Three-year-olds' understanding of the consequences of joint commitments

No external funding has supported the current work.Here we investigate the extent of children's understanding of the joint commitments inherent in joint activities. Three-year-old children either made a joint commitment to assemble a puzzle with a puppet partner, or else the child and puppet each assembled their own puzzle. Afterwards, children who had made the joint commitment were more likely to stop and wait for their partner on their way to fetch something, more likely to spontaneously help their partner when needed, and more likely to take over their partner's role when necessary. There was no clear difference in children's tendency to tattle on their partner's cheating behavior or their tendency to distribute rewards equally at the end. It thus appears that by 3 years of age making a joint commitment to act together with others is beginning to engender in children a "we"-intentionality which holds across at least most of the process of the joint activity until the shared goal is achieved, and which withstands at least some of the perturbations to the joint activity children experience.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Dynamics of the Peccei Quinn Scale

Invoking the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) solution to the strong CP problem substitutes the puzzle of why $\theta_{qcd}$ is so small with the puzzle of why the PQ symmetry is of such high quality. Cosmological and astrophysical considerations raise further puzzles. This paper explores this issues in several contexts: string theory and field theory, and theories without and with low energy supersymmetry. Among the questions studied are whether requiring axion dark matter can account for the quality of the PQ symmetry, to which the answer is sometimes yes. In non-supersymmetric theories, we find $f_a = 10^{12}$ GeV is quite plausible. In gauge mediation, cosmological constraints on pseudomoduli place $f_a$ in this range, and require that the gravitino mass be of order an MeV.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figur

Young children show the bystander effect in helping situations

The authors thank the ESRC for supporting Harriet Over (grant number ES/K006702/1).Much research in social psychology has shown that otherwise helpful people often fail to help when bystanders are present. Research in developmental psychology has shown that even very young children help, and that others’ presence can actually increase helping in some cases. In the current study, in contrast, 5-year-old children helped an experimenter at very high levels when they were alone, but significantly less in the presence of bystanders who were potentially available to help. In another condition designed to elucidate the mechanism underlying the effect, children’s helping was not reduced when bystanders were present but confined behind a barrier and thus unable to help (a condition that has not been run in previous studies with adults). Young children thus show the bystander effect, and it is not due to social referencing or shyness to act in front of others, but rather to a sense of a diffusion of responsibility.PostprintPeer reviewe

Telehealth Utilization in Clinical Trials: Facilitators, Barriers, and Future Directions

Purpose: Telehealth implementation in clinical trials is not as well developed as compared to telehealth utilization in other areas of medical care. The focus of this project will explore the factors that foster and hinder the effective use of telehealth in clinical trials and how these insights can inform future strategies and policies. Method: The project synthesizes empirical research and theoretical literature on the integration of telehealth into clinical trial. The research utilizes an online survey via REDCap to gauge the level of acceptance, perceived effectiveness, and potential barriers to the implementation of telehealth in clinical research. Results: The responses of 25 professional participants highlight the optimistic perspective on the contribution of telehealth to clinical research and acknowledge the obstacles and opportunities that arise from the integration of artificial intelligence. The results provide insights into the factors that foster and hinder telehealth implementation for future expansion. Conclusion: The project supported the expanded use of telehealth in clinical research to improve participant accessibility, diversity and recruitment, cost reductions, an increase efficiency. The policy implications include standardizing state licensure requirements and consistency in Investigational Review Boards (IRBs). Future research is recommended with larger sample sizes across a larger national or international region

An Interview with Attorney General Michael Carpenter

In a recent interview with Maine Policy Review, Maine State Attorney General Michael Carpenter discussed the notable public policy challenges facing his office, specifically, and Maine law enforcement, generally

Ferroelasticity, anelasticity and magnetoelastic relaxation in Co-doped iron pnictide: Ba(Fe0.957Co0.043)2As2

