Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Isoelectric Focussing Essay Example for Free
Isoelectric Focussing Essay Isoelectric Focussing The method of separating proteins according to their isoelectric points in a pH gradient is called isoelectric focusing. This technique was discovered by H.Svensson in Sweden. This method has a high resolution power because ordinary paper electrophoresis resolves plasma proteins into six bands where as isoelectric focusing resolves it into 40 bands. In conventional electrophoresis the pH between anode and cathode is constant and the positively charged ions migrate toward the cathode and the negative ions migrate toward anode. But in isoelectric focusing, a stable pH gradient is arranged. The pH gradually increases from anode to cathode. When a protein is introduced at a pH which is lower than its isoionic point, it will possess a net positive charge and will migrate in the direction of the cathode. Due to the presence of pH gradient, the net charge of the molecule changes due to ionization as it moves forward. When the protein encounters a pH where its net charge is zero, it will stop migrating. This is the isoelectric point of the protein. Every protein present in the mixture will migrate to its isoelectric point and stops its migration there itself. Thus, once a final stable focusing is reached, the resolution will be retained for a long time. Enzyme proteins resolved by IEF are then separated in a second dimension based on their molecular weight. To conduct this, IEF gel is extruded from the tube and placed lengthwise on a slab gel of polyacrylamide saturated with SDS. When an electric current is applied, the enzymeproteins migrate from the IEF gel into the SDS gel and then get separated according to their mass. This method helps in excellent separation of cellular enzyme-proteins. Uses: The two dimensional gel electrophoresis is used in developmental biochemistry to monitor the increase or decrease in the intensity of a spot representing as specific protein as a function of cell growth. It is a standard method of judging protein purity.
Monday, August 5, 2019
Water Scarcity in Saudi Arabia
Water Scarcity in Saudi Arabia Students Name: Ella Abstract Nowdays, water supply and sanitation in Saudi Arabia is characterized by challenges and achievements. One of the main challenges is water scarcity. The assessment will talk about the process of the research and the reasons for why the information is appropriate for this academic report. After having some specific data for the water usage in Saudi Arabia, we will describe a potential solution to one of these issues. The hypothesis for this paper is the Saudi Arabia can solve the water scracity this issue so that people who live there do not worry about the water anymore. Introduction In this scientific assessment was write about several water scarcity issue, the water pollution and the way to finish off the problem in Suadi Arabia. Now day has many countries have the issue about the water scrcity and water pollution. For the Middle Easts largest country, the water scarcity and water use increased dramatically, becoming a growing problem in Saudi Arabia. At present the fresh water it is extremely important for many countries and it is a narrow non-renewable, generalized renewable resources. People can not live without the water, also all the food we eat is all have the water element. The water chemistry will influence water scarcity is because the water have solubility and transmissibility. This the reason why the polluted water from the factory can pollution the the fresh water. And also some harmful substances will dissolve into the water that make water scarcity. In my hypothesis the Saudi Arabi can solution water scracity this issue. Methodology The first plan for achieving research purpose is to write donw the information about the water pollution and water scracity in Saudi Arabia that will guide we to research. Second write some qusetion that can solution the water scarcity in Saudi Arabia. After this two steps to research the information for water pollution and water scarcity in Saudi Arabia on the Internet. The detail data for the total precipitation and the consumption of water for the people live in this country. Then research the document of the government solution for the water problem. Last is some key fresh water issues in the Saudi Arabia. Afterwards will write about the reason for why chosen this information and why this document is good quality for use in the academic report. All the information is useful for the asseaament this is one of the primary reasons. Generally the most reliable sources are all come from the Web site addresses that at end is .gov means the goverment agency and education organisation the meaning of the end is .edu. Also can use some document is write from some university professors. Findings Saudi Arabia is a true Kingdom of oil, oil reserves and production ranked first in the world, making it be one of the richest countries in the world. Saudi Arabia is the worlds largest producer of desalination, the desalination of sea water around 21% per cent of