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Sterile neutrinos in the keV mass range present a viable candidate for dark matter. They can be detected through single β -decay, where they cause small spectral distortions. The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment aims to search for keV-scale sterile neutrinos with high sensitivity. To achieve this, the KATRIN beamline will be equipped with a novel multi-pixel silicon drift detector focal plane array named TRISTAN. In this study, we present the performance of a TRISTAN detector module, a component of the eventual 9-module system. Our investigation encompasses spectroscopic aspects such as noise performance, energy resolution, linearity, and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we explore the creation of jokes told on late night talk shows targeted at major party nominees for president from 1992–2008. We hypothesize that the number of jokes told about candidates are related to variations in polling numbers, mainstream media coverage, and party identification of the candidates. Our results show a positive relationship between the number of jokes told at a candidate's expense and the amount of negative news coverage about the candidate. In addition, we find that Republicans are targeted with more frequency than Democrats. Results suggest that favorability ratings and whether or not a presidential candidate is an incumbent has no effect on the number of jokes targeting a candidate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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An elite survey of members of the American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union conducted in 2007 reveals that the vast majority of climate scientists positively assess both national print news reports and Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth as informative, with lower grades being assessed on climate change content that appeared on network and cable television news as well as in Michael Crichton’s novel State of Fear. Multivariate analysis reveals that more positive scientific assessments are associated in most cases with the level of confidence scientists have in the research conducted by their colleagues as well the severity of the impact they anticipate from global warming in the years ahead. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Politics & Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article provides information on a study which addressed the gap on the academic examination of scientific opinion regarding global warming and its impact. The study presented data from a survey of prominent scientists affiliated with the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and the American Geophysical Union (AGU), two professional associations that are closely connected to climate change research. The study also determined the nature of scientific opinion on key issues regarding climate change through conducting a multivariate analysis.

Content analysis of front-page The New York Times stories during the first year of the Barack Obama presidency revealed news coverage that was far more positive in tone than that received during the first year of the Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush presidencies. Overall, the Obama findings reveal a media honeymoon in that influential newspaper, a sharp contrast from first-year coverage of other presidents during the modern era of a more combative press. The positive policy coverage Obama received in the Times was also significantly more positive than on evening newscasts of network television and on Fox News' Special Report. Un análisis de los reportajes en primera plana del New York Times durante el primer año de presidencia de Barack Obama reveló reportajes con un tono mucho más positivo que aquel recibido durante el primer año de las presidencias de Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton y George W. Bush. En conjunto, estos hallazgos muestran una luna de miel del influyente periódico con Barack Obama, un marcado contraste con la cobertura que recibieron otros presidentes durante la era moderna de una prensa más competitiva. La positiva cobertura que Obama recibió del Times también fue significativamente más positiva que la recibida por noticieros vespertinos en cadenas televisivas y en el programa Fox News' Special Report. Related Articles:'Media Use in the Contemporary Presidency,' (1996): 'Selective Media Exposure and Partisan Differences,' (2011): 'The Influence of Media Policy Narratives on Public Opinion,' (2011): [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Elevated histone deacetylase (HDAC) isoenzyme levels have been described in patients with carcinomas and leukemias. HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) have shown promise in the treatment of carcinomas and are currently under intense research. To make better use of HDACi in treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), HDAC isoenzyme levels were studied. Methods: Quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for HDAC isoenzyme was measured in 32 patients with CLL and compared with 17 normal volunteer controls. ZAP-70, CD38 and CD44 were also assayed and correlated to HDAC isoenzyme levels. Results: The results showed: (1) HDAC isoenzyme levels in CLL were significantly increased in class I including HDAC1 and HDAC3, in class II including HADC6, HDAC7, HDAC9 and HDAC10, and in class III including SIRT1 and SIRT6; (2) higher expression of HDAC isoenzyme levels was found in ZAP-70+ compared to ZAP-70- patients, and CD44 expression levels were correlated with HDAC isoenzyme expression levels in the majority of HDAC classes. Conclusions: These results suggest: (1) in CLL, elevated HDAC isoenzyme activity is not restricted to one class, and therefore, HDACi therapy may need to be directed to more than one specific class of HDAC; (2) higher HDAC expression activity may indicate a poor prognosis and more advanced disease stage (through indirect evidence), since higher values were found in patients with ZAP-70+ and higher CD44 expression levels. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content analysis of network evening news coverage during the first year of the Barack Obama presidency revealed coverage that was far more positive in tone than comparable news reports from the first years of the Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush presidencies. Both domestic and international policy evaluations of the Obama presidency were more positive in tone than those of the last three presidents to take office during partisan transfers of power. The findings reveal a revival of the media honeymoon that scholars thought had disappeared during the modern era of a more combative press. An investigation of the "beat sweetening" hypothesis reveals mixed results, suggesting the need for further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content analysis of network evening news coverage of the 2008 presidential election revealed a slight increase in the amount of coverage and a decline in the coverage of policy matters compared to 4 years earlier. Barack Obama received the most positive coverage recorded for any major party nominee on network television since the Center for Media and Public Affairs started analyzing election news content in 1988. The tonal gap between the Democratic and Republican nominees was also the largest recorded over the past six presidential elections. The one-sided coverage on ABC, CBS, and NBC was in sharp contrast to the more uniformly negative coverage of the two candidates during the evening newscasts on Fox News. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Content-coded CBC evening newscasts are used in this article to examine reports on the eight candidates for Liberal Party leader in the weeks before the party's 2006 convention. In a sharp contrast to news reports on US presidential nominations, The National provided coverage balanced between the horse race and more substantive matters, including policy discussions and a candidate's personality and leadership qualities. But as with US nomination coverage, The National largely ignored trailing candidates, focusing nearly all its attention on the likely and plausible nominees. In terms of tone, The National provided “compensatory coverage,” where front-runners were treated more negatively than the candidates who were further back in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content-coded network newscasts are used to examine the relationship between news coverage and the daily New Hampshire poll standings of the four major Democratic presidential candidates in the weeks before the 2004 primary. The study finds powerful network news effects, particularly with respect to horse-race reports on which candidate was gaining or losing ground, for John Kerry, Howard Dean, Wesley Clark, and John Edwards. The influence of network news coverage on New Hampshire tracking poll standings casts doubt on claims by those who support New Hampshire’s status as the first primary because the state is thought to differ from the media-dominated electoral contests found elsewhere in American politics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Content-coded network newscasts are used to examine the relationship between news coverage and the daily New Hampshire poll standings of the four major Democratic presidential candidates in the weeks before the 2004 primary. The study finds powerful network news effects, particularly with respect to horse-race reports on which candidate was gaining or losing ground, for John Kerry, Howard Dean, Wesley Clark, and John Edwards. The influence of network news coverage on New Hampshire tracking poll standings casts doubt on claims by those who support New Hampshire's status as the first primary because the state is thought to differ from the media-dominated electoral contests found elsewhere in American politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personal coverage of President Bush during 2001 on network television and in six U.S. newspapers became far more positive after September 11, 2001, with the largest gains found in network television coverage. Coverage of the rest of the Bush administration, in contrast, became distinctly more negative after the terrorist attacks. The vast majority of the executive branch coverage both before and after the terrorist attacks in all media outlets focused on job performance, not the questions of character, ethics and political conduct that often dominate presidential campaign coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a response to the comment on the article "Politics and Professional Advancement Among College Faculty," by Stanley Rothman, S. Robert Lichter and Neil Nevitte. Disadvantages of political conservatism on professional advancement of college faculty; Theoretical justification of the arguments; Arguments regarding the alleged discrimination against conservative college faculty.

