A Longitudinal and Contextual Analysis of Media Representation of Business Ethics

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis of media representation of business ethics within 62 international newspapers to explore the longitudinal and contextual evolution of business ethics and associated terminology. Levels of coverage and contextual analysis of the content of the articles are used as surrogate measures of the penetration of business ethics concepts into society. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a text mining application based on two samples of data: analysis of 62 national newspapers in 21 countries from 1990 to 2008; analysis of the content of two samples of articles containing the term business ethics (comprised of 100 newspaper articles spread over an 18-year period from a sample of US and UK newspapers). Findings – The paper demonstrates increased coverage of sustainability topics within the media over the last 18 years associated with events such as the Rio Summit. Whilst some peaks are associated with business ethics scandals, the overall coverage remains steady. There is little apparent use in the media of concepts such as corporate citizenship. The academic community and company ethical codes appear to adopt a wider definition of business ethics more akin to that associated with sustainability, in comparison with the focus taken by the media, especially in the USA. Coverage demonstrates clear regional bias and contextual analysis of the articles in the UK and USA also shows interesting parallels and divergences in the media representation of business ethics. Originality/value – A promising avenue to explore how the evolution of sustainability issues including business ethics can be tracked within a societal context.

Imaging domains in BaTiO3 single crystal nanostructures: comparing information from transmission electron microscopy and piezo-force microscopy

This article compares and contrasts information
obtained, using transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
and piezo-force microscopy (PFM), on domain configurations
adopted in single crystal lamellae of BaTiO3, that had
been cut directly from bulk using a focused ion beam
microscope with top and bottom surfaces parallel to
{100}pseudocubic. Both forms of imaging reveal domain
walls parallel to {110}pseudocubic, consistent with sets of 90
domains with dipoles oriented parallel to the two
\001[pseudocubic directions in the plane of the lamellae.
However, the domain width was observed to be dramatically
larger using PFM than it was using TEM. This suggests
significant differences in the surface energy densities
that drive the domain formation in the first place, that could
relate to differences in the boundary conditions in the two
modes of imaging (TEM samples are imaged under high
vacuum, whereas PFM imaging was performed in air).
Attempts were made to map local dipole orientations
directly, using a form of ‘vector’ PFM. However, information
inferred was largely inconsistent with the known
crystallography of the samples, raising concern about the
levels of care needed for accurate interpretation of PFM
images.

Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in pregnant women: a longitudinal study.

Maternal vitamin D insufficiency is associated with childhood rickets and longer-term problems including schizophrenia and type 1 diabetes. Whilst maternal vitamin D insufficiency is common in mothers with highly pigmented skin, little is known about vitamin D status of Caucasian pregnant women. The aim was to investigate vitamin D status in healthy Caucasian pregnant women and a group of age-matched non-pregnant controls living at 54–55°N. In a longitudinal study, plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) was assessed in ninety-nine pregnant women at 12, 20 and 35 weeks of gestation, and in thirty-eight non-pregnant women sampled concurrently. Plasma 25(OH)D concentrations were lower in pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women (P < 0·0001). Of the pregnant women, 35, 44 and 16 % were classified as vitamin D deficient (25(OH)D < 25 nmol/l), and 96, 96 and 75 % were classified as vitamin D insufficient (25(OH)D < 50 nmol/l) at 12, 20 and 35 weeks gestation, respectively. Vitamin D status was higher in pregnant women who reported taking multivitamin supplements at 12 (P < 0·0001), 20 (P = 0·001) and 35 (P = 0·001) weeks gestation than in non-supplement users. Vitamin D insufficiency is evident in pregnant women living at 54–55°N. Women reporting use of vitamin D-containing supplements had higher vitamin D status, however, vitamin D insufficiency was still evident even in the face of supplement use. Given the potential consequences of hypovitaminosis D on health outcomes, vitamin D supplementation, perhaps at higher doses than currently available, is needed to improve maternal vitamin D nutriture.

Real-time imaging of novel spatial and temporal responses to photodynamic stress.

Cells subjected to various forms of stress have been shown to induce bystander responses in nontargeted cells, thus extending the stress response to a larger population. However, the mechanism(s) of bystander responses remains to be clearly identified, particularly for photodynamic stress. Oxidative stress and cell viability were studied on the spatial and temporal levels after photodynamic targeting of a subpopulation of EMT6 murine mammary cancer cells in a multiwell plate by computerized time-lapse fluorescence microscopy. In the targeted population a dose-dependent loss of cell viability was observed in accordance with increased oxidative stress. This was accompanied by increased oxidative stress in bystander populations but on different time scales, reaching a maximum more rapidly in targeted cells. Treatment with extracellular catalase, or the NADPH oxidase inhibitor diphenyleneiodinium, decreased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in both populations. These effects are ascribed to photodynamic activation of NADPH-oxidase in the targeted cells, resulting in a rapid burst of ROS formation with hydrogen peroxide acting as the signaling molecule responsible for initiation of these photodynamic bystander responses. The consequences of increased oxidative stress in bystander cells should be considered in the overall framework of photodynamic stress.

Imaging the genetics of executive function

Recent advances in neuroimaging technologies have allowed ever more detailed studies of the human brain. The combination of neuroimaging techniques with genetics may provide a more sensitive measure of the influence of genetic variants on cognitive function than behavioural measures alone. Here we present a review of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of genetic links to executive functions, focusing on sustained attention, working memory and response inhibition. In addition to studies in the normal population, we also address findings from three clinical populations: schizophrenia, ADHD and autism spectrum disorders. While the findings in the populations studied do not always converge, they all point to the usefulness of neuroimaging techniques such as fMRI as potential endophenotypes for parsing the genetic aetiology of executive function. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

SCUBA imaging of high mass star formation regions

We present 450 and 850 mu m images of five ultracompact HII regions (G10.47, G12.21, G13.87, G31.41 and G43.89) taken at 9