The precursors of infotainment? Debate and talk shows on Televisión Española (1980-1989)

The theory formulated to date indicates that political infotainment programs arrived in Spain in a widespread manner in the 1990s with the rise of private television channels. But were there spaces in public television that shared the traits of this novel television genre before that time? This article is aimed at analyzing debate and talk shows, as well as hybrid format shows combining both genres, broadcasted on Televisión Española (TVE-1 and TVE-2) during the ‘80s, in order to determine whether or not these programs present the emblematic style characteristic of infotainment. The methodology consists of a content analysis of a total of 31 television programs, each of which was viewed on the RTVE archive using different multimedia platforms. The results of this research reveal that Televisión Española incorporated into its debate shows, talk shows, and hybrid format shows, features typical of infotainment prior to the ‘90s. Among the most recurrent stylistic features of these programs are the tendency to dramatization, polemic and emotionality (achieved through different techniques and strategies), an increase of soft content, a greater presence of satire, humor and close-ups, and the use of music.

Meeting report – the ever-fascinating world of septins

ABSTRACT Septins are GTP-binding proteins that assemble into hetero-oligomers. They can interact with each other end-to-end to form filaments, making them the fourth element of the cytoskeleton. To update the current knowledge on the ever-increasing implications of these fascinating proteins in cellular functions, a hundred expert scientists from across the globe gathered from 12 to 15 October 2021 in Berlin for the first hybrid-format (on site and virtual) EMBO workshop Molecular and Cell Biology of Septins.

The Fifth World Congress on Resilience

The Fifth World Congress on Resilience, held May 26 to 28, 2021, at the Yaoundé Convention Centre (Cameroon), was devoted to “Human development, sustainable development, and resilience.” Co-chaired by Étienne Kimessoukié-Omolomo and Colette Jourdan-Ionescu, the Congress was organized by the School of Health Sciences of the Catholic University of Central Africa under the aegis of Resilio, the International Association for promotion and dissemination of research on resilience. Due to health restrictions, the Congress was held in a hybrid format, online and with 120 in-person participants.

Comparative Analysis of Generation Z Era Students’ Overall Grades and Course Satisfaction of a Basic Floral Design Course Taught Fully Face-to-face versus an Online Hybrid Format

As Generation Z (born 1995–2012) students replace Millennial (born 1981–94) students on college campuses, instructors may begin to evaluate and structure their courses based on how this new generation best learns. Generation Z students were exposed to such things as the internet, smart phones, personal computers, and laptops since infancy and, hence, are very comfortable with technology and multitasking. The purpose of this study was to compare students’ overall grades and perceptions of the course and instructor in a face-to-face vs. an online/hybrid basic floral design course taken by a majority Generation Z student population. The face-to-face course consisted of live lectures that met twice per week for 50 min at an assigned time; reading materials and standard lecture slides were used. The hybrid course had content placed online within weekly modules and released to students in an asynchronous manner each Monday. Both versions of the course had a face-to-face laboratory that met once per week. Comparisons of grades between the face-to-face and hybrid course formats were made using analysis of variance tests. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to determine if there were statistically significant differences in the way students in each course format answered the end of semester course and instructor evaluation survey. Of those that took the course, a majority [466 (98.3%)] was between the ages 18 and 24 years, within the Generation Z era. When comparing grades within this group, it was found students in the hybrid course received more A and B letter grades overall [223 (91%)] compared with the students of the same age range in the face-to-face course [198 (88.7%)]. Overall, seniors and juniors scored higher grades in both the hybrid and face-to-face course when compared with the sophomore and freshmen within the same class. No significant difference was found between the face-to-face and hybrid students’ responses to any of the 11 questions on the course and instructor evaluation survey. Results showed an overall high level of satisfaction (4.50) for both the face-to-face and hybrid format.

Trainings for consulting using telecommunication networks

The hybrid training format and the development of consulting with the use of telecommunication networks determine the relevance of training in this area. Training in a hybrid format allows you to assess the technical and non-technical skills of students and significantly expand the possibilities of the educational process, involving in the training of persons who are on distance learning. At the same time, it is possible to analyze systemic inconsistencies and to correct educational measures to eliminate them. The format of the implemented trainings allows students, working in a team, to improve the skills of analytical thinking, decision-making and communication when conducting diagnostic and treatment activities at various levels.

