Distribution of Household Wealth in the U.S.: 2000 to 2011

[Excerpt] Household net worth, or wealth, is an important indicator of economic well-being in the United States. Median household net worth decreased by $5,046, or 6.8 percent, between 2000 and 2011. The types of assets that households hold may vary across the net worth distribution. Therefore, dividing the overall net worth distribution into equal parts (e.g., by quintile) can provide additional insights into the well-being of each segment of that distribution. Given that business cycle changes over time may have a differential impact on the wealth of different groups, it can also facilitate analysis of how this well-being changes for different types of households over time

From Placebo to self-help: Investigating retention, outcome and mechanisms in self-directed gratitude interventions

The research presented in this thesis explored unguided self-help therapy, primarily using a gratitude technique. Psychological mechanisms that underlie the placebo response may also play a primary role in beneficial response to unguided selfhelp therapy. Retention (whether participants completed the intervention), outcome (whether the technique effectively reduced symptoms), and mechanisms (the psychological processes which antecede outcome and retention), were investigated with participants engaging in procedures to improve a diverse range of symptoms, namely, mood, sleep disturbance, body dissatisfaction, depression and anxiety. Studies one and two investigated the role of two placebo mechanisms, response expectancy and motivational concordance, as predictors of outcome following a gratitude technique. Response expectancy contributed to outcome to a greater extent in a laboratory setting, whereas motivational concordance explained greater outcome variance in a real-world setting. Studies three, four and five compared a gratitude technique to a problemfocused technique and a wait list control. Across all three studies, being randomly allocated to a gratitude technique resulted in greater retention than being a llocated to a problem-focused technique. Use of a gratitude technique resulted in equivalent significant reductions in body dissatisfaction (Study three), depression (Study four) and worry (Study five), compared to a problem-focused cognitive restructuring technique, and was significantly more effective than being on a waitlist in all three studies. There was some evidence that different mechanisms affect outcome and retention. Placebo theory and the contextual model of psychotherapy provide useful insight into the factors that affect outcome and retention in self-help therapy

Chemical Bonds and Spin State Splittings in Spin Crossover Complexes. A DFT and QTAIM Analysis

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been performed for the high-spin (HS) and low-spin (LS) isomers of a series of iron(II) spin crossover complexes with nitrogen ligands. The calculated charge densities have been analyzed in the framework of the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM). For a number of iron(II) complexes with substituted tris(pyrazolyl) ligands the energy difference between HS and LS isomers, the spin state splitting, has been decomposed into atomic contributions in order to rationalize changes of the spin state splitting due to substituent effects

Focus on nonlinear terahertz studies

Resulting from the availability of improved sources, research in the terahertz (THz) spectral range has increased dramatically over the last decade, leading essentially to the disappearance of the so-called 'THz gap'. While most work to date has been carried out with THz radiation of low field amplitude, a growing number of experiments are using THz radiation with large electric and magnetic fields that induce nonlinearities in the system under study. This 'focus on' collection contains a number of articles, both experimental and theoretical, in the new subfield of THz nonlinear optics and spectroscopy on various systems, among them molecular gases, superconductors, semiconductors, antiferromagnets and graphene

Intrafeather and Intraindividual Variation in the Stable-Hydrogen Isotope (δD) Content of Raptor Feathers

Stable-hydrogen isotope ratios (deuterium:protium; δD) in feathers enable researchers to evaluate patterns of avian movement and to estimate the source areas of migratory birds. However, variation in feather δD remains inadequately described, thus confounding inferences of avian movement and origin. We assessed variation within a feather and among feathers within and between tracts in three species of immature raptors. Within contour feathers, measurements of δD increased from a distal section to an adjacent, proximal section; the magnitude of δD increase varied with raptor species. Furthermore, contour and flight feathers differed systematically in their δD content. Two explanations for intrafeather and intraindividual variation warrant further investigation: (1) hydrogen isotope fractionation associated with feather growth rate, and (2) the incorporation of temporal variation in environmental δD into growing feathers. We consider these explanations for raptors and passerines, which seemingly differ in the incorporation of deuterium into feathers. Additionally, corresponding sections of multiple contour feathers exhibited better measurement repeatability than multiple sections within a contour feather; the variability of multiple δD measurements within a feather tract (geometric SD: ±3.5%) suggests that biological effects on the repeatability of δD measurements from concurrently grown feather material are difficult to distinguish from analytical effects. In most cases, intrafeather and intraindividual variation can be minimized by informed sample selection decisions, but both sources of variation must be considered when stable-hydrogen isotopes are used to infer the geographic origins of migrants, ascertain migratory connectivity, and facilitate avian conservation decisions

Przeciwdziałanie przemocy wobec osób starszych. Propozycja modelowego rozwiązania.

The article presents a comprehensive system of prevention of violence against the elderly people, which includes four integrally connected areas: education, mass media, the state and the law. The fifth component is science (research, diagnosis, surveys, concepts, paradigms and theories) which can be a kind of a staple binding together the items of prophylaxis mentioned above. The knight-errant syndrome is also discussed, when sincere intentions to help can turn against the harmed person. Therefore, while seeking preventive action to eliminate violence against the elderly from family and/or public life, one should be aware of the aforementioned syndrome so as not to worsen the situation of the victims of violence.Artykuł prezentuje kompleksowy system prewencji przemocy wobec osób starszych, obejmujący cztery integralnie związane ze sobą obszary: edukację, mass media, państwo i prawo. Piątą składową jest nauka (badania, diagnozy, sondaże, koncepcje, paradygmaty oraz teorie), która może stanowić swego rodzaju klamrę spinającą wyróżnione elementy profilaktyki. Omówiono też syndrom błędnego rycerza, kiedy to szczere chęci pomocy mogą obracać się przeciw osobie pokrzywdzonej. Poszukując zatem profilaktycznych działań eliminujących z życia rodzinnego i/lub społecznego przemoc wobec osób starszych, należy mieć na uwadze wspomniany syndrom, by nie pogorszyć sytuacji ofiar przemocy

Patrząc na starość, gdy Bóg się uśmiecha...

The aim of the paper is to describe the phenomenon of duality of old age. The author shows the most important lights and shadows of this period of life. He refers to his own studies and compares them with the research carried out by the Centre for Public Opinion Research.Celem szkicu jest analiza zjawiska dwoistości starości. Autor ukazuje najważniejsze blaski i cienie tego okresu życia, odwołując się do badań własnych i porównując je z badaniami przeprowadzonymi przez Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej