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In this brief research note, we propose a set of concepts and methods for identifying and operationalizing controversial news items. Based on an analysis of online readers’ comments posted in response to political news articles in the lead-up to the most recent South Korean presidential election (May 9, 2017), we develop what we term as “controversy indicator.” We calculate a controversy score using the total number of reader comments and the proportion of “upvotes” (indicating approval) and “downvotes” (indicating disapproval) a given news article elicits. Our findings demonstrate the potential usefulness of the controversy indicator in understanding the contemporary news environment, which is becoming increasingly divisive and polluted with disinformation.

This study aimed to provide an empirical and analytical account of online information flow and web ecology in four platforms around the 2012 general election in South Korea. The study quantitatively examined the interrelationship of web ecology among relevant platforms—including online news, blogs, Twitter and Facebook—during election campaigns. In order to quantify the current political situations, this study employed network analysis and the model fitting method with co-occurrence web visibility data of political parties and their leaders in four platforms. The findings demonstrated to what extent web ecologies on four different online platforms during the given election reflect the country’s political situation. Comparing network centralizations across platforms, results showed that online news was the least biased media and Twitter was the most biased with the highest centralization scores. Although both the ruling party and the major opposition party—including the leaders of those two parties—had higher degree centrality scores than minor parties and their leaders in all platforms, some distinct features were observed in Twitter and Facebook due to their attributes. In addition, regressions and their residuals confirmed that web ecologies in four platforms, in terms of degree centrality, had been linearly expanded over time and showed their individual characteristics.

Some argue that the label ‘Web 2.0’ is problematic, as it constitutes a dominant discourse by which professional elites define ‘what is associated with the Web today as common sense’ and ‘what ente...

The synthesis of star-shaped molecules, comprising a pyrene core with tetrakis(phenylethynyl) arms substituted with N,N-dimethylamino and propyl groups (1–5), is reported. The electrochemical and photophysical properties of 1–5 depend on the number of N,N-dimethylamino groups on the tetrakis(phenylethynyl)pyrene framework. In electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) studies, the spectra of 4 and 5 show red-shifts and band broadening; in contrast, 1 exhibits a typical high-intensity pyrene ECL emission. It was confirmed that the ECL spectra arise from the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) induced by the annihilation of radical ions owing to the presence of a strong donor.

This article examines the web ecology of the 2010 local elections in South Korea by using social science hyperlink analysis. The online networks of candidates were measured daily during the official campaign period. The results indicate that network dynamics among the candidates for education superintendent changed more rapidly as the campaign progressed than in the case of the mayoral candidates. However, the intensity of online networks for both campaigns was lower than for the country’s last presidential election, in 2007, suggesting that the web ecology of a given election is influenced by the perceived importance of the event and the general popularity of certain candidates. The results also suggest that producing and disseminating information, such as news articles, blog posts and tweets, reflects a more politically conscious action than referring to information via hyperlinks. Furthermore, the article sheds light on the ways in which hyperlink analysis serves as a research method for mining data for web ecology analysis, tracking political events at different points in time and illustrating the general landscape of electoral communication in cyberspace.

A multisignaling assay for the selective detection of Fe 3+ ions with a cruciform-shaped alkynylpyrene (1) bearing four peripheral N , N -dimethylethynylaniline units is reported. Upon exposure to various metal ions, only Fe 3+ showed significant changes in the optical, electrochemical, and electrochemiluminescent behaviors of 1.

This study provides an empirical and longitudinal account of how the South Korean podcast series Nakkomsu (NKS) employed a hybrid media strategy and served as an alternative political force challenging the ruling conservatives during three elections in South Korea between December 2011 and December 2012. The study is based on the methodological triangulation of hybrid web indicators resulting from a social network analysis, a semantic network analysis, and a link impact analysis, all conducted using big data mined from social media during the 13-month period. To examine the emergence and evolution of communication patterns around NKS on Twitter, all tweets that contained the Korean word for NKS and were publicly accessible were collected, amounting to a data set of 79,028 unique vertices and 1,866,085 edges. Our findings include the following. First, network density increased gradually over the period, reflecting a continuous decrease in the number of users participating in discussions around NKS. Second, according to quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) correlations, the semantic network characteristics of those discussions also changed over time, partly due to some systematic interference from members and supporters of the conservative party. Third, in this context Twitter served as a space where individual listeners interacted directly with the podcast and fellow listeners—a space that podcasts themselves do not provide. Fourth, the NKS phenomenon was characterized by the wide range of offline activities in which listeners were encouraged to participate alongside the podcast, such as books authored by panelists, public talks, and fundraising events. Such activities were marked not only by their critical content but also by elements of playfulness.

