TRAJECTORIES OF ACCULTURATION AND ENCULTURATION IN RELATION TO HEAVY EPISODIC DRINKING AND MARIJUANA USE IN A SAMPLE OF MEXICAN AMERICAN SERIOUS JUVENILE OFFENDERS

PubMed Central

Losoya, Sandra H.; Knight, George P.; Chassin, Laurie; Little, Michelle; Vargas-Chanes, Delfino; Mauricio, Anne; Piquero, Alex

2009-01-01

This study examines the longitudinal relations of multiple dimensions of acculturation and enculturation to heavy episodic drinking and marijuana use in a sample of 300 male, Mexican-American, serious juvenile offenders. We track trajectories between ages 15 and 20 and also consider the effects of participants’ time spent residing in supervised settings during these years. Results showed some (although not entirely consistent) support for the hypothesis that bicultural adaptation is most functional in terms of lowered substance use involvement. The current findings demonstrate the importance of examining these relations longitudinally and among multiple dimensions of acculturation and enculturation, and they call into question simple models that suggest that greater acculturation is associated with greater substance use among Mexican-American adolescents. PMID:20198119

Parenting behavior dimensions and child psychopathology: specificity, task dependency, and interactive relations.

PubMed

Caron, Annalise; Weiss, Bahr; Harris, Vicki; Catron, Tom

2006-02-01

This study examined the specificity of relations between parent or caregiver behaviors and childhood internalizing and externalizing problems in a sample of 70 fourth-grade children (64% boys, M age = 9.7 years). Specificity was assessed via (a) unique effects, (b) differential effects, and (c) interactive effects. When measured as unique and differential effects, specificity was not found for warmth or psychological control but was found for caregiver's use of behavior control. Higher levels of behavior control were uniquely related to lower levels of externalizing problems and higher levels of internalizing problems; differential effects analyses indicated that higher levels of behavior control were related to decreases in the within-child difference in relative levels of level of internalizing versus externalizing problems. Interactive relations among the 3 parenting behavior dimensions also were identified. Although caregivers emphasized different parenting behavior dimensions across 2 separate caregiver-child interaction tasks, relations between parenting behavior dimensions and child psychopathology did not vary as a function of task. These findings indicate the importance of assessing and simultaneously analyzing multiple parenting behavior dimensions and multiple child psychopathology domains.

Self-presentational persona: simultaneous management of multiple impressions.

PubMed

Leary, Mark R; Allen, Ashley Batts

2011-11-01

Most research on self-presentation has examined how people convey images of themselves on only 1 or 2 dimensions at a time. In everyday interactions, however, people often manage their impressions on several image-relevant dimensions simultaneously. By examining people's self-presentations to several targets across multiple dimensions, these 2 studies offer new insights into the nature of self-presentation and provide a novel paradigm for studying impression management. Results showed that most people rely on a relatively small number of basic self-presentational personas in which they convey particular profiles of impressions as a set and that these personas reflect both normative influences to project images that are appropriate to a particular target and distinctive influences by which people put an idiosyncratic spin on these normative images. Furthermore, although people's self-presentational profiles correlate moderately with their self-views, they tailor their public images to specific targets. The degree to which participants' self-presentations were normative and distinctive, as well as the extent to which they reflected their own self-views, were moderated by individual differences in agreeableness, self-esteem, authenticity, and Machiavellianism.

Children's comprehension monitoring of multiple situational dimensions of a narrative.

PubMed

Wassenburg, Stephanie I; Beker, Katinka; van den Broek, Paul; van der Schoot, Menno

Narratives typically consist of information on multiple aspects of a situation. In order to successfully create a coherent representation of the described situation, readers are required to monitor all these situational dimensions during reading. However, little is known about whether these dimensions differ in the ease with which they can be monitored. In the present study, we examined whether children in Grades 4 and 6 monitor four different dimensions (i.e., emotion, causation, time, and space) during reading, using a self-paced reading task containing inconsistencies. Furthermore, to explore what causes failure in inconsistency detection, we differentiated between monitoring processes related to availability and validation of information by manipulating the distance between two pieces of conflicting information. The results indicated that the monitoring processes varied as a function of dimension. Children were able to validate emotional and causal information when it was still active in working memory, but this was not the case for temporal and spatial information. When context and target information were more distant from each other, only emotionally charged information remained available for further monitoring processes. These findings show that the influence of different situational dimensions should be taken into account when studying children's reading comprehension.

The relationship between health-related fitness and quality of life in postmenopausal women from Southern Taiwan

PubMed Central

Hsu, Wei-Hsiu; Chen, Chi-lung; Kuo, Liang Tseng; Fan, Chun-Hao; Lee, Mel S; Hsu, Robert Wen-Wei

2014-01-01

Background Health-related fitness has been reported to be associated with improved quality of life (QoL) in the elderly. Health-related fitness is comprised of several dimensions that could be enhanced by specific training regimens. It has remained unclear how various dimensions of health-related fitness interact with QoL in postmenopausal women. Objective The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between the dimensions of health-related fitness and QoL in elderly women. Methods A cohort of 408 postmenopausal women in a rural area of Taiwan was prospectively collected. Dimensions of health-related fitness, consisting of muscular strength, balance, cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, muscle endurance, and agility, were assessed. QoL was determined using the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Differences between age groups (stratified by decades) were calculated using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple comparisons using a Scheffé test. A Spearman’s correlation analysis was performed to examine differences between QoL and each dimension of fitness. Multiple linear regression with forced-entry procedure was performed to evaluate the effects of health-related fitness. A P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Age-related decreases in health-related fitness were shown for sit-ups, back strength, grip strength, side steps, trunk extension, and agility (P<0.05). An age-related decrease in QoL, specifically in physical functioning, role limitation due to physical problems, and physical component score, was also demonstrated (P<0.05). Multiple linear regression analyses demonstrated that back strength significantly contributed to the physical component of QoL (adjusted beta of 0.268 [P<0.05]). Conclusion Back strength was positively correlated with the physical component of QoL among the examined dimensions of health-related fitness. Health-related fitness, as well as the physical component of QoL, declined with increasing age. PMID:25258526

Implementation of false discovery rate for exploring novel paradigms and trait dimensions with ERPs.

PubMed

Crowley, Michael J; Wu, Jia; McCreary, Scott; Miller, Kelly; Mayes, Linda C

2012-01-01

False discovery rate (FDR) is a multiple comparison procedure that targets the expected proportion of false discoveries among the discoveries. Employing FDR methods in event-related potential (ERP) research provides an approach to explore new ERP paradigms and ERP-psychological trait/behavior relations. In Study 1, we examined neural responses to escape behavior from an aversive noise. In Study 2, we correlated a relatively unexplored trait dimension, ostracism, with neural response. In both situations we focused on the frontal cortical region, applying a channel by time plots to display statistically significant uncorrected data and FDR corrected data, controlling for multiple comparisons.

A Multiple Identity Approach to Gender: Identification with Women, Identification with Feminists, and Their Interaction

PubMed Central

van Breen, Jolien A.; Spears, Russell; Kuppens, Toon; de Lemus, Soledad

2017-01-01

Across four studies, we examine multiple identities in the context of gender and propose that women's attitudes toward gender group membership are governed by two largely orthogonal dimensions of gender identity: identification with women and identification with feminists. We argue that identification with women reflects attitudes toward the content society gives to group membership: what does it mean to be a woman in terms of group characteristics, interests and values? Identification with feminists, on the other hand, is a politicized identity dimension reflecting attitudes toward the social position of the group: what does it mean to be a woman in terms of disadvantage, inequality, and relative status? We examine the utility of this multiple identity approach in four studies. Study 1 showed that identification with women reflects attitudes toward group characteristics, such as femininity and self-stereotyping, while identification with feminists reflects attitudes toward the group's social position, such as perceived sexism. The two dimensions are shown to be largely independent, and as such provide support for the multiple identity approach. In Studies 2–4, we examine the utility of this multiple identity approach in predicting qualitative differences in gender attitudes. Results show that specific combinations of identification with women and feminists predicted attitudes toward collective action and gender stereotypes. Higher identification with feminists led to endorsement of radical collective action (Study 2) and critical attitudes toward gender stereotypes (Studies 3–4), especially at lower levels of identification with women. The different combinations of high vs. low identification with women and feminists can be thought of as reflecting four theoretical identity “types.” A woman can be (1) strongly identified with neither women nor feminists (“low identifier”), (2) strongly identified with women but less so with feminists (“traditional identifier”), (3) strongly identified with both women and feminists (“dual identifier”), or (4) strongly identified with feminists but less so with women (“distinctive feminist”). In sum, by considering identification with women and identification with feminists as multiple identities we aim to show how the multiple identity approach predicts distinct attitudes to gender issues and offer a new perspective on gender identity. PMID:28713297

A Multiple Identity Approach to Gender: Identification with Women, Identification with Feminists, and Their Interaction.

PubMed

van Breen, Jolien A; Spears, Russell; Kuppens, Toon; de Lemus, Soledad

2017-01-01

Across four studies, we examine multiple identities in the context of gender and propose that women's attitudes toward gender group membership are governed by two largely orthogonal dimensions of gender identity: identification with women and identification with feminists. We argue that identification with women reflects attitudes toward the content society gives to group membership: what does it mean to be a woman in terms of group characteristics, interests and values? Identification with feminists, on the other hand, is a politicized identity dimension reflecting attitudes toward the social position of the group: what does it mean to be a woman in terms of disadvantage, inequality, and relative status? We examine the utility of this multiple identity approach in four studies. Study 1 showed that identification with women reflects attitudes toward group characteristics, such as femininity and self-stereotyping, while identification with feminists reflects attitudes toward the group's social position, such as perceived sexism. The two dimensions are shown to be largely independent, and as such provide support for the multiple identity approach. In Studies 2-4, we examine the utility of this multiple identity approach in predicting qualitative differences in gender attitudes. Results show that specific combinations of identification with women and feminists predicted attitudes toward collective action and gender stereotypes. Higher identification with feminists led to endorsement of radical collective action (Study 2) and critical attitudes toward gender stereotypes (Studies 3-4), especially at lower levels of identification with women. The different combinations of high vs. low identification with women and feminists can be thought of as reflecting four theoretical identity "types." A woman can be (1) strongly identified with neither women nor feminists ("low identifier"), (2) strongly identified with women but less so with feminists ("traditional identifier"), (3) strongly identified with both women and feminists ("dual identifier"), or (4) strongly identified with feminists but less so with women ("distinctive feminist"). In sum, by considering identification with women and identification with feminists as multiple identities we aim to show how the multiple identity approach predicts distinct attitudes to gender issues and offer a new perspective on gender identity.

Associations between adult attachment style and health risk behaviors in an adult female primary care population

PubMed Central

Ahrens, Kym R.; Ciechanowski, Paul; Katon, Wayne

2013-01-01

Objective To examine the relationship between adult attachment style and health risk behaviors among adult women in a primary care setting. Methods In this analysis of a population of women enrolled in a large health maintenance organization (N=701), we examined the relationship between anxious and avoidant dimensions of adult attachment style and a variety of sexual, substance-related, and other health risk behaviors. After conducting descriptive statistics of the entire population, we determined the relationships between the two attachment dimensions and health behaviors using multiple regression analyses in which we controlled for demographic and socioeconomic factors. Results After adjustment for covariates, the anxious dimension of attachment style was significantly associated with increased odds of self-report of having sex without knowing a partner’s history, having multiple (≥2) male partners in the past year, and history of having a sexually transmitted infection (ORs [95% CIs]=1.11 [1.03, 1.20], 1.23 [1.04, 1.45]; and 1.17 [1.05, 1.30], respectively). The avoidant attachment dimension was associated with increased odds of being a smoker and not reporting regular seatbelt use (ORs [95% CIs]=1.15 [1.01, 1.30] and 1.16 [1.01, 1.33], respectively). Conclusions Both anxious and avoidant dimensions of attachment were associated with health risk behaviors in this study. This framework may be a useful tool to allow primary care clinicians to guide screening and intervention efforts. PMID:22469278

Associations between adult attachment style and health risk behaviors in an adult female primary care population.

PubMed

Ahrens, Kym R; Ciechanowski, Paul; Katon, Wayne

2012-05-01

To examine the relationship between adult attachment style and health risk behaviors among adult women in a primary care setting. In this analysis of a population of women enrolled in a large health maintenance organization (N=701), we examined the relationship between anxious and avoidant dimensions of adult attachment style and a variety of sexual, substance-related, and other health risk behaviors. After conducting descriptive statistics of the entire population, we determined the relationships between the two attachment dimensions and health behaviors using multiple regression analyses in which we controlled for demographic and socioeconomic factors. After adjustment for covariates, the anxious dimension of attachment style was significantly associated with increased odds of self-report of having sex without knowing a partner's history, having multiple (≥2) male partners in the past year, and history of having a sexually transmitted infection (ORs [95% CIs]=1.11 [1.03, 1.20], 1.23 [1.04, 1.45]; and 1.17 [1.05, 1.30], respectively). The avoidant attachment dimension was associated with increased odds of being a smoker and not reporting regular seatbelt use (ORs [95% CIs]=1.15 [1.01, 1.30] and 1.16 [1.01, 1.33], respectively). Both anxious and avoidant dimensions of attachment were associated with health risk behaviors in this study. This framework may be a useful tool to allow primary care clinicians to guide screening and intervention efforts. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Seven basic dimensions of personality pathology and their clinical consequences: Are all personalities equally harmful?

PubMed

Vall, Gemma; Gutiérrez, Fernando; Peri, Josep M; Gárriz, Miguel; Ferraz, Liliana; Baillés, Eva; Obiols, Jordi E

2015-11-01

Dimensional pathology models are increasingly being accepted for the assessment of disordered personalities, but their ability to predict negative outcomes is yet to be studied. We examine the relative clinical impact of seven basic dimensions of personality pathology through their associations with a wide range of clinical outcomes. A sample of 960 outpatients was assessed through a 7-factor model integrating the Cloninger, the Livesley, and the DSM taxonomies. Thirty-six indicators of clinical outcome covering three areas - dissatisfaction, functional difficulties, and clinical severity - were also assessed. The unique contribution of each personality dimension to clinical outcome was estimated through multiple regressions. Overall, personality dimensions explained 17.6% of the variance of clinical outcome, but varied substantially in terms of their unique contributions. Negative Emotionality had the greatest impact in all areas, contributing 43.9% of the explained variance. The remaining dimensions led to idiosyncratic patterns of clinical outcomes but had a comparatively minor clinical impact. A certain effect was also found for combinations of dimensions such as Negative Emotionality × Impulsive Sensation Seeking, but most interactions were clinically irrelevant. Our findings suggest that the most relevant dimensions of personality pathology are associated with very different clinical consequences and levels of harmfulness. The relative clinical impact of seven basic dimensions of personality pathology is examined. Negative Emotionality (Neuroticism) is 6-14 times as harmful as other pathological dimensions. The remaining dimensions and their interactions have very specific and comparatively minor clinical consequences. We examine only a handful of clinical outcomes. Our results may not be generalizable to other clinical or life outcomes. Our variables are self-reported and hence susceptible to bias. Our design does not allow us to establish causal relationships between personality and clinical outcomes. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Unique Associations Between Big Five Personality Aspects and Multiple Dimensions of Well-Being.

PubMed

Sun, Jessie; Kaufman, Scott Barry; Smillie, Luke D

2018-04-01

Personality traits are associated with well-being, but the precise correlates vary across well-being dimensions and within each Big Five domain. This study is the first to examine the unique associations between the Big Five aspects (rather than facets) and multiple well-being dimensions. Two samples of U.S. participants (total N = 706; M age  = 36.17; 54% female) recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk completed measures of the Big Five aspects and subjective, psychological, and PERMA well-being. One aspect within each domain was more strongly associated with well-being variables. Enthusiasm and Withdrawal were strongly associated with a broad range of well-being variables, but other aspects of personality also had idiosyncratic associations with distinct forms of positive functioning (e.g., Compassion with positive relationships, Industriousness with accomplishment, and Intellect with personal growth). An aspect-level analysis provides an optimal (i.e., parsimonious yet sufficiently comprehensive) framework for describing the relation between personality traits and multiple ways of thriving in life. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Counseling Opportunity Structure: Examining Correlates of Four-Year College-Going Rates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engberg, Mark E.; Gilbert, Aliza J.

