Displacement Of Medium Research Articles

An Experimental Investigation on the Energy Signature Associated With Multiphase Flow in Porous Media Displacement Regimes

AbstractThis study investigates the energy signature associated with multiphase flow in porous media displacement regimes. We proposed that net efficiency, as the conversion of external work applied to surface energy generated, provides new insights into the transition of flow regimes. The combined effects of wettability and flow rates on immiscible fluid‐fluid displacement is experimentally investigated using high‐resolution imaging in microfluidic flow cells, which allows for tracking the evolution of interfacial area under applied external work. Our study focuses on the morphology of invasion patterns and the efficiency of conversion of external work to surface energy. The results show that the morphology of invasion patterns under unfavorable displacement condition is sharper than that under favorable displacement condition with larger ratios of length and width for fingers. The efficiency of conversion of external work to surface energy decreases with the increase of contact angles and reduces greatly with the increase of Capillary numbers. With favorable displacement conditions, the efficiency of conversion is consistently higher than that for unfavorable displacement. The trends of external work and surface energy serve as a signature of the transition between different flow regimes, which exhibits alteration especially at low Capillary numbers. The findings highlight the importance of wettability and flow rates in determining the efficiency of fluid‐fluid displacement in porous media. Understanding the energy signature associated with multiphase flow can have implications for various geoscience applications, such as oil/gas recovery, groundwater remediation, and underground energy storage.

Primary drainage and waterflood capillary pressures and fluid displacement in a mixed-wet microporous reservoir carbonate

A porous plate technique was developed to measure capillary pressure during both primary drainage and waterflooding in a reservoir carbonate rock sample. During primary drainage, a water-wet ceramic disc at the end of the sample allowed brine to be displaced but prevented the escape of oil while oil was injected at a sequence of increasing pressures. Saturation was measured using high-resolution three-dimensional X-ray imaging from the differences in greyscale (X-ray adsorption) between dry, partially-saturated and completely-saturated images. A two-step displacement process was observed, with the resolvable macro-pores displaced by oil followed by invasion into unresolved micro-porosity with a variation of two orders of magnitude in capillary pressure. The sample was then exposed to crude oil to render some of the solid surfaces oil-wet. A small amount of spontaneous imbibition (displacement at a positive capillary pressure) was observed in micro-porosity. Then an oil-wet porous plate was added to the outlet, so that water could be injected at a sequence of increasing pressures while only oil could escape. As expected, the oil-wet macro-porosity was displaced by brine at a low capillary pressure with a magnitude similar to that seen during drainage (but of opposite sign). Remarkably though the displacement of oil from micro-porosity occurred at a capillary pressure approximately an order of magnitude lower than in drainage, implying the existence of mixed-wettability with fluid menisci that are approximately minimal surfaces. The work demonstrates that in mixed-wet media displacement of oil from micro-porosity can occur at much lower capillary pressures that would be estimated from primary drainage results using the calculated pore size distribution.

Mobile phone use before and during the COVID-19 pandemic – a panel study of older adults in seven countries

The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in older adults’ mobile phone use from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic. The media displacement and digital divide approaches served as the theoretical frameworks of the study. The data were drawn from the 2018 and 2020 waves of the Aging + Communication + Technology cross-national longitudinal panel study. The sample consisted of older Internet users, aged 62 to 96 (in 2018), from Austria, Canada, Finland, Israel, the Netherlands, Romania, and Spain, who participated in both waves (N = 4,398). Latent class analysis and latent transition analysis with multinomial regression models were the main methods applied to the data. With regard to the findings, three mobile phone function use profiles—Narrow Use, Medium Use, and Broad Use—were identified from the data. Lower age, being married, higher income, and place of residence (in 2018) predicted belonging to the three profiles, while country differences in the prevalence of the profiles were substantial. Between 2018 and 2020, transition from one profile to another was relatively rare but typically toward the “Broad Use” category. Profile transitions were most common in Romania, while stability was highest in Finland, Israel, and Canada. In addition, gender, age, marital status, and place of residence predicted the likelihood of changing from one profile to another between 2018 and 2020. The results suggest that older adults’ mobile phone function use is relatively stable over a two-year time span. While new mobile phone functions are adopted, they seem to augment the spectrum of mobile usage rather than displace older similar functionalities. In addition, demographic, socioeconomic, and country-level digital divides, although slightly modified over time, remain significant among older adults.

