bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Detection and characterization of heavy drizzle cells within subtropical marine stratocumulus using AMSR-E 89-GHz passive microwave measurements
Authors: Miller M. A. , Yuter S. E.
Published: January 2013

Abstract. This empirical study demonstrates the feasibility of using 89-GHz Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer–Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) passive microwave brightness temperature data to detect heavily drizzling cells within subtropical marine stratocumulus. For the purpose of this paper, we define heavily drizzling cells as areas ≥ 6 km × 4 km with C-band Z > 0 dBZ; equivalent to > 0.084 mm h−1. A binary heavy drizzle product is described that can be used to determine areal and feature statistics of drizzle cells within the major marine stratocumulus regions. Current satellite liquid water path (LWP) and cloud radar products capable of detecting drizzle are either lacking in resolution (AMSR-E LWP), diurnal coverage (MODIS LWP), or spatial coverage (CloudSat). The AMSR-E 89-GHz data set at 6 km × 4 km spatial resolution is sufficient for resolving individual heavily drizzling cells. Radiant emission at 89 GHz by liquid-water cloud and precipitation particles from drizzling cells in marine stratocumulus regions yields local maxima in brightness temperature against an otherwise cloud-free background brightness temperature. The background brightness temperature is primarily constrained by column-integrated water vapor for moderate sea surface temperatures. Clouds containing ice are screened out. Once heavily drizzling pixels are identified, connected pixels are grouped into discrete drizzle cell features. The identified drizzle cells are used in turn to determine several spatial statistics for each satellite scene, including drizzle cell number and size distribution. The identification of heavily drizzling cells within marine stratocumulus regions with satellite data facilitates analysis of seasonal and regional drizzle cell occurrence and the interrelation between drizzle and changes in cloud fraction.
Improving retrieval quality for airborne limb sounders by horizontal regularisation
Authors: Ungermann J.
Published: January 2013

Abstract. Modern airborne infrared limb sounders are capable of measuring profiles so fast that neighbouring profiles are very similar to one another. This can be exploited by retrieving whole 2-D cross-sections instead of simple 1-D profiles. This paper presents algorithms that are able to perform such a large-scale retrieval and that efficiently produce typical diagnostic quantities. The characteristics and capabilities of the proposed method are analysed and demonstrated in a detailed case study using a series of profiles that were measured by CRISTA-NF (Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescope for the Atmosphere–New Frontiers). It is shown that cross-section retrievals can either reduce noise-induced artefacts or produce finer vertical structures while maintaining the same image noise level. Further, it is discussed how the presented methodology can also be applied to improve the retrievals for other instrument types including current satellite-borne nadir-sounders and near-future satellite-borne limb sounders.
Quantification of atmospheric visibility with dual digital cameras during daytime and nighttime
Authors: Du K. , Wang K. , Shi P. , Wang Y.
Published: January 2013

Abstract. A digital optical method "DOM-Vis" was developed to measure atmospheric visibility. In this method, two digital pictures were taken of the same target at two different distances along the same straight line. The pictures were analyzed to determine the optical contrasts between the target and its sky background, and subsequently, visibility is calculated. A light transfer scheme for DOM-Vis was delineated, based upon which, algorithms were developed for both daytime and nighttime scenarios. A series of field tests were carried out under different weather and meteorological conditions to study the impacts of such operational parameters as exposure, optical zoom, distance between the two camera locations, and distance of the target. This method was validated by comparing the DOM-Vis results with those measured using a co-located Vaisala® visibility meter. The visibility under which this study was carried out ranged from to 1 km to 20 km. This digital photography based method possesses a number of advantages compared with traditional methods. Pre-calibration of the detector with a visibility meter is not required. In addition, the application of DOM-Vis is independent of several factors like the exact distance of the target and several camera setting parameters. These features make DOM-Vis more adaptive under a variety of field conditions.
MODIS 3 km aerosol product: algorithm and global perspective
Authors: Remer L. A. , Mattoo S. , Levy R. C. , Munchak L.
Published: January 2013

