The Influence of Positive and Negative Affect on the Processing of Outcome Expectancies Related to Risky Sexual Practices

The current study is a continuation on a line of research examining the effects of affective states on cognitions related to risky sexual behavior and is based on the Prototype/Willingness Model (Gibbons, Gerrard, & Lane, 2003). Past research (Pomery, 2004) found that mood states had a greater influence on behavioral willingness (BW) to engage in risky sexual behavior than on behavioral intentions/expectations (BI/BE) to engage in risky sexual behavior. Negative affective states were associated with greater levels of willingness and positive affective states were associated with lower levels of willingness. The current study investigated the effects of happy, sad, and neutral mood states on positive and negative outcome expectancies and other risk cognitions (willingness, intentions/expectations, prototype images, perceived vulnerability). College students (N = 110), who were pre-selected based on their prior high levels of willingness and either low or high levels of intentions, were randomly assigned to one of the three mood conditions (happy, sad, neutral). After the mood induction, participants were exposed to eight positive and eight negative outcome expectancies and their endorsements of these expectancies were measured, along with their response times. This was followed by the other risk cognition measures. It was hypothesized that those in the negative mood condition would more strongly endorse the positive outcome expectancies, as they would be motivated to improve their current mood state. In contrast, participants in the happy mood condition were expected to have lower levels of endorsement for the positive outcome expectancies. In addition, it was hypothesized that the effects of the induced mood states would be moderated by prior level of BW and BI, with those at risk (high BW/low BI) showing stronger mood effects than those more committed to the risky behavior (high BW/high BI). Contrary to expectations, no effects of mood were found on the endorsement of outcome expectancies in any of the repeated-measures analyses. When examining only the negative outcome expectancies, there were significant effects of mood on the Would this be important to you? item, though not as predicted. The negative outcome expectancies received the highest importance ratings from those who were in the happy mood condition and were higher in mass-testing BI/BE. There were few effects of mood on the positive outcome expectancy items. Not surprisingly, those in the high BW/high BI group (the intenders ) showed greater endorsement of the positive outcome expectancies and lower endorsement of the negative outcome expectancies; these effects may be due to dissonance reduction. Contrary to predictions, however, when interactions were found, it was the high BW/high BI group that showed the stronger mood effects ( the intenders ). With respect to the response time measures, those in the happy mood condition with higher levels of prior BI/BE were quicker at reading the negative outcome expectancies; those in the sad condition took longer to report whether these expectancies either came to mind or were important to them. Those in the sad mood condition reported the highest levels of BW and BI/BE during the experimental session

A study of the UV and VUV degradation of FEP

UV and VUV degradation of fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) copolymer was studied using electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The ESR study revealed the formation of a terminal polymer radical. The stability of this radical was investigated under different environments. An XPS study of FEP film exposed to VUV and atomic oxygen showed that oxidation takes place on the polymer surface. The study revealed also that the percentage of CF2 in the polymer surface decreased with exposure time and the percentage of CF, CF3, and carbon attached to oxygen increased. SEM micrographs of FEP film exposed to VUV and atomic oxygen identified a rough surface with undulations similar to sand dunes

Service-Learning: Going Beyond Traditional Extension Activities

This article advocates service-learning as an integrative strategy for Cooperative Extension Educators to advance the concept of a truly engaged institution through the use of college students. The authors, having designed and implemented a service-learning course, discuss the advantages of experiential education and its positive impact on the university, students, communities, and the Cooperative Extension Service

Using the prototype willingness model to predict doping in sport.

To enable preventive measures to be designed, it is important to identify modifiable distal and proximal factors underlying doping behavior. This study investigated aspects of the prototype willingness model in relation to doping. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 729 competitive athletes. Following ethical approval, athletes (mean age = 28.8 ± 10.1 years; 63% male) completed an online questionnaire, which assessed doping-related attitudes, norms, prototype perceptions, outcome expectancies, and behavioral willingness. Using hierarchical multiple regression analysis, 54.4% of the total variance in willingness to dope was explained. Specifically, past doping, attitudes, and favorability of performance enhancing substance user prototypes were the strongest unique predictors of willingness to dope. Athletes appeared most willing to dope if they were to suffer an injury, a dip in performance, or think others are doping and getting away with it. National-level athletes displayed significantly greater willingness to dope (Kruskal-Wallis γ2 = 35.9, P < 0.001) and perceived themselves as significantly more similar to a doper (Kruskal-Wallis γ2 = 13.4, P = 0.004) than athletes competing at any other level. The findings highlight the importance of extending anti-doping provision beyond elite-level sport and the need to target athletes' doping-related perceptions

The surface properties of fluorinated polyimides exposed to VUV and atomic oxygen

The effect of atomic oxygen flux and VUV radiation alone and in combination on the surface of fluorinated polyimide films was studied using XPS spectroscopy. Exposure of fluorinated polyimides to VUV radiation alone caused no observable damage to the polymer surface, while an atomic oxygen flux resulted in substantial oxidation of the surface. On the other hand, exposure to VUV radiation and atomic oxygen in combination caused extensive oxidation of the polymer surface after only 2 minutes of exposure. The amount of oxidized carbon on the polymer surface indicated that there is aromatic ring opening oxidation. The changes in the O1s/C1s, N1s/C1s, and F1s/C1s ratios suggested that an ablative degradation process is highly favorable. A synergistic effect of VUV radiation in the presence of atomic oxygen is clearly evidenced from the XPS study. The atomic oxygen could be considered as the main factor in the degradation process of fluorinated polyimide films exposed to a low earth orbit environment

The effect of simulated low earth orbit radiation on polyimides (UV degradation study)

UV degradation of polyimide films in air and vacuum were studied using UV-visible, ESR, FTIR, and XPS spectroscopies. The UV-visible spectra of polyimide films showed a blue shift in the absorption compared to Kapton. This behavior was attributed to the presence of bulky groups and kinks along the polymer chains which disrupt the formation of a charge transfer complex. The UV-visible spectra showed also that UV irradiation of polyimides result extensively in surface degradation, leaving the bulk of the polymer intact. ESR spectra of polyimides irradiated in vacuum revealed the formation of stable carbon-centered radicals which give a singlet ESR spectrum, while polyimides irradiated in air produced an asymmetric signal shifted to a lower magnetic field, with a higher g value and line width. This signal was attributed to oxygen-cenetered radicals of peroxy and/or alkoxy type. The rate of radical formation in air was two fold higher than for vacuum irradiation, and reached a plateau after a short time. This suggests a continuous depletion of radicals on the surface via an ablative degradation process. FTIR, XPS, and weight loss studies supported this postulate. An XPS study of the surface indicated a substantial increase in the surface oxidation after irradiation in air. The sharp increase in the C-O binding energy peak relative to the C-C peak was believed to be associated with an aromatic ring opening reaction

Why do sanctions need time to work? Adjustment, learning and anticipation

Economists disagree on the influence of time on the probability of success of economic sanctions. Some argue that it takes time to convince the sanction target. Others stress that economic adjustment will reduce incentives to comply. We seek to reconcile these different literatures, modelling the target's decision to comply as a function of both (anticipatory) economic adjustment and Bayesian learning. We show that sanctions which do not work instantaneously (ie there is neither political compliance nor economic adjustment) can work in the long run, but only if the learning effect dominates the adjustment effect. A sufficient condition for ultimate compliance is that (potential) sanction damage that cannot be avoided by adjustment in the long run exceeds the yield of misconduct