2014-01-01

This study examines the relationships between the normative and resource dimensions of a high school counseling department and four-year college-going rates. Utilizing data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS: 09), we employ multiple regression and latent class analysis to identify salient factors related to the college-going…

Logical-rules and the classification of integral dimensions: individual differences in the processing of arbitrary dimensions

PubMed Central

Blunden, Anthea G.; Wang, Tony; Griffiths, David W.; Little, Daniel R.

2015-01-01

A variety of converging operations demonstrate key differences between separable dimensions, which can be analyzed independently, and integral dimensions, which are processed in a non-analytic fashion. A recent investigation of response time distributions, applying a set of logical rule-based models, demonstrated that integral dimensions are pooled into a single coactive processing channel, in contrast to separable dimensions, which are processed in multiple, independent processing channels. This paper examines the claim that arbitrary dimensions created by factorially morphing four faces are processed in an integral manner. In two experiments, 16 participants completed a categorization task in which either upright or inverted morph stimuli were classified in a speeded fashion. Analyses focused on contrasting different assumptions about the psychological representation of the stimuli, perceptual and decisional separability, and the processing architecture. We report consistent individual differences which demonstrate a mixture of some observers who demonstrate coactive processing with other observers who process the dimensions in a parallel self-terminating manner. PMID:25620941

Multiple dimensions of spirituality in recovery: a lagged mediational analysis of Alcoholics Anonymous' principal theoretical mechanism of behavior change.

PubMed

Krentzman, Amy R; Cranford, James A; Robinson, Elizabeth A R

2013-01-01

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) states that recovery is possible through spiritual experiences and spiritual awakenings. Research examining spirituality as a mediator of AA's effect on drinking has been mixed. It is unknown whether such findings are due to variations in the operationalization of key constructs, such as AA and spirituality. To answer these questions, the authors used a longitudinal model to test 2 dimensions of AA as focal predictors and 6 dimensions of spirituality as possible mediators of AA's association with drinking. Data from the first 18 months of a 3-year longitudinal study of 364 alcohol-dependent individuals were analyzed. Structural equation modeling was used to replicate the analyses of Kelly et al. (Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2011;35:454-463) and to compare AA attendance and AA involvement as focal predictors. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine which spirituality dimensions changed as the result of AA participation. A trimmed, data-driven model was employed to test multiple mediation paths simultaneously. The findings of the Kelly et al. study were replicated. AA involvement was a stronger predictor of drinking outcomes than AA attendance. AA involvement predicted increases in private religious practices, daily spiritual experiences, and forgiveness of others. However, only private religious practices mediated the relationship between AA and drinking.

Organizational climate configurations: relationships to collective attitudes, customer satisfaction, and financial performance.

PubMed

Schulte, Mathis; Ostroff, Cheri; Shmulyian, Svetlana; Kinicki, Angelo

2009-05-01

Research on organizational climate has tended to focus on independent dimensions of climate rather than studying the total social context as configurations of multiple climate dimensions. The authors examined relationships between configurations of unit-level climate dimensions and organizational outcomes. Three profile characteristics represented climate configurations: (1) elevation, or the mean score across climate dimensions; (2) variability, or the extent to which scores across dimensions vary; and (3) shape, or the pattern of the dimensions. Across 2 studies (1,120 employees in 120 bank branches and 4,317 employees in 86 food distribution stores), results indicated that elevation was related to collective employee attitudes and service perceptions, while shape was related to customer satisfaction and financial performance. With respect to profile variability, results were mixed. The discussion focuses on future directions for taking a configural approach to organizational climate. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Activity participation among children with autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Little, Lauren M; Sideris, John; Ausderau, Karla; Baranek, Grace T

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to empirically derive dimensions of activity participation among a sample of school-age children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 713). Additionally, we examined the associations between dimensions of activity participation and child characteristics (i.e., chronological age, autism severity, gender) and family demographics (i.e., maternal education). METHOD. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the factors on the Home and Community Activities Scale (HCAS). Multiple regression was used to examine the extent to which child characteristics and family demographics were related to HCAS dimensions. RESULTS. A six-factor model best characterized activity participation among the school-age children with ASD, and child characteristics and family demographics were differentially associated with HCAS dimensions. CONCLUSION. The findings have implications for how activities may be categorized for children with ASD and suggest that the frequency of specific activities is affected by child characteristics and maternal education. Copyright © 2014 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Gender differences in multiple underlying dimensions of health-related quality of life are associated with sociodemographic and socioeconomic status.

PubMed

Cherepanov, Dasha; Palta, Mari; Fryback, Dennis G; Robert, Stephanie A; Hays, Ron D; Kaplan, Robert M

2011-11-01

The purpose of the study was to examine whether gender differences in summary health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are due to differences in specific dimensions of health, and whether they are explained by sociodemographic and socioeconomic (SES) variation. The National Health Measurement Study collected cross-sectional data on a national sample of 3648 black and white noninstitutionalized adults ages 35 to 89 years. Data included the Short Form 36-Item survey, which yielded separate Mental and Physical Component Summary scores (MCS and PCS, respectively), and five HRQoL indexes: Short Form 6 dimension, EuroQol 5 dimension, the Health Utilities Indexes Mark 2 and 3, and the Quality of Well-Being Scale Self-Administered form. Structural equation models were used to explore gender differences in physical, psychosocial, and pain latent dimensions of the 5 indexes, adjusting for sociodemographic and SES indicators. Observed MCS and PCS scores were examined in regression models to judge robustness of latent results. Men had better estimated physical and psychosocial health and less pain than women with similar trends on the MCS and PCS scores. Adjustments for marital status or income reduced gender differences more than did other indicators. Adjusting results for partial factorial invariance of HRQoL attributes supported the presence of gender differentials, but also indicated that these differences are impacted by dimensions being related to some HRQoL attributes differently by gender. Men have better estimated health on 3 latent dimensions of HRQoL-physical, psychosocial, and pain-comparable to gender differences on the observed MCS and PCS scores. Gender differences are partly explained by sociodemographic and SES factors, highlighting the role of socioeconomic inequalities in perpetuating gender differences in health outcomes across multiple domains. These results also emphasize the importance of accounting for measurement invariance for meaningful comparison of group differences in estimated means of self-reported measures of health.

Similarities and differences in physical self-concept of males and females during late adolescence and early adulthood.

PubMed

Cağlar, Emine

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine age and sex differences in physical self-concept of Turkish late adolescents and early adults. A total of 715 high school and 1,125 university students voluntarily participated and were administered the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire. The findings indicate significant sex and age differences on multiple dimensions of physical self, and that males and high school students scored higher on almost all subscales of physical self. However, analysis did not reveal any significant age and sex interactions on physical self. In conclusion, males and females differ from each other on how they perceived themselves on the multiple dimensions of physical self, and developmental age changes were evident in physical self.

Contingent attentional capture across multiple feature dimensions in a temporal search task.

PubMed

Ito, Motohiro; Kawahara, Jun I

2016-01-01

The present study examined whether attention can be flexibly controlled to monitor two different feature dimensions (shape and color) in a temporal search task. Specifically, we investigated the occurrence of contingent attentional capture (i.e., interference from task-relevant distractors) and resulting set reconfiguration (i.e., enhancement of single task-relevant set). If observers can restrict searches to a specific value for each relevant feature dimension independently, the capture and reconfiguration effect should only occur when the single relevant distractor in each dimension appears. Participants identified a target letter surrounded by a non-green square or a non-square green frame. The results revealed contingent attentional capture, as target identification accuracy was lower when the distractor contained a target-defining feature than when it contained a nontarget feature. Resulting set reconfiguration was also obtained in that accuracy was superior when the current target's feature (e.g., shape) corresponded to the defining feature of the present distractor (shape) than when the current target's feature did not match the distractor's feature (color). This enhancement was not due to perceptual priming. The present study demonstrated that the principles of contingent attentional capture and resulting set reconfiguration held even when multiple target feature dimensions were monitored. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dimensions of Oppression in the Lives of Impoverished Black Women Who Use Drugs

PubMed Central

Windsor, Liliane Cambraia; Benoit, Ellen; Dunlap, Eloise

2010-01-01

Oppression against Black women continues to be a significant problem in the United States. The purpose of this study is to use grounded theory to identify multiple dimensions of oppression experienced by impoverished Black women who use drugs by examining several settings in which participants experience oppression. Three case studies of drug using, impoverished Black women were randomly selected from two large scale consecutive ethnographic studies conducted in New York City from 1998 to 2005. Analysis revealed five dimensions of oppression occurring within eight distinct settings. While dimensions constitute different manifestations of oppression, settings represented areas within participants’ lives or institutions with which participants interact. Dimensions of oppression included classism, sexism, familism, racism, and drugism. Settings included the school system, correction system, welfare system, housing and neighborhood, relationship with men, family, experiences with drug use, and employment. Findings have important implications for social justice, welfare, drug, and justice system policy. PMID:21113410

Contexts Matter: Selection in Means-Tested School Voucher Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hart, Cassandra M. D.

2014-01-01

This study examines public school characteristics, and public and private school market characteristics, associated with participation among elementary-aged students in a means-tested school voucher program in Florida. Participants are more likely than eligible nonparticipants to come from disadvantaged public schools on multiple dimensions. On…

Relationship of the 24-item dysfunctional attitude scale with the temperament and character inventory in healthy subjects.

PubMed

Otani, Koichi; Suzuki, Akihito; Matsumoto, Yoshihiko; Shibuya, Naoshi; Sadahiro, Ryoichi; Enokido, Masanori; Kamata, Mitsuhiro

2013-12-01

The 24-item Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS-24) has three subscales to evaluate dysfunctional attitudes predisposing to depression in the areas of achievement, dependency and self-control. The purpose of the present investigation was to characterize the three subscales in relation to broad dimensions of personality. The subjects were 528 healthy Japanese volunteers. Personality assessment was conducted by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), which has seven dimensions. The correlations of the DAS-24 subscales with the TCI dimensions were examined by the multiple regression analysis. All DAS-24 subscales had negative correlations with the self-directedness dimension. However, the three subscales had differential patterns of correlations with the reward dependence, persistence, cooperativeness and harm avoidance dimensions. The present study suggests that dysfunctional attitudes measured by the DAS-24 are closely related to low self-directedness of the TCI. Also, the differential patterns of correlations with some TCI dimensions support the content-specificity of the three subscales.

Comparing Teacher and Administrator Perspectives on Multiple Dimensions of Teacher Professionalism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tichenor, Mercedes; Tichenor, John

2009-01-01

In this paper, we compare teacher and administrator perspectives on multiple dimensions of teacher professionalism. An instrument with a total of 51 professional behaviors and characteristics that operationalize the multiple dimensions of professionalism was developed. Survey participants, including 216 teachers and 89 administrators, were asked…

Occupational Well-Being among University Faculty: A Job Demands-Resources Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mudrak, Jiri; Zabrodska, Katerina; Kveton, Petr; Jelinek, Martin; Blatny, Marek; Solcova, Iva; Machovcova, Katerina

2018-01-01

The effects of changing academic environments on faculty well-being have attracted considerable research attention. However, few studies have examined the multifaceted relationships between the academic work environment and the multiple dimensions of faculty well-being using a comprehensive theoretical framework. To address this gap, this study…

Giftedness of Chinese Students in Hong Kong: Perspectives from Different Conceptions of Intelligences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, David W.

2008-01-01

This study examined the self-perceived intelligences (multiple intelligences, emotional intelligence, and successful intelligence) of 498 Chinese gifted students in Hong Kong. Based on the associations among perceived intelligence scores, three dimensions could be distinguished to describe giftedness and could be interpreted as global giftedness,…

Unique Associations between Peer Relations and Social Anxiety in Early Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flanagan, Kelly S.; Erath, Stephen A.; Bierman, Karen L.

2008-01-01

This study examined the unique associations between feelings of social anxiety and multiple dimensions of peer relations (positive peer nominations, peer- and self-reported peer victimization, and self-reported friendship quality) among 383 sixth- and seventh-grade students. Hierarchical regression analysis provided evidence for the unique…

Ethnic Identity as a Predictor of Problem Behaviors among Korean American Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shrake, Eunai K.; Rhee, Siyon

2004-01-01

This study examined three dimensions of ethnic identity (level of ethnic identity, attitudes toward other groups, and perceived discrimination) as predictors of adolescent problem behaviors among Korean American adolescents. Multiple regression analyses were carried out, and the results indicated that level of ethnic identity, perceived…

Religious Influences on the Risk of Marital Dissolution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vaaler, Margaret L.; Ellison, Christopher G.; Powers, Daniel A.

2009-01-01

This study examined multiple dimensions of religious involvement and the risk of divorce among a nationwide sample of 2,979 first-time married couples. Multivariate proportional hazards modeling was used to analyze two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households. Results indicated that although each partner's religious attendance bore…

The neural basis of stereotypic impact on multiple social categorization.

PubMed

Hehman, Eric; Ingbretsen, Zachary A; Freeman, Jonathan B

2014-11-01

Perceivers extract multiple social dimensions from another's face (e.g., race, emotion), and these dimensions can become linked due to stereotypes (e.g., Black individuals → angry). The current research examined the neural basis of detecting and resolving conflicts between top-down stereotypes and bottom-up visual information in person perception. Participants viewed faces congruent and incongruent with stereotypes, via variations in race and emotion, while neural activity was measured using fMRI. Hand movements en route to race/emotion responses were recorded using mouse-tracking to behaviorally index individual differences in stereotypical associations during categorization. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) showed stronger activation to faces that violated stereotypical expectancies at the intersection of multiple social categories (i.e., race and emotion). These regions were highly sensitive to the degree of incongruency, exhibiting linearly increasing responses as race and emotion became stereotypically more incongruent. Further, the ACC exhibited greater functional connectivity with the lateral fusiform cortex, a region implicated in face processing, when viewing stereotypically incongruent (relative to congruent) targets. Finally, participants with stronger behavioral tendencies to link race and emotion stereotypically during categorization showed greater dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation to stereotypically incongruent targets. Together, the findings provide insight into how conflicting stereotypes at the nexus of multiple social dimensions are resolved at the neural level to accurately perceive other people. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multiplication factor versus regression analysis in stature estimation from hand and foot dimensions.

PubMed

Krishan, Kewal; Kanchan, Tanuj; Sharma, Abhilasha

2012-05-01

Estimation of stature is an important parameter in identification of human remains in forensic examinations. The present study is aimed to compare the reliability and accuracy of stature estimation and to demonstrate the variability in estimated stature and actual stature using multiplication factor and regression analysis methods. The study is based on a sample of 246 subjects (123 males and 123 females) from North India aged between 17 and 20 years. Four anthropometric measurements; hand length, hand breadth, foot length and foot breadth taken on the left side in each subject were included in the study. Stature was measured using standard anthropometric techniques. Multiplication factors were calculated and linear regression models were derived for estimation of stature from hand and foot dimensions. Derived multiplication factors and regression formula were applied to the hand and foot measurements in the study sample. The estimated stature from the multiplication factors and regression analysis was compared with the actual stature to find the error in estimated stature. The results indicate that the range of error in estimation of stature from regression analysis method is less than that of multiplication factor method thus, confirming that the regression analysis method is better than multiplication factor analysis in stature estimation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Race-related stress and hopelessness in community-based African American adults: Moderating role of social support.

PubMed

Odafe, Mary O; Salami, Temilola K; Walker, Rheeda L

2017-10-01

The mental health outcomes associated with racial discrimination are well documented in scientific literature. Despite strong links to mental illness, hopelessness is largely overlooked as a consequence of discrimination in empirical research. The current study examined the association of race-related stress and hopelessness in a community sample of African American adults. Utilizing a risk-resilience framework, we examined multiple dimensions of social support as plausible protective factors against the negative effects of race-related stress. Self-report measures of race-related stress (Index of Race Related Stress-Brief; Utsey & Ponterotto, 1996), hopelessness (Beck Hopelessness Scale; Beck, Weissman, Lester, & Trexler, 1974), and social support (Interpersonal Support Evaluation List; Cohen & Hoberman, 1983) were completed by a sample of African American adults (N = 243; mean age = 35.89 years). Multiple regression analyses were conducted to assess the main and interactive effects of race-related stress and three dimensions of social support (appraisal, belonging, and self-esteem) in relation to hopelessness ratings. All dimensions of social support were associated with self-reported hopelessness, with the self-esteem dimension emerging as the strongest predictor. Though self-esteem social support buffered the role of race-related stress on self-reported hopelessness, appraisal and belonging support did not. Individual and collective morale for one's racial group (via self-esteem social support) may be especially valuable for African Americans who face racial discrimination. Findings highlight the importance of culturally relevant factors that may ameliorate the effects of race-related stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Household Food Insecurity is Associated with Health-Related Quality of Life in Rural Type 2 Diabetic Patients.

