No description available.

Romantic relationship dissolution has been implicated in the onset of mood disorders (Monroe et al.,1999; Overbeek et al., 2003). It is therefore imperative that researchers and mental health professionals have an understanding of the factors that contribute to dysfunctional responses so as to assist vulnerable individuals with developing healthy strategies for coping with relationship dissolution. Prior research on the relationship between initiator status (i.e., who ended the relationship) and subsequent emotional distress has been mixed, with multiple researchers finding that a person's level of distress was unrelated to whether he or she ended the relationship. I hypothesized that the effect of initiator status on post-break-up distress would vary as a function of trait self-esteem such that individuals with low self-esteem would experience more distress after being rejected by their partners, whereas individuals with high self-esteem would be no more distressed after a rejection than after acting as the rejecter. I tested this hypothesis using two designs. First, I used a prospective, naturalistic design in which university students were assessed for emotional responses following the dissolution of their romantic relationships. Those who had self-reported lower trait self esteem at the outset of the study experienced higher levels of break-up-specific distress. On the other hand, those who had reported higher trait self-esteem did not exhibit differing distress levels as a function of who ended the relationship. This pattern was replicated in a laboratory design in which university students imagined breaking up with their partners. Participants with low trait self-esteem experienced more negative mood, reported lower state self-esteem, and evaluated themselves more negatively after a scenario in which they were rejected as compared to a scenario in which they rejected their partners. Participants with high self-esteem did not differ on any of these variables as a function of rejection condition. Results are discussed in terms of the theoretical implications for understanding self-esteem processes and the effects of romantic rejection. Implications for interventions for individuals with low self-esteem who are coping with romantic rejection are also explored. / Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2007-07-12 12:36:26.478

It is well known that a parental break-up in childhood has a negative influence on the intergenerational contact in adulthood. The intergenerational contact within dissolved families is less frequent than in intact families. Nonetheless, even among families that experienced a break-up in childhood, differences in contact frequency are observable. How come those individuals seem to be affected in different ways by a parental break-up? Previous research is lacking the answer to this question. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to contribute to research on dissolved families by exploring which conditions influence intergenerational contact among adult children and their divorced/separated parents. The data used in this thesis come from the Swedish Level of Living Survey and the analyses are conducted using OLS-regressions. First, it was verified that dissolved families have a less frequent intergenerational contact than intact families in contemporary Sweden, however, with the exception of the contact between divorced/separated mothers and their daughters. Second, the variation in contact among dissolved families is, to a large part, explained by differences in living distance between the adult child and the parent. Furthermore, it was found that conflict between the respondent and the parent in childhood has a significant influence on intergenerational contact in adulthood. The results thus highlight the importance of including childhood events other than the divorce/separation when investigating intergenerational contact.

In a climate change perspective, increased air temperatures are already a reality and are expected to increase even more in the future, especially in areas at high latitudes. The present thesis therefore addresses the influence of climate change on the physical properties and the phytoplankton communities of typical small and oligotrophic lakes in northern Sweden (62-64˚N). In the first part of the study, we found a significant trend (10 lakes from 1916 to 2010) of ice break-ups occurring increasingly earlier. The timing of ice break-up was strongly influenced by the April air temperature indicating that expected increases in air temperature in the future will also result in an earlier ice break-up. We also used concentrations of chlorophyll a (chl a) as estimations of phytoplankton biomass and discovered a positive relationship between surface water temperature and concentrations of chl a in Lake Remmaren (from 1991 to 2008). The second part of the thesis focuses on climatic conditions and cyanobacteria abundance in three small, oligotrophic lakes in northern Sweden; Lake Remmaren, Lake S. Bergsjön and Lake Gransjön. The concentration and relative abundance of cyanobacteria differ between 2011 and 2012, with different climatic conditions. The "warm" year of 2011 had higher concentrations and relative abundance of cyanobacteria than the "cold" year of 2012. Trends in increasing surface water temperatures as well as increasing abundance of cyanobacteria in August were found in Lake Remmaren (from 1988 to 2011). The direct or indirect effects of warming had a positive effect on the cyanobacteria abundance, since nutrients (Tot N and Tot P) did not display an increasing trend in Lake Remmaren. An analysis on the composition of phytoplankton species in Lake Remmaren, Lake S. Bergsjön and Lake Gransjön revealed that the cyanobacteria Merismopedia sp. was more common in 2011 than 2012. If different cyanobacteria become more common in oligotrophic lakes in the future, the functioning of lake ecosystems may be impacted. Small zooplankton eats small phytoplankton and if smaller phytoplankton species, e.g. cyanobacteria, increase at the expense of other phytoplankton groups, an extra step in the food chain might be added. Less energy might be transferred to the upper levels because many cyanobacteria contain toxic compounds and are less edible than other phytoplankton groups. An increase of toxic containing cyanobacteria in lakes can also make lakes less attractive for recreational purposes in the future.

