasgow, The Comedy Unit uses a specifically Scottish voice in its productions — a factor that increases its success outside Scotland. This article examines the national specificity of The Comedy Unit's television productions and explores the reliance of the independent sector in Scotland on the BBC. This includes an exploration of the role and importance of Scottish national identity in four programs made by The Comedy Unit. The paper contributes to the body of work examining the national specificity of comedy, the nature and structure of the television industries in the United Kingdom, and the largely neglected area of television production and television entertainment in Scotland.
Australian Press and Public Opinion on the Israel-Palestine Conflict
Authors: Han Eulalia , Rane Halim
Published: January 2017

This article examines the relationship between Australian press coverage of, and public opinion on, the Israel–Palestine conflict using a framing perspective. The first part of the study involves analysis of almost 10,000 articles published in The Australian and the Sydney Morning Herald between 2000 and 2010. The second part of the study is based on an online survey conducted with 1021 participants nationally. The main aim of this study is to identify the extent to which the issues deemed most central to resolving the conflict have been covered by the Australian press and the extent to which Australian public opinion is either reflective of this content or represents alternate views. The study found that respondents expressed perspectives inconsistent with prevalent news frames, including a close identification with the Palestinian narrative as well as views on a resolution of the conflict reflective of a concern for human rights and universal values.
Korean Youth Netizenship and its Discontents
Authors: Epstein Stephen , Jung Sun
Published: January 2017

South Korea frequently is regarded as standing at the vanguard of the digital revolution, and its status as perhaps the world's most wired society makes it a fruitful case study for considering how digital culture may develop. South Korea's reputation rests in part on statistics that place it at the global forefront in terms of broadband penetration and internet speed – that is, its infrastructural ‘hardware’ – but it is equally in the cultural expression of Korea's engagement with digital media – its ‘software’ – that the nation evinces characteristics that call for attention. Compressed modernisation in South Korea has brought about contestation over acceptable behaviour, and several recent incidents highlight the thorny negotiation of cultural practice in the Web 2.0 era. This article focuses on two interrelated phenomena: first, the use of digital media to confront convention and foster activism; and second, an opposing desire to police violations of norms, often at the expense of invasion of privacy and human rights.
From ‘Revolutionary Changes’ to ‘Things as Usual’: The Political Role of Online Media in South Korea
Authors: Kwak Ki-Sung
Published: January 2017

This article examines the political role of online media in the process of democratisation in South Korea. It argues that online media in Korea emerged when the institutionalisation of the political parties was weak, and when the mainstream media were polarised, losing the trust of the general public. These two factors allowed new forces in civil society to emerge as influential mediators in political communication and mobilisation. The political impact of online media experienced in the Korean context shows that the great potential of the internet demonstrated in the first half of the 2000s proved to be less potent in the 2007 presidential election because political and media contingencies had neutralised it. In 2007, online media were adopted by the incumbent political party and also by the mainstream media, which utilised their existing power resources and advantage.
Locating the Online: Creativity and User-Created Content in Seoul
Authors: Hjorth Larissa
Published: January 2017

As one location boasting high broadband speeds, infrastructure, strong techno-nationalist policy and some of the early examples of so-called ‘digital natives’, South Korea has been seen as the model for the future of online culture. However, beyond these images of techno-fantasies is a technoculture that is marred by an increasing ambivalence towards online media. Specifically through user-created content (UCC), researchers can gain insight into some of the paradoxes emerging around online creativity, community and politics. Drawing on fieldwork conducted between 2009 and 2011, this article considers what UCC means in Korea and how this reflects the particularities of Korea's technoculture.
Korean Cosmetic Surgery and Digital Publicity: Beauty by Korean Design
Authors: Davies Gloria , Han Gil-Soo
Published: January 2017