Abstract. After more than a decade of producing a nominal 10 km aerosol product based on the dark target method, the MODIS aerosol team will be releasing a nominal 3 km product as part of their Collection 6 release. The new product differs from the original 10 km product only in the manner in which reflectance pixels are ingested, organized and selected by the aerosol algorithm. Overall, the 3 km product closely mirrors the 10 km product. However, the finer resolution product is able to retrieve over ocean closer to islands and coastlines, and is better able to resolve fine aerosol features such as smoke plumes over both ocean and land. In some situations, it provides retrievals over entire regions that the 10 km product barely samples. In situations traditionally difficult for the dark target algorithm, such as over bright or urban surfaces the 3 km product introduces isolated spikes of artificially high aerosol optical depth (AOD) that the 10 km algorithm avoids. Over land, globally, the 3 km product appears to be 0.01 to 0.02 higher than the 10 km product, while over ocean, the 3 km algorithm is retrieving a proportionally greater number of very low aerosol loading situations. Based on collocations with ground-based observations for only six months, expected errors associated with the 3 km land product are determined to be greater than for the 10 km product: ± 0.05 ± 0.25 AOD. Over ocean, the suggestion is for expected errors to be the same as the 10 km product: ± 0.03 ± 0.05 AOD. The advantage of the product is on the local scale, which will require continued evaluation not addressed here. Nevertheless, the new 3 km product is expected to provide important information complementary to existing satellite-derived products and become an important tool for the aerosol community.
Nutrient dynamics, transfer and retention along the aquatic continuum from land to ocean: towards integration of ecological and biogeochemical models
Authors: Bouwman A. F. , Bierkens M. F. P. , Griffioen J. , Hefting M. M. , Middelburg J. J. , Middelkoop H. , Slomp C. P.
Published: January 2013

Abstract. In river basins, soils, groundwater, riparian zones and floodplains, streams, rivers, lakes and reservoirs act as successive filters in which the hydrology, ecology and biogeochemical processing are strongly coupled and together act to retain a significant fraction of the nutrients transported. This paper compares existing river ecology concepts with current approaches to describe river biogeochemistry, and assesses the value of these concepts and approaches for understanding the impacts of interacting global change disturbances on river biogeochemistry. Through merging perspectives, concepts, and modeling techniques, we propose integrated model approaches that encompass both aquatic and terrestrial components in heterogeneous landscapes. In this model framework, existing ecological and biogeochemical concepts are extended with a balanced approach for assessing nutrient and sediment delivery, on the one hand, and nutrient in-stream retention on the other hand.
Holocene climate variations in the western Antarctic Peninsula: evidence for sea ice extent predominantly controlled by insolation and ENSO variability changes
Authors: Etourneau J. , Collins L. G. , Willmott V. , Kim J. H. , Barbara L. , Leventer A. , Schouten S. , Sinninghe Damsté J. S. , Bianchini A. , Klein V. , Crosta X. , Massé G.
Published: January 2013

Abstract. The West Antarctic ice sheet is particularly sensitive to global warming and its evolution and impact on global climate over the next few decades remains difficult to predict. In this context, investigating past sea ice conditions around Antarctica is of primary importance. Here, we document changes in sea ice presence, upper water column temperatures (0–200 m) and primary productivity over the last 9000 yr BP (before present) in the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) margin from a sedimentary core collected in the Palmer Deep basin. Employing a multi-proxy approach, we derived new Holocene records of sea ice conditions and upper water column temperatures, based on the combination of two biomarkers proxies (highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) alkenes for sea ice and TEXL86 for temperature) and micropaleontological data (diatom assemblages). The early Holocene (9000–7000 yr BP) was characterized by a cooling phase with a short sea ice season. During the mid-Holocene (~ 7000–3000 yr BP), local climate evolved towards slightly colder conditions and a prominent extension of the sea ice season occurred, promoting a favorable environment for intensive diatom growth. The late Holocene (the last ~ 3000 yr) was characterized by more variable temperatures and increased sea ice presence, accompanied by reduced local primary productivity likely in response to a shorter growing season compared to the early or mid-Holocene. The stepwise increase in annual sea ice duration over the last 7000 yr might have been influenced by decreasing mean annual and spring insolation despite an increasing summer insolation. We postulate that in addition to precessional changes in insolation, seasonal variability, via changes in the strength of the circumpolar Westerlies and upwelling activity, was further amplified by the increasing frequency/amplitude of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). However, between 4000 and 2100 yr BP, the lack of correlation between ENSO and climate variability in the WAP suggests that other climatic factors might have been more important in controlling WAP climate at this time.
Impact of long-term drainage on summer groundwater flow patterns in the Mer Bleue peatland, Ontario, Canada
Authors: Kopp B. J. , Fleckenstein J. H. , Roulet N. T. , Humphreys E. , Blodau C.
Published: January 2013

Abstract. Long-term impacts of a drier climate on coupled hydrology and carbon cycling in northern peatlands are poorly understood. We used a historic drainage ditch, separating an area from the main peatland, as an analogue for long-term drying in a northern temperate bog. The objective was to identify the impact of drier conditions on ecohydrological processes and groundwater flow patterns in an area now wooded and an area that maintained bog character. Groundwater flow patterns alternated between downward flow and upward flow in the bog area and were mostly upward orientated in the wooded area. Flow patterns were in agreement with changes in post-drainage hydraulic conductivities, storage capacity of the peat and hydraulic gradients. Compared to the bog, hydraulic conductivities in the wooded area were one to three orders of magnitude lower in the uppermost 0.75 m (paired t-test, p<0.05) of peat but partly higher below. Bulk density had increased and the water table level was lower and more strongly fluctuating. Our findings suggest hydraulic gradients and flow patterns have changed due to increased evapotranspiration and interception with the emergence of a tree cover. The smaller size of the now-forested area relative to the remaining bog area appeared to be important for the hydrological change. When water supply from undisturbed areas was large, enhanced runoff to the drainage channel had little effect on hydrologic patterns and vegetation pattern, whereas in the smaller, now forested area pervasive changes in vegetation and hydrologic processes occurred. This finding raises questions about tipping points with respect to the impact of drying on bog ecosystems that need to be addressed in future research.
Future projections of the Greenland ice sheet energy balance driving the surface melt
Authors: Franco B. , Fettweis X. , Erpicum M.
Published: January 2013