Content analysis of 6,480 front page stories in the New York Times and the Washington Post that deal with the federal government in 1981, 1993, and 2001 reveals a clear focus on the executive branch at the expense of the legislative branch. Capitol Hill is treated more negatively than the White House during these three years. The content analysis also reveals some evidence of partisan disparities in congressional coverage, particularly for the New York Times. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Content analysis of 6,480 front page stories in the New York Times and the Washington Post that deal with the federal government in 1981, 1993,and 2001 reveals a clear focus on the executive branch at the expense of the legislative branch. Capitol Hill is treated more negatively than the White House during these three years. The content analysis also reveals some evidence of partisan disparities in congressional coverage, particularly for the New York Times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content analysis of ABC, CBS, and NBC evening news programs during the first years of the presidencies of Ronald Reagan (1981), Bill Clinton (1993), and George W. Bush (2001) revealed a heavy focus on the executive branch rather than the legislative and judicial branches. The negative tone of network news coverage was very similar across the three presidents and their administrations. Coverage of presidents in their first year in office consistently was far more substantial than campaign coverage of presidential candidates, where issues of the campaign “horse race” trump matters of substance. Network news coverage of George W. Bush after the 2001 attacks was more positive in tone when compared to coverage before September 11, even though the amount of coverage of Bush personally fell after the attacks. Network news coverage of the rest of the Bush administration increased after September 11, but it turned more negative in tone during the final months of 2001. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content analysis of local television newscasts during Election 2000 showed marked differences between stations participating in two news improvement projects and those stations that did not participate in the “5/30” and “Best Practices” initiatives. Stations participating in those projects offered more news coverage overall and more candidate-centered coverage than did their in-market competitors. Stations enrolling in either of those programs also provided candidates with longer sound bites than did stations not participating in the programs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article discusses issues in the increasing candidate-centered television news broadcasting during political election campaign, by evaluating local news coverage of campaign in 2000 in the U.S. Scholarly examinations of television's coverage of presid

During the 2000 national election season, there was unprecedented attention paid by the media, and by presidential campaigns, to the political content of late night comedy shows such as the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the Late Show with David Letterman. Focusing on the more than thirteen thousand jokes about U.S. political figures from 1996 to 2000 on late night comedy talk shows, this study explores the choice of targets and subjects of political humor. The authors find that late night humor is heavily centered on the president and top presidential contenders, that the various late night shows tend to exhibit the same patterns in their choice of targets, and that the humor is generally devoid of issue content. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Presents a study which examined jokes about U.S. political personalities on late-night comedy talk shows from 1996 to 2000. Portrayal of politics and public figures in television entertainment; Political content of late-night comedy programs; Target audience of the talk shows; Impact of the television appearances of politicians.

Content-coded network newscasts were used to examine the relationship between news coverage and the daily New Hampshire poll standings oral Gore and Bill Bradley; the two major Democratic presidential candidates, in the weeks before the primary. The study found powerful network news effects, particularly with respect to "horse race" reports on which candidate gained and fell back but also with respect to televised evaluations of more substantive matters such as character and issue positions. The results cast doubt on claims by those who support New Hampshire's status as the nation's first primary because the state is thought to differ from the media-dominated electoral contests found elsewhere in American politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Last year's election night blunders by the networks highlight the extent to which the news media—and particularly television—have become major actors in presidential elections. This article employs a content analysis to examine how thorough, balanced, and substantive network news was in Campaign 2000 as compared with 1996, 1992, and 1988. Although the principal focus is on the broadcast networks, data on other news genres, as well as candidate discourse, are brought to bear on the research questions. The study finds little or no improvement in election coverage over time despite numerous reform efforts from inside and outside the newsroom. The amount of coverage has declined, along