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The term captured-liberal has been proposed as an approach to Latin American media systems. Here, we contend these systems result from the region’s particular democratization path (i.e., competitive and open access to power but a flawed exercise of power). We also contend that since media systems operate at structural levels, the concept does not seem flexible enough to explain conjunctural variations and particular dynamics in the media landscape. We propose that these aspects are better explained by looking at regimes (roles) rather than systems (structures). Thus, we advance the concept of media regimes, which, by responding to the political orientation of the government in office, incarnates into two forms in some Latin American cases: a corporate-consensus or a confrontational media regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important characteristic in regimes that at some point began political liberalization processes has to do with the increase in diversity and freedom of expression in the media. However, in those regimes that after initiating such processes have not been able to successfully transit towards consolidated forms of democracy, diversity and freedom of expression in the media do not translate into more effective surveillance functions against abuses of power (watchdog role), not only because the governments' commitment to accountability is more discursive than real, but also because the informational divergence in the coverage of these issues reduces their strength in public opinion. This paper compares the coverage of two alleged corruption scandals: the "White House" of president Peña Nieto and "The houses" of the director of the Federal Commission of Electricity, Manuel Bartlett. Despite being two different governments, the resulting impunity, although due to the lack of institutional commitment of the responsible agency, also responds to the inability of the media to construct an alternative and different narrative on the issue of corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study of micro-level political decision making responds to an initially perplexing phenomenon that appeared in the 2006 Mexican presidential election, what the authors call the disenchanted voter. The authors found that participants in their longitudinal, qualitative study expressed extreme dissatisfaction with politics, politicians, and the outcomes of a young democracy yet voiced enthusiasm for voting. Checks after the ballot revealed they actually did vote. In this article, the authors argue that this unlikely constellation is explained by participants' emotional appraisals of mediated campaign messages about a polarizing presidential candidate. Grounded in an individual's class position, emotional appraisal of this candidate generated fear in wealthy participants and hope in poorer participants. The coping mechanism, or "secondary assessment" of the candidate, was the firm decision to vote. Based on these findings, the authors propose a model of disenchanted voting that integrates research on emotional appraisal and the social construction of emotions with election salience and personal political efficacy. These findings may be of use in economically polarized democracies beyond Mexico. However, the authors question whether long-term polarizing political discourse is a viable antidote to disenchantment with the uneven economic and social justice outcomes of Latin American democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper contributes to the analysis of corruption by complementing two different methodologies to determine the behavior of citizens who Participate in corruption acts, focusing in Mexico. A quantitative analysis, combined with a survey and econometric techniques, is used to determine sociodemographic and institutional factors affecting such behavior, and complemented by focus groups, collecting some knowledge on how informal institutions and norms could promote or block corrupt behavior. It is shown that there is a trade-off between perceptions, social dynamics and individual incentives for corrupt behavior within an institutional framework, creating a kind of vicious circle difficult to break up. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The primary goal of our review was to systematically explore and compare the state‐of‐the‐art methodologies employed in the detection of pesticides, a critical component of global food safety initiatives. New approach methods in the fields of luminescent nanosensors, chromatography, terahertz spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy are discussed as precise, rapid, and versatile strategies for pesticide detection in food items and agroecological samples. Luminescent nanosensors emerge as powerful tools, noted for their portability and unparalleled sensitivity and real‐time monitoring capabilities. Liquid and gas chromatography coupled to spectroscopic detectors, stalwarts in the analytical chemistry field, are lauded for their precision, wide applicability, and validation in diverse regulatory environments. Terahertz spectroscopy offers unique advantages such as noninvasive testing, profound penetration depth, and bulk sample handling. Meanwhile, Raman spectroscopy stands out with its nondestructive nature, its ability to detect even trace amounts of pesticides, and its minimal requirement for sample preparation. While acknowledging the maturity and robustness of these techniques, our review underscores the importance of persistent innovation. These methodologies' significance extends beyond their present functions, highlighting their adaptability to meet ever‐evolving challenges. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;00:1–17. © 2024 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium disulfide is a quasi‐2D transition‐metal dichalcogenide relevant for various potential applications. To exploit its technological capabilities, it is important to determine its fundamental properties including the lattice dynamics. The TiS2 phonon dispersion curves available to date do not reproduce properly the experimental data for several reasons: i) all available experimental data are not taken into consideration, thus poor theory‐experiment agreements have been obtained; ii) the (unknown) frequency of the infrared mode A2u is erroneously assumed; and iii) such incorrect assignment has propagated in the literature, particularly in phonon dispersion calculations. It is presented here a thorough density functional theory analysis to determine the phonon dispersion curves of TiS2, accounting for the frequencies of all experimental phonon data available to date. These include the frequencies of nine zone‐edge Raman active modes of Ag‐intercalated TiS2, in addition to infrared, Raman, and neutron scattering data. An incorrect frequency assignment of the A2u mode in the literature is thoroughly discussed. Moreover, results of attenuated total reflection terahertz spectroscopy applied to TiS2 are provided. A self‐intercalation paradigm is presented to give a rationale for the temperature dependence of the poorly understood Raman features observed in pristine TiS2 at frequencies above the A1g mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]