The role of mass media in the formation of the ethnic identity of students in the context of the infodemia

The relevance of the study is due to the need for a deeper understanding of the factors that influence the formation of ethnic identity of modern youth. Most scientists agree that ethnic identity is formed mainly spontaneously, in the process of primary socialization of the individual, but this process is subject to the same spontaneous influences throughout the entire period of growing up. The mass media and the Internet space are the most powerful factors influencing modern people, including in the sphere of forming ideas about their ethnic group, its traditions and culture. The article presents the results of an empirical study conducted at the Don State Technical University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia, with a total sample of 100 people. Authors revealed significant differences in the psychological characteristics of students with different types of ethnic identity: hypo-identity, normal identity and hyper-identity. It was also revealed that the media is one of the factors in the formation of negative types of ethnic identity: students with hypoidenticity and hyperidenticity mainly receive information about other ethnic groups from media sources; students with normal identity receive such information in the family or from the close environment. Further research will be aimed at studying the information behavior of students with different types of ethnic identity, which will allow us to develop recommendations for preventing the spread of destructive forms of behavior on the Internet.

The multilevel identity politics of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest

This article uses the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) that took place in Tel Aviv to explore how cultural mega-events serve both as political arenas and as tools for identity construction, negotiation and contestation. These processes of identity politics are all conducted across national–subnational–international–transnational levels. The hosting of mega-events fleshes out these multiple processes in a very strong manner. We first discuss the politics of hosting mega-events in general. We then examine the identity politics associated more specifically with the Eurovision Song Contest, before examining in depth the complex forms of identity politics emerging around the competition following the 2018 Israeli victory. We suggest that it is important to study together the multiple processes—domestic, international and transnational—of identity politics that take place around the competition, as they interact with each other. Consequently, we follow the various stakeholders involved at these different levels and their interactions. We examine the internal identity negotiation process in Israel surrounding the event, the critical actors debating how to use the stage to challenge the liberal, western, ‘normal’ identity Israel hoped to project in the contest and how other stakeholders (participating states, national broadcasting agencies, participating artists) reacted to them, and finally we examine the behaviour of the institution in charge, the European Broadcasting Union, and national governments. We contribute to the study of mega-events as fields of contestation, to the understanding of the complex, multilevel nature of national identity construction, negotiation and contestation in the current era, and more broadly to the role that popular culture plays in this context.

Abstract 44: Interaction Of Osr1 And Tbx5 Is Involved In The Mouse Limb And Heart Development

Mutations of TBX5 cause Holt-Oram syndrome (HOS) in human, a disease characterized by upper limb and heart defects. Mouse embryos of Osr1 knockout caused similar heart defects, while the upper limb defects have never been reported. By genetically marking Osr1 expressing cells in mice, using Osr1:CreERT2 , we showed that Osr1 expression cells contribute to the atrial septum progenitors between E8.0 and E11.0, and to the forelimb after E9.0. The expression of Osr1 in the forelimb showed a gradient decreasing pattern from the digit 5 to digit 1. Conditional- Tbx5 haploinsuffiency, using Osr1:CreERT2 , compound with Osr1 haploinsuffiency induced more incidence of atrial septal defects (ASDs) and double outlet right ventricle (DORV). Forty percent of these embryos also had digit defects: the digits are either missing, fused or lack normal identity, which were not observed in mouse embryos of either Osr1 or Tbx5 haploinsuffiency. Detailed study of the cardiac progenitors of the compound haploinsufficinecy for Tbx5 and Osr1 showed decreased proliferation in the posterior second heart field, which was associated with lower number of cells transiting from G2 to M phase and less gene expression of Cdk6 and CyclinD2 . In summary, our study demonstrated that interaction of Osr1 and Tbx5 is involved in the mouse limb and heart development and provides a potential mechanism for HOS.