Individual Outlets Research Articles

The identity of religion always comes up: the war, the mass media and the reproduction of Muslim identity in the west

Islamophobia in the media occurs when media sources present hostile, inaccurate, and/or deceptive stories about Islam, Muslims, or Arabs. Islamophobia is the term used to describe strong antipathy or prejudice toward Muslims, intense hatred or fear of Islam, particularly as a political force, and the study of how and to what extent the media promotes There has been a lot of scholarly and political discourse on Islamophobia. The discourse around Islamophobia in the media often focuses on the rhetorical strategies utilized by individual media outlets or by the mass media of a given nation or region, such the US or Europe. A few instances of this are when Islam is portrayed in a poor light relative to other religions, when Muslims are linked to terrorism, when Muslims and their followers are portrayed as aggressive or primitive, and when Muslim viewpoints are excluded from discussions on politics and academia, among other subjects. On the other hand, reactions to talks about Islamophobia in the media frequently cast doubt on what actually qualifies as Islamophobia, how frequently, how severe, and how effective Islamophobic language is, as well as the political reasons for such talks. This study aims to determine whether or not there was obvious inherent bias by examining the tone, structure, and topics offered by the print media prior to a terrorist event. This study examines how the world press has connected Islam to terrorism and emphasizes how subliminal print messages might contribute to Muslim racial profiling and the spread of Islamophobia. The editorials of six prominent international newspapers between 2014 and 2017 provided the data for this study, which created strata of ten significant worldwide terrorism incidents at random. The investigator examined editorials for a month following the event. The researcher’s results and conclusions are obtained by statistical interpretation following data analysis using event methodology and content analysis.

Network Flow of Campaign Discourses and News Frames: The Changing Fortunes of Twitter/X as a Conduit for Frame-Building

ABSTRACT Periodic changes continue to impact the fortunes of Twitter as a political communication and news-sharing platform, particularly among diverse individual and institutional African users. Yet few studies provide empirical insights into Twitter’s changing role in campaign communication and its influence on news frame-building across the region, mainly in Nigeria. This study bridges the gap by analysing n = 763 tweets to determine how the political campaign discourse strategies in the tweeting activities of two prominent candidates influenced the news frame-building practices of mainstream newspapers during the four months of Nigeria’s 2019 presidential campaign. Findings affirm that the Twittersphere served as a playground where candidates deployed diverse discourse frames correlating with political agendas to show their intent to integrate Twitter into their campaign communication strategies. Moreover, the candidates’ tweets contribute to the journalistic frame-building process, although the newspapers tend to focus more on frame-setting than frame-sending due to the dynamic nature of journalistic content production across individual news outlets.

Media capture, captured: a new computational methodology to measure deteriorating media freedom

ABSTRACT The media are under increasing pressure by states to adopt a regime-friendly editorial line in many countries globally, raising the importance of understanding the conditions of successful and failed media capture. Unfortunately, the standard measurement of media capture – annual expert surveys – neither distinguishes between outlets nor offers the needed resolution to assess, e.g., the immediate impact of a new gag law. To remedy these shortcomings, we develop a computational measurement of media capture based on a comparison of nominally independent outlets and regime-owned outlets regarding media agenda and tone when referring to the regime. By relying on two unsupervised measurement methods – topic modelling and sentiment classification – the new method can assess the loss of editorial independence at the level of individual outlets on a monthly or even weekly basis. The methodology is validated by applying it to recent data from Nicaragua. There the two-pronged approach shows how outlets respond differently to regime pressure. While there still are limitations to consider, if further editorial aspects of media capture such as issue framing are added to the methodology, it has the potential of transforming the future study of media capture.

