Worldwide, postal and delivery economics is the subject of considerable interest. The postal industry's business model is in drastic need of change. Notably, the European Commission and member states are still wrestling with the problems of implementing liberalization of entry into postal markets, addressing digital competition, and maintaining the universal service obligation. In the United States, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 has, perhaps, exacerbated some of the problems faced by the United States Postal Service (USPS). Currently, the USPS has serious financial problems because of difficulties it faces in making changes and the failure of the Act to address problems that have been long-standing. Electronic competition is severe and affects post offices (POs) worldwide, which have been slow to address the threat. This book addresses this new reality and includes discussion of how POs may attempt to reinvent themselves. Parcels and packets will play a major role in developing new business models for postal operators. This book is of use not only to students and researchers interested in the field, but also to postal operators, consulting firms, utilities, regulatory commissions, Federal Government Departments and agencies of the European Union and other countries.

The author offers a comprehensive portrait of online news performance in Western countries in changing media environments. Drawing on a content analysis of 48 news outlets from different types of media organization in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, and USA, Edda Humprecht investigates the complex interplay of systemic and organizational dynamics and their impact on online news content, showing that the performance of online news media strongly varies among different media outlets. Less profit oriented outlets and those with a focus on information generally perform well offering hard news, diversity, critical distance, or analytical depth. This suggests that the divide between high and low-performing outlets is tied to the news outlet's capacity and willingness to strike a balance between their profit orientation and their normative role as information providers. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that different dimensions of news performance are more pronounced in certain countries. This book provides new theoretical perspectives and methods for political and media scholars, and insights for journalists, policymakers, and concerned citizens.

This book examines the challenges faced by seven multinational companies - Intel, Lenovo, Samsung Electronics, ZTE, BMW Hyundai Motor Company, Mahindra and Mahindra - in their endeavour to contribute to the economic, environmental and social development of Asia. The lessons learned from the examination of these business practices may directly contribute to an increase in the practice of sustainable management and may as such contribute to positive economic, environmental and social impact of companies in this region. The cases are highly relevant for management theoreticians seeking to deepen our understanding of corporate sustainability in an area where scholars, practitioners and policy-makers can expect new questions, problems and challenges in the years ahead. The book is also of high interest to policy review agencies, policy makers and welfare economists seeking to support the development of a comprehensive sustainability framework for managing social and environmental issues in the context of Asia.

The start of the 1990s saw the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany into one new nation that would be a formidable economic force around the world. But to many Americans educated by the news and entertainment media, the image of Germany remained a holdover from World War II and the Holocaust. When the American media were not presenting an outdated, jackbooted view of Germany, they were portraying it as a country epitomizing the world's Communist/Capitalist struggle. For three decades the American news and entertainment media presented the image of Germany as being a country hopelessly divided. Now they were faced with a new country and a new set of images to deal with just as Germany exerts itself more powerfully than ever on the world economic scene.

How much attention has this new Germany received in the American media, and how accurate are the new portrayals? Have the media images changed during the 1990s and, if so, how much and in what direction? Willis examines these issues as well as the status of international news in the American media. The result is a book of great interest to scholars, researchers, and students involved with the mass media, contemporary affairs, and European Studies.

The media industry is in transition. While some changes are readily apparent, we have not even begun to understand the impact of others. The result is one of the most fascinating times in the history of media. As digital technologies accelerate the pace of change in all facets of our lives, researchers and practitioners are exploring its impact on traditional media and social interaction. Transitioned Media brings together leading academics and media industry executives to identify and analyze the most transformative trends and issues. Themes include the effect of digital technologies on consumer behavior, new approaches to advertising and branding, social networks, the blogosphere and impact of "citizen" journalism, music and intellectual property rights, digital cinema, and video games. Underlying the chapters is an economic perspective, with an emphasis on how new business models are being developed that take the social dimensions of digital technologies into account. The result is a unique perspective on the digital media landscape and the forces that will shape it in the future.