the world total. But the Saudi Arabia still have the water problem, there are two most serious issues. First one is the lack of water resources problems, although now Saudi Arabia is the largest brackish water production country in the world, but when they have not established water desalting plant, water is not enough people there to use. And in Saudi Arabia due to lack of water resources utilization provided, thus giving rise to utilization of water resources waste and low efficiency of water use is becoming more and more serious. For this two issues I think the beat way to chang the situation first is to make a regulations of the water use, reduce the population and use of the wealth of oil and energy for seawater desalin ation. Chart: Changes in water demand and water supply in Saudi Arabia Event 1980(mcm/yr) (%) 1985(mcm/yr) (%) Water demand agricultural water 1860 79 7430 84 City life and other 500 21 1400 16 Total 2362 100 8830 100 Water supply Surface water 485 20 900 10 Renewable water 660 28 950 11 non-renewable water 1154 49 6480 73 sea water desalination, 63 3 400 5 wastewater of re10claimed water 100 1 Total 2362 100 8830 100 à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ mcm=millton core metersà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° Discussion The chart write about the changes in water demand and the water supply in Saudi Arabia from 1980 to 1985. This information is from an article, I put the text to the data and draw the graph. In this chart we can know that Saudi Arabias significant growth in demand for water in recent years. As the chart above shows, from 1980 to 1985, the increased water demand from 2362 to 8830, water demand has increased by 274% in the equivalent of 5 years, however, an average annual growth of 55%. These accurate data showing population impact on the utilization of water resources, also can to prove my hypothesis is correct, that the help the water resources be not in the absence have one of the methods is changing population Conclusions and Recommendations In conclusions I think the best way to tackle lack of water resources in Saudi Arabia this is to require a water use regulations. From the above data, we can see that peoples demand for water resources in Saudi Arabia year after year of growth and it was really fast, so I think the Saudi Government should require people to rational use of water resources. Everyone knows that Saudi Arabia is the worlds richest countries, if their rational use of water resources and rational use of groundwater, then maybe they dont have to worry about lack of water resources this issues in the future. Reference List Allan Foster, (Dec 9, 2010), Coping with Scarcity: Saudi Arabia and Water, Stimson Spotlight. [Online]. Available from: http://www.stimson.org/content/coping-scarcity-saudi-arabia-and-water [Accessed 24 December 2016] (14 March 2013),Saudi Arabias water problems stink, FAILAKA. [Online]. Available from: http://failaka.com/saudi-arabias-water-problem/ [Accessed 24 December 2016] Saud A. Gutub, Mohamed F. Soliman and Asif uz zaman, (2013), Saudi Arabia Confronts with Water Scarcity: An Insight, PSIPW. [Online]. Available from: http://www.psipw.org/attachments/article/342/IJWRAE_2(4)218-225.pdf [Accessed 24 December 2016] (July 2, 2013), Saudi Arabia: The Desalination Nation, ASHARQ AL-AWSAT. [Online]. Available from: http://english.aawsat.com/ [Accessed 24 December 2016]
Sunday, August 4, 2019
vacume cleaner :: essays research papers fc
The Vacuum Cleaner: A History That Sucks                          Ehren Gerhard Mrs. Anderson English IV March 28th, 2004                              In our past, we have always demonstrated an insatiable quest for cleanliness. For example, as early as 2300 BC twig brooms were being used to tidy up peoples cave dwellings. (Inventors) In the early 20th century, the United States was enveloped with the rise of the industrial revolution. Surprisingly, one close to home detail was yet to be improved: home sanitation. Later, a revolutionary idea to suck in dirt and dust was considered by British inventor, Hubert Cecile Booth. (Dream) This idea was the start of a cleaning revolution that influenced cleaning practices, controlled disease, and begun a sales industry.      With the persistent affliction of household disease due to sanitation, a more effective cleaning solution was in order. Current cleaning devises were limited to nothing more than a mop and a carpet sweeper. The inventor of the carpet sweeper, Melville Bissell, Originally developed it to preserve his health by sweeping away the dust in his crockery shop. The inventor soon recognized the sweeper’s market potential. They secured tufts of hog bristles with string, dipped the tufts into hot pitch, inserted the tufts into brush rollers, and trimmed them with scissors. (Dream) In another case, American James Spangler suffered from asthma and hypothesized that airborne dust from his carpet sweeper was the aggravate. He invented the electric vacuum cleaner principle that is commonly used in households today. (Dream)      Another prevalent dilemma of the time was the maintenance of large