Posts

Papermaking

Image
Chemical pulping To make pulp from wood, a chemical pulping process separates lignin from cellulose fibers. This is accomplished by dissolving lignin in a cooking liquor, so that it may be washed from the cellulose; this preserves the length of the cellulose fibers. Paper made from chemical pulps are also known as wood-free papers–not to be confused with tree-free paper; this is because they do not contain lignin, which deteriorates over time. The pulp can also be bleached to produce the white paper, but this consumes 5% of the fibers; chemical pulping processes are not used to make paper made from cotton, which is already 90% cellulose. The microscopic structure of paper: Micrograph of paper autofluorescing under ultraviolet illumination. The individual fibers in this sample are around 10 µm in diameter. There are three main chemical pulping processes: the sulfite process dates back to the 1840s and it was the dominant method extent before the second world war. The kraft pro...

MIDDLE EAST

Image
The Middle East is a transcontinental region centered on Western Asia, Turkey (both Asian and European), and Egypt (which is mostly in North Africa). Saudi Arabia is geographically the largest Middle Eastern nation while Bahrain is the smallest. The corresponding adjective is Middle Eastern and the derived noun is Middle Easterner. The term has come into wider usage as a replacement of the term Near East (as opposed to the Far East) beginning in the early 20th century. Arabs, Turks, Persians, Kurds, and Azeri’s (excluding Azerbaijan) constitute the largest ethnic groups in the region by population. Arabs constitute the largest ethnic group in the region by a clear margin. Indigenous minorities of the Middle East include Jews, Balch, Assyrians, Armaments, Berbers (who primarily live in North Africa), Copts, Druze, Lures, Mandaeans, Samaritans, Shaba’s, Tats, and Zazas. In the Middle East, there is also a Romani community. European ethnic groups that form a Diaspora in the region in...

HISTORY OF MIDDLE EASTERN NEWSPAPER PUBLISHING

Image
The history of Middle Eastern newspaper publishing goes back to the 19th century. Many editors were not only journalists but also writers, philosophers and politicians. With unofficial journals, these intellectuals encouraged public discourse on politics in the Ottoman and Persian Empires. Literary works of all genres were serialized and published in the press as well.      The first newspapers in the Ottoman Empire were owned by foreigners living there who wanted to make propaganda about the Western world. The earliest was printed in September 1795 by the Pala is de France in per, during the embassy of Raymond de Verninac-Saint-Muar. It was issued fortnightly under the title "Bulletin de Novellas", until March 1796, it seems. Afterwards, it was published under the name "Gazette française de Constantinople" from September 1796 to May 1797, and "Mercury Oriental" from May to July 1797. Its main purpose was to convey information about the politics of Pos...

JAPANESE NEWSPAPERS

Image
Japanese newspapers  similar to their worldwide counterparts, run the gamut from general news-oriented papers to special interest newspapers devoted to economics, sports, literature, industry, and trade. Newspapers are circulated either nationally, by region (such as Kant or Kansai), by each prefecture, or by each city. Some newspapers publish as often as two times a day (morning and evening editions) while others publish weekly, monthly, quarterly, or even yearly. The five leading national daily newspapers in Japan are the Asahi Shim bun, Mainichi Shim bun, the Yomiuri Shim bun, Sankei Shim bun and the Nikkei Shim bun. The first two are generally considered liberal/left leaning while the latter three are considered conservative/right leaning. The most popular national daily English-newspaper in Japan is The Japan Times. Japanese newspapers began in the 17th century as yomiuri or kawaraban (瓦版, literally "tile-block is printing” referring to the use of clay printing b...

NEWS

Image
News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. It is also used as a platform to manufacture opinion for the population Common topics for news reports include war, government, politics, education, health, the environment, economy, business, fashion, and entertainment, as well as athletic events, quirky or unusual events. Government proclamations, concerning royal ceremonies, laws, taxes, public health, and criminals, have been dubbed news since ancient times. Humans exhibit a nearly universal desire to learn and share news, which they satisfy by talking to each other and sharing information. Technological and social developments, often driven by government communication and espionage networks, have increased the speed with which news can spread, as well as influenced its content. The genre of ...

HISTORY OF CANADIAN NEWSPAPERS

Image
There were five important periods in the history of Canadian newspapers' responsible for the eventual development of the modern newspaper. These are the "Transplant Period" from 1750–1800, when printing and newspapers initially came to Canada as publications of government news and proclamations; followed by the "Partisan Period from 1800–1850," when individual printers and editors played a growing role in politics. The "Nation Building Period from 1850–1900," when Canadian editors began the work of establishing a common nationalistic view of Canadian society. The "Modern period" from 1900 to 1980s saw the professionalization of the industry and the growth of chains. "Current history" since the 1990s saw outside interests take over the chains, as they faced new competition from the Internet. There were no printing presses; in this time, and no newspaper of any kind, under the French regime. All the newspapers in the British col...

HISTORY OF BRITISH NEWSPAPERS

Image
The history of British newspapers dates to the 17th century with the emergence of regular publications covering news and gossip. The relaxation of government censorship in the late 17th century led to a rise in publications, which in turn led to an increase in regulation throughout the 18th century. The Times began publication in 1785 and became the leading newspaper of the early 19th century, before the lifting of taxes on newspapers and technological innovations led to a boom in newspaper publishing in the late 19th century. Mass education and increasing affluence led to new papers such as the Daily Mail emerging at the end of the 19th century, aimed at lower-middle class readers. In the early 20th century the British press was dominated by a few wealthy press barons. In a bid to increase circulation many papers included more popular and human-interest stories, as well as sports and other features. In 1969 Rupert Murdoch bought and re launched The Sun as a tabloid and soon adde...