Online News Displaces Print Newspaper: Media Students' Preferences and Perceptions

This study extends the uses and gratifications theory to explore the uses of general, time, daily, and weekly news. It also applies the theory of media displacement to investigate the ease, preference, emergency use, credibility perception, and confidence in forming opinions for news from print newspapers and online sources. A survey with 244 students from communication and media disciplines in Lahore's universities revealed that 68% of media students read news for only 30 minutes daily. 65% preferred daily updates and found it easier to access news online (62%). During emergencies, 79% relied on online news, but only 52% considered it authentic. Despite concerns about tree wastage, 67% favoured free access to online news, with only 33% willing to purchase print newspapers. This study supports the media displacement hypothesis, suggesting that online news is displacing print newspapers due to affordability, posing significant implications for newspaper management.

Lessons from France on the regulation of Internet pornography: How displacement effects, circumvention, and legislative scope may limit the efficacy of Article 23

AbstractIn 2020, the French Parliament passed an amendment that put the country at the forefront of attempts by democratic states to restrict young people's access to legal online pornography. This study examines the necessity for and potential efficacy of the amendment, Article 23, through a comparative analysis of emerging legislative and regulatory approaches in France, the UK, Canada, Utah, and Germany, and through a survey of French 15‐, 16‐, and 17‐year‐olds. Among other things, our survey shows that 41% of 15‐, 16‐, and 17‐year‐olds in France visit dedicated pornographic sites, on average monthly and often much more frequently. However, the range of media platforms via which French adolescents are exposed to pornography, their knowledge about technologies that could circumvent age verification, and the power, scope, and implementation of Article 23 may limit the legislation's efficacy. Our findings suggest the mechanisms that may limit its efficacy include media displacement, socio‐technical circumvention, and the Article's relatively broad and imprecise nature. This study has implications for legislators and regulators in democratic countries beyond France as they too grapple with the challenges of regulating online pornography. Furthermore, it extends the often contradictory and/or limited evidence that exists about adolescents' consumption of pornography.

Present but Absent in the Digital Age: Testing a Conceptual Model of Phubbing and Relationship Satisfaction among Married Couples

This study is the first to explain the determinant factors of phubbing—checking cell phone during a conversation or while spending time with a significant other—and its effect on the relationship satisfaction of both partners. It is also aimed at determining whether gender and relationship length play moderating roles in a relationship. The study adopted the media displacement theory and the interdependence theory to build a conceptual model of these variables. This cross-sectional research was conducted using an online survey with 741 voluntary married participants from Saudi Arabia. Upon analysis, the data confirmed that problematic usage of cell phone, Internet, social media, games, and SMS had a positive effect on phubbing. Interestingly, it showed that both the sample’s and their partner’s relationship satisfaction increased in line with phubbing behavior. Several theoretical and practical contributions have resulted from these findings.

Nigerian theatre in a digital era and environment

Theatre, the earliest form of entertainment and enlightenment in Nigeria, is becoming a ghost of itself as a result of its inability to take on the colouration of the times. Some scholars are of the view that there should be a revival of the theatre by establishing more theatre while it remains bonded to its functional root, the live stage, because of its uniqueness. This study examined the likelihood of this renaissance and its survival in the face of the deluge of other media of entertainment in a digitally advanced era and environment. The study relied on the Media Displacement Theory, MDT, which explains a paradigm shift in an individual's use of new media by discarding the preceding one. Using in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions, FGD, the study revealed that live theatre-going culture has become unpopular with the Nigerian audience as a result of digital technology and sundry circumstances in recent times, which include insecurity and the COVID-19 outbreak that negates public gathering. The paper advanced that Nigerian theatre cannot afford to remain glued to its roots in a technologically digitalised environment or society, but has to evolve.

