8,721 research outputs found
The resonance-dissonance framework of environmental perception : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
Theorising and research in the field of environmental psychology has been dominated by two different schools of thought. The cognitive approach emphasises the primacy of cognitive processes on preference judgements between various types of environments and on the restorative effect of nature on humans. The competing psycho-evolutionary approach emphasises the primacy of affect. This theoretical fragmentation has contributed to environmental psychology's conceptual isolation in respect to its potential significance for other psychological sub-disciplines. This thesis proposes a new theoretical account, the "Resonance-Dissonance" (RD) framework of environmental perception, which provides a unifying framework for hitherto competing approaches in environmental psychology. It also seeks to contribute towards building and strengthening the tenuous or missing conceptual links between environmental psychology and other psychological sub-fields. A series of interlocking concepts, which bind together aspects of the relationship between perceivers and their immediate physical surroundings, is proposed to achieve this theoretical integration. Innate and culturally shaped needs and wants, in the form of mental structures providing reference patterns, are conceptualised as a fundamental aspect of the relationship between individual and environment. If the environment is appraised as having the agency to meet these needs, a state of resonance in the form of positive affect and cognitions ensues. Conversely, if the environment is appraised as not having this agency, a state of dissonance in the form of negative affect and cognitions emerges. These perceptually based cognitive-affective states are conceptualised to influence cognitions, emotions, behaviour, and physiology of the individual. Preference judgements and psycho-physiological restorative effects, as the main areas of theorising and research in environmental psychology, will be addressed. Possible theoretical implications, as well as practical applications, of the proposed RD framework on other psychological sub-fields are outlined and a tentative research programme is suggested
Gamma-ray spectroscopy: The diffuse galactic glow
The goal of this project is the development of a numerical code that provides statistical models of the sky distribution of gamma-ray lines due to the production of radioactive isotopes by ongoing Galactic nucleosynthesis. We are particularly interested in quasi-steady emission from novae, supernovae, and stellar winds, but continuum radiation and transient sources must also be considered. We have made significant progress during the first half period of this project and expect the timely completion of a code that can be applied to Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (OSSE) Galactic plane survey data
Isolation and Characterization of a Cellular Protein-Lipid Complex from Ascites Fluid Caused by Various Neoplasms
High concentrations of lipids in ascites fluid caused by peritoneal carcinomatosis have been described recently. Since their nature has not yet been clarified, we isolated ascitic lipids from 25 patients with various neoplasms for further characterization. After chromatography on Sephadex G-100 gels, the ascitic lipids were fractionated on a Biogel A-5m column in three peaks. The second and third peaks were identified as low and high density lipoproteins, which were most likely of plasmatic origin, and represented the major amounts of ascitic lipids. The first peak was eluted in the void volume, indicating a molecular weight over 5 million. It consisted, on the average, of 65.3% protein, 16.2% triglycerides, 7.4% phospholipids, and 7.0% cholesterol. In a CsCl gradient, this protein-lipid complex floated in the density range from 1.128 to 1.181 g/ml. Sodium dodecyl sulfate: polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis separated up to 11 protein subunits (Mr 29,000 to 97,000), and electron microscopy revealed globular particles of 36 to 64 nm in diameter. The macromolecular complex showed no immunological reaction against anti-{alpha}- and anti-ß-lipoproteins, but a single precipitation line against anti-liver-specific lipoprotein was seen.
The biochemical characteristics of this protein-lipid complex proved to have a close relationship to liver-specific lipoprotein. It is most likely derived from cell membranes of the peritoneum detached by carcinomatosis
Thin current sheets caused by plasma flow gradients in space and astrophysical plasma
Strong gradients in plasma flows play a major role in space and astrophysical
plasmas. A typical situation is that a static plasma equilibrium is surrounded
by a plasma flow, which can lead to strong plasma flow gradients at the
separatrices between field lines with different magnetic topologies, e.g.,
planetary magnetospheres, helmet streamers in the solar corona, or at the
boundary between the heliosphere and interstellar medium. Within this work we
make a first step to understand the influence of these flows towards the
occurrence of current sheets in a stationary state situation. We concentrate
here on incompressible plasma flows and 2D equilibria, which allow us to find
analytic solutions of the stationary magnetohydrodynamics equations (SMHD).
First we solve the magnetohydrostatic (MHS) equations with the help of a
Grad-Shafranov equation and then we transform these static equilibria into a
stationary state with plasma flow. We are in particular interested to study
SMHD-equilibria with strong plasma flow gradients perpendicular to
separatrices. We find that induced thin current sheets occur naturally in such
situations. The strength of the induced currents depend on the Alfv\'en Mach
number and its gradient, and on the magnetic field.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, published in Annales Geophysica
Fermi Large Area Telescope Observations of the Fast-dimming Crab Nebula in 60-600 MeV
Context: The Crab pulsar and its nebula are the origin of relativistic
electrons which can be observed through their synchrotron and inverse Compton
emission. The transition between synchrotron-dominated and
inverse-Compton-dominated emissions takes place at eV. Aims: The
short-term (weeks to months) flux variability of the synchrotron emission from
the most energetic electrons is investigated with data from ten years of
observations with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) in the energy range from
60 MeV to 600 MeV. Methods: The off-pulse light-curve has been reconstructed
from phase-resolved data. The corresponding histogram of flux measurements is
used to identify distributions of flux-states and the statistical significance
of a lower-flux component is estimated with dedicated simulations of mock
light-curves. The energy spectra for different flux states are reconstructed.
Results: We confirm the presence of flaring-states which follow a log-normal
flux distribution. Additionally, we discover a low-flux state where the flux
drops to as low as 18.4% of the intermediate-state average flux and stays there
for several weeks. The transition time is observed to be as short as 2 days.
The energy spectrum during the low-flux state resembles the extrapolation of
the inverse-Compton spectrum measured at energies beyond several GeV energy,
implying that the high-energy part of the synchrotron emission is dramatically
depressed. Conclusions: The low-flux state found here and the transition time
of at most 10 days indicate that the bulk (%) of the synchrotron emission
above eV originates in a compact volume with apparent angular size of
. We tentatively infer that
the so-called inner knot feature is the origin of the bulk of the -ray
emission.Comment: Accepted by A&A on 05.05.2020; Original version submitted on
19.09.201
Properties of GRB Host Galaxies
The transients following GRB970228 and GRB970508 showed that these (and
probably all) GRBs are cosmological. However, the host galaxies expected to be
associated with these and other bursts are largely absent, indicating that
either bursts are further than expected or the host galaxies are underluminous.
This apparent discrepancy does not invalidate the cosmological hypothesis, but
instead host galaxy observations can test more sophisticated models.Comment: 5 pages, AIPPROC LaTeX, to appear in "Gamma-Ray Bursts, 4th
Huntsville Symposium," eds. C. Meegan, R. Preece and T. Koshu
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