Abstract. In this study, simulations at 25 km resolution are performed over the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, using the regional climate model MAR forced by four RCP scenarios from three CMIP5 global circulation models (GCMs), in order to investigate the projected changes of the surface energy balance (SEB) components driving the surface melt. Analysis of 2000–2100 melt anomalies compared to melt results over 1980–1999 reveals an exponential relationship of the GrIS surface melt rate simulated by MAR to the near-surface air temperature (TAS) anomalies, mainly due to the surface albedo positive feedback associated with the extension of bare ice areas in summer. On the GrIS margins, the future melt anomalies are preferentially driven by stronger sensible heat fluxes, induced by enhanced warm air advection over the ice sheet. Over the central dry snow zone, the surface albedo positive feedback induced by the increase in summer melt exceeds the negative feedback of heavier snowfall for TAS anomalies higher than 4 °C. In addition to the incoming longwave flux increase associated with the atmosphere warming, GCM-forced MAR simulations project an increase of the cloud cover decreasing the ratio of the incoming shortwave versus longwave radiation and dampening the albedo feedback. However, it should be noted that this trend in the cloud cover is contrary to that simulated by ERA-Interim–forced MAR for recent climate conditions, where the observed melt increase since the 1990s seems mainly to be a consequence of more anticyclonic atmospheric conditions. Finally, no significant change is projected in the length of the melt season, which highlights the importance of solar radiation absorbed by the ice sheet surface in the melt SEB.
Hybrid Endografts Combinations for the Treatment of Endoleak in Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair
Authors: Georgiadis George S. , Trellopoulos George , Antoniou George A. , Georgakarakos Efstratios I. , Nikolopoulos Evagelos S. , Iatrou Christos , Lazarides Miltos K.
Published: January 2013

Hybrid endografting in endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) is defined as the process of placing a series of two or more different types of covered stents, usually to treat a complex abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) or a primary or secondary endoleak. We describe the treatment of a type III, a type Ib, and a type Ia endoleak in three patients respectively, using hybrid solutions, assembling components from different manufacturers. An update of the current clinical and experimental evidence on the application of anatomically compatible, hybrid endograft systems in conventional EVAR is also provided.
Remission of HCV-associated Glomerulonephritis with Pegylated IFN and Ribavirin Therapy after Liver Transplantation: Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Donato Maria Francesca , Fabrizi Fabrizio , Fogazzi Giovanni Battista , Cresseri Donata , Passerini Patrizia , Martin Paul , Messa Piergiorgio
Published: January 2013

Background

Hepatitis C virus infection is associated with a variety of extrahepatic disorders such as membrano-proliferative glomerulonephritis, which is generally due to cryoglobulinemia.

Setting

We describe the case of one liver transplant recipient who received antiviral therapy (subcutaneous administration of peg-IFN-alpha-2a 180 mcg weekly and oral ribavirin 200 mg thrice a day) for HCV-related membrano-proliferative glomerulonephritis. He presented normal kidney function, non-nephrotic proteinuria (2 g/24 h) and mild hematuria.

Results

Urinary abnormalities disappeared within a few weeks after the initiation of antiviral therapy; however, combination antiviral therapy was not able to obtain viral clearance. After 11 months, IFN-therapy was interrupted and the patient continued low-dose ribavirin monotherapy (200 mg once per day) for one additional year- remission of proteinuria (<0.3 g/24 h) and hematuria persisted with intact kidney function. Although other mechanisms cannot be excluded, we suggest that ribavirin therapy was critically implicated in the remission of urinary abnormalities in our patient. The existing literature on the association between HCV-associated glomerulonephritis and therapy with ribavirin is reviewed.

Conclusions

Antiviral therapy may be effective in patients with HCV-induced glomerulonephritis. Further evidence is needed to evaluate efficacy and safety of ribavirin monotherapy for HCV-related glomerulonephritis.
An Alternative Method to Create Highly Transparent Hollow Models for Flow Visualization
Authors: Stoiber Martin , Schlöglhofer Thomas , Aigner Philipp , Grasl Christian , Schima Heinrich
Published: January 2013

Aim

Transparent hollow models are needed to visualize and quantify flow in various applications. To obtain the final transparent model, an intermediate molding of the fluid space with an easily removable material is required. Currently used materials to produce this intermediate molding have limitations: toxicity, cost, and a tendency to penetrate the final model, thereby degrading its transparency. In this work an alternative method is presented using chocolate as the fluid-space molding material.

