You Only Live Twice: Midlife as a Creative Transition Into Our \u27Second Act\u27

Our rising life expectancy mandates a re-design of our life span and redefines ‘midlife’ both technically and conceptually. Lagging behind other life stages in its scientific study, midlife is often connoted with a ‘crisis’ of sorts. Yet historically, midlife represented an apex in life; moreover, conclusive ‘crisis’ evidence has yet to emerge. Some manage to thrive in midlife by maintaining an attitude rooted in The Good Life, a concept tracing back to Aristotelian ethics. Positive psychology, the science of what makes life worth living, has studied The Good Life in modern times and contributed to understanding midlife in well-being terms. Together with neuroscience, positive psychology can help dispel myths regarding midlife, reframing it from the onset of decline into a creative transition for our ‘second act’ based on an enhanced sense of authorship. This self-creation process involves three key well-being themes: revision, prospection, and individuation. Reviewing these themes and ‘layering’ them with different well-being perspectives relevant to midlife, we may achieve meaningful positive psychological constructs and activities (and eventually, interventions) in three areas: positive narrative identity, serious play, and self-regulation. Of these, serious play, which unlocks the tacit knowledge our bodies disseminate in a state of play, seems especially key to enhancing authorship. One serious play application, LEGO Serious Play, which aims to build identities trough metaphors, seems especially promising for enhancing well-being at midlife in positive psychology workshops

Mesoscopic light transport by very strong collective multiple scattering in nanowire mats

Under the extreme condition of the scattering length being much shorter than the wavelength, light transport in random media is strongly modified by mesoscopic interference, and can even be halted in an effect known as Anderson localization. Anderson localization in three dimensions has recently been realized for acoustic waves and for cold atoms. Mats of disordered, high-refractive-index semiconductor nanowires are one of the strongest three-dimensional scattering materials for light, but localization has not been shown. Here, we use statistical methods originally developed for microwave waveguides to demonstrate that transport of light through nanowire mats is strongly correlated and governed by mesoscopic interference contributions. Our results confirm the contribution of only a few open modes to the transmission

Simulation, a tool for designing-in reliability

This paper describes a new method for the analysis and optimization of reliability as an integrated part of the design process of electronic circuits. It bases itself on the analysis of the susceptibility of failure mechanisms in components as a function of the combinations of external stress factors (stressor-sets). The paper describes the backgrounds of stressor-susceptibility analysis, the need for this analysis and the way this method is used for high-level design and optimization of electronic circuits

Active and latent social groups and their interactional expertise

As a part of their normative theory of expertise, Harry Collins and Robert Evans proposed that interactional expertise forms the third kind of knowledge, located between formal propositional knowledge and embodied skills. Interactional expertise refers to the capability to grasp the conceptual structure of another’s social world, and it is expressed as the ability to speak fluently the language spoken in that social world. According to their theory, it is a key concept of sociology, because it refers to the understanding and coordination of joint actions between members of different social groups. Collins and Evans have further claimed that minority social group members tend to outpace majority social group members in terms of interactional expertise. Drawing on ethnomethodology, we detail the ways in which interactional expertise is displayed and revealed in experiments. This allowed us to specify the underlying reasons for the distribution of interactional expertise between social groups. Our results indicate that the difference between the groups depends on whether a group is either actively maintained or a passive latent category, because interactional expertise provides for not only the crossing of social boundaries but also their maintenance. The minority social group members’ greater interactional expertise or competence is therefore proven to be illusory.Peer reviewe

Using Positive Psychology to Bolster Student Success at GateWay Community College