A weakly donating group (n-propyl) has been used as a substituent at the para-position of the phenyl group for a series of phenylethynylpyrene derivatives where the number of phenylethynyl peripheral arms appended to the pyrene core is varied. This system markedly improved the concurrent stability of both cation and anion radicals and consequently greatly improved electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL). Density functional theory (DFT)-based theoretical calculations supported the associated photophysical and electrochemical properties of the series compounds.

Drawing on van Meter’s (2000) article examining the methodological literature relating to research on “sensitive” topics, we analyse the corresponding journal literature in the decade following. We present data on authorship patterns, identify thematic continuities and discontinuities, and draw attention to gaps in the existing literature.

We have synthesized a series of tetrakis(ethynyl)pyrenes functionalized with N,N-dimethyaniline and 1-(trifluoromethyl)benzene as a peripheral electron-donor and electron-acceptor moiety, respectively. In solvatochromic studies, compounds with one peripheral donor and three peripheral acceptors (2), with two donors and two acceptors (3 and 4), with three donors and one acceptor (5) show enhanced charge transfer compared with tetra-donor (6) and tetra-acceptor (1) compounds. The redox peak reversibility depends on the number of peripheral donors and acceptors appended to tetrakis(ethynyl)pyrenes as well as on their substitution pattern as revealed by cyclic voltammetric studies. The photophysical and electrochemical properties of compounds 1–5 have been compared with compound (6) reported recently by J.-W. Oh et al. [Angew. Chem., Int. Ed.2009, 48, 2522–2524]. The density functional theory (DFT) based calculations such as spin density distribution (SDD) of cation/anion radicals, electrostatic potential (ESP) density distribution, non-adiabatic reduction potentials (NRP) for cation radicals, and vertical detachment energy (VDE) for anion radicals supported the experimental observations. The differences in oxidation peak reversibility for different substitution pattern have been rationalized by calculated static first hyperpolarizability (β). Our observations would be helpful in designing new ECL-active materials, where ECL (electrogenerated chemiluminescence) efficiency can be improved through improving radical stability.

The dominance of the US model of electioneering in many countries worldwide seems less obvious when it comes to e-campaigning and its consequent influence on electoral results. This article details present e-campaign practices in South Korea, probably the most wired (and wireless) country in the world. By examining a case study of the 2007 presidential primaries of the Grand National Party (GNP), the largest opposition party in the South Korean National Assembly, this article explores how the online political climate of the country has evolved since the 16th presidential election held in 2002, the result of which was widely regarded as an ‘Internet victory’. Based on the outcomes from webometrics, the study discusses the extent to which the candidates’ applications of their campaign websites shape and are shaped by offline political dynamics and their overall campaign strategies.

A growing literature suggests that the effect of the Internet on politics is mediated by pre-Internet conditions, such as the levels of democratic and economic development, particular institutional dynamics, and political culture. This article first examines how the former president of South Korea, Roh Moo-Hyun, and his supporters appropriated online technology to counterbalance the effects of the existing mass media and political elite during the Korean presidential election of 2002. It then seeks to establish a cultural perspective on the Internet to reveal the significance of media discourses in framing how the medium has been perceived in Korean society. Based on results from a keyword-in-context analysis of news headlines, the article compares the 2002 election, popularly dubbed the “Internet election,” with the election of December 2007, during which the Internet played a less important role. The influence of legal regulations governing electoral campaigning is also examined. The article ai...

Besides this sensory role,such molecular devices also have potential for informationprocessing since their emission can be switched between twodistinguishable states by environmental stimuli. As a result,much attention has been paid to the fluorometric sensing ofspecific molecule based on the host-guest interaction.

The chemistry of calixarenes, cyclic oligomers composed of phenolic and methylene moieties, has been extensively studied in recent years. The preorganized binding sites, easy derivatization and flexible three-dimensional steric structures make them perfect platforms for sensors to generate fluorescent receptors. Fluorescent chemosensors based on calix[4]arene framework and capability of selectively recognizing heavy metal ions and anions have been studied in fields of chemistry and biology. Calix[4]arenes as host molecules for anions or cations have been of particular interest for the following two different reactive sites: (1) phenolic OHs (lower rim) and (2) para positions (upper rim), which can be readily functionalized by various cation-ligating groups such as carboxylic acid, amide, and azacrown ether. In this paper, amide groups as a ligating site are known to capture cations through carbonyl oxygen atoms as well as anions through the hydrogen bonding between anion and the acidic hydrogen atoms on nitrogen atom of coumarin. Most calixarene-based fluorescence sensors have been designed to adopt a photophysical change upon cation or anion binding: PET (photo-induced electron transfer), PCT (photo-induced charge transfer), FRET (fluorescence resonance energy transfer), excimer/exciplex formation and extinction. Although an excimer emission from two facing pyrenes has been widely studied, an exciplex emission between pyrene and coumarin has been rarely observed. Here, we report an exciplex formation between pyrene as an electron donor and coumarin as an acceptor followed by disappearance of the exciplex upon the F binding which executes “Off” sensing. As shown in Scheme 1, reaction of 1 with 7-[N-(2bromoethyl)amino]-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin (4) and K2CO3 as a base in MeCN produces 2 in 75% yield. H NMR spectrum of 2 exhibits two doublets at 3.79 and 3.29 ppm in AB pattern with coupling constant of 13.14 Hz corresponding to protons of the methylene bridge and there is a peak at 31.3 ppm in the C NMR spectrum, suggesting that 2 be in the cone conformation. 2-(4-(Trifluoromethylcoumarin))-N-((1-pyrenyl)methyl)acetamide (3) as a refer

