Examining the effects of news coverage linking undocumented immigrants with criminality: Policy and punitive implications

Although research suggests that there is no meaningful real-world connection between crime rates and undocumented immigrants, media coverage of this group almost exclusively portrays them as criminals. The present two-study investigation experimentally tests the effects of exposure to crime news depicting undocumented immigrant suspects on White viewers’ social judgments. To this end, assumptions from social identity theory were applied to research and theorizing on mediated intergroup threat and compound penalties for immigrant criminality. Results from Study 1 and Study 2 indicate that when White viewers are exposed to threatening crime news featuring undocumented immigrants, out-group bias emerges in the form of harsher sentencing. In Study 1, when exposed to highly threatening coverage, attitudes toward immigration and in-group identification partially mediated and moderated this relationship, respectively.     

Convergence Concerns in Local Television: Conflicting Views From the Newsroom

This nationwide survey studies the impact of convergence on reporters and producers in small and medium local television markets. The article examines the manner in which convergence-related responsibilities affect the daily routines of these news workers. It also assesses their perceptions of convergence and challenges they face, including concerns about the impact of convergence on the quality of their work. Authors compare these views to the opinions of news directors across the United States (gathered in previous research), finding significant differences between news workers' perspectives and those of their bosses.     

A comparison of two approaches for measuring interdisciplinary research output: The disciplinary diversity of authors vs the disciplinary diversity of the reference list

This study investigates the convergence of two bibliometric approaches to the measurement of interdisciplinary research: one based on analyzing disciplinary diversity in the reference list of publications, the other based on the disciplinary diversity of authors of publications. In particular we measure the variety, balance, disparity and integrated diversity index of, respectively, single-author, multi-author single-field, and multi-author multi-field publications. We find that, in general, the diversity of the reference list grows with the number of fields reflected in a paper’s authors’ list and, to a lesser extent, with the number of authors being equal the number of fields. Further, we find that when fields belonging to different disciplines are reflected in the authors’ list, the disparity in the reference list is higher than in the case of fields belonging to the same discipline. However, this general tendency varies across disciplines, and noticeable exceptions are found at individual paper level.     

Patterns of Nonverbal Adaptation in Supportive Interactions

This study seeks initial evidence for the patterns of nonverbal adaptation predictive of emotional improvement after a troubles talk conversation. A total of 128 dyads composed of two unacquainted individuals engaged in a 5-minute conversation about a stressful event, and the nonverbal behaviors of both the supportive listener and discloser were coded for immediacy. We detected a general pattern of matching between interlocutors, which was positively associated with disclosers’ reported emotional improvement above and beyond listener immediacy. Importantly, we found primary support for a discloser-matching model whereby emotional improvement is a function of disclosers matching highly immediate listeners but no support for a listener-matching model whereby emotional improvement is a function of listeners matching disclosers to signal empathy.     

Assessment of three-dimensional joint kinematics of the upper limb during simulated swimming using wearable inertial-magnetic measurement units

The analysis of the joint kinematics during swimming plays a fundamental role both in sports conditioning and in clinical contexts. Contrary to the traditional video analysis, wearable inertial-magnetic measurements units (IMMUs) allow to analyse both the underwater and aerial phases of the swimming stroke over the whole length of the swimming pool. Furthermore, the rapid calibration and short data processing required by IMMUs provide coaches and athletes with an immediate feedback on swimming kinematics during training. This study aimed to develop a protocol to assess the three-dimensional kinematics of the upper limbs during swimming using IMMUs. Kinematics were evaluated during simulated dry-land swimming trials performed in the laboratory by eight swimmers. A stereo-photogrammetric system was used as the gold standard. The results showed high coefficient of multiple correlation (CMC) values, with median (first–third quartile) of 0.97 (0.93–0.95) and 0.99 (0.97–0.99) for simulated front-crawl and breaststroke, respectively. Furthermore, the joint angles were estimated with an accuracy increasing from distal to proximal joints, with wrist indices showing median CMC values always higher than 0.90. The present findings represent an important step towards the practical use of technology based on IMMUs for the kinematic analysis of swimming in applied contexts.     

Book reviews

Authors and Electronic Publishing, a report produced by Alma Swan and Sheridan Brown, Key Perspectives Ltd Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) 2002. Members, £50 (US$100); Non-members £100 (US$200). ISBN 090734123-3 My Life in Science by Sydney Brenner BioMed Central Ltd, 2001; rev. edn including personal photos, 2002. Pp. 199. Paper, £14.99 recommended retail price; £10.49 for BioMed Central users ( www.biomedcentral.com/info/brenner.asp ). ISBN: 0-9540278-0-9 Understanding Copyright… in a Week by Graham P. Cornish Institute of Management, published by Hodder & Stoughton, 2000. £6.99. ISBN 0-340-78241-2 Towards Consensus on the Electronic Use of Publications in Libraries – Strategy Issues and Recommendations by Thomas Dreier Gottinger Bibliotheksschriften, 2001. Pp. 120. Paperback. Available at: http://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/tecup/towacons.pdf . ISBN 3-930457-16-4. ISSN: 0943-951X     

Making IT work for municipalities: Building municipal wireless networks

The lack of widely available, affordable broadband Internet access has spurred a movement in which municipalities are rolling out wireless broadband networks. This movement has raised a number of questions including: Why are municipalities acting as the early adopters of wireless broadband technology? How does increased state regulation of municipal broadband networks affect this trend and how can cities respond? As cities use wireless broadband technology to enhance services to citizens, the growth of municipal wireless deployments has transitioned from linear to exponential. In response, many states have passed laws to regulate and restrict cities' ability to own, operate, deploy, or profit from either telecommunications or information services. Current and pending laws will be examined to understand how cities can deploy a wireless broadband network under these regulations. An analysis of municipal facilities and technology expertise illustrates the opportunity for public–private cooperation in wireless deployments. This paper will show that cooperation is beneficial in many cases. Finally, current business models will be examined for their ability to foster cooperation between the public and private sectors, bridge the digital divide, and create competition among private sector providers.     

Elementary Teachers’ Beliefs About Teaching Science and Classroom Practice: An Examination of Pre/Post NCLB Testing in Science

The impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandated state science assessment on elementary teachers’ beliefs about teaching science and their classroom practice is relatively unknown. For many years, the teaching of science has been minimized in elementary schools in favor of more emphasis on reading and mathematics. This study examines the dynamics of bringing science to the forefront of assessment in elementary schools and the resulting teacher belief and instructional shifts that take place in response to NCLB. Results indicated that teachers’ beliefs about teaching science remained unchanged despite policy changes mandated in NCLB. Teacher beliefs related to their perceptions of what their administrators and peer groups’ think they should be doing influenced their practice the most. Most teachers reported positive feelings and attitudes about science and reported that their students had positive feelings and attitudes about science; however, teachers reported teaching science less as a result of NCLB. Implications for elementary science education reform and policy are discussed.     

The use and value of Bernstein’s work in studying (in)equalities in undergraduate social science education

This paper illustrates how critical use of Basil Bernstein's theory illuminates the mechanisms by which university knowledge, curriculum and pedagogy both reproduce and interrupt social inequalities. To this end, empirical examples are selected from the findings of the ESRC-funded project ‘Pedagogic Quality and Inequality in University First Degrees' (RES-062-23-1438, November 2008–January 2012). The project investigated sociology-related social science degrees in four social science departments in universities in different positions in influential UK higher education league tables. A Bernsteinian lens throws fresh light on how university education might contribute to a more egalitarian society.