Fantasy,Pragmatism and Journalistic Socialisation: UK Journalism Students’ Aspirations and Motivations

ABSTRACT

Despite the sustained growth in journalism as a choice of degree path for young people, our understanding of students’ aspirations and motivations remains relatively underdeveloped. At the same time, journalism careers appear increasingly uncertain, as the industry responds to digitalisation and convergence. In this mixed-methods study – employing 35 interviews and a survey of 837 UK journalism students – we ask what areas of journalism do students aspire towards, how do they feel about their future career prospects, and what is motivating them to study journalism in the first place? We find that intrinsic motivations (calling and talent, dynamic job) prevail over public service ones, with students drawn to soft news beats over hard news. Aspirations are also strikingly gendered, opening up questions of journalism education in this process. We also find that while students articulate an aspirational career in respected media outlets, they are pragmatic about their immediate career prospects. Here, journalism education appears to play a significant role in socialising students towards careers beyond journalism. Findings are discussed in the light of ongoing debates around journalistic socialisation and the future of journalism.     

Eating Attitudes and Behaviors Among Female College Students

The authors assessed the influences of several risk factors—self‐esteem, history of unwanted sexual contact (USC), depression, and sorority membership—on eating‐related and weight‐related attitudes and behaviors. Findings provide support for the roles of self‐esteem, depression, and USC on restricting attitudes. According to the authors' model, these independent variables predicted restricting attitudes that then predicted restricting behaviors. Implications for preventive interventions and the study's limitations are discussed.     

Autonomy,Candour and Professional Teacher Practice: A Discussion Inspired by the Later Works of Michel Foucault

Autonomy is considered to be an important feature of professionals and to provide a necessary basis for their informed judgments. In this article these notions will be challenged. In this article I use Michel Foucault's deconstruction of the idea of the autonomous citizen, and his later attempts to reconstruct that idea, in order to bring some new perspectives to the discussion about the foundation of professionalism. The turning point in Foucault's discussion about autonomy is to be found in his proposal for an ethics of the self. This ethics invites a break with the normalising discourses of modernity. As I see it, this makes it particularly relevant to a discussion about the principles of professionalism. The conception of parrhesia is central. I use the role of the teacher to illustrate my arguments.     

Light-induced cracking and abrasion of inkjet prints: Damage and mitigation

This study is part of a larger research project at the Image Permanence Institute dedicated to digital print preservation issues – the Digital Print Preservation Portal (DP3). Previous DP3 studies determined that certain digital print types are prone to cracking and/or abrasion, and that factors such as low relative humidity, pollutants, and light increase the brittleness of the ink-receiving layer of some inkjet papers. The purpose of this investigation was to explore if light also increases the propensity of inkjet prints to abrade, and to examine the potential of framing glazings to mitigate light-induced physical damage (cracking and abrasion) by attenuating some portion of the UV spectrum. Inkjet papers and prints were subjected to xenon lighting (to simulate daylight through window glass) without glazing, or in sealed framing packages with plain framing glass (soda-lime) or UV filtering glass. Before and after light exposure, brittleness, and abrasion resistance were evaluated independently using two tests: ISO 18907 (Imaging materials – Photographic films and papers – Wedge test for brittleness) and a rub test utilizing a Sutherland® Rub Tester. In this study, exposure to light increased the cracking and/or abrasion tendency of some specimens. The use of UV filtering glass reduced this light-induced propensity in all cases. Plain glass protected all samples from at least one of these two types of surface damage, but was less effective than UV glass. Light-induced brittleness and sensitivity to abrasion were mostly, though not exclusively, caused by UV radiation. It was also seen that some prints may become brittle and/or prone to abrasion in the absence of image fade. Budgeting the amount of light these objects can be exposed to, protecting them from UV radiation, and handling prints with caution especially after exhibition, is essential in order to limit physical damage.     

On the development of the scientific work monitoring system at higher educational institutions

The main aspects of the creation of a monitoring system for the research activities of the members of a higher-education institution are considered. The scientific activities of the lecturers and members of Turgenev Orel State University is used as the basis. It is expected that this system will be an efficient tool for optimal managerial decisions at all levels.     

