Parasocial Romances as Infidelity: Comparing Perceptions of Real-Life, Online, and Parasocial Extradyadic Relationships

Parasocial relationships are perceived friendships with media figures that are not reciprocated (Horton and Wohl 1956). Although parasocial relationships can be romantic (Adam and Sizemore 2013), it is unclear whether parasocial romances are perceived as infidelity. In this study, we compared men’s and women’s perceptions of offline, online, and parasocial extradyadic behavior. The sample included 188 undergraduate college students, who were administered one of three versions of a two-sentence story prompt about a couple in which one partner is involved in either an offline, online, or parasocial relationship. The participants were asked to write a brief story based on the prompt. Stories were content-analyzed for whether the behavior was seen as betrayal, reasons why it was or was not seen as such, and the impact on the couple’s relationship. The majority of participants in the parasocial condition identified the parasocial relationship as an act of betrayal, although this percentage was smaller compared to the offline and online conditions. The majority of participants in this condition also described the “victim” as being hurt or upset by the behavior. These results indicate that even parasocial extradyadic relationships may have negative consequences on real-life relationships

The Bystander Effect in Non-Emergency Situations: Influence of Gender and Group Size

Although research on the bystander effect spans 50 years, the influence of some variables on prosocial behavior are still unclear. In a field experiment, I tried to replicate the basic bystander effect in three non-emergency situations, and studied the impact of bystander and “victim” gender on helping behavior. I successfully replicated the basic bystander effect; bystanders who were alone were significantly more likely to help than bystanders with one or more than one companion. In addition, when people noticed the need for help, a male and a female confederate were helped equally as often. Finally, women were more likely to help both confederates than men, but that men were more likely to help the female confederate than the male confederate

Race and Racism in the Historical Imagination: Slavery and Civil Rights in Popular Culture

Because Hollywood films often lack black representation, films on slavery and civil rights often fail to recognize the roles that black Americans have played in their own emancipation from slavery and in the civil rights movement. Our contention is that historically inaccurate films perpetuate inaccurate understandings of Black history and thus inform contemporary race relations. We selected a more and a less accurate film about slavery and about the civil rights movement, discussing these four films in terms of their historical context. We also conducted an experiment. After watching one of the four movies, or after viewing no movie, participants answered questions about their perceptions of slavery or the civil rights movement. Our hypotheses were that films with inaccurate depictions of race would (1) encourage viewers to believe that white Americans were the primary actors in emancipation and civil rights, (2) promote the idea that white America has progressed beyond problems of racism, and (3) reinforce the postracial colorblind complex that views racism as a black American problem. Less-accurate movies resulted in less-accurate knowledge about these eras. More-accurate movies left viewers with a greater perception of black empowerment

Perceived marginalization, social support, and mental health: The role of parasocial relationships

The purpose of the current study was to extend previous research (Woznicki et al., 2020) to see if parasocial relationships (PSRs) with figures from various social media platforms might be beneficial for those lower in real-life social support. We predicted that there would be a negative relationship between social support and perceptions of marginalization, loneliness, and depression, but that for people who perceived themselves as marginalized, the relationship between social support and loneliness would change depending on the strength of their PSR. In this correlational study, 135 participants took an online Qualtrics survey which assessed social media use, PSR strength, perceived social support, loneliness, depression, and perception of marginalization. Most hypotheses were supported. Participants who perceived less social support reported more loneliness, and people who perceived themselves as more marginalized reported greater feelings of loneliness and depression. Finally, marginalized participants with stronger romantic parasocial feelings were less lonely than participants with weaker romantic parasocial feelings when perceived social support was low. These results support previous research that indicate that parasocial relationships formed via social media may serve a valuable function for people dealing with lack of social support in their offline lives

Multivalent Recognition of Peptides by Modular Self-Assembled Receptors

Developing nontraditional approaches to the synthesis and characterization of multivalent compounds is critical to our efforts to study and interface with biological systems and to build new noncovalent materials. This paper demonstrates a biomimetic approach to the construction of discrete, modular, multivalent receptors via molecular self-assembly in aqueous solution. Scaffolds presenting 1−3 viologen groups recruit a respective 1−3 copies of the synthetic host, cucurbit[8]uril, in a noncooperative manner and with a consistent equilibrium association constant (Ka) value of 2 × 106 M−1 per binding site. The assembled mono-, di-, and trivalent receptors bind to their cognate target peptides containing 1−3 Trp residues with Ka values in the range 1.7 × 104−4.7 × 106 M−1 and in predetermined mono- or multivalent binding modes with 31−280-fold enhancements in affinity and additive enthalpies due to multivalency. The extent of valency was determined directly by measuring the visible charge-transfer absorptivity due to the viologen−indole pair. The predictable behavior of this system and its ease of synthesis and analysis make it well suited to serve as a model for multivalent binding and for the multivalent recognition of peptides by design

Teacher Educator Identity in a Culture of Iterative Teacher Education Program Design: A Collaborative Self-Study

Faculty in the School of Education at our institution have collaborated to re-envision teacher education at our university. A complex, dynamic, time-consuming and sometimes painstaking process, redesigning a teacher education program from a traditional approach (i.e., where courses focus primarily on theoretical principles of practice through textbooks and University-based classroom discussions), to a model of teacher education that embraces teaching, learning and leading with schools and in communities is challenging, yet exciting work. Little is known about teacher educators’ experiences as they either design or deliver collaborative field-based models of teacher education. In this article, we examine our experiences in the second implementation year of our redesigned teacher education program, Teaching, Learning, and Leading with Schools and Communities (TLLSC) and how these unique experiences inform our teacher educator identities. Through a collaborative self-study, we sought to make meaning of our transformation from a faculty delivering a traditional model to educators collectively implementing a field-based model, by analyzing the diverse perspectives of faculty at different entry points in the TLLSC development and implementation process. We found that our participation in an intensive field-based teacher preparation model challenged our notions of teacher educator identity. In a culture of iterative program design this study documents the personal and professional shifts in identity required to accomplish this collaborative and dynamic change in approach to teacher education

Nitric Oxide-Releasing Nanoparticles Prevent Propionibacterium acnes-Induced Inflammation by Both Clearing the Organism and Inhibiting Microbial Stimulation of the Innate Immune Response.

Propionibacterium acnes induction of IL-1 cytokines through the NLRP3 (NLR, nucleotide oligomerization domain-like receptor) inflammasome was recently highlighted as a dominant etiological factor for acne vulgaris. Therefore, therapeutics targeting both the stimulus and the cascade would be ideal. Nitric oxide (NO), a potent biological messenger, has documented broad-spectrum antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties. To harness these characteristics to target acne, we used an established nanotechnology capable of generating/releasing NO over time (NO-np). P. acnes was found to be highly sensitive to all concentrations of NO-np tested, although human keratinocyte, monocyte, and embryonic zebra fish assays revealed no cytotoxicity. NO-np significantly suppressed IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IL-8, and IL-6 from human monocytes, and IL-8 and IL-6 from human keratinocytes, respectively. Importantly, silencing of NLRP3 expression by small interfering RNA did not limit NO-np inhibition of IL-1 β secretion from monocytes, and neither TNF-α nor IL-6 secretion, nor inhibition by NO-np was found to be dependent on this pathway. The observed mechanism by which NO-np impacts IL-1β secretion was through inhibition of caspase-1 and IL-1β gene expression. Together, these data suggest that NO-np can effectively prevent P. acnes-induced inflammation by both clearing the organism and inhibiting microbial stimulation of the innate immune response

Economic Opportunities in Scotland's Net Zero and Climate Adaption Economy

This report seeks to address the research gap around the associated opportunities for both: the Scottish Government’s ability to achieve its climate and adaptation targets, as well as its ambitions for economic prosperity, jobs, trade and investment. While the economic opportunities for Scotland are reflected in relevant policies and strategies, this report provides a deeper and more consistent understanding of the specific nature of those economic opportunities with view to focusing effective interventions and investment

Economic Opportunities in Scotland’s Net Zero and Climate Adaption Economy

This report seeks to address the research gap around the associated opportunities for both: the Scottish Government’s ability to achieve its climate and adaptation targets, as well as its ambitions for economic prosperity, jobs, trade and investment. While the economic opportunities for Scotland are reflected in relevant policies and strategies, this report provides a deeper and more consistent understanding of the specific nature of those economic opportunities with view to focusing effective interventions and investment