The hypothesis that strain has a permeating influence on ferroelastic, magnetic and superconducting transitions in 122 iron pnictides has been tested by investigating variations of the elastic and anelastic properties of a single crystal of Ba(Fe0.957Co0.043)2As2 by Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy as a function of temperature and externally applied magnetic field. Non-linear softening and stiffening of C66 in the stability fields of both the tetragonal and orthorhombic structures has been found to conform quantitatively to the Landau expansion for a pseudoproper ferroelastic transition which is second order in character. The only exception is that the transition occurs at a temperature (TS ≈ 69 K) ~10 K above the temperature at which C66 would extrapolate to zero ( ≈ 59 K). An absence of anomalies associated with antiferromagnetic ordering below TN ≈ 60 K implies that coupling of the magnetic order parameter with shear strain is weak. It is concluded that linear-quadratic coupling between the structural/electronic and antiferromagnetic order parameters is suppressed due to the effects of local heterogeneous strain fields arising from the substitution of Fe by Co. An acoustic loss peak at ~50-55 K is attributed to the influence of mobile ferroelastic twin walls that become pinned by a thermally activated process involving polaronic defects. Softening of C66 by up to ~6% below the normal – superconducting transition at TC ≈ 13 K demonstrates an effective coupling of the shear strain with the order parameter for the superconducting transition which arises indirectly as a consequence of unfavourable coupling of the superconducting order parameter with the ferroelastic order parameter. Ba(Fe0.957Co0.043)2As2 is representative of 122 pnictides as forming a class of multiferroic superconductors in which elastic strain relaxations underpin almost all aspects of coupling between the structural, magnetic and superconducting order parameters and of dynamic properties of the transformation microstructures they contain.RUS facilities in Cambridge were established through grants from the Natural Environment Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council of Great Britain to MAC.: EP/I036079/1, NE/B505738/1, NE/F17081/1. The work presented here was funded specifically through NE/F17081/1. AC magnetic measurements were carried out using the Advanced Materials Characterisation Suite, funded by EPSRC Strategic Equipment Grant EP/M000524/1. PM acknowledges funding from the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability

Characterizing the chemistry of yellow-poplar surfaces exposed to different surface energy environments using DCA, DSC, and XPS

Surface energy changes in extracted and unextracted yellow-poplar upon exposure to aluminum, teflon, and heat/air surface treatments have been described using dynamic contact angle (DCA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. Results show that the surface molecular orientation of yellow-poplar can be controlled by increasing the temperature above the Tg of lignin with exposure to either an environment of higher (aluminum) or lower (teflon) surface energy. Above the Tg, increases in free volume allows greater molecular mobility that enables increased diffusion of extractives to the surface and reorientation of polymer molecules and/or functional groups. Above the Tg, the wood with aluminum treatment is greater in surface energy than the control and other surface treatments. The surface energy obtained from teflon treatment, at temperatures above the Tg, was lower than heat/air treatment. There was less preferential reorientation evident from all surface treatments with the absence of extractives

Simulations of Arctic mixed-phase clouds using a new aerosol-linked ice nuclei parameterization in a prognostic ice prediction scheme

