Characterization of PLZT ceramics modified by isovalent (Ba,Sr), donor (Nb) and acceptor (Zn) dopants for piezoelectric applications

This article describes the influence of microstructure on the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of isovalent- donor- and acceptor-modified lead lanthanum zirconium titanate (PLZT) ceramics. The ceramic compositions, with formula: [Pb_0.954La_0.016Ba_0.01Sr_0.02][Zr_0.525Ti_0.475]_{0.981?( m /2)}Nb_0.012Zn _m O₃ where m =?0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 mol% Zn, were synthesized via a solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction studies are supported by tolerance factor and electronegativity difference measurements. Scanning electron microscopy studies reveal grain growth enhancement with increase of Zn concentration. As the Zn concentration increased from 0 to 0.8 mol%, the room-temperature dielectric constant increased while the Curie temperature decreased continuously. An increase in the Zn content had the most significant effect on the piezoelectric properties. The optimum piezoelectric properties were observed for 1 mol% Zn composition.     

Individual differences in spatial configuration learning predict the occurrence of intrusive memories

The dual-representation model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Brewin, Gregory, Lipton, & Burgess, Psychological Review, 117, 210-232 2010) argues that intrusions occur when people fail to construct context-based representations during adverse experiences. The present study tested a specific prediction flowing from this model. In particular, we investigated whether the efficiency of temporal-lobe-based spatial configuration learning would account for individual differences in intrusive experiences and physiological reactivity in the laboratory. Participants (N = 82) completed the contextual cuing paradigm, which assesses spatial configuration learning that is believed to depend on associative encoding in the parahippocampus. They were then shown a trauma film. Afterward, startle responses were quantified during presentation of trauma reminder pictures versus unrelated neutral and emotional pictures. PTSD symptoms were recorded in the week following participation. Better configuration learning performance was associated with fewer perceptual intrusions, r = ?.33, p < .01, but was unrelated to physiological responses to trauma reminder images (ps > .46) and had no direct effect on intrusion-related distress and overall PTSD symptoms, rs > ?.12, ps > .29. However, configuration learning performance tended to be associated with reduced physiological responses to unrelated negative images, r = ?.20, p = .07. Thus, while spatial configuration learning appears to be unrelated to affective responding to trauma reminders, our overall findings support the idea that the context-based memory system helps to reduce intrusions.     

International Genetic Counseling Students’ Perspective on Their Training Experience in the United States

International students face social, psychological and academic challenges upon moving to a foreign country to pursue higher education. Clinical disciplines such as genetic counseling present additional challenges adapting to an unfamiliar health care system and different interactions and expectations with patients and colleagues. This study used semi-structured interviews to identify challenges that international genetic counseling students face during training in the United States. Eight international genetic counseling alumni who graduated from U.S.-accredited programs were interviewed. Participants stated that the U.S. academic system was unfamiliar—class participation and paper-writing required the greatest adjustment. There was a need for help in understanding social norms in academic settings. Clinically, they were unfamiliar with the dynamics and communication style of U.S. families. Non-native English speakers experienced greater difficulty in all areas. Most participants reported that they were uncomfortable asking for help in transitioning to life, study and work. Participants identified mentorship programs for international students as potentially useful in clarifying expectations in academic and clinical settings. These results may assist international students preparing to study genetic counseling in the U.S. and may help genetic counseling training programs identify the academic and clinical challenges faced by international students.     

Elevation easier than plan for sighted and early-blind adults in a perspective-taking task

Plans show shapes of objects from above, and represent both their left–right order and their order in the z-dimension (the distance of the objects). Elevations show only the vertical shapes of objects arranged from left to right. Plans, having more spatial information, may be more difficult for participants to construct. Results from a study with sighted, sighted-blindfolded, and early-blind participants on Piaget's perspective-taking three-mountain task support this hypothesis. The plan task was judged more difficult than the elevation task even when participants performed with the same level of accuracy on both tasks. In visual and tactile tasks, amount of spatial-order information may determine difficulty, rather than plan versus elevation per se.     

