Search

The paper presents a miscellany of unorthodox and, in some cases, paradoxical or controversial items related to computational and applied electromagnetics. The topics include a definition of the magnetic source field via a line integral, losses in electric power transmission vs. losses in photonics, homogenization of periodic electromagnetic structures, spurious modes, models of plasmonic media, and more. It is hoped that this assortment of subjects will be of interest to a broad audience of scientists and engineers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Making use of the effective medium theory, we reduce the two-dimensional photonic crystals to an effective one-dimensional model. This one-dimensional model not only predicts correctly the dispersion in the long-wavelength limit (where the wavelength is much larger than the period of material) but also gives a good approximation for shorter wavelength. We further use the perturbation theory to improve the calculation of dispersion up to medium wavelength (which is of the order of space period of the material). Our work gives an insight into the modes of electromagnetic field propagating in photonic crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effective medium theory is used to model a two-phase strongly nonlinear dielectric composite. More general effective nonlinear coefficients are determined which are not limited to the case of dilute inclusions. Our results obtained by using the decoupling technique and the variational method are compared and are in agreement with the experimental results by Gehr et al. [J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 14, 2310 (1997)]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetostatic wave propagation in multilayers of ferro-/ferrimagnetic and nonmagnetic, dielectric slabs is investigated using an effective medium theory and the transfer matrix method. The propagation in multilayers with antiparallel directions of magnetization is analyzed, in particular. Antiparallel multilayers support (overall) bulk waves at frequencies much higher than single layers or parallel-magnetization structures. As possible applications of these multilayers, waveguides and resonators are proposed and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adds to the research on media-context effects with a study of creative media choice (i.e., creatively choosing a medium to implicitly communicate the message). In an experiment, ads were placed in a creative media choice setting and compared with identical ads in a traditional medium. Employing theories on media-source effects and on cognitive priming and assimilation, it is hypothesized that the creative media choice enhances the perception of target brand associations and increases ad credibility and ad and brand attitudes. The results support the hypotheses. The effects of creative media choice are moderated by congruence, and additional analyses suggest that they may be mediated by surprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article rethinks media and mediation in light of medium theory. It does so through the analysis of the alarming potential brought by the reenactment of Orson Welles's "The War of the Worlds" radio broadcast in Portugal in 1958. Locally branded as "A Invasão dos Marcianos" ("The Invasion of the Martians"), the article associates the alarming nature of the broadcast with the structure of fear of an attack from communist Russia in the context of Cold War paranoia under the right-wing regime of Salazar as well as in light of the impending revelation of the third secret of Fátima. Conceiving medium theory as a methodology with which to see through into the elements that constitute the medium as such, this article proposes to reconceptualize media as a distinctive space-time zone, a rhythmic middle, through which to call up associated temporalities of governance in Portugal (and elsewhere) over the course of the twentieth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This article builds on McLuhan's medium theory to address the undertheorized role of animals as mediators in network cultures. Analysis McLuhan's medium theory aligns with and to some extent anticipates contemporary discussion about posthumanist thought that recognizes that human perception and experience are shaped by and extended through non-human tools and connections. Both digital culture and the endangered status of the natural world now call upon us to elaborate less anthropocentric concepts of mediation to understand our interdependence with the non-human world. Conclusion and implications Using as illustration various moments of media change, including early coins and the first cat videos, this article argues that the proliferation of animal imagery is significant not only in the affective management of digital practices and investments, but more broadly in the management of cultural and ecological risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debates over medium of instruction, as ideological skirmishes, showcase discursive identity construction, reproduction, and contestation by different social groups. Drawing on such debates in letters to the editor and internet‐based newsgroup posts written by Bangladeshi English‐medium (EM) and Bangla‐medium (BM) educated writers, this article examines the construction of elite identity by the EM educated group. It illustrates how this group drew on changing discourses of elitism, language ideologies, and other identity resources to construct self‐identity that emphasized the achievement of qualifications and attributes rather than unearned social privilege, and how the territorially bound elite identity was transformed into deterritorialized cosmopolitan identity in the process. The article contributes to our understanding of the relationship between language, identity, and society by illustrating struggles for identity and status maintenance in education that is increasingly being