This article examines the relationship between digital publicity and cosmetic surgery. While focused on South Korea, it also discusses China because of the conspicuous Chinese demand for Korean cosmetic surgery in recent years. In fact, China has become the largest export market for Korean cosmetic surgery. The analysis is based on the premise that there is a vital link between cosmetic surgery and digital technology in both these countries. We argue that the celebrity culture spawned by entertainment media has facilitated the normalisation of cosmetic surgery to the extent that it is commonly viewed, quite unproblematically, as a form of human physiological enhancement. The article examines the publicity surrounding cosmetic surgery (comprising media reports, advertisements and commentaries) to see how it is presented in the Korean media and on the internet. These findings are then considered in relation to the promotion of Korean cosmetic surgery in China.
MIA — Musings IN Appreciation
Authors: Cunningham Stuart
Published: January 2017

Stuart Cunningham has been a regular contributor to MIA since 1987, and was one of the six editors appointed to manage MIA after Henry Mayer's death in 1991.
Stop the Presses: Strikes in the Australian News Media
Authors: Van Heekeren Margaret
Published: January 2017

Despite a preference for conciliation and arbitration, and a commitment to the public service role of information provision, the Australian news media have a long history of strikes disrupting news production. In detailing this history, from 1829 to the present day, this article draws from archival and newspaper research to supplement previously published accounts of major strikes to create a chronology of strikes that halted news production for a day or longer. The sector's strike history can be categorised into three distinct eras: nineteenth-century printers' strikes; major-impact journalists' and printers' strikes of the mid-twentieth century; and low-impact strikes of the 2000s.
Women's Pages in Australian Print Media from the 1850s
Authors: Lloyd Justine
Published: January 2017

For a roughly a century, from the 1870s to the 1970s, most Australian newspapers ran a section directed towards a woman reader written from a woman's perspective and edited by a female journalist. The rise and fall of the women's editor's ‘empire within an empire’ provides insight into female journalists' industrial situation, as well as a window on to gender relations in colonial and post-Federation Australia. This history matches wider struggles over the notion of separate spheres and resulting claims for equality, as well as debates over mainstream news values. This article investigates the appearance and disappearance of women's sections from Australian newspapers, and argues that this story has greater impact on contemporary digital formats than we perhaps realise.
A Brief History of Science Communication in Australia
Authors: Burns Maureen
Published: January 2017

Early science reporting in Australia – up to and including the 1940s – was often sourced from overseas. During and after World War II, attention turned to applied science, at first for the war effort and afterwards to rebuild the nation. From the late 1950s to the late 1970s, entrepreneurs in science and media in Sydney worked together to provide science material in commercial outlets as well as for the ABC. In the context of the space race, the Cold War and atomic energy, science communication flourished from the 1950s to the 1970s. Since then, science content has been widespread in the television schedules of commercial networks in forms such as children's television, lifestyle programs and news items, and is also apparent in community radio schedules as well as on ABC television and radio. Claims that Australia has little science communication may be based on too narrow a view of what constitutes science content.
From ‘Rags' to ‘Riches’: The Evolution of the Australian Suburban Newspaper
Authors: Richardson Nick
Published: January 2017

This article attempts to begin the process of acknowledging the important historical role that suburban newspapers have played in the Australian print media landscape. It canvasses some reasons for this lack of recognition across the media, including the stigma of a ‘free’ publication. It also identifies the foundations that have shaped the suburban press, and reveals some important, and hitherto unrecognised, collective initiatives that the suburban press undertook to protect their interests. Finally, it raises the prospect that there are significant opportunities for the suburban press to capitalise on the digital era's focus on local news.
Controversial New Sciences in the Media: Content Analysis of Global Reporting of Nanotechnology during the Last Decade
Authors: Fisk Kylie , Fitzgerald Richard , Cokley John
Published: January 2017

The potentially controversial science of nanotechnology is only now beginning to infiltrate mainstream public consciousness through media channels. This article suggests the infiltration is taking different forms, depending on the nationality of journalists reporting on the science. Having completed analysis of a large longitudinal international sample of news and feature articles about nanotechnology, we report that journalists in Australia and New Zealand deploy sources ‘direct from the lab’ to highlight scientific advancements; those in Asia emphasise the nation-building potential of nanotechnology; US journalists provide positive coverage across all areas; and those in the United Kingdom offer the most critical analysis and risk reporting. These messages have also evolved over time in each region. Results are integrated with existing research about public perceptions of nanotechnology, and suggest several themes common to all media reporting of nanotechnology, the most important of which reflects positive reporting or acceptance, although safety concerns and health risks also arise.
Transnational Publics and Environmental Conflict in the Asian Century
Authors: Lester Libby
Published: January 2017

Conflict over landscape use, resource access and environmental futures has become a central feature of contemporary political life. Increasingly, these conflicts are articulated, negotiated and potentially resolved across national boundaries and complex networks of media and communications. Within the context of intensifying pressure for resources, market opportunities and changing media practices, this article examines the multi-directional and multi-layered flows of political communication and action that are developing within the Asian region. It outlines a case of recent environmental protests targeted at Japanese and Malaysian companies involved in the procurement and sale of Australian forest products, and reveals how distant supporters are being enabled to join with those affected locally to resist development, end resource procurement and undermine growth strategies.
Public Spheres and the Media in India
Authors: Khorana Sukhmani , Parthasarathi Vibodh , Thomas Pradip Ninan
Published: January 2017

This themed issue of MIA highlights the complex nature of evolving, emerging, mediated public spheres in India, a large, imperfect democracy that is home to the most diverse mediated public spheres anywhere in the world. The history of the public sphere in India has followed a trajectory that is very different from – even at odds with – the history of this sphere as described by Habermas.
Remembering a problematic past: TV mystics, perestroika and the 1990s in post-Soviet media and memory
Authors: Huxtable Simon
Published: January 2017

This article examines memories of the TV psychic Anatoly Kashpirovsky, whose TV ‘séances’ were broadcast on Soviet state television in the late-1980s. Based on the results of interviews from Russians and Ukrainians conducted in 2013–2014, a television serial based on the rise of TV mystics in the late-1980s and a web forum devoted to discussion of the serial, this article uses memories of Kashpirovsky in both vernacular and public contexts as a means of understanding the place of perestroika and the 1990s in the post-Soviet historical consciousness. In particular, the article focuses on the continued contestation over the meaning of perestroika and the 1990s in Russian and Ukrainian collective memory and the different interpretative strategies used to explain the past. The article seeks to examine the different forms of memory work taking place in different memory spaces, from the popular, vernacular memories voiced in interviews, to public memories expressed within popular culture.
Public knowledge-making and the media: Genes, genetics, cloning and Mass Observation
Authors: Haran Joan , O’Riordan Kate
Published: January 2017

Media analysis of public engagement with genetics and cloning is dominated by media genre-specific or issue-specific analysis. Such analyses tend to frame genetics as a new technology, and media resources as current and immediate. Broader public discourses tend towards marginalising public knowledge as against expert voices. This article takes a broader perspective to demonstrate that people engage with multiple media genres over an extensive time frame. It explores the findings of Mass Observation directive looking at how people know about genes, genetics and cloning. We detail the specificity of using this research instrument and map the rich and detailed media culture, which emerged. Thus, we provide insight into how media cultures resource public knowledge-making over time. The research also indicates a pro-science and engaged public culture in relation to genetics in the United Kingdom, in which the media are key.
Conceptualizing citizen journalism: US news editors’ views
Authors: Chung Deborah S , Nah Seungahn , Yamamoto Masahiro
Published: January 2017

Based on a national survey and a qualitative content analysis of US daily news editors’ understanding of citizen journalism, we identify key ideas associated with the concept of Citizen Journalism Complexity. Patterns related to those dimensions that may impact editors’ conceptions of the phenomenon at the individual and organizational levels are examined. A total of 10 core ideas emerged in the aggregate discussion, but a majority of the participants defined the concept simplistically focusing on one- or two-dimensional definitions. Arguments from journalistic professionalism (occupational roles), audience engagement/collaboration (normative values), and behavioral practices are represented. This article discusses the extent to which citizen journalism is defined and guided by demographic variables, individual journalistic experience, and organizational characteristics.
Tuning the discipline of history in the United States: Harmony (and dissonance) in teaching and learning
Authors: McInerney Daniel J
Published: January 2017

