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Area and Capacitance Characterization of Nickel, Cobalt, and Nickel-Cobalt Electrodeposited Thin Films
Get PDFMany catalysts in energy production, specifically hydrogen and methanol fuel cells, use platinum as an effective catalyst. Platinum used in these fuel cells is uneconomical causing any energy production mechanisms that use platinum to be cost ineffective. There have been many studies with different combinations of platinum with different metals such as nickel, copper, iron, and cobalt to lessen the amount of platinum needed. However, these studies have relied on platinum being in the thin film electrodes. Through the use of electrodeposition, nickel, cobalt, and nickel-cobalt thin films were created with controlled potential electrolysis without the need of platinum. Characterization of these thin film electrodes were done with cyclic voltammetry and atomic force microscopy. With these methods, the electrochemical area, capacitance, and roughness factor of each thin film electrode were able to be determined. Correlation of these data and the significance of these measurements help to determine the effectiveness that these thin film electrodes could have as catalysts or in other energy applications
Does Meaning Affirmation Reduce Defensiveness? The Role of Recalling Cherished Relationships.
No full textHumans desire meaning. Drawing from Terror Management Theory (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986) and the Meaning Maintenance Model (Heine, Proulx, & Vohs, 2006), we examined potential buffers for threats to meaning. According to TMT, people find meaning in cultural worldviews. When people are faced with challenges to their worldviews, they defend their worldview to regain meaning. Similarly, the MMM suggests that various sources of meaning (belonging, self-esteem, certainty, symbolic immortality) are interchangeable; affirming one domain may reduce the reliance on another source of meaning (Van Tongeren & Green, 2010). Based on this, we predicted that bolstering someone’s meaning through meaning affirmation would buffer them a subsequent meaning threat (e.g., criticism of their beliefs). We hypothesized that those who affirmed their meaning would be less defensive than those who had not been affirmed. Participants were 79 self-identified Christian students who participated in a between-subjects design, randomly assigned to a relationship affirmation, self affirmation, or neutral condition. Next, participants were asked to write a short essay about an issue important to them. They were then told their essay would be exchanged with another participant’s essay but instead were given a fixed essay that was critical of religion and fixed negative feedback on their own essay (i.e., a meaning threat to religious participants). Next, participants were given a chance to the rate the author of the fixed essay they read. There was a significant effect of priming condition on author rating, supporting our hypothesis that participants in the relationship affirmation condition rated the author’s essay significantly higher than participants in the neutral condition. This suggests that relationship affirmation can buffer from meaning threats and reduce worldview defensive
Influence of Self-Reported Standards on Romantic Mate Choice
Get PDFPast research on mate standards has generally focused on identifying people’s reported standards, with the assumption that these reports accurately predict later partnering behavior. However, only a handful of studies have examined this assumption directly, most of which have involved either speed-dating contexts where stated preferences do not appear to predict initial mating judgments (e.g., Eastwick & Finkel, 2008), or relational contexts where standard-partner consistency is assessed in already established relationships (e.g., Fletcher, Simpson, & Thomas, 2000). The goal of our research was to assess unmarried individuals’ previously reported (i.e., a priori) standards and investigate the conditions under which these standards predict the characteristics of the partners people choose in subsequently formed relationships. We used a sample of 79 unmarried adults to test our hypotheses that people would choose a mate who more closely matched their a priori standards when they had higher mate value and mate availability, reported being in a committed rather than casual relationship, and indicated higher current desire for marriage (i.e., marriage imminence) and standard salience. Our results indicated found that higher minimum standards for physical attractiveness and vitality did predict becoming involved with a partner who was higher in these traits. Also, as predicted, participants with higher standard salience were more likely than participants with a lower standard salience to enter a relationship with someone who more closely matched their a priori standards on status/resources, trustworthiness, and total mate standards. Contrary to our hypothesis, we found that people with lower mate availability were actually partnered with people who more closely reflected their standards for physical attractiveness. Mate value, relationship type, and marital imminence did not moderate any of the associations examined
