Impact of Social Media: A Thematic Analysis exploring body image and self-esteem amongst 18-24 year old women

Although there is extant literature on the effects of mass media on body image and self-esteem, there has been little qualitative research exploring the effects of social media on solely these two phenomena. Thus, this present study aimed to explore the impact of social media on 18-24 year old women’s self-esteem and body image. Previous literature on these phenomena stem from a quantitative approach, using mostly self-report scales. Therefore, the present study explores the link between body image, self-esteem and social media through semi-structured interviews. To gain a rich and deeper understanding of individual’s experiences, six women who were aged between 18-24 were recruited using snowball sampling. Once the interviews were conducted, they were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis. Four themes were highlighted amongst the interviews: Shifting Perceptions of the Ideal Body, Digitally Altering Images, Impact of Likes and Self-Esteem and Well-Being. These findings suggest that Social Networking Sites such as Instagram and Facebook have an adverse effect on women’s body image and self-esteem, which in turn can impact the well-being of 18-24 year old women. This study provides further support to the claim that social networking sites provide abundant social comparison opportunities (Vogel et al, 2014). Limitations and scope for future research are discussed in full

Revealing the Nanoscale Structure and Properties of the Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal Phase

The nematic phases of liquid crystals have been the most thoroughly investigated since the founding of the liquid crystal field in the early 1900’s. The resulting technologies, most notably the liquid crystal display, have changed our world and spawned an entire industry. Consequently, the recent identification of a new type of nematic – the twist-bend nematic – was met with as much surprise as excitement, as it melds the fluid properties and environmental responsiveness of conventional nematics with the intrinsic polarization and complex ordering of bent-core liquid crystals. I summarize the history of the twist-bend nematic phase, charting the development of our understanding from its first identification to the present day. Furthermore, I enumerate and highlight my own efforts in the field to characterize the behavior and nanoscale organization of the twist-bend phase

Dependence of Mesomorphic Behaviour of Methylene-Linked Dimers and the Stability of the NTB/NX Phase upon Choice of Mesogenic Units and Terminal Chain Length

Twelve symmetrical dimeric materials consisting of a nonamethylene (C9) spacer and either phenyl 4-(4'-alkylphenyl)benzoate, phenyl 4-(4'-alkylcyclohexyl)benzoate or phenyl 4-(4'-alkylbicyclohexyl)carboxylate mesogenic units were prepared and their mesogenic behaviour characterised by POM, DSC and XRD. All of the materials exhibited nematic phases with clearing points in excess of 200°C. Four compounds were found to exhibit the twist-bend nematic phase, with one material exhibiting a transition from the NTB phase into an anticlinic smectic 'X' phase. Across all three series of compounds the length of terminal chain is seen to dictate, to some degree, the type of mesophase formed: shorter terminal chains favour nematic and NTB mesophases, whereas longer terminal aliphatic chains were found to promote smectic phases

Spontaneous Liquid Crystal and Ferromagnetic Ordering of Colloidal Magnetic Nanoplates

Ferrofluids are familiar as colloidal suspensions of ferromagnetic nanoparticles in aqueous or organic solvents. The dispersed particles are randomly oriented but their moments become aligned if a magnetic field is applied, producing a variety of exotic and useful magneto-mechanical effects. A longstanding interest and challenge has been to make such suspensions macroscopically ferromagnetic, that is having uniform magnetic alignment in absence of a field. Here we report a fluid suspension of magnetic nanoplates which spontaneously aligns into an equilibrium nematic liquid crystal phase that is also macroscopically ferromagnetic. Its zero-field magnetization produces distinctive magnetic self-interaction effects, including liquid crystal textures of fluid block domains arranged in closed flux loops, and makes this phase highly sensitive, with it dramatically changing shape even in the Earth's magnetic field

Fabrication and characterization of nanopores with insulated transverse nanoelectrodes for DNA sensing in salt solution

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94472/1/elps4443.pd

Distinct differences in the nanoscale behaviors of the twist-bend liquid crystal phase of a flexible linear trimer and homologous dimer

This work was supported by National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Center Grant DMR-1420736 and Grant DMR-1307674. M.R.T. acknowledges support from the Advanced Light Source Doctoral Fellowship in Residence offered by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. M.S. acknowledges the support of the US National Science Foundation I2CAM International Materials Institute Award, Grant DMR-1411344. We acknowledge use of beamlines 11.0.1.2 and 7.3.3. of the Advanced Light Source supported by the Director of the Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, of the US Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC02-05CH11231.Peer reviewedPublisher PD