This report is a preliminary exploration of the issues concerning traditional media and weblogs at two points in time. It examines the difference between the American mainstream media’s utilisation of weblogs during the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, and the utilisation of weblogs in the hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005. The mainstream media’s response to the weblog form during the attacks in September 2001 and the hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005 are examined, together with an exploration of the traditional coverage. It reveals how weblogs have become a more significant part of disaster coverage by mainstream media in the United States. These processes and the implications of these changes are explored for an understanding of how the weblog is altering our understanding of the construction and dissemination of news for the traditional media institution in the United States.

The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of using loyalty programs on sport fans’ relationship quality and fan engagement toward sport organizations. This study also sought to explore which relationship quality and fan engagement factors potentially differed as a result of using loyalty programs. Since there are two major defined sport levels, differences were explored across niche and mainstream sport organizations. Using relationship marketing as the theoretical framework, participants (n = 678) were administered a 55-item instrument that included revised relationship quality and fan engagement scales. Quantitative data were used to run confirmatory factor analyses, analyses of covariance, and multivariate analyses of covariance. Results first showed that significant differences existed between mainstream sport fans that have access to a loyalty program and mainstream sport fans that do not have access to a loyalty program. Mainstream sport fans that have access to a loyalty program had higher identification and reciprocity. Mainstream sport fans that do not have access to a loyalty program were found to have higher overall fan engagement, commitment, intimacy, and performance tolerance. Results also showed differences between niche sport fans that have access to a loyalty program and mainstream sport fans that have access to a loyalty program. Mainstream sport fans that have access to a loyalty program were divided into two groups (simple or complex) based on the design of the loyalty programs. Niche sport fans that have access to a loyalty program were found to have higher overall relationship quality, trust, intimacy, management cooperation, and performance tolerance. The findings provide an introduction in to the possibility that loyalty programs could be effective for increasing relationship quality for both niche and mainstream sport organizations. Moreover, for niche sport organizations that have access to fewer resources, it is encouraging that the use of a loyalty program appears to have the capabilities to build stronger relationships and engagement. These results provide several implications for sport organizations and sport marketers and serve as a foundation for which future research on loyalty programs can build.

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Adolescents spend a large proportion of their everyday life in school, and schooling is vital for future success and well-being. One group that are in risk for reduced school success are children with disabilities or long-term illnesses. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the factors age, gender, self-perceived relationship with teachers, self-perceived relationship with peers and parental bonding can predict school engagement of students with self-reported long term health conditions and impairment. School engagement is defined as having three aspects, behavioral, emotional and cognitive. HBSC (Health behaviors in School Children) data from Sweden is used. The result shows that self-perceived relationship with teachers and age are related to all three components of school engagement, behavioral, emotional and cognitive in this study.  Self-perceived relationship with peers is related to emotional school engagement only. Gender is related to cognitive engagement. Parent bonding cannot predict any of the three aspects of school engagement. This study demonstrated that school environment, especially teachers, is important for the school engagement of students with long-term health condition and impairment. Dispite the inconsistent results with previous reseach which focus on typical functioning students, School and educators should focus on how to maintain and improve and promote school engagement of students with long-term health condition and impairment in mainstream school setting.

The role of local Chinese media has become more important as the size of the Chinese community in New Zealand has increased rapidly in recent years. The function of local Chinese media could be like a bridge connecting the Chinese community and the mainstream society. This was an exploratory study which examined the current situation of local Chinese media to determine such issues as to whether they are the main source of information for the Chinese community, what if any difficulties they are facing and how they may develop in the future. A general research was conducted for the local Chinese media in Auckland, which covers brief introductions for some local Chinese newspapers, radio, websites, and the sole Chinese television company-World TV. Meanwhile, the researcher collected 102 questionnaires and conducted 10 in-depth interviews from the local Chinese residents and the staff working in local Chinese media companies. The findings of research suggest that most local Chinese residents utilize Chinese language media as a tool to collect daily information either from local society or their original countries. The local Chinese media not only provides information for the local community, but also has social value as a means for self-representation of the Chinese community in New Zealand and better adaptation to the mainstream society. On the other hand, the funding shortage as well as the tough competition became the obstacles for the future development for the local Chinese media. The results of this research may point to what the government’s role should be.