Methods

Starting from a three-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) geometry, a fluid space model of a human aorta was produced out of chocolate. The replica was coated and cast in a block of highly transparent silicone (Sylgard184; Dow-Corning, Midland, MI, USA). After the silicone was cured, the chocolate was removed using hot water. The geometric accuracy of the fluid-space mold and the transparency of the final model were investigated.

Results

The mean divergence of the chocolate fluid-space mold from the original geometry was 5.7%. The silicone casting had no defects and perfect transparency for particle tracking. Fluid boundaries were invisible when tested with a fluid whose refractive index matched silicone.

Conclusions

The process we describe is a cheap and effective way to create transparent models that have excellent optical quality.
A Significant Proportion of Patients Treated with Citrate Containing Dialysate Need Additional Anticoagulation
Authors: Stegmayr Bernd G. , Jonsson Per , Mahmood Dana
Published: January 2013

Background

The blood membrane interaction induced during hemodialysis (HD) activates the coagulation system. To prevent clotting and to maintain dialyzer patency, an anticoagulant such as tinzaparin is used. To increase patency of the dialyzers and to reduce the risk of bleeding related to anticoagulation, citrate-containing dialysate has been introduced in Europe.

Purpose

The aim of this randomized, cross-over study was to investigate if citrate-containing dialysate was safe and efficient enough as the sole anticoagulation agent in chronic HD patients.

Material and Methods

In this clinical setting, 23 patients on chronic hemodialysis were randomized in a cross-over design using anticoagulation either by LMWH-tinzaparin or citrate (Cit) as dialysate (22 completed the study). The study included paired analyses of subjective patency, ionized calcium (iCa), urea reduction rate. During Cit-HD, the iCa was significantly more reduced with prolonged time. The lowest iCa measured was 0.96 mmol/l. The median iCa after 210 min of HD was 1.02 for Cit-Hd and 1.16 for standard tinzaparin-HD (p = 0.001). Patency of dialyzers was estimated as clear in 14%, stripes of clotted fibers in 36%, and a red filter in 32% of HD session. The addition of approximately 40% of the patients’ usual dose of tinzaparin was given to 7 of the patients as a bolus. Four Cit-HD sessions had to be interrupted prematurely due to clotting.

Conclusion

A significant proportion of patients treated with citrate-containing dialysate need additional anticoagulation.
Bladder Smooth Muscle Cells Interaction and Proliferation on PCL/PLLA Electrospun Nanofibrous Scaffold
Authors: Shakhssalim Nasser , Rasouli Javad , Moghadasali Reza , Aghdas Farzaneh Sharifi , Naji Mohammad , Soleimani Masoud
Published: January 2013

Purpose

Numerous synthetic materials have been used for the bladder reconstruction; of which, nano-structured scaffolds are used as relevant implant to the bladder tissue-engineering. The aim of this study was to investigate the capacity of Poly ∊-caprolactone/poly-L-lactide acid (PCL/PLLA) nanofibrous scaffold, in supporting the maintenance and attachment of the human bladder smooth muscle cells (BdSMCs).

Methods

In this study, BdSMCs were isolated by enzymatic digestion method. Then, cells were seeded on PCL/PLLA nanofibrous scaffolds. Thereafter, cell attachment and expansion were analyzed by Hematoxylin and Eosin staining (H&E), immunohistochemistry, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay confirmed that the nanostructured scaffold supported and maintained normal cell viability without inducing cytotoxic events.

Results

H&E staining, immunohistochemistry, and SEM showed that BdSMCs were attached and expanded on PCL/PLLA nanofibrous scaffolds after 14 days. Cell viability of BdSMCs on PCL/PLLA nanofibrous scaffolds increased during 14 days.

Conclusion

Our results showed that the novel porous nanofibrous electrospun scaffold is a biocompatible structure for attachment and adhesion of BdSMCs. However, there is not enough information on the stimulating effect of this nanofiber on the cells. Therefore, further in-vivo studies seem required to confirm such a nanofiber to be used in the bladder tissue-engineering.
Pinochet’sLegacy Reassessed
Authors: Wuerth Ingrid
Published: January 2013

One of the most dramatic moments in twentieth-century international law transpired in 1999 when the House of Lords denied immunity to Augusto Pinochet, the former dictator of Chile. The “breathtaking” judgment cleared the way for the possible prosecution of Pinochet in Spanish national courts on charges of torture committed during his rule. By limiting immunity, the House of Lords’ rulings turned the world “upside down” and ushered in a new era of accountability for egregious violations of human rights. At least that is the prevailing narrative, one that pits accountability against the international law of immunity and seesPinochetas a watershed moment in that struggle.
Nepotism in the Arab World: An Institutional Theory Perspective
Authors: Sidani Yusuf M. , Thornberry Jon
Published: January 2013