structures. At the time, there were many airborne diseases and illnesses that necessitated proper sanitation and disposal. During World War 1, Hubert Booth received an urgent request to vacuum clean the Crystal Palace where the 1st World Expo was held. This was because soldiers in the Crystal Palace kept dieing from an infectious disease that contaminated it. Booth's vacuum cleaning pump sucked in a tremendous amount of dust from the Crystal Palace. It was plagued with germs and thus he subdued the disease. Leaders of Germany, Russia, and France, who attended the Royal Coronation of Edward the Seventh, were all anxious to buy Booth's vacuum cleaning pump. (Inventors)      The response to these modern marveled cleaning machines was obviously enormous. And so became the patent field and sales market. Door to door cleaning became prevalent with such inventors as Hubert Booth and John Thurman. In St. Louis, John Thurman started a horse drawn door-to-door vacuum service similar to Booth's. vacume cleaner :: essays research papers fc The Vacuum Cleaner: A History That Sucks                          Ehren Gerhard Mrs. Anderson English IV March 28th, 2004                              In our past, we have always demonstrated an insatiable quest for cleanliness. For example, as early as 2300 BC twig brooms were being used to tidy up peoples cave dwellings. (Inventors) In the early 20th century, the United States was enveloped with the rise of the industrial revolution. Surprisingly, one close to home detail was yet to be improved: home sanitation. Later, a revolutionary idea to suck in dirt and dust was considered by British inventor, Hubert Cecile Booth. (Dream) This idea was the start of a cleaning revolution that influenced cleaning practices, controlled disease, and begun a sales industry.      With the persistent affliction of household disease due to sanitation, a more effective cleaning solution was in order. Current cleaning devises were limited to nothing more than a mop and a carpet sweeper. The inventor of the carpet sweeper, Melville Bissell, Originally developed it to preserve his health by sweeping away the dust in his crockery shop. The inventor soon recognized the sweeper’s market potential. They secured tufts of hog bristles with string, dipped the tufts into hot pitch, inserted the tufts into brush rollers, and trimmed them with scissors. (Dream) In another case, American James Spangler suffered from asthma and hypothesized that airborne dust from his carpet sweeper was the aggravate. He invented the electric vacuum cleaner principle that is commonly used in households today. (Dream)      Another prevalent dilemma of the time was the maintenance of large structures. At the time, there were many airborne diseases and illnesses that necessitated proper sanitation and disposal. During World War 1, Hubert Booth received an urgent request to vacuum clean the Crystal Palace where the 1st World Expo was held. This was because soldiers in the Crystal Palace kept dieing from an infectious disease that contaminated it. Booth's vacuum cleaning pump sucked in a tremendous amount of dust from the Crystal Palace. It was plagued with germs and thus he subdued the disease. Leaders of Germany, Russia, and France, who attended the Royal Coronation of Edward the Seventh, were all anxious to buy Booth's vacuum cleaning pump. (Inventors)      The response to these modern marveled cleaning machines was obviously enormous. And so became the patent field and sales market. Door to door cleaning became prevalent with such inventors as Hubert Booth and John Thurman. In St. Louis, John Thurman started a horse drawn door-to-door vacuum service similar to Booth's.
Saturday, August 3, 2019
I Am Fearfully and Wonderfully Made :: Biology Essays Research Papers
"I am fearfully and wonderfully made" "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well"(Psalm 139:14). From what I've been learning about the brain, that is, what we understand and the whole lot that is yet to be understood about its intricate networks, I can marvel along with the psalmist, David. Indeed, we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and our brain is a great testimony of that fact. What would the psalmist have written if he was alive today, to know what we now know and understand? To think of what we've come to understand about ourselves, especially about our brains. How would the psalmist respond? Well, let's take a look at the brain. From being in class, my awareness about what I'm doing, what I'm seeing, what I'm hearing, what I'm thinking has come to reflect upon not just what, but how is it all being done by my brain. This morning I woke up, my eyes opened, I looked out my window, I saw the sun rising, it was this beautifully deep yellow/orange color. I thought, "How beautiful" and I smiled with a sense and feeling of wonderment. It could be said that I experienced nothing out of the ordinary this morning. Yet, if I could narrate these few activities in terms of the networking of neurons resulting in my eyes opening, my sight of the sun, my ability to perceive its color, my inner acknowledgment of its beauty and