Young People, Online Networks, and Social Inclusion

This paper examines the ways 9 teenage Australians—identified as being 'at risk' of social exclusion—are using online networks to participate in society. The research finds that online networks provided participants with valuable opportunities for social inclusion. These findings are contextualized in relation to current Australian Government education and social policies that, on the one hand, aspire to support young people's social inclusion, and on the other restrict their ability to use online networks because of safety and health concerns. This study contends that by defining and understanding the social value of young people's online network use we can move toward a policy framework that not only addresses potential online risks, but supports equitable digital inclusion for young people.     

Biosourced Antioxidants for Chemical Durability Enhancement of Perfluorosulfonic Acid Membrane

The chemical durability of perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes is a topic of growing interest to meet Department of Energy (DOE) durability targets for heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) applications. State-of-the-art membranes like Nafion, rely on the use of cerium, heteropolyacids, and other inorganic additives to increase PFSA chemical durability. A less explored avenue for the oxidative stabilization of PFSA and hydrocarbon membranes is the use of organic antioxidants. No reversible organic antioxidant has been demonstrated to date which can enhance membrane lifetime by factors comparable to cerium. Here, ellagic acid (EA) is demonstrated as a promising radical scavenger for PFSA's. It is found that the incorporation of EA enhances the chemical durability of Nafion by 160%. EA, when incorporated with cerium as an electron donorenhances Nafion durability by at least 80% compared to a membrane incorporated with just cerium in DOE-defined durability tests. EA is found to be reversible in acidic conditions like those of fuel cells and its reversibility could be further enhanced by the use of suitable co-antioxidants.     

Transport of ionizable drugs and proteins in crosslinked poly(acrylic acid) and poly(acrylic acid-co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) hydrogels. I. Polymer characterization

The purpose of this investigation was to define the polymer structure and elucidate the swelling behavior of ionizable hydrophilic polymers (hydrogels) in water and buffered media. Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(acrylic acid-co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) [P(AA-co-HEMA)] hydrogels were synthesized with varying degrees of hydrophilicity and crosslinking and were designed as potential bioadhesive controlled-release dosage forms. The thermal initiation procedure employed during polymerization was optimized to eliminate unreacted residuals. Equilibrium and dynamic swelling studies were undertaken to determine the polymer mesh size and molecular weight between crosslinks of the hydrogels in the ionized and nonionized states. The PAA hydrogel mesh sizes ranged from 100 to 400 Å over pH values of 3–7, whereas the P(AA-co-HEMA) hydrogel mesh sizes were between 13 and 140 Å. These results demonstrated the significance of the swelling medium pH on the hydrated state of the polymers relative to crosslinking or copolymerization composition. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Investigating attitudes to hydrogen refuelling facilities and the social cost to local residents

Vehicles fuelled by hydrogen (H₂) have attracted increasing attention because of their potentially enhanced environmental profiles. Their penetration into the vehicle stock will be influenced by the spread of refuelling facilities. This study investigates local attitudes towards the proposed installation of H₂ storage facilities at existing refuelling stations throughout London. Using multinomial logit analysis, we identify the determinants of attitudes. Results suggest that residents living very close to a proposed H₂ facility are less likely to be opposed than residents living 200–500 m away. Opposition appears to be determined by a lack of trust in safety regulations, non-environmental attitudes, and concerns about the existing local refuelling station. The social cost to local residents of a local H₂ storage facility was estimated using a method developed by Atkinson et al. [2004. ‘Amenity’ or ‘eyesore’? Negative willingness to pay for options to replace electricity transmission towers. Applied Economics Letters 11(4), 203–208], which elicits the amount of time respondents are willing to commit to oppose a new facility development. Using the leisure rate of time, the social cost is estimated at just under £14 per local opposed resident. Add to this the WTP to support opposition efforts by a local group, and the value comes to just under £25 per opposed resident.     

Assessing acute stress disorder: Psychometric properties of a structured clinical interview.

This study presents the development of a structured clinical interview to diagnose acute stress disorder (ASD). The Acute Stress Disorder Interview (ASDI) is a 19-item, dichotomously scored interview schedule that is based on criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). It was validated against clinician-based diagnoses of ASD on 65 trauma survivors assessed between 1 and 3 weeks posttrauma. It possessed good internal consistency (r?=?.90), sensitivity (91%), and specificity (93%). Test-retest reliability was evaluated on 60 trauma survivors between 1 and 3 weeks posttrauma, with a readministration interval of 2 to 7 days. Test-retest reliability of ASDI severity scores was strong (r?=?.88), and diagnostic agreement for presence (88%) and absence (94%) of ASD diagnosis was high. The ASDI appears to be a useful tool to identify those individuals who suffer ASD and are at risk of long-term posttraumatic stress disorder. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Molecular photovoltaics and the photoactivation of mammalian cells

Photosynthetic reaction centers are integral plant membrane protein complexes and molecular photovoltaic structures. We report here that addition of Photosystem I (PSI)-proteoliposomes to retinoblastoma cells imparts photosensitivity to these mammalian cells, as demonstrated by light-induced movement of calcium ions. Control experiments with liposomes lacking PSI demonstrated no photosensitivity. The data demonstrate that PSI, a nanoscale molecular photovoltaic structure extracted from plants, can impart a photoresponse to mammalian cells in vitro.     

Motivated cultural cognition: The impact of implicit cultural theories on dispositional attribution varies as a function of need for closure.

The authors propose that need for closure (NFC) leads attributors to respond to an ambiguous social event by increasing reliance on implicit theories received from acculturation. Hence, the influence of NFC should be shaped by chronically accessible knowledge structures in a culture, and, likewise, the influence of culture should be moderated by epistemic motives such as NFC. The specific hypotheses drew on past findings that North American and Chinese attributors possess differing implicit social theories, North Americans conceiving of individuals as autonomous agents and Chinese conceiving of groups as autonomous. The present studies found the predicted pattern that among North American participants, NFC increased attributions to personal but not group dispositions. Among Chinese participants, NFC increased attributions to group but not personal dispositions. The findings are discussed in light of an emerging dynamic account of culture and cognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)