A robust method for measurement of fluctuation parallel wavenumber in laboratory plasmas

Measuring the parallel wavenumber is fundamental for the experimental characterization of electrostatic instabilities. It becomes particularly important in toroidal geometry, where spatial inhomogeneities and curvature can excite both drift instabilities, whose wavenumber parallel to the magnetic field is finite, and interchange instabilities, which typically have vanishing parallel wavenumber. We demonstrate that multipoint measurements can provide a robust method for the discrimination between the two cases

The social costs of sounding gay: voice-based impressions of adoption applicants

In three studies (total N = 239) we examined the unexplored question of whether voice conveying sexual orientation elicits stigma and discrimination in the context of adoption. Studies 1 and 2 were conducted in Italy where same-sex adoption is illegal and controversial. Study 3 was conducted in the United Kingdom where same-sex adoption is legal and generally more accepted. The three studies show that listeners draw strong inferences from voice when judging hypothetical adoption seekers. Both Italian and British listeners judged gay-sounding speakers as warmer and as having better parenting skills, yet Italian participants consistently preferred straight over gay-sounding applicants, whereas British participants showed an opposite tendency, presumably reflecting the different normative context in the two countries. We conclude that vocal cues may have culturally distinct effects on judgment and decision making and that people with gay-sounding voices may face discrimination in adoption procedures in countries with antigay norms.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Predicting and changing attitudes toward same-gender parenting: Informational influence, parasocial contact, and religious fundamentalism

Attitudes toward same-gender parenting are of timely relevance, given increasing recognition of LGBTQ+ rights around the world. Two studies examined the influence of 2 predictors of attitudes toward same-gender parenting. The first was informational influence, which was manipulated via a newspaper-style article dispelling misconceptions about gender identity of children reared by same-gender parents. The second was social influence via parasocial contact measured as prior exposure to a same-gender adoptive parents TV show. Religious fundamentalism (RF) was assessed as an individual difference moderator of informational or social influence. Outcome variables were beliefs about same-gender parenting, perceived problems with same-gender parenting, and social distance from same-gender adoptive parents. We studied these relationships in Canada (Study 1, where same-gender couples’ adoption is legal) and in Italy (Study 2, where same-gender couples’ adoption is not legal). RF moderated the results of informational and social influence in the Canadian context, such that those high in RF tended to be favorably influenced. In Italy, results of informational influence were typically observed among those low in RF, and social influence directly predicted favorable attitudes toward same-gender parenting. Informational and social influence can improve attitudes toward same-gender parenting, but RF and legal/cultural context are also important to considerinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

“You Cannot Get into My Taxi!” Perceptions of a COVID-19-based rejection episode reported in the newspapers

COVID-19-related incidents of xenophobia have hit the headlines. We asked participants to read about a rejection episode targeting a foreigner and we manipulated whether the rejection was motivated by COVID-19 fears or by no specific reasons. In the COVID-19 condition, the perpetrator was perceived as moral but as experiencing shame and guilt, while the target was seen as experiencing social pain. Helping intentions were predicted by either the perceived victim's social pain or morality and blame associated with the perpetrator.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Stigmatization of 'gay-sounding' voices: The role of heterosexual, lesbian, and gay individuals' essentialist beliefs

Voice‐based sexual orientation (SO) judgements can prompt group‐based discrimination. However, the relationships between stigmatization and essentialist beliefs about vocal cues to SO have not been researched. Two studies examined heterosexuals’ and gay men’s and lesbian women’s essentialist beliefs about voice as a cue of SO to uncover essentialist beliefs’ role in the perpetration and experience of stigma. In Study 1 (N = 363), heterosexual participants believed voice was a better cue to SO for men than for women, and participants’ belief in the discreteness, immutability, and controllability of ‘gay‐sounding’ voices was correlated with higher avoidant discrimination towards gay‐sounding men. In Study 2 (N = 147), endorsement of essentialist beliefs about voice as a SO cue was associated with self‐perceptions of sounding gay amongst gay men and lesbians. Sexual minority participants, especially gay men, who believed that they sounded gay reported more anticipation of rejection and engaged in vigilance in response. Essentialist beliefs about vocal cues to SO are relevant to explaining both the perpetration of stigma by heterosexuals and the experience of stigma for lesbians and gay men

When characters impact on dubbing: the role of sexual stereotypes on voice actor/actress’ preferences