2013 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Despite the nearly universally-accepted notion that the Arctic is one of the most important areas to fully understand in the face of a changing global climate, observations from the region remain sparse, particularly of clouds and aerosol concentrations and sources. Low-level, mixed-phase clouds in the Arctic are capable of remarkable persistence, lasting for several days when our knowledge of the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen (WBF) process suggests that complete conversion to ice, or glaciation, should occur much faster, within a couple of hours. Multiple attempts at simulating these long-lived, mixed-phase clouds have been unable to accurately reproduce all cloud properties observed, with a major consequence being poor representation of radiative transfer, with important consequences for long-term climate simulations. Recent observational campaigns have sought to characterize ice-nucleating particles (IN) not just in the Arctic, but around the planet. A product of these campaigns, the DeMott IN parameterization (DeMott et al., 2010) seeks to provide a means for accurately implementing IN concentration calculations in a global model using minimal, readily-available proxy measurements or estimates of number concentrations of particles having diameters larger than 0.5 microns. In this study, the performance of this parameterization is tested in a cloud-resolving model capable of high resolution simulations of Arctic mixed-phase boundary layer stratus clouds. Three mixed-phase cloud case studies observed during the Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign (ISDAC) and Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment (M-PACE) are simulated with varying complexity in their cloud microphysical packages. The goal is to test the new aerosol-linked parameterization as well as the sensitivity of the observed clouds to ice nuclei concentrations. In an effort to increase the realism of the aerosol-cloud interactions represented in the cloud-resolving model, a new, simple prognostic scheme for the activation of ice nuclei is incorporated. The new scheme imposes a finite budget on potential ice nuclei, which are depleted through ice activation and growth, and can potentially be replenished by sublimating ice crystals. Results are contrasted with simulations in which no depletion of IN is assumed. In this study, we found that while the DeMott IN parameterization successfully predicted available IN concentrations within observational error, the model was unable to predict sufficiently high pristine ice concentrations for one of the case studies. There were likely issues with the model or initialization in this case. For two of the case studies, the model performed exceptionally well, predicting accurate ice number concentrations as well as cloud droplet concentrations, leading to reasonable predictions of downwelling longwave radiation at the surface. In all cases, the model failed to predict reasonable cloud ice water contents. In the future, tests of ice crystal habits and growth rates may improve microphysical representation and predicted ice water contents. Replenishment of scavenged ice nuclei via surface fluxes and long-range transport can be included in the simulations to increase realism, but more observations are needed to accurately quantify these effects

Early successional processes of basaltic lava ecosystems on Mt.Etna (Sicily) with additional comparative studies of Mauna Loa (Hawaii)

A thesis submitted to the University of Luton in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.Primary succession on the basaltic lava flows of Mt.Etna was studied usmg chronosequence theory to investigate the first 500 years of ecosystem development. Separate experiments were conducted to look at how plant species, nutrient availability and lichen activity on the lava changed over time under different conditions based on the site location (age, aspect and altitude on the volcano). By comparing the results of these different areas of study, close links were observed between soil development and nutrient availability. Lichens were found to be an important stage in primary succession introducing biomass to form a developing soil as well as weathering the lava surface. The plant species present on the lava were found to change as plants first colonised the lava and were then replaced as further species appeared over time. Nutrient availability was investigated in living plant material by measurement of the enzyme nitrate reductase and also in the developing soil. Two large inputs of nitrogen were observed in the chronosequences. An early input believed to be lichen derived and another steadily increasing input associated with the soil. The biomass of the nitrogen fixing lichen Stereocaulofl vesuvianum on the lava flows was found to change over time with a rapid increase over the first 100 years of the chronosequence followed by a slower decline as competition and shading from vascular plants covered available habitat. S. vesuvianum was also found to be an efficient weathering agent on the lava altering the surface morphology. This weathering was observed qualitatively by detailed visual examination of the lava surface by scanning electron microscopy. Weathering was also measured quantitatively using an intelligent machine vision computer system, to collate the surface changes of many images simultaneously and compare surface change to a baseline chronosequence, allowing discrimination of fine differences in the extent of weathering. Two of the experiments conducted on Mt.Etna (nitrate reductase activity and lichen weathering) were repeated on a second volcano, Mauna Loa (Hawaii). This tested if the trends observed on Etna were typical of primary succession on lava and the impact of a different climate regime (tropical) compared to Etna (temperate). Nitrate reductase activity was found to be very low in the primary colonising species studied on Hawaii indicating that nitrogen is limited on the early lava flows. Lichen weathering by Stereocaulon vulcani on Hawaii was found to occur in a comparable manner to S. vesuvianum on Etna, and was similarly controlled by the lichen biomass and associated climatic conditions