Global Media and National Policies : The Return of the State

Conventional wisdom views globalization as a process that heralds the diminishing role or even 'death' of the state and the rise of transnational media and transnational consumption, that defy state control or regulation. This book questions these assumptions and shows that the nation-state never left and is still a force to be reckoned with.

National media regulations in an age of convergent media: Beyond globalisation, neo-liberalism and internet freedom theories

There is a widely held view that the nation-state has become less central to media and communications policy over the last two decades. As Jan van Cuilenberg and Denis McQuail (2003, p. 181) observed in their overview of trends in communications policy-making, 'the old normative media policies have been challenged and policy-makers are searching for a new communications policy paradigm'. There are characteristically five factors put forward as to why the nation-state has become less central to media in the twenty-first century

The construction of feminism in Indonesian film: Arisan 2!

Feminism in Indonesian society is related to the emancipation term that women nowadays have still been bringing up this issue. However, Arisan 2! film showed a shift in film discourse regarding the representation of cosmopolitan women in Indonesia. This research examines on how Arisan 2! film as a media portrays feminism in the society of Jakarta. Feminism in Arisan 2! film was likely to expose the liberal feminism in nowadays modern society through several issues of women’s emancipation, specifically in the areas of marriage, job, and social life.

Participatory media and 'co-creative' storytelling

Distinguishing critical participatory media from other participatory media forms (for example user-generated content and social media) may be increasingly difficult to do, but nonetheless remains an important task if media studies is to remain relevant to the continuing development of inclusive social political and media cultures. This was one of a number of the premises for a national Australian Research Council-funded study that set out to improve the visibility of critical participatory media, and understand its use for facilitating media participation on a population wide basis (Spurgeon et. al. 2015). The term ‘co-creative’ media was adopted to make this distinction and to describe an informal system of critical participatory media practice that is situated between major public, Indigenous and community arts, culture and media sectors. Although the co-creative media system is found to be a site of innovation and engine for social change its value is still not fully understood. For this reason, this system continues to provide media and cultural studies scholars with valuable sites for researching the sociocultural transformations afforded by new media and communication technologies, as well as their limitations.

Optical, dielectric and morphological studies of sol-gel derived nanocrystalline TiO2 films

Nanocrystalline TiO2 films have been synthesized on glass and silicon substrates by sol-gel technique. The films have been characterized with optical reflectance/transmittance in the wavelength range 300-1000nm and the optical constants (n, k) were estimated by using envelope technique as well as spectroscopic ellipsometry. Morphological studies have been carried Out using atomic force microscope (AFM). Metal-Oxide-Silicon (MOS) capacitor was fabricated using conducting coating on TiO2 film deposited on silicon. The C-V measurements show that the film annealed at 300 degrees C has a dielectric constant of 19.80. The high percentage of transmittance, low surface roughness and high dielectric constant suggests that it can be used as an efficient anti-reflection coating on silicon and other optical coating applications and also as a MOS capacitor.

On hashtaggery and portmanteaugraphy: Memetic wordplay as social media practice

I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself a meme scholar outright; rather, the memes within my research have emerged from studying everyday practices and cultures of social media, within political and topical discussions, as well as popular culture and fandom contexts. This piece is an extension of ideas that have come out of my recent work around the “irreverent internet” (in the first and last of the blatant plugs, see this [sorry, paywall] and this). I’ve used this term as a descriptor for how play and silliness are popular strategies for the coverage and presentation of the topical and the mundane online. Here, I am especially focusing on playful and irreverent engagement with issues, events, and breaking news, where irony, sarcasm, parody, satire, snark, and more, are important framing devices on social media. While my work (and this post) generally falls on the side of “nice” irreverence, these approaches are also applicable for meaner, vindictive, hateful, offensive, and vitriolic comments. These include meme communities dealing in racist attitudes and content or various hashtags and related comments which promote racist, far-right views and/or denote contexts rife with abuse and harassment — and not just the Gamergate example. This is not positioning trolling as a single practice or intent, either— see Whitney Phillips’ work...

Instagrammatics and digital methods: Studying visual social media, from selfies and GIFs to memes and emoji

Visual content is a critical component of everyday social media, on platforms explicitly framed around the visual (Instagram and Vine), on those offering a mix of text and images in myriad forms (Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr), and in apps and profiles where visual presentation and provision of information are important considerations. However, despite being so prominent in forms such as selfies, looping media, infographics, memes, online videos, and more, sociocultural research into the visual as a central component of online communication has lagged behind the analysis of popular, predominantly text-driven social media. This paper underlines the increasing importance of visual elements to digital, social, and mobile media within everyday life, addressing the significant research gap in methods for tracking, analysing, and understanding visual social media as both image-based and intertextual content. In this paper, we build on our previous methodological considerations of Instagram in isolation to examine further questions, challenges, and benefits of studying visual social media more broadly, including methodological and ethical considerations. Our discussion is intended as a rallying cry and provocation for further research into visual (and textual and mixed) social media content, practices, and cultures, mindful of both the specificities of each form, but also, and importantly, the ongoing dialogues and interrelations between them as communication forms.