Explanatory Style and Health: Mechanisms Linking Pessimism to Illness1

This study tests the relationship between pessimistic explanatory style and illness with questionnaire data. Questionnaires were administered to 234 college students at a mid‐sized Western university. Four variables were tested as potential mediators of the pessimistic explanatory style/illness relationship: symptoms of depression, perceived stress, social support, and poor health practices. Results indicated that only the global dimension of pessimistic explanatory style was related to experiences of illness, and hence was the only dimension that could be mediated by the proposed variables. Results demonstrated that symptoms of depression mediated the relationship between global attributions for negative events and illness. Exploratory analyses also suggest that stress is implicated in this process such that it increases symptoms of depression, which in turn influence illness.     

Does Absence Make the Heart Grow Fonder? Work-Related Travel and Marital Satisfaction

Using a sample of 961 dual-earner couples, the authors examined the relationship between work-related travel and marital satisfaction, using gender role attitudes and parental status as moderators. For women and men with children, the impact of travel is generally consistent with gender role congruence theory, which posits that marital satisfaction will be highest when gender role attitudes and gender role behaviors are congruent. Generally, when one holds traditional gender role attitudes, marital satisfaction is stable or enhanced when the husband travels, and is lower when the wife travels. Nontraditional parents are generally less happy if either member travels. The results were less predictable among couples without children in the home.     

Drawing to reconstruct: Pilot study on acknowledging prisoners' internal and external resources in a penitentiary institution

Since the first offender rehabilitation treatments, all theoretical approaches have been focusing on reducing risk factors that may influence recidivism, without satisfactory results. Recent resilience research has instead shown the important mediating or moderating role of protective factors and provided the theoretical principles for the Good Lives Model Comprehensive. This holistic model suggests the importance of integrating the reduction of risk factors with the reinforcement of protective factors in offenders' treatment programs. This combined action is considered the main condition through which offenders are motivated to change their life and develop a sense of agency on their current life conditions. This article presents a pilot study, aimed at analyzing the feasibility of a psychosocial intervention, based on graphic workshops. The purpose of the intervention is helping prisoners strive toward adaptation in jail, and facilitating the redesign of their life beyond bars. Drawing activities allowed prisoners to enhance their own internal and external resources, and recognize risk and protective factors that could influence their successful reintegration into society. The main limit of this study is directly linked to the setting of the penitentiary institution where the study was conducted, which is characterized by a high prisoners' turn over.     

‘They will not control us’: Ingroup positivity and belief in intergroup conspiracies

This research examined the role of different forms of positive regard for the ingroup in predicting beliefs in intergroup conspiracies. Collective narcissism reflects a belief in ingroup greatness contingent on others’ recognition. We hypothesized that collective narcissism should be especially likely to foster outgroup conspiracy beliefs. Non‐narcissistic ingroup positivity, on the other hand, should predict a weaker tendency to believe in conspiracy theories. In Study 1, the endorsement of conspiratorial explanations of outgroup actions was positively predicted by collective narcissism but negatively by non‐narcissistic ingroup positivity. Study 2 showed that the opposite effects of collective narcissism and non‐narcissistic ingroup positivity on conspiracy beliefs were mediated via differential perceptions of threat. Study 3 manipulated whether conspiracy theories implicated ingroup or outgroup members. Collective narcissism predicted belief in outgroup conspiracies but not in ingroup conspiracies, while non‐narcissistic ingroup positivity predicted lower conspiracy beliefs, regardless of them being ascribed to the ingroup or the outgroup.     

On the Grammar of Politics—or Why Conservatives Prefer Nouns

Previous research indicates that political conservatism is associated with epistemic needs for structure and certainty (Jost et al., 2003) and that nouns elicit clearer and more definite perceptions of reality than other parts of speech (Carnaghi et al., 2008). We therefore hypothesized that conservatives would exhibit preferences for nouns (vs. verbs and adjectives), insofar as nouns are better suited to satisfy epistemic needs. In Study 1, we observed that social conservatism was associated with noun preferences in Polish and that personal need for structure accounted for the association between ideology and grammatical preferences. In Study 2, conducted in Arabic, social conservatism was associated with a preference for the use of nominal sentences (composed of nouns only) over verbal sentences (which included verbs and adjectives). In Study 3, we found that more conservative U.S. presidents used greater proportions of nouns in major speeches, and this effect was related to integrative complexity. We discuss the possibility that conservative ideology is linked to grammatical preferences that foster feelings of stability and predictability.