This study tests the hypothesis that surface composition influences microbial community structure and growth of biofilms. We used laboratory biofilm reactors (inoculated with a diverse subsurface community) to explore the phylogenetic and taxonomic variability in microbial communities as a function of surface type (carbonate, silicate, aluminosilicate), media pH, and carbon and phosphate availa...

In the context of triple play Ominimedia is not just the simple combination of various media, but the aggregation of all media with different features, communication power and influences,and the interaction and mutual fusion among media of different forms and functions. This paper, based on the development trend of triple play, focused on the theme of Ominimedia, studied the traditional media d...

A new theory, Asynchronous Creativity Theory (ACT), and a new model, the Media-Cognitive-Social Model of Creativity, are both proposed. The model takes a cross-disciplinary look at the effects of communication media capabilities on the traditional social and cognitive factors affecting creativity. The focus of the theory is on teams which use primarily asynchronous electronic communication medi...

In discussing the sociology of newswork, much attention has been given to aspects such as the journalist’s background, work routines, and the influence of media ownership. Media production studies have covered empricial and conceptual ground investigating the myriad influences on editorial decision-making processes in journalism. Yet such studies (with few exceptions) have focused mainly on mai...

This paper presents research-in-progress of the adoption and use of social media as part of patients’ self-management of their chronic disease. The purpose is to investigate the social and organizational challenges that social media bring to the healthcare setting. We focus on how nurses can act as mediators between the formal healthcare institution and the informal setting in which patients en...

An empirical study of 350 tourists reveals that using non-media information sources for planning tourist trip influences expectations fulfillment. The use of non-media information sources also has a direct impact on the future use of media information sources for future tourist trip planning, as well as an indirect impact through expectations fulfillment. More specifically, the main determinant...

The media plays an important role in modern democracies. For example, it provides a large proportion of the information with which policymakers and voters make decisions, as well as analysis and editorial content that may influence the conclusions reached by potential voters (see, for example, Walter Lippmann 1922). Understandably, the possibility that there is bias in the media has worried eco...

Published research demonstrates an association between exposure to media sexual content and a variety of sex-related outcomes for adolescents. What is not known is the mechanism through which sexual content produces this "media effect" on adolescent beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. Using the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction, this article uses data from a longitudinal study of adolesc...

The media plays an important role in modern democracies. For example, it provides a large proportion of the information with which policymakers and voters make decisions, as well as analysis and editorial content that may influence the conclusions reached by potential voters (see, for example, Walter Lippmann 1922). Understandably, the possibility that there is bias in the media has worried eco...

We study the effects of different forms of information feedback associated with mass media on an agent-agent based model of the dynamics of cultural dissemination. In addition to some processes previously considered, we also examine a model of local mass media influence in cultural dynamics. Two mechanisms of information feedback are investigated: (i) direct mass media influence, where local or...