the emotions that sight evoked in me, you would be reading for a very long time and what I did this morning would indeed present itself in quite an extraordinary light. It is in recognition of this, with respect to the brain's aptitudes, that Howard Hughes in his p aper, "Seeing, Hearing and Smelling the World" quoted May Pines in expressing, "We can recognize a friend instantly-full face, in profile, or even by the back of his head. We can distinguish hundreds of colors and possibly as many as 10,000 smells. We can feel a feather as it brushes our skin, hear the faint rustle of a leaf. It all seems so effortless: we open our eyes or ears and let the world stream in. Yet anything we see, hear, feel, smell, or taste requires billions of nerve cells to flash urgent messages along linked pathways and feedback loops in our brains, performing intricate calculations that scientists have only begun to decipher"(1). I Am Fearfully and Wonderfully Made :: Biology Essays Research Papers "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well"(Psalm 139:14). From what I've been learning about the brain, that is, what we understand and the whole lot that is yet to be understood about its intricate networks, I can marvel along with the psalmist, David. Indeed, we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and our brain is a great testimony of that fact. What would the psalmist have written if he was alive today, to know what we now know and understand? To think of what we've come to understand about ourselves, especially about our brains. How would the psalmist respond? Well, let's take a look at the brain. From being in class, my awareness about what I'm doing, what I'm seeing, what I'm hearing, what I'm thinking has come to reflect upon not just what, but how is it all being done by my brain. This morning I woke up, my eyes opened, I looked out my window, I saw the sun rising, it was this beautifully deep yellow/orange color. I thought, "How beautiful" and I smiled with a sense and feeling of wonderment. It could be said that I experienced nothing out of the ordinary this morning. Yet, if I could narrate these few activities in terms of the networking of neurons resulting in my eyes opening, my sight of the sun, my ability to perceive its color, my inner acknowledgment of its beauty and the emotions that sight evoked in me, you would be reading for a very long time and what I did this morning would indeed present itself in quite an extraordinary light. It is in recognition of this, with respect to the brain's aptitudes, that Howard Hughes in his p aper, "Seeing, Hearing and Smelling the World" quoted May Pines in expressing, "We can recognize a friend instantly-full face, in profile, or even by the back of his head. We can distinguish hundreds of colors and possibly as many as 10,000 smells. We can feel a feather as it brushes our skin, hear the faint rustle of a leaf. It all seems so effortless: we open our eyes or ears and let the world stream in. Yet anything we see, hear, feel, smell, or taste requires billions of nerve cells to flash urgent messages along linked pathways and feedback loops in our brains, performing intricate calculations that scientists have only begun to decipher"(1).
Benjamin Franklin Essay examples -- essays research papers
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin was a remarkably talented man. He started his career as a simple printer apprentice, but went far beyond the printers shop. He developed products that were far beyond the time. The Franklin stove for example, for cold winter nights and bifocal lenses for reading. Franklin tracked storm paths to help understand the wicked weather endured by the colonies. His study of electricity made him most famous for he was known around the world as the inventor of the lightning rod. Not only was Ben Franklin helpful in developing ideas for better living, he was also a strong force in developing the new nation of America. Benjamin Franklin's political views showed him to be a man who loved freedom and self-government. His views towards Britain gradually changed from favor to disfavor until he finally became a revolutionist at the age of 70. But more than just his political views help in the formation of the United States. His common sense, his whit, and his ability to negotiate behind the scenes, all lent a hand in the formation of the new country across the sea. Franklin's good humor and gift for compromise often helped prevent bitter disputes which could have stalled the formation of the new government. Interestingly, Ben Franklin, who was a chief participant in the battle for independence, â€Å"had a lot to lose by it.