PubMed

Gholami, Ali; Khazaee-Pool, Maryam; Rezaee, Negar; Amirkalali, Bahareh; A Bbasi Ghahremanlo, Abbas; Moradpour, Farhad; Rajabi, Abdolalhalim; Sohrabi, Masoud Reza; Yarmohammadi, Reyhaneh; Mousavi Jahromi, Zahra

2017-06-01

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is associated with household food insecurity (HFI). However, the studies examining the relationship between HFI and HRQOL in patients with type 2 diabetes are scarce. Thus, this study was designed to examine the relationship between HFI and HRQOL in rural type 2 diabetic patients. In this cross-sectional study, we included 1847 rural patients with type 2 diabetes in Neyshabur from April to July 2012. HRQOL and HFI were measured with 36-item HRQOL (SF-36) and 6-item version of Household Food Security questionnaires, respectively. HRQOL was divided into eight dimensions and two summary components. We categorized households as high food secure (HFS), low food secure (LFS), and very low food secure (VLFS). Multiple linear regression model was applied to assess the independent effect of food insecurity on HRQOL. The mean age of participants was 59.65 ± 12.3 years (range: 30-97) with 69.8% women. The overall prevalence of HFI was 46.1%, and the total mean score of HRQOL was 51.11. Multiple linear regression model showed that HFI was significantly associated with the total mean score of HRQOL and its eight dimensions. One-way ANOVA test also showed that HRQOL (in all dimensions) was significantly different between 3 groups of household food security status (HFS, LFS, and VLFS) (P < 0.05). The results of this study showed that HFI was associated with all dimensions of HRQOL and it is one of the strongest variables, in association with HRQOL among rural patients with type 2 diabetes.

Patient Factors Used by Pediatricians to Assign Asthma Treatment

PubMed Central

Okelo, Sande O.; Patino, Cecilia M.; Riekert, Kristin A.; Merriman, Barry; Bilderback, Andrew; Hansel, Nadia N.; Thompson, Kathy; Thompson, Jennifer; Quartey, Ruth; Rand, Cynthia S.; Diette, Gregory B.

2009-01-01

OBJECTIVE Although asthma is often inappropriately treated in children, little is known about what information pediatricians use to adjust asthma therapy. The purpose of this work was to assess the importance of various dimensions of patient asthma status as the basis of pediatrician treatment decisions. PATIENTS AND METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional, random-sample survey, between November 2005 and May 2006, of 500 members of the American Academy of Pediatrics using standardized case vignettes. Vignettes varied in regard to (1) acute health care use (hospitalized 6 months ago), (2) bother (parent bothered by the child’s asthma status), (3) control (frequency of symptoms and albuterol use), (4) direction (qualitative change in symptoms), and (5) wheezing during physical examination. Our primary outcome was the proportion of pediatricians who would adjust treatment in the presence or absence of these 5 factors. RESULTS Physicians used multiple dimensions of asthma status other than symptoms to determine treatment. Pediatricians were significantly more likely to increase treatment for a recently hospitalized patient (45% vs 18%), a bothered parent (67% vs 18%), poorly controlled symptoms (4–5 times per week; 100% vs 18%), or if there was wheezing on examination (45% vs 18%) compared with patients who only had well-controlled symptoms. Pediatricians were significantly less likely to decrease treatment for a child with well-controlled symptoms and recent hospitalization (28%), parents who reported being bothered (43%), or a child whose symptoms had worsened since the last doctor visit (10%) compared with children with well-controlled symptoms alone. CONCLUSIONS Pediatricians treat asthma on the basis of multiple dimensions of asthma status, including hospitalization, bother, symptom frequency, direction, and wheezing but use these factors differently to increase and decrease treatment. Tools that systematically assess multiple dimensions of asthma may be useful to help further improve pediatric asthma care. PMID:18595964

Neural network and multiple linear regression to predict school children dimensions for ergonomic school furniture design.

PubMed

Agha, Salah R; Alnahhal, Mohammed J

2012-11-01

The current study investigates the possibility of obtaining the anthropometric dimensions, critical to school furniture design, without measuring all of them. The study first selects some anthropometric dimensions that are easy to measure. Two methods are then used to check if these easy-to-measure dimensions can predict the dimensions critical to the furniture design. These methods are multiple linear regression and neural networks. Each dimension that is deemed necessary to ergonomically design school furniture is expressed as a function of some other measured anthropometric dimensions. Results show that out of the five dimensions needed for chair design, four can be related to other dimensions that can be measured while children are standing. Therefore, the method suggested here would definitely save time and effort and avoid the difficulty of dealing with students while measuring these dimensions. In general, it was found that neural networks perform better than multiple linear regression in the current study. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Evaluating Three Dimensions of Environmental Knowledge and Their Impact on Behaviour

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braun, Tina; Dierkes, Paul

2017-09-01

This research evaluates the development of three environmental knowledge dimensions of secondary school students after participation in a singular 1-day outdoor education programme. Applying a cross-national approach, system, action-related and effectiveness knowledge levels of students educated in Germany and Singapore were assessed before and after intervention participation. Correlations between single knowledge dimensions and behaviour changes due to the environmental education intervention were examined. The authors applied a pre-, post- and retention test design and developed a unique multiple-choice instrument. Results indicate significant baseline differences in the prevalence of the different knowledge dimensions between subgroups. Both intervention subsamples showed a low presence of all baseline knowledge dimensions. Action-related knowledge levels were higher than those of system and effectiveness knowledge. Subsample-specific differences in performed pro-environmental behaviour were also significant. Both experimental groups showed significant immediate and sustained knowledge increases in the three dimensions after programme participation. Neither of the two control cohorts showed any significant increase in any knowledge dimension. Effectiveness knowledge improved most. The amount of demonstrated environmental actions increased significantly in both intervention groups. Both control cohorts did not show shifts in environmental behaviour. Yet, only weak correlations between any knowledge dimension and behaviour could be found.

The moderating role of ethnicity in the relation between religiousness and mental health among ethnically diverse college students.

PubMed

Cokley, Kevin; Garcia, Daniel; Hall-Clark, Brittany; Tran, Kimberly; Rangel, Azucena

2012-09-01

Many studies have documented the links between dimensions of religiousness with mental health (e.g., Hackney and Sanders 2003; Mofidi et al. 2006). However, very little is known about whether these links differ across ethnic groups. This study examined the contribution of dimensions of religiousness to the prediction of mental health in an ethnically diverse sample of 413 college students (167 European Americans, 83 African Americans, 81 Asian Americans, and 82 Latino Americans). Results indicated significant ethnic differences across dimensions of religiousness. African Americans were significantly higher on religious engagement and religious conservatism than the other ethnic groups and significantly lower on religious struggle than European Americans. Moderated multiple regressions revealed that increases in religious struggle was associated with poorer mental health for African Americans and Latino Americans, while increases in religious engagement and ecumenical worldview were associated with better mental health for African Americans. The findings indicate that ethnicity is an important factor to consider when examining the link between religiousness and mental health.

Bent dark soliton dynamics in two spatial dimensions beyond the mean field approximation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mistakidis, Simeon; Katsimiga, Garyfallia; Koutentakis, Georgios; Kevrekidis, Panagiotis; Schmelcher, Peter; Theory Group of Fundamental Processes in Quantum Physics Team

2017-04-01

The dynamics of a bented dark soliton embedded in two spatial dimensions beyond the mean-field approximation is explored. We examine the case of a single bented dark soliton comparing the mean-field approximation to a correlated approach that involves multiple orbitals. Fragmentation is generally present and significantly affects the dynamics, especially in the case of stronger interparticle interactions and in that of lower atom numbers. It is shown that the presence of fragmentation allows for the appearance of solitonic and vortex structures in the higher-orbital dynamics. In particular, a variety of excitations including dark solitons in multiple orbitals and vortex-antidark complexes is observed to arise spontaneously within the beyond mean-field dynamics. Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) in the framework of the SFB 925 ``Light induced dynamics and control of correlated quantum systems''.

Analyzing change in short-term longitudinal research using cohort-sequential designs.

PubMed

Anderson, E R

1993-12-01

This article illustrates a method for approximating longitudinal data analysis by combining information from different overlapping age groups to form a single developmental growth curve. Using this method, hypotheses about the form of growth, the extent of individual differences in growth, and factors that affect the rate and pattern of growth are investigated. The example used to illustrate this method examines the growth of externalizing behavior and of negativity in parent-child relationships during early adolescence using assessments from multiple methods and multiple informants. These 3 dimensions changed significantly during this period, with parental negativity increasing more rapidly after age 12. However, there were substantial individual differences in the pattern of change in these dimensions. Gender of child and type of family situation (nondivorced, divorced, and remarried) were investigated as possible factors affecting change.

Improving Access to Mathematics: Diversity and Equity in the Classroom. Multicultural Education Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nasir, Na'ilah Suad, Ed.; Cobb, Paul, Ed.

2006-01-01

Key experts with extensive research and classroom experience examine how the multiple dimensions of race, class, culture, power, and knowledge interact in mathematics classrooms to foster and create inequities. Chapters explore new theoretical perspectives, describe successful classroom practices, and offer insights on how to develop an effective…

Institutional Identity and Self-Esteem among African American Males in College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Dominique L.; Smith, Chauncey D.; Marks, Bryant T.; Crosby, Brandon

2012-01-01

Social identity theory maintains that one's self-concept is partially determined by the social groups to which the individual belongs. Using this as a theoretical framework, this study examined the relationship between multiple dimensions of institutional identity and self-esteem in 411 Black male college freshmen. It was hypothesized that…

Topics, Texts, and Critical Approaches: Integrating Dimensions of Liberal Learning in an Undergraduate Management Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spee, James C.; Fraiberg, Allison

2015-01-01

In light of recent critiques of management education, this article examines the "Carnegie Report's" argument that the core components of liberal arts education (Analytical Thinking, Multiple Framing, The Reflective Exploration of Meaning, and Practical Reasoning) can and should be integrated into the undergraduate business…

Paternal Work Stress and Latent Profiles of Father-Infant Parenting Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodman, W. Benjamin; Crouter, Ann C.; Lanza, Stephanie T.; Cox, Martha J.; Vernon-Feagans, Lynne

2011-01-01

The current study used latent profile analysis (LPA) to examine the implications of fathers' experiences of work stress for paternal behaviors with infants across multiple dimensions of parenting in a sample of fathers living in nonmetropolitan communities (N = 492). LPA revealed five classes of fathers based on levels of social-affective…

Dimensions and Correlates of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Sluggish Cognitive Tempo

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garner, Annie A.; Marceaux, Janice; Mrug, Sylvie; Patterson, Cryshelle; Hodgens, Bart

2010-01-01

The present study examined Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) in relation to ADHD symptoms, clinical diagnosis, and multiple aspects of adjustment in a clinical sample. Parent and teacher reports were gathered for 322 children and adolescents evaluated for behavioral, emotional, and/or learning problems at a university clinic. Confirmatory factor…

Benefit Coverage and Employee Cost: Critical Factors in Explaining Compensation Satisfaction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dreher, George F.; And Others

1988-01-01

Examined joint effects of benefit coverage and costs borne by employees on multiple dimensions of compensation satisfaction among 2,925 highway patrol, state police, and department of public safety employees in eight states. Found that satisfaction with benefits increased with improved coverage and decreased with higher employee costs. Employees…

Predicting risk of entry into foster care from early childhood experiences: A survival analysis using LONGSCAN data.

PubMed

English, Diana J; Thompson, Richard; White, Catherine Roller

2015-07-01

This study examined whether a multi-domain model of maltreatment informed by an ecological framework-including factors related to the child, caregiver, family, neighborhood, and dimensions of maltreatment experience-predicted entry into foster care between the ages of 4 and 18 among children with no prior foster care experience. To determine which factors predict entry into foster care, secondary data analyses were conducted utilizing a sub-sample from LONGSCAN (Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect) of 942 children and their primary caregivers. Results demonstrate that there are important predictors for entry into out-of-home placement across multiple ecological domains. Characteristics related to child, caregiver, and family characteristics, and neighborhood context, as well as dimensions of maltreatment (particularly emotional maltreatment), predicted risk of placement in out-of-home care. Implications for child welfare practice are discussed. This examination of the effects of multiple ecological domains adds to our understanding of children's risk of removal and entry into out-of-home placement. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

FURTHER EVIDENCE ON THE “COSTS OF PRIVILEGE”: PERFECTIONISM IN HIGH-ACHIEVING YOUTH AT SOCIOECONOMIC EXTREMES

PubMed Central

LYMAN, EMILY L.; LUTHAR, SUNIYA S.

2015-01-01

This study involved two academically-gifted samples of 11th and 12th grade youth at the socioeconomic status (SES) extremes; one from an exclusive private, affluent school, and the other from a magnet school with low-income students. Negative and positive adjustment outcomes were examined in relation to multiple dimensions of perfectionism including perceived parental pressures to be perfect, personal perfectionistic self-presentation, and envy of peers. The low-income students showed some areas of relative vulnerability, but when large group differences were found, it was the affluent youth who were at a disadvantage, with substantially higher substance use and peer envy. Affluent girls seemed particularly vulnerable, with pronounced elevations in perfectionistic tendencies, peer envy, as well as body dissatisfaction. Examination of risk and protective processes showed that relationships with mothers were associated with students’ distress as well as positive adjustment. Additionally, findings showed links between (a) envy of peers and multiple outcomes (among high SES girls in particular), (b) dimensions of perfectionism in relation to internalizing symptoms, and (c) high extrinsic versus intrinsic values in relation to externalizing symptoms. PMID:26345229

Personality traits associated with intrinsic academic motivation in medical students.

PubMed

Tanaka, Masaaki; Mizuno, Kei; Fukuda, Sanae; Tajima, Seiki; Watanabe, Yasuyoshi

2009-04-01

Motivation is one of the most important psychological concepts in education and is related to academic outcomes in medical students. In this study, the relationships between personality traits and intrinsic academic motivation were examined in medical students. The study group consisted of 119 Year 2 medical students at Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine. They completed questionnaires dealing with intrinsic academic motivation (the Intrinsic Motivation Scale toward Learning) and personality (the Temperament and Character Inventory [TCI]). On simple regression analyses, the TCI dimensions of persistence, self-directedness, co-operativeness and self-transcendence were positively associated with intrinsic academic motivation. On multiple regression analysis adjusted for age and gender, the TCI dimensions of persistence, self-directedness and self-transcendence were positively associated with intrinsic academic motivation. The temperament dimension of persistence and the character dimensions of self-directedness and self-transcendence are associated with intrinsic academic motivation in medical students.

Nurse practitioners: leadership behaviors and organizational climate.

PubMed

Jones, L C; Guberski, T D; Soeken, K L

1990-01-01

The purpose of this article is to examine the relationships of individual nurse practitioners' perceptions of the leadership climate in their organizations and self-reported formal and informal leadership behaviors. The nine climate dimensions (Structure, Responsibility, Reward, Perceived Support of Risk Taking, Warmth, Support, Standard Setting, Conflict, and Identity) identified by Litwin and Stringer in 1968 were used to predict five leadership dimensions (Meeting Organizational Needs, Managing Resources, Leadership Competence, Task Accomplishment, and Communications). Demographic variables of age, educational level, and percent of time spent performing administrative functions were forced as a first step in each multiple regression analysis and used to explain a significant amount of variance in all but one analysis. All leadership dimensions were predicted by at least one organizational climate dimension: (1) Meeting Organizational Needs by Risk and Reward; (2) Managing Resources by Risk and Structure; (3) Leadership Competence by Risk and Standards; (4) Task Accomplishment by Structure, Risk, and Standards; and (5) Communication by Rewards.

Horizontal and vertical dimensions of individualism-collectivism: a comparison of African Americans and European Americans.