Tuning's progress in the discipline of history in the United States since 2009 illustrates the project's continuing capacity to develop “educational structures and programmes on the basis of diversity and autonomy”, maintaining the initiative's original European Union commitment in a markedly different academic environment across the Atlantic. Struggling initially against a backdrop of confusion, hesitancy, and resistance among US faculty, Tuning has been adopted by a steadily expanding number of educators in individual institutions, state systems, and the history discipline's premier professional society. Though operating, at times, in an uneven, imprecise, or pro forma manner, Tuning in the US manages to address several important goals: bringing a more coherent frame of reference to scattered conversations about higher education; framing a more meaningful discussion about the knowledge, skills, and non-monetized “value” developed through higher education; focusing on the central role of faculty discipline experts in the work of assessment, accreditation, and accountability; and engaging professional scholarly societies on questions of teaching and learning.
Health Companion Project: A community-based participatory research model for health promotion in Iran
Authors: Yazdanpanah Behrouz , Safari Mitra , Bahreini Farahosadat , Vafaei Farzad , Salari Mohsen , Yosefi Mehran , Rezaei Masood , Hosseni Ali , Habibian Mohammad , Moradian Farid , Yazdanpanah Behzad
Published: January 2017

A 4-year (2008–2011) community-based participatory research was implemented in the Kohgiloyeh and Boyerahmad province, Iran. A steering committee was established from academics, policy makers, health officials, and representatives of health sectors. This committee selected six regions within Boyerahmad and Dena counties based on administrative divisions. Health companions consisting of stakeholders, academics, local leaders, health providers, and public representatives were established to guide the project in each region. The health companion groups were enabled by attending workshops dealing with need assessment, priority setting, and research methodology. Health companion groups adopted a Planned Approach to Community Health (PATCH) methodology including community mobilization for data collection, health priority setting, developing of a comprehensive intervention plan, and evaluation. A list of main health issues and their priorities for each region was provided. Subsequently, research topics were determined and six surveys and intervention programs were planned and implemented. After intervention most of top priority health risk factors were decreased and the preventive programs that targeted risk factors were increased significantly. This project is found to be an effective approach for building stronger partnerships between researchers and community members for the development of effective solutions for local health concerns and promote public health.
Reflections on the 12th International Transformative Learning Conference
Authors: Schapiro Steven A. , Gallegos Placida V. , Stashower Keren , Clark Donna F.
Published: January 2017

This article is a reflective essay that explores the question: What can the content and experience of the conference tell us about the state of theory and practice in the field of TL; where is it today and where it may be going in the future? The 12th International Transformative Learning Conference (ITLC) held October 19-23 at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA was an opportunity to engage with this question and observe the emergence of some useful answers. The conference brought together 250 participants from 25 countries around the theme: “Meeting at intersections of places for transformative learning”. Presenters offered rich interaction of TL and Intersectionality through various symposia, presentations and experiential learning sessions that showed the application, development and potential evolution of TL. Open Space Technology was use to engage with this diverse community around the practice, theory, and future of TL. The attendees experienced different forms of TL practices and theory. The authors of this paper relied on their experience as co-chairs and presenters of the Conference, as well as faculty, alum and student of Fielding Graduate University to reflect on the main themes of intersections and intersectionality found in the content of the symposia, presentations, and experiential sessions. We found five main themes of intersections: between various theories and disciplines; between body, mind, and spirit as aspects of the self; between the self and social and political contexts in which it is embedded; between self and others in the engagement with difference; and between forms of transformative practice. In our closing comments and reflections, we addressed whether or not the conference was enough of a “holding space” for transformation to take place. We noted that there was a noticeable “call” from conference attendees for TL theory and practice to extend beyond individual and group support to the society and its social and systemic challenges.
Data-driven automatic parking constrained control for four-wheeled mobile vehicles
Authors: Yan Wenxu , Deng Jing , Xu Dezhi
Published: January 2017

