The younger audience : children and broadcasting in New Zealand

The role and influence of media in the lives of children are ongoing sources of public, political and academic debates. These debates move back and forth along a care-control continuum (Cohen, 1997), and reflect a commitment both to educate children and to regulate their media experiences. Rapid advancements in computer technologies have vastly expanded the range of media experiences available to children. The development of Internet information and the rapid expansion of channels as a result of digital television have created increasingly accessible and diverse sources of media for children. These media are instantaneous and, in some circumstances, constantly available. As a result, a substantial body of international research has emerged that examines the influence of media consumption on children. How much time do children spend interacting with media? What sorts of media do they access? Are media harmful or beneficial to children? If so, in which contexts? Do media influence children�s personal development? And what role should governments, broadcasters and independent producers play in the regulation of the media? These questions remain central to contemporary debates about children and the media.

Innate Immunity in Lobsters: Partial Purification and Characterization of a Panulirus cygnus Anti-A Lectin

A lectin detected in haemolymph from the Australian spiny lobster Panulirus cygnus agglutinated human ABO Group A cells to a higher titre than Group O or B. The lectin also agglutinated rat and sheep erythrocytes, with reactivity with rat erythrocytes strongly enhanced by treatment with the proteolytic enzyme papain, an observation consistent with reactivity via a glycolipid. The lectin, purified by affinity chromatography on fixed rat-erythrocyte stroma, was inhibited equally by N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylgalactosamine. Comparison of data from gel filtration of haemolymph (behaving as a 1,800,000 Da macromolecule), and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of purified lectin (a single 67,000 Da band), suggested that in haemolymph the lecin was a multimer. The purified anti-A lectin autoprecipitated unless the storage solution contained chaotropic inhibitors (125 mmol/L sucrose: 500 mmol/L urea). The properties of this anti-A lectin and other similar lectins are consistent with a role in innate immunity in these invertebrates.

Using mobile social media and GIS in health and place research

This paper presents new research methods that combine the use of location-based, social media on mobile phones with geographic information systems (GIS) to explore connections between people, place and health. It discusses the feasibility, limitations, and benefits of using these methods, which enable real-time, location-based, quantitative data to be collected on the recreation, consumption, and physical activity patterns of urban residents in Brisbane, Queensland. The study employs mechanisms already inherent in popular mobile social media applications (Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare) to collect this data. The research methods presented in this paper are innovative and potentially applicable to an increasing number of academic research areas, as well as to a growing range of service providers that benefit from monitoring consumer behaviour, and responding to emerging changes in these patterns and trends. The ability to both collect and map objective, real-time data about the consumption, leisure, recreation, and physical activity patterns amongst urban communities has direct implications for a range of research disciplines including media studies, advertising, health promotion, social marketing, public health inequalities, and urban design.