This is the first book that sheds light on global game industries and cultural policy. The scope covers the emerging and converging theory and models on cultural industries and its development, and their connection to national cultural policy and globalization. The primary focus of the book is on Asian cultural policy and industries while there are implicit comparisons throughout the book to compare Asia to other global markets. This book is aimed at advanced undergraduates, graduate students and faculty members in programs addressing cultural policy and digital games. It will also be of interest to those within the cultural policy community and to digital games professionals.

This volume of papers by leading telecommunications experts from around the world addresses in an integrated fashion the ongoing transformation of telecommunications. The book covers technology, economics, the law, and other social sciences and focuses on both theory and policy. Major topics include the impact of new technology on networks and users, network evolution and firm structure and strategy, pricing and interconnection, demand and policy for the Internet, and competition and the United States Telecommunications Act of 1996. The papers in this book represent a unique integration of topics, appropriate for a converging industry, and they also include the first wide-ranging analysis and critique of telecommunications policy in the United States following the 1996 Act.

Kuypers charts the potential effects the printed presses and broadcast media have upon the messages of political and social leaders when they discuss controversial issues. Examining over 800 press reports on race and homosexuality from 116 different newspapers, Kuypers meticulously documents a liberal political bias in mainstream news. This book asserts that such a bias hurts the democratic process by ignoring non-mainstream left positions and vilifying many moderate and most right-leaning positions, leaving only a narrow brand of liberal thought supported by the mainstream press. This book argues that the mainstream press in America is an anti-democratic institution. By comparatively analyzing press reports, as well as the events that occasioned the coverage, Kuypers paints a detailed picture of the politics of the American press. He advances four distinct reportorial practices that inject bias into reporting, offering perspectives of particular interest to scholars, students, and others involved with mass communication, journalism, and politics in the United States.

A major scholarly and readable history of women in broadcast news, covering the broadcast journalistic roles of women from the 1920s through the mid-1980s. Authors Hosley and Yamada, both with extensive professional experience in broadcasting and broadcast news as well as serving on the faculty of Stanford University's Mass Media Institute, have produced a heavily researched and well-written book, which gives attention not only to the more familiar names but also to the many women whose pioneer work in broadcast journalism had led to gradual acceptance of women in what had been considerd a male field. Choice There are a lot of names in this book. Some are immediately recognizable . . . other names are virtually unknown, making this book a valuable reference text for students interested in researching the careers of women broadcasters who have been all but forgotten. The authors, both of whom have extensive backgrounds in broadcasting, have done a commendable job of identifying women who have pioneered in electronic journalism. . . Indeed, this book is so engrossing one only wishes that it were longer. The authors touch on complex issues--such as the impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the FCC's decision to mandate affirmative action programs to remedy past discrimination--that call for more complete treatment in future works. Yet this book is an excellent starting point for serious study of women and broadcast news. It is highly recommended for courses in communications history and broadcasting and women's studies. Journalism Quarterly This is the first book to tell the story of women in broadcast news. It presents a historical overview of how the evolution of women in news has contributed to, and reflected, changes in our society. It identifies the newswomen who were pioneers in radio and television's developing years and focuses on those whose careers have had the greatest influence on American society through their impact on radio and television. Included are profiles of the major trail-blazers in the industry, such as Sigrid Schultz, the first female radio foreign correspondent; Helen Sioussat, the first woman network news executive; Dorothy Fuldheim, the first woman to anchor a news program; and network correspondent Pauline Frederick, the dean of women electronic journalists.

After the rise of the penny press in the 1830s, journalism became a target, a counterpoint, and even a model for many American writers. The first book of its kind, "Literature and Journalism in Antebellum America "explores the sibling rivalry that emerged as Poe, Thoreau, Stowe, and their contemporaries responded to newspapers, defended their own versions of the truth, and crafted "news of their own" in "Walden," "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and other works. This historical study provides fresh insights into the antebellum era while informing the current debate over stories and truths in the age of blogs, internet news, and reality television.