Patterns and Motivations Predicting Mobile Hard News and Soft News Consumption

The purpose of this study is to examine Emirati university students' usage of smartphones as a news resource. In addition to the motivations, patterns, and relationships between hard news and soft news consumption and the different gratifications sought, this study adopted perspectives from the both the uses and gratifications and media displacement theories and utilized a quantitative research design. Data was collected from 488 undergraduate students between February 2019 and March 2019. Results revealed that students were interested in both hard and soft news, but there was 7% more soft news consumption by students. Additionally, results revealed that smartphones have become students' main source of news as they allow them to find information easily. When assessing the relationships and dynamics between mobile news and the gratifications sought, results revealed that the convenience gratification was the only predictor of both mobile soft news and hard news out of all the gratifications offered.

Near-field sensor array with 65-GHz CMOS oscillators for rapid detection of viable Escherichia coli

In this study, the growth of Escherichia coli was monitored using a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) near-field sensor array. Each of the 1488 integrated elements, arranged in a 3 mm square, has a resonator that oscillates at 65 GHz. The effective capacitance of the resonator is altered by changes in the dielectric properties of the sensor surface, which shifts the resonance frequency. Growth curves of E. coli at different initial concentrations (OD600 = 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05) were monitored. A suspension with initial turbidity of OD600 = 0.05 was cultured in a medium, and the sensor successfully distinguished between viable E. coli and heat-treated dead E. coli in 20 min. Moreover, the apparent suppression of growth was observed in the presence of 500 μg/mL streptomycin. As the sensor is composed of arrayed elements, and the area of sensitivity distribution of the element is larger than the size of one bacteria, the variation in the output value of each element may reflect the number and movement of bacteria. This study revealed that the presence of viable E. coli could be rapidly confirmed by using the change in permittivity caused by the displacement of media by E. coli near the sensor surface.

Methodology for Increasing the Efficiency of Dynamic Process Calculations in Elastic Elements of Complex Engineering Constructions

This study deals with a methodology for increasing the efficiency of dynamic process calculations in elastic elements of complex engineering constructions. We studied the complex dynamic processes in a simple engineering construction, a mechanical system of an elastic body–continuous flow of homogeneous medium. The developed methodology is based on the use of a priori information on some of the vibrations forms, the construction of a “simplified” mathematical model of system dynamics, and the obtaining of an analytical relationship that describe the overall range of factors on the elastic vibrations of system. The methodology is used for cases of complex vibrations of elastic bodies, and the obtained results can serve as a basis for choosing the main technological and operational parameters of elastic elements of mechanisms and machines that perform complex vibrations. The results obtained in this work are the basis for calculating the blast effect on the elements of protective structures in order to increase their protective capacity by improving the method of their attachment or by using additional reinforcement, buff load effects on the elements of drilling strings and dynamic processes that occur during surface strengthening by work hardening in order to avoid resonance phenomena, and technological processes of vibration displacement or vibration separation of granular media.

Bleeding Puppets: Transmediating Genre in Pili Puppetry

Bleeding Puppets: Transmediating Genre in Pili Puppetry

Family Relations after the Emergence of Social Media: A Comparative Analysis of Single-Family and Joint Family Systems

This study's main aim is to explore the impact of social media on family ties. A quantitative method of survey is used to gather data. The survey is conducted both face-to-face and through emails. One hundred respondent take part in this research through a survey while media displacement theory implemented on present research. Statistics indicate that people living in a single-family group use more social media than people living together. Findings also say people are using social media to escape family problems. There is a small disparity between the people who live in both family systems on whether or not social media eliminates the original family. The present research suggests more awareness in better usage of social media to avoid family values destruction.

Combining Old and New : Patterns of Media Use across Legacy and Online Media in Germany

With the emergence of the Internet over the last decades, people have access to a wide variety of media content as never before, leading to multiple new media consumption practices. As people integrate new means of communication into their everyday lives, this necessarily leads to questions concerning the relationship between legacy media and digital media. By analyzing representative survey data of adult Internet users in Germany collected in the collaborative research project “The Peoples’ Internet” (PIN), the present study examined media repertoires from a holistic perspective. Via factor and cluster analysis, we identified five distinct media repertoires that significantly differentiated in terms of age, gender and education. For the majority of the German population, legacy media still play a dominant role in everyday life. However, a group of young users mainly relies on a wide range of online media that has the potential to displace legacy media. But rather than expecting a pure displacement of legacy media or just an addition of online media to existing repertoires, our findings suggest to look closely into the specific combinations of ‘old’ and ‘new’ media that can be observed in different parts of the population.

