An investigation into the possible arousal of psychological reactance as a consequence of interest inventory feedback

The purpose of this research was to determine whether feedback from vocational interest inventories leads to the arousal of psychological reactance. The data for the study was collected from 80 male and female subjects who were first year students at Oregon State University enrolled in Psychology 111, Personal Development. The experimental design utilized consisted of having subjects scan a list of 39 occupational titles and then indicate on a pretest instrument three titles which they perceived as interesting, three perceived as uninteresting, and three toward which they felt indifferent, They were also asked to rate their interest in these nine occupations on a seven point semantic differential scale. Subjects were subsequently administered a fictitious vocational interest inventory which purported to measure the similarity between their interests and those of individuals successfully employed in various occupations. Subjects who were designated as experimentals received manipulated inventory feedback which indicated that their measured interests were either very similar to, very dissimilar to, or average in comparison to those of professionals employed in the nine occupations rated on the pretest instrument. Control subjects received no interest inventory feedback. Finally, a posttest was administered to all of the subjects in the study. This instrument called for the subjects to rerate their interest in the nine occupational titles previously indicated on the pretest. Psychological reactance was ascertained by noting whether changes in pretest-posttest ratings between the experimental and control groups occurred in theoretically predicted directions. The t-test of significance, along with the analysis of variance, were utilized in order to determine whether changes in rated interest were significant at the . 05 and . 01 levels. The results of the study indicated that subjects who received manipulated vocational interest inventory feedback did not express psychological reactance. The study did reveal, however, a tendency on the part of subjects to adjust their rated occupational interest in accordance with the type of manipulated feedback received. Feedback which indicated that the subjects' interests were very similar to, or average in comparison to those of employed professionals in a specific occupation resulted in subjects slightly raising their interest in that vocation. Feedback which indicated that the subjects' interests were dissimilar to those of employed professionals produced mixed results. For occupations initially described as "interesting," this feedback resulted in subjects significantly decreasing their rated interest. For occupations initially described as "indifferent" or "uninteresting" however, this type of feedback produced a slight increase in rated interest. The implications of these findings were discussed relative to reactance theory and vocational guidance

The cultural challenge in mathematical cognition

In their recent paper on “Challenges in mathematical cognition”, Alcock and colleagues (Alcock et al. [2016]. Challenges in mathematical cognition: A collaboratively-derived research agenda. Journal of Numerical Cognition, 2, 20-41) defined a research agenda through 26 specific research questions. An important dimension of mathematical cognition almost completely absent from their discussion is the cultural constitution of mathematical cognition. Spanning work from a broad range of disciplines – including anthropology, archaeology, cognitive science, history of science, linguistics, philosophy, and psychology – we argue that for any research agenda on mathematical cognition the cultural dimension is indispensable, and we propose a set of exemplary research questions related to it

Site-Selective Real-Time Observation of Bimolecular Electron Transfer in a Photocatalytic System Using L-Edge X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy

Time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy has been utilized to monitor the bimolecular electron transfer in a photocatalytic water splitting system. This has been possible by uniting the local probe and element specific character of X-ray transitions with insights from high-level ab initio calculations. The specific target has been a heteroleptic [IrIII (ppy)2 (bpy)]+ photosensitizer, in combination with triethylamine as a sacrificial reductant and Fe3(CO)12 as a water reduction catalyst. The relevant molecular transitions have been characterized via high-resolution Ir L-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy on the picosecond time scale and restricted active space self-consistent field calculations. The presented methods and results will enhance our understanding of functionally relevant bimolecular electron transfer reactions and thus will pave the road to rational optimization of photocatalytic performance

Direct energy conversion in fission reactors: A U.S. NERI project

In principle, the energy released by a fission can be converted directly into electricity by using the charged fission fragments. The first theoretical treatment of direct energy conversion (DEC) appeared in the literature in 1957. Experiments were conducted over the next ten years, which identified a number of problem areas. Research declined by the late 1960's due to technical challenges that limited performance. Under the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative the authors are determining if these technical challenges can be overcome with todays technology. The authors present the basic principles of DEC reactors, review previous research, discuss problem areas in detail, and identify technological developments of the last 30 years that can overcome these obstacles. As an example, the fission electric cell must be insulated to avoid electrons crossing the cell. This insulation could be provided by a magnetic field as attempted in the early experiments. However, from work on magnetically insulated ion diodes they know how to significantly improve the field geometry. Finally, a prognosis for future development of DEC reactors will be presented

Trafficking of Hepatitis C Virus Core Protein during Virus Particle Assembly

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein is directed to the surface of lipid droplets (LD), a step that is essential for infectious virus production. However, the process by which core is recruited from LD into nascent virus particles is not well understood. To investigate the kinetics of core trafficking, we developed methods to image functional core protein in live, virus-producing cells. During the peak of virus assembly, core formed polarized caps on large, immotile LDs, adjacent to putative sites of assembly. In addition, LD-independent, motile puncta of core were found to traffic along microtubules. Importantly, core was recruited from LDs into these puncta, and interaction between the viral NS2 and NS3-4A proteins was essential for this recruitment process. These data reveal new aspects of core trafficking and identify a novel role for viral nonstructural proteins in virus particle assembly

Oxpentifylline versus placebo in the treatment of erythropoietin-resistant anaemia: a randomized controlled trial

Background: The main hypothesis of this study is that Oxpentifylline administration will effectively treat erythropoietin-or darbepoietin-resistant anaemia in chronic kidney disease patients