We examine the practice of nepotism in the Arab World and analyze how a rational-legal model of bureaucracy was never able to take hold. We draw upon ideas from institutional theory and related notions of legitimacy to provide an explanation of nepotism’s extraordinary persistence. Then we use arguments to speculate how the appearance of institutional entrepreneurs who are advocates for a new hybrid form of nepotism might begin to colonize a social space created by larger political and economic changes that are sweeping the Arab World. Those entrepreneurs must persuade other members of an extended family that the current practice of nepotism is typically destructive of a firm’s competitive performance. In addition, they will argue that nepotism as currently practiced violates teachings of Islam. This second argument is likely to be particularly effective with an audience that sees Islam as a source of universal notions of justice and fairness.
Global Justice and International Business
Authors: Arnold Denis G.
Published: January 2013

Little theoretical attention has been paid to the question of what obligations corporations and other business enterprises have to the four billion people living at the base of the global economic pyramid. This article makes several theoretical contributions to this topic. First, it is argued that corporations are properly understood as agents of global justice. Second, the legitimacy of global governance institutions and the legitimacy of corporations and other business enterprises are distinguished. Third, it is argued that a deliberative democracy model of corporate legitimacy defended by theorists of political CSR is unsatisfactory. Fourth, it is argued that a Rawlsian theoretical framework fails to provide a satisfactory account of the obligations of corporations regarding global justice. Finally, an ethical conception of CSR grounded in an appropriately modest set of duties tied to corporate relationships is then defended. This position is cosmopolitan in scope and grounded in overlapping arguments for human rights.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL): Selective Justice and Political Maneuvers
Authors: Nashabe Omar
Published: January 2013

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is the most recently established international criminal tribunal. It was created by the UN Security Council in 2007 to prosecute those responsible for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and others in 2005. However, the process of creating the tribunal did not comply with Lebanese Constitutional provisions. This paper sheds light on the politics of selective justice, recalling impunity in Lebanon before and after Hariri’s assassination. It also exposes the UN Security Council’s double standards and argues that by creating the tribunal under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, Lebanon’s sovereignty was compromised.
The international criminal investigation leading to the recent indictment seemed also highly controversial. The political motivations behind the Special Tribunal’s standards are exposed in this paper, whereas numerous breaches of local legal provisions, ethics and confidentiality are shown. The paper concludes with a discussion of suggested remedies.
Early Diagnosis and Intervention in Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Krupkin Whitney Donna
Published: January 2013

This article provides guidelines for identifying and treating relapsing-remitting MS in the primary care setting and reviews recent additions to treatment options for disease management. Approaches for patient counseling and recommendations by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society are also discussed. (Int J MS Care. 2001; 3(3): 8–14)
Is There a Role for Human Herpesvirus–6 in the Course of Multiple Sclerosis?
Authors: Delgado Silvia , McCarthy Micheline
Published: January 2013

Historically multiple sclerosis (MS) has been associated with many different viruses, including several members of the Herpesviridae family. However, no human or animal virus has been identified as a true “cause” of MS; rather, the epidemiologic and diagnostic data suggest that viral infection may be a cofactor affecting the pathogenesis of MS. Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) is a ubiquitous herpesvirus associated with a common childhood illness, roseola, and this virus is one of those most recently associated with MS. During the past decade, a number of investigations have examined anti—HHV-6-specific antibody responses, HHV-6 viral DNA, or HHV-6 presence in central nervous system (CNS) tissue in both MS patients and controls. There is a growing body of evidence associating HHV-6 infection of the CNS with MS in at least a subpopulation of patients, although the specific factors that define the vulnerable subpopulation(s) of MS patients have not been elucidated. This evidence is provocative but not definitive, and it does not distinguish between HHV-6 as a causal agent in MS versus HHV-6 as a cofactor. Although more clinically based data are needed, the controversy surrounding HHV-6 and MS has again focused attention on the role of viral infection in the clinical and pathologic course of MS. (Int J MS Care. 2002; 4: 30–31, 36–39)
Combining Therapies With Interferon Beta for Relapsing and Early Progressive MS: A Review
Authors: Kaufman Michael
Published: January 2013

Interferon beta-1a and interferon beta-1b are approved treatments for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). However, many patients experience disease activity despite appropriate use of these biologic therapies. When disease activity occurs during treatment with one of these agents, physicians can consider adding one or more treatments. Therapies that could be combined with interferon beta are reviewed, and practical issues in their use are discussed. None of the agents discussed have been rigorously tested in combination with interferon beta, and physicians are reminded that combination therapy may aggravate MS or cause delayed injury to other organ systems. Multicentered, scientifically valid clinical trials are needed to assess the efficacy and safety of interferon beta combined with other therapies for the treatment of MS. Whenever possible, patients needing combined therapy should be referred to a site conducting clinical trials of such therapy. (Int J MS Care. 2002; 4: 50–65)
The Needs of Caregivers
Authors: Soderberg Judy
Published: January 2013

