The economic impact of uncertainties associated with energy-saving technologies

We will analyze the economic sensitivity of new energy-saving technologies to weather, future energy price, and system lifetime uncertainties. Graphical rate of return analysis is employed. A representative residential solar water heating investment is analyzed to illustrate the impact of uncertainties. The wide range of reasonable rates of return found suggests some considerations for policy makers and some areas of future research.     

Assessment of the value of rivers for Otters (Lutra lutra)

The British otter Lutra lutra L. requires good water quality, an adequate supply of fish and certain types of vegetation or cavities (holts) adjacent to water bodies for resting and breeding sites. In the U.K. otters and their holts are legally protected. Trained surveyors are needed to confirm the presence of otters on a river as the animals are rarely seen, but their tracks and droppings (spraints) may be detected. To evaluate a river for otters, information is required on water quality, fish species and biomass, as well as available habitat. Pioneer evaluation work based on the River Corridor Survey techniques has been done on Welsh rivers with good otter populations. Riparian vegetation, especially trees, is shown to be particularly important. This work is now being extended to areas on the margins of otter distribution such as the lower river Wye in England and Wales. Such surveys provide important management information for water authorities and give opportunities for enhancement work to benefit this animal.     

Predicting Youth Access to Tobacco: The Role of Youth Versus Store-Clerk Behavior and Issues of Ecological Validity.

Twenty-one 15- to 17-year-olds attempted to purchase cigarettes in 232 stores in the manner that confederates typically do in access studies, as well as in the manipulative ways (e.g., lying about their ages) that youth smokers do, thereby modeling youth access to tobacco within versus outside of studies, respectively. Youth typical-research versus manipulative behavior was contrasted with clerk behavior (requests for youth ID cards) to examine the relative contributions of both to youth access to tobacco for the 1st time. Results revealed that clerk behavior was the strongest predictor of cigarette sales to youth and hence underscore the need for interventions with merchants. Sales nonetheless were higher under youth-manipulative conditions and thereby highlight the low ecological validity of access research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of Negative Emotional Content on Working Memory and Long-Term Memory.

In long-term memory, negative information is better remembered than neutral information. Differences in processes important to working memory may contribute to this emotional memory enhancement. To examine the effect that the emotional content of stimuli has on working memory performance, the authors asked participants to perform working memory tasks with negative and neutral stimuli. Task accuracy was unaffected by the emotional content of the stimuli. Reaction times also did not differ for negative relative to neutral words, but on an n-back task using faces, participants were slower to respond to fearful faces than to neutral faces. These results suggest that although emotional content does not have a robust effect on working memory, in some instances emotional salience can impede working memory performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging and forgetting in prospective and retrospective memory tasks.

Ss (aged 52–83 yrs) named 30 famous people 4 times over the course of an hour and responded to 2 targets (a beard and a pipe) by marking the trial number on the response sheet. Initial performance in the prospective memory task was related only to a measure of incidental learning. Subsequent forgetting (i.e., success followed by failure) occurred more often for older Ss than for younger Ss, but there was no difference between the age groups in recovery (i.e., failure followed by success). Forgetting was predicted by age, even after a composite measure of general ability was included in the regression. Recovery was related to general ability alone. Results both replicate and extend those from a reanalysis of a previous study (E. A. Maylor, 1990). They provide a striking contrast with the effect of age on retrospective memory, namely, age-related impairment on initial performance but no effect of age on subsequent forgetting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

How Non-native Species in Lake Erie Influence Trophic Transfer of Mercury and Lead to Top Predators