PubMed

Komarraju, Meera; Cokley, Kevin O

2008-10-01

The current study examined ethnic differences in horizontal and vertical dimensions of individualism and collectivism among 96 African American and 149 European American college students. Participants completed the 32-item Singelis et al. (1995) Individualism/Collectivism Scale. Multivariate analyses of variance results yielded a main effect for ethnicity, with African Americans being significantly higher on horizontal individualism and European Americans being higher on horizontal collectivism and vertical individualism. A moderated multiple regression analysis indicated that ethnicity significantly moderated the relationship between individualism and collectivism. Individualism and collectivism were significantly and positively associated among African Americans, but not associated among European Americans. In addition, collectivism was related to grade point average for African Americans but not for European Americans. Contrary to the prevailing view of individualism-collectivism being unipolar, orthogonal dimensions, results provide support for individualism-collectivism to be considered as unipolar, related dimensions for African Americans.

Development and validation of the computer technology literacy self-assessment scale for Taiwanese elementary school students.

PubMed

Chang, Chiung-Sui

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe the development and validation of an instrument to identify various dimensions of the computer technology literacy self-assessment scale (CTLS) for elementary school students. The instrument included five CTLS dimensions (subscales): the technology operation skills, the computer usages concepts, the attitudes toward computer technology, the learning with technology, and the Internet operation skills. Participants were 1,539 elementary school students in Taiwan. Data analysis indicated that the instrument developed in the study had satisfactory validity and reliability. Correlations analysis supported the legitimacy of using multiple dimensions in representing students' computer technology literacy. Significant differences were found between male and female students, and between grades on some CTLS dimensions. Suggestions are made for use of the instrument to examine complicated interplays between students' computer behaviors and their computer technology literacy.

Associations of multiple domains of self-esteem with four dimensions of stigma in schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Lysaker, Paul H.; Tsai, Jack; Yanos, Philip; Roe, David

2011-01-01

Research suggests global self-esteem among persons with schizophrenia may be negatively affected by stigma or stereotyped beliefs about persons with severe mental illness. Less clear however, is whether particular dimensions of self-esteem are linked to particular domains of stigma. To examine this we surveyed a range of self-esteem dimensions including lovability, personal power, competence and moral self-approval and four domains of stigma: Stereotype endorsement, Discrimination experience, Social withdrawal and Stigma rejection. Participants were 133 adults with diagnoses of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Stepwise multiple regressions controlling for a possible defensive response bias suggested that aspects of self-esteem related to lovability by others were more closely linked with lesser feelings of being alienated from others due to mental illness. Aspects of self-esteem related to the ability to manage one’s own affairs were more closely associated with the rejection of stereotypes of mental illness. A sense of being able to influence others was linked to both the absence of discrimination experiences and the ability to ward off stigma. Implications for treatment are discussed. PMID:18029145

Large intramuscular lipoma of the tongue.

PubMed

Fitzgerald, Kara; Sanchirico, Paul J; Pfeiffer, David C

2018-04-01

We describe a case of a 57-year-old man referred to an oral maxillofacial surgeon for a nontender, large intramuscular tongue mass. A computed tomography scan with contrast showed a homogenous right tongue intramuscular fatty mass measuring 3.8 cm × 2.8 cm in the axial dimension and 2.2 cm in the craniocaudal dimension. Histologic examination revealed multiple lobulated sections of mature adipocytes and occasional entrapped skeletal muscle fibers. The final pathologic diagnosis was intramuscular lipoma. Although lipomas account for approximately 50% of all soft tissue neoplasms, intramuscular (infiltrating) lipoma of the tongue is exceedingly rare.

Neural bases of human mate choice: multiple value dimensions, sex difference, and self-assessment system.

PubMed

Funayama, Risa; Sugiura, Motoaki; Sassa, Yuko; Jeong, Hyeonjeong; Wakusawa, Keisuke; Horie, Kaoru; Sato, Shigeru; Kawashima, Ryuta

2012-01-01

Mate choice is an example of sophisticated daily decision making supported by multiple componential processes. In mate-choice literature, different characteristics of the value dimensions, including the sex difference in the value dimensions, and the involvement of self-assessment due to the mutual nature of the choice, have been suggested. We examined whether the brain-activation pattern during virtual mate choice would be congruent with these characteristics in terms of stimulus selectivity and activated brain regions. In measuring brain activity, young men and women were shown two pictures of either faces or behaviors, and they indicated which person they would choose either as a spouse or as a friend. Activation selective to spouse choice was observed face-selectively in men's amygdala and behavior-selectively in women's motor system. During both partner-choice conditions, behavior-selective activation was observed in the temporoparietal regions. Taking the available knowledge of these regions into account, these results are congruent with the suggested characteristics of value dimensions for physical attractiveness, parenting resources, and beneficial personality traits for a long-lasting relationship, respectively. The medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortices were nonselectively activated during the partner choices, suggesting the involvement of a self-assessment process. The results thus provide neuroscientific support for the multi-component mate-choice mechanism.

Social Patterning of Cumulative Biological Risk by Education and Income Among African Americans

PubMed Central

Diez Roux, Ana V.; Gebreab, Samson Y.; Wyatt, Sharon B.; Dubbert, Patricia M.; Sarpong, Daniel F.; Sims, Mario; Taylor, Herman A.

2012-01-01

Objectives. We examined the social patterning of cumulative dysregulation of multiple systems, or allostatic load, among African Americans adults. Methods. We examined the cross-sectional associations of socioeconomic status (SES) with summary indices of allostatic load and neuroendocrine, metabolic, autonomic, and immune function components in 4048 Jackson Heart Study participants. Results. Lower education and income were associated with higher allostatic load scores in African American adults. Patterns were most consistent for the metabolic and immune dimensions, less consistent for the autonomic dimension, and absent for the neuroendocrine dimension among African American women. Associations of SES with the global allostatic load score and the metabolic and immune domains persisted after adjustment for behavioral factors and were stronger for income than for education. There was some evidence that the neuroendocrine dimension was inversely associated with SES after behavioral adjustment in men, but the immune and autonomic components did not show clear dose–response trends, and we observed no associations for the metabolic component. Conclusions. Findings support our hypothesis that allostatic load is socially patterned in African American women, but this pattern is less consistent in African American men. PMID:22594727

Are effective teachers like good parents? Teaching styles and student adjustment in early adolescence.

PubMed

Wentzel, Kathryn R

2002-01-01

This study examined the utility of parent socialization models for understanding teachers' influence on student adjustment in middle school. Teachers were assessed with respect to their modeling of motivation and to Baumrind's parenting dimensions of control, maturity demands, democratic communication, and nurturance. Student adjustment was defined in terms of their social and academic goals and interest in class, classroom behavior, and academic performance. Based on information from 452 sixth graders from two suburban middle schools, results of multiple regressions indicated that the five teaching dimensions explained significant amounts of variance in student motivation, social behavior, and achievement. High expectations (maturity demands) was a consistent positive predictor of students' goals and interests, and negative feedback (lack of nurturance) was the most consistent negative predictor of academic performance and social behavior. The role of motivation in mediating relations between teaching dimensions and social behavior and academic achievement also was examined; evidence for mediation was not found. Relations of teaching dimensions to student outcomes were the same for African American and European American students, and for boys and girls. The implications of parent socialization models for understanding effective teaching are discussed.

Alterations of papilla dimensions after orthodontic closure of the maxillary midline diastema: a retrospective longitudinal study.

PubMed

Jeong, Jin-Seok; Lee, Seung-Youp; Chang, Moontaek

2016-06-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate alterations of papilla dimensions after orthodontic closure of the diastema between maxillary central incisors. Sixty patients who had a visible diastema between maxillary central incisors that had been closed by orthodontic approximation were selected for this study. Various papilla dimensions were assessed on clinical photographs and study models before the orthodontic treatment and at the follow-up examination after closure of the diastema. Influences of the variables assessed before orthodontic treatment on the alterations of papilla height (PH) and papilla base thickness (PBT) were evaluated by univariate regression analysis. To analyze potential influences of the 3-dimensional papilla dimensions before orthodontic treatment on the alterations of PH and PBT, a multiple regression model was formulated including the 3-dimensional papilla dimensions as predictor variables. On average, PH decreased by 0.80 mm and PBT increased after orthodontic closure of the diastema (P<0.01). Univariate regression analysis revealed that the PH (P=0.002) and PBT (P=0.047) before orthodontic treatment influenced the alteration of PH. With respect to the alteration of PBT, the diastema width (P=0.045) and PBT (P=0.000) were found to be influential factors. PBT before the orthodontic treatment significantly influenced the alteration of PBT in the multiple regression model. PH decreased but PBT increased after orthodontic closure of the diastema. The papilla dimensions before orthodontic treatment influenced the alterations of PH and PBT after closure of the diastema. The PBT increased more when the diastema width before the orthodontic treatment was larger.

Variable- and Person-Centered Approaches to Examining Temperament Vulnerability and Resilience to the Effects of Contextual Risk

PubMed Central

Moran, Lyndsey; Lengua, Liliana J.; Zalewski, Maureen; Ruberry, Erika; Klien, Melanie; Thompson, Stephanie; Kiff, Cara

2016-01-01

Using both variable- and person-centered approaches, this study examined the role of temperament in relation to children's vulnerable or resilient responses to cumulative risk. Observed reactivity and regulation dimensions of temperament were tested as mediating and moderating the relation between family cumulative risk and teacher-reported adjustment problems in a sample of 259 preschool-age children. Further, latent profile analyses were used to examine whether profiles of temperament, accounting for multiple characteristics simultaneously, provided additional information about the role of temperament in children's responses to risk. Results support a diathesis-stress model in which high frustration, low fear, and low delay ability confer particular vulnerability for children in high-risk contexts. Benefits of multiple approaches are highlighted. PMID:28408769

The do re mi's of everyday life: the structure and personality correlates of music preferences.

PubMed

Rentfrow, Peter J; Gosling, Samuel D

2003-06-01

The present research examined individual differences in music preferences. A series of 6 studies investigated lay beliefs about music, the structure underlying music preferences, and the links between music preferences and personality. The data indicated that people consider music an important aspect of their lives and listening to music an activity they engaged in frequently. Using multiple samples, methods, and geographic regions, analyses of the music preferences of over 3,500 individuals converged to reveal 4 music-preference dimensions: Reflective and Complex, Intense and Rebellious, Upbeat and Conventional, and Energetic and Rhythmic. Preferences for these music dimensions were related to a wide array of personality dimensions (e.g., Openness), self-views (e.g., political orientation), and cognitive abilities (e.g., verbal IQ).

Gender, Race, and Ethnic Segregation of Science Fields in U.S. Universities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mullen, Ann L.; Baker, Jayne

Long-standing methods to depict the participation levels of underrepresented students in science remain incomplete. To remedy this, our study examines the gender and race segregation of math, science, and engineering fields in U.S. universities. We employ the index of dissimilarity to examine racial and gender segregation within science fields. We also examine representation at institutions of varying levels of selectivity. By considering multiple dimensions of participation, our findings uncover a greater level of complexity in the representation of women and minorities in science fields.

An Examination of the Effects of Flow on Learning in a Graduate-Level Introductory Operations Management Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klein, Barbara D.; Rossin, Don; Guo, Yi Maggie; Ro, Young K.

2010-01-01

The authors investigated the effects of flow on learning outcomes in a graduate-level operations management course. Flow was assessed through an overall flow score, four dimensions of flow, and three characteristics of flow activities. Learning outcomes were measured objectively through multiple-choice quiz scores and subjectively using measures…

Parent Involvement, Parental Depression, and Program Satisfaction among Low-Income Parents Participating in a Two-Generation Early Childhood Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LaForett, Dore R.; Mendez, Julia L.

2010-01-01

Research Findings: This study simultaneously examined parental depression and parent involvement as predictors of satisfaction with an early childhood intervention program. Parents (N = 203) of Head Start children participated in this short-term longitudinal study. Measures of parent involvement and satisfaction assessed multiple dimensions of…

Understanding the Technological, Pedagogical, and Mathematical Issues That Emerge as Secondary Mathematics Teachers Design Lessons That Integrate Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonzalez, Marggie Denise

2016-01-01

This multiple case study examines four groups of secondary mathematics teachers engaged in a Lesson Study approach to professional development where they planned and taught lessons that integrate technology. Informed by current literature, a framework was developed to focus on the dimensions of teacher's knowledge to teach mathematics with…

Treatment Effects of a Modular Intervention for Early-Onset Child Behavior Problems on Family Contextual Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaffer, Anne; Lindhiem, Oliver; Kolko, David J.

2013-01-01

The overall aim of this multi-informant study was to examine pre-post treatment changes, and maintenance at 3-year follow-up, for multiple dimensions of the family context, for a modular intervention that has previously demonstrated significant clinical improvements in child behavior and maintenance of these effects. Family outcomes included…

Correlated Longitudinal Changes across Linguistic, Achievement, and Psychomotor Domains in Early Childhood: Evidence for a Global Dimension of Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rhemtulla, Mijke; Tucker-Drob, Elliot M.

2011-01-01

An important question within developmental psychology concerns the extent to which the maturational gains that children make across multiple diverse domains of functioning can be attributed to global (domain-general) developmental processes. The present study investigated this question by examining the extent to which individual differences in…

Anxiety sensitivity as a predictor of broad dimensions of psychopathology after cognitive behavioral therapy for panic disorder.

PubMed

Ino, Keiko; Ogawa, Sei; Kondo, Masaki; Imai, Risa; Ii, Toshitaka; Furukawa, Toshi A; Akechi, Tatsuo

2017-01-01

Panic disorder (PD) is a common disease and presents with broad dimensions of psychopathology. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is known to improve these broad dimensions of psychopathology in addition to PD symptoms. However, little is known about the predictors of treatment response in comorbid psychiatric symptoms after CBT for PD. Recent studies suggest that anxiety sensitivity (AS) may be a key vulnerability for PD. This study aimed to examine AS as a predictor of broad dimensions of psychopathology after CBT for PD. In total, 118 patients with PD were treated with manualized group CBT. We used multiple regression analysis to examine the associations between 3 Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) factors (physical concerns, mental incapacitation concerns, and social concerns) at baseline and the subscales of the Symptom Checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90-R) at endpoint. Low levels of social concerns at baseline predicted low levels on 5 SCL-90-R subscales after CBT: interpersonal sensitivity, depression, hostility, paranoid ideation, and psychosis. High levels of mental incapacitation concerns significantly predicted low levels on 3 SCL-90-R subscales after treatment: interpersonal sensitivity, hostility, and paranoid ideation. Physical concerns at baseline did not predict broad dimensions of psychopathology. This study suggested that the social concerns and mental incapacitation concerns subscales of the ASI at baseline predicted several dimensions of psychopathology after CBT for PD. To improve comorbid psychopathology, it may be useful to direct more attention to these ASI subscales.

Does Physical Self-Concept Mediate the Relationship between Motor Abilities and Physical Activity in Adolescents and Young Adults?

PubMed Central

Jekauc, Darko; Wagner, Matthias Oliver; Herrmann, Christian; Hegazy, Khaled; Woll, Alexander

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the reciprocal relationship between motor abilities and physical activity and the mediation effects of physical self-concept in this relationship using longitudinal data. We expect that the effects of motor abilities on physical activity are rather indirect via physical self-concept and that the effects of physical activity on motor abilities are rather direct without involvement of the motor ability self-concept. Data was obtained from the Motorik-Modul (MoMo) Longitudinal Study in which 335 boys and 363 girls aged 11–17 years old at Baseline were examined twice in a period of six years. Physical activity was assessed by the MoMo Physical Activity Questionnaire for adolescents, physical self-concept by Physical Self-Description Questionnaire and motor abilities by MoMo Motor Test which comprised of the dimensions strength, endurance, coordination and flexibility. Multiple regression analyses were used to analyse the direct and indirect effects. The results of the multiple regression analyses show that the effects of motor abilities on physical activity were only indirect for the dimensions strength, coordination, and flexibility. For the dimension endurance, neither direct nor indirect effects were significant. In the opposite direction, the effects of physical activity on motor abilities were partially mediated by the self-concept of strength. For the dimensions endurance, coordination and flexibility, only indirect were significant. The results of this study support the assumption that the relationship between motor abilities and physical activity is mediated by physical self-concept in both directions. Physical self-concept seems to be an important determinant of adolescents´ physical activity. PMID:28045914

Weight fluctuation during adulthood and weight gain since breast cancer diagnosis predict multiple dimensions of body image among rural breast cancer survivors.

