Can Christmas Tree Lights Really Play Havoc With Your Wi-Fi?

Very pretty, but could they be ruining your connection? Chris_J/flickr

By Andrew Smith, The Open University

Ofcom, the UK’s independent telephony regulator, has recently released a Wi-Fi checker app for your smart phone. At the same time, it warned in its press release that your Christmas tree fairy lights could affect the quality of your Wi-Fi connection.

Before the terrible jokes start and we all declare that this is a fit of “Bah Humbug!” from the telephone regulator, the warning is correct – your fairy lights could indeed be a Wi-Fi downer. But then so could many other devices. Ultimately, it is a matter of how much of a problem they actually cause.

When Fear Is A Weapon: How Terror Attacks Influence Mental Health

By Daniel Antonius, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

On November 13 2015, a series of coordinated attacks in Paris left 130 people dead. A week later, armed gunmen stormed a hotel in Mali, seizing hostages while also firing indiscriminately at guests, killing 27 people. And this week a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, left 14 dead. While the motive is not known, the FBI has assigned counterterrorism agents to the case, sparking public speculation that the shooting may have been an act of terrorism.

You could spend hours every day watching, reading and listening to news related to these events. This level of exposure can significantly influence your worldviews and how you live your life.

The aftermath of events like these can make people feel more vulnerable. And as cities go on alert because of the threat of future attacks, fear can color our daily routines and world views.

With my colleague S Justin Sinclair at Harvard Medical School, I have been studying the complexity of terrorism fears, and how fear can affect and motivate people.

It is probably not a surprise that a terror attack can have a major impact on people’s mental health. But what sort of effects are common, and how long do they last?

To answer that question, we can turn to a growing body of research examining the psychological aftermath of terror attacks.

Mein Kampf Publication – The Best Way To Destroy Hitler's Hateful Legacy

A toxic text – but we can learn from it… Adam Jones/flickr, CC BY-SA

By Alexander von Lunen, University of Huddersfield

The Institute for Contemporary History in Munich plans to publish an annotated version of Mein Kampf in 2016; the main idea being that a critical edition of the book should be available to counter the anticipated reprint of it by neo-Nazis.

For 70 years, reprinting Mein Kampf has been illegal in Germany. However, the copyright, which is owned by the Bavarian government – and is used to enforce the law – expires this year. From 2016, anyone can reprint it.

L.A. TV News Pioneer, David Sheehan, To Be Awarded at Monaco International Film Festival

Los Angeles television's first and longest running entertainment reporter David Sheehan is being honored by the Monaco International Film Festival with its 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award Sunday December 6 in Monte Carlo.

With this year's festival and its Angel Film Awards being a celebration of non-violent movies, the David Sheehan tribute particularly honors his 44 years of campaigning against onscreen violence in his nightly reviews on KNBC-TV and KCBS-TV.

L.A. TV NEWS PIONEER HONORED IN MONTE CARLO 
(PRNewsFoto/David Sheehan)

The award is auspicious timing for Sheehan, coming just as the longtime TV broadcaster prepares to launch his "David Sheehan's Hollywood Icons" series of 12 half-hour shows spotlighting his over-the-years interviews with 27 major stars ranging from Johnny Depp and Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep to Tom Cruise and Clint Eastwood and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The series even includes visits during various decades with three stars no longer with us: Robin Williams, Paul Newman and Marlon Brando.

Beautiful Images Of Humanity And #ClimateChange To Be Projected Onto St. Peter's Basilica on Dec. 8

Morning rays burst through a window illuminating the brilliant reefs of Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Credit: Shawn Heinrichs (PRNewsFoto/Vulcan Inc.)

Public art projection featuring images of humanity and climate change to illuminate St. Peter's Basilica on the opening of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy on Dec. 8

On Dec. 8, a humanitarian coalition comprised of Paul G. Allen's Vulcan Inc., the Li Ka Shing Foundation and Okeanos, in partnership with The Oceanic Preservation Society and Obscura Digital, and under the auspices of the World Bank Group's Connect4Climate initiative, will present a gift of contemporary public art entitled "Fiat Lux: Illuminating our Common Home" to Pope Francis on the opening day of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. 

Frankenstein Or Krampus? What Our Monsters Say About Us

By Natalie Lawrence, University of Cambridge

Two new monster movies are being released in the lead-up to Christmas, and each sports a very different kind of beast. There’s the man-made creation of Victor Frankenstein in the latest rendition of Mary Shelley’s gothic tale, a grotesque creature cobbled together from “the dissecting room and the slaughter-house”. And then there’s Krampus, an American re-working of the evil Austrian counterpart to Father Christmas.