Client Relationship and Mass Media Policy: A Comparative Case Study of Mass Market and Library Market Production And Distribution In Children\u27s Book Publishing

CHAPTER l: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY AND ITS METHODOLOGY Analysts of the mass media tend to agree that the organizational nature of mass communication has important consequences for the shaping of those messages which are distributed to large, dispersed audiences (see, for example, Wright, 1975, p. 8). Many scholars have commented, as well, upon the importance which mass produced, widely shared, message systems have for individuals and society. One especially persuasive perspective on the significance of mass communication has been articulated by Gerbner (1972) and is encapsulated in the following passage

Business Strategies, Performance, and Influencing Factors: Chinese and Japanese Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Canada

This study investigates the business strategies and performance of immigrant-owned firms in Canada through a comparative case study. Based on thematic analysis of two entrepreneurial firms in the restaurant industry – one owned by Chinese and the other by Japanese immigrants, the author uncovers some differences while looking for consistent patterns between the two immigrant groups. The findings show that the immigrant entrepreneurs have all adjusted their business strategies to the external business environment, but their business practice and economic performance are also influenced by the unique resource endowments and cultural characteristics of the immigrant entrepreneurs and their respective communities. Based on these findings, the author discusses the implications for research and policy making. </p

‘In the Name of Children’: Children in Dickens’s Journalism and Novels

This thesis employs a variety of theoretical approaches to examine the representation of children in the novels and journalism of Charles Dickens. Whereas previous studies of Dickensian children have concentrated on his fictional characters, I have expanded the parameters of the discussion to include his journalism, and his examination of children as readers. The discussion focuses on two novels, four significant articles in his weekly periodical Household Words, and A Child’s History of England, which was serialised in Household Words. In recent years there have been considerable efforts made to investigate Dickens's journalism, but there has been little consideration either of his writings on children's welfare nor on his nursery writings intended for young readers which were published in his periodicals. Despite the fact that he wrote specific works for children to read, there has been no examination of his representation of child readers in his novels. In analyzing three of Dickens's child readers I have drawn upon contemporary theories of reading. I have utilized a variety of modern psychological theories in my discussion of the novelist's understanding of child development. In the course of my discussion of individual texts I utilize theories of narratology, trauma theory, contemporary accounts of commodity fetishism and theories of masculinity as it impinges upon child development. In my analysis of Dickens's journal articles and their relation to specific fictional characters and episodes, I emphasize that this is not simply a case of ‘factual’ journalism set against ‘fictional’ characters and plots, but rather that Dickens's creativity is manifested in both genres, and that to understand his comprehension of child psychology and child development, both are essential

Filter stability under the different water patterns.

<p>Logarithm of the normalized current is plotted as a function of the force applied to the filter ions of the ten models. The extra model M0 (having a collapsed filter conformation) contains no percolating water.</p

Dynamic water patterns change the stability of the collapsed filter conformation of the KcsA K⁺ channel

<div><p>The selectivity filter of the KcsA K⁺ channel has two typical conformations—the conductive and the collapsed conformations, respectively. The transition from the conductive to the collapsed filter conformation can represent the process of inactivation that depends on many environmental factors. Water molecules permeating behind the filter can influence the collapsed filter stability. Here we perform the molecular dynamics simulations to study the stability of the collapsed filter of the KcsA K⁺ channel under the different water patterns. We find that the water patterns are dynamic behind the collapsed filter and the filter stability increases with the increasing number of water molecules. In addition, the stability increases significantly when water molecules distribute uniformly behind the four monomeric filter chains, and the stability is compromised if water molecules only cluster behind one or two adjacent filter chains. The altered filter stabilities thus suggest that the collapsed filter can inactivate gradually under the dynamic water patterns. We also demonstrate how the different water patterns affect the filter recovery from the collapsed conformation.</p></div

Free-energy maps of the selected water locations in the ten models.