In this article, a novel data-driven constrained control scheme is proposed for automatic parking systems. The design of the proposed scheme only depends on the steering angle and the orientation angle of the car, and it does not involve any model information of the car. Therefore, the proposed scheme-based automatic parking system is applicable to different kinds of cars. In order to further reduce the desired trajectory coordinate tracking errors, a coordinates compensation algorithm is also proposed. In the design procedure of the controller, a novel dynamic anti-windup compensator is used to deal with the change magnitude and rate saturations of automatic parking control input. It is theoretically proven that all the signals in the closed-loop system are uniformly ultimately bounded based on Lyapunov stability analysis method. Finally, a simulation comparison among the proposed scheme with coordinates compensation and Proportion Integration Differentiation (PID) control algorithm is given. It is shown that the proposed scheme with coordinates compensation has smaller tracking errors and more rapid responses than PID scheme.
‘Gaps, mishaps and overlaps’. Nursing documentation: How does it affect care?
Authors: Charalambous Liz , Goldberg Sarah
Published: January 2017

Complete, accurate and relevant nursing documentation is essential for the multidisciplinary comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) process which can improve older patients’ outcomes following a hospital admission. Our aim is to understand older person nurses’ experiences of and attitudes to documentation, via semi-structured, in-depth interviews of eight qualified nurses at an acute hospital trust. Interviews were analysed using the framework approach to identify key themes. Three overarching themes were identified: gaps, mishaps and overlaps. Gaps refer to information which was missing, inaccurate or inconsistent; mishaps refer to the consequences of these inaccuracies and inconsistencies; and overlaps refer to the problem of duplications in recording of information. Older person nurses report many inconsistencies, omissions and duplications in their documentation. This has implications for how nursing contributes to the CGA and the quality of care of older patients. New ways must be found to minimise and streamline existing documentation to ensure that records are complete, timely and person-centred. Nurses should be mindful that emerging digital technology systems do not create further problems. Ward nurses need to take greater control of development of documentation.
The Spectacle Within: Symbolist Painting and Minimalist Mise-en-Scène
Authors: Taroff Kurt
Published: January 2017

Symbolism’s rejection of spectacle has frequently been seen as the harbinger of a modernist anti-theatricality. Suspicious of the idea that the stage could ever represent ‘objective reality’ and contemptuous of audiences that prized pageantry over poetry, the symbolists were indeed opposed to the theatre of the late nineteenth century as an art-form incompatible with their worldview. At the same time, the influence of Wagner and the potential for communion with a present audience were among multiple incentives driving the symbolists towards theatrical production. As many symbolists clamoured for a ‘renewal’ of the theatre, calling for the integration of poetry, music and painting on stage, in many cases, the mise-en-scène was constituted by the prominent display of a painting by a symbolist artist as a backdrop. This essay will explore the relationship between symbolist painting and drama, as well as that between symbolist mise-en-scène and that of the other contemporaneous genres. Ultimately, I propose that the symbolist engagement with the visual in the theatre was primarily concerned with establishing an alternative positionality for the spectator, one not of aesthetic appreciation, magical absorption or critical distance, but rather an active participation in the creation of the dramatic world.
Intraoperative complications during revision shoulder arthroplasty: a study using the National Joint Registry dataset
Authors: Ingoe Helen M. , Holland Philip , Cowling Paul , Kottam Lucksy , Baker Paul N. , Rangan Amar
Published: January 2017

Background

The surgical options for revision shoulder arthroplasty and the number of procedures performed are increasing. However, little is known about the risk factors for intraoperative complications associated with this complex surgery.

Methods

The National Joint Registry (NJR) is a surgeon reported database recording information on major joint replacements including revision shoulder arthroplasty. Using multivariable binary logistic regression modelling, we analyzed 1445 revision shoulder arthroplasties reported to the NJR between April 2012 and 2015.

Results

The risk of developing a complication during revision surgery was greater than primary arthroplasty (5% versus 2.5%). An intraoperative fracture was the most common complication occurring in 50 (3.5%) cases. Nerve injuries were recorded for two (0.1%) patients and vascular injuries for one (0.1%) patient. The incidence of intraoperative fractures was higher in females than males (relative risk = 3.25; p = 0.005). Periprosthetic fracture as an indication for revision carried the highest risk for any complication (relative risk = 3.00, p = 0.06).

Conclusions

This is the largest registry study to date investigating the incidence and risk factors for intraoperative complications during revision shoulder arthroplasty. Females have over three times the risk of intraoperative fractures compared to males. This study will help inform surgeons to accurately counsel patients.