Social Signals for Change: Examining the Role of Interpersonal Communication for Positive Ecological Progress

It perhaps goes without saying that society is collectively failing to meet the challenges posed by climate change and natural resource management, among other issues. Stagnated efforts may in part be driven by social processes that have been shown to shape whether, how, and to what extent individuals engage with environmental issues. In light of these stalled efforts to advance positive change, there is a pressing need to broaden our understanding of the normative processes that support the formation and maintenance of situation-appropriate social norms. In this dissertation, I integrate research from various fields to explore the role of interpersonal communication as an underutilized application of social influence and its capacity to support widespread cooperation. Specifically, I focus on what drives individuals to intentionally communicate with others across different domain-specific issues as well as examine existing norms concerning angling behavior and the use of increasingly popular mediums and channels of communication, such as photographs shared on social media. In Chapter II ( A Few Bad Apples or Rotten to the Core ), I reveal how variation in consumers\u27 attribution of blame, either to a handful of individuals or else corrupt corporate culture, drives responses to unethical environmental corporate wrongdoing, including engagement in word-of-mouth behavior (e.g., badmouthing). In Chapter III ( Peer Pressure on the Riverbank ), I show how efficacy beliefs and reputation concerns predict recreational anglers\u27 willingness to impose social sanctions on others\u27 inappropriate behavior. In Chapter IV ( Fishing for a Photograph ), I reveal how individuals misperceive prevailing norms relative to catch-and-release handling practices. Finally, in Chapter V ( Communicating for Conservation ), I provide a theoretical and empirical overview of interpersonal communication concerning environmental collective action problems, categorize the normative nature and implications of information exchanged during a conversation, and suggest application insights for conservation managers and practitioners. Collectively, these chapters shed light on some of the factors that shape individuals\u27 willingness to communicate with others and how social norms are created, maintained, and circulated through interpersonal interactions. This dissertation contains both previously published work (Chapters II, III are co-authored publications) and unpublished material (Chapter IV, Chapter V)

Synthesis and characterisation of a series of novel mononuclear and surface active dinuclear ruthenium (II) and osmium (II) polypyridyl complexes

The synthesis, spectroscopic and electrochemical characterisation of a series of mononuclear and dinuclear ruthenium (II) and osmium (II) complexes is described. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the area of supramolecular chemistry. The complex [Ru(bpy)3]2 , the parent complex of modem supramolecular chemistry is also introduced. Chapter 2 is a general introduction to the physical measurements of the complexes which have been synthesised. The techniques of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), UV/Visible spectroscopy, fluorimetry, spectroelectrochemistry and electrochemistry are all briefly described to provide an insight into the application of these techniques later in the thesis. Chapter 3 provides an introduction to the ligands used to synthesise the complexes described in Chapters 3, 4 and 5. The ligands all contain a fused 5 and 6 membered ring, with the 5 membered ring having an imidazo-type functionality in the case of all the ligands with the exception of one, where the 5 membered ring contains a third nitrogen and becomes a triazotype system. The ’H NMR spectra of the ligands have been assigned where possible, and die photophysics and electro chemistry of the free ligands are discussed. The synthesis of a series of novel ruthenium(II) mononuclear complexes, [Ru(bpy)2(LL)j2 is described as is the synthesis of several deuleraled analogues, [Ruic/s-bpyMLL)]2'. The characterisation of these complexes by X-Ray Crystallography and *H NMR is discussed with an isomerisation effect being discussed in detail using analysis from ’H NMR and HPLC experiments. The characterisation of the complexes is completed with an examination of the photophysical, photochemical and electrochemical properties. Chapter 4 is structured similarly. The synthesis of the osmium(II) bipyridyl complexes using the ligands discussed in Chapter 3 is described. The same isomerisation effect appears for several of the ligands and is again discussed in detail. Again, the characterisation of the complexes is completed with an examination of the photophysical, photochemical and electrochemical properties. The LL7 ligand is used to synthesise a ruthenium(II) monomer as well as a series of homonuclear and heteronuclear ruthenium(II) and osmium(n) dimers. The deuterated analogues of the Ru-Ru homonuclear dimer has also been synthesised. These complexes provide the material for discussion in Chapter 5. The photophysical and electrochemical examination of this series of complexes indicates that little or no communication exists between the metal centres, even in the case of the mixed-metal complex. The spectroelectrochemistry of the complexes agree with this supposition. Chapter 6 introduces a different type of complex and a detailed survey of previous work in this area using the bridging ligands 4,4’bipyridyl, P2P, P3P and PEP precedes the discussion of the synthesis and characterisation of the series of mononuclear ruthenium(II) and osmium(II) complexes. It proved important to understand the properties of these compounds as these monomeric species provide the starting material for the synthesis of the series of dimers discussed in Chapter 7. The synthesis and spectroscopic behaviour of this series of dinuclear complexes is presented. The dinuclear complexes have been synthesised with the intention of attaching them to surfaces. This is described for one of the complexes and a brief examination of the behaviour of the complex confined to a surface is performed. The final chapter, Chapter 8 provides a conclusion to the work carried out on the two projects that make up this thesis. The chapter also suggests further work, which may be carried out in future studies