This thesis is a phenomenology highlighting the phenomenon of declining youth attendance at mainstream churches where traditional church music is used in worship and the emergence of megachurches where young people are attending and contemporary popular styles of music is used in worship. An Australian Broadcasting Authority survey in 1999 revealed that music is a major influence in the lives of youth, assisting in their identity creation, in their making friends, and in relieving their stress. The survey also notes that youth prefer contemporary popular music and, in particular, rock. This is in stark contrast to the traditional music played and sung in mainstream churches, which tends to be neither meaningful nor relevant to youth, largely because they do not identify with it. An increasing proportion of youth are rejecting the mainstream traditional churches such as Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Uniting Church. National Church Life Surveys in Australia show that by 2001, only fourteen percent of church attenders were young adults. Young non-attenders complained they found church services boring and unfulfilling. This declining youth membership does not auger well for the mainstream church’s future. It is clearly evident that, in Australian society a culture gap has emerged between the secular world and the mainstream Christian church. This thesis examines the role of contemporary popular music in attracting young people to church. Although, in comparatively recent times there has been some movement towards contemporizing worship services in mainstream churches, the change has met strong resistance, but that resistance is based on invalid arguments and the mainstream church is yet to respond effectively to the increasing culture gap and growing alienation of the young. Mainstream congregations are not adequately encouraged to participate in singing praise and thanks to God. Although the lyrics of songs that focus on thanks and praise can teach a Christian message, as well as promote an awareness of the presence of God, the importance of this aspect of worship appears to have been overlooked, even though music has always been a part of worship, with multiple biblical scriptures cementing its pivotal role. In 1980 twelve people began Christian City Church (CCC), a new church which was not one of the mainstream churches, with a vision to communicate the Christian message to the whole of Sydney. CCC used contemporary music as a vehicle to make their message relevant. That church has been strikingly successful, and had grown to five thousand members by 2004. This thesis focusses on a case study of the music of CCC to test a hypothesis that the use of contemporary popular styles of music, with a focus on thanks and praise, can play a significant role in attracting young people to join and remain as members, and that such music can be influential in communicating an experiential understanding of the Christian message. The aim of the case study was to discover whether the music was similar in style to young people’s preferred styles of music, whether they actively participated in its performance, whether it communicated to them, whether the lyrics conveyed a Christian message, and finally whether the congregation was both increasing and retaining young people as members. The songs examined in the study revealed that the music and paramusical aspects of the songs were similar to those of contemporary popular songs. The lyrics of the songs included themes of thanks and praise to God, and as such conveyed a Christian message. Thirty percent of the worship service was devoted to music praising God, and forty-nine percent of the church’s 5,000 members in 2004, were under twenty-five years. Further, the congregation participated enthusiastically in singing, an emphasis on belonging to small groups encouraged fellowship, and sermons addressed problems relevant to young people. It is proposed that CCC provides a pattern that mainstream churches could adapt, including the encouragement of congregational singing and worship, creation of effective small groups, relevant preaching, education opportunities, and culturally appropriate music. It is clear that contemporary and culturally appropriate music has played a significant and vital role in CCC’s successful development. To attract and retain youth membership, music needs to be contemporary, and culturally appropriate, thereby filling the gap between the secular world and the church. Contemporary popular music could provide today’s song for tomorrow’s church.

The number of linguistically and culturally diverse students entering public schools is increasing (Echeverria, Short & Powers, 2006; Williams, 2001) and mainstream teachers are responsible for making content comprehensible for these students (Clegg, 1996; Georgia Department of Education, 2008); however, test scores and graduation rates indicate that English language learners (ELLs), across the nation, are consistently underperforming on content based assessments and failing to complete high school (Carrasquillo & Rodriguez, 2006; Cruz & Thornton, 2009) . Using a constructivist lens and the concept of the instructional dynamic (Ball & Forzani, 2007), this dissertation presents the experiences of the mainstream teacher and 5 ELLs enrolled in an inclusive, single semester, secondary mainstream US Government course. Through vignettes created from observations, interviews, reflections and document analysis, this semester long qualitative case study presents the experiences of the mainstream teacher and ELLs. Constant comparative analysis of data revealed three themes (1) returning to the past; (2) navigating the classroom; and (3) preparing for the future. Continued analysis revealed five assumptions held by both the mainstream teacher and the ELLs which shaped the experiences of the participants within this mainstream classroom: (1) all members of this classroom were capable of achieving success through work; (2) achieving present success was directly linked to lessons learned from the past; (3) facilitating success means seeking to understand and interact with others (4) being a “team player” offers protection from uncomfortable situations; and (5) teachers and students expect content classes to prepare students for the future. The findings of this study capture the complexity of the mainstream classroom and imply that the success of the mainstream teacher and ELLs alike depend upon increasing appropriate professional development which maximizes the instructional knowledge of mainstream teachers, generating a supportive and collaborative school and classroom environment for teachers and students and ensuring the implementation of a relevant and immediate curriculum.

Post Keynesian Economics (PKE) is at a cross road. The academic climate at universities has become more hostile to survival and the mainstream has become more diverse internally. Moreover, a heterodox camp of diverse groups of non-mainstream economists is forming. The debate on the future of PKE has so far focussed on the relation to the mainstream. This paper argues that this is not an important issue for the future of PKE. The debate has overlooked the dialectics between academic hegemony and economic (and social) stability. The important question is, whether PKE offers useful explanations of the ongoing socio-economic transformation. PKE has generated valuable insights but it offers little on important real world phenomena such as supply-side phenomena like the increasing use of ICT and the globalisation of production, social issues like precarisation and the polarization of income distribution or ecological challenges like climate change. It is these issues that will decide the future of PKE. (author´s abstract) / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

This study examined how mainstream and black press newspapers framed the phenomena of "racial profiling" three years before and three years after the September 11 terrorist attacks. It looked particularly at frames, ethnic groups, source selection and article emphasis. Results indicate that even in the face of a tragedy, black press reporters did not waiver in their position and continued to cover issues from a "black perspective." On the other hand, mainstream newspapers altered their coverage during the high-stress period and began to portray racial profiling as an anti-Arab/terrorist tactic that is acceptable in some cases. This study helps answer the question of whether black press newspapers are necessary in today's society. The answer is yes. They still carry a unique viewpoint. Until the gap that divides African American and other readers ceases to exist, the black press will remain an important staple in the black community. / text

There are potentially negative health impacts of women's internalization of representations of women of color in mainstream on body esteem and weight. This study explores the relationships between mainstream hip hop, body satisfaction and body mass index (BMI) in Mexican descent college-age women. The study predicts that women who regularly listen to mainstream hip hop will be more likely to internalize the images of women. Internalization will predict body satisfaction and body satisfaction will predict BMI. Sixty-five participants completed a self-report survey with these measures. Regularly listening to mainstream hip hop was associated with higher hip hop internalization. Higher internalization was associated with less body satisfaction which, in turn, was associated with a higher BMI. Thus, women who regularly listen to mainstream hip hop and who internalize the images of women seem more critical of their body, which negatively affects their weight.