Search

This thesis lays a foundation for understanding people's perceptions and engagement in news production, during a time of limited transparency about why, how and where information spreads online. Through creating, operating, and examining a news organisation purpose-built for this project, it was possible to describe critical gains and losses for the practice and business of doing news online. In interpretation, the dissertation documents a process of social capital being built among participants in the news operation, and posits that this will translate into a social infrastructure that can sustain such operations.

The authors are both migrants to Australia and both are academics in business schools. Taking up Alvesson's (2003) arguments for "close up studies" of academic life, in this paper we wish to address the issue of migrant learning processes. We argue that being a migrant affords one the unusual opportunity of becoming a 'stranger in the midst' of a culture which must be learned if one is to become a competent member of it. We draw upon situated learning theory to make sense of our experiences and in writing this paper we aim to contribute something to community of practice theory based on our migrant experiences.

This study focuses on new media use in democratic discourse, specifically in the Queensland state electoral division of Ashgrove, 2011. This site was chosen to make an enquiry into the place of mass media in public decision- making, asking the question: did online media provide an extension of democracy, and what would be journalism’s role in democratic discourse? The study utilises a survey of 280 constituents, a review of pertinent news coverage, and extensive interviews with a panel of informants. In the outcome, it found those most equipped to utilise online media showed a lack of will to get involved in deeper political, social engagements. It also sees younger demographics forming news habits, not usually in step with traditional political avenues, based on familiarity with online processes, while consciously marginalising the need for trustworthiness in this set- ting. These issues are considered together with one leading proposal as to where the future of new media might be heading. It assesses the notion of professional and amateur collaboration by employing the model articulated by Beckett, called ‘networked journalism’.

The aim of this article is to position social capital as a theoretical framework for investigating online communities, specifically pro-am operations. It will review pertinent literature on social capital and the future of journalism in this context, and detail how the broader field of Sociology and this dynamic field of Journalism converge to produce a unique opportunity for pro-am research. Currently, much concern has been expressed regarding the future of journalism institutions in society, and while journalism itself is seen as a cornerstone of democracy, the form of structures that facilitate such practice has been questioned. Compounding this problem is a lack of research that produces data suitable for meta-analysis. For example, case-study data of start-up operations in this volatile field do not provide sufficient grounds for conclusions that could result in evidence-based policy. In response to these dynamics, this article will propose experimentation as a method of research for pro-am start-ups.

Why GAO Did This Study: The Department of Defense (DOD) operates one of the largest and most complex health systems in the nation and has a dual health care mission -- readiness and benefits. The readiness mission provides medical services and support to the armed forces during military operations. The benefits mission provides health care to over 9 million eligible beneficiaries, including active duty personnel, retirees, and dependents worldwide. Past GAO and other reports have recommended changes to the military health system (MHS) structure. GAO was asked to (1) describe the options for structuring a unified medical command recommended in recent studies by DOD and other organizations and (2) assess the extent to which DOD has identified the potential impact these options would have on the current MHS. GAO analyzed studies and reports prepared by DOD's Joint/Unified Medical Command Working Group, the Defense Business Board, and the Center for Naval Analyses, and interviewed department officials. What GAO Recommends: GAO is recommending that DOD address the expected benefits, costs, and risks for implementing the fourth option and provide Congress the results of its assessment. In commenting on a draft of this report, DOD concurred with GAO's recommendations.

Overall compliance with DOD s force health protection and surveillance policies for servicemembers who deployed in support of OIF varied by service, by installation, and by policy requirement. Army and Air Force compliance during OIF for the installations in our review appears much better compared to the installations included in our previous review7 of OEF and OJG. Installations we examined from the Marine Corps, on the other hand, generally had lower levels of compliance across the policy requirements we examined when compared to other services; however, we did not review medical records from the Marines or Navy in our previous review. Our review disclosed that the extent of policy compliance varied in the following areas: " Deployment health assessments. The Army and the Air Force installations were generally missing small percentages (less than 10 percent) of pre-deployment health assessments. In contrast, pre-deployment health assessments were missing for an estimated 63 percent8 of the servicemembers at one Marine Corps installation and for about 27 percent at the other Marine Corps installation reviewed. The Navy installation in our review was missing pre-deployment health assessments for 24 percent of the servicemembers. Post-deployment health assessments were completed for most servicemembers (95 percent or more) in our samples, except at one of the Marine Corps installations we visited. While almost all post-deployment health assessments for the services were completed within DOD required time frames except for one Army installation, many of the pre-deployment health assessments in our samples were not. Except for servicemembers at one of the two Marine Corps installations visited, a health care provider reviewed all but small percentages of the completed health assessments as required by DOD policy., The original document contains color images.

Approximately 700,000 U.S. servicemembers served in the Persian Gulf during some point from August 1990 to June 1991. According to DOD, the majority of these personnel returned from the war healthy and remain fit for duty today. However, many of these servicemembers are reporting a wide array of health complaints and disabling conditions, including fatigue, muscle and joint pain, memory loss, and severe headaches. in response to concerns about the servicemembers with these symptoms and the potential health effects resulting from Gulf War service, both DOD and the Department of Veterans' Affairs established programs through which Gulf War veterans could receive medical examinations and diagnostic services. Nearly 100,000 of these servicemembers have participated in clinical evaluation programs established by these two agencies alter the war. According to DOD officials, medical research studies with comparison groups of both deployed and non-deployed Gulf War veterans are designed to clarify whether certain medical conditions may be more common among Gulf War veterans. In addition, DOD and several federal agencies, as well as a number of private organizations, are studying whether servicemembers may have been exposed to chemical agents during the war.