Achievement Motivation: Examination of Explicit and Implicit Measurements in Two Studies

Two theories that seek to explain personality are explicit traits (Allport, 1937) and implicit motives (Murray, 1938; McClelland, 1951). The present research investigates both implicit and explicit cognitions (specifically cognitions related to achievement motivation). Scores on three implicit measures, one explicit measure, and cognitive ability were obtained (N = 294) as well as performance on an attention task. Study 1 examined the theoretical similarities and differences among the implicit measures, as well as their relationship with an explicit measure. No significant correlations were observed among the implicit measures, and only the IAT correlated with the explicit measure. Factor analysis revealed that the implicit measures loaded on separate factors. Study 2 examined how the implicit measures combine with the explicit measure to predict performance and task continuation while manipulating feedback and task setting. Implicit and explicit achievement motivation interacted with feedback and task setting to predict performance; however findings were not consistent across implicit measures. Results indicate that additional research is required to understand better the construct of implicit achievement motivation

Scaling and Suppression of Anomalous Heating in Ion Traps

We measure and characterize anomalous motional heating of an atomic ion confined in the lowest quantum levels of a novel rf ion trap that features moveable electrodes. The scaling of heating with electrode proximity is measured, and when the electrodes are cooled from 300 to 150 K, the heating rate is suppressed by an order of magnitude. This provides direct evidence that anomalous motional heating of trapped ions stems from microscopic noisy potentials on the electrodes that are thermally driven. These observations are relevant to decoherence in quantum information processing schemes based on trapped ions and perhaps other charge-based quantum systems

Zero-Point cooling and low heating of trapped 111Cd+ ions

We report on ground state laser cooling of single 111Cd+ ions confined in radio-frequency (Paul) traps. Heating rates of trapped ion motion are measured for two different trapping geometries and electrode materials, where no effort was made to shield the electrodes from the atomic Cd source. The low measured heating rates suggest that trapped 111Cd+ ions may be well-suited for experiments involving quantum control of atomic motion, including applications in quantum information science.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, Submitted to PR

Fourier analysis of 2-point Hermite interpolatory subdivision schemes

Two subdivision schemes with Hermite data on Z are studied. These schemes use 2 or 7 parameters respectively depending on whether Hermite data involve only first derivatives or include second derivatives. For a large region in the parameters space, the schemes are C1 or C2 convergent or at least are convergent on the space of Schwartz distributions. The Fourier transform of any interpolating function can be computed through products of matrices of order 2 or 3. The Fourier transform is related to a specific system of functional equations whose analytic solution is unique except for a multiplicative constant. The main arguments for these results come from Paley-Wiener-Schwartz theorem on the characterization of the Fourier transforms of distributions with compact support and a theorem of Artzrouni about convergent products of matrices

T-junction ion trap array for two-dimensional ion shuttling, storage and manipulation

We demonstrate a two-dimensional 11-zone ion trap array, where individual laser-cooled atomic ions are stored, separated, shuttled, and swapped. The trap geometry consists of two linear rf ion trap sections that are joined at a 90 degree angle to form a T-shaped structure. We shuttle a single ion around the corners of the T-junction and swap the positions of two crystallized ions using voltage sequences designed to accommodate the nontrivial electrical potential near the junction. Full two-dimensional control of multiple ions demonstrated in this system may be crucial for the realization of scalable ion trap quantum computation and the implementation of quantum networks.Comment: 3 pages, 5 figure

Point de vue masculin sur la pornographie : des fantasmes à la réalité

Objectifs. — Documenter les effets de l’utilisation de la pornographie sur les scripts, carrière sexuelle, et relations intimes de jeunes hommes. Méthodologie. — Dans un souci de neutralité et pour éviter le plus possible tout a priori, cette recherche utilise la construction empirique de la théorie, afin d’aller au-delà des idées préconçues au sujet de la pornographie. Dans le cadre d’entrevues semi-dirigées, nous donnons la parole à 20 jeunes hommes hétérosexuels de 18 à 25 ans, afin de documenter les effets de l’utilisation de la pornographie surleursscripts etleur carrière sexuels, ainsi que surleursrelations intimes. Résultats. — Pour certains jeunes, elle serait, au début, une forme d’éducation sexuelle. Pour d’autres encore, elle n’acquiert de signification érotique que plus tard. Par la suite, la pornographie constituerait un moyen de visualiser desfantasmes qu’ils avaient déjà imaginés, et elle leur fournirait parfois des manières précises de les réaliser. Discussion. — Pour plusieurs, la masturbation et pornographie se confondent. Information, éducation, satisfaction d’une curiosité ou excitation, la fonction de la pornographie ne se résumerait, aux yeux des jeunes hommes, qu’à un moment d’évasion, ceux-ci n’accordant en définitive que peu de crédibilité à cette forme d’imagerie. Conclusion. — Ilsemble en fait que l’usage de la pornographie s’inscrive dans une relation dynamique et diachronique chez les jeunes. Cette recherche permet de concevoir des interventions adaptées aux problématiques masculines.Objectives. —To document the impact of pornography use upon the sexual scripts of young men as well as upon their sexual careers and intimate relationships. Methodology. —For the sake of remaining neutral, and to avoid as much as possible any a priori, this research uses the grounded theory to go beyond the usual preconception about pornography. Twenty young heterosexuals between 18 and 25 were given the chance to express themselves on these subjects during 20 partially supervised interviews. Results. —For some of them, pornography seems to be a form of initial sexual education. For others, its erotic aspect appears only later. Discussion. —Itseemsthat after a certain time, pornography is used to visualize some old fantasies 2 and,sometimes, to materialize them. For many of them, masturbation and pornography merge. Conclusion. —No matter its function—information, education, satisfaction of a curiosity or arousal—, pornography seems only to amount to some sort of momentary escape, as these young men do not give much credit to this form of fantasy. In fact, it seems that pornography use is part of a dynamic and diachronic relation in young people. This research allows the development of interventions specifically adapted to masculinity issues

Implementation of Grover's Quantum Search Algorithm in a Scalable System

We report the implementation of Grover's quantum search algorithm in the scalable system of trapped atomic ion quantum bits. Any one of four possible states of a two-qubit memory is marked, and following a single query of the search space, the marked element is successfully recovered with an average probability of 60(2)%. This exceeds the performance of any possible classical search algorithm, which can only succeed with a maximum average probability of 50%.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, updated error discussio