Supported by a situational analysis and review of positive psychological literature, this paper outlines an application plan to support GateWay Community College’s ‘experiential learning with a purpose\u27 vision which focuses on infusing meaning into students’ career development and learning. This vision was articulated by Kerry Sanderson, Director of Career Services, and Jessica Brosilo, Service Learning Center Coordinator, in the form of three guiding principles for our work: 1) accessing large student populations, 2) developing students\u27 personal meaning and understanding of purpose through career goals, and 3) cultivating a broader view of success beyond career goals. Future-mindedness and self-efficacy emerged as key pillars in an integrative system for building meaning, along with the importance of persistence which surfaced through our discussions with Sanderson and Brosilo and our review of the Maricopa County Community College District and GateWay Community College’s joint strategic direction on student support goals. Our application plan rests on these three pillars: future-mindedness, self-efficacy, and meaning – with persistence running as a key thread throughout. The plan resides on three key processes: 1) administering a foundational, future-oriented writing exercise for incoming students that also cultivates foundations for self-efficacy and goal setting; 2) administering a growth mindset, belonging and self-efficacy intervention focused on messaging and environmental for incoming students, and 3) ongoing programming for students that supports purpose and meaning as well as student persistence

FACING A CHANGING WORLD: THERMAL PHYSIOLOGY OF AMERICAN PIKAS (OCHOTONA PRINCEPS)

American pikas (Ochotona princeps) are of concern with respect to warming montane temperatures; however, little information exists regarding their physiological ability to adapt to warming temperatures. Previous studies have shown that pikas have high metabolism and low thermal conductance, which allow survival during cold winters. It has been hypothesized that these characteristics may be detrimental, given the recent warming trends observed in montane ecosystems. We examined resting metabolic rate, surface activity, and den and ambient temperatures (Ta) of pikas in late summer (August 2011 and 2012) at 2 locations in the Rocky Mountains. Resting metabolic rate was calculated to be 2.02 mL O2 ⋅ g−1h−1, with a lower critical temperature (LCT) of 28.1 –+ 0.2 °C. No upper critical temperature (UCT) could be determined from our data; therefore, the estimated thermoneutral zone (TNZ) was 28.1 °C to at least 35.0 °C (upper experimental temperature). Pikas in this study showed the same bimodal above-talus activity patterns reported in previous studies. Den temperatures in Colorado were correlated with, but consistently lower than, current ambient temperatures. Wyoming den temperatures showed a weak correlation with Ta 20 min prior to the current den temperature. This study is one of few to present data on the physiological response pikas may have to current warming conditions, and the first to perform metabolic measurements in situ. Our data support conclusions of previous studies, specifically MacArthur and Wang (1973, 1974) and Smith (1974), which indicated American pikas may not have the physiological ability to cope with high Ta. Our results also highlight the importance of shaded regions below the talus rocks for behavioral thermoregulation by pikas. RESUMEN.—La pica americana (Ochotona princeps) es una especie considerada de preocupación debido al aumento de la temperatura en las montañas. Sin embargo, existe poca información relacionada a su capacidad fisiológica para adaptarse a temperaturas más cálidas. Estudios previos han mostrado que las picas tienen un metabolismo alto y una conductividad térmica baja, lo que les permite sobrevivir en los inviernos fríos. Se ha planteado la hipótesis de que estas características pueden ser perjudiciales, dadas a las tendencias recientes de calentamiento en los ecosistemas de montaña. Examinamos la tasa metabólica en reposo, la actividad superficial y la temperatura en las madrigueras y la temperatura ambiente (Ta) de las picas a finales del verano (agosto de 2011 y 2012) en 2 áreas de las Montañas Rocosas. Calculamos que la tasa metabólica en reposo sería 2.02 mL O2 ⋅ g−1h−1, con una temperatura crítica inferior (LCT) de 28.1 –+ 0.2 °C. No pudimos determinar la temperatura crítica superior (UCT) a partir de nuestros datos; por lo tanto, la zona termoneutral estimada (TNZ) fue 28.1 a al menos 35.0 °C (temperatura experimental superior). Las picas en este estudio mostraron los mismos patrones bimodales de actividad por encima del talud que los reportados en estudios anteriores. La temperatura de las madrigueras en Colorado se correlacionaron con, pero siendo siempre inferiores, la temperatura am - biental actual. La temperatura de las madrigueras en Wyoming mostraron una correlación débil con la temperatura ambiente 20 minutos antes de la temperatura actual de la madriguera. Este estudio es uno de los pocos que presentan datos de las respuestas fisiológicas que las picas podrían tener en las condiciones actuales de calentamiento climático, y el primero en realizar mediciones metabólicas in situ. Nuestros datos respaldan conclusiones de estudios previos, particularmente MacArthur y Wang 1973 y 1974, y Smith 1974, que indican que las picas americanas pueden no tener la capacidad fisiológica para enfrentar las altas temperaturas ambientales y resalta la importancia de las regiones sombreadas bajo las rocas del talud para el comportamiento de termorregulación de las picas