Lake Erie's food web has been dramatically modified by exotic species. Both exotic dreissenid mussels and the round goby Neogobius melanastomus have shifted the food web from a pelagicbased to a benthic-based one, potentially creating a new pathway for contaminant transfer to top predators. Before the invasion of round gobies, few predators of dreissenids occurred in Lake Erie, allowing contaminants to be confined to these benthic organisms. The invasion of the round goby has produced a new pathway through which these contaminants can enter the food web. To characterize heavy-metal transfer through this new food web and to assess risk to humans, water, surficial sediment, dreissenid, round goby, and smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieui samples were collected at three sites during summers, 2002 and 2003, and analyzed for total lead (Pb), total mercury (Hg), and methyl mercury (MeHg). In addition, we compared smallmouth bass Pb and Hg concentrations to those measured in 1993/1994, before round gobies were prevalent. Pb biodiminished and MeHg biomagnified through the food web to smallmouth bass; patterns were similar among our three sites. Total Pb concentrations in smallmouth bass were higher before the incorporation of round gobies into their diet. We attributed this decline to changes in food web structure, changes in contaminant burdens in prey, or declines in sediment Pb concentrations in Lake Erie. By comparison, Hg concentrations in smallmouth bass changed little, before and after the round goby invasion, possibly due to a shift in diet that increased growth. Despite a decline in sediment Hg concentrations in Lake Erie, smallmouth bass continued to accumulate Hg at historical rates possibly because of their high consumption rates of benthivorous round gobies. As smallmouth bass continue to consume round gobies during their lives, their Hg concentrations may well continue to increase, potentially increasing the risk of Hg contamination to humans.     

Homopolymer Nanolithography

Future progress in nanoscience and nanotechnology necessitates further development of versatile, labor‐, and cost‐efficient surface patterning strategies. A new approach to nanopatterning is reported, which utilizes surface segregation of a smooth layer of an end‐grafted homopolymer in a poor solvent. The variation in polymer grafting density yields a range of surface nanostructures, including randomly organized pinned spherical micelles, worm‐like structures, networks, and porous films. The capability to use the polymer patterns for site‐specific deposition of small molecules, polymers, or nanoparticles is shown. This versatile strategy enables patterning of curved surfaces with direct access to the substrate and no need in changing polymer composition to realize different surface patterns.     

Thermal and cardiovascular strain imposed by motorcycle protective clothing under Australian summer conditions

Motorcycle protective clothing can be uncomfortably hot during summer, and this experiment was designed to evaluate the physiological significance of that burden. Twelve males participated in four, 90-min trials (cycling 30 W) across three environments (25, 30, 35 °C [all 40% relative humidity]). Clothing was modified between full and minimal injury protection. Both ensembles were tested at 25 °C, with only the more protective ensemble investigated at 30 and 35 °C. At 35 °C, auditory canal temperature rose at 0.02 °C min^?1 (SD 0.005), deviating from all other trials (p < 0.05). The thresholds for moderate (>38.5 °C) and profound hyperthermia (>40.0 °C) were predicted to occur within 105 min (SD 20.6) and 180 min (SD 33.0), respectively. Profound hyperthermia might eventuate in ~10 h at 30 °C, but should not occur at 25 °C. These outcomes demonstrate a need to enhance the heat dissipation capabilities of motorcycle clothing designed for summer use in hot climates, but without compromising impact protection.

Practitioner’s Summary:

Motorcycle protective clothing can be uncomfortably hot during summer. This experiment was designed to evaluate the physiological significance of this burden across climatic states. In the heat, moderate (>38.5 °C) and profound hyperthermia (>40.0 °C) were predicted to occur within 105 and 180 min, respectively.     

Using online collaboration applications for group assignments: The interplay between design and human characteristics

In recent years, educators and students are increasingly employing online collaboration applications such as Google Docs™ and PBWorks™ for group projects and assignments. Yet, the effectiveness of these emerging technologies has not been rigorously examined. Anchoring upon and informed by the existing literature, two design characteristics – sociability and visibility, and two human characteristics – gender and age, are focused on, which are salient in online collaboration applications. A field experiment was conducted to examine the direct and moderating effects of design and human characteristics on learning outcomes. The research found that sociability improved process satisfaction and positive social environment while visibility enhanced academic performance and solution satisfaction of learners. Males had higher solution satisfaction while older learners had higher academic performance. Moderating effects were also found. Both theoretical and practical implications are drawn. In particular, a rubric for online collaboration application selection for academic performance is conceived. This study provides empirical support for online collaboration application effectiveness in education which will augur well for future adoption, use and evolution.