Science Notes - Book News : \u3ci\u3eThe Guinness Book of Weather Facts and Feats\u3c/i\u3e

Where is the coldest and one of the windiest places in the world? What country first gave names to hurricanes? Can lightning strike in the same place twice? What are haboobs? Weather enthusiasts will find the answers to these and many other questions in the second edition of The Guinness Book of Weather Facts and Feats, published by Guinness Superlative Limited and distributed by Sterling Publishing Company

Element-ary Puns

The periodic table offers a lot of information, most of which is usually not used by high school students. However, it is important for students of chemistry, biology and physics to have some background related to the elements that make up the periodic table. Several students were working with a periodic table and realized they could make studying the elements more enjoyable by making up some statements that led to the actual naming of the element. For example: If you want to catch wild horses, europium

Hybrid Media and Hybrid Politics: Contesting Informational Uncertainty in Lebanon and Tunisia

This paper investigates the dynamic relationship between hybrid media and hybrid politics in Lebanon and Tunisia. While previous research on the media in hybrid regimes has mainly focused on regime strategies of restricting and manipulating public debate, our analysis moves beyond repression. We argue that the ambiguities of hybrid politics, which combines democratic and authoritarian elements, not only constrain independent and critical reporting but also open up opportunities for journalistic agencies. We draw on Schedler's concept of informational uncertainty to capture the epistemological instability of hybrid regimes and the strategies of political actors to control public knowledge. Distinguishing between three dimensions of media hybridity - economic, cultural and technological - we show how the new hybrid media environment significantly increases the volatility of hybrid politics and informational uncertainty for political actors. Our empirical analysis is based on seventy-one semistructured interviews with journalists in Lebanon and Tunisia conducted between 2016 and 2019. The material reveals a broad range of strategies used by journalists who employ the internal contradictions of hybrid politics to pursue their own agenda. The comparison between Lebanon and Tunisia also highlights contextual conditions that enable, or limit, journalistic agency, such as clientelistic dependencies, economic resources, and civil society alliances

Shifting journalistic roles in democratic transitions: Lessons from Egypt

While in the case of the Arab Spring the focus of research and debate was very much on the role of social media in enabling political change both during the uprisings and in their immediate aftermath, the impact of traditional national mass media and journalism on framing this political change has been less addressed. In this article, we investigate the role of Egyptian journalists in shaping Egypt’s complex and fast-moving political transition. Based on a thematic analysis of in-depth interviews and a conceptual framework building on Christians et al.’s normative roles of the media, it can be concluded that the monitorial and facilitative roles, which were prevalent in the early stages of the post-Mubarak era, were quickly overturned in favor of a radical and collaborative role. Egyptian journalists working in private media thus demonized their political adversaries, mainly the Islamists, transforming this political ‘other’ into the ultimate enemy. At the same time, the new military regime was being revered and celebrated. This arguably contributed to further destabilize the fragile transition to democracy. It is furthermore concluded that for democracy to succeed in an Egyptian context, antagonistic political conflicts need to be transformed into agonistic ones both at the level of political culture and media culture

The media use of diaspora in a conflict situation : A case study of Venezuelans in Finland

Many Venezuelan emigrants have an emotional connection and/or they have family members and friends in the country of origin, and that is why they seek to find reliable information on the conflict situation in Venezuela. Therefore, they keep in touch with family members, read mainstream news and use different social media platforms. Thus, what kind of impact the conflict has on the media use and how events reported in the media are interpreted is investigated in this study of Venezuelan diaspora in Finland by using social media ethnography. There are internal and external factors behind the media use. External factors come from societies of the host and origin countries. Internal factors rise from family connections and identity construction concerning personal national identity or political activism.Peer reviewe