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The article offers information on situating Ibn Khaldûn in the context of the Political Economy of Communication. Topics include biographical and contextual aspects of Khaldûn's works, the role of the state in society and the economy, the de-Westernisation of Media and Communication Studies, ideology, and aspects of neoliberalism.

Ibn Khaldûn (1332–1406) was a philosopher, historian and sociologist. This paper asks: What elements of the Political Economy of Communication are there in Ibn Khaldûn's work and how do they matter in digital capitalism? It presents relevant passages from Khaldûn's main work Muqaddimah and points out parallels between the Muqaddimah and works in Political Economy, especially Karl Marx's approach of the Critique of Political Economy. The comparison of Khaldûn to Marx is not an arbitrary choice. Several scholars have pointed out parallels between the two's works with respect to general Political Economy. It, therefore, makes sense to, also, compare Khaldûn and Marx in the context of the Political Economy of Communication. The paper analyses the relevance of Khaldûn's ideas in digital capitalism. Khaldûn's works are situated in the context of media and communication theory, digital automation, Facebook, Google, labour in informational and digital capitalism, Amazon, the tabloid press, fake news and post-truth culture. The analysis shows that Khaldûn's Muqaddimah is an early work in Political Economy that can and should inform our contemporary critical analysis of communication in society, communication in capitalism and class society, ideology and digital capitalism. What connects Marx and Khaldûn is that they were critical scholars who although living at different times in different parts of the world saw the importance of the analysis of class and communication. Their works can and should inform the Political Economy of Communication and the analysis of digital capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vincent Mosco (1948-2024) grounded and advanced the approach of the Political Economy of Communication (PEC). This paper discusses some aspects of his Critical-Humanist approach to the Political Economy of Communication: It engages with the foundations of Vincent Mosco's thought; the roles that labour and communication play in it; his focus on Karl Marx and Marxian scholarship, culture, ideology critique, the digital sublime, democracy, the media, and the public good. Vincent Mosco's life and work will be remembered. His approach will shape future generations of activist-scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that a media and communication studies perspective on reading Marx's Capital has thus far been missing, but is needed in the age of information capitalism and digital capitalism. Two of the most popular contemporary companions to Marx's Capital, the ones by David Harvey and Michael Heinrich, present themselves as general guidebooks on how to read Marx, but are actually biased towards particular schools of Marxist thought. A contemporary reading of Marx needs to be mediated with contemporary capitalism's structures and the political issues of the day. Media, communications and the Internet are important issues for such a reading today. It is time to see Marx not just as a critic of capitalism but also as a critic of capitalist communications. Keywords Capital Volume I, communications, digital capitalism, information capitalism, Internet, Karl Marx, Marxist theory, media, media and communication studies, political economy of communications and the media, Introduction The general interest in Marx's works has, since the start of the new world economic crisis in 2008, significantly increased. Whereas before it was easier to dismiss the relevance [...]

The ongoing miniaturization of semiconductor devices renders charge‐carrier transport along interfaces increasingly important. The characteristic length scales in state‐of‐the‐art semiconductor technology span only a few nanometers. Consequently, charge‐carrier transport inevitably occurs directly at interfaces between adjacent layers rather than being confined to a single material. Herein, charge‐carrier diffusion is systematically studied in prototypical active layer systems, namely, in type‐I direct‐gap quantum wells and in type‐II heterostructures. The impact of internal interfaces is revealed in detail as charge‐carrier diffusion takes place much closer to or even across the internal interfaces in type‐II heterostructures. Type‐I quantum wells and type‐II heterostructures exhibit comparable diffusion rates given similar inhomogeneous exciton linewidths. Consequently, the changes in the structural quality of the interfaces are responsible for changes in diffusion and charge‐carrier transport along interfaces rather than the existence of the interfaces themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Direct‐to‐Earth transmissions with optical on/off‐keying are becoming the method of choice to realize telemetry downlinks from low Earth orbit satellites at highest data‐rates. Here, we review the calculation procedure for a practical assessment of the mean link budget in this space‐ground data communication technology. We present a comprehensive survey of the dynamic orbital and beam‐pointing effects as well as the impacts from atmospheric attenuation on the link performance. The paper provides an exhaustive review of the formulas commonly used and propounds a recipe to reliably estimate the received power on ground. An overview of typical data transmitter terminals, transmission channel parameters, and the according optical ground stations is provided. Comparison with measured received powers over transmitter elevation angle and the respective design estimates serves for verification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neoliberalism has resulted in a large-scale economization and capitalization of society that has also permeated the academic system. The paper at hand provides the result of a case study that analyzed how students, who are today frequently confronted by the combination of studying and precarious labour and insecure job perspectives, assess the importance of critical thinking. As a theoretical foundation, a distinction between positivistic, postmodern, and Marxian critique is drawn and discussed. Students of communication science at the University of Salzburg were asked to read a focus text by Herbert Marcuse that deals with the notion of critique and to write short essays afterwards, in order to reflect on the notion of critique that is needed today. 52 answer texts were analyzed by the method of quantifying qualitative content analysis. The results show the predominance of a positivistic understanding of critique and provide implications for curricula design and pedagogical action. (Contains 1 figure, 6 tables, and 2 notes.)

Sweden - like the other Nordic countries - is recognized as a leading IT nation. For this reason it is important to evaluate the specificities of Swedish policy discourses on the information society. The development of the information society has been a key topic in policy debates since the mid-1990s. More recently, new concepts such as ‘sustainable’ or ‘green knowledge society’ have emerged. This puts forward new questions about which type of information society we aim to achieve.

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A short formal total synthesis of (±)-hirsutic acid is described using a Claisen rearrangement and a radical cascade as the key steps. The radical sequence involves an intermolecular addition of a radical derived from a xanthate followed by a cyclization and transfer of the xanthate group. Key words: hirsutic acid, complicatic acid, triquinanes, Claisen rearrangement, radical cyclization, xanthates. Une synthese totale formelle courte de l'acide ([+ or -])-hirsutique est decrite, employant comme etapes-cles un rearrangement de Claisen et une cascade radicalaire. La sequence radicalaire implique une addition intermoleculaire d'un radical issu d'un xanthate, suivie d'une cyclisation, puis du transfert du groupe xanthate. Mots-cles : acide hirsutique, acide complicatique, triquinanes, rearrangement de Claisen, cyclisation radicalaire, xanthates., Introduction (+)-Hirsutic acid 1 (Fig. 1) was isolated in 1947 from a fungus (Stereum hirsutum), but its structure was only determined 20 years later. (1,2) It belongs to the family [...]

This article analyses the mass media's claims about the role of social media in the 2011 UK riots and the Arab Spring, arguing that social media has become a new fetishism of technology that distracts from the contradictions of capitalism underlying contemporary societal changes and conflicts. Understanding contemporary capitalism, its contradictions and the role of the media requires a dialectical and critical analysis. Keywords Social media, UK riots, Arab Spring, revolution, Introduction: 'Twitter mobs and Blackberry mobs' The shooting of Mark Duggan by the London police on 4 August 2011 in Tottenham triggered riots in London areas such as Tottenham, Wood [...]