Synthesis of styrene and acrylic emulsion polymer systems by semi-continuous seeded polymerization processes

The synthesis of monodisperse styrene and acrylic core-shell polymer particles by semi-continuous seeded emulsion polymerization processes was investigated. 120 and 140 nm homopoly(styrene) seed particles were made for each batch and monodisperse 300 and 400 nm core-shell particles were synthesized therefrom. Divinylbenzene and poly(dimethylsiloxane) were compositional variables that were studied as part of the synthesis. The addition of DVB significantly increased the gel content of the particles. The incorporation of poly(dimethylsilocane) appeared to plasticize the particles. The particle size, morphology, surface charge, molecular weight, percent gel content, and glass transition characteristics of the particles were evaluated. It was found that the surface charge of the particles was affected by increasing particle size and by incorporating poly(dimethylsiloxane) or acrylic functionality in the shell

Elder Abuse: More Is Expected Unless Society and Newspapers Intervene

Elder abuse is a social illness of epidemic proportions in the United States and older Americans constitute one of the largest age groups in the nation. Ironically, there exists no comprehensive scientific study on the national incidence or prevalence of elder abuse in both institutional and domestic settings. However, state-based studies conducted over more than two decades show rampant elder abuse is a fact. Many factors contribute to the lack of research on a national scale including victims\u27 underreporting of abuse for fear of retaliation. Lack of strong federal oversight of inconsistent, state-based laws and investigative procedures as well as widely varying definitions of what constitutes abuse or neglect are other key factor s. In addition, researchers report a youth-oriented American culture dangerously discriminates against the old and this attitude contributes to the dehumanizing of older people. Academic and professional journals discuss elder abuse from many angles, and elder advocates publish information about the abuse of elders and urge communities to prevent abuse, but few if any point to mass media\u27s role, particularly newspapers, in increasing public awareness of the problem. The purpose of this study is to attempt to explain the complex and pervasive phenomenon of elder abuse, to show newspapers in particular do little to expose it and thus contribute to it, and to suggest what society and newspapers should do to prevent elder abuse. Further, this study contributes to the body of research aimed at informing the public about elder abuse by explaining conditions in society that mitigate violence against old people, inspiring other researchers to accelerate investigations of it, and strongly suggesting newspapers expose and explain the daily reality and horror of elder abuse

Modulation of internuclear communication in multinuclear Ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes

The syntheses and characterisation of a series of mononuclear and dinuclear ruthenium polypyridyl complexes based on the bridging ligands 1,3-bis-[5-(2-pyridyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl]benzene, 1,4-bis-[5-(2-pyridyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl]benzene, 2,5-bis-[5-(2-pyridyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl]thiophene, 2,5-bis-[5-pyrazinyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl]thiophene are reported. Electrochemical studies indicate that in these systems, the ground state interaction is critically dependent on the nature of the bridging ligand and its protonation state, with strong and weak interactions being observed for thiophene- and phenylene-bridged complexes, respectively