First Application Of The γ-summing Technique In Inverse Kinematics
No full textThe gamma-summing technique was successfully implemented for the first Lime in inverse kinematics using the NSCL Summing NaI(Tl) detector at the Nuclear Science Laboratory of the University of Notre Dame. This new method offers a way to measure (p,gamma) and (alpha,gamma) reactions on unstable nuclei, which are critical for an improved understanding of nucleosynthesis. As a proof of principle, the well-known resonances at E-c.m. = 956 key in the p(Al-27,gamma)Si-28 reaction and at E-c.m. = 1400 keV in the p(Ni-58,gamma)Cu-59 reaction were measured and their resonance strengths were deduced. The values of the present work agree well with the reported literature values, demonstrating the viability of the technique. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Low-lying Neutron Unbound States In Be-12
Get PDFThe neutron decay of an unbound resonance in Be-12 has been measured at 1243 +/- 21 keV decay energy with a width of 634 +/- 60 keV. This state was populated with a one-proton removal reaction from a 71 MeV/u B-13 beam incident upon a beryllium target. The invariant mass reconstruction of the resonance was achieved by measuring the daughter fragment in coincidence with neutrons. Despite being above the 2n separation energy, the state decays predominantly by the emission of one neutron to Be-11, setting an upper limit on the branching ratio for the two-neutron decay channel to Be-10 of less than 5%. From the characteristics of the population and decay of the resonance, it is concluded that this state cannot correspond to the previously observed state at 4580 +/- 5 keV
Getting To Work: Experimental Evidence On Job Search And Transportation Costs
No full textDo transportation costs constrain job search in urban low wage labor markets? I test this question by providing transit subsidies to randomly selected clients of a non-profit employment agency. The subsidies generate a large, short-run increase in search intensity for a transit subsidy group relative to a control group receiving standard job search services but no transit subsidy. In the first two weeks, individuals assigned to the transit subsidy group apply and interview for 19% more jobs than those not receiving subsidies. The subsidies generate the greatest increase in search intensity for individuals living far from employment opportunities. Some suggestive evidence indicates that greater search intensity translates into shorter unemployment durations. These results provide experimental evidence in support of the theory that search costs over space can depress job search intensity, contributing to persistent urban poverty in neighborhoods far from job opportunities. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Do Religious Affirmations, Religious Commitments, or General Commitments Mitigate the Negative Effects of Exposure to Thin Ideals?
Get PDFWestern pressures for thinness tell women that having a thin body makes a person worthy. Two factors that may provide alternative means of self-worth are religion and general commitment to a meaningful goal. This study experimentally tested whether religious-affirming statements buffered against exposure to thin models for everyone, or only for women with strong religious commitment. It also examined the relationships among religious commitment, general commitment, and body satisfaction. One hundred eleven women at a religious-affiliated college completed the commitment scales and baseline body measures. They were later randomly assigned to read one set of affirming statements, after which they then completed body measures again. Results showed that religious commitment buffered against exposure to ultrathin models. Women who were strongly religiously committed and who read religious statements that affirmed the body showed higher body esteem. Correlation results showed that general commitment was positively related to body esteem, body satisfaction, and healthy dieting. Religious commitment was positively related to body esteem and body satisfaction. Results are discussed in relation to schemas and depth of processing. Practical implications are discussed
The Flickering Torch Mystery
No full textWinner of the 2014 Van Wylen Library Altered Book Award
Artist Statement: The title of the book The Flickering Torch MysterY , for me dictates the form of the book, that being a flashlight. The images and text of the book become less important than the physical form, but still remain relevant to the overall reception of the book. The title, images and text have a humorous relationship with the form, one that can be read in direct relationship with the title, and one that can give a metaphorical interpretation of the book as a tool for illumination.https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/altered_book/1091/thumbnail.jp