This book offers a completely new approach to the measurement of academic library effectiveness. Based on a significant empirical investigation, it contradicts established practices such as the measurement of outputs as indicators of effectiveness and the tendency to focus the evaluation of library effectiveness on the success of isolated activities. The book also explores in detail the fundamental inadequacy of library-based bibliographic instruction and information-seeking skills development. It argues that a student learns in order to become information literate and does not become information literate in order to learn. In so doing, it challenges much of the accepted wisdom in libraries and information technology.

SOAP, SEX AND CIGARETTES examines how American advertising both mirrors society and creates it. From the first newspaper advertisement in colonial times to today's online viral advertising, the text explores how advertising grew in America, how products and brands were produced and promoted, and how advertisements and agencies reflect and introduce cultural trends and issues. The threads of art, industry, culture, and technology unify the work. The text is chronological in its organization and is lavishly illustrated with advertisements.

Little has been published about press organizations, and even less about women's press organizations. This book is the first to document the history of women's press organizations. In addition to rich historical accounts of some of these organizations, it also provides a picture of many of the women journalists involved in these press organizations, many of whom were leaders, both in journalism and in the social movements of their time.

This book is a description and analysis of forty women's press organizations that have been key to the development of women writers of the press since the first established organization in 1881. Each entry describes the challenges faced by women that brought about the establishment of the organization at that particular time and place, some of the women who played key roles in the group's leadership, the group' s major activities and programs and its contributions to women of the press. The main purpose of these organizations was to provide women with a place where they could discuss professional issues and career strategies at a time when they were largely excluded from or marginalized by male-dominated media institutions. However, many also reflected the interests of some of the social and political reform movements associated with the women's movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, including the woman suffrage, peace, and ERA movements. Although some of the organizations described here no longer exist, new ones have taken on the challenge, in a profession where women still do not have equity.

This volume brings together original analyses about how the Middle East is depicted on U.S. television news. It analyzes some of the most intensely reported news stories of the past decade. Its revealing studies also show how broadcasting on Middle Ease issues has changed in recent years. These studies offer important and provocative findings regarding crucual issues in Middle East coverage.

This book offers insightful analysis of cultural representation in Japanese cinema of the early 21st century. The impact of transnational production practices on films such as Dolls (2002), Sukiyaki Western Django (2007), Tetsuo: The Bullet Man (2009), and 13 Assassins (2010) is considered through textual and empirical analysis. The author discusses contradictory forms of cultural representation - cultural concealment and cultural performance - and their relationship to both changing practices in the Japanese film industry and the global film market. Case studies take into account popular genres such as J Horror and jidaigeki period films, as well as the work of renowned filmmakers Takeshi Kitano, Takashi Miike, Shinya Tsukamoto and Kiyoshi Kurosawa.

The Global Dynamics of News is an attempt to locate the study of news-perhaps the genre best epitomizing the process of media globalization-within contemporary debate about news flow, transnational media-cultures and globalization. This book seeks to fill a considerable gap in the literature on international communication and transnational media studies, which have focused on issues of media culture, especially popular culture while leaving news underexplored. This book is the first of its kind, bringing together both theoretical essays and case studies that are informed by historical and contemporary debates about issues of media flow and media imperialism specifically, and those of media globalization generally.

A concise and authoritative account of the fifty-year history of Spain's state-owned news agency, this book offers an illuminating case study in press-government relations. It chronicles the development of EFE from its founding in 1938-1939, to its emergence in the 1980s as the West's fifth largest news service and the dominant communications giant in the Hispanic world. Kim examines EFE's shifting relations with successive Spanish governments. He describes its activities as a Falangist propaganda agency during the Spanish Civil War and its political functions under the Franco dictatorship during World War II and the postwar period. Changes within the agency during the transition of 1976 to 1982 are discussed, and EFE's impact on the democratization process is given detailed consideration. Among the many topics covered are EFE as a political symbol, censorship, press law, EFE finances and legal status, organizational changes, technical modernization, and relations with other news agencies. The first work to provide a definitive record of La Agencia EFE, this book contains a wealth of information on the political and social history of modern Spain, international journalism, and the modern communications industry.