Where does the time go? An experimental test of what social media displaces and displaced activities’ associations with affective well-being and quality of day

Drawing from media displacement theory, this article explores which activities are displaced when individuals spend time on social media. Community and undergraduate participants ( N = 135) were randomly assigned to five conditions: no change in social media use, or abstinence from social media for 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or 4 weeks. Participants completed a daily diary measuring how they spent time each day, affective well-being, and quality of day for 28 days. The results indicate that abstinence from social media increased time spent engaged in seven activities, primarily browsing the Internet, working, childcare, and cooking/cleaning. In addition, associations among psychosocial outcomes and the displaced activities were examined. Time spent working, sleeping, and cooking/cleaning were negatively associated with affective well-being and quality of day. On days participants used social media, minutes of use were negatively associated with quality of day. The results suggest that social media primarily displaces unpleasant or neutral activities.

Podcasts and Productivity: A Qualitative Uses and Gratifications Study

Through analysis of five focus groups with people who “usually (more often than not) listened to at least one podcast episode a week” in the last two months, this uses and gratifications (U&G) study uncovers several prominent themes among podcast listener experiences. In an effort to integrate old and new media use typologies within U&G research, our results are presented in two parts: emerging typologies and expansions of existing typologies. The emerging section includes reasons for podcast displacement of other media, customizable experiences, and multitasking (which involves both temptation bundling and feeding the brain). The expansion builds on the existing typologies of companionship and interaction by analyzing avenues for parasocial relationship formation and identifying social opportunities as well as social frustrations surrounding podcasts. We ultimately conclude that podcasts offer an endless supply of engaging content that travels with listeners, allowing them to be “productive” in various physical and mind-expanding ways. The enjoyment is facilitated in part by forging connections with hosts and other listeners.

Pharmacological dissection of the cellular mechanisms associated to the spontaneous and the mechanically stimulated ATP release by mesentery endothelial cells: roles of thrombin and TRPV.

Endothelial cells participate in extracellular ATP release elicited by mechanosensors. To characterize the dynamic interactions between mechanical and chemical factors that modulate ATP secretion by the endothelium, we assessed and compared the mechanisms participating in the spontaneous (basal) and mechanically stimulated secretion using primary cultures of rat mesentery endothelial cells. ATP/metabolites were determined in the cell media prior to (basal) and after cell media displacement or a picospritzer buffer puff used as mechanical stimuli. Mechanical stimulation increased extracellular ATP that peaked within 1min, and decayed to basal values in 10min. Interruption of the vesicular transport route consistently blocked the spontaneous ATP secretion. Cells maintained in media lacking external Ca2+ elicited a spontaneous rise of extracellular ATP and adenosine, but failed to elicit a further extracellular ATP secretion following mechanical stimulation. 2-APB, a TRPV agonist, increased the spontaneous ATP secretion, but reduced the mechanical stimulation-induced nucleotide release. Pannexin1 or connexin blockers and gadolinium, a Piezo1 blocker, reduced the mechanically induced ATP release without altering spontaneous nucleotide levels. Moreover, thrombin or related agonists increased extracellular ATP secretion elicited by mechanical stimulation, without modifying spontaneous release. In sum, present results allow inferring that the spontaneous, extracellular nucleotide secretion is essentially mediated by ATP containing vesicles, while the mechanically induced secretion occurs essentially by connexin or pannexin1 hemichannel ATP transport, a finding fully supported by results from Panx1-/- rodents. Only the latter component is modulated by thrombin and related receptor agonists, highlighting a novel endothelium-smooth muscle signaling role of this anticoagulant.