†(Wright 1986, page 204). He had a residence in London and was influential in England. However, his love of liberty and his desire to promote the well being of Pennsylvania pushed him toward independence for the colonies. Franklin had to wrestle with his conscience over his own private affairs. Also, since he was well respected in England, he was "the Establishment man-even if he felt now a deep unease on the basic question: What was the authority of Parliament over the American colonies?" (Wright, page 205). At first Franklin wanted the colonies to be and independent free nation under the caring and protecting umbrella of the British Empire. "He had dream...of a great British Empire, gridding the globe, based upon a commonwealth of free nations, each with its own laws, its own government and freedoms, but bound together by compact with the Crown for mutual benefit, mutual defense, and the propagation of English freedoms." (Schoenbrun 1976, p... ...ive impact favoring the colonist, it became more and more impossible for Britain to give the war its full attention. Britain needed a way out and Franklin played a key role. "Franklin was appointed in 1781 a commissioner to negoiate the peace with Britain." (Ketcham 1994, page 1). Franklin was a very good negotiator as "the North Ministry pushed through Parliament two conciliatory bills that gave the Americans everything that Franklin had demanded in his peace negoiations." (Fleming 1972, page 299). Franklin had common sense, whit, and skills that all helped bring favorable positions to the colonies against Britain. Finally, Benjamin Franklin portrays a man torn between his love of Britain and a desire for liberty for the people of the new world. His greatest hope was for Britain to be the great, caring mother country that protected a young free nation across the sea. He was each country benefiting the other. Of course, this could not happen so he made sure that the best for America would be insured through his efforts to bring France to the aid of the Colonies and to finally bring about a livable peace between Britain and America. Benjamin Franklin Essay examples -- essays research papers Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin was a remarkably talented man. He started his career as a simple printer apprentice, but went far beyond the printers shop. He developed products that were far beyond the time. The Franklin stove for example, for cold winter nights and bifocal lenses for reading. Franklin tracked storm paths to help understand the wicked weather endured by the colonies. His study of electricity made him most famous for he was known around the world as the inventor of the lightning rod. Not only was Ben Franklin helpful in developing ideas for better living, he was also a strong force in developing the new nation of America. Benjamin Franklin's political views showed him to be a man who loved freedom and self-government. His views towards Britain gradually changed from favor to disfavor until he finally became a revolutionist at the age of 70. But more than just his political views help in the formation of the United States. His common sense, his whit, and his ability to negotiate behind the scenes, all lent a hand in the formation of the new country across the sea. Franklin's good humor and gift for compromise often helped prevent bitter disputes which could have stalled the formation of the new government. Interestingly, Ben Franklin, who was a chief participant in the battle for independence, â€Å"had a lot to lose by it.†(Wright 1986, page 204). He had a residence in London and was influential in England. However, his love of liberty and his desire to promote the well being of Pennsylvania pushed him toward independence for the colonies. Franklin had to wrestle with his conscience over his own private affairs. Also, since he was well respected in England, he was "the Establishment man-even if he felt now a deep unease on the basic question: What was the authority of Parliament over the American colonies?" (Wright, page 205). At first Franklin wanted the colonies to be and independent free nation under the caring and protecting umbrella of the British Empire. "He had dream...of a great British Empire, gridding the globe, based upon a commonwealth of free nations, each with its own laws, its own government and freedoms, but bound together by compact with the Crown for mutual benefit, mutual defense, and the propagation of English freedoms." (Schoenbrun 1976, p... ...ive impact favoring the colonist, it became more and more impossible for Britain to give the war its full attention. Britain needed a way out and Franklin played a key role. "Franklin was appointed in 1781 a commissioner to negoiate the peace with Britain." (Ketcham 1994, page 1). Franklin was a very good negotiator as "the North Ministry pushed through Parliament two conciliatory bills that gave the Americans everything that Franklin had demanded in his peace negoiations." (Fleming 1972, page 299). Franklin had common sense, whit, and skills that all helped bring favorable positions to the colonies against Britain. Finally, Benjamin Franklin portrays a man torn between his love of Britain and a desire for liberty for the people of the new world. His greatest hope was for Britain to be the great, caring mother country that protected a young free nation across the sea. He was each country benefiting the other. Of course, this could not happen so he made sure that the best for America would be insured through his efforts to bring France to the aid of the Colonies and to finally bring about a livable peace between Britain and America.