<p>(A)-(C) show the locations of the waters wC1, wC2, and wC3 of model M5, respectively. (D) and (E) show the locations of the waters wB1 and wB2 of model M6, respectively. (F) and (G) show the locations of the waters wA1 and wB1 of model M5, respectively. (H) shows the location of the water wA1 of model M2. Thus, (A)-(C) show the free-energy maps when three water molecules percolate behind one filter chain; (D) and (E) show the maps of two water molecules behind one chain; (F)-(H) show three maps when one water molecule is there. (F)-(H) show the versatile locations of the water molecule, which may depend on the water patterns of the adjacent chains. (I) shows the location of the water wC1 of model M10 that has a conductive filter. The color bar has the unit of kcal/mol. Z_w and R_w are defined in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0186789#pone.0186789.g003" target="_blank">Fig 3</a>.</p

The KcsA K⁺ channel structure.

<p>(A) Crystal structure of the KcsA channel (PDB ID: 1K4C). (B) The conductive filter conformation (PDB ID: 1K4C). (C) The collapsed filter conformation (PDB ID: 1K4D). The water molecules behind the selectivity filters are highlighted in the pink ovals. Equilibrating the structures of (B) and (C), the simulation results are shown in (D) and (E), where the hydrogen bonds connecting the percolated waters and the presented protein atoms are shown. For clarity, only two chains of the channel structures are shown.</p

Ten models having the different water patterns behind the KcsA filter chains.

<p>The percolated waters are labeled in each model. In the collapsed filter conformations, models M1-M8 are built based on the PDB file 3F7V and M9 is based on the PDB file 1K4D. The conductive filter conformation, model M10, is based on the PDB file 1K4C. In model M8, the bond of D80 and E71 behind chain C is broken and filled with water molecules. R_w and Z_w are drawn for the water wA1 in model M1, where R_w is the horizontal distance of the water oxygen to the central axis of the filter and Z_w is the vertical distance of the water oxygen to the center of Cα of residue T74 of the four chains. The enlarged figures are shown in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0186789#pone.0186789.s002" target="_blank">S2 Fig</a>.</p

Processes of water molecules percolating behind the selectivity filter of the KcsA channel.

<p>In Case 1, one water molecule percolates deeply as the conductive filter switches to the collapsed conformation. Cases 2–4 show the different processes of the water molecules percolating behind the collapsed filter chains. In addition to the earlier state and the later state filter structures, Cases 3 and 4 also show the step-by-step procedures of the percolating events. The percolating waters are highlighted in the green ovals. Here each case starts from a different initial configuration. The two structures of Case 1 are selected at the simulation time of 0 ns and 0.334 ns, respectively. The two structures of Case 2 are selected at the simulation time of 4.040 ns and 4.082 ns, respectively. The four structures of Case 3 are selected at the simulation time of 6.430 ns, 6.756 ns, 6.970 ns, and 7.648 ns, respectively. The five structures of Case 4 are selected at the simulation time of 4.072 ns, 4.260 ns, 4.634 ns, 5.802ns, and 6.486 ns, respectively. The enlarged figures including these structures and several more structures of each case are shown in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0186789#pone.0186789.s001" target="_blank">S1 Fig</a>.</p

Initial step of the filter recovery affected by the different water patterns.

<p>Four cases are selected to illustrate the conformational change of the filter as the K₄⁺ ion moves through the collapsed filter. In Case A, two percolating waters locate in the upper sites behind chains A and C, respectively. Cases B, C, and D represent models M1, M3, and M9, respectively. Initially (Stage 1), all filters are in the collapsed conformations. As the ion moves to the S2 site (Stage 2), the collapsed filters switch to the conductive conformation (Case A), the nearly conductive conformation (Case B), the partially conductive conformation (Case C), and the nearly collapsed conformation (Case D), respectively. When the ion moves out of the filter (Stage 3), all the filters switch back to the collapsed conformations again. The percolated waters that prevent (or tend to prevent) the filter chains from switching back to the conductive conformations are highlighted in the red ovals. The three structures of Case A are selected at simulation time of 0 ps, 35.24 ps, and 67.08 ps, respectively. Structures of Case B are selected at 0 ps, 15.04 ps, and 21.16 ps, respectively. Structures of Case C are selected at 0 ps, 6.56 ps, and 10 ps, respectively. Structures of Case D are selected at 2 ps, 113.04 ps, and 117 ps, respectively. The enlarged figures are shown in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0186789#pone.0186789.s003" target="_blank">S3 Fig</a>. The initial configuration of Case D is obtained from a separate simulation shown in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0186789#pone.0186789.s003" target="_blank">S3 Fig</a> Part D.</p