Artificial intelligence (AI) inspired an innovative approach for real-time flow measurements – water distributions at outlets, in Punjab province Pakistan

ABSTRACT Accurate water metering is essential for effective water management, especially for measured and equitable distribution of canal flows, most imperative in Pakistan. The inflows distributed through outlets must adhere to pre-designated levels, defined by Punjab Irrigation Department from head to tail. With recent channels lining, the outlets sanctioned flow are found changed requiring adjustments. Furthermore, there is lack of reliable mechanisms for continuous flow regulations, resulting in unmanaged distributions. The focus of the reported work was on precise and real-time discharge monitoring at outlets using a newly developed device utilizing Artificial Intelligence. During validation training, strong agreement was observed, and all evaluation parameters supported the device accuracy for measurements. In detailed studies of canal operations, the sanctioned discharges of individual outlets along selected distributaries were found significantly inequitable. Out of 162 outlets, 42 were suspended for being unmanaged, with tail users receiving ≤ 50% of their fair intakes. Additionally, there were instances of massive irrational supplies exceeding 200% of allocated discharges. The developed device has potential to accurately measure real-time discharges for managed distributions. Conclusively, the challenging task of fair and equity-based discharge allocations, in conjunction with Warabandi system, necessitates the reevaluation of the allocated flow quantity at each outlet.

Development of a Scoring Tool for Australian Rural Food Retail Environments.

Current tools scoring the healthiness of food retail outlets do not reflect outlets found in rural locations. This study aimed to adapt pre-existing Australian scoring tools to represent non-metropolitan areas. Rural nutrition experts were identified, and a modified Delphi technique was used to adapt two pre-existing, food-scoring tools in five iterative stages. Stages included identifying all relevant outlets, providing a description and score for each, ensuring consistency between outlet scores and pre-existing, metro-centric tools, and providing instructions for correct use. Six rural nutrition experts were identified and engaged in the modified Delphi technique. The final tool consisted of 12 categories of food outlets and listed 35 individual outlets. Consistent with pre-existing Australian tools, scores ranged from +10 to -10 and included descriptions reflective of rural retail outlets. Scores were based on whether the majority of foods offered within the outlet were consistent with foods recommended in national health guidelines. The developed tool was designed to accommodate the diverse nature of food retail outlets found in non-metropolitan areas. This study assists in explaining the link between the food environment and health in populations living rurally.

The association between the food environment and adherence to healthy diet quality: the Maastricht Study.

The purpose of this study is to determine if healthier neighbourhood food environments are associated with healthier diet quality. This was a cross-sectional study using linear regression models to analyse data from the Maastricht Study. Diet quality was assessed using data collected with a FFQ to calculate the Dutch Healthy Diet (DHD). A buffer zone encompassing a 1000 m radius was created around each participant home address. The Food Environment Healthiness Index (FEHI) was calculated using a Kernel density analysis within the buffers of available food outlets. The association between the FEHI and the DHD score was analysed and adjusted for socio-economic variables. The region of Maastricht including the surrounding food retailers in the Netherlands. 7367 subjects aged 40-75 years in the south of the Netherlands. No relationship was identified between either the FEHI (B = 0·62; 95 % CI = -2·54, 3·78) or individual food outlets, such as fast food (B = -0·07; 95 % CI = -0·20, 0·07) and diet quality. Similar null findings using the FEHI were identified at the 500 m (B = 0·95; 95 % CI = -0·85, 2·75) and 1500 m (B = 1·57; 95 % CI = -3·30, 6·44) buffer. There was also no association between the food environment and individual items of the DHD including fruits, vegetables and sugar-sweetened beverages. The food environment in the Maastricht area appeared marginally unhealthy, but the differences in the food environment were not related to the quality of food that participants reported as intake.

L’économie locale en temps de crise au début de l’époque moderne (étude basée sur les livres de comptes du monastère Kirillo-Belozerskij des années 1620

Comparing the data on the supply and consumption of grain and other types of food with the geography of trade relations before the Time of Troubles during the siege of the Kirillo-Belozerskii Monastery and the period that followed, the authors of the article explore the features of the local economy as part of the larger economic space of the Muscovite state during the acute systemic crisis of the early seventeenth century. An analysis of the micro-economic system has made it possible to establish very strong ties, the supply structure of individual outlets, and also to trace the changes introduced by the external restrictions caused by an acute socio-political crisis. The materials of this local community show the transitional nature of the Muscovite economy in the early seventeenth century.

