Single crystals of metal solid solutions

The following definitions were sought in the research on single crystals of metal solid solutions: (1) the influence of convection and/or gravity present during crystallization on the substructure of a metal solid solution; (2) the influence of a magnetic field applied during crystallization on the substructure of a metal solid solution; and (3) requirements for a space flight experiment to verify the results. Growth conditions for the selected silver-zinc alloy system are described, along with pertinent technical and experimental details of the project

Situationally edited empathy: an effect of socio-economic structure on individual choice

Criminological theory still operates with deficient models of the offender as agent, and of social influences on the agent’s decision-making process. This paper takes one ‘emotion’, empathy, which is theoretically of considerable importance in influencing the choices made by agents; particularly those involving criminal or otherwise harmful action. Using a framework not of rational action, but of ‘rationalised action’, the paper considers some of the effects on individual psychology of social, economic, political and cultural structure. It is suggested that the climate-setting effects of these structures promote normative definitions of social situations which allow unempathic, harmful action to be rationalised through the situational editing of empathy. The ‘crime is normal’ argument can therefore be extended to include the recognition that the uncompassionate state of mind of the criminal actor is a reflection of the self-interested values which govern non-criminal action in wider society

Factors affecting intensive care units nursing workload

Background: The nursing workload has a close and strong association with the quality of services provided for the patients. Therefore, paying careful attention to the factors affecting nursing workload, especially those working in the intensive care units (ICUs), is very important. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the factors affecting nursing workload in the ICUs of the hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional and analytical-descriptive study that has done in Iran. All nurses (n = 400) who was working in the ICUs of the hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2014 were selected and studied using census method. The required data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire which its validity and reliability were confirmed through getting the opinions of experts and using composite reliability and internal consistency (α = 0.89). The collected data were analyzed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and using SPSS 18.0 and AMOS 18.0. Results: Twenty-five factors were divided into three major categories through EFA, including structure, process, and activity. The following factors among the structure, process and activity components had the greatest importance: lack of clear responsibilities and authorities and performing unnecessary tasks (by a coefficient of 0.709), mismatch between the capacity of wards and the number of patients (by a coefficient of 0.639), and helping the students and newly employed staff (by a coefficient of 0.589). Conclusions: The nursing workload is influenced by many factors. The clear responsibilities and authorities of nurses, patients' admission according to the capacity of wards, use of the new technologies and equipment, and providing basic training for new nurses can decrease the workload of nurses. © 2014, Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal; Published by Kowsar Corp

Pleasure, arousal, dominance, and judgments about music in everyday life

The aim of the present research was to consider what particular features are significant predictors of whether music is present in a given situation, as well as what factors influence a person’s judgments about the music. Applying Mehrabian and Russell’s (1974) Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance model to everyday experiences of music, 569 people reported on their activity for the previous day via the Day Reconstruction Method (Kahneman, Krueger, Schkade, Schwarz, & Stone, 2004). Data concerning each event included the activity and location, and characterization of the experience using the Pleasure–Arousal–Dominance measure. Moreover, for those events where music was present, participants also indicated how they heard the music and made four judgments about the music. Results indicated that the location, activity, and the person’s perception of dominance were significant predictors of the presence of music during everyday activities and that person’s judgments about the music. Contrary to prior research that has considered predominantly situational pleasure and arousal variables, the present results demonstrate that dominance is arguably the important variable in contextualized music listening

Gender Differences of Shoppers in the Marketing and Management of Retail Agglomerations

This paper aims to: 1) identify gender differences in perception and evaluation of retail agglomerations and 2) discuss the implications of these differences for marketing and management. Based on a conceptual model we surveyed 2,151 agglomeration shoppers using interviewer-administered questionnaires. Structural equation modelling revealed that: accessibility, parking and infrastructure are perceived differently between gender groups. The attractiveness in terms of satisfaction, retention proneness and patronage intention were also evaluated distinctively. Nevertheless, when examining the impact of the perceived attributes on the agglomeration attractiveness there was no difference. In both settings the retail tenant mix and the atmosphere are the main antecedents of attractiveness. Finally, an importance performance analysis offers managers a method for prioritising their marketing efforts considering gender differences

Positivity of the English language

Over the last million years, human language has emerged and evolved as a fundamental instrument of social communication and semiotic representation. People use language in part to convey emotional information, leading to the central and contingent questions: (1) What is the emotional spectrum of natural language? and (2) Are natural languages neutrally, positively, or negatively biased? Here, we report that the human-perceived positivity of over 10,000 of the most frequently used English words exhibits a clear positive bias. More deeply, we characterize and quantify distributions of word positivity for four large and distinct corpora, demonstrating that their form is broadly invariant with respect to frequency of word use.Comment: Manuscript: 9 pages, 3 tables, 5 figures; Supplementary Information: 12 pages, 3 tables, 8 figure

The role of social networks in students’ learning experiences

The aim of this research is to investigate the role of social networks in computer science education. The Internet shows great potential for enhancing collaboration between people and the role of social software has become increasingly relevant in recent years. This research focuses on analyzing the role that social networks play in students’ learning experiences. The construction of students’ social networks, the evolution of these networks, and their effects on the students’ learning experience in a university environment are examined