dominated by English and English as a medium of instruction under the influence of neoliberal globalization. It also suggests how English and national languages may relate to (post)colonialism, nationalism, national identity, and social class in a globalized world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the origin of the concept of medium and of media theory as an area of knowledge. It claims that the concept of medium in the modern sense was first introduced in the works of German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach. Attempting to re-read Feuerbach's texts to reveal his original methodology and to "scrub" it of prevailing (mainly Hegelian and Marxist) interpretations, the author briefly traces the impact of this method—defined as a combination of three operations: an "inversion," a determination of "material means," and a "translation"—on the development of post-Feuerbachian thought. The question of "material means" is central to Feuerbach's critical project and is directly linked to a "translation" procedure. Considered together, these two essentially coincide with the questions of medium and mediation as they are presented in media theory (particularly in Marshall McLuhan and Régis Debray). In conclusion, the author discusses the theological background of the concept of medium and introduces the concept of a "cultural Filioque." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the use of Federal Trade Commission recommended corrective message copy, alternative television advertisements were analyzed experimentally to determine if message content format influences the effects of corrective advertising. Results indicate that a corrective advertisement in which persuasive (and accurate) product claims are followed by corrective copy is superior in altering erroneous product performance beliefs. A corrective message using a format of this type resulted in consumers' holding more accurate beliefs about the medicinal capabilities of Listerine mouthwash. Further, decrements to the image of the brand and the firm were minimized with this message format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding mechanical properties of shale has been the topic of research in the past decade due to its importance in hydraulic fracturing and rock physics modeling. Since shales are highly heterogeneous in constituent components, detailed understanding of mechanical properties in a multi-scale (nano, micro, macro and field) is vital and can present various results. In this study, we used a combination of analytical methods including high-resolution mineral mapping (MAPS), programmed pyrolysis and nanoindentation to identify mineralogy, geochemistry and nanomechanical characteristics of the Bakken shales in Williston Basin, North Dakota. Nanoindentation measurements were done both parallel and perpendicular to the bedding plane to examine mechanical anisotropy. Data were analyzed via multivariate statistical deconvolution technique (maximum likelihood approach and expectation-maximization algorithms) to reveal different mechanical phases, considering their Young’s modulus and hardness. Based on recognized components in the samples and measured values, Young’s modulus was upscaled through effective medium theory. Results showed that total organic carbon (TOC) content has a decreasing effect on Young’s modulus values. It was found that mechanical anisotropy increases with an increasing TOC content. Finally, upscaled Young’s modulus results were compared with reported measurements on core plugs which was found in a reasonable agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the translation of Debray's writings and the study of his media thoughts have become increasingly popular in China, but the 'medium' in his media discourse has never been clarified. Debray pointed out that the focus of the media is 'mediation', which actually reveals a new way of thinking and reasoning. He then proposed four stages of mediological reasoning: Message, Medium, Milieu and Mediation. This article believes that based on this framework (i.e. 4M), Debray used McLuhan's theory as a hub for analysis and launched a set of research methods and tools aimed at exploring the multiple nature of medium and message on the sense of interaction between culture and technology, which also involved the utility of 'mediasphere' as an exploration principle to question the past and future of mankind and the media conditions. This approach provides an avenue for us to understand ourselves and transmissions in different space-time categories at both practical and theoretical levels. This article emphasizes that it is better not to interpret Debray's thoughts as a theory parallel to the existing medium theories because its focus is on research approaches rather than arguments. Besides, although Debray's medium theory is based on his experience and thinking in Europe and Latin America, there are reasons for the publicity of Debray's ideology in China. From the perspective of history, culture and human geography, Chinese civilization can be said to contain rich ideological resources of mediation. This is of great significance to re-understand China's history and reality in the new context of globalization, and to discover the global value of China's experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a revised effective medium theory is presented to investigate negative dispersion bands which are formed by the hybridization effect of multiple resonances. The negative hybrid-resonant bands are selective for propagation of compressional or shear waves. With a simplified model, a new negative dispersion band is firstly achieved by combinations of negative transverse modulus and negative mass density, thus three negative dispersion bands are formed by hybridization effect of a monopolar or quadrupolar resonance and a dipolar resonance. Secondly, transmission spectrums are also performed to demonstrate the negative behaviors of three hybrid resonant bands and illustrate their unusual transmission properties. Moreover, a revised effective medium theory based on numerical simulation is derived to obtain four effective parameters of the elastic metamaterials along two wave vectors when the long wavelength limitation is not fully satisfied, which perfectly explain the unusual transmissions of negative dispersion bands. Finally, the physical mechanisms of negative parameters are systematically investigated by three typical deformation states. The work has guiding significances for designing the elastic metamaterials structures with negative hybrid-resonant bands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we design a polarization-independent and broadband microwave metamaterial absorber (MMA) based on three-dimensional structure. The simulated results show that the proposed absorber has a broad absorptance band from 60.4 to 100.0 GHz with the absorptance efficiency over 90%. The effective medium theory (EMT), electric field, surface current and power loss density distributions are adopted to explain the physical mechanism of the perfect absorptance. In addition, the absorptance differences can be observed between transverse electric (TE) wave and transverse magnetic (TM) wave at oblique incidence. The proposed absorber can be utilized in many applications such as perfect absorbers and radomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following Emily Keightley and Anna Reading in their conceptualization of ‘mediated mobilities’, I illuminate useful connections between media ecology and mobilities research and make the case for a combined modal medium theory. Both fields align clearly in their interest in technology and technique, media and modes, and messages and moods. A fruitful starting point in the suggested transdisciplinary theoretical and methodological framework is the exploration of the specific medium along with its materialities. In the second step, different kinds of environments and possible choreographies the medium affords ask to be considered. In a broader conceptualization, the term ‘medium’ refers not only to technological entities but also to subjects (tourists), practices (dancing), and places (cities), which likewise prompt different messages and moods. Ideally, research occurs on a synchronous level by following the routes of media and modes across space, and on a diachronous level by exploring the roots of media and modes across time. The objective is to promote a material medium literacy that questions capacities and agencies of forms and materials in their respective contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on media ecology. Topics discussed include general sementics, emerging metadiscipline, and intellectual and institutional coherence established by successful generations of media ecologists. Also being discussed is the definition of enlightenment in strictly intellectual terms.

This article develops and applies a holistic approach to structure smartphone use. It builds on an understanding of the smartphone as a metamedium containing a multitude of "constituent media" that are applicable in an unprecedented range of contexts. We elaborate on the smartphone's structure and its uses from two theoretical venture points: an ecological understanding of the evolving media landscape within the metamedium and a mobile phone-centered perspective on differential uses and gratifications of the metamedium as a whole within different contexts. Gibson's affordance theory permits us to integrate these perspectives to account for smartphone structure and use in terms of niches that emerge out of embodiments and enactments of affordances in varying contexts of use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a common assumption that digital technology stores and retrieves text differently than physical libraries do. Websites and digitized text uploaded on them are retrieved via algorithms, tied together by links, and so on, whereas physical libraries are structured by classification schemes, catalogs, and indexes. Nevertheless, looking further back in history, it can be argued that digital technology in fact makes us store and retrieve text as humanity did to begin with—before the invention of the printing press. This article argues how. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal-dielectric multilayers can be designed to exhibit remarkable optical properties, including negative refraction for subwavelength superlensing. In this study, the applicability of the medium-homogenized effective medium theory (EMT) in place of multilayered thin-film optics is examined. Three metal-dielectric material and thin film thickness combinations that give rise to hyperbolic dispersion in different spectral regions are considered. In addition to investigating the radiative properties, the energy streamline method is used to determine the refraction angle and lateral displacement of rays. The electromagnetic fields inside the films are depicted to illustrate the coherent effect or the lack thereof. The radiative penetration depth is profiled to understand the effectiveness and limits of such multilayers in optical manipulation. The conditions and mechanism for the breakdown of EMT are elucidated in this case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heterogeneous particulate deposit has a significant impact on the radiative properties of surfaces. It is necessary to establish a physical model to describe the apparent spectral absorptance of surfaces covered with heterogeneous particulate deposits. In this paper, a general method combining the effective medium theory with the RTM-DRE (ray-tracing method based on the decomposition of radiation energy) method is presented to predict the apparent spectral absorptance of such surfaces. The effective optical constants of the inhomogeneous particles were determined by means of the effective medium theory, whereas the radiative