Selective motion: media displacement among older Internet users

ABSTRACTAn increasing number of studies explore various aspects of new media use in later life, but most ignore the parallel use of traditional mass media among older adults. Relying on technological and functional approaches in communications research, this study explores how media displacement processes serve as mechanisms that regulate seniors’ media consumption in various sociocultural environments. The study is based on a survey of 6989 Internet users aged 60 and older from six countries (Austria, Denmark, Israel, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain), and compares usage rates and time spent using old media with that allotted to consumption of their digital equivalents. Furthermore, it examines levels of media displacement in different countries and explores the factors explaining such displacement. Results indicate a high media displacement with regard to newspapers and magazines, followed by book reading, with a relatively marginal transition to online TV and radio. Displacement levels vary among participating countries and are highest in Spain and Israel, with differences remaining significant even after controlling for background characteristics. The most significant displacement predictor, however, is the variety of users’ online activities. These findings suggest that despite the increasing percentage of older Internet users, this audience tends to adhere to familiar media practices. Nevertheless, it also exhibits selective displacement that is highly dependent on users’ media habits, the relative advantages of each medium and sociocultural contexts. Such selectivity may be considered a specific strategy for setting, pursuing and maintaining personal goals in later life.

Online News Production, Consumption and Immediacy: The Remediation Perspective

Evidence suggests that media displacement theory has limitation to explain the current development in news industry. This paper turns to the work of Bolter and Grusin on remediation which promotes the idea that old media are being transformed into new digital forms. Anchoring on this idea, this paper offers ways of understanding the processes in which online news sources repurpose print news for digital spaces via remediation. Three processes were identified; (1) borrowing the content and reusing it in a different format, (2) borrowing the format only and not the content, and (3) absorbing the older medium in its entirety. The paper also explores users’ experience with new news media and suggests that greater interactivity and user control in online environment indicate the experience of immediacy. To achieve immediacy is the goal of all media, and its manifestation ranges from an improved experience to a sense of being there (or presence) in media use. Linking remediation and literature in journalism studies, this essay contests the straightforward definition of news immediacy and introduces a theoretically driven concept focusing on a sense of presence in news consumption. The dimension of immediacy adds to our knowledge of the complementary use of online and print news media, and is central to the issue of media survival and competition in today’s digital age. Keywords: immediacy, remediation, online news, news consumption, media displacement

Media and Youths’ Political Engagement during the 2015 Nigerian General Election

The centrality of media to political and civic engagement has received tremendous exploration in many climes across the globe. Similarly, the dynamism that characterised media landscape has oftentimes called for continuing interrogation of the role of media in democratic and civic movements, discourses and participations. While the advent of new/social media led to the comparative exploration of the potency of legacy and novel media, mixed findings have characterised these research endeavours. Besides, most of the findings originated from advanced democratic hemisphere. In view of this gap in the literature, this study sampled 350 Nigerian university students in Kwara state during the 2015 Nigerian General Election to examine the differential contributions of legacy and novel media to the youths’ political engagement. Premised on media displacement theory, the study anticipates differences in the contribution of mainstream and new media to youths’ political engagement, with new media precipitating more civic engagement than the mains- tream media. Findings offer important contributions on the role of media to youths’ political engagement in general and the continuing importance of the mainstream media to civic and political participation among the youths.

A fully coupled geomechanics and fluid flow model for proppant pack failure and fracture conductivity damage analysis

One reason for observed reductions in the conductivity of hydraulic fractures is failure of the proppant pack. Proppant deformation, crushing, or embedment can decrease the fracture width and conductivity. In this paper, the continuity and momentum balance equations were fully coupled to simulate the transient phenomena involving fluid flow through a deformable porous proppant pack. Porous media displacement, water pressure, and gas pressure were derived as primary unknowns. The governing equation was discretized using the finite element method and solved numerically. In this model, the proppant pack and formation rocks were treated as two different types of continuous porous media (Biot type). Proppant deformation, crushing, and embedment could be identified through the geomechanical model, while the damage effects on gas/oil production would be studied through the fluid-flow model. Analysis of proppant deformation and crushing was based on the proppant pack stress–strain behavior. The displacement of the fracture-formation interface represented both the deformation of proppant and rock solids around fracture surface. Mohr–Coulomb failure was used as the criterion for proppant crushing. Effects of proppant damage were evaluated on proppant pack porosity and permeability. The model can be applied generally in hydraulically fractured reservoirs with proper inputs. In this paper, we used a fractured tight sand gas reservoir as a study case. The pressure distribution as well as proppant pack deformation are illustrated in the paper. Proppant pack mechanical behavior was found to be sensitive to the fluid flow pressure. Proppant near the wellbore has a higher likelihood of being crushed.