Global Events

This paper examines how some contemporary indigenous artists from  India engage with global events (e.g. large-scale natural disasters, significant acts of terrorism), sociopolitical critiques and urban themes, to create distinctly contemporary works that address an increasingly global audience. In doing so, it reflects upon how concepts of tradition and contemporaneity are negotiated within such works.

Jene Ereignisse, die als „Medienereignisse“ in das kollektive Gedächtnis eingehen, werden gemeinhin an einem außergewöhnlich großen Medienpublikum festgemacht („huge audience – the whole world watching“, Katz & Liebes 2007, 158). Trotz dieser konzeptionellen Bedeutung der Größe des Medienpublikums gibt es hierzu bislang kaum Forschung. In einer kritischen Zusammenfassung des Forschungsstands zeigt dieser Beitrag zunächst, dass WissenschaftlerInnen ihre Informationen zum Milliardenpublikum globaler Medienereignisse insbesondere aus den Medien selbst beziehen – und auch RezipientInnen durch diese Berichterstattung beeinflusst werden. Damit gewinnt die Frage an Bedeutung, wie und auf welcher Basis journalistische Medien über das globale Publikum berichten. Mittels einer qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse der britischen Berichterstattung über die Trauerfeier für Lady Diana wird exemplarisch gezeigt, dass Medienberichte die Quantität und Qualität des globalen Zuschauerverhaltens bereits im Vorfeld des Medienereignisses definieren und diese Spekulationen allenfalls auf interessengeleitete Aussagen stützen. Daraus folgen konzeptionelle Überlegungen zu Medienereignissen und Anregungen für künftige Studien.

A class blog was created and used as a supplement to in-class EFL writing instruction for freshman students. Topics that focused on current global events such as Ramadan in Islamic countries, the Tsunami in Japan, the Royal wedding, and refugees in Europe were posted by the instructor. The students were required to look for videos, photos or articles related to the assigned event and write a short paragraph (blog post) that describes the photo, summarizes the video and article content, or talk about the event in their own words. They also had to write their reaction to the event, and post comments and feedback on their classmates' blog posts. The students worked on their blog posts individually, in pairs or small group. Comparisons of the posttest scores of students who blogged about current global events and those who used paper-and-pencil assignments on the same topics showed significant differences in writing improvement in favor of the blog group. In addition, students in the blog group had positive attitudes towards the blogging activity. They enjoyed interacting and collaborating with their classmates and reflecting on their own writing in response to the feedback and comments they received from other blog members. Blogging about current global events proved to be effective in raising students' global awareness and enhancing their writing skills in EFL.

Research subject. The article discusses the results of a new detailed study of a reference section of the Upper Silurian in the Subpolar Urals. This study was undertaken to clarify the existing contradictions concerning the age of the Ludlow-Pridoli boundary deposits and the definition of the Ludlow-Pridoli boundary, which is based on the study of different fauna groups. Materials and methods. The newly collected collections contained more than 100 samples of sedimentary rocks with fossil macro fauna, 22 tests on microfauna, 198 tests on chemical analysis for determining the content of Ba, Sr and δ13C and δ18
O isotopes in carbonates. The results of experiments were confirmed by the authors’ bio-sedimentological, paleo-ecological and chemostratigraphic data. Results. The conducted research confirmed the existence of a gap in sedimentation at the end of Ludlow; clarified the thickness of the Sizim stage in the reference section; elucidated its sedimentological and chemostratigraphic characteristics; allowed changes in biodiversity due to a change in the sedimentation regime, paleoecological impact on biota in the late Ludlow and restoration of biota in the early Pridoli to be traced. The study also demonstrated that the time boundaries of the transgressive and regressive stages in the development of the Northern Ural sea basin and the event-stratigraphic boundary of the Ludlow-Pridoli were directly related to the main global events in the Late Silurian (Lau Event, Lower Pridolian Event), the traces of which are preserved in the studied section. Conclusions.The intensification of regressive tendencies across the largest part of the Northern Ural paleobasin in the Late Ludlow, widespread
development of microbial biota, cessation of the Silurian reef formation, as well as the extinction of Pentamerida brachiopods – exclusively, indicate a significant ecosystematic restructuring in the late Ludlow. It can be assumed that the absence of a significant positive deviation of the δ13 C global Lau Event in this section is associated with the identified gap, the amplitude of which correlates with the Ozarkodina snajdri and Ozarkodina crispa zones located above the Polygnathoides siluricus zone in the conodont sequence of the Upper Ludlow.