with the airtime available to candidates. Attention to the horse race increased sharply in 2000, but issue coverage did not. The tone of coverage has remained consistently negative, but Democrats sometimes fared better than Republicans. Media discourse was also less substantive and more negative than candidate discourse, and voters continued to give the media low marks for their performance. These findings call into question the effectiveness of recent efforts to make election news more useful to voters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Last year's election night blunders by the networks highlight the extent to which the news media--and particularly television--have become major actors in presidential elections. This article employs a content analysis to examine how thorough, balanced, and substantive network news was in Campaign 2000 as compared with 1996, 1992, and 1988. Although the principal focus is on the broadcast networks, data on other news genres, as well as candidate discourse, are brought to bear on the research questions. The study finds little or no improvement in election coverage over time despite numerous reform efforts from inside and outside the newsroom. The amount of coverage has declined, along with the airtime available to candidates. Attention to the horse race increased sharply in 2000, but issue coverage did not. The tone of coverage has remained consistently negative, but Democrats sometimes fared better than Republicans. Media discourse was also less substantive and more negative than candidate discourse, and voters continued to give the media low marks for their performance. These findings call into question the effectiveness of recent efforts to make election news more useful to voters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the controversy surrounding environmental cancer, emphasizing the interactions among environmental activists, scientists and the news media. It is clear that environmental groups were, for many years, able to capture the interest and support of the media for claims about the views of scientists which are simply inaccurate. There were many reasons for this, but the end result that bad science has outpointed good science for some time because ideology has triumphed over evidence. It should be added that while a few scientists have lent their names to bad science, the great majority has not. That, to some, they appear to have done so is partly a reflection of the weakness of media coverage. Journalists seem to turn with greater frequency to high quality scientific journals for their information, and are somewhat more skeptical of the claims of environmental groups.

Presents a study which examined the role of television in forming public opinion concerning the United States government from the 1950s to 1998. Methods used in the study; Historical analysis of public officials; Contemporary analysis of civil servants; Conclusion of the study.

Content-coded network newscasts were used to determine the importance of news coverage to the poll standings of leading candidates in the 1992 New Hampshire Democratic Primary. It was found that “horse-race” coverage mattered much more than reporting on more substantive matters, such as a candidate's capacity to be president. This was particularly true for Bill Clinton, who suffered an “antibandwagon” effect from the predominantly negative coverage he received. The findings here raise questions about whether there really is anything special about the New Hampshire primary. The state's 1992 Democratic primary differed little from the television-dominated contests seen elsewhere in American electoral politics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Content-coded network newscasts were used to determine the importance of news coverage to the poll standings of leading candidates in the 1992 New Hampshire Democratic Primary. It was found that "horse-race" coverage mattered much more than reporting on more substantive matters, such as a candidate's capacity to be president. This was particularly true for Bill Clinton, who suffered an "antibandwagon" effect from the predominantly negative coverage he received. The findings here raise questions about whether there really is anything special about the New Hampshire primary. The state's 1992 Democratic primary differed little from the television-dominated contests seen elsewhere in American electoral politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tests the validity of the argument that television entertainment stigmatizes wealth rather than business. Content analysis of television characters in all occupations across 30 seasons; Reaffirmation of television stigmatizing the occupation of business; Challenge posed to mass communications theory that popular culture breeds social control.

Rorschach tests were administered to 36 subjects grouped according to ethnicity and political ideology. Pairwise discriminant analyses of scores significantly differentiated both Jewish and non-Jewish radicals from nonradicals in a manner consistent with previous survey findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study that explored the concept of power, politics and personality in the post-industrial society in the United States during the 1960s. Literary criticism on the values and motivations of student radicals; overview of a cross-national study of student personality in the country; Conclusions drawn from the study.

