Influence of the bacterioplankton community of a tropical eutrophic lagoon on the bacterial community of its neighbouring ocean

The Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon (RFL) is a tropical eutrophic coastal ecosystem located in the urban area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This environment consists of freshwater but has communication with the ocean through a channel (Jardim de Alah`s Channel). The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of lagoon water on the nearby ocean using molecular and traditional microbiological methods. We hypothesised that due to the eutrophic low-salinity environment, the bacterioplankton community from the RFL would have a native ""brackish"" composition influenced by both freshwater and marine phylotypes, and that bacterial phylotypes of this community would be detected in oceanic samples closer to the channel between the lagoon and the ocean. The cultivation and microscopy experiments clearly showed this influence. Bacterial cell counts revealed that the greater amounts of bacterial cells present in the lagoon increased the observed values seen at oceanic stations near the channel. The Denaturing gradient gel eletrophoresis community profiles also showed a clear influence of Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon waters on the adjacent beaches. The band patterns found for the stations near the channel showed that these communities were mixtures of the communities of the lagoon and sea, and as the distance from the channel increased, the samples became more similar to ocean bacterial communities. A 16S rRNA gene clone library was constructed using a sample acquired from the connection point between the lagoon and the ocean. Around 52% of the sequences in the library showed similarity to the genus Proteobacteria (1% Alpha, 21% Beta, 19% Gamma and 29% unclassified Proteobacteria), and the second most abundant genus was Bacteroidetes, with 15% of the total clones. The results showed that the structure of the bacterial community had both freshwater and marine characteristics.

A right to a national space of communication? : on Stateless nations, their right to a space of communication of their own

Hem establert les bases metodològiques i teòriques per investigar la pregunta “Tenen les nacions sense estat el dret de controlar el seu propi espai de comunicació?”. La investigació ajusta el concepte d’espai de comunicació a la teoria política, cercant els seus límits en els drets individuals i, des de la perspectiva del liberalisme 2, aportant la justificació del seu control en quant que plataforma que incideix en la conservació i supervivència d’una cultura nacional. El primer article i fase de la tesi és l’adaptació i definició del concepte espai de comunicació. Fins ara, la recerca ha proposat diferents models d’espai de comunicació entenent si es tracta d’una visió emfatitzant la distribució i la producció de material marcat amb els símbols de la identitat nacional de la societat emissora, o bé si emfatitza la idea d’un espai de circulació de fluxos comunicatiu ajustat a un territori tradicionalment vinculat a una identitat nacional o nació sense estat. Igualment, es distingeix la dimensió d’emissió –sortir del territori al món- i la de recepció –fluxos informatius rebuts des del món al territori, concretament, al ciutadà; el paper d’intervenció de les institucions democràtiques és diferent en una dimensió o una altra i, per tant, també són diferents els drets afectats i les teories o principis que neguen o justifiquen el control de l’espai de comunicació. També s’ha indagat en les teories sobre els efectes cognitius dels mitjans de comunicació per relacionar-los amb la construcció nacional com a cohesió simbòlica i cultural. Si bé els mitjans no poden fer canviar de pensament immediatament, sí que poden conformar a llarg termini una percepció nacional general. Una comunitat és imaginada, donada la distància física dels seus components, i la comunicació social és, juntament amb l’educació, el principal factor de construcció nacional, avui en dia.

The nature of communication structures of university students in an international web-based computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) course

Communication, the flow of ideas and information between individuals in a social context, is the heart of educational experience. Constructivism and constructivist theories form the foundation for the collaborative learning processes of creating and sharing meaning in online educational contexts. The Learning and Collaboration in Technology-enhanced Contexts (LeCoTec) course comprised of 66 participants drawn from four European universities (Oulu, Turku, Ghent and Ramon Llull). These participants were split into 15 groups with the express aim of learning about computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). The Community of Inquiry model (social, cognitive and teaching presences) provided the content and tools for learning and researching the collaborative interactions in this environment. The sampled comments from the collaborative phase were collected and analyzed at chain-level and group-level, with the aim of identifying the various message types that sustained high learning outcomes. Furthermore, the Social Network Analysis helped to view the density of whole group interactions, as well as the popular and active members within the highly collaborating groups. It was observed that long chains occur in groups having high quality outcomes. These chains were also characterized by Social, Interactivity, Administrative and Content comment-types. In addition, high outcomes were realized from the high interactive cases and high-density groups. In low interactive groups, commenting patterned around the one or two central group members. In conclusion, future online environments should support high-order learning and develop greater metacognition and self-regulation. Moreover, such an environment, with a wide variety of problem solving tools, would enhance interactivity.

Gender differences in physical activity and sport demanded by adult population of Community of Madrid

The communication presents part of the results of the study DEP2010- 19801/Plan Nacional I+D+i 2010-2013.

Prometheus unbound: 20 years of communication policy research

In this article I review 20 years of writing on communication policy in Prometheus. I examine the contribution Prometheus has made to three areas of knowledge about communication policy: communication itself, its histories, and broad notions of communication policy; telecommunications; and new communication technology. I suggest that it is in the latter two areas focusing on the technological dimensions of communication policy, that the journal has consistently contributed genuinely innovative work. Here the journal has fostered interdisciplinary writing and enquiry where policy and technology developments most required critique and new ideas.