Thermotropic and hydration studies of membranes formed from gemini pseudoglyceryl lipids possessing polymethylene spacers

Membrane formation from gemini pseudoglyceryl lipids bearing n-C14H29 and n-C16H33 chains has been reported. These lipid aggregates have been characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), high sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Paldan fluorescence studies. The length of the spacer between the cationic ammonium headgroups has been varied from -(CH2)(3)- (propandiyl) to -(CH2)(12)- (dodecandiyl) in these lipids. All gemini lipids were found to generate stable suspensions in aqueous media. Electron microscopic studies revealed the smaller size of the gemini lipid aggregates as compared to their monomeric lipid counterparts. DLS measurements showed that the gemini lipid suspensions with a -(CH2)(8)- spacer length were bigger in size than that of other analogues. DSC studies suggest the unusual behavior of the gemini lipids bearing -(CH2)3- propanediyl spacer based lipids. These observations were consistent irrespective of the hydrocarbon chain lengths of the lipids. Paldan fluorescence based hydration studies showed that the hexadecyl chain based gemini lipid aggregates bearing a -(CH2)(12)- spacer were the most hydrated in their gel states among all the gemini lipid series investigated herein.

Direct Growth of Gold Nanorods on Gold and Indium Tin Oxide Surfaces: Spectral, Electrochemical, and Electrocatalytic Studies

The surfactant-assisted seed-mediated growth method was used for the formation of gold nanorods (GNRs) directly on gold (Au) and indium tin oxide (ITO) surfaces. Citrate-stabilized similar to 2.6 nm spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were first self-assembled on ITO or Au surfaces modified with (3-mercaptopropyl)-trimethoxysilane (MPTS) sol-gel film and then immersed in a cationic surfactant growth solution to form GNRs. The growth of GNRs on the MPTS sol gel film modified ITO surface was monitored by UV-visible spectroscopy. The ITO surface with the attached spherical AuNPs shows a surface plasmon resonance band at 550 nm. The intensity of this absorption band increases while increasing the immersion time of the AuNP-modified ITO surface into the growth solution, and after 5 h, an additional shoulder band around 680 nm was observed. The intensity of this shoulder band increases, and it was shifted to longer wavelength as the immersion time of the AuNP-modified ITO surface into the growth solution increases. After 20 h, a predominant wave at 720 nm was observed along with a band at 550 nm. Further immersion of the modified ITO surface into the growth solution did not change the absorption characteristics. The bands observed at 550 and 720 nm were characteristics of GNRs, corresponding to transverse and longitudinal waves, respectively. The AFM images showed the presence of GNRs on the surface of the MPTS sol gel modified ITO surface with a typical length of similar to 100-120 nm and a width of similar to 20-22 nm in addition to a few spherical AuNPs, indicating that seeded spherical AuNPs were not completely involved in the GNRs' formation. Finally, the electrocatalytic activity of the surface-grown GNRs on the MPTS sol gel film modified Au electrode toward the oxidation of ascorbic acid (AA) was studied. Unlike a polycrystalline Au electrode, the surface-grown GNR-modified electrode shows two well-defined voltammetric peaks for AA at 0.01 and 0.35 V in alkaline, neutral, and acidic pHs. The cause for the observed two oxidation peaks for AA was due to the presence of both nanorods and spherical nanoparticles on the electrode surface. The presence of spherical AuNPs on the MPTS sol gel film oxidized AA at more positive potential, whereas the GNRs oxidized AA at less positive potential. The observed 340 mV less positive potential shift in the oxidation of AA suggested that GNRs are better electrocatalysts for the oxidation of AA than the spherical AuNPs.

Ultrasonic spray pyrolysis of CZTS solar cell absorber layers and characterization studies

CZTS (Copper Zinc Tin Sulphide) is a wide band gap quartnery chalcopyrite which has a band gap of about 1.45 eV and an absorption coefficient of 10(4) cm(-1); thus making it an ideal material to be used as an absorber layer in solar cells. Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis is a deposition technique, where the solution is atomized ultrasonically, thereby giving a fine mist having a narrow size distribution which can be used for uniform coatings on substrates. An Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis equipment was developed and CZTS absorber layers were successfully grown with this technique on soda lime glass substrates using aqueous solutions. Substrate temperatures ranging from 523 K to 723 K were used to deposit the CZTS layers and these films were characterized using SEM, EDAX and XRD. It was observed that the film crystallized in the kesterite structure and the best crystallites were obtained at 613 K. It was observed that the grain size progressively increased with temperature. The optical band gap of the material was obtained as 1.54 eV.