The Fairview Multiple Sclerosis Achievement Center (MSAC) is a maintenance rehabilitation program for those significantly affected by multiple sclerosis (MS). The MSAC offers a program that marries maintenance, physical, and occupational therapies to therapeutic recreation, support groups, and social services for persons with severe MS. A strong emphasis is also placed on caregiver support, in recognition of the critical role these individuals play in the lives of persons with MS. In addressing the needs of the caregivers, the MSAC focuses on sharing information on MS, providing listening and respite services, and developing a more effective care system for persons with chronic diseases. (Int J MS Care. 2003; 5: 52–55)
Left Behind
Authors: Marvin Carolyn
Published: January 2013

This chapter examines the work of the media “structuralists” of the so‐called Canadian or Toronto school of media studies: Harold Adams Innis, Marshall McLuhan, and Walter J. Ong, especially. Their work is placed within its historical context, both in terms of scholarly ancestry and in terms of its reception in North American universities and especially in schools of journalism. A critical assessment of the work of these scholars as media history is offered, recognizing its shortcomings as historical narrative but also its appeal as a way of understanding the influence of media forms.
Race/Ethnicity in Media History
Authors: Squires Catherine
Published: January 2013

Media historians and scholars who utilize historical comparison in their work have drawn upon critical race theory to guide their interrogations of the past, and have structured important, complex renderings of media histories that debunk simple timeline and “great individual” approaches to historical inquiry. Attending to race/ethnicity in historical inquiry enriches scholarship, regardless of whether the subject is explicitly recognized as part of a marginalized racial/ethnic group or its cultural expressions. Unpacking the large and subtle ways race/ethnicity have shaped our media systems, production, and reception serves to both complicate and complete our view of the past.

This chapter maps studies of race/ethnicity and media history in four sections: (1) “Rediscovering Roots” illustrates how scholars have unearthed and preserved contributions of people of color overlooked by prior historians; (2) “Documenting Discrimination” reviews work that excavates histories of structural barriers, stereotype production, and other institutional exclusions in media history; (3) “Multiculturalisms and National Identit(ies)” explores scholarship that has acknowledged that our current era is not the first “multicultural” one to emerge; (4) “Public Memory, Race and Media” looks at the ways in which media scholars have turned to the role of media's influence in public commemoration of historical events and figures, and how media figure into the representation of what our history and national identity mean in the face of different interpretations of and additions to dominant historical events.
Sound Histories
Authors: Rothenbuhler Eric W.
Published: January 2013

The interdisciplinary study of sound and sound technologies received a burst of new attention in the 1990s, much of it historical inquiry. Given the ubiquity of sound in human experience and the centrality of audio to modern media, this promised an intriguing horizontal slice across fields and disciplines of study. The literature has evolved, though, toward a set of relatively distinct areas of study, including film sound, recording and music history, radio history, and telephone studies. Among these, studies of the social shaping of sound technologies into communication media, institutional practices, and industries continue in the interdisciplinary vein. This issue of social shaping is crucial for communication scholars and media historians in particular, who need an analytic vocabulary for distinguishing and examining the relations among the potentials of technologies and their actual uses and outcomes as media of communication. The issue of fidelity is central to professional and public discourses of audio, and has become a point of critique for scholars. Understood as the accuracy or truth of a reproduction compared to its original, fidelity would appear to be impossible in the current practices of sound media industries. It is proposed here that its enduring utility can be explained by seeing reproduction as a problem of communication rather than engineering or logic.
Making Media Production Visible
Authors: Mayer Vicki
Published: January 2013

This introduction looks at the history of media production research, seeks axes for the interdisciplinary theorizing of media production, and offers a discussion of the current conjuncture for research on media production. From there I outline the rationale for the volume, its organizing themes and sections.
The Comings and Goings of Key Scenarios
Authors: Pype Katrien
Published: January 2013

On the basis of ethnographic fieldwork with Kinshasa's evangelizing television actors, this chapter describes the shifting production and circulation of religious media in terms of key scenarios for understanding quotidian life in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). It examines how and when local TV serials changed from producing a nationalist narrative toward Pentecostal interpretations of life, death, and the occult. This is related, first, to the generally increased popularity of Pentecostal churches all over sub‐Saharan Africa and, second, to the South–South migration of sub‐Saharan Africans. Pentecostal leaders occupy prominent positions in the production and circulation of local media. Pastors and other spiritual leaders become patrons, sponsors, and religious protectors for theater groups that produce television. The mobility of religion and of peoples has led to the spread of Nollywood films and to changing media aesthetics in Kinshasa's media world.
Why Has News Production in the United States Remained Stable at a Time of Great Change?
Authors: Ryfe David Michael
Published: January 2013

