Media ownership and market structures: banes of news media sustainability in Nigeria?

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (8) ◽  
pp. 1270-1280
Author(s):  
Tokunbo Ojo

With the mixture of government-owned media outlets and private media establishments, Nigerian news media industry is deemed as one of the leading media industries in Africa. But, in spite of its leading status on the continent, the industry is plagued with a series of multi-faceted challenges of sustainability that is rooted in the socio-economic and political contexts. Consequently, privately owned media outlets have short-life span in Nigeria. This article assesses the challenges of news media sustainability in Nigeria. The article underscores the adverse effects of structural deficit in the democratic norms and institutional capabilities on the news media sustainability in Nigeria.

2020 ◽  
pp. 551-562
Author(s):  
Alberto Mora

The U.S. policy to adopt torture1 as an interrogation technique after the 9/11 attacks had a relatively short life span, yet it was deeply corrosive to the national interest and continues to be.2 First adopted by the administration of President George W. Bush in the summer of 2002, it was formally terminated by an executive order signed by President Barrack Obama on January 22, 2009, his second day in office. The actual official ...


mBio ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Celina M. Abreu ◽  
Rebecca T. Veenhuis ◽  
Claudia R. Avalos ◽  
Shelby Graham ◽  
Daymond R. Parrilla ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) eradication or long-term suppression in the absence of antiretroviral therapy (ART) requires an understanding of all viral reservoirs that could contribute to viral rebound after ART interruption. CD4 T cells (CD4s) are recognized as the predominant reservoir in HIV type 1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals. However, macrophages are also infected by HIV-1 and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) during acute infection and may persist throughout ART, contributing to the size of the latent reservoir. We sought to determine whether tissue macrophages contribute to the SIVmac251 reservoir in suppressed macaques. Using cell-specific quantitative viral outgrowth assays (CD4-QVOA and MΦ-QVOA), we measured functional latent reservoirs in CD4s and macrophages in ART-suppressed SIVmac251-infected macaques. Spleen, lung, and brain in all suppressed animals contained latently infected macrophages, undetectable or low-level SIV RNA, and detectable SIV DNA. Silent viral genomes with potential for reactivation and viral spread were also identified in blood monocytes, although these cells might not be considered reservoirs due to their short life span. Additionally, virus produced in the MΦ-QVOA was capable of infecting healthy activated CD4s. Our results strongly suggest that functional latent reservoirs in CD4s and macrophages can contribute to viral rebound and reestablishment of productive infection after ART interruption. These findings should be considered in the design and implementation of future HIV cure strategies. IMPORTANCE This study provides further evidence that the latent reservoir is comprised of both CD4+ T cells and myeloid cells. The data presented here suggest that CD4+ T cells and macrophages found throughout tissues in the body can contain replication-competent SIV and contribute to rebound of the virus after treatment interruption. Additionally, we have shown that monocytes in blood contain latent virus and, though not considered a reservoir themselves due to their short life span, could contribute to the size of the latent reservoir upon entering the tissue and differentiating into long-lived macrophages. These new insights into the size and location of the SIV reservoir using a model that is heavily studied in the HIV field could have great implications for HIV-infected individuals and should be taken into consideration with the development of future HIV cure strategies.


1983 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 155 ◽  
Author(s):  
GR Singleton

A 2-year program monitored the spatial organization, genetic structure and turnover rate of an unconfined commensal colony of mice. Four demes (social breeding units) were identified; each usually consisted of one or two males and two or three females. Demes were detected simultaneously in adjoining cages of an aviary (one deme per cage). Movement between demes was rare and the life span of a deme ranged from 2 to 7 months. The adult members of each deme had genotypes compatible to the majority of the young captured in the respective cage of the aviary at the time of residence of the deme. Taken in isolation, these results suggest that social behaviour would have a major impact on the genetic structure of the aviary population. When viewed over the main breeding season, the short life span of a deme and the genetic differences between demes indicate that social organization probably had only a temporary effect on the genetic composition of the aviary population.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-154
Author(s):  
Mary-Anne Piasecki ◽  
Piet Croucamp

The South African private news media industry represents a substantial portion of the overall media industry and the most successful in terms of profit acquired. It is critical however to assess the shareholders and private ownership of the news media industry in order to determine the likely success of investment in this industry. However, additional risk factors need to be considered along with the shareholders and ownership; macro factors such as, legislation and economic stability as well as micro factors such as the restructuring of ownership and transparency within the industry. It is also fundamental that the news media industry of South Africa is assessed through the lens of its historical landscape and transformation and its Fourth Estate responsibilities. Through this assessment it is possible to conclude three likely outcomes of investment in the news media industry. These outcomes are based on the measured growth and current stability of the industry and the South African economy. The most concerning risk for investment is the continued economic downturn of the South African economy and its effect on restructuring of media ownership and a declining profit. This can be coupled with the risk of legislative turnover and executive overreach within the news media industry