This paper describes and tests a model of radical personality based upon social psychological correlates of New Left ideology Following methodological criticism of studies that portrayed radicals as psychologically "liberated," a model of psychopolitical rebellion is described as an inverted form of authoritarian personality. This model was tested by administering projective psychological instruments to a large sample of American college students during 1971-73. As hypothesized, radicalism was associated with measures of power motivation, narcissim, self-assertive psychosocial orientation, lack of affiliative motivation, and perceptions of protest and militancy as sources of power. The developmental sources of rebellion are also examined, and the implications for studies of personality and politics are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the June 1987 issue of this Review, Stanley Rothman and S. Robert Lichter offered evidence to support their argument that "the new environmental movement in the United States is partly a symbolic issue," that elites in the news media and in public interest groups misrepresent the dangers of nuclear energy as a surrogate for more direct criticism of liberal capitalism in the United States. In this controversy, Charles J. Helm expresses skepticism about the Rothman-Lichter line of argument; and they respond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changing U.S. attitudes toward new technologies are examined, as are explanations of such changes. We hypothesize that increased concern with the risks of new technologies by certain elite groups is partly a surrogate for underlying ideological criticisms of U.S. society. The question of risk is examined within the framework of the debate over nuclear energy. Studies of various leadership groups are used to demonstrate the ideological component of risk assessment. Studies of scientists' and journalists' attitudes, media coverage of nuclear energy, and public perception of scientists' views suggest both that journalists' ideologies influence their coverage of nuclear energy and that media coverage of the issue is partly responsible for public misperceptions of the views of scientists. We conclude with a discussion of the historical development of the environmental movement in the 1960s and 1970s and the relation of this movement to the public's declining support for nuclear energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From rather different perspectives some conservative and radical intellectuals have argued that new strata (a 'new class') have emerged in advanced industrial capitalist society whose values differ from those more closely tied to the central institutions of such societies. Both conservative and radical intellectuals argue that prominent among these new strata are those individuals associated with the creation and dissemination of culture. To test these hypotheses we administered a questionnaire to a stratified random sample of media personnel from the leading media outlets in the country, and to a stratified random sample of businessmen drawn from major companies on various Fortune lists. Our return rate was 74 per cent and 95 per cent respectively. In addition to questions on background, outlook and ideology, our questionnaire contained a series of Thematic Apperception Test pictures (TAT) scored blind, according to criteria established by David McClelland and associates. We found that media personnel come from more privileged backgrounds than businessmen, and are considerably more liberal and cosmopolitan. We found, too, that the manner in which both journalists and businessmen interpret "reality" is consonant with their expressed ideological views. Finally, we found that businessmen outscore journalists on the Need for Achievement, while journalists outscore businessmen on the Need for Power, Fear of Power and Narcissism. The broader implications of these findings are discussed in the final section of the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Thematic Apperception Test (TA T) was administered to a group of adults previously active in the political "New Left" of the 1960s and a group of more politically "moderate" adults involved in various community affairs. The TA T stories were scored for four social motives: power, intimacy, affiliation, and achievement. For both sexes, adult radicals scored significantly lower on intimacy motivation than did moderates. Further, radical males scored significantly lower on achievement and significantly higher on power than did moderate males. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Experiments were performed to investigate the separation and vortex development of a wall-jet in a stratified tank. A horizontal jet was introduced adjacent to and parallel to a wall. On a fast time scale O (1/Brunt-Väisälä frequency) a planar flow was generated by gravitational collapse of the initially three-dimensional jet. Fluorescein was used for visualization. Vorticity and stream function were determined by optically tracking tracer particles. The current separated from the wall, then organized into an asymmetrical dipole which propagated away from the wall. The stronger region of vorticity stretched the weaker region about itself. As a result, the long-time structure was a monopole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neutral stability of parametrically excited subharmonic cross-waves in a rectangular tank is studied experimentally. The analysis of the experimental data is based on the appropriately scaled dimensionless variables. The variation of the shape and of the location of the neutral stability curves with the mode number is studied. Certain conclusions are drawn on the basis of the present measurements regarding the relative importance of different damping mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface water waves are generated by a paddle-type wavemaker operating at one end of a long tank. in addition to a progressing wave field at the forcing frequency, a subharmonic cross wave is generated in the neighborhood of the wavemaker. At lower forcing amplitudes there is a Benjamin-Feir instability of the progressing wave. At large forcing amplitudes, the fundamental decays rapidly along the channel. The cross wave dominates the near field and is strongly modulated on a slow time scale. During each modulation period a soliton propagates away from the wavemaker. The near-field standing cross wave undergoes a transformation into a progressing wave in the far field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]