Potential Added Value of Psychological Capital in Predicting Work Attitudes

Meeting the challenge of effectively managing human resources requires new thinking and approaches. To extend the traditional perspective of economic capital, increasing recognition is being given to human capital and more recently social capital, this article proposes and empirically tests the potential added value that psychological capital may have for employee attitudes of satisfaction and commitment. After first providing the background and theory of PsyCap, this article reports a study of manufacturing employees (N = 74) that found a significant relationship between PsyCap and job satisfaction (r=.373) and organization commitment (r=.313). Importantly, the employees’ PsyCap had a significant added impact over human and social capital on these work attitudes. Future research and practical implications conclude the article

The teenage religion and values survey in England and Wales : an overview

The Teenage Religion and Values Survey was conducted throughout the 1990s among young people between the ages of 13 and 15 years. A total of 33,982 young people took part in the survey. As the next phase of this research begins for the twenty-first century this paper looks back at the survey conducted in the 1990s and considers two aspects of the research. First, this paper considers the methodology behind designing such a survey. Second, this paper considers some of the insights generated by the survey under five headings: personality, spiritual health, religious affiliation, belonging without believing, and church leaving

Exploring morphological correlations among H2CO, 12CO, MSX and continuum mappings

There are relatively few H2CO mappings of large-area giant molecular cloud (GMCs). H2CO absorption lines are good tracers for low-temperature molecular clouds towards star formation regions. Thus, the aim of the study was to identify H2CO distributions in ambient molecular clouds. We investigated morphologic relations among 6-cm continuum brightness temperature (CBT) data and H2CO (111-110; Nanshan 25-m radio telescope), 12CO (1--0; 1.2-m CfA telescope) and midcourse space experiment (MSX) data, and considered the impact of background components on foreground clouds. We report simultaneous 6-cm H2CO absorption lines and H110\alpha radio recombination line observations and give several large-area mappings at 4.8 GHz toward W49 (50'\times50'), W3 (70'\times90'), DR21/W75 (60'\times90') and NGC2024/NGC2023 (50'\times100') GMCs. By superimposing H2CO and 12CO contours onto the MSX color map, we can compare correlations. The resolution for H2CO, 12CO and MSX data was about 10', 8' and 18.3", respectively. Comparison of H2CO and 12CO contours, 8.28-\mu m MSX colorscale and CBT data revealed great morphological correlation in the large area, although there are some discrepancies between 12CO and H2CO peaks in small areas. The NGC2024/NGC2023 GMC is a large area of HII regions with a high CBT, but a H2CO cloud to the north is possible against the cosmic microwave background. A statistical diagram shows that 85.21% of H2CO absorption lines are distributed in the intensity range from -1.0 to 0 Jy and the \Delta V range from 1.206 to 5 km/s.Comment: 18 pages, 22 figures, 5 tables. Accepted to be published in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

Quasi-stationary regime of a branching random walk in presence of an absorbing wall

A branching random walk in presence of an absorbing wall moving at a constant velocity $v$ undergoes a phase transition as the velocity $v$ of the wall varies. Below the critical velocity $v_c$, the population has a non-zero survival probability and when the population survives its size grows exponentially. We investigate the histories of the population conditioned on having a single survivor at some final time $T$. We study the quasi-stationary regime for $v<v_c$ when $T$ is large. To do so, one can construct a modified stochastic process which is equivalent to the original process conditioned on having a single survivor at final time $T$. We then use this construction to show that the properties of the quasi-stationary regime are universal when $v\to v_c$. We also solve exactly a simple version of the problem, the exponential model, for which the study of the quasi-stationary regime can be reduced to the analysis of a single one-dimensional map.Comment: 2 figures, minor corrections, one reference adde

An Experimental Investigation of Colonel Blotto Games

"This article examines behavior in the two-player, constant-sum Colonel Blotto game with asymmetric resources in which players maximize the expected number of battlefields won. The experimental results support all major theoretical predictions. In the auction treatment, where winning a battlefield is deterministic, disadvantaged players use a 'guerilla warfare' strategy which stochastically allocates zero resources to a subset of battlefields. Advantaged players employ a 'stochastic complete coverage' strategy, allocating random, but positive, resource levels across the battlefields. In the lottery treatment, where winning a battlefield is probabilistic, both players divide their resources equally across all battlefields." (author's abstract)"Dieser Artikel untersucht das Verhalten von Individuen in einem 'constant-sum Colonel Blotto'-Spiel zwischen zwei Spielern, bei dem die Spieler mit unterschiedlichen Ressourcen ausgestattet sind und die erwartete Anzahl gewonnener Schlachtfelder maximieren. Die experimentellen Ergebnisse bestätigen alle wichtigen theoretischen Vorhersagen. Im Durchgang, in dem wie in einer Auktion der Sieg in einem Schlachtfeld deterministisch ist, wenden die Spieler, die sich im Nachteil befinden, eine 'Guerillataktik' an, und verteilen ihre Ressourcen stochastisch auf eine Teilmenge der Schlachtfelder. Spieler mit einem Vorteil verwenden eine Strategie der 'stochastischen vollständigen Abdeckung', indem sie zufällig eine positive Ressourcenmenge auf allen Schlachtfeldern positionieren. Im Durchgang, in dem sich der Gewinn eines Schlachtfeldes probabilistisch wie in einer Lotterie bestimmt, teilen beide Spieler ihre Ressourcen gleichmäßig auf alle Schlachtfelder auf." (Autorenreferat

Genotype, B-vitamin status, and androgens affect spaceflight-induced ophthalmic changes

Ophthalmic changes have occurred in a subset of astronauts on International Space Station missions. Visual deterioration is considered the greatest human health risk of spaceflight. Affected astronauts exhibit higher concentrations of 1-carbon metabolites (e.g., homocysteine) before flight. We hypothesized that genetic variations in 1-carbon metabolism genes contribute to susceptibility to ophthalmic changes in astronauts. We investigated 5 polymorphisms in the methionine synthase reductase (MTRR), methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT), and cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) genes and their association with ophthalmic changes after flight in 49 astronauts. The number of G alleles of MTRR 66 and C alleles of SHMT1 1420 both contributed to the odds of visual disturbances. Preflight dehydroepiandrosterone was positively associated with cotton wool spots, and serum testosterone response during flight was associated with refractive change. Block regression showed that B-vitamin status and genetics were significant predictors of many of the ophthalmic outcomes that we observed. In one example, genetics trended toward improving (P = 0.10) and B-vitamin status significantly improved (P < 0.001) the predictive model for refractive change after flight. We document an association between MTRR 66 and SHMT1 1420 polymorphisms and spaceflight-induced vision changes. This line of research could lead to therapeutic options for both space travelers and terrestrial patients

Testosterone metabolism in Neomysis integer following exposure to benzo(a)pyrene

Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2006. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 144 (2006): 405-412, doi:10.1016/j.cbpb.2006.04.001.Cytochromes P450 (CYPs) are important enzymes involved in the regulation of hormone synthesis and in the detoxification and/or activation of xenobiotics. CYPs are found in virtually all organisms, from archae, and eubacteria to eukaryota. A number of endocrine disruptors are suspected of exerting their effects through disruption of normal CYP function. Consequently, alterations in steroid hormone metabolism through changes in CYP could provide an important tool to evaluate potential effects of endocrine disruptors. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential effects of the known CYP modulator, benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P), on the testosterone metabolism in the invertebrate Neomysis integer (Crustacea; Mysidacea). N. integer were exposed for 96h to 0.43, 2.39, 28.83, 339.00 and 1682.86μg B(a)P L-1 and a solventcontrol, and subsequently their ability to metabolize testosterone was assessed. Identification and quantification of the produced phase I and phase II testosterone metabolites was performed using liquid chromatography coupled with multiple mass spectrometry (LC-MS2). Significant changes were observed in the overall ability of N. integer to metabolize testosterone when exposed to 2.39, 28.83, 339.00 and 1682.86μg B(a)P L-1 as compared to the control animals.This research was supported by a research grant of the Ghent University Research Fund (BOF, 011.072.02). Dr. Tim Verslycke was supported by a Postdoctoral Fellowship of the Belgian American Educational Foundation

Discrete Breathers

Nonlinear classical Hamiltonian lattices exhibit generic solutions in the form of discrete breathers. These solutions are time-periodic and (typically exponentially) localized in space. The lattices exhibit discrete translational symmetry. Discrete breathers are not confined to certain lattice dimensions. Necessary ingredients for their occurence are the existence of upper bounds on the phonon spectrum (of small fluctuations around the groundstate) of the system as well as the nonlinearity in the differential equations. We will present existence proofs, formulate necessary existence conditions, and discuss structural stability of discrete breathers. The following results will be also discussed: the creation of breathers through tangent bifurcation of band edge plane waves; dynamical stability; details of the spatial decay; numerical methods of obtaining breathers; interaction of breathers with phonons and electrons; movability; influence of the lattice dimension on discrete breather properties; quantum lattices - quantum breathers. Finally we will formulate a new conceptual aproach capable of predicting whether discrete breather exist for a given system or not, without actually solving for the breather. We discuss potential applications in lattice dynamics of solids (especially molecular crystals), selective bond excitations in large molecules, dynamical properties of coupled arrays of Josephson junctions, and localization of electromagnetic waves in photonic crystals with nonlinear response.Comment: 62 pages, LaTeX, 14 ps figures. Physics Reports, to be published; see also at http://www.mpipks-dresden.mpg.de/~flach/html/preprints.htm

Imagination, Hope and the Migrant Journey : Iraqi Asylum Seekers Looking for a Future in Europe

Europe received an unprecedented number of asylum seekers in 2015. This article examines Iraqi asylum seekers who journeyed through Europe in search of an idealized version of Finland, which they had imagined based on word-of-mouth and social media information. Through cognitive migration, the act of pre-experiencing futures in different locations, Finland was seen to offer both subjective hope of personal growth and advancement and objective hope of safety and physical security. This hope motivated them to embark on a journey of 6,000 kilometers to the European North. Based on interview data and relevant studies, the article concludes that hope of a better, imagined future abroad acts as a powerful magnet for persons with poor prospects in their countries of origin. Hope is a kind of critical emotion strongly shaped by beliefs and real-time opportunities; and as such, beliefs are notoriously difficult to change. Imagination, therefore, should not be overlooked when planning and implementing migration policies.Europe received an unprecedented number of asylum seekers in 2015. This article examines Iraqi asylum seekers who journeyed through Europe in search of an idealized version of Finland, which they had imagined based on word-of-mouth and social media information. Through cognitive migration, the act of pre-experiencing futures in different locations, Finland was seen to offer both subjective hope of personal growth and advancement and objective hope of safety and physical security. This hope motivated them to embark on a journey of 6,000 kilometers to the European North. Based on interview data and relevant studies, the article concludes that hope of a better, imagined future abroad acts as a powerful magnet for persons with poor prospects in their countries of origin. Hope is a kind of critical emotion strongly shaped by beliefs and real-time opportunities; and as such, beliefs are notoriously difficult to change. Imagination, therefore, should not be overlooked when planning and implementing migration policies.Peer reviewe