“Library 2030: Building the Future Today”: Results of the All-Russian Library Congress

On 16—20 May 2021, the All-Russian Library Congress: XXV Anniversary Annual Conference of the Russian Library Association (RLA) was held in the Library Capital of Russia for 2020/2021, Petrozavodsk (Republic of Karelia), with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Karelia. The theme of the Congress was “Library 2030: Building the Future Today”. For the first time, this forum was held in a hybrid format, i.e., both offline and online, while all the events were streamed online, which made it possible to expand the audience reach. The strategic goals of the Congress were to identify the main trends in the development of librarianship and to form the image of the library of the future. Consequently, many speakers focused on the pivotal document for the library field “The strategy for the development of librarianship in the Russian Federation until 2030”, approved in 2021. In addition, the participants deliberated the draft of the new professional standard “Specialist in library and information activities”. The plenary and sectional sessions involved the discussions on the development of libraries of various types, the library profession in the modern world, etc. The Congress was accompanied by the XXI Exhibition of publishing products, new information technologies, goods and services, which was also organised in a hybrid format. At the final plenary meeting, the results of the elections of the President of the RLA and the members of the RLA Board for 2021—2024 were announced. M.D. Afanasyev was elected President of the RLA for a second term. One of the important outcomes of the Congress was the adoption at the final plenary session of the RLA normative and advisory act “Methodological recommendations for the formation of basic standards for the provision of public libraries services in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation”. Nizhny Novgorod received the status of the Library Capital of Russia for 2022, and it is going to host the XXVI All-Russian Library Congress next year.

Should a supplier engage in the marketplace? an equilibrium analysis in a hybrid-format supply chain

Recently, e-commerce platforms have been acting as both a reseller and a marketplace to serve consumers. This study considers a hybrid-format supply chain that consists of a supplier who sells a product through an intermediary by a wholesale price contract. In addition, the supplier can decide whether to accept the intermediary’s offer to engage in the marketplace (if the supplier accepts, then the agency fee should be paid to the intermediary). We develop a game-theoretic model to investigate the impact of supplier encroachment on the supply chain members. Then, we extend our basic model to check the robustness of our main results. Our results show that the supplier prefers to engage in the marketplace if the agency fee is low and the order fulfillment cost is relatively low, the intermediary benefits from the supplier encroachment if the agency fee is relatively low, and consumers always benefit from encroachment. Interestingly, we show that an increase in channel substitutability leads to raising the supplier’s willingness to adopt an encroachment strategy. Our findings contribute to the online marketplace literature by providing valuable insights into the operation management of online marketplaces.

ConVRgence (VRIC) Virtual Reality International Conference Proceedings

This document presents the proceedings of the VRIC - ConVRgence conference held on July 7-9, 2021. The conference was organized again this year in a particular context, that of the COVID-19 health crisis, and the usual dates were shifted from March to July to allow for a hybrid format both in-situ in Laval, and in the Laval Virtual World. We hope that next year will be back to normal, both in terms of organization and volume of submissions. We would like to thank the authors who submitted their research works, as well as the reviewers for their contributions. Simon Richir, Arts et Métiers Institute of Technology, Scientific Director of Laval VirtualOlivier Christmann, Arts et Métiers Institute of Technology, Co-chairGeoffrey Gorisse, Arts et Métiers Institute of Technology, Co-chair.

Hauptstadtkongress 2021: Neue Impulse

Der Hauptstadtkongress (HSK) steht vor zwei großen Veränderungen. Zum ersten Mal soll der Kongress – wenn möglich – als Hybrid-Format stattfinden. Und zum ersten Mal übernimmt Prof. Dr. Karl Max Einhäupl die Präsidentschaft für den Kongress. Ein Interview über Tradition, Veränderung und die inspirierende Atmosphäre der Präsenzveranstaltung.