Friday, August 2, 2019
Money: Crime and Great Gatsby
Jonathan Marshall Ms. Herring English 11 – Great Gatsby Essay 3/27/13 Period 5 Dark Side of Money There's only one thing that truly rules our world that we live in today. It's what pretty much everybody strives for, and it's the only reason why people want to be successful. Some believe it brings happiness and joy. This â€Å"thing†is a necessity for life; it's money. Money is what makes the world go around. It is the one thing that each and every person on Earth wishes they had more of. However, what most of these people don't realize is that money is also the root to all evil.The book â€Å"The Great Gatsby†portrays this theme in a lot of different ways. This negative idea towards money consists of jealousy, unequal power, and murder; all caused by money. In the same ways and more, money is the root to all evil in our own society as well. Many crimes occur with some sort of direct relation to money. Although everybody strives for more money, not everybody spe nds it wisely or legally. Unfortunately, the book â€Å"The Great Gatsby†and these real life examples are true depictions of reality and everyday lfie.Robberies are often committed in our own communities because of individuals seeking money. There are many examples of this including the â€Å"Luger Bandit†in Los Angeles whos has robbed many banks recently. The latest case was on March 10, 2013. He simply walks into a Wells Fargo bank with a gun, makes the costumers lay on the floor, and forces the employees at gunpoint to put money in his bag. Soon, this man will be arrested and thrown into prison. This kind of action will affect many of his family and friends.These robberies can easily turn worse by the pulling of a trigger. Any unfortunate person that was at the wrong place at the wrong time could die. This would mean that that innocent individual died just because of a man's criminal pursuit for money. Another type of criminal activity caused by the pursuit for mo ney in our community is when someone steals from another. An example of this is when two women were robbed at gunpoint in their home in Indiana. Those two women are now scarred for life and will never be able to forget this horrific event.Once again, lives are damaged dramatically by criminals looking for money. It's evident that the power of money often drives people to commit evil crimes. This power of money is demonstrated in â€Å"The Great Gatsby†. Gatsby draws alot of attention to himself because of his wealth. Alot of people look up to him, and want to have the amount of wealth he has. In order to get this money, Gatsby got involved with the mob and organized crime. So Gatsby risked his life by making criminal decisions so he can become wealthy.Money influenced Gatsby to make these decisions with his life, which clearly shows that money is truly the root to all evil. There are multiple cases when people with wealth tend to be more selfish and stuck up. Tom and Daisy in â€Å"The Great Gatsby†can be examples to this idea. Nick explains to us towards the end of the book that Tom and Dasiy are careless, and that they leave messes behind and count on others to fix it for them. If they didn't have the amount of money that they have, they wouldn't be able to do this. Tom and Daisy would appreciate things more, instead of being selfish.The money is obviously the cause to their attitude towards others. A real life example of this is when a wealthy individual has a hired maid to clean up after them. The maid's job is to clean up any mess that this person or their family makes. This type of case shows that wealthy people tend to be more lazy and have less responsibilities because they have other people to do it for them. Without all that money, they wouldn't be able to do that. They'd have to clean up and have the same amount of responsibilities as the average person.These examples from â€Å"The Great Gatsby†and real life definitely repres ent society in general, because crimes are committed everywhere all the time in search for money. According to statistics, 20 banks are robbed every day and 45 houses are broken into every hour in the United States. With the percent of poverty and unemployed people in need for money increasing, I don't see these rates dropping anytime soon. If anything it could get worse. Our society is simply doomed, we have no hope. On the other side of the story, the people with money spoil themselves by spending it the wrong ways.Alot of wealthy people choose to go to bars, stripclubs, and prostitution houses. It may be legal, but they're still unwise decisions. Also, the amount of drug abuse continues to increase. In fact, the rate of illegal drug use rose last year to the highest level in nearly a decade. How do people recieve these drugs? They pay for it with money. Without all that money, they wouldn't be able to afford those illegal drugs. It is clear that we can't really do anything to avo id these problems in our society.It'll continue to happen no matter what. Money is very powerful, it rules our world. It tends to control people and take over their minds. This shows in stats of crimes and what those people, lucky enough to have money, do with the money. Impatient people who aren't satisfied with the amount of money that they already have attempt to take the easy way out by robbing banks, houses, cars etc. The wealthy individuals make unwise decisions and become lazy because of the money. There's no doubt, money is the root to all evil.