In internet of things (IoT) applications, wireless connectivity is a key factor, particularly those that need to be in transition, or where wired communication is not effective or practicable. For top-notch connectivity of the Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) standard, the 900MHz frequency is generally used by most of the vendors. The radiation quality not only depends on the antenna geometry but on immediate surroundings. Additionally, the IoT product itself and the user of the product can strongly affect the resulting radiation pattern and other characteristics of the antenna. On the other hand, a suitable antenna should also have high efficiency and adequate bandwidth covering the desired frequency range. To take these effects into consideration, the whole IoT product must be included in the antenna simulations. Antenna Design for Narrowband IoT: Design, Analysis, and Applications provides the antenna design concept for narrowband internet of things applications, performs a detailed analysis of the antenna, and discusses the various antenna design concepts and structures. Covering a range of topics such as antenna design and antenna measurement systems, this book is ideal for industry professionals, research scholars, academicians, professors, and students.

Since the breakup of AT&T in the early 1980s, many scholars and others have argued that telecommunications regulatory policy, especially at the state level, must change dramatically to fit new market conditions. To others, particularly state regulators, lawmakers, and smaller competitors, the proper response is one of slow, incremental change in regulatory policy. This volume explores these issues by using a unique multidisciplinary lens to focus on the problems of market power and cost allocation in long distance telecommunications markets. The contributors approach the subject from the traditional perspectives of economics and law but also incorporate developments in newer disciplines such as operations research, decision theory, policy analysis, and corporate strategy. Each section includes a series of main papers as well as critical reviews by scholars using methodologies from other disciplines. The result is an unusually comprehensive treatment of the complex regulatory issues facing the telecommunications industry today. The volume is divided into two primary sections which deal with market power and cost allocation in turn. The first part opens with a paper which examines market power from the perspective of legal analytics. Two economists then employ the methodologies of antitrust law and economics to survey the approaches of various states to the problem of identifying telecommunications market power. The third main paper in this section analyzes the market power concept from the particular economic perspective of contestable market theory. Turning to cost allocation issues, the contributors argue for the applicability to long distance markets of a new cost allocation methodology developed by NRRI for local exchange service. The topic is then approached by using a series of regulatory fables in which various possible incentive schemes are used to induce supposedly efficient behavior, with cost allocation as a resulting side issue. Each main paper is followed by one or more critical discussant papers. Finally, contributor Alfred Kahn draws on his long experience as a scholar and regulator to examine the current problems of telecommunications regulation in their historical context and to make some predictions about the future course of regulation in the industry. An important contribution to the business literature, this volume is a must acquisition for any library dealing with the telecommunication industry.

As digitization continues to bring rapid changes to businesses, companies must remain agile in order to comply with changing regulations and maintain governance and compliance while achieving its business objectives. To achieve this agility, IT staff within these companies must be able to respond quickly to changing business needs while maintaining existing and efficient infrastructure. Strategic IT Governance and Performance Frameworks in Large Organizations is an essential reference source that provides emerging frameworks and models that implement an efficient strategic IT governance in organizations and discusses the effects these policies have on the business as a whole. Featuring six international case studies from large organizations, this title covers topics such as IT management, security policy, and organizational governance, and is ideally designed for IT specialists, academicians, researchers, policymakers, and managers.

Journalism's increasingly shrinking audiences and profits fuel enormous pressure on mainstream media, which many contend has resulted in lower quality, more superficial and less relevant news. In this book, author Margaret Thompson introduces a more collaborative and reflexive way of producing news that incorporates concepts of cultural identity and cultural positioning of both journalists and sources. Written for multicultural journalism courses, this text uses a critical perspective to explore in-depth various issues of multicultural media as applied to the craft, treating the act of multicultural reporting as a separate type of journalism practice. While other books focus on news and multicultural communities, Thompson addresses issues of power and privilege amongst journalists and marginalized groups, as well as the implications of these challenges for the power dynamics of journalists and their work, particularly as they relate to race and gender.