Media Relations Another difference that can be noted between right and left-wing think tanks concerns their media appearance and media relations. While in 1997 53 % of the U.S. media references made to think tanks involved conservative institutions, progressive think tanks accounted for only16 % of the media citations made to think tanks (32 % centrist institutions). This suggests that the media agenda is markedly influenced by conservative issues and ideology, and therefore leads to a considerable imbalance within the spectrum of political views. On the other hand the financial resources of right- and left- wing media associated with think tanks also differ appreciably. While conservative foundations provided US$ 2,734,263 to four right-of-center magazines between 1990 and 1993 including The National Interest, The Public Interest, The New Criterion, and The American Spectator, over the same time period four left-of-center publications, namely The Nation, The Progressive, In These Times, and Mother Jones received only US$ 269,500 from foundations.

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Conservative vs. Progressive Think Tanks The political orientation of think tanks is as broad as in every other kind of institutions or organizations. It ranges from conservative over centrist to progressive. Still it can be noted, that there are considerable differences between the right and the left wing of think tanks, especially concerning funding sources and revenues as well as media relations, which have considerable consequences on their perception and influence on the public as well as on policy makers.

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The Institute of Economic Affairs One of the most impressive examples of the dissemination of ideology through educational activities has been performed by the UK- based Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), founded in 1955. Dedicated to the idea of free-markets the IEA from the beginning saw the "education" of the public as a key element in the distribution of their ideology. "The philosophy of the market economy must be widely accepted; this requires a large programme of education ..." Aiming at the wide acceptance of their ideas, the IEA undertook an extensive publishing program with the objective to make the fairly complex concepts of economic liberalism and monetarism available to a student or sixth-form audience. In the 1960s IEA papers normally reached the hands of students through the university Conservative Associations. The work that the IEA did in this field reaped a rich harvest during the 1970s and 1980s, as many of the younger political activists who staffed the various free-market think-tanks, such as the Center for Policy Studies, the Freedom Association an the Selsdon Group, received their education from the IEA. Especially at St. Andrews university, where Ralph Harris, the first director of the IEA, had been a lecturer, the IEA ideas had a strong impact. St. Andrews over the years did not only produce a generation of free-market Conservative MPs (Member of Parliament), but also influenced former St. Andrews students like Stuart and Eamonn Butler and Madsen Pirie, who went to set up the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) in London in 1976.

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General Electric GE is a major American corporation and one of the largest and most diversified corporations in the world. Its products include electrical and electronic equipment, plastics, aircraft engines, medical imaging equipment, and financial services. The company was incorporated in 1892, and in 1986 GE purchased the RCA Corporation including the RCA-owned television network, the National Broadcasting Company, Inc. In 1987, however, GE sold RCA's consumer electronics division to Thomson SA, a state-owned French firm, and purchased Thomson's medical technology division. In 1989 GE agreed to combine its European business interests in appliances, medical systems, electrical distribution, and power systems with the unrelated British corporation General Electric Company. Headquarters are in Fairfield, Conn., U.S.

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Nadia Thalman Nadia Thalman is director of MIRAlab at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. Thalmann has become known as the creator of "virtual Marylyn", an installation which allowed visitors to literally to slip into Marylyn's shoes. Thalman's work is located at interface between science and art. It is about modelling human bodies for science and creative purposes, e.g. as virtual actors in movies. Thalman insists that artificial beings must be beautiful, in addition to being useful, as we will be living with them at close quarters.

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Avatar Traditionally, an avatar is a mythical figure half man half god. In Hindu mythology, avatars are the form that deities assume when they descend on earth. Greek and Roman mythologies also contain avatars in animal form or half animal, half man. In virtual space, the word avatar refers to a "virtual identity" that a user can construct for him / herself, e.g. in a chat-room. Avatars have also been a preferred object of media art.

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The Rocky Horror Picture Show The story of Frank-N-furter, Brad and Janet ... Don't dream it, be it! http://www.rockyhorrorpictureshow.com/

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