Boksarikapina varhaisen suomalaisen median silmin : miten vieraasta Kiinasta kirjoitettiin 1900-luvun vaihteen Suomessa?

Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan miten ja mihin sävyyn kiinalaisista, Kiinasta ja boksarikapinasta kirjoitettiin 1900-luvun vaihteen autonomian ajan Suomessa. Tämän ohella tutkimus tarkastelee sitä, miten oman aikansa suomalainen media määritteli toisenlaisuutta Kiinan esimerkin kautta. Tutkielma luo boksarikapinan esimerkin kautta pohjan Suomen ja Kiinan välisten suhteiden tarkastelulle tutkimalla eri julkisuuksien linjoja edustaneita suomalaisia sanomalehtiä. Sanomalehtien tutkimusta lähestytään ylikansallisen historiankirjoituksen tutkimusotteen avulla. Tutkimus hyödyntää erityisesti Pierre-Yves Saunierin esittämiä mietintöjä tarkastellessaan sitä, miten 1900-luvun vaihteen Suomi oli osa globaalia julkisuutta ja mistä Kiinaa koskevat uutiset saapuivat. Tutkimus pureutuu tarkemmin 1900-luvun vaihteen suomalaiseen julkisuuteen tarkastelemalla Hannu Niemisen aikaisempaa tutkimusta autonomisen ajan Suomen julkisuuden rakentumisesta ja Edward Saidin vaikutusvaltaista teosta orientalismista. Tutkimuksen tärkeimmän lähdeaineiston muodostavat Suomen kansalliskirjaston digitaaliset arkistot. Tutkimus kirjoitettiin vuoden 2020 kesällä globaalin COVID-19 viruspandemian aikana, ja siksi tutkimusta tehdessä ei ollut mahdollisuutta hyödyntää itse fyysisiä arkistoja. Toissijaisina lähteinä käytetään itse boksarikapinasta kirjoitettua laajamittaista aikalais- ja tutkimuskirjallisuutta niin yleishistoriallisen katsauksen luomiseksi kuin sanomalehtien uutisten paikkansapitävyyden varmistamiseksi. Keskeisenä tutkimustuloksena esitetään, että 1900-luvun suomalainen media suhtautui myöhäisen Qing-dynastian Kiinaan ja sen asukkaisiin väheksyvästi. Svekomaaninen sanomalehdistö painotti uutisissaan boksareiden kukistamisen ja järjestyksen palauttamisen tärkeyttä. Vanhasuomalainen sanomalehdistö oli jakautunut mielipiteessään Kiinaa kohtaan, mutta syytteli muita Länsimaita boksarikapinan aloittamisesta imperialistisilla teoillaan ja puolusti evankelisluterilaista kristinuskoa. Nuorsuomalainen sanomalehdistö puolestaan puolsi Kiinan jakoa laajempiin etupiirialueisiin ja kirjoitti kiinalaisista kaikista rasistisimmin. Kaikista kolmesta julkisuuden linjasta löytyi myös muutamia sanomalehtiä jotka erosivat näistä linjoista ottamalla kiinalaisten puolen joko osittain tai kokonaan. Svekomaanisten ja fennomaanisten sanomalehtien ohella tutkimus käsittelee myös kahta esimerkkiä Suomen pienestä, virkasäätyläistön julkisuudelle vastakkaisesta julkisuudesta tarkastelemalla Venäjän valtion ja työväenliikkeen omia sanomalehtiä