This chapter canvases the literature in the sociology of news production for explanations as to why, in the face of great change around them, American newspapers have failed to innovate. It finds three sorts of explanations in this literature: journalists are anchored to habits; they have deep investments in traditional practices and values; and they routinely re‐enact long‐standing definitions of what journalism is and of what it is for. Each explanation is elucidated through examples taken from the author's recent ethnographic work in several newsrooms.
Hollywood Elsewhere
Authors: Tinic Serra
Published: January 2013

In an era of rapid media globalization, transnational production practices have been transformed to the extent that Hollywood, both as a metaphorical state of mind and as a literal mode of cultural production. This chapter examines the cultural and economic debates surrounding the runaway productions through a case study of Vancouver, British Columbia – a city that has been dubbed “Hollywood North” and is now considered the model upon which other international cities attempt to build their own service industries to attract and accommodate US television and film productions. Drawing upon my previous fieldwork within the Vancouver television production community (Tinic, 2005), I argue for a reconsideration of the ways in which we study media production to better address the local, regional, and global reconfigurations of space and culture that accompany the economic dimensions of the international locations industries.
Neglected Elements
Authors: Maxwell Richard , Miller Toby
Published: January 2013

This chapter applies a materialist, ecological approach to analyze the physical environment in which media production takes place, focusing on media‐related occupations across global supply chains. We argue that conventional production studies have too narrowly circumscribed this sector and that more comprehensive research on media production labor is needed. We critique the idealism and pro‐growth ideology that draws production studies toward both a focus on consciousness and the so‐called aristocracy of talent. Our aim here is to find ways for media production studies to help establish a just system of environmental accounting, which challenges the creative industries to stop stealing from the Earth and from working people in the name of growth.
And Now a Click from Our Sponsors
Authors: Jennings Nancy A.
Published: January 2013

Many children worldwide spend a considerable amount of time with media. However, children's exposure to advertising may differ as a reflection of different public policies enforced around the world. Many policies worldwide place limits on the amount of advertising permitted, yet concerns rise about the nature of the messages (whether few or many) that children encounter. Therefore, this literature review will examine advertising messages that appear in children's media environments, focusing on television content and then exploring advertising in new media, specifically online advertising. Content analyses of electronic advertising reflect the interplay between public policy, industry self‐regulation, and marketplace forces. As such, the United States provides an example of how these three forces operate together and is the focus of this review.
“Honey‐Drenched, Rags to Riches, Good versus Evil Stories”
Authors: Avila‐Saavedra Guillermo
Published: January 2013

A telenovela is a Latin American form of serialized television melodrama. Until recently, telenovelas were only broadcast in the United States for Spanish‐speaking audiences. This essay explores how mainstream American print media framed the telenovela genre in their coverage of four telenovela adaptations broadcast in English on My Network TV (a Fox‐owned station) in 2006 and 2007. The analysis helps locate the coverage of the telenovela in a larger social and cultural context. Specifically, My Network TV's telenovelas suffered from an identity crisis. They were never embraced as telenovelas by the network, they were promoted as a new US genre, and their Latino identity was never explicit enough to be relevant.
Shifting Contours of Indian Womanhood in Popular Hindi Cinema
Authors: Moorti Sujata
Published: January 2013

This essay offers an overview of the shifts in representations of woman and femininity in popular Hindi cinema. Through a historical overview the essay underscores the relationship between the cinematic figure of the woman and the nation‐state. During the colonial era, the category Indian woman was a capacious one, including men who cross‐dressed and foreigners as well as Indian women. Ironically, these images were allegories for the anticolonial nation‐in‐formation. In the postcolonial era (1950s–1980s), the figure of the woman symbolized the many facets of India's struggle for self‐reliance. Since the 1990s, images of Indian women have become one of the primary sites where the anxieties of globalization are worked through. The essay argues that contemporary Bollywood films offer a very limited repertoire of images of the ideal Indian woman. However, Hindi films from an earlier era offered more tantalizing possibilities for the articulation of a female subjectivity.
Calypso and the Performance of Representational Politics
Authors: Harewood Susan
Published: January 2013

This chapter focuses on the intersection of representation in calypso performance, representation in calypso research, and representation in parliament. The chapter highlights the ways in which a particular discourse of citizenship shapes the ways in which calypso is thought about and how the democratic project in the English‐speaking Caribbean is imagined through calypso performance. The argument focuses on the productive nature of calypso research. It is contended that much of this research, though vitally important to identifying the significance of calypso within the region, has, nevertheless, tended to reinscribe a rather limited view of citizenship. The chapter makes a case for reimagining calypso's political significance by suggesting ways to reinvigorate the creative practices of calypso research.
Technology, Convergence, and Power
Authors: Mazzarella Sharon R.
Published: January 2013

In this introduction, I provide a historical, methodological, and epistemological context for a discussion of the current state of text‐only approaches to media studies as exemplified by the chapters in this volume. I begin with a discussion of the specific methodology of content analysis not to give it primacy, but rather for the sake of chronology. I then discuss more qualitative approaches to the study of media content and representation before justifying why text‐only studies of media are relevant. Finally, I explain the organizational structure of the volume and introduce the individual chapters before offering concluding thoughts and future directions for media content studies, specifically, the need to: (1) continue to embrace and respect a range of methodological and theoretical perspectives; (2) remain open to evolving and refining our research questions as the technology and content evolve; and (3) acknowledge the potential of interdisciplinarity to make our scholarship more robust.
The Audience in the Graduate Curriculum
Authors: Durham Meenakshi Gigi
Published: January 2013

Because media audiences are changing as technologies and populations change, ethnographic approaches offer nuanced and versatile ways of understanding the complex interactions between people and media. Although a quarter‐century ago cultural theorists like Richard Johnson and Stuart Hall drew attention to the linkages among production, texts, and audiences, a great deal of research – especially student research – tends to center on texts. But texts are meaningless until they are interpreted by audiences; and, increasingly, audiences are producing texts for mediated distribution, which adds a new twist to our conceptualization of “the audience.” In this chapter I address the crucial issues that are to be raised in teaching audience research to graduate students – from access to ethics and power in the field, to data collection, to writing media ethnographies – and I discuss how these issues play out in the classroom and in supervised research contexts. I also tackle the problems of negotiating institutional support for long‐term ethnographic work. All this material is illustrated through examples of ethnographic fieldwork conducted by graduate students, and I focus particularly on studies that raise sensitive methodological and theoretical questions.
Studying Audiences with Sense‐Making Methodology
Authors: Reinhard CarrieLynn D. , Dervin Brenda
Published: January 2013

The field of audience or media reception studies is concerned with questions of what, when, where, how, and why people engage with media products. Across divergent fields of inquiry, research has focused on understanding how aspects of the media product, the person consuming the product, and the situation impact outcomes of reception. Amid the various options available for defining the audience and for labeling audiences on the basis of the media products they engage with, at the core of any concept of the audience are human beings attempting to make sense of their everyday lives. Woven into the fabric of people's everyday lives, the media are an integral part of audiences' attempts to make sense of the different worlds they inhabit. Dervin's sense‐making methodology provides a theoretical and methodological approach to understanding audiences at the evolving time–space intersections of individual, collective, and situated dimensions. This methodology allows scholars to understand human beings' sense‐making processes in the midst of contexts that constitute their daily lives, both as individuals and as parts of a collective. The chapter discusses examples of research that use the sense‐making approach to study audiences' modes of “engaging” with gendered media and with virtual worlds in order to illustrate how knowledge of audiences gained via this methodology can enrich the existing work on media audiences.
The Abbreviated Field Experience in Audience Ethnography
Authors: Murphy Patrick D.
Published: January 2013

In an effort to contend with virtual fields of communication and cultural exchange and institutional constraints, a growing corpus of ethnographic work within audience studies has dispatched with the notion that fieldwork is constituted through sustained encounters in stable, situated fieldsites, thus shifting the ethnographic mise‐en‐scène to more accessible networked worlds of virtual communities or to inquiry driven wholly by prearranged interviews, conducted outside the flow of everyday practices. These shifts have converged with institutional realities (e.g., restrictive travel funds, reductions in sabbaticals, elimination of internal summer grants). Together, these factors position observation through embodied fieldwork at the margins of much ethnographic practice within media studies. Given these investigative trajectories and institutional limitations, this chapter explores how audience researchers can return to a more existentially grounded notion of fieldwork, which is capable of enriching the study of networked communities as well as other areas of inquiry. Focusing on short‐term fieldwork, I use tales from the field to make a case for how and why even abbreviated site visits can generate crucial data for crafting audience ethnographies that can help us interpret better the links between media consumption and production.
Studying Addiction
Authors: Acosta‐Alzuru Carolina
Published: January 2013

There are stories that are addictive. In particular, there are some stories, originally scripted in Latin America, that constitute a pandemic transmitted daily via the television screens of more than 130 countries. These serialized dramas are called telenovelas, and the simplicity of their codes belies the complexity of their production and consumption. This chapter focuses on the audience study aspects of my journey through the telenovela landscape. Telenovela consumption loci defy national borders. Such consumption occurs not only via television, but also on the Internet. Hence, in addition to the use of interviews, focus groups, and participant observation in Venezuela, my studies have required my presence in the swampy grounds of Internet message boards dedicated to telenovelas and in social media outlets where my movements are still somewhat tentative. The chapter's tone varies from descriptive to personal as the chapter itself chronicles more than a decade of research attempting to understand telenovelas' addictive soul.