The Effects of Survival, Pleasantness, and Storytelling Conditions on True and False Memory Recollection

The purpose of the present study was to analyze the extent to which various processing scenarios influenced participants\u27 rates of true and false memory recollection. Participants were placed in one of three conditions, storytelling, survival, or pleasantness, and then studied a list of common nouns. They were then instructed to comment on the words in a specific manner depending on the condition to which they were randomly assigned. Following this, participants completed a math distractor task, and were then asked to complete a free recall test for the previously studied words. The results indicated that participants in the storytelling condition correctly recalled more studied words than participants in either the survival or pleasantness conditions. Further, it was found that participants across all three conditions had not statistically significantly different rates of false memory

Athletic Identity, Need Satisfaction, and Burnout in Collegiate Athletes

PURPOSE: The relationship between need satisfaction and burnout has been well defined in literature, but studies of the relationship between athletic identity and burnout have produced varying results. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that may contribute to burnout in athletes by determining the direction and strength of a relationship between burnout, athletic identity, and need satisfaction. METHODS: In this study, an online survey was distributed to a population of NCAA Division I varsity and club student-athletes. The survey consisted of demographic questions, the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), the Basic Need Satisfaction in Sport Scale (BNSSS), and the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ). AIMS, BNSSS, and ABQ score results were compared through various statistical analysis methods to determine the significance of their relationship. RESULTS: Participants (N=60) consisted of 43 male (71.67%) and 17 female (28.33%) athletes. Individuals were aged 18-22 (M=19.40, SD=1.06). Correlation analysis and comparison of means were conducted. No significant correlation was found between athletic identity and autonomy, relatedness, competence, or burnout. Autonomy, relatedness, and competence each had statistically significant relationships of varying degrees when compared. Autonomy and competence produced significant relationships with burnout. A significant difference between the means of autonomy scores was found in varsity versus club athletes. DISCUSSION: Results of this study suggested five key findings: (1) there is no relationship between athletic identity and burnout, (2) there is no significant relationship between athletic identity and need satisfaction, (3) there is a significant and positive relationship between the three components of need satisfaction, (4) there is a significant and negative relationship between the autonomy and competence components of need satisfaction and burnout, and (5) autonomy scores were significantly higher in club athletes than varsity athletes. To manage or prevent burnout, sports professionals should focus on supporting autonomy and competence rather than reinforcing athletic identity. Creating a team culture of group decision-making and abundant opportunities to demonstrate athletic ability could effectively combat developing burnout symptoms in athletes

Organisational stressors, coping, and outcomes in competitive sport

Organizational stressors are associated with positive and negative outcomes in extant literature; however, little is known about which demands predict which outcomes. Extant theory and literature also suggests that coping style may influence an individual’s resilience or vulnerability to stressors and, subsequently, their psychological responses and outcomes. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to examine the main effects of organizational stressors and coping styles on various outcomes (e.g., positive and negative affect, performance satisfaction). Sport performers (n = 414) completed measures of organizational stressors, coping styles, positive and negative affect, and performance satisfaction. Multiple regression analyses revealed positive relationships of both goals and development stressors (duration and intensity) and team and culture stressors (frequency and intensity) on negative affect. Furthermore, problem-focused coping was positively related to positive affect, and emotion-focused coping was positively related to negative affect. This study furthers theoretical knowledge regarding the associations that both organizational stressors (and their dimensions) and coping styles can have with various outcomes, and practical understanding regarding the optimal design of stress management interventions

Simulating Surfactant Spreading: Impact of a Physically Motivated Equation of State

For more than two decades, a single model for the spreading of a surfactant-driven thin liquid film has dominated the applied mathematics literature on the subject. Recently, through the use of fluorescently-tagged lipids, it has become possible to make direct, quantitative comparisons between experiments and models. These comparisons have revealed two important discrepancies between simulations and experiments: the spatial distribution of the surfactant layer, and the timescale over which spreading occurs. In this paper, we present numerical simulations that demonstrate the impact of the particular choice of the equation of state (EoS) relating the surfactant concentration to the surface tension. Previous choices of the model EoS have been an ad-hoc decreasing function. Here, we instead propose an empirically-motivated equation of state; this provides a route to resolving some discrepancies and raises new issues to be pursued in future experiments. In addition, we test the influence of the choice of initial conditions and values for the non-dimensional groups. We demonstrate that the choice of EoS improves the agreement in surfactant distribution morphology between simulations and experiments, and impacts the dynamics of the simulations. The relevant feature of the EoS, the gradient, has distinct regions for empirically motivated choices, which suggests that future work will need to consider more than one timescale. We observe that the non-dimensional number controlling the relative importance of gravitational vs. capillary forces has a larger impact on the dynamics than the other non-dimensional groups. Finally, we observe that the experimental approach of using a ring to contain the surfactant could a affect the surfactant and fluid dynamics if it disrupts the intended initial surfactant distribution. However, the meniscus itself does not significantly affect the dynamics

Genomic Tools Reveal Changing Plasmodium falciparum Populations

A new era of malaria eradication programs relies on increased knowledge of the parasite through sequencing of the Plasmodium genome. Programs call for re-orientation at specific epidemiological markers as regions move from control towards pre- and total elimination. However, relatively little is known about the effects of intervention strategies on the parasite population or if the epidemiological cues correspond to effects on the parasite population. We hypothesized that genomic tools could be used to track population changes in Plasmodium falciparum to detect significant shifts as eradication programs apply interventions. Making use of new whole-genome sequencing data as well as GWAS and other studies, we used SNPs as biological markers for regions associated with drug resistance as well as a set of neutral SNPs to identify individual parasites. By utilizing tools developed as proxy for full genomic sequencing of the human pathogen Plasmodium falciparum, we characterized and tracked parasite populations to test for changes over time and between populations. When applied to markers under selection - those associated with reduced antimalarial drug sensitivity - we were able to track migration of resistance-associated mutations in the population and identify new mutations with potential implications for resistance. Using a population genetic analysis toolbox to study changes in neutral allele frequencies in samples from the field, we found significant population changes over time that included restricted effective population size, reduced complexity of infections, and evidence for both clonal and epidemic propagation of parasites

Workplace Cognitive Failure as a Mediator between Work-Family Conflict and Safety Performance

The main goal of this thesis was to examine the effects of family-to-work conflict on safety performance. Data were collected from a sample of 134 employees, consisting primarily of construction workers. Results found that levels of conflict from the family role to the work role negatively affected participants\u27 workplace cognitive failure, or cognitively based errors that occur during the performance of a task that the person is normally successful in executing. Workplace cognitive failure, in turn, was a significant predictor of levels ofsafety performance, both employees\u27 compliance with safety procedures and the extent to which they participated in discretionary safety-related activities. Although family-to-work conflict did not significantly predict levels of safety performance, results suggest that it is a practical antecedent of workplace cognitive failure, which is an important predictor of safety behaviors. Future research should explore further antecedents to workplace cognitive failure