Author(s):  
Martin O'Donoghue

This chapter provides the first dedicated study of the Irish National League, founded by former MPs Capt. Redmond and Thomas O’Donnell in 1926. Analysing the categorisation of the League as a ‘mobilising’ party, this chapter argues that it was, in fact, a ‘legacy party’, illustrating how the League drew on the old Irish Party personnel, slogans and ephemera. While statistical data highlights the home rule connections of TDs standing for each party, there is also analysis of the League’s controversial actions during the tumultuous summer of 1927, examining two general election campaigns, the aftermath of Kevin O’Higgins’s assassination and the League’s failed attempt to form a coalition government with Labour following the entry of Fianna Fáil into the Dáil. It is argued that despite its short life span, the League was significant in Irish politics as it not only came within a casting vote of government but helped to accelerate the assimilation of former home rule supporters into new parties.


1996 ◽  
Vol 183 (5) ◽  
pp. 2313-2328 ◽  
Author(s):  
D A Fulcher ◽  
A B Lyons ◽  
S L Korn ◽  
M C Cook ◽  
C Koleda ◽  
...  

Self-reactive B cells from tolerant double-transgenic (Dbl-Tg) mice coexpressing hen egg lysozyme (HEL) and rearranged anti-HEL immunoglobulin genes have a relatively short life span when compared to normal B cells, irrespective of whether they are exposed to antigen in multivalent membrane-bound form (mHEL-Dbl-Tg mice) or soluble form (sHEL-Dbl-Tg mice). The factors responsible for determining the fate of these B cells after encounter with self-antigen were investigated using a cell-tracking technique in which anti-HEL Ig-Tg spleen cells were labeled with the intracellular dye 5-carboxyfluorescein diacetate-succinimidyl ester (CFSE) and injected either into non-Tg recipients or a variety of HEL-Tg hosts. In non-Tg recipients, HEL-binding B cells persisted in the circulation and could be detected in the follicles of the spleen for at least 5 d. On transfer into either mHEL-Tg or sHEL-Tg hosts, they underwent activation and then rapidly disappeared from the blood and spleen over the next 3 d, consistent with the short life span reported previously. Immunohistology of spleens from sHEL-Tg recipients indicated that the transferred B cells had migrated to the outer margins of the periarteriolar lymphoid sheath (PALS), where they were detectable for 24 h before being lost. The positioning of B cells in the outer PALS depended on a critical threshold of Ig receptor binding corresponding to a serum HEL concentration between 0.5 and 15 ng/ml, but was not restricted to endogenously expressed HEL in that the same migratory pattern was observed after transfer into non-Tg recipients given exogenous (foreign) HEL. Moreover, bone marrow-derived immature Ig-Tg B cells homed to the outer PALS of sHEL-Tg mice and then disappeared at the same rate as mature B cells, indicating that the stage of maturation did not influence the fate of self-reactive B cells in a tolerant environment. On the other hand, HEL-binding B cells transferred into sHEL-Dbl-Tg recipients persisted over the 3-d period of study, apparently due to insufficient availability of antigen, as indicated by the fact that the degree of Ig receptor downregulation on the transferred B cells was much less than in sHEL-Tg recipients. If T cell help was provided to Ig-Tg B cells at the time of transfer into sHEL-Tg recipients in the form of preactivated CD4+ T cells specific for major histocompatibility complex-peptide complexes on the B cell surface, HEL-binding B cells migrated through the outer PALS of the spleen to the follicle, where they formed germinal centers, or to adjacent red pulp, where they formed proliferative foci and secreted significant amounts of anti-HEL antibody. Taken together, these results indicated that the outcome of the interaction between self-antigen and B cells is largely determined by a combination of the degree of receptor engagement and availability of T cell help.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 397-410
Author(s):  
René Urueña ◽  
María Angélica Prada-Uribe

The field of transitional justice has faced several challenges in its relatively short life span. The latest of these challenges is the claim for broadening its scope to incorporate social justice– and development-related matters. And in just a few years, the possibility and adequacy of thicker or more holistic conceptions of transitional justice have become mainstream. Nonetheless, since their beginnings these new approaches have been subject to criticism from both within and outside the field. This article describes the trajectory of the scholarly debate on expanding transitional justice to encompass socioeconomic concerns, as well as its main limitations. It starts by exploring the main reasons that led to the historical marginalization of socioeconomic concerns in transitional justice theory and practice. It then considers the rationale for the implementation of broader approaches to transitional justice and closes with a discussion of the main challenges and limitations these proposals face.


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