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Effects of Emotion Regulation on Risk Aversion
This paper is on â€Å"Emotion Regulation and Decision Making Under Risk and Uncertainty†by Mircea Miclea, Andrei C. Miu, Renata M. Heilman, Liviu G. Crisan from Babes-Bolyai University, in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and Daniel Houser from George Mason University in Virginia, USA. The study was published in the American Psychological Association, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 2. It deals with emotion regulation (ER) tactics such as cognitive reappraisal and expression suppression and their effects on risk aversion and decision making. Reappraisal involves reformulating the meaning of the situation.Suppression involves inhibiting the responses and behaviours associated with emotions, such as facial expressions, vocal tonality or body language. The researchers hypothesized that participants using reappraisal would portray lower risk aversion (increased risk taking) than subjects using suppression. They induced negative emotions of fear and disgust on their participants through short movie clips and then rated how they did on tests that measure risk-taking based on the ER tactic that they were previously instructed to use. (Heilman, Crisan, Houser, Miclea & Miu, 2010, p. 58). Our textbook defines an experiment as a scientific method of research in which several factors called independent variables are modified to determine their effects on the dependant variable. This enables researchers to find cause and effect between different variables because they will observe if changes in one variable causes changes in the other (Baron, Byrne, Branscombe, & Fritzley, 2010, p. 19). For the purposes of this paper, focus will be on study 1 which looked at the effects of negative emotions such as fear or disgust.The sample was of sixty participants (56 women; mean age 21. 45 years) from the Babes-Bolyai University campus. They were randomly distributed in 6 groups based on the emotion experienced (either fear or disgust) and the ER strategy employed (cognitive reappraisal, expressive su ppression, or control/no ER instructions). The independent variables in this experiment were the ER strategy induced and the emotion experienced by the subjects. The emotion was measured using PANAS-X (posttest).The participants then completed the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) to confirm that they employed the instructed ER strategy. The dependant variable was the risk taking behaviour of the subjects, measured with BART and IGT tests. Results showed that reappraisers, but not suppressors, showed significantly decreased fear and disgust. Findings reveal that cognitive reappraisal increases risk taking by reducing the experience of negative emotions, while expressive suppression does not because it is ineffective in reducing negative emotions (Heilman et al. , 2010, p. 258-61).The textbook deals with the topic of emotion and cognitive regulation by addressing the topics of thought suppression, affect and cognition and emotion regulation. First, thought suppression is the eff ort we take to prevent certain thoughts from entering our consciousness. It is involved in two steps: the first is an automatic process which detects unwanted thoughts, and the second is a conscious process by which we decide to not think about the unpleasant thoughts and concentrate on something else. When we are too tired, the conscious process cannot operate and the unwanted thoughts become stronger.We engage in though suppression to control our feelings and behaviour (Baron et al. , 2010, p. 47-48). Second, the textbook looks at the influence of affect on cognition. Research indicates that our mood influences the way we see the world and our interactions with it. The textbook states that information of affective nature is processed differently than standard information, and as such it is almost impossible to ignore it once it has been introduced into a situation. People in a good mood are encouraged in heuristic thinking, and more likely to accept facts. Baron et al. , 2010, p. 50-53). Lastly, the textbook defines emotion regulation as a cognitive mechanism by which we use our thoughts to regulate and control our feelings. A study by Tykocinski lists two ER techniques: counterfactual thinking, when people adjust their thoughts about negative events to make them seem unavoidable and less distressing, which reduces negative affect, and giving in to temptation, which involves doing things that are potentially bad for us but pleasant in order to improve our mood (Baron et al. 2010, p. 54-55). Some similarities can be traced between the experiment and the textbook. They both agree that our mood has an influence on our cognition. In particular, the textbook tells us that people in a good mood engage in heuristic thinking, that is employing mental shortcuts, and that they are more likely to accept fewer arguments as demonstrated in the study by Ruder and Bless (2003). The experiment by Heilman et al. (2010) shows us that the ER technique one uses can decrease our risk aversion.The textbook does discuss forms of ER techniques that are similar as the one present in Heilman’s study. Thought suppression, as discussed in the textbook, has a few similarities with expressive suppression, in that they both attempt to inhibit something. Cognitive reappraisal is very similar to Tykocinski’s counterfactual thinking. In terms of the research done for the experiment and the textbook, no similarities could be found.This translates in the different names given to the emotion regulation techniques (i. e. reappraisal vs. counterfactual thinking) in between the two. The study certainly has a lot more detailed information on the topic of emotion regulation than the textbook. The latter approaches the topic in a more general way, not surprisingly so since it is a college level manual. A critical look at the journal article reveals that, overall; they did a good job, however there are a few things that are not good.The independent and dependant va riables were chosen properly and they took great care to measure the effects using a variety of tests and statistical analyses. They made sure that fear and disgust was felt and that ER strategies were employed. However, further specification on the way they instructed their participants over which ER strategy to use would be welcome. The study does not list any further information on that topic, other than the participants were given the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire at the end to determine if they followed the assigned instructions.The conclusions seem to follow the results in a coherent and logical fashion. The main problem with this study is their sampling. First of all, it is not very large, and second, it is not representative, as it consists almost exclusively of young women (56) from the campus. This does not allow for generalization. Further experiments with a larger, more representative sample would shed more light on the exact effects of emotion regulation on decision making under risk.
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