Attractive Notion Research Articles

Explaining Potential Antecedents of Workplace Social Support: Reciprocity or Attractiveness?

Effects of social support are an important topic in occupational stress theories and research, yet little is known about support's potential antecedents. Based on reciprocity theory, the authors hypothesized that the social support received is related to the extent the employee performs organizational citizenship behaviors directed at individuals and to one's social competence; based on the notion of personal attraction, the authors hypothesized that employees' physical attractiveness and sense of humor would be associated with the amount of social support received. In a survey of 123 high school employees and separate ratings of their attractiveness, reciprocity variables were related but attraction variables were not related to social support availability. Further research should examine reciprocity in predicting social support.

TOWARDS A MORSE THEORY FOR RANDOM DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS

A generalization of the concepts of deterministic Morse theory to random dynamical systems is presented. Using the notions of attraction and repulsion in probability, the main building blocks of Morse theory such as attractor–repeller pairs, Morse sets, and the Morse decomposition are obtained for random dynamical systems.

Making sense of social capital, health and policy

This paper summarizes current knowledge about social capital and its application to health policy. There is a consensus that social capital is a characteristic of social groups, rather than individuals, and is born of shared experience which fosters mutual trust and reciprocity. It is a collective resource that may accumulate over time and facilitates the accomplishment of objectives that would otherwise be unlikely. The theoretical articulation of social capital remains under-theorized, and its measurement is subject to considerable debate. Health researchers, searching for a pathway to explain the adverse health outcomes associated with income inequality, as well as to understand the results of multi-level analyses that demonstrate an independent etiological role for community of residence, may find social capital an attractive notion. Despite professions of interest, the utility of social capital for health policy formation remains problematic; however, as a theoretical paradigm for policy it may have particular appeal to exponents of the “Third Way”.

G2(MP2) Characterization of Conformational Preferences in 2-Substituted Ethanols (XCH2CH2OH) and Related Systems

The preferred conformation of species of the general form XCH2−CH2Y can be gauche (X = Y = F or X = F, Y = Me) or trans (X = F, Y = Cl or Br, and [X, Y] = [Cl, Br]). If either or both of X or Y = OH, then new degrees of freedom open, and the possibility of H ···X interaction complicates the picture. We present G2MP2 calculations on the series, which represent the preferences faithfully. NBO analyses of DFT densities help us to understand the patterns of conformational preferences. We address the question of whether hydrogen bonding as generally understood plays a central role in establishing preferences in the alcohols and diols. A consistent account of conformational preferences can be founded on simple notions of electrostatic attraction.

II—Adam Morton: Emotional Accuracy

It is accuracy rather than truth itself that is valuable. Emotional truth is a dubious though attractive notion, but emotional accuracy is much easier to make sense of. My approach to accuracy goes via an account of what makes a story accurate. Stories can be accurate but not true, and emotions can be accurate whether or not they are true. The capacity for emotional accuracy, for emotions that fit a person’s situation, is an aspect of emotional intelligence, which is as important an aspect of rational human agency as the intelligent formation of beliefs and desires.

The Origins of the Field Concept in Physics

The term, “field,” made its first appearance in physics as a technical term in the mid-nineteenth century. But the notion of what later came to be called a field had been a long time in gestation. Early discussions of magnetism and of the cause of the ocean tides had long ago suggested the idea of a “zone of influence” surrounding certain bodies. Johannes Kepler's mathematical rendering of the orbital motion of Mars encouraged him to formulate what he called “a true theory of gravity” involving the notion of attraction. Isaac Newton went on to construct an eminently effective dynamics, with attraction as its primary example of force. Was his a field theory? Historians of science disagree. Much depends on whether a theory consistent with the notion of action at a distance ought qualify as a “field” theory. Roger Boscovich and Immanuel Kant later took the Newtonian concept of attraction in new directions. It was left to Michael Faraday to propose the “physical existence” of lines of force and to James Clerk Maxwell to add as criterion the presence of energy as the ontological basis for a full-blown “field theory” of electromagnetic phenomena.

Lyapunov's Second Method for Random Dynamical Systems

The method of Lyapunov functions (Lyapunov's second or direct method) was originally developed for studying the stability of a fixed point of an autonomous or non-autonomous differential equation. It was then extended from fixed points to sets, from differential equations to dynamical systems and to stochastic differential equations. We go one step further and develop Lyapunov's second method for random dynamical systems and random sets, together with matching notions of attraction and stability. As a consequence, Lyapunov functions will also be random. Our test is that the extension be coherent in the sense that it reduces to the deterministic theory in case the noise is absent, and that we can prove that a random set is asymptotically stable if and only if it has a Lyapunov function. Several examples are treated, including the stochastic Lorenz system.