Dubbing is a procedure through which an original actor’s voice is replaced with that of a voice actor, usually speaking a different language. Dubbing is not only an adaptation to language but also to cultural beliefs. Across two studies, we analyzed how some Italian participants would prefer a television series’ character to sound. In Study 1, participants read a male/female character description that was manipulated according to gender and sexual stereotypes in order to be masculine, feminine, or gender-neutral. Next, participants were asked to indicate their preference for three voice actors/actresses who sounded heterosexual, gay/lesbian, or ambivalent. Study 2 tested the interplay between a character’s description and the voice of the English-speaking (gay/lesbian vs. heterosexual sounding) actor/actress who played the role in the original television series on dubbing preferences. The results of both studies showed that a character’s description affected dubbing preferences. Participants preferred the gay/lesbian-sounding voice actor/actress to the counter-stereotypical character (i.e., a feminine man or a masculine woman) and the heterosexual-sounding voice actor/actress to the stereotypical character. Interestingly, at least for male targets, the original actor’s voice itself affected the preference for voice actors in the same way. This work suggests that dubbing can maintain and reinforce stereotypes.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Who has a better auditory gaydar? Sexual orientation categorization by heterosexual and lesbian, gay and bisexual people

Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people are supposed to be better at gaydar than heterosexual. Across two studies we examined auditory gaydar performed by LGB and heterosexual listeners. In Study 1 participants (n = 127) listened to male and female speakers (n = 10) and judged their sexual orientation on a binary choice (gay/lesbian vs. heterosexual). In Study 2, participants (n = 192) judged speakers’ (n = 31) sexual orientation on a Kinsey-like scale (1 = exclusively heterosexual, 7 = exclusively gay/lesbian). Results showed gaydar judgments differences in relative terms that did not indicate an overall gaydar accuracy. Moreover, LGB participants were not better at gaydar than heterosexual participants but rather showed a shift in criterion when making auditory gaydar judgments, namely they report a weaker straight categorization bias. Overall, these findings contribute to the understanding of sexual orientation categorization among heterosexual majority and LGB minority groups.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Turbulence driven particle transport in Texas Helimak

We analyze the turbulence driven particle transport in Texas Helimak (K. W. Gentle and Huang He, Plasma Sci. and Technology, 10, 284 (2008)), a toroidal plasma device with one-dimensional equilibrium with magnetic curvature and shear. Alterations on the radial electric field, through an external voltage bias, change spectral plasma characteristics inducing a dominant frequency for negative bias values and a broad band frequency spectrum for positive bias values. For negative biased plasma discharges, the transport is high where the waves propagate with phase velocities near the plasma flow velocity, an indication that the transport is strongly affected by a wave particle resonant interaction. On the other hand, for positive bias the plasma has a reversed shear flow and we observe that the transport is almost zero in the shearless radial region, an evidence of a transport barrier in this region.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figure

Overview of TCV Results

The Tokamak `a Configuration Variable , TCV, addresses scientific questions to improve our understanding of magnetically confined plasmas and our ability to control them in ITER relevant scenarios, and explores avenues to improve the plasma performance on the way to a conceptual fusion power plant that cannot necessarily be investigated in ITER. The unique flexibility of its shaping and control systems is matched by that of its Electron Cyclotron Heating (ECH) and current drive (ECCD) systems. These include 3 MW from six 82.7 GHz gyrotrons used at the second harmonic in X-mode (X2), and 1.5 MW from three gyrotrons at 118 GHz (X3). This overview highlights the progress accomplished on TCV during the 2004–2006 campaigns, focussed on five main themes: 1) particle, energy and momentum transport in shaped plasmas, investigated over a large range of normalized temperature gradients and including peaked density profiles measured even in the absence of a Ware pinch or a core particle source; 2) plasma edge physics, addressing the question of the origin of anomalous cross-field transport in the SOL; 3) H-mode physics under strong electron heating at reactor relevant beta, e.g. using third harmonic X3 heating (1.5 MW); 4) ECH and ECCD physics, including phase space fast electron transport and electron Bernstein wave heating, demonstrated in the O-X-B scheme; 5) physics of improved steady-state tokamak regimes with internal transport barriers, with or without inductive currents, and with large (over 70%) bootstrap current fractions, confirming the key role of the current profile in the transition to improved confinement and the necessity of a negative core magnetic shear for obtaining eITBs

Voice changes meaning: the role of gay- versus straight-sounding voices in sentence interpretation

Utterances reveal not only semantic information but also information about the speaker’s social category membership, including sexual orientation. In four studies (N = 345), we investigated how the meaning of what is being said changes as a function of the speaker’s voice. In Studies 1a/1b, gay- and straight-sounding voices uttered the same sentences. Listeners indicated the likelihood that the speaker was referring to one among two target objects varying along gender-stereotypical characteristics. Listeners envisaged a more “feminine” object when the sentence was uttered by a gay-sounding speaker, and a more “masculine” object when the speaker sounded heterosexual. In Studies 2a/2b, listeners were asked to disambiguate sentences that involved a stereotypical behavior and were open to different interpretations. Listeners disambiguated the sentences by interpreting the action in relation to sexual-orientation information conveyed by voice. Results show that the speaker’s voice changes the subjective meaning of sentences, aligning it to gender-stereotypical expectations.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio