Mediating and moderating variables between discretionary purchases and happiness

Media and societal images suggest that the accumulation of objects, possessions, and wealth will produce happiness. However, research has found higher rates of materialism are associated with lower levels of happiness. The current studies explored the relationship between different types of purchases and happiness. Specifically, experiential purchases are distinguished from material purchases in terms of goal; experiential purchases have the goal of acquiring a life experience, while material purchases have the goal of acquiring an object. Several studies have found that experiential purchases are associated with more happiness than material purchases. A number of variables that mediate and moderate the relationship between purchase type and happiness were investigated

Verbal and nonverbal mitigating communication on information processing and anger

Frustration, anger, and aggression have been linked in the literature. Studies have shown that participants are capable of using verbal and nonverbal communication to display and interpret emotions. One interesting communication phenomena is mitigating information, this would include an apology or an explanation. The fundamental attribution error posits that people attribute an individual\u27s behavior to dispositional characteristics more often than situational components. In the current study participants were undergraduate psychology students recruited for a study investigating social interaction. Participants engaged in a frustrating interaction and encountered one of four communication conditions. These included verbal or nonverbal communication, with and without mitigating information. It was found that communication and mitigation influenced attribution. Frustration was correlated to anger, and more anger was reported in the verbal nonmitigating condition. Internal attribution was reported in nonverbal nonmitigating and verbal mitigating conditions. Furthermore, external attribution was reported in verbal communication. Conclusions and implications are discussed

Bringing Contemporary Issues and Topics into an Electromagnetics Course

Electromagnetism describes foundational principles in the field of electrical engineering. However, in a typical course, the connection to modern engineering topics can easily be missed while focusing on complex mathematics, physics and the mechanics of vector algebra. A final project in an electromagnetics course at Valparaiso University was developed to highlight the continued significance and applicability of this field of study. For this assignment, student pairs selected and presented a reputable article reporting on a contemporary issue directly related to an electromagnetic device, concept or system that was of interest to them. This project provided students with an opportunity to connect course concepts with modern applications while practicing effective verbal and written communication on advanced technical topics. Allowing students to self-select topics brought autonomy to the course and the freedom to research an application that aligned with their individual interests. Additionally, students gained exposure to a wider range of modern electromagnetics applications including wireless charging, the Tesla solar roof, cellular networks, RFID applications and MRI technology. This paper presents the details of this project and its implementation in a senior-level electromagnetics course. Samples of student work, instructor and peer assessment of verbal presentations and assessment of the written reports are presented. Further, we provide a brief qualitative analysis of the student experience with this project. Overall, the exercise was well received with impressive and engaging student presentations. This lesson could be further improved by incorporating additional electromagnetic applications throughout the course and highlighting their ethical and societal impacts. These examples will improve students’ ability to identify the larger impacts of their chosen topics

Systems and methods for altering visual acuity

Provided are systems operable to effect a temporary change in a modulation transfer function (MTF) of a target imaging system. The systems include a light source operable to produce light for transient propagation onto at least a portion of the target imaging system, a power source in operative communication with the light source and configured to effect the production of light from the light source, and a transmission unit in operative communication with the light source and configured to propagate the produced light onto at least a portion of the target imaging system. The propagated light is configured for absorbance by the portion of the target imaging system; the absorbance causes an increase in temperature and a change in a refractive index profile of at least the portion of the imaging system. The change in refractive index profile produces a temporary change in the MTF of the imaging system.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

Effectiveness of mobile apps in teaching field-based identification skills

It has been suggested that few students graduate with the skills required for many ecological careers, as field-based learning is said to be in decline in academic institutions. Here, we asked if mobile technology could improve field-based learning, using ability to identify birds as the study metric. We divided a class of ninety-one undergraduate students into two groups for field-based sessions where they were taught bird identification skills. The first group has access to a traditional identification book and the second group were provided with an identification app. We found no difference between the groups in the ability of students to identify birds after three field sessions. Furthermore, we found that students using the traditional book were significantly more likely to identify novel species. Therefore, we find no evidence that mobile technology improved students’ ability to retain what they experienced in the field; indeed, there is evidence that traditional field guides were more useful to students as they attempted to identify new species. Nevertheless, students felt positively about using their own smartphone devices for learning, highlighting that while apps did not lead to an improvement in bird identification ability, they gave greater accessibility to relevant information outside allocated teaching times

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 28: The technical communication practices of Russian and US aerospace engineers and scientists

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two studies were conducted that investigated the technical communication practices of Russian and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies had the same five objectives: first, to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communication to their professions; second, to determine the use and production of technical communication by aerospace engineers and scientists; third, to seek their views about the appropriate content of the undergraduate course in technical communication; fourth, to determine aerospace engineers' and scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line databases; and fifth, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them. A self administered questionnaire was distributed to Russian aerospace engineers and scientists at the Central Aero-Hydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) and to their U.S. counterparts at the NASA Ames Research Center and the NASA Langley Research Center. The completion rates for the Russian and U.S. surveys were 64 and 61 percent, respectively. Responses of the Russian and U.S. participants to selected questions are presented in this paper

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 21: Technological innovation and technical communications: Their place in aerospace engineering curricula. A survey of European, Japanese, and US Aerospace Engineers and Scientists

Aerospace engineers and scientists from Western Europe, Japan, and the United States were surveyed as part of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Questionnaires were used to solicit their opinions regarding the following: (1) the importance of technical communications to their profession; (2) the use and production of technical communications; and (3) their views about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications. The ability to communicate technical information effectively was very important to the aerospace engineers and scientists who participated in the study. A considerable portion of their working week is devoted to using and producing technical information. The types of technical communications used and produced varied within and among the three groups. The type of technical communication product used and produced appears to be related to respondents' professional duties. Respondents from the three groups made similar recommendations regarding the principles, mechanics, and on-the-job communications to be included in an undergraduate technical communications course for aerospace majors