PubMed

Fazzino, Tera L; Hunter, Rebecca Clausius; Sporn, Nora; Christifano, Danielle N; Befort, Christie A

2017-03-01

Obesity and weight gain after breast cancer treatment are common among survivors, yet the relationship between weight and body image has received little attention. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between current body mass index, weight gain since diagnosis, and largest weight fluctuation in adulthood with six dimensions of body image among overweight/obese breast cancer survivors. The current study used data obtained from a weight control trial with 210 rural overweight/obese breast cancer survivors. Using data collected at baseline, multiple regression models were constructed to examine the relative association of the three weight variables with breast cancer-specific dimensions of body image while controlling for demographic characteristics and cancer treatment-related variables. Largest weight fluctuation in adulthood significantly predicted overall body image (p = 0.01) and was associated with the three socially oriented dimensions of body image: social activity restriction, embarrassment about appearance, and sexuality (all ps = 0.01). Weight gain since diagnosis approached statistical significance in predicting overall body image (p = 0.05) and was associated with embarrassment about appearance (p = 0.03). Current body mass index was not significantly associated with overall body image when controlling for the other weight variables (p = 0.07) and was negatively associated with social activity restriction (p = 0.01) and sexuality (p = 0.01). Obese breast cancer survivors with a history of a large weight fluctuation in adulthood may be prone to poorer breast cancer-specific body image several years after treatment. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Does Physical Self-Concept Mediate the Relationship between Motor Abilities and Physical Activity in Adolescents and Young Adults?

PubMed

Jekauc, Darko; Wagner, Matthias Oliver; Herrmann, Christian; Hegazy, Khaled; Woll, Alexander

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the reciprocal relationship between motor abilities and physical activity and the mediation effects of physical self-concept in this relationship using longitudinal data. We expect that the effects of motor abilities on physical activity are rather indirect via physical self-concept and that the effects of physical activity on motor abilities are rather direct without involvement of the motor ability self-concept. Data was obtained from the Motorik-Modul (MoMo) Longitudinal Study in which 335 boys and 363 girls aged 11-17 years old at Baseline were examined twice in a period of six years. Physical activity was assessed by the MoMo Physical Activity Questionnaire for adolescents, physical self-concept by Physical Self-Description Questionnaire and motor abilities by MoMo Motor Test which comprised of the dimensions strength, endurance, coordination and flexibility. Multiple regression analyses were used to analyse the direct and indirect effects. The results of the multiple regression analyses show that the effects of motor abilities on physical activity were only indirect for the dimensions strength, coordination, and flexibility. For the dimension endurance, neither direct nor indirect effects were significant. In the opposite direction, the effects of physical activity on motor abilities were partially mediated by the self-concept of strength. For the dimensions endurance, coordination and flexibility, only indirect were significant. The results of this study support the assumption that the relationship between motor abilities and physical activity is mediated by physical self-concept in both directions. Physical self-concept seems to be an important determinant of adolescents´ physical activity.

How to Assess Student Performance in Science: Going beyond Multiple-Choice Tests. Third Edition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butler, Susan M.; McColskey, Wendy; O'Sullivan, Rita

2005-01-01

Educational systems promote student growth in a variety of dimensions. Basic content knowledge can be effectively assessed with multiple-choice and completion tests. However educational reforms have become more concerned with higher-order cognitive dimensions (problem-solving, creativity), social dimensions (communication skills, ability to work…

Relationship between personality disorder dimensions and verbal memory functioning in a community population.

PubMed

Park, Subin; Hong, Jin Pyo; Lee, Hochang B; Samuels, Jack; Bienvenu, O Joseph; Chung, Hye Yoon; Eaton, William W; Costa, Paul T; Nestadt, Gerald

2012-03-30

Based on the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) follow-up survey, we examined relationships between dimensions of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) personality disorders and both subjective and objective memory functioning in a community population. Our study subjects consisted of 736 individuals from the ECA follow-up study of the original Baltimore ECA cohort, conducted between 1993 and 1996 and available for assessment in the Hopkins Epidemiology Study of Personality Disorders from 1997 to 1999. Subjects were assessed for DSM-IV personality disorders using a semi-structured instrument, the International Personality Disorder Examination, and were asked about a subjective appraisal of memory. Verbal memory function, including immediate recall, delayed recall, and recognition, were also evaluated. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to determine associations between personality dimensions of DSM-IV Axis II traits and subjective and objective memory functioning. Scores on schizoid and schizotypal personality dimensions were associated with subjective and objective memory dysfunction, both with and without adjustment for Axis I disorders. Borderline, antisocial, avoidant, and dependent personality disorder scores were associated with subjective memory impairment only, both with and without adjustment for Axis I disorders. This study suggests that subjective feelings of memory impairment and/or objective memory dysfunction are associated with specific personality disorder dimensions. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Polygenic Risk, Personality Dimensions, and Adolescent Alcohol Use Problems: A Longitudinal Study

PubMed Central

Li, James J.; Savage, Jeanne E.; Kendler, Kenneth S.; Hickman, Matthew; Mahedy, Liam; Macleod, John; Kaprio, Jaakko; Rose, Richard J.; Dick, Danielle M.

2017-01-01

Objective: Alcohol use problems are common during adolescence and can predict serious negative outcomes in adulthood, including substance dependence and psychopathology. The current study examines the notion that alcohol use problems are driven by polygenic influences and that genetic influences may indirectly affect alcohol use problems through multiple pathways of risk, including variations in personality. Method: We used a genome-wide approach to examine associations between genetic risk for alcohol use problems, personality dimensions, and adolescent alcohol use problems in two separate longitudinal population-based samples, the Finnish Twin Cohort (FinnTwin12) and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Participants were 1,035 young adults from FinnTwin12 and 3,160 adolescents from ALSPAC. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) were calculated for ALSPAC using genome-wide association results (on alcohol dependence symptoms as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) from FinnTwin12. A parallel multiple mediator model was tested to examine whether the association between PRS and alcohol use problems assessed at age 16 could be explained by variations in personality dimensions assessed at age 13, including sensation seeking and negative emotionality. Results: PRS were marginally predictive of age 16 alcohol use problems; this association was partially mediated by sensation seeking. Polygenic variation underlying risk for alcohol use problems may directly influence the effects of sensation seeking, which in turn influence the development of alcohol use problems in later adolescence. Conclusions: These findings contribute to the increasing evidence regarding the salience of sensation seeking during early adolescence as a potential constituent in the risk pathway underlying the development of alcohol use problems. PMID:28499112

A framework for characterizing drug information sources.

PubMed

Sharp, Mark; Bodenreider, Olivier; Wacholder, Nina

2008-11-06

Drug information is complex, voluminous, heterogeneous, and dynamic. Multiple sources are available, each providing some elements of information about drugs (usually for a given purpose), but there exists no integrated view or directory that could be used to locate sources appropriate to a given purpose. We examined 23 sources that provide drug information in the pharmacy, chemistry, biology, and clinical medicine domains. Their drug information content could be categorized with 39 dimensions. We propose this list of dimensions as a framework for characterizing drug information sources. As an evaluation, we show that this framework is useful for comparing drug information sources and selecting sources most relevant to a given use case.

The relationship between epistemological beliefs, implicit theories of intelligence, and self-regulated learning among Norwegian postsecondary students.

PubMed

Bråten, Ivar; Strømsø, Helge I

2005-12-01

More empirical work is needed to examine the dimensionality of personal epistemology and relations between those dimensions and motivational and strategic components of self-regulated learning. In particular, there is great need to investigate personal epistemology and its relation to self-regulated learning across cultures and academic contexts. Because the demarcation between personal epistemology and implicit theories of intelligence has been questioned, dimensions of personal epistemology should also be studied in relation to implicit theories of intelligence. The primary aim was to examine the dimensionality of personal epistemology and the relation between those dimensions and implicit theories of intelligence in the cultural context of Norwegian postsecondary education. A secondary aim was to examine the relative contribution of epistemological beliefs and theories of intelligence to motivational and strategic components of self-regulated learning in different academic contexts within that culture. The first sample included 178 business administration students in a traditional transmission-oriented instructional context; the second, 108 student teachers in an innovative pedagogical context. The dimensionality of the Schommer Epistemological Questionnaire was examined through factor analyses, and the resulting dimensions were examined in relation to implicit theories of intelligence. We performed multiple regression analyses, separately for the two academic contexts, to try to predict motivational (i.e. self-efficacy beliefs, mastery goal orientation, and interest) and strategic (i.e. self-regulatory strategy use) components of self-regulated learning with epistemological beliefs and implicit theories of intelligence. Considerable cross-cultural generalizability was found for the dimensionality of personal epistemology. Moreover, the dimensions of personal epistemology seemed to represent constructs separate from the construct of implicit theories of intelligence. Differences in the predictability of the epistemological dimensions were found for the two samples. For the student teachers, belief about knowledge construction and modification was a better predictor of self-regulated learning. For the business administration students, belief about the certainty of knowledge played a more important role in self-regulated learning. Epistemological beliefs predict self-regulated learning among Norwegian postsecondary students and play more important roles than implicit theories of intelligence. Relations between epistemological beliefs and self-regulated learning may vary with academic context.

Children's Comprehension Monitoring of Multiple Situational Dimensions of a Narrative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wassenburg, Stephanie I.; Beker, Katinka; van den Broek, Paul; van der Schoot, Menno

2015-01-01

Narratives typically consist of information on multiple aspects of a situation. In order to successfully create a coherent representation of the described situation, readers are required to monitor all these situational dimensions during reading. However, little is known about whether these dimensions differ in the ease with which they can be…

Religiosity and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among African American Cocaine Users in the Rural South

PubMed Central

Montgomery, Brooke E.E.; Stewart, Katharine E.; Yeary, Karen H.K.; Cornell, Carol E.; Pulley, LeaVonne; Corwyn, Robert; Ounpraseuth, Songthip T.

2014-01-01

Purpose Racial and geographic disparities in human immunodeficency virus (HIV) are dramatic and drug use is a significant contributor to HIV risk. Within the rural South, African Americans who use drugs are at extremely high risk. Due to the importance of religion within African American and rural Southern communities, it can be a key element of culturally-targeted health promotion with these populations. Studies have examined religion’s relationship with sexual risk in adolescent populations, but few have examined specific religious behaviors and sexual risk behaviors among drug-using African American adults. This study examined the relationship between well-defined dimensions of religion and specific sexual behaviors among African Americans who use cocaine living in the rural southern United States. Methods Baseline data from a sexual risk reduction intervention for African Americans who use cocaine living in rural Arkansas (N = 205) were used to conduct bivariate and multivariate analyses examining the association between multiple sexual risk behaviors and key dimensions of religion including religious preference, private and public religious participation, religious coping, and God-based, congregation-based, and church leader-based religious support. Findings After adjusting individualized network estimator weights based on the recruitment strategy, different dimensions of religion had inverse relationships with sexual risk behavior, including church leadership support with number of unprotected vaginal/anal sexual encounter and positive religious coping with number of sexual partners and with total number of vaginal/anal sexual encounters. Conclusion Results suggest that specific dimensions of religion may have protective effects on certain types of sexual behavior, which may have important research implications. PMID:24575972

Do Different Types of Social Identity Moderate the Association between Perceived Descriptive Norms and Drinking Among College Students?

PubMed Central

Rinker, Dipali Venkataraman; Neighbors, Clayton

2014-01-01

Perceived descriptive norms are one of the strongest predictors of college drinking. Social Identity Theory posits that much of our identity is based on groups with which we affiliate. Prior research suggests that there is an association between perceived descriptive norms and drinking among those who identify more strongly with the normative referent group. However, no studies to date have examined how different facets of social identity affect the relationship between perceived descriptive norms and drinking. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the interaction between perceived descriptive norms and social identity on drinking varied as a function of different dimensions of social identity among college students. Participants were 1,095 college students from a large, public, southern university who completed an online survey about drinking behaviors and related attitudes. Drinks per week was examined as a function of norms, the Importance, Commitment, Deference, and Superiority subscales of the Measure of Identification with Groups, as well as the two-way interactions between each dimension of social identity and norms. Results indicated that norms were associated with drinking, but that this relationship varied as a function of identity dimension. The association between norms and drinking was stronger among those who viewed the university’s student body as part of their own identity and were more committed to their fellow students, but weaker among those who reported greater deference to student leaders. This research suggests the importance of examining multiple dimensions of social identity in considering social influences on drinking. PMID:24836160

Do different types of social identity moderate the association between perceived descriptive norms and drinking among college students?

PubMed

Rinker, Dipali Venkataraman; Neighbors, Clayton

2014-09-01

Perceived descriptive norms are one of the strongest predictors of college drinking. Social Identity Theory posits that much of our identity is based on groups with which we affiliate. Prior research suggests that there is an association between perceived descriptive norms and drinking among those who identify more strongly with the normative referent group. However, no studies to date have examined how different facets of social identity affect the relationship between perceived descriptive norms and drinking. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the interaction between perceived descriptive norms and social identity on drinking varied as a function of different dimensions of social identity among college students. Participants were 1095 college students from a large, public, southern university who completed an online survey about drinking behaviors and related attitudes. Drinks per week was examined as a function of norms, the Importance, Commitment, Deference, and Superiority subscales of the Measure of Identification with Groups, as well as the two-way interactions between each dimension of social identity and norms. Results indicated that norms were associated with drinking, but that this relationship varied as a function of identity dimension. The association between norms and drinking was stronger among those who viewed the university's student body as part of their own identity and were more committed to their fellow students, but weaker among those who reported greater deference to student leaders. This research suggests the importance of examining multiple dimensions of social identity in considering social influences on drinking. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Multidimensional poverty and health: evidence from a nationwide survey in Japan.

PubMed

Oshio, Takashi; Kan, Mari

2014-12-19

It is well known that lower income is associated with poorer health, but poverty has several dimensions other than income. In the current study, we investigated the associations between multidimensional poverty and health variables. Using micro data obtained from a nationwide population survey in Japan (N = 24,905), we focused on four dimensions of poverty (income, education, social protection, and housing conditions) and three health variables (self-rated health (SRH), psychological distress, and current smoking). We examined how health variables were associated with multidimensional poverty measures, based on descriptive and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Unions as composite measures of multiple poverty dimensions were more useful for identifying individuals in poor SRH or psychological distress than a single dimension such as income. In comparison, intersections of poverty dimensions reduced the coverage of individuals considered to be in poverty and tend to be difficult to justify without any explicit policy objective. Meanwhile, education as a unidimensional poverty indicator could be useful for predicting current smoking. Results obtained from the current study confirmed the practical relevance of multidimensional poverty for health.

Toward an Empirical Multidimensional Structure of Anhedonia, Reward Sensitivity, and Positive Emotionality: An Exploratory Factor Analytic Study.

PubMed

Olino, Thomas M; McMakin, Dana L; Forbes, Erika E

2016-11-20

Positive emotionality, anhedonia, and reward sensitivity share motivational and experiential elements of approach motivation and pleasure. Earlier work has examined the interrelationships among these constructs from measures of extraversion. More recently, the Research Domain Criteria introduced the Positive Valence Systems as a primary dimension to better understand psychopathology. However, the suggested measures tapping this construct have not yet been integrated within the structural framework of personality, even at the level of self-report. Thus, this study conducted exploratory factor and exploratory bifactor analyses on 17 different dimensions relevant to approach motivation, spanning anhedonia, behavioral activation system functioning, and positive emotionality. Convergent validity of these dimensions is tested by examining associations with depressive symptoms. Relying on multiple indices of fit, our preferred model included a general factor along with specific factors of affiliation, positive emotion, assertiveness, and pleasure seeking. These factors demonstrated different patterns of association with depressive symptoms. We discuss the plausibility of this model and highlight important future directions for work on the structure of a broad Positive Valence Systems construct. © The Author(s) 2016.

