Previous research in economics, social psychology, and sociology has producedcompelling evidence that social norms influence behavior. In this paper we applythe Krupka and Weber (2013) norm elicitation procedure and present U.S. andnon-U.S. born subjects with two scenarios for which tipping and punctualitynorms are known to vary across countries. We elicit shared beliefs by havingsubjects match appropriateness ratings of different actions (such as arrivinglate or on time) to another randomly selected participant from the sameuniversity or to a participant who is born in the same country. We also elicitpersonal beliefs without the matching task. We test whether the responses fromthe coordination task can be interpreted as social norms by comparing responsesfrom the coordination game with actual social norms (as identified usingindependent materials such as tipping guides for travelers). We compareresponses elicited with the matching tasks to those elicited without thematching task to test whether the coordination device itself is essential foridentifying social norms. We find that appropriateness ratings for differentactions vary with the reference group in the matching task. Further, the ratingsobtained from the matching task vary in a manner consistent with the actualsocial norms of that reference group. Thus, we find that shared beliefscorrespond more closely to externally validated social norms compared topersonal beliefs. Second, we highlight the importance that reference groups (forthe coordination task) can play.

The preconception, pregnancy and immediate postpartum and newborn periods are times for mothers and their offspring when they are especially vulnerable to major stressors – those that are sudden and unexpected and those that are chronic. Their adverse effects can transcend generations. Stressors can include natural disasters or political stressors such as conflict and/or migration. Considerable evidence has accumulated demonstrating the adverse effects of natural disasters on pregnancy outcomes and developmental trajectories. However, beyond tracking outcomes, the time has arrived for gathering more information related to identifying mechanisms, predicting risk and developing stress-reducing and resilience-building interventions to improve outcomes. Further, we need to learn how to encapsulate both the quantitative and qualitative information available and share it with communities and authorities to mitigate the adverse developmental effects of future disasters, conflicts and migrations. This article briefly reviews prenatal maternal stress and identifies three contemporary situations (wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada; hurricane Harvey in Houston, USA and transgenerational and migrant stress in Pforzheim, Germany) where current studies are being established by Canadian investigators to test an intervention. The experiences from these efforts are related along with attempts to involve communities in the studies and share the new knowledge to plan for future disasters or tragedies.

This study provides an analysis of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners' participation in forestry assistance programs. A probit model was used for data collected from a random sample of 329 Indiana landowners. The analysis revealed that total land owned, commercial reasons for ownership, government sources of information, and membership in forestry organizations influenced NIPF landowners' program participation. Age, fear of loss of property rights, and duration since the first wooded tract was acquired also influenced program participation. Location of landowners' residence on their wooded land and landowners' knowledge of and willingness to participate in a conservation easement influenced the participation in cost-share programs.

The in utero origins of breast cancer are an increasing focus ofresearch. However, the long time period between exposure and disease diagnosis,and the lack of standardized perinatal data collection makes this researchchallenging. We assessed perinatal factors, as proxies for inutero exposures, and breast cancer risk using pooled,population-based birth and cancer registry data. Birth registries providedinformation on perinatal exposures. Cases were females born in Norway, Sweden orDenmark who were subsequently diagnosed with primary, invasive breast cancer(n = 1419). Ten controls for each case were selected fromthe birth registries matched on country and birth year (n =14,190). Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimatedusing unconditional regression models. Breast cancer risk rose 7% (95% CI2–13%) with every 500 g (roughly 1 s.d.) increase in birthweight and 7% for every 1 s.d. increase in birth length (95% CI1–14%). The association with birth length was attenuated after adjustmentfor birth weight, while the increase in risk with birth weight remained withadjustment for birth length. Ponderal index and small- andlarge-for-gestational-age status were not better predictors of risk than eitherweight or length alone. Risk was not associated with maternal education or age,gestational duration, delivery type or birth order, or with several pregnancycomplications, including preeclampsia. These data confirm the positiveassociation between birth weight and breast cancer risk. Other pregnancycharacteristics, including complications such as preeclampsia, do not appear tobe involved in later breast carcinogenesis in young women.

A low-temperature (320–480 °C) metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process was developed for the growth of ruthenium and ruthenium oxide thin films. The process used bis(ethylcyclopentadienyl)ruthenium [Ru(C5H4C2H5)2] and oxygen as, respectively, the ruthenium and oxygen sources. Systematic investigations of film formation mechanisms and associated rate limiting factors that control the nucleation and growth of the Ru and RuO2 phases led to the demonstration that the MOCVD process can be smoothly and reversibly modified to form either Ru or RuO2 through simple and straightforward modifications to the processing conditions–primarily oxygen flow and substrate temperature. In particular, films grown at low oxygen flows (50 sccm) exhibited a metallic Ru phase at processing temperatures below 480 °C. In contrast, films grown at high oxygen flow (300 sccm) were metallic Ru below 400 °C. Above 400 °C, a phase transition was observed from Ru to RuOx (0 < x < 2.0) to RuO2 as the processing temperature was gradually increased to 480 °C.

The synthesis and second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of a new family of optically nonlinear coumarin dye-containing polymers is reported. Polymerizable coumaromethacrylate (CMA) monomers having various alkyl spacers (C2 to C5) between the polymerizable group and the chromophore were prepared and copolymerized with methylmethacrylate (MMA) and other vinyl monomers. The CMA copolymers had high chromophoric content (up to 18 × 1020) and glass transitions as high as 132°C. Spin cast films were prepared on BK7 substrates and oriented by corona-onset poling at elevated temperatures (COPET). The poled CMA copolymer films were characterized for spectroscopic absorption and second harmonic properties. A comparison of the nonlinear optical properties of poled CMA-MMA copolymers to poled guest-host systems is made. Relative to guest/host systems, CMA-MMA copolymer films exhibit larger and much more stable second-order nonlinear optical properties.