properties of the surfaces were calculated by modeling the radiative transfer process based on the RTM-DRE method. Additionally, the experimental characterizations of the dust deposits were investigated to reveal the dust effect on the radiative properties of surfaces, and the experimental data and theoretical results were compared to validate the presented theoretical model. The mean relative errors lie within 11.0% of the solar band and 7.0% of the infrared waveband, which indicates the reliability of the theoretical model. Furthermore, the effect of the geometric structure parameters and material intrinsic properties on the radiative properties of the surfaces with heterogeneous particulate deposit was investigated based on the prediction model. Six main factors including the deposit thickness, particle size, bulk fraction, chemical compositions, H 2 O content, and substrate reflectance were considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to precisely analyze and design the transmittance characteristics of a blazed grating, the validity of both the scalar diffraction theory and the effective medium theory is quantitatively demonstrated. By making a comparison of diffraction efficiencies calculated by the two simplified methods and Fourier modal method, the accuracy can be obtained. It is found that when the normalized period is more than three wavelengths of the incident light, the scalar diffraction theory is useful to calculate the transmittance of the blazed grating within the error of less than 3%. The validity of the scalar diffraction theory increases when the normalized period increases. Importantly, by considering the Fresnel reflection effect, the validity of scalar diffraction theory can be significantly enhanced. Furthermore, when no higher-order diffraction waves appear and only zeroth order diffraction wave propagates, the effective medium theory is accurate to compute the diffraction efficiency within the difference of less than 1% between the zeroth order effective medium theory and Fourier modal method. The polarization characteristics of the validity of effective medium theory are also quantitatively demonstrated. The validity of the two simplified theories is dependent on not only the normalized period of surface microstructure but also the normalized groove depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content analyses of large and internationally influential American newspapers show that today only 35% of the front-page articles are traditional, event-centered news articles, down from 69% 25 years ago. Of the event-centered news, only 47% mentioned the main development in the first paragraph. This study argues that newspapers have transformed in functions and style such that they no longer deliver first-instance news reporting, but serve as an analytical and/or in-depth complement to the more immediate, instantaneous online news outlets. Broader implications of the findings including theoretical connections to comparative media systems, medium theory, and professional role conceptions of journalists are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe an in-class activity that helps students improve their skills in media selection and use to reinforce effective communication. The activity builds on media richness and channel expansion theories through an examination of the media selection and use of NBA athlete LeBron James and Cleveland Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert during James’s career moves. We utilize three minicase studies highlighting James’s and Gilbert’s videos and open letters. We provide guidelines for preparing and implementing the activity and present students’ reactions through their in-class participation and quantitative survey responses. Student evaluations, collected from both a required undergraduate course and a graduate elective course, indicate that students found this activity engaging and effective in achieving the learning objectives. In addition to business communication courses, this in-class activity may be used in other courses including organizational behavior, introduction to business and management, leadership, human resources management, introduction to public relations, and crisis management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In media philosophy since Benjamin, the concept of ‘medium’ is conceived in terms of translation or transport. In a similar vein, Christoph Tholen has brought the literal sense of metaphor as metapherein into focus. In this paper, I argue that Tholen’s approach misses the ‘meta’ (‘middle’ or ‘beyond’) of metaphor, corresponding to the Latintrans. This is contrasted with the Greekdiathat allows the development of a performative notion of medium, which orients itself at material practices of transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to distinguish characteristics of various forms of media studies. Personalism is presented as a philosophical perspective that helps to draw out those distinctions and, in the process, to affirm or to recover commitments to the inviolability and to the interrelatedness of human persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The founders of the interdisciplinary field of communication geography argue that the field carries the potential to provide a processual view of communication as spatial production. This article sets out to delineate this underexplored aspect of communication geography. The aim is to expand the research agenda of communication geography by acknowledging the role of everyday social interaction on the one hand, and media environments on the other, in producing and maintaining peoples’ taken-for-granted senses of space. This focus is guided by combining central insights of social phenomenology and medium theory. In synthesizing these positions, a research agenda emerges that emphasizes the capacity of media to “mold” the scope and character of communication that in turn maintain the scope and character of taken-for-granted space in everyday reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to explore the intersection between Medium Theory (MT) and Third-Person Effect (TPE) and evaluate how the research on MT can further our knowledge of the TPE. The study has proven that the perceptual hypothesis of the TPE is confirmed in different media contents and across media types (TV and the Internet) and that media type has an impact on the magnitude of the TPE. In addition, media type can also be a requisite for TPE to occur. On the other hand, the study shows that media type can have an influence on people’s support to restrict controversial content, in particular, pornography. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Marshall McLuhan's assertion that the artist's capacity for awareness of the medium character of reality represents a form of knowledge that is, '... now needed for (human) survival' is employed to probe technology as world-view - reality mediated by representation - that is historically disremembered for the alienating condition of technopoly to prevail. The artist paradoxically renders the unconscious environmental character of mediation apparent to thought and sensibility, bringing ground in the figure/ground relationship to awareness as ground - without objectifying ground as figure - similar to knowledge of chora that Plato in Timaeus provocatively named, a kind of 'bastard-reckoning'. Referring to Einstein, Grant, Heidegger, Descartes, and Arendt, technology as world-view is historically/philosophically un-framed to recuperate this non-objective sensibility of our worldreality within modes of praxis - thinking, making, and acting - as the foundation for re-forming our irrevocably intertwined social and natural worlds transformed to the point of devastation by technological activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of conductivity as a means to determine the volume fraction of solids in a suspension of poorly conductive solids in water combines the benefits of high sampling rates and ease of use at the cost of a high sensitivity to salinity and fluid temperature. In this paper we investigate a custom built CCM, to which a third parameter was found to be of much influence: the grain size of the suspended phase. This paper describes a calibration experiment with which the influence of grain size on the CCM output has been investigated. The data give rise to an alternative calibration curve which is different from the regular effective media theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harold Innis inaugurated his research into Canadian economic history (staples studies) to countervail the purportedly universalist claims of mainstream economics; he believed the mainstream "justified" exploitation of the developing world by the wealthiest countries. Conversely, he sought out universalist principles in his media/communication work in order to countervail omnipresent misunderstanding in the world; he hoped to establish thereby a common ground conducive to world peace. The dialectic or contradiction of relativism/ universalism in Innis' two major inquiries has hitherto remained unrecognized, and constitutes the focus of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We standardize the approach to predict composite permeability, μeff, to determine the reflection (R), transmission (T), and absorption (A) using the generalized effective medium theory. For stainless steel (SS) spheres and fibers, we calculate the inclusion permeability based on the effective susceptibility generated by eddy currents in a time-varying magnetic field. This gives reasonable agreement with measured μeff when used in the Bruggeman theory and agreement with R, T, and A within 10%. For SS flakes, we fit the imaginary component of μeff to a single-peak Lorentzian for each loading and use typical fitting parameters to predict ?eff and, ultimately, R, T, and A within 5%. The fitting exponent t was constant for all frequencies for a given inclusion shape (4.7, 1.6, and 1.7 for spheres, fibers, and flakes, respectively) and Ax typically varied with inverse volume loading rather than percolation threshold. Interestingly, at percolation for the fibers, Ax approached a constant that approximately equaled the observed percolation threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Studies about Language / Kalbu Studijos is the property of Studies about Language / Kalbu Studijos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Unlike the previous design method in which one must know the transformation function beforehand, an inverse design method is proposed to build a metamaterial concentrator in this paper. The required material parameters are independently obtained and expressed as functions of the introduced generator. Scattering magnifying ability of the concentrator and two applications for antenna miniaturization and military camouflage are also investigated. Moreover, to remove the anisotropic parameters and simplify the practical realization of the concentrator, a fan-shaped layered concentrator composed of only alternating isotropic materials is presented based on the effective medium theory. Full-wave simulation results are provided for verification. This work paves a new way for designing metamaterial devices without the need to know the underlying transformation function, and has great guiding significance for the fabrication and application of the concentrator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses musician Pete Seeger's views on the music genre's approach to communication focusing on Seeger's understanding of folk authenticity, disapproval of mass media and his works on medium theory. Topics include broadcasting models of dissemination, works of author Harold Adams Innis on time-biased media, history of American folklore, television and folk performances, folk revival through television program "Hootenanny" and theory of dissemination.