Availability and affordability of alcohol and tobacco products for the population: results of a pilot study in the Sverdlovsk Oblast

Aim. To analyze the availability and affordability of alcohol and tobacco outlets using the specialized software developed by the National Medical Research Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine in the pilot subject of the Russian Federation — the Sverdlovsk Oblast.Material and methods. For the first time, experts from the National Medical Research Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine conducted a pilot study to assess the actual state of the infrastructure of a separate subject of the Russian Federation (Sverdlovsk Oblast). The study objects were the urban infrastructure elements in which alcohol and tobacco products are sold. In order to assess the infrastructure, special software was developed using Open Street Maps to perform data collection tasks. The infrastructure data collection for the pilot study took place from January to March 2022.Results. The total number of tobacco outlets is 299, most of which are located in supermarkets (82,6%, n=247). The share of individual tobacco outlets accounts for 13,7% (n=41). Out of 357 supermarkets, 247 (69%) have tobacco sales section. The average lowest price of a cigarette pack is 121,6±15,7 RUB (minimum — 30 RUB, maximum — 207 RUB). Twentyseven (10,9%) of 247 supermarkets located <100 m from educational institutions carry tobacco products. The minimum distance is 64 m. There are 449 alcohol outlets in total, most of them are located in supermarkets — 57,0% (n=256). Individual alcohol outlets account for 40,8% (n=183). Out of 357 supermarkets, 256 (71,7%) have alcohol sales section. Out of 158 individual alcohol outlets, vodka is available in 101 (63%) outlets, wine — in 112 (68,3%) out of 162 outlets, beer — in 112 (68,3%) out of 164 outlets, alcoholic cocktails — in 71 (45,2%) out of 57 outlets. The average lowest selling price of vodka is 255,9±62,2 RUB (minimum — 230 RUB), wine — 180,2±89,3 RUB (minimum — 110 rubles), beer — 51,2±15,5 RUB (minimum — 33 rubles), alcoholic cocktails — 58,9±15,4 RUB (minimum — 37 rubles). In addition, 27 (10,5%) of 256 supermarkets with a liquor section (minimum distance of 64m) are located <100 m from educational institutions, as well as 10 (5,4%) out of 183 individual stores specializing in the alcohol sale (minimum distance of 50 m).Conclusion. The results obtained with the help of the developed tool can be used as arguments for strengthening monitoring of compliance and making changes to the current legislation that restricts the availability of tobacco and alcohol products. The use of the developed tool will make it possible using evidence to make informed decisions in the development and implementation of public health programs at the municipal level.

In vitro Comparative Quality Evaluation of Formulated and Marketed Losartan Potassium 25 Mg Tablets

Background: The outcome of the drug therapy depends largely on the quality of the drug product. The lower quality of the drug product can be the reason for therapeutic failure. The present study was designed to evaluate the quality standard of Losartan Potassium tablet brands available in Bangladesh market to get an idea of quality standard of drug product people consuming in this country.
 Materials and methods: Three brands of losartan potassium were chosen randomly. Tablets of each brand were collected from individual retail outlets to gauge the qualitative evaluation and compare them by in-vitro drug release study. They were subjected to various quality control tests to measure the hardness, thickness, weight variation, friability, disintegration time, potency, stability, and dissolution profile. All these tests were performed according to the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) specification. Researchers further formulated a batch of tablet of Losartan Potassium and compared them with the existing brands. The formulation was prepared by optimizing the existing one available in the USP. Test results of the existing brands were taken into consideration during the optimization of the formulation.
 Results and discussion: Two brands passed the weight variation test, while one brand exceeded the range (±5%). The potency was determined instantly and 15 days after keeping the tablets in a stability chamber at 75% humidity and 60oC temperature. The potency of two brands degraded below the lower limit specified by the USP, while that of the remaining one was within the limits. Results of other tests were within the specified limits. Tablets prepared in the lab using an optimized formulation showed a better dissolution rate than the existing brands.
 Conclusion: Some of the brands failed to meet the desired quality, so the quality control system of that companies should be upgraded and a proper monitoring system should be developed by the drug administration.

Only “sheep” trust journalists? How citizens’ self-perceptions shape their approach to news

The all-consuming nature of coronavirus news coverage has made the COVID-19 pandemic a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between audience trust in and engagement with news. This study examines that relationship through 60 Zoom-based qualitative interviews conducted with a diverse sample of US adults during the early phase of the pandemic. We find that how people approach the news stems not only from how they perceive the trustworthiness of individual news outlets, but also from their own self-perceptions. News consumers believe journalism generally suffers from issues of bias, but that they are savvy and independent-minded enough to see through those biases to find the truth. Putting the concept of partisan selective exposure into conversation with folk theories of news consumption, we conclude that people’s approach to and trust in news is as dependent on what they bring to the news as it is on what news brings to them.

The Institutional Impacts of Algorithmic Distribution: Facebook and the Australian News Media

Since changing its algorithm in January 2018 to boost the content of family and friends over other content (including news), Facebook has signaled that it is less interested in news. However, the field is still trying to understand the long-term impacts of this change for news publishers. This is a problem because policymakers and legislators across the world are becoming concerned about the relationship between platforms and publishers. In particular, there are worries that platforms’ ability to make unilateral decisions about how their algorithms operate may harm the economic sustainability of journalism. This article provides some clarity around the relationship between these two parties through a longitudinal study of the Australian news media sector’s relationship with Facebook from 2014 to 2020, with a particular focus on the January 2018 algorithm change. We do this by analyzing Facebook data (2,082,804 posts from CrowdTangle) and external traffic data from 32 major Australian news outlets. These data are contextualized by additional desk research. We identify a range of trends including the decline of news sharing, the collapse in the performance of “social news,” the variable position of social media as a source of referral traffic, and, most critically, the diffused nature of the 2018 algorithm change. Our approach cannot make direct causal inferences. We can only identify trends in on-platform performance and referral traffic, which we then contextualize with industry reportage. However, the data provide vital longitudinal insights into the performance and responses of individual media outlets, news categories, and the Australian media sector as a whole during a critical moment of algorithmic change.

Evolutionary game of cooperative decision-making in reverse supply chain based on cooperative effort

Aiming at a large number of end-of-life (EOF) electrical products flowing into individual recycling outlets, it will squeeze the living space of formal dismantling companies and cause secondary pollution problems. The purpose of this paper is to establish a stable cooperative relationship between them to guide EOF products flowing from individual recycling outlets into the formal dismantling process. A game model involving the participation of formal dismantling enterprises and individual recycling outlets is constructed, and the role of government punishment mechanism intervention in the formation of active cooperative relations between participants in different parameter ranges is discussed. Then, the stability of the evolutionary equilibrium point is analysed. Finally, the Matlab software is used to simulate the influence of parameter on the formation of a stable cooperative relationship, and suggestions for promoting cooperation are provided.

Political parallelism in Iceland: Perceived media-politics relations

Abstract My main objective in this article is to examine the importance of political parallelism in Iceland through establishing the extent to which political parallelism is perceived to char-acterise political communication in Iceland by politicians and voters. Political parallelism is one of the defining elements of Hallin and Mancini's typology of media systems. Based on candidate surveys from five elections and a voter survey, indexes of perceived political parallelism are configured for politicians and voters. The analysis suggests a high degree of perceived political parallelism and that the perceptions are reflected in partisan ideological views of individual media outlets. The same – or at least similar – perceptions about political parallelism in the media system seem to penetrate the system irrespective of age and at the national, local, and individual level of politics. However, voters and candidates of social democratic and liberal internationally oriented parties perceive a significantly lower degree of parallelism than others.