Innovative activities of the All-Russian Institute for Scientific and technical information,Russian Academy of Science

The analysis results for the basic indicators of innovative activities in the All-Russian Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (VINITI), Russian Academy of Science, are given. Suggestions for optimization are provided and the plan of innovative activities of VINITI is drawn on the basis on the analysis results, which is aimed at the further development of the institute.     

Multiple components of fitness improved among overweight and obese adolescents following a community-based lifestyle intervention

Fitness is an important component of health, and obese adolescents regularly have poor fitness. Unfortunately, few have assessed the impact of community-based lifestyle interventions on multiple components of fitness. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of participation in a community-based intervention involving adolescents and parents on multiple components of fitness of obese adolescents. In a within-subject, waitlist controlled clinical trial with 12 months follow-up in Western Australia, participants (n = 56) completed multiple fitness measures at baseline, immediately prior to beginning an 8-week intervention and at 3, 6 and 12 months during a maintenance period. Performance on the shuttle walk was improved immediately post-intervention (increase of 42.8 m, 95% CI: 7.5, 78.2) and at 12 months post-intervention (increase of 44.6 m, 95% CI: 1.3, 87.8) compared with pre-intervention. Muscle performance of quadriceps and deltoids were improved post-intervention (increase of 1.1 (95% CI: 0.1, 2.1) kg · F and 1.0 (0.02, 2.1) kg · F, respectively) and all muscle performance measures were improved at 12 months following the intervention. There were no changes in waist circumference. A community-based lifestyle programme such as Curtin University’s Activity, Food and Attitudes Program (CAFAP) may be a viable strategy for improving fitness in overweight adolescents.     

Effects of interval aerobic training combined with strength exercise on body composition,glycaemic and lipid profile and aerobic capacity of obese rats

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of interval aerobic training combined with strength exercise in the same training session on body composition, and glycaemic and lipid profile in obese rats. Sixteen lean Zucker rats and sixteen obese Zucker rats were randomly divided into exercise and sedentary subgroups (4 groups, n = 8). Exercise consisted of interval aerobic training combined with strength exercise in the same training session. The animals trained 60 min/day, 5 days/week for 8 weeks. Body composition, lipid and glycaemic profiles and inflammatory markers were assessed.

Results showed that fat mass was reduced in both lean and obese rats following the exercise training (effect size (95% confidence interval (CI)) = 1.8 (0.5–3.0)). Plasma low-density lipoprotein–cholesterol and fasting glucose were lower in the exercise compared to the sedentary groups (d = 2.0 (0.7–3.2) and 1.8 (0.5–3.0), respectively). Plasma insulin was reduced in exercise compared to sedentary groups (d = 2.1 (0.8–3.4)). Some exercise × phenotype interactions showed that the highest decreases in insulin, homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance, fasting and postprandial glucose were observed in the obese + exercise group (all, P < 0.01). The findings of this study suggest that interval aerobic training combined with strength exercise would improve body composition, and lipid and glycaemic profiles, especially in obese rats.     

Remote effects of lower limb stretching: preliminary evidence for myofascial connectivity?

The skeletal muscles and the fibrous connective tissue form an extensive, body-wide network of myofascial chains. As fascia can modify its stiffness, strain transmission along these meridians is supposable. The goal of this trial therefore was to collect pilot data for potential remote effects of lower limb stretching on cervical range of motion (ROM). Twenty-six healthy participants (30 ± 6 years) were included in the matched-pairs intervention study. One group (n = 13) performed three 30 s bouts of static stretching for the gastrocnemius and the hamstrings, respectively. An age- and sex-matched control group (CG; n = 13) remained inactive. Pre- and post-intervention, maximal cervical ROM in flexion/extension was assessed. A repeated measures ANOVA revealed systematic differences between groups (P < .05). ROM increased following stretching (143.3 ± 13.9 to 148.2 ± 14°; P < .05) but remained unchanged in the CG (144.6 ± 16.8 to 143.3 ± 16.8°; P > .05). Our data point towards existence of a strain transfer along myofascial meridians. Further randomised controlled studies on conditions, factors and magnitude of tensile transmission are warranted.