No description available.

Although the suspended droplet evaporation and combustion have been studied for decades, fundamental research pertaining to the stochastic phenomena of complex multicomponent mixtures is extremely rare. In this work, an experimental suspended droplet study of Arabian light oil was held to study the frequency of puffing and micro-explosion phenomena during the evaporation/pyrolysis process. The experiments were conducted at three different evaporation temperatures (350 C, 440 C, and 570 C), chosen in accordance with the TGA profle obtained. The suspended droplet experiments were conducted on a furnace with optical access and a gas controlled-preheating system. The droplet size was optically registered at 500 fps by a LaVision Imager Pro HS high-speed camera coupled with a magnification lens Nikon AF-S Micro Nikkor 105 mm. Furthermore, a computer-vision data postprocessing program was developed to identify contours and measure the size of the objects in the frame in order to register the temporal evolution of the droplet size. Additionally, a new approach for characterizing the droplet vaporization of complex multi-component fuels is proposed. This method allowed us to study the continuum (ideal evaporation) and stochastic processes separately, by following the profile of the average normalized square diameter ((D=D0)2) and quantifying the breakup intensity (β) of each stochastic event. Based on the behavior of (D=D0)2, two consecutive stages were identified at every temperature investigated, the swelling and the regression stage. At 350 ◦C and 440 ◦C, the evaporation was finally controlled purely by the diffusion evaporation, whereas at 570 ◦C a pure diffusion stage was not spotted. Instead, a second swelling was registered, where an amorphous carbonaceous structure was formed. Due to the pyrolysis of the heavy hydrocarbons dominated the process. The stochastic events involved during the evaporation were successfully identified and classified in breakup modes depending on their β. Additionally, the effect of the temperature on the breakup events was assessed. Showing that the number of breakup events increased exponentially with temperature.

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No description available.

The Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) is the large igneous province (LIP) that coincides with the breakup of the supercontinent Pangea. Major and trace element data, Sr-Nd-Pb radiogenic isotopes, and high-precision olivine chemistry were collected on primitive CAMP dikes from Virginia (VA). These new samples were used in conjunction with a global CAMP data set to elucidate different mechanisms for supercontinent breakup and LIP formation. On the Eastern North American Margin, CAMP flows are found primarily in rift basins that can be divided into northern or southern groups based on differences in tectonic evolution, rifting history, and supercontinental inheritance. Geochemical signatures of CAMP suggest an upper mantle source modified by subduction processes. We propose that the greater number of accretionary events, or metasomatism by sediment melts as opposed to fluids on the northern versus the southern Laurentian margin during the formation of Pangea led to different subduction-related signatures in the mantle source of the northern versus southern CAMP lavas. CAMP samples have elevated Ni and low Ca in olivine phenocrysts indicating a significant pyroxenite component in the source, interpreted here as a result of subduction metasomatism. Different collisional styles during the Alleghanian orogeny in the North and South may have led to the diachroneity of the rifting of Pangea. Furthermore, due to a low angle of subduction, the Rheic Plate may have underplated the lithosphere then delaminated, triggering both the breakup of Pangea and the formation of CAMP. / Master of Science

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: See full text for the abstract / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sien volteks vir die opsomming