Effects of pipe outlet blocking on hydrological functioning in a degraded blanket peatland

AbstractPeatland restoration practitioners are keen to understand the role of drainage via natural soil pipes, especially where erosion has released large quantities of fluvial carbon in stream waters. However, little is known about pipe‐to‐stream connectivity and whether blocking methods used to impede flow in open ditch networks and gullies also work on pipe networks. Two streams in a heavily degraded blanket bog (southern Pennines, UK) were used to assess whether impeding drainage from pipe networks alters the streamflow responses to storm events, and how such intervention affects the hydrological functioning of the pipe network and the surrounding peat. Pipeflow was impeded in half of the pipe outlets in one stream, either by inserting a plug‐like structure in the pipe‐end or by the insertion of a vertical screen at the pipe outlet perpendicular to the direction of the predicted pipe course. Statistical response variable η2 showed the overall effects of pipe outlet blocking on stream responses were small with η2 = 0.022 for total storm runoff, η2 = 0.097 for peak discharge, η2 = 0.014 for peak lag, and η2 = 0.207 for response index. Both trialled blocking methods either led to new pipe outlets appearing or seepage occurring around blocks within 90 days of blocking. Discharge from four individual pipe outlets was monitored for 17 months before blocking and contributed 11.3% of streamflow. Pipe outlets on streambanks with headward retreat produced significantly larger peak flows and storm contributions to streamflow compared to pipe outlets that issued onto straight streambank sections. We found a distinctive distance‐decay effect of the water table around pipe outlets, with deeper water tables around pipe outlets that issued onto straight streambanks sections. We suggest that impeding pipeflow at pipe outlets would exacerbate pipe development in the gully edge zone, and propose that future pipe blocking efforts in peatlands prioritize increasing the residence time of pipe water by forming surface storage higher up the pipe network.

Transnational Problems and National Fields of Journalism: Comparing Content Diversity in U.S. and U.K. News Coverage of the Paris Climate Agreement

ABSTRACT Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s (1993, The field of cultural production: Essays on art and literature. New York, NY: Columbia University Press., 1996, The rules of art: Genesis and structure of the literary field (S. Emanuel, Trans.). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.) field theory, this study compares U.S. and U.K. news coverage of international negotiations in 2015 that culminated in the Paris agreement to curb climate change. Findings indicate commercial news outlets at times produced more diverse accounts of the negotiations than nonprofit or public-funded outlets. However, these more diverse accounts often stem from journalistic practices somewhat shielded from market pressures. A niche focus on particular aspects of the negotiations dampens content diversity at individual news outlets but increases content diversity as measured across outlets within a country, which this study finds to be higher in the U.K. These findings indicate that forms of funding resistant to market pressures and approaches to reporting diverging from legacy journalistic practices can support diverse news accounts of climate change.

Space-choice behavior for individual study in a digital reading room

The present study used the notion of personal space from environmental psychology and wall-hugging from evolutionary biology to understand student seat preference in a university library's reading room. Recent years have seen an increase in requests for individual study space in academic libraries. To adequately provide such spaces, we require keen observation of human psychology and spatial behavior in the microenvironment of an individual study room. Therefore, we analyzed space-choice behavior and check-in data logs at an academic library rather than subjective self-report surveys, to investigate actual student seat selections through a reservation process. Regardless of increased digital media use in the reading room, the need for personal space and wall-hugging traits were still exhibited. With an increased demand for individual electrical outlets and lighting, study carrels were highly preferred. We found that corner seats were significantly favored, while aisle seats were significantly avoided and prevented extended stays. The presence of walls was favored; however, furniture type significantly affected a preference for the location of walls. Specifically, students in study carrels preferred walls on both sides, while those seated at open tables preferred a wall behind them.

