Borrowing from other spheres of knowledge, social constructionism seems to have seeped into sociological thinking through micro-sociological theories. Unlike earlier classical and 'modern' sociological theories, micro-sociology tends to circumscribe analysis of human behavior to 'everyday sociology' and the social construction of experiential knowledge. Thus, human behavior is not perceived as ...

This paper analyzes the transformation of media structures and possible effects on public communication from 1960 to 2008. To build a basis for the evaluation of trends and situations in the various models of media and politics (Hallin/Mancini 2004), this paper will systematically analyze and compare the cases of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland (democratic-corporatist), Great Britain (liberal...

We develop and present a unified multi-scale model (involving three scales of spatial organisation) to study the dynamics of rigid aggregating particles suspended in a viscous fluid medium and subject to a steady poiseuille flow. At micro-level, the theory of adhesion describing the attachment / detachment kinetics of two rigid spheres coated with binding ligands, is utilized to describe the co...

Novel syntactic foams made of starch and ceramic hollow micro-spheres were developed. Foams of four different micro-sphere size groups were manufactured with either preor post-mould gelatinisation process. Compressive failure behaviour and mechanical properties were evaluated. Not much difference in failure behaviour or in mechanical properties between the two processes (preand post-mould gel) ...

A detection method that combines electric field-assisted virus capture on antibody-decorated surfaces with the "fingerprinting" capabilities of micro-Raman spectroscopy is demonstrated for the case of M13 virus in water. The proof-of-principle surface mapping of model bioparticles (protein coated polystyrene spheres) captured by an AC electric field between planar microelectrodes is presented w...

In this paper, we demonstrate a micro-optical wall pressure sensor concept based on the optical modes of dielectric resonators. The sensing element is a spherical micro-resonator with a diameter of a few hundred micrometers. A latex membrane that is flush mounted on the wall transmits the normal pressure to the sensing element. Changes in the wall pressure perturb the sphere's morphology, leadi...

The plasmodium of Physarum polycephalum is a large single cell visible with the naked eye. When inoculated on a substrate with attractants and repellents the plasmodium develops optimal networks of protoplasmic tubes which span sites of attractants (i.e. nutrients) yet avoid domains with a high nutrient concentration. It should therefore be possible to program the plasmodium towards determinist...

A procedure for a systematic evaluation of fluorescence recovery after photo-bleaching (FRAP) data is presented that allows one to determine distributions of diffusion coefficients. The method provides a straightforward and calibration-free way to quantify multiple diffusion processes when FRAP is measured as a function of time and space by means of confocal laser scanning microscopy. It is ver...

Micro components are available in a variety of shapes typically sizing from 1 mm down to 0.01 mm. Their mass production is quite common using state of the art production technology. Micro spheres for example, are on the one hand available in lot sizes up to some thousands in a constant quality within micron accuracy [1]. On the other hand they are quite commonly provided as bulk material with d...

The ZnO nanostructures consisting of micro spheres in a network of nano wires were synthesized by direct vapor phase method. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy measurements were carried out to understand the chemical nature of the sample. ZnO nanostructures exhibited band edge luminescence at 383 nm. The nanostructure based ZnO thin films were used to fabricate UV sensors. The photoresponse measu...