Conductivity and structural studies on disordered amorphous conducting carbon films

Amorphous carbon films are prepared by the pyrolysis of Tetra Chloro Phthalic Anhydride (TCPA) at different temperatures (700 degrees C to 900 degrees C). DC Conductivity measurements are done on the films in the temperature range 300K to 4.2K. It shows an activated temperature dependence with a small activation energy (0.02eV to 0.003eV). Variable range hopping is observed at low temperatures. The films are characterised by XRD, SEM, TEM, AFM and microRaman. The electronic structure of the film is used to explain the electrical behaviour.

Role of spacer chain length in dimeric micellar organization. Small angle neutron scattering and fluorescence studies

Micelles of different dimeric amphiphiles Br-, n-C(16)H(33)NMe(2)(+) -(CH)(m)-N(+)Me(2)-n-C16H33, Br- (where m = 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 12) adapt different morphologies and internal packing arrangements in aqueous media depending on their spacer chain length (m). Detailed measurements of small angle neutron scattering (SANS) cross sections from different bis-cationic, dimeric surfactant micelles in aqueous media (D2O) are reported. The data have been analyzed using the Hayter and Penfold model for macro ion solution to compute the interparticle structure factor S(Q) taking into account the screened Coulomb interactions between the dimeric micelles. The SANS analysis clearly indicated that the extent of aggregate growth and the variations of shapes of the dimeric micelles depend primarily on the spacer chain length. With spacer chain length, m less than or equal to 4, the propensity of micellar growth was particularly pronounced. The effects of the variation of the concentration of dimeric surfactants with m = 5 and 10 on the SANS spectra and the effects of the temperature variation for the micellar system with m = 10 were also examined. The critical micelle concentrations (cmc) and their microenvironmental feature, namely, the microviscosities that the dimeric micellar aggregates offer to a solubilized, extrinsic fluorescence probe, 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene, were also determined. The changes of cmcs and microviscosities as a function of spacer chain length have been explained in terms of conformational variations and progressive looping of the spacer in micellar core upon increasing m values.

Ferroelectric interaction and polarization studies in BaTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattice

Ferroelectric superlattice structures consisting of alternating layers of BaTiO3 and SrTiO3 with variable interlayer thickness were grown on Pt (111)/TiO2/SiO2/Si (100) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The presence of superlattice reflections in the x-ray diffraction pattern clearly showed the superlattice behavior of the fabricated structures over a range of 6.4–20 nm individual layer thicknesses. Depth profile conducted by secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis showed a periodic concentration of Ba and Sr throughout the film. Polarization hysteresis and the capacitance-voltage characteristics of these films show clear size dependent ferroelectric characteristics. The spontaneous (Ps) and remnant (Pr) polarizations increase gradually with decreasing periodicity, reach a maximum at a finite thickness and then decrease. The competition between the size effect and long-range ferroelectric interaction is suggested as a possible reason for this phenomenon. The temperature dependence of Ps and Pr shows a single ferroelectric phase transition, and the Curie temperature is estimated to be about 316 K. The curve shows that the ferroelectric superlattice tends to form an artificial material, responding as a single structure with an averaged behavior of both the parent systems.

Electrical switching and optical studies on amorphous GexSe35-xTe65 thin films

The electrical switching behavior of amorphous GexSe35-xTe65 thin film samples has been studied in sandwich geometry of electrodes. It is found that these samples exhibit memory switching behavior, which is similar to that of bulk Ge-Se-Te glasses. As expected, the switching voltages of GexSe35-xTe65 thin film samples are lower compared to those of bulk samples. In both thin film amorphous and bulk glassy samples, the switching voltages are found to increase with the increase in Ge concentration, which is consistent with the increase in network connectivity with the addition of higher coordinated Ge atoms. A sharp increase is seen in the composition dependence of the switching fields of amorphous GexSe35-xTe65 films above x = 21, which can be associated with the stiffness transition. Further, the optical band gap of a-GexSe35-x Te-65 thin film samples, calculated from the absorption spectra, is found to show an increasing trend with the increase in Ge concentration, which is consistent with the variation of switching fields with composition. The increase in structural cross-linking with progressive addition of 4-fold coordinated Ge atoms is one of the main reasons for the observed increase in switching fields as well as band gaps of GexSe35-xTe65 samples. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Friction and Wear Studies of Octadecyltrichlorosilane SAM on Silicon

A self-assembled monolayer of octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) was prepared on a single-crystal silicon wafer (111) and its tribological properties were examined with a one-way reciprocating tribometer. The worn surfaces and transfer film on the counterface were analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show that, due to the wear of the OTS monolayer and the formation of the transfer film on the counterpart ball, the friction coefficient gradually increases from 0.06 to 0.13 with increasing sliding cycles and then keeps stable at a normal load of 0.5N. The transfer film is characterized by deposition, accumulation, and spalling at extended test duration. Though low friction coefficients of the monolayer in sliding against steel or ceramic counterfaces are recorded, poor load-carrying capacity and antiwear ability are also shown. Moreover, the monolayer itself or the corresponding transfer film on the counterface fails to lubricate even at a normal load of 1.0 N. Thus, the self-assembled monolayer of octadecyltrichlorosilane can be a potential boundary lubricant only at very low loads.