This study analyses the perspectives of teachers on English as a language of learning and teaching in the context of government recommendations that Shona and Ndebele be used alongside English as languages of learning and teaching in Zimbabwean secondary schools. Through a questionnaire survey, open interviews and classroom observation, it was found that the teachers regard English as a language of learning and teaching in a positive way though they are aware of the difficulties associated with its use. There was a high consensus on the desirability of English among teachers as informants with various attributes obtained attitude, pedagogical beliefs and perceived difficulty scores that were, in the main, not statistically significant. It also emerged that government recommendations for the use of endoglossic languages as languages of learning and teaching (LoLT) have not been complemented by concrete measures and that the subsequent efforts to change the language-in-education policy have so far seemed insincere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The explosive development of new digital media technologies is often described as a media evolution but hardly ever is the concept of 'media evolution' taken at face value. This article takes up that challenge by combining cultural evolution theories with medium theory. The article argues that biological selection mechanisms can provide an inroad into a new kind of historical and structural understanding of the relation between human culture and our technologies. In specific, human history is seen as a cultural evolution in which media technologies are the selection mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines Timothy Leary's relationship with the field of media ecology. Leary's well-known promotion of psychedelics is shown to relate to his broader interest in using technologies to enhance human abilities. Explicitly influenced by Marshall McLuhan, Leary's ideas were framed in reference to an informationbased evolutionary cosmology in which new media facilitate freedom by augmenting cognition and breaking down oppressive institutions. Leary's efforts to give these ideas practical expression also led to innovative experiments with media, including contributions to 1960s-era sound and light shows, spoken word performances and software programs still in use today. As a media theorist and practitioner as well as unequivocal champion of cognitive and social freedom, Leary deserves to be recognized as an iconic member of the media ecological tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parallels between general systems theory and media ecology are drawn. It is shown that cybernetics, general systems theory, complexity theory, emergent dynamics and media ecology are interconnected and that they inform and cross-pollinate each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titus Lucretius Carus, or simply Lucretius (~94-55 bce), wrote the epic philosophical poem De Rerum Natura (common translation: On the Nature of Things, On the Nature of the Universe or The Way Things Are). The poem is an early scientific treatise, a classic example of grammar-as-interpretation that added some needed nuance to the rigid determinism of Democritus' atomistic ontology and, more generally, promised to enlighten popular understanding of Epicurean philosophical doctrine. Key passages in Lucretius' poem pre-empt several core precepts of media ecology, including the indeterminacy of causal explanation that amounts to a 'soft' form of determinism (i.e. 'medium theory') in both the natural and human-built worlds, whereby the formal properties of things offer clues to their causal potency, or capacity to effect change. It can be argued, by extension, that the media ecological emphasis on formal cause as the primary mechanism governing change also has roots in Lucretius' epic poem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optical nonlocality in symmetric metal-dielectric multilayer metamaterials is theoretically and experimentally investigated with respect to transverse-magnetic-polarized incident light. A nonlocal effective medium theory is derived from the transfer-matrix method to determine the nonlocal effective permittivity depending on both the frequency and wave vector in a symmetric metal-dielectric multilayer stack. In contrast to the local effective medium theory, our proposed nonlocal effective medium theory can accurately predict measured incident angle-dependent reflection spectra from a fabricated multilayer stack and provide nonlocal dispersion relations. Moreover, the bulk plasmon polaritons with large wave vectors supported in the multilayer stack are also investigated with the nonlocal effective medium theory through the analysis of the dispersion relation and eigenmode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a general method for retrieving the effective tensorial permittivity of uniaxially anisotropic metamaterials. By relaxing the usually imposed constraint of assuming nonmagnetic metal/dielectric metamaterials, we also retrieve the effective permeability tensor and show that multilayer hyperbolic metamaterials exhibit a strong and broadband diamagnetic response in the visible regime. The method provides the means for designing magnetically anisotropic metamaterials for studying magnetic topological transitions in the visible regime. We obtain orientation-independent effective material parameters, which are distinguishable from mere wave parameters. We analytically validate this method for Ag/SiO2 planar metamaterials with a varying number of layers and filling fractions and compare to the results from effective medium theory and Bloch theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Especially in the THz region, little data is available regarding material properties based on measurements. It has been argued that the effective medium theory could provide a useful tool to estimate material data needed for electromagnetic field computations. In this paper, two numerical approaches are presented to test the applicability of the effective medium theory (EMT) with special regard to mm- and sub-mm-wavelengths. One approach is based on the well-known free-space method and the other one on a power loss evaluation scheme. Within the scope of application of the free-space method, the usability of the EMT is proven for two sets of dielectric tissue parameters on a longitudinally homogeneous and transversely structured sample. Moreover, power loss evaluation is a suitable method to show the applicability of the EMT. Analysis of layered models at 1–10 THz confirms that the EMT is a suitable tool to develop equivalent homogenized models with maximum errors for the dissipated powers of about 1%. In a more realistic example for a physiological fluid with spherical inclusions, the EMT yields an error of less than 1%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]