Belleza y elocuencia, o la rendición por los sentidos (Lucianus, <i>Scyth.</i> 11)

In Lucian’s Scythian (§11), all previous editors have corrected the word ἀπάξeται as it appears in the manuscripts to ἐπάξeται. We aim to justify the restoration of the original text because, obviously, it is possible in terms of form, and, besides, it seems more appropriate to the context. The verb ‚pagomai implies the notion of being moved from one place to another, while ἐπάγομαι expresses only the notion of simple attraction which does not involve actual movement. This notion of true surrendering through the senses seems to match the idea developed here by Lucian; loci paralleli in Lucian himself and other Attic authors help us to confirm this interpretation

On Convergence of Minimization Methods: Attraction, Repulsion, and Selection

In this paper, we revisit the convergence properties of the iterationprocess xk+1=xk−α(xk)B(xk)−1∇f(xk)for minimizing a function f(x). After reviewing some classic results andintroducing the notion of strong attraction, we give necessary andsufficient conditions for a stationary point of f(x) to be a point of strongattraction for the iteration process. Not only this result gives a newalgorithmic interpretation to the classic Ostrowski theorem, but alsoprovides insight into the interesting phenomenon called selectiveminimization. We present also illustrative numerical examples for nonlinearleast squares problems.

Attractors: Building Mountains in the Flat Landscape of the World Wide Web

Advocates of the World Wide Web claim it is a great leveler and that participants have a more equal voice. This flatness of the Web creates a major challenge for many businesses: How do you attract visitors and prospective customers to the firm's Web site? The Web site that can attract more visitors, all other things being equal, is more likely to communicate its message to a wider audience or sell its product to more people. Organizations want to build mountains—or attractors—in the otherwise flat landscape of Web-based marketing and advertising. This article classifies existing approaches to creating attractors, identifies four basic types of attractors, and predicts that there will be a move towards creating highly interactive attractors as a device for mass customization. The article also addresses the notion of sustainable attractiveness and presents recommendations for designing an attractor.

Absorbers: Definitions, properties and applications

Roughly speaking, the absorber is a set, which includes, after finite number of initial states, each trajectory of a transformation of space into itself. This paper deals with the exact definition of absorbers for linear operators, the study of the properties, the applications to “classical” dynamics and to solvability of operator equations. It is expected that the description of the structure of absorbers will add new insights to the recent discussion of nature and content of notion of attractiveness for nonlinear dynamics.

Collective ldentities and Citizenship

Abstract In the following I try to show that there is an attractive notion of citizenship which is independent of any kind of collective identity. Citizenship is understood as one form of social interaction. It is argued that in order to understand social interaction adequately, it is necessary to introduce a structural theory of practical rationality, to the extent this conception of citizenship is based on the theory of structural rationality.

Isostatic forging

A fresh look at hot isostatic pressing (HIP) that couples a detailed economic model with the process models (HIP maps) has led to some innovative developments that promise dramatically increased productivity for the otherwise lethargic isostatic processing business. Isostatic forging is a subset of HIP where the pressures are in the yield or near-yield range. The process is applicable to wide range of cast and powder material products. The generally attractive notion of isostatic forging has existed for years but the use of gas was not considered feasible. Conaway Technologies Inc of Dublin, Ohio, has developed an isostatic forging technique, with the trade name ‘Quick HIP’ that uses gas pressures up to 1050 MPa for very short times.

Electrochemical properties of bilayer lipid membranes modified with metal porphyrins

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the application of electroanalytical techniques to problems of biological importance. Biochemists are now rather successful in their electroanalytical studies of biomolecules (cf. ref. l), while electrochemists are involved in the development of fuel cells based on the properties of biological membranes and interfaces. It is an attractive notion, also for our Laboratory, that a combination of techniques from electrochemistry be applied to the study of properties of cell membranes [2-41 and biomolecules in their native or pseudonative state. The planar, bilayer lipid membrane (BLM) is one of the most suitable models for studies of the electrical behaviour of membrane bound molecules found in various types of biomembranes. The membrane, which is formed in a controlled manner, can function as the sole conductor of charges between the two compartments partitioned by this membrane. This feature makes the BLM very useful for studies of electrochemical phenomena associated with the membrane itself and the membrane bound molecules [5-81. Most investigations in this area, however, ignore the possible screening effect of the fixed charges of the membrane surface against the interfacial redox reaction of membrane bound molecules placed in the redox gradient. The aim of the present work is to demonstrate this effect for the case of Fe(III)and Mn(III)-tetraphenyl porphyrin chloride (Fe(III)TPP-Cl or Mn(III)TPP-Cl) modified BLMS made from neutral or negatively charged phospholipids.