Model for Simulating the Temperature Conditions of a Sour Gas Cooling Unit

While being prepared for long-distance transport, gas is subjected to multiple cooling procedures that use air-cooling units. This is necessary for reducing the gas volume and preventing the gas from affecting the pipeline and the permafrozen soil where the pipeline is laid. ACU control systems are mainly tasked to sustain the necessary gas temperature at the unit outlet, which must provide sufficient cooling while also preventing the generation of hydrates in the ACU tubes. The ACU outlet temperature is the mean temperature, as temperatures of individual outlets might very greatly. Therefore, normal ACU operation requires a mathematical thermal field model that could be used to find the temperature at any point of the pipe. The paper proposes a thermal field simulation model that can be used to find temperatures at specific points of heat-transfer pipes as a function of the ambient temperature for any fan-vs-fan performance ratio. Experimental verification of the model showed good repeatability.

Lying press: Three levels of perceived media bias and their relationship with political preferences

Abstract In the context of decreasing media trust as well as the rise of populist movements in many Western Democracies, this study sets out to revisit the relationship between political preferences and perceived media bias. It investigates perceived bias of the entire media system, the perceived bias of individual outlets as well as perceived beneficiaries of this favorable coverage. Analyses are based on an online survey in Austria in 2015 (n ~ 1,679) and compare citizens’ perceived biases towards eight newspapers and television outlets. Results show that media system bias in Austria is strongly related to right-wing but not to left-wing extremism. Furthermore, there are not only differences between single outlets but also between media genres, as particularly tabloids are less afflicted by right-wing perceptions of bias. Finally, there is evidence of hostile media perceptions irrespective of actual media exposure.

A service-oriented framework for collating retail intelligence

This paper presents a case study that explores the impact of a software development project on a Small to Medium Enterprise in the United Kingdom as a means of delivering improved understanding of data in the retail sector. In this paper, the link between the actions undertaken by management in retail and the relationship with the environment provided by IT systems is considered. Many retailers in the United Kingdom make use of sensor devices to understand the behaviour of their customers. As retail outlets grow over a period of time, the diversity of sensor devices may change as new devices are installed. Equally, outlets that are operated within retail groups will collect and store data locally. As a consequence, management within the retail sector face a number of challenges to understand the operation of individual outlets and the holistic performance of retail chains. As a result, both the IT systems and also the working practices employed to complete the day to day tasks essential to meet the needs of a retailer’s customers rapidly become unfit for purpose. The case study considered in this paper reviews the requisite practices adopted by a service provider in the business intelligence sector, and the positive impact that the company realised through the re-engineering of both IT systems and business workflows. This paper demonstrates the efficacy of applying current software engineering methods to the redesign of IT-based business practices as opposed to more traditional approaches.

Persistence of bubble outlets in soft, methane‐generating sediments

AbstractSediments submerged beneath many inland waterways and shallow oceans emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas, but the magnitude of the methane flux to the atmosphere remains poorly constrained. In many settings, the majority of methane is released through bubbling, and the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of this ebullition both presents challenges for measurement and impacts bubble dissolution and atmospheric emissions. Here we present laboratory‐scale experiments of methane ebullition in a controlled incubation of reconstituted sediments from a eutrophic lake. Image analysis of a 0.14 m2 sediment surface area allowed identification of individual bubble outlets and resolved their location to ∼1 cm. While ebullition events were typically concentrated in bursts lasting ∼2 min, some major outlets showed persistent activity over the scale of days and even months. This persistence was surprising given the previously observed ephemerality of spatial structure at the field scale. This persistence suggests that, at the centimeter scale, conduits are reopened as a result of a drop in tensile strength due to deformation of sediments by the rising bubbles. The mechanistic insight from this work sheds light on the spatiotemporal distribution of methane venting from organic‐rich sediments and has important implications for bubble survival in the water column and associated biogeochemical pathways of methane.