Novel calix[4]arene-based anion sensor 1 with two coumarin units attached via amido functions acting also as binding sites is presented. Complexation of F− by PCT-based 1 causes selectively red-shift in UV–vis absorption and in fluorescence emission due to H-bonding followed by deprotonation of NH-amide groups.

The aim of this research is to investigate the history of the public library movement and identify the achievements and limitation, finally looking for the significance and direction of the public library in the future. This research proves through the history of the public library movement that in the information era the public library can be one alternative in realizing the publicity and equality of knowledge and information of our society.

Thiacalixarenes, a subclass of "third generation" calixarenes, exhibit many interesting features such as enlarged ring size, facile chemical modification, and metal complexation due to the presence of bridging sulfur atoms. The thiacalixarene scaffold is a unique host with vast possibilities for functionalization not only at the upper and lower rim but also at the bridging sulfide groups. Modified thiacalixarenes have been used for many applications such as the detection and separation of biologically important cations, anions, and bio-analytes, mimicking molecular logic gates and devices, and synthesis of self-assembled coordination cages, multinuclear complexes, magnetic materials and luminescent materials. This review article summarizes recent developments in the derivatization methods of thiacalixarenes and their utilization in various applications.

We herein report a fluorescence probe 1 capable of detecting water-soluble oligomeric Aβ aggregates and Aβ fibrils. Upon injection into Aβ42-challenged mouse brains, probe 1 shows increased fluorescence intensity, indicating its facile binding to extracellular Aβ fibrils in brain tissues.

Thiacalixarenes, a subclass of "third generation" calixarenes, exhibit many interesting features such as enlarged ring size, facile chemical modification, and metal complexation due to the presence of bridging sulfur atoms. The thiacalixarene scaffold is a unique host with vast possibilities for functionalization not only at the upper and lower rim but also at the bridging sulfide groups. Modified thiacalixarenes have been used for many applications such as the detection and separation of biologically important cations, anions, and bio-analytes, mimicking molecular logic gates and devices, and synthesis of self-assembled coordination cages, multinuclear complexes, magnetic materials and luminescent materials. This review article summarizes recent developments in the derivatization methods of thiacalixarenes and their utilization in various applications.

A very generous donor: The electrochemiluminescence (ECL) efficiency and radical stability of pyrene, a poor ECL luminophore, are markedly improved as the number of peripheral multidonor units increased in a series of compounds (see picture). Photophysical and electrochemical studies and theoretical calculations have contributed to the understanding of the ECL enhancement, which is a step forward in the development of new light-emitting materials.

A series of pyrene derivatives having 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)phenylethynyl groups as the substituent (1-5) have been synthesized and their two-photon absorption properties were investigated. Comparison of two-photon cross section (delta(max)) with related compounds reveals that pyrene is as efficient a pi-center as anthracene in two-photon materials. Moreover, the two-photon cross section (delta(max)) increased with the number of substituents reaching at the maximum value of 1150 GM for the tetra-substituted derivative (5). Furthermore, the two-photon action cross section (Phi delta(max)) of 5 is comparable to that the most efficient two-photon materials. This result provides a useful guideline to the design of efficient two-photon materials bearing pyrene as a pi-center.

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the internal consistency and construct validity of a Korean version of the Caregiver Quality of Life Index - Cancer (CQOLC-K). Methods: The CQOLC-K was administered to 270 caregivers, along with the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Results: Internal consistency of the CQOLC-K (0.90) and all inter-scale correlations were significant in the expected direction (p < 0.001). Convergent validity was supported with moderate to strong correlations between the CQOLC-K and the mental component scores of the SF-36 (r = 0.39-0.58), and between the CQOLC-K and the two BDI scores (r = 0.50 and 0.60). Divergent validity was supported by weaker or negligible correlations between the CQOLC-K and the physical component scores of the SF-36 (r = 0.16-0.30). Contrasting groups validity showed that the CQOLC-K was able to distinguish clearly between patients differing in treatment history (p < 0.005), performance status (p < 0.005), care area (p < 0.005), and length of time after diagnosis (p < 0.005). Conclusion: These findings support the internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the Korean version of the CQOLC-K. The instrument can be used to measure quality of life in caregivers of cancer patients in clinical and epidemiological research.