Self-Presentation in Personal Advertisements: The Influence of Implicit Notions of Attraction and Role Expectations

Heterosexual personal advertisements from two geographically separated, local, weekly newspapers were content-analyzed. Three significant patterns of findings emerged which shed light on gender differences in self-presentational style. First, women were found to be relatively more likely to offer instrumental or `male-valued' traits in their ads and to seek expressive or `female-valued' ones, while men showed the reverse pattern. This paradoxical finding was interpreted to reflect the influence of implicit notions of attraction and role expectations. Second, women were relatively more likely to offer weight and to seek height, while men were relatively more likely to offer height and to seek weight. This pattern was interpreted to reflect the influence of the `male-taller-norm' in mate selection as well as a societal bias toward thinness in women. Finally, as in previous studies of this sort, women were found to be relatively more likely to offer physical attractiveness and to seek professional status, while men were relatively more likely to offer professional status and to seek attractiveness. This pattern was interpreted to be consistent with traditional sex-role expectations wherein appearance is stressed for women and status for men. Overall, the findings show that advertisers exhibit an understanding of implicit theories of attraction: men and women tend to offer precisely those attributes which are sought by the opposite sex.

The Flexible University: Some Historical Reflexions on the Analysis of Education and the Modern British Economy

In recent years, cultural conservatism and the associated shortcomings of scientific and technical education have come to be widely regarded as important causes of Britain's industrial difficulties. But what hope is there that the educational reforms now being advocated by the British government will be any more effective than many similar ones that have been tried in Europe since the mid-nineteenth century? Historical evidence suggests that the British government's present strategy, with its emphasis on the need for institutions of higher education to respond sensitively to the immediate demands of industry, could prove ineffective or even damaging. In particular, we should beware of the beguilingly attractive notion of `flexibility', which is in reality fraught with ambiguity.

Dissipative structures, systems dynamics, and oil exploration

The theory of dissipative structures has been used for some years, mainly by Allen, for the understanding and the study of socioeconomic systems. The model presented in this paper is an application of these ideas in a technical and economic field, as it is based on these methods combined with a systems dynamics analysis, on an oil exploration system. Its purpose is to measure under many conditions, how the random factors, which are inherent to oil exploration, may have an influence on the final amount of oil discovered in a given area. To do this, the area is divided into several geographical or geological zones. A budget strategy, based on the notion of relative attractiveness, is considered. This attractiveness is computed from past results and from the geologist's anticipations. With these decisions as a starting point, the model simulates the drilling of some wells whose success depends on the knowledge gained about the basin and on a random factor representing fluctuations in this knowledge. In a tight-looped system such as this one, bifurcational behaviours may happen, caused by the combination of several fortunate or unfortunate random variables. To abandon one area could be such a bifurcation. The model brings out a decisional strategy which prevents such accidents. It can be easily applied to any specific oil basin.

Does Welfare Dependency Cause Female Headship? The Case of the Black Family

The ratio of AFDC monthly payments to the expected income (per month) of full-time employed black males is a proxy for the attractiveness to a female of being on welfare relative to being with a full-time employed male. Another notion of the relative attractiveness of welfare is the ratio of AFDC benefits to black female income. What is measured here is the socalled return from her being on welfare rather than working full-time. Both of these measures display remarkably similar patterns. They both reveal erratic fluctuations during the 1950s and early 1960s, followed by an overall decline in the 1970s. There is a very sharp and pronounced drop in welfare attractiveness from 1968 to 1972, followed by a mild yet temporary rise in both trends. The short-lived improvements were concentrated in the recession years of 1974-1975. From 1976 on, the attractiveness of welfare continued to plunge. Figure 2 shows this clear pattern of welfare attractiveness using the male measure. Reproduced is the black female-headed family ratio along with the plot of the fraction of black families on welfare. What we see is a suggestive reversal of trends occurring during the years 1968-1972 at the very time when relative welfare benefits were falling rapidly. Before the 1970s an apparent similarity in trends existed among black welfare dependency, relative welfare benefits, and black famiFIGURE 2. WELFARE DEPENDENCY, RELATIVE AFDC BENEFITS, BLACK-FEMALE FAMILY HOUSEHOLDERS

On risks and acceptability

A very attractive notion is that it should be possible not only to determine how much risk is associated with any particular activity, but also to determine if that risk is acceptable. Stated boldly this seems an entirely unobjectionable and indeed a very acceptable notion. There is, however, underlying this idea, a mistaken view of risk which we might refer to as the 'phlogiston' theory of risk. In this paper, presented at the SRP meeting on Ethical and Legal Aspects of Radiological Protection, the phlogiston theory of risk is described; secondly, it will be argued that it is too simple a theory to be realistic or useful; and thirdly, the management of risk will be placed in a wider decision framework. Acceptability, it will be argued is highly dependent on context, and it is not possible, therefore, to lay down generally applicable notions of acceptability.

A UNIFIED THEORY OF ATTRACTION IN GENERAL SYSTEMS

Attraction (or asymptoticily) is defined for a general space-time system consisting of a set endowed with a preorder (the “flow”), a family of monotone mappings (the “time scale”) and two collections of subsets, or quasifilters (a kind of generalized neighborhood systems). Thus, the notion of attraction is presented under the weakest possible conditions which allow us its adaptation to a wide variety of special situations. Within this framework we state necessary and sufficient conditions for asymptoticity in terms of Liapunov-type functions.