Alterations of papilla dimensions after orthodontic closure of the maxillary midline diastema: a retrospective longitudinal study

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate alterations of papilla dimensions after orthodontic closure of the diastema between maxillary central incisors. Methods Sixty patients who had a visible diastema between maxillary central incisors that had been closed by orthodontic approximation were selected for this study. Various papilla dimensions were assessed on clinical photographs and study models before the orthodontic treatment and at the follow-up examination after closure of the diastema. Influences of the variables assessed before orthodontic treatment on the alterations of papilla height (PH) and papilla base thickness (PBT) were evaluated by univariate regression analysis. To analyze potential influences of the 3-dimensional papilla dimensions before orthodontic treatment on the alterations of PH and PBT, a multiple regression model was formulated including the 3-dimensional papilla dimensions as predictor variables. Results On average, PH decreased by 0.80 mm and PBT increased after orthodontic closure of the diastema (P<0.01). Univariate regression analysis revealed that the PH (P=0.002) and PBT (P=0.047) before orthodontic treatment influenced the alteration of PH. With respect to the alteration of PBT, the diastema width (P=0.045) and PBT (P=0.000) were found to be influential factors. PBT before the orthodontic treatment significantly influenced the alteration of PBT in the multiple regression model. Conclusions PH decreased but PBT increased after orthodontic closure of the diastema. The papilla dimensions before orthodontic treatment influenced the alterations of PH and PBT after closure of the diastema. The PBT increased more when the diastema width before the orthodontic treatment was larger. PMID:27382507

Language Brokering and Self-Concept: An Exploratory Study of Latino Students' Experiences in Middle and High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Niehaus, Kate; Kumpiene, Gerda

2014-01-01

This exploratory study examined the relationships among individual characteristics, language brokering experiences and attitudes, and multiple dimensions of self-concept among a sample of Latino adolescents. The sample was comprised of 66 Latino students in 6th through 11th grades who were proficient in both Spanish and English. Results from…

Multiple Dimensions of Ethnic Persons: Listening to Korean American College Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Gilbert C.

This paper examines the assumptions that a person's ethnic identity is equal to his/her national identity by looking at the stories of seven Korean American college students and their ethnic sense of self. It explores the lives and stories of these students as they refine what it means to be Korean American persons through social interactions with…

First- and Second-Generation Immigrant Adolescents' Multidimensional Mathematics and Science Self-Concepts and Their Achievement in Mathematics and Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Areepattamannil, Shaljan

2012-01-01

This study, drawing on data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2007, examined the predictive effects of multiple dimensions of mathematics and science self-concept--positive affect toward mathematics and science and self-perceived competence in mathematics and science--on mathematics and science achievement among 1,752…

Teachers' Unions and Compensation: The Impact of Collective Bargaining on Salary Schedules and Performance Pay Schemes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West, Kristine Lamm; Mykerezi, Elton

2011-01-01

This study examines the impact that collective bargaining has on multiple dimensions of teacher compensation, including average and starting salaries, early and late returns to experience, returns to graduate degrees, and the incidence of different pay for performance schemes. Using data from the School and Staffing Survey (SASS) and a more recent…

Influences of Women's Employment on the Gendered Division of Household Labor over the Life Course: Evidence from a 31-Year Panel Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cunningham, Mick

2007-01-01

Drawing on data from a panel study of White women spanning 31 years, the analyses examine the influence of women's employment on the gendered division of household labor. Multiple dimensions of women's employment are investigated, including accumulated employment histories, current employment status, current employment hours, and relative income.…

Further Evidence on the "Costs of Privilege": Perfectionism in High-Achieving Youth at Socioeconomic Extremes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyman, Emily L.; Luthar, Suniya S.

2014-01-01

This study involved two academically-gifted samples of 11th and 12th grade youth at the socioeconomic status (SES) extremes; one from an exclusive private, affluent school, and the other from a magnet school with low-income students. Negative and positive adjustment outcomes were examined in relation to multiple dimensions of perfectionism…

"Confused by Multiple Deities, Ancient Egyptians Embraced Monotheism": Analysing Historical Thinking and Inclusion in Egyptian History Textbooks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdou, Ehaab D.

2016-01-01

Egyptian history textbooks are examined through the prism of historical thinking dimensions and skills, utilizing a critical discourse analysis. The analysis focuses on how the textbooks portray two historically significant events: the advent of Christianity (ca. 33 CE) and Islam (ca. 641 CE) to Egypt. It reveals that the historical narrative…

Variation in Trajectories of Women's Marital Quality

PubMed Central

James, Spencer L.

2014-01-01

I examine variation in trajectories of women's marital quality across the life course. The analysis improves upon earlier research in three ways: (1) the analysis uses a sequential cohort design and data from the first 35 years of marriage; (2) I analyze rich data from a national sample; (3) I examine multiple dimensions of marital quality. Latent class growth analyses estimated on data from women in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-1979 (N = 2604) suggest multiple trajectories for each of three dimensions of marital quality, including two trajectories of marital happiness, two trajectories of marital communication, and three trajectories of marital conflict. Socioeconomic and demographic covariates are then used to illustrate how factors such as income, cohabitation, and race-ethnicity set individuals at risk of poor marital quality throughout the life course by differentiating between high and low trajectories of marital quality. Women on low marital quality trajectories are, as expected, at much greater risk of divorce. Taken together, these findings show how fundamental socioeconomic and demographic characteristics contribute to subsequent marital outcomes via their influence on trajectories of marital quality as well as providing a better picture of the complexity in contemporary patterns of marital quality. PMID:25432600

Material wealth in 3D: Mapping multiple paths to prosperity in low- and middle- income countries.

PubMed

Hruschka, Daniel J; Hadley, Craig; Hackman, Joseph

2017-01-01

Material wealth is a key factor shaping human development and well-being. Every year, hundreds of studies in social science and policy fields assess material wealth in low- and middle-income countries assuming that there is a single dimension by which households can move from poverty to prosperity. However, a one-dimensional model may miss important kinds of prosperity, particularly in countries where traditional subsistence-based livelihoods coexist with modern cash economies. Using multiple correspondence analysis to analyze representative household data from six countries-Nepal, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Guatemala-across three world regions, we identify a number of independent dimension of wealth, each with a clear link to locally relevant pathways to success in cash and agricultural economies. In all cases, the first dimension identified by this approach replicates standard one-dimensional estimates and captures success in cash economies. The novel dimensions we identify reflect success in different agricultural sectors and are independently associated with key benchmarks of food security and human growth, such as adult body mass index and child height. The multidimensional models of wealth we describe here provide new opportunities for examining the causes and consequences of wealth inequality that go beyond success in cash economies, for tracing the emergence of hybrid pathways to prosperity, and for assessing how these different pathways to economic success carry different health risks and social opportunities.

Material wealth in 3D: Mapping multiple paths to prosperity in low- and middle- income countries

PubMed Central

Hadley, Craig; Hackman, Joseph

2017-01-01

Material wealth is a key factor shaping human development and well-being. Every year, hundreds of studies in social science and policy fields assess material wealth in low- and middle-income countries assuming that there is a single dimension by which households can move from poverty to prosperity. However, a one-dimensional model may miss important kinds of prosperity, particularly in countries where traditional subsistence-based livelihoods coexist with modern cash economies. Using multiple correspondence analysis to analyze representative household data from six countries—Nepal, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Guatemala—across three world regions, we identify a number of independent dimension of wealth, each with a clear link to locally relevant pathways to success in cash and agricultural economies. In all cases, the first dimension identified by this approach replicates standard one-dimensional estimates and captures success in cash economies. The novel dimensions we identify reflect success in different agricultural sectors and are independently associated with key benchmarks of food security and human growth, such as adult body mass index and child height. The multidimensional models of wealth we describe here provide new opportunities for examining the causes and consequences of wealth inequality that go beyond success in cash economies, for tracing the emergence of hybrid pathways to prosperity, and for assessing how these different pathways to economic success carry different health risks and social opportunities. PMID:28886176

The nature and outcomes of work: a replication and extension of interdisciplinary work-design research.

PubMed

Edwards, J R; Scully, J A; Brtek, M D

2000-12-01

Research into the changing nature of work requires comprehensive models of work design. One such model is the interdisciplinary framework (M. A. Campion, 1988), which integrates 4 work-design approaches (motivational, mechanistic, biological, perceptual-motor) and links each approach to specific outcomes. Unfortunately, studies of this framework have used methods that disregard measurement error, overlook dimensions within each work-design approach, and treat each approach and outcome separately. This study reanalyzes data from M. A. Campion (1988), using structural equation models that incorporate measurement error, specify multiple dimensions for each work-design approach, and examine the work-design approaches and outcomes jointly. Results show that previous studies underestimate relationships between work-design approaches and outcomes and that dimensions within each approach exhibit relationships with outcomes that differ in magnitude and direction.

Differential associations of threat and deprivation with emotion regulation and cognitive control in adolescence

PubMed Central

Lambert, Hilary K; King, kevin M; Monahan, kathryn C; Mclaughlin, Katie A

2016-01-01

Research on childhood adversity has traditionally focused on single types of adversity, which is limited because of high co-occurrence, or on the total number of adverse experiences, which assumes that diverse experiences influence development similarly. Identifying dimensions of environmental experience that are common to multiple types of adversity may be a more effective strategy. We examined the unique associations of two such dimensions (threat and cognitive deprivation) with automatic emotion regulation and cognitive control using a multivariate approach that simultaneously examined both dimensions of adversity. Data were drawn from a community sample of adolescents (N = 287) with variability in exposure to violence, an indicator of threat, and poverty, which is associated with cognitive deprivation. Adolescents completed tasks measuring automatic emotion regulation and cognitive control in neutral and emotional contexts. Violence was associated with automatic emotion regulation deficits, but not cognitive control; poverty was associated with poor cognitive control, but not automatic emotion regulation. Both violence and poverty predicted poor inhibition in an emotional context. Utilizing an approach focused on either single types of adversity or cumulative risk obscured specificity in the associations of violence and poverty with emotional and cognitive outcomes. These findings suggest that different dimensions of childhood adversity have distinct influences on development and highlight the utility of a differentiated multivariate approach. PMID:27424571

Differential associations of threat and deprivation with emotion regulation and cognitive control in adolescence.

PubMed

Lambert, Hilary K; King, Kevin M; Monahan, Kathryn C; McLaughlin, Katie A

2017-08-01

Research on childhood adversity has traditionally focused on single types of adversity, which is limited because of high co-occurrence, or on the total number of adverse experiences, which assumes that diverse experiences influence development similarly. Identifying dimensions of environmental experience that are common to multiple types of adversity may be a more effective strategy. We examined the unique associations of two such dimensions (threat and cognitive deprivation) with automatic emotion regulation and cognitive control using a multivariate approach that simultaneously examined both dimensions of adversity. Data were drawn from a community sample of adolescents (N = 287) with variability in exposure to violence, an indicator of threat, and poverty, which is associated with cognitive deprivation. Adolescents completed tasks measuring automatic emotion regulation and cognitive control in neutral and emotional contexts. Violence was associated with automatic emotion regulation deficits, but not cognitive control; poverty was associated with poor cognitive control, but not automatic emotion regulation. Both violence and poverty predicted poor inhibition in an emotional context. Utilizing an approach focused on either single types of adversity or cumulative risk obscured specificity in the associations of violence and poverty with emotional and cognitive outcomes. These findings suggest that different dimensions of childhood adversity have distinct influences on development and highlight the utility of a differentiated multivariate approach.

Self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism dimensions and their associations with disordered eating.

PubMed

Bardone-Cone, Anna M

2007-08-01

This study examined the relationship between self-oriented and socially prescribed dimensions of perfectionism (using two measures of perfectionism) and disordered eating assessed across multiple time points in a sample of young women. Study participants (n=406) reported on their levels of perfectionism and on their subsequent patterns of dieting and bulimic symptoms. Self-oriented perfectionism was strongly linked to dietary restraint, whether using the theoretically derived perfectionism dimensions from the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) [Hewitt, P.L., & Flett, G.L. (1991a). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 456-470] or the dimensions derived from the Perfectionism subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) [Garner, D. M., Olmsted, M. P., & Polivy, J. (1983). Development and validation of a multidimensional eating disorder inventory for anorexia nervosa and bulimia. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2, 15-34]. A less clear-cut pattern emerged when bulimic symptoms were investigated, with both self-oriented (MPS and EDI) and socially prescribed perfectionism (MPS) being associated with bulimic symptoms. After controlling for negative affect, only a self-oriented dimension of perfectionism predicted unique variance in bulimic symptoms. What constitutes maladaptive perfectionism, concerns about using EDI-Perfectionism dimensions interchangeably with MPS dimensions, and future directions are discussed.

Modeling Differential Item Functioning Using a Generalization of the Multiple-Group Bifactor Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeon, Minjeong; Rijmen, Frank; Rabe-Hesketh, Sophia

2013-01-01

The authors present a generalization of the multiple-group bifactor model that extends the classical bifactor model for categorical outcomes by relaxing the typical assumption of independence of the specific dimensions. In addition to the means and variances of all dimensions, the correlations among the specific dimensions are allowed to differ…

Serum cytokine levels related to multiple dimensions of fatigue in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome

PubMed Central

Hartkamp, A; Geenen, R; Bijl, M; Kruize, A; Godaert, G; Derksen, R

2004-01-01

Methods: Sixty female patients with pSS filled out a questionnaire to assess multiple dimensions of fatigue. Scores were compared with values in a population based control group (n = 139). Levels of interleukin (IL)1ß, IL2, IL6, IL10, and tumour necrosis factor α were measured in serum with commercial sandwich ELISAs. The relationship between self reported dimensions of fatigue and these serum cytokine levels was determined. Results: Patients with pSS had high scores at all dimensions of fatigue (p<0.001): general fatigue, physical fatigue, reduced activity, reduced motivation, and mental fatigue. Fatigue levels were not related to serum cytokine levels. The incidental finding that reduced motivation was higher in patients with detectable serum levels of IL10 (p = 0.04) disappeared after correction for multiple testing. Conclusion: Fatigue is prominent in patients with pSS and involves all dimensions of fatigue. The findings do not suggest a widespread effect of circulating cytokines on multiple aspects of fatigue. PMID:15361396

Anxiety and Depression Symptom Dimensions Demonstrate Unique Relationships with the Startle Reflex in Anticipation of Unpredictable Threat in 8 to 14 Year-Old Girls.

PubMed

Nelson, Brady D; Hajcak, Greg

2017-02-01

There is growing evidence that heightened sensitivity to unpredictability is a core mechanism of anxiety disorders. In adults, multiple anxiety disorders have been associated with a heightened startle reflex in anticipation of unpredictable threat. Child and adolescent anxiety has been linked to an increased startle reflex across baseline, safety, and threat conditions. However, it is unclear whether anxiety in youth is related to the startle reflex as a function of threat predictability. In a sample of 90 8 to 14 year-old girls, the present study examined the association between anxiety symptom dimensions and startle potentiation during a no, predictable, and unpredictable threat task. Depression symptom dimensions were also examined given their high comorbidity with anxiety and mixed relationship with the startle reflex and sensitivity to unpredictability. To assess current symptoms, participants completed the self-report Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders and Children's Depression Inventory. Results indicated that social phobia symptoms were associated with heightened startle potentiation in anticipation of unpredictable threat and attenuated startle potentiation in anticipation of predictable threat. Negative mood and negative self-esteem symptoms were associated with attenuated and heightened startle potentiation in anticipation of unpredictable threat, respectively. All results remained significant after controlling for the other symptom dimensions. The present study provides initial evidence that anxiety and depression symptom dimensions demonstrate unique associations with the startle reflex in anticipation of unpredictable threat in children and adolescents.

Anxiety and Depression Symptom Dimensions Demonstrate Unique Relationships with the Startle Reflex in Anticipation of Unpredictable Threat in 8 to 14 Year-Old Girls

PubMed Central

Nelson, Brady D.; Hajcak, Greg

2016-01-01

There is growing evidence that heightened sensitivity to unpredictability is a core mechanism of anxiety disorders. In adults, multiple anxiety disorders have been associated with a heightened startle reflex in anticipation of unpredictable threat. Child and adolescent anxiety has been linked to an increased startle reflex across baseline, safety, and threat conditions. However, it is unclear whether anxiety in youth is related to the startle reflex as a function of threat predictability. In a sample of 90 8 to 14 year-old girls, the present study examined the association between anxiety symptom dimensions and startle potentiation during a no, predictable, and unpredictable threat task. Depression symptom dimensions were also examined given their high comorbidity with anxiety and mixed relationship with the startle reflex and sensitivity to unpredictability. To assess current symptoms, participants completed the self-report Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders and Children’s Depression Inventory. Results indicated that social phobia symptoms were associated with heightened startle potentiation in anticipation of unpredictable threat and attenuated startle potentiation in anticipation of predictable threat. Negative mood and negative self-esteem symptoms were associated with attenuated and heightened startle potentiation in anticipation of unpredictable threat, respectively. All results remained significant after controlling for the other symptom dimensions. The present study provides initial evidence that anxiety and depression symptom dimensions demonstrate unique associations with the startle reflex in anticipation of unpredictable threat in children and adolescents. PMID:27224989

Health Behavior in Hypochondriasis.

PubMed

Schwind, Julia; Neng, Julia M B; Höfling, Volkmar; Weck, Florian

2015-07-01

The relationship between health behavior and hypochondriasis has not yet been sufficiently examined, as previous studies investigated only individual dimensions of health behavior. In the present study, we extend current literature by examining multiple dimensions of health behavior. One hundred twenty-six participants, consisting of 40 participants with a primary diagnosis of hypochondriasis, 41 participants with a primary diagnosis of anxiety disorder, and 45 healthy controls, completed a multidimensional questionnaire for the assessment of health behavior and other measures for the evaluation of general psychopathology, illness anxiety, depression, and general anxiety. Patients with hypochondriasis revealed a less active way of life (d = 0.89) and lower hygiene (d = 0.60) than healthy controls, but did not differ from healthy controls regarding their compliance to medical recommendations. No differences were found in substance avoidance, security orientation, and diet. Hypochondriasis-specific behavior should be monitored in the treatment of the disorder.

What does public health ethics tell (or not tell) us about intervening in non-communicable diseases?

PubMed

Upshur, Ross

2013-03-01

Obesity has been described as pandemic and a public health crisis. It has been argued that concerted research efforts are needed to enhance our understanding and develop effective interventions for the complex and multiple dimensions of the health challenges posed by obesity. This would provide a secure evidence base in order to justify clinical interventions and public policy. This paper critically examines these claims through the examination of models of public health and public health ethics. I argue that the concept of an effective public health intervention is unclear and underdeveloped and, as a consequence, normative frameworks reliant on meeting the effectiveness criterion may miss morally salient dimensions of the problems. I conclude by arguing for the need to consider both an ecological model of public health and inclusion of a critical public health ethics perspective for an adequate account of the public health challenges posed by obesity.

Individual Participation in Collective Action in the Context of a Caribbean Island State: Testing the Effects of Multiple Dimensions of Social Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jicha, Karl A.; Thompson, Gretchen H.; Fulkerson, Gregory M.; May, Jonathan E.

2011-01-01

This article presents the findings of a case study examining the relationship between social capital and individual participation in collective action on a Caribbean island recovering from devastation inflicted by Hurricanes Ivan and Emily. Using data drawn from 114 residential surveys on the island of Carriacou, Grenada, over the summer of 2006,…

Death of Parents and Adult Psychological and Physical Well-Being: A Prospective U.S. National Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marks, Nadine F.; Jun, Heyjung; Song, Jieun

2007-01-01

Guided by a life course perspective, attachment theory, and gender theory, this study aims to examine the impact of death of a father, a mother, or both parents, as well as continuously living with one or both parents dead (in contrast to having two parents alive) on multiple dimensions of psychological well-being (depressive symptoms, happiness,…

Humanizing Outgroups Through Multiple Categorization

PubMed Central

Prati, Francesca; Crisp, Richard J.; Meleady, Rose; Rubini, Monica

2016-01-01

In three studies, we examined the impact of multiple categorization on intergroup dehumanization. Study 1 showed that perceiving members of a rival university along multiple versus simple categorical dimensions enhanced the tendency to attribute human traits to this group. Study 2 showed that multiple versus simple categorization of immigrants increased the attribution of uniquely human emotions to them. This effect was explained by the sequential mediation of increased individuation of the outgroup and reduced outgroup threat. Study 3 replicated this sequential mediation model and introduced a novel way of measuring humanization in which participants generated attributes corresponding to the outgroup in a free response format. Participants generated more uniquely human traits in the multiple versus simple categorization conditions. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings and consider their role in informing and improving efforts to ameliorate contemporary forms of intergroup discrimination. PMID:26984016

Multiple role occupancy and social participation among midlife wives and husbands in the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Glaser, Karen; Evandrou, Maria; Tomassini, Cecilia

2006-01-01

We investigated the relationship between intensive multiple role occupancy and one key dimension of well-being, social participation (i.e., frequency of participation in social and leisure activities and meeting friends or relatives). Moreover, we examined gender differences in the association between individual, spousal and couple intensive multiple role commitments and individual social participation. Our research is based on a sample of mid-life wives (45-59) and their husbands from the 2000 British Household Panel Study (BHPS). Our findings show that, among wives whose husbands were providing care to a dependent for 20 or more hours a week, there was a negative association with social and leisure activity participation, whereas husbands' level of participation in social and leisure activities was higher if their wives were in full-time paid work. We also found lower odds of meeting friends or relatives among wives and husbands in full-time employment, and higher odds of meeting friends and relatives among wives providing care for 20 or more hours a week. Our results will aid policy thinking in addressing how people can be best supported to balance work and family commitments in order to optimize different dimensions of well-being in later life and help alleviate the pressures associated with multiple-role occupancy in mid-life.

Green supply chain management in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Qinghua; Sarkis, Joseph

2004-02-01

Globalization results in both pressure and drivers for Chinese enterprise to improve their environmental performance. As a developing country, China has to balance economic and environmental performance. Green supply chain management (GSCM) is emerging to be an important approach for Chinese enterprises to improve performance, possibly on both these dimensions. Using empirical results from 89 respondents on GSCM practice in Chinese manufacturing enterprises, we examine the relationships between pressures, practice and performance. The results will look at multiple dimensions of GSCM practice and performance, as well as various pressures they face. Discussion of the results will include practical implications for organizations, not only in China, but internationally who face similar pressures and seek to implement similar programs.

The relationship between sources and functions of social support and dimensions of child- and parent-related stress.

PubMed

Guralnick, M J; Hammond, M A; Neville, B; Connor, R T

2008-12-01

In this longitudinal study, we examined the relationship between the sources and functions of social support and dimensions of child- and parent-related stress for mothers of young children with mild developmental delays. Sixty-three mothers completed assessments of stress and support at two time points. Multiple regression analyses revealed that parenting support during the early childhood period (i.e. advice on problems specific to their child and assistance with child care responsibilities), irrespective of source, consistently predicted most dimensions of parent stress assessed during the early elementary years and contributed unique variance. General support (i.e. primarily emotional support and validation) from various sources had other, less widespread effects on parental stress. The multidimensional perspective of the construct of social support that emerged suggested mechanisms mediating the relationship between support and stress and provided a framework for intervention.

Core OCD Symptoms: Exploration of Specificity and Relations with Psychopathology

PubMed Central

Stasik, Sara M.; Naragon-Gainey, Kristin; Chmielewski, Michael; Watson, David

2012-01-01

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a heterogeneous condition, comprised of multiple symptom domains. This study used aggregate composite scales representing three core OCD dimensions (Checking, Cleaning, Rituals), as well as Hoarding, to examine the discriminant validity, diagnostic specificity, and predictive ability of OCD symptom scales. The core OCD scales demonstrated strong patterns of convergent and discriminant validity – suggesting that these dimensions are distinct from other self-reported symptoms – whereas hoarding symptoms correlated just as strongly with OCD and non-OCD symptoms in most analyses. Across analyses, our results indicated that Checking is a particularly strong, specific marker of OCD diagnosis, whereas the specificity of Cleaning and Hoarding to OCD was less strong. Finally, the OCD Checking scale was the only significant predictor of OCD diagnosis in logistic regression analyses. Results are discussed with regard to the importance of assessing OCD symptom dimensions separately and implications for classification. PMID:23026094

Measurement invariance of neuropsychological tests in diverse older persons.

PubMed

Mungas, Dan; Widaman, Keith F; Reed, Bruce R; Tomaszewski Farias, Sarah

2011-03-01

Comparability of meaning of neuropsychological test results across ethnic, linguistic, and cultural groups is important for clinicians challenged with assessing increasing numbers of older ethnic minorities. We examined the dimensional structure of a neuropsychological test battery in linguistically and demographically diverse older adults. The Spanish and English Neuropsychological Assessment Scales (SENAS), developed to provide psychometrically sound measures of cognition for multiethnic and multilingual applications, was administered to a community dwelling sample of 760 Whites, 443 African Americans, 451 English-speaking Hispanics, and 882 Spanish-speaking Hispanics. Cognitive function spanned a broad range from normal to mildly impaired to demented. Multiple group confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine equivalence of the dimensional structure for the SENAS across the groups defined by language and ethnicity. Covariance among 16 SENAS tests was best explained by five cognitive dimensions corresponding to episodic memory, semantic memory/language, spatial ability, attention/working memory, and verbal fluency. Multiple Group confirmatory factor analysis supported a common dimensional structure in the diverse groups. Measures of episodic memory showed the most compelling evidence of measurement equivalence across groups. Measurement equivalence was observed for most but not all measures of semantic memory/language and spatial ability. Measures of attention/working memory defined a common dimension in the different groups, but results suggest that scores are not strictly comparable across groups. These results support the applicability of the SENAS for use with multiethnic and bilingual older adults, and more broadly, provide evidence of similar dimensions of cognition in the groups represented in the study. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved

Team effectiveness in academic medical libraries: a multiple case study*

PubMed Central

Russo Martin, Elaine

2006-01-01

Objectives: The objective of this study is to apply J. Richard Hackman's framework on team effectiveness to academic medical library settings. Methods: The study uses a qualitative, multiple case study design, employing interviews and focus groups to examine team effectiveness in three academic medical libraries. Another site was selected as a pilot to validate the research design, field procedures, and methods to be used with the cases. In all, three interviews and twelve focus groups, with approximately seventy-five participants, were conducted at the case study libraries. Findings: Hackman identified five conditions leading to team effectiveness and three outcomes dimensions that defined effectiveness. The participants in this study identified additional characteristics of effectiveness that focused on enhanced communication, leadership personality and behavior, and relationship building. The study also revealed an additional outcome dimension related to the evolution of teams. Conclusions: Introducing teams into an organization is not a trivial matter. Hackman's model of effectiveness has implications for designing successful library teams. PMID:16888659

Efficient Implementations of the Quadrature-Free Discontinuous Galerkin Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lockard, David P.; Atkins, Harold L.

1999-01-01

The efficiency of the quadrature-free form of the dis- continuous Galerkin method in two dimensions, and briefly in three dimensions, is examined. Most of the work for constant-coefficient, linear problems involves the volume and edge integrations, and the transformation of information from the volume to the edges. These operations can be viewed as matrix-vector multiplications. Many of the matrices are sparse as a result of symmetry, and blocking and specialized multiplication routines are used to account for the sparsity. By optimizing these operations, a 35% reduction in total CPU time is achieved. For nonlinear problems, the calculation of the flux becomes dominant because of the cost associated with polynomial products and inversion. This component of the work can be reduced by up to 75% when the products are approximated by truncating terms. Because the cost is high for nonlinear problems on general elements, it is suggested that simplified physics and the most efficient element types be used over most of the domain.

Physical self-esteem of adolescents with regard to physical activity and pubertal status.

PubMed

Altintaş, Atahan; Aşçi, F Hülya

2008-05-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the physical activity and pubertal status differences in the multiple dimensions of physical self-esteem of Turkish adolescents. The current study also aimed to investigate the gender differences in the physical self-esteem. The pubertal status of participants was determined by a self-report questionnaire. The Children and Youth Physical Self-Perception Profile and a weekly activity checklist were administered to 803 adolescents (Mage = 13.10 +/- 0.93). Analysis revealed significant main effects of physical activity on the multiple dimensions of physical self-esteem for both boys and girls. Follow-up analysis indicated that physically active boys and girls scored higher on almost all subscales of physical self-esteem than less active counterparts. The main effect of pubertal status and physical activity x pubertal status interaction were not significant either for boys or girls. Analysis also revealed significant gender differences in perceived body attractiveness, physical strength, physical condition, and physical self-worth subscales in favor of boys (p < .05).

Multiple Dimensions of Teacher Identity Development from Pre-Service to Early Years of Teaching: A Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hong, Ji; Greene, Barbara; Lowery, Jennifer

2017-01-01

Based on dialogical self theory framework that highlights three dimensions of identity construction (multiplicity vs. unity; social vs. individual; discontinuity vs. continuity), this study explored multiple aspects of teacher identity development over time, in relation to the unity of self, the way the social environment is negotiated, and the…

The impact of service quality perception on patient satisfaction in Government Hospitals in Southern Saudi Arabia

PubMed Central

Alghamdi, Faris S.

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT Objectives: To examine the impact of service quality perception on patient satisfaction and determine which dimension from 5 dimensions (tangible, reliability, responsive, assurance, and empathy) has the greatest impact on patient satisfaction. Methods: A total of 183 eligible patients participated in this study. This study was conducted in Al-Baha province, Saudi Arabia from June 2013 to August 2013. We utilized the cross-sectional method, using a modified Assessment of Service Quality questionnaire to collect the data. Results: To test the study hypothesis, multiple regression analysis was carried out. Analysis of variance revealed that the overall result showed a statistically significant impact of health service quality on patient satisfaction (p=0.000). The beta-weights (beta) suggested that the empathy dimension had the greatest influence on patient satisfaction (ß=0.476), followed by tangible (ß=0.198) and responsiveness dimensions (ß=0.164). Conclusion: Patient satisfaction was influenced by health service quality, with the empathy dimension as the greatest influence on patient satisfaction. Therefore, it should be considered a priority by government hospitals to train doctors in interpersonal relationship skills to enhance the doctor-patient relationship. PMID:25316476

The impact of service quality perception on patient satisfaction in government hospitals in southern Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Alghamdi, Faris S

2014-10-01

To examine the impact of service quality perception on patient satisfaction and determine  which dimension from 5 dimensions (tangible, reliability, responsive, assurance, and empathy) has the greatest impact on patient satisfaction. A total of 183 eligible patients participated in this study. This study was conducted in Al-Baha province, Saudi Arabia from June 2013 to August 2013. We utilized the cross-sectional method, using a modified Assessment of Service Quality questionnaire to collect the data. To test the study hypothesis, multiple regression analysis was carried out. Analysis of variance revealed that the overall result showed a statistically significant impact of health service quality on patient satisfaction (p=0.000). The beta-weights (beta) suggested that the empathy dimension had the greatest influence on patient satisfaction (beta=0.476), followed by tangible (beta=0.198) and responsiveness dimensions (beta=0.164). Patient satisfaction was influenced by health service quality, with the empathy dimension as the greatest influence on patient satisfaction. Therefore, it should be considered a priority by government hospitals to train doctors in interpersonal relationship skills to enhance the doctor-patient relationship. 

Personality, Cognitive Style, Motivation, and Aptitude Predict Systematic Trends in Analytic Forecasting Behavior.

PubMed

Poore, Joshua C; Forlines, Clifton L; Miller, Sarah M; Regan, John R; Irvine, John M

2014-12-01

The decision sciences are increasingly challenged to advance methods for modeling analysts, accounting for both analytic strengths and weaknesses, to improve inferences taken from increasingly large and complex sources of data. We examine whether psychometric measures-personality, cognitive style, motivated cognition-predict analytic performance and whether psychometric measures are competitive with aptitude measures (i.e., SAT scores) as analyst sample selection criteria. A heterogeneous, national sample of 927 participants completed an extensive battery of psychometric measures and aptitude tests and was asked 129 geopolitical forecasting questions over the course of 1 year. Factor analysis reveals four dimensions among psychometric measures; dimensions characterized by differently motivated "top-down" cognitive styles predicted distinctive patterns in aptitude and forecasting behavior. These dimensions were not better predictors of forecasting accuracy than aptitude measures. However, multiple regression and mediation analysis reveals that these dimensions influenced forecasting accuracy primarily through bias in forecasting confidence. We also found that these facets were competitive with aptitude tests as forecast sampling criteria designed to mitigate biases in forecasting confidence while maximizing accuracy. These findings inform the understanding of individual difference dimensions at the intersection of analytic aptitude and demonstrate that they wield predictive power in applied, analytic domains.

Personality, Cognitive Style, Motivation, and Aptitude Predict Systematic Trends in Analytic Forecasting Behavior

PubMed Central

Forlines, Clifton L.; Miller, Sarah M.; Regan, John R.; Irvine, John M.

2014-01-01

The decision sciences are increasingly challenged to advance methods for modeling analysts, accounting for both analytic strengths and weaknesses, to improve inferences taken from increasingly large and complex sources of data. We examine whether psychometric measures—personality, cognitive style, motivated cognition—predict analytic performance and whether psychometric measures are competitive with aptitude measures (i.e., SAT scores) as analyst sample selection criteria. A heterogeneous, national sample of 927 participants completed an extensive battery of psychometric measures and aptitude tests and was asked 129 geopolitical forecasting questions over the course of 1 year. Factor analysis reveals four dimensions among psychometric measures; dimensions characterized by differently motivated “top-down” cognitive styles predicted distinctive patterns in aptitude and forecasting behavior. These dimensions were not better predictors of forecasting accuracy than aptitude measures. However, multiple regression and mediation analysis reveals that these dimensions influenced forecasting accuracy primarily through bias in forecasting confidence. We also found that these facets were competitive with aptitude tests as forecast sampling criteria designed to mitigate biases in forecasting confidence while maximizing accuracy. These findings inform the understanding of individual difference dimensions at the intersection of analytic aptitude and demonstrate that they wield predictive power in applied, analytic domains. PMID:25983670

Dimensions of care for dementia sufferers in long-term care institutions: are they related to outcomes?

PubMed

Chappell, N L; Reid, R C

2000-07-01

This study empirically examined whether dimensions of care cluster in special care units (SCUs) compared with non-SCUs. The relationship between SCU status plus separate measures of the dimensions of care and outcomes for dementia sufferers was then investigated. Data were drawn from the Intermediate Care Facility Project. The sample (N = 510) included residents with dementia, aged 65 and older, in intermediate care facilities throughout the province of British Columbia. Canada. Longitudinal data included 6 outcomes: cognitive function, behavioral problems of agitation and social skills, physical functioning, and quality of life measured through affect and expressive language skills. Separate multiple linear regression equations were estimated, relating each of these outcomes to 5 dimensions of care: preadmission and admission procedures. staff training and education, nonuse of physical and chemical restraints, flexible care routines and resident-relevant activities, and the environment. The results showed there is virtually no clustering of dimensions along SCU/non-SCU lines. Neither SCU status nor the individual dimensions were highly predictive of outcomes. Residents' affect at t1 emerged as a characteristic that was significantly correlated with other outcomes. This Canadian research can be added to the few but growing number of rigorous studies that suggest SCUs are not homogeneous and do not necessarily provide better care than non-SCUs. Moreover, it raises questions about the benefits of "best practice" dimensions of care, regardless of SCU status.

Dimensions of socioeconomic position related to body mass index and obesity among Danish women and men.

PubMed

Groth, M V; Fagt, S; Stockmarr, A; Matthiessen, J; Biltoft-Jensen, A

2009-06-01

The aim of this study was to examine the association between different dimensions of socioeconomic position, body mass index (BMI) and obesity in the Danish population. Possible interactions between the different dimensions and gender differences were also investigated. This was a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2000-2002 including a simple random sample from the civil registration system, comprising 1953 males and 2167 females aged 4-75 years. Information about different dimensions of socioeconomic position, height and weight was obtained by face-to-face interview. Associations between dimensions of socioeconomic position and weight status were examined by use of linear multiple regression analysis and logistic regression analysis. BMI and prevalence of obesity were significantly associated with education for both men and women. Odds ratios (ORs) for obesity were 2.9 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4-5.9) and 6.5 (95% CI 2.3-18.7) for those with basic school as compared with those with long higher education for men and women, respectively. Women outside the labour market had higher BMIs and a greater prevalence of obesity (OR 2.5 (95% CI 1.6-3.9)) after adjustment for educational level. Education was the dimension most consistently associated with BMI and obesity, indicating the importance of cultural capital for weight status. The gender-specific pattern showed a stronger social gradient for women, and indicated that a high relative body weight was associated with less favourable social and material conditions for women, but not for men. A public health strategy to prevent and reduce obesity should be gender-specific, focus on groups with short education, and incorporate cultural norms.

Predictors of Broad Dimensions of Psychopathology among Patients with Panic Disorder after Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

PubMed Central

Kondo, Masaki; Ino, Keiko; Imai, Risa; Ii, Toshitaka; Furukawa, Toshi A.; Akechi, Tatsuo

2018-01-01

Background Many patients with panic disorder meet criteria for at least one other diagnosis, most commonly other anxiety or mood disorders. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the best empirically supported psychotherapy for panic disorder. There is now evidence indicating that cognitive-behavioral therapy for panic disorder yields positive benefits upon comorbid disorders. Objectives The present study aimed to examine the predictors of broad dimensions of psychopathology in panic disorder after cognitive-behavioral therapy. Methods Two hundred patients affected by panic disorder were treated with manualized group cognitive-behavioral therapy. We examined if the baseline personality dimensions of NEO Five Factor Index predicted the subscales of Symptom Checklist-90 Revised at endpoint using multiple regression analysis based on the intention-to-treat principle. Results Conscientiousness score of NEO Five Factor Index at baseline was a predictor of four Symptom Checklist-90 Revised subscales including obsessive-compulsive (β = −0.15, P < 0.01), depression (β = −0.13, P < 0.05), phobic anxiety (β = −0.15, P < 0.05), and Global Severity Index (β = −0.13, P < 0.05). Conclusion Conscientiousness at baseline may predict several dimensions of psychopathology in patients with panic disorder after cognitive-behavioral therapy. For the purpose of improving a wide range of psychiatric symptoms with patients affected by panic disorder, it may be useful to pay more attention to this personal trait at baseline. PMID:29721499

Predictors of Broad Dimensions of Psychopathology among Patients with Panic Disorder after Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.

PubMed

Ogawa, Sei; Kondo, Masaki; Ino, Keiko; Imai, Risa; Ii, Toshitaka; Furukawa, Toshi A; Akechi, Tatsuo

2018-01-01

Many patients with panic disorder meet criteria for at least one other diagnosis, most commonly other anxiety or mood disorders. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the best empirically supported psychotherapy for panic disorder. There is now evidence indicating that cognitive-behavioral therapy for panic disorder yields positive benefits upon comorbid disorders. The present study aimed to examine the predictors of broad dimensions of psychopathology in panic disorder after cognitive-behavioral therapy. Two hundred patients affected by panic disorder were treated with manualized group cognitive-behavioral therapy. We examined if the baseline personality dimensions of NEO Five Factor Index predicted the subscales of Symptom Checklist-90 Revised at endpoint using multiple regression analysis based on the intention-to-treat principle. Conscientiousness score of NEO Five Factor Index at baseline was a predictor of four Symptom Checklist-90 Revised subscales including obsessive-compulsive ( β = -0.15, P < 0.01), depression ( β = -0.13, P < 0.05), phobic anxiety ( β = -0.15, P < 0.05), and Global Severity Index ( β = -0.13, P < 0.05). Conscientiousness at baseline may predict several dimensions of psychopathology in patients with panic disorder after cognitive-behavioral therapy. For the purpose of improving a wide range of psychiatric symptoms with patients affected by panic disorder, it may be useful to pay more attention to this personal trait at baseline.

The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): predictors of alcohol attitudes and expectancies in Hispanic national groups.

PubMed

Mills, Britain A; Caetano, Raul

2010-05-01

Multiple theoretical frameworks identify attitudes and expectancies as important predictors of alcohol behavior. Few studies have examined demographic predictors of these evaluative and belief-based cognitive mediators in the general population, and none have examined them in large-scale studies of Hispanics, a group at higher risk for drinking behavior and problems. This study probes the extent to which dimensions of attitudes and expectancies share common demographic predictors in a large sample of Puerto Ricans, Cuban-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and South/Central Americans. The 2006 Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS) used a multistage cluster sample design to interview 5,224 individuals randomly selected from households in Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles. This study focused on 2,773 respondents self-identified as current drinkers. Multiple linear regression was used to identify predictors of positive and negative dimensions of attitudes and expectancies, controlling for various background variables. Religious affiliation selectively predicted alcohol attitudes, with Catholics having more positive and fewer negative attitudes than other religious groups. Hispanic group selectively predicted alcohol expectancies, with Cuban-Americans having less positive and less negative expectancies than other groups. Being U.S.-born or male predicted more positive attitudes and expectancies, but birthplace and gender did not predict negative dimensions of attitudes or expectancies. Higher acculturation and more education were linked to a decreased tendency to agree with any item. Age was positively and negatively associated with negative expectancies and positive attitudes, respectively, and having never been married, higher income, and unemployment were each linked to fewer negative attitudes. Although there is some overlap, attitudes and expectancies are influenced by different sociodemographic variables. Positive and negative dimensions of those constructs also show distinct patterns of relations. Prevention and treatment programs targeting cognitive mediators of behavior should be mindful of these differential determinants and future modeling endeavors should incorporate them.

The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): Predictors of alcohol attitudes and expectancies in Hispanic national groups

PubMed Central

Mills, Britain A.; Caetano, Raul

2012-01-01

Background Multiple theoretical frameworks identify attitudes and expectancies as important predictors of alcohol behavior. Few studies have examined demographic predictors of these evaluative and belief-based cognitive mediators in the general population, and none have examined them in large-scale studies of Hispanics, a group at higher risk for drinking behavior and problems. This study probes the extent to which dimensions of attitudes and expectancies share common demographic predictors in a large sample of Puerto Ricans, Cuban-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and South/Central Americans. Methods The 2006 Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS) used a multistage cluster sample design to interview 5,224 individuals randomly selected from households in Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles. This study focused on 2,773 respondents self-identified as current drinkers. Multiple linear regression was used to identify predictors of positive and negative dimensions of attitudes and expectancies, controlling for various background variables. Results Religious affiliation selectively predicted alcohol attitudes, with Catholics having more positive and fewer negative attitudes than other religious groups. Hispanic group selectively predicted alcohol expectancies, with Cuban-Americans having less positive and less negative expectancies than other groups. Being U.S.-born or male predicted more positive attitudes and expectancies, but birthplace and gender did not predict negative dimensions of attitudes or expectancies. Higher acculturation and more education were linked to a decreased tendency to agree with any item. Age was positively and negatively associated with negative expectancies and positive attitudes, respectively, and having never been married, higher income, and unemployment were each linked to fewer negative attitudes. Conclusions Although there is some overlap, attitudes and expectancies are influenced by different sociodemographic variables. Positive and negative dimensions of those constructs also show distinct patterns of relations. Prevention and treatment programs targeting cognitive mediators of behavior should be mindful of these differential determinants and future modeling endeavors should incorporate them. PMID:20184565

Reconceptualizing the Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity: The Role of Meaning-Making Capacity in the Construction of Multiple Identities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abes, Elisa S.; Jones, Susan R.; McEwen, Marylu K.

2007-01-01

We reconceptualize Jones and McEwen's (2000) model of multiple dimensions of identity by incorporating meaning making, based on the results of Abes and Jones's (2004) study of lesbian college students. Narratives of three students who utilize different orders of Kegan's (1994) meaning making (formulaic, transitional, and foundational, as described…

Exploring the boundaries: A study of multiple classroom learning environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ritchie, Stephen M.; Tobin, Kenneth; Hook, Karl S.

1995-09-01

The study of learning environments has developed into a productive field of research in science education. Initially, the design and application of classroom perceptual measures of particular dimensions of science classrooms attracted much attention. More recently, such instruments have been used alongside of qualitative techniques to provide a richer understanding of sub-environments. We continue this trend in the present interpretive study by exploring the nature of multiple environments within a middle school classroom from the different perspectives of teacher, student and participant observer. In particular, we examine the activity settings of lectures and group work, as well as the issues of learning and assessment. We conclude by arguing that teachers need to adopt procedures that enable them to identify and plan for multiple environments.

Recreational music-making: a cost-effective group interdisciplinary strategy for reducing burnout and improving mood states in long-term care workers.

PubMed

Bittman, Barry; Bruhn, Karl T; Stevens, Christine; Westengard, James; Umbach, Paul O

2003-01-01

This controlled, prospective, randomized study examined the clinical and potential economic impact of a 6-session Recreational Music-making (RMM) protocol on burnout and mood dimensions, as well as on Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) in an interdisciplinary group of long-term care workers. A total of 112 employees participated in a 6-session RMM protocol focusing on building support, communication, and interdisciplinary respect utilizing group drumming and keyboard accompaniment. Changes in burnout and mood dimensions were assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Profile of Mood States respectively. Cost savings were projected by an independent consulting firm, which developed an economic impact model. Statistically-significant reductions of multiple burnout and mood dimensions, as well as TMD scores, were noted. Economic-impact analysis projected cost savings of $89,100 for a single typical 100-bed facility, with total annual potential savings to the long-term care industry of $1.46 billion. A cost-effective, 6-session RMM protocol reduces burnout and mood dimensions, as well as TMD, in long-term care workers.

The Mechanisms Underlying Changes in Broad Dimensions of Psychopathology During Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder.

PubMed

Ogawa, Sei; Imai, Risa; Suzuki, Masako; Furukawa, Toshi A; Akechi, Tatsuo

2017-12-01

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) patients commonly have broad dimensions of psychopathology. This study investigated the relationship between a wide range of psychopathology and attention or cognitions during cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for SAD. We treated 96 SAD patients with group CBT. Using multiple regression analysis, we examined the associations between the changes in broad dimensions of psychopathology and the changes in self-focused attention or maladaptive cognitions in the course of CBT. The reduction in self-focused attention was related to the decreases in somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, anxiety, phobic anxiety, and global severity index. The reduction in maladaptive cognitions was associated with decreases in interpersonal sensitivity, depression, and global severity index. The present study suggests that changes in self-focused attention and maladaptive cognitions may predict broad dimensions of psychopathology changes in SAD patients over the course of CBT. For the purpose of improving a wide range of psychiatric symptoms with SAD patients in CBT, it may be useful to decrease self-focus attention and maladaptive cognitions.

Association Between Depressive Symptoms, Multiple Dimensions of Depression, and Elder Abuse: A Cross-Sectional, Population-Based Analysis of Older Adults in Urban Chicago.

PubMed

Roepke-Buehler, Susan K; Simon, Melissa; Dong, XinQi

2015-09-01

Depression is conceptualized as both a risk factor for and a consequence of elder abuse; however, current research is equivocal. This study examined associations between elder abuse and dimensions of depressive symptoms in older adults. Participants were 10,419 older adults enrolled in theChicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP), a population-based study of older adults. Regression was used to determine the relationships between depressive symptoms, depression dimensions, and abuse variables. Depressive symptoms were consistently associated with elder abuse. Participants in the highest tertile of depressive symptoms were twice as likely to have confirmed abuse with a perpetrator (odds ratio = 2.07, 95% confidence interval = [1.21, 3.52], p = .008). Elder abuse subtypes and depression dimensions were differentially associated. These findings highlight the importance of routine depression screening in older adults as a component of abuse prevention and intervention. They also provide profiles of depressive symptoms that may more accurately characterize risk for specific types of abuse. © The Author(s) 2015.

Multiple regression based imputation for individualizing template human model from a small number of measured dimensions.

PubMed

Nohara, Ryuki; Endo, Yui; Murai, Akihiko; Takemura, Hiroshi; Kouchi, Makiko; Tada, Mitsunori

2016-08-01

Individual human models are usually created by direct 3D scanning or deforming a template model according to the measured dimensions. In this paper, we propose a method to estimate all the necessary dimensions (full set) for the human model individualization from a small number of measured dimensions (subset) and human dimension database. For this purpose, we solved multiple regression equation from the dimension database given full set dimensions as the objective variable and subset dimensions as the explanatory variables. Thus, the full set dimensions are obtained by simply multiplying the subset dimensions to the coefficient matrix of the regression equation. We verified the accuracy of our method by imputing hand, foot, and whole body dimensions from their dimension database. The leave-one-out cross validation is employed in this evaluation. The mean absolute errors (MAE) between the measured and the estimated dimensions computed from 4 dimensions (hand length, breadth, middle finger breadth at proximal, and middle finger depth at proximal) in the hand, 2 dimensions (foot length, breadth, and lateral malleolus height) in the foot, and 1 dimension (height) and weight in the whole body are computed. The average MAE of non-measured dimensions were 4.58% in the hand, 4.42% in the foot, and 3.54% in the whole body, while that of measured dimensions were 0.00%.

Dimension-Based Statistical Learning Affects Both Speech Perception and Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lehet, Matthew; Holt, Lori L.

2017-01-01

Multiple acoustic dimensions signal speech categories. However, dimensions vary in their informativeness; some are more diagnostic of category membership than others. Speech categorization reflects these dimensional regularities such that diagnostic dimensions carry more "perceptual weight" and more effectively signal category membership…

Dimensions of sustainability for a health communication intervention in African American churches: a multi-methods study.

PubMed

Scheirer, Mary Ann; Santos, Sherie Lou Z; Tagai, Erin K; Bowie, Janice; Slade, Jimmie; Carter, Roxanne; Holt, Cheryl L

2017-03-28

Sