The Role of Narcissism on Concerns for SNS Privacy: Vulnerable Narcissism in Threatening Situations

This study aims to identify psychological factors that predict one\u27s likelihood to disengage with privacy-threatening activities on Social Networking Sites (SNS). Particularly, it pays special attention to the concept of narcissism and its impact on one\u27s response to SNS privacy-threatening situations. By evaluating narcissism in two different ways --- grandiose and vulnerable --- the study attempts to provide a better understanding of the role of narcissism in SNS usage and concerns over privacy issues. Study I shows that vulnerable narcissism has a significant influence on consumers\u27 likelihood of disengaging with privacy-threatening activities on SNS while grandiose narcissism has no influence. Self-esteem, computer anxiety, and concern for information privacy also have significant influence on consumers\u27 responses to privacy-threatening events on SNS. Study II further suggests that when people experience interpersonal rejection threats on SNS, the effect of vulnerable narcissism on one\u27s intention to disengage with privacy-threatening activity is largely attenuated. The findings from two studies offer insight into the psychological process by which narcissism influences privacy concerns over SNS in both macro and micro levels

Comparisons of agronomic traits in the initial and advanced cycles of IAP3BR(M) random-mating grain sorghum population

The random-mating sorghum Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench population IAP3BR(M) was constituted in 1976 by crossing 30 large-seeded grain sorghum lines onto IAP1R(M)Cl. Half-sib (HS) bulk populations from selection cycles 1, 2, 3, and 4 along with S(,1) bulks from cycles 0, 2, 3, and 4 were evaluated in Experiment I. Sixty S(,1) families chosen randomly from both the initial (C0) and the fourth (C4) cycle of the population were evaluated in Experiment II. Both experiments were grown in two years near Ames, Beaconsfield, and Sutherland, Iowa;Four cycles of gridded mass selection for heavy 100-seed weight increased mean 100-seed weight, days to midbloom, plant height, and openness of panicle, while decreasing mean grain yield, seeds/panicle and panicles/plant. Estimates of the genotypic variance among S(,1) families were not significantly different in the C0 and C4 for 100-seed weight, seeds/panicle, and plant height, but they decreased for panicles/plant and increased for grain yield, days to midbloom, and panicle type. Means and ranges among genotypes indicated the population should be useful as a germplasm source for large-seeded genotypes with a diversity of agronomic characters;Estimates of inbreeding depression at 100% homozygosity were significant (P \u3c 0.05) only for grain yield (-29.6%). The estimates for 100-seed weight (-14.0%), seeds/panicle (-10.2%), and plant height (-22.7%) were not statistically significant;Heritability of 100-seed weight on a progeny mean basis decreased slightly from the C0 to C4 (0.90 vs 0.85). Individual plant estimates of the heritability of 100-seed weight in the C0 (0.35) and C4 (0.39) were higher than the realized heritability (0.14);Phenotypic correlations between 100-seed weight and grain yield decreased from the C0 to C4 (0.33 vs. 0.06). The correlations between 100-seed weight and seeds/panicle were strong in both cycles (-0.72 and -0.78);Gridded mass selection was effective for increasing 100-seed weight, but S(,1) family testing seems necessary for obtaining the greatest gains in grain yield. The results indicate that continued selection for 100-seed weight in IAP3BR(M) would not produce appreciable increases in grain yield

Surface analysis of model systems: from a metal-graphite interface to an intermetallic catalyst

This thesis summarizes research completed on two different model systems. In the first system, we investigate the deposition of the elemental metal dysprosium on highly-oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and its resulting nucleation and growth. The goal of this research is to better understand the metal-carbon interactions that occur on HOPG and to apply those to an array of other carbon surfaces. This insight may prove beneficial to developing and using new materials for electronic applications, magnetic applications and catalysis. In the second system, we investigate the intermetallic single crystal NaAu2. We conducted a characterization of the clean (111) surface along with a determination of the effects of gas exposures on the surface. No surfaces of bulk NaAu2 have been previously characterized, although the closely related system of Na films on Au(111) has been investigated. NaAu2 is an active catalyst for CO oxidation. To better understand the catalytic reaction occurring, we studied the NaAu2 surface after exposure to O2,g, COg, CO2,g and H2Og. The goal of this research is to find a possible alternative for supported gold catalysts by utilizing an Au-rich intermetallic compound and to determine how its catalytic reaction proceeds. This insight may be valuable in determining other catalytic alternatives as well as helping understand catalytic reactions that occur with other intermetallic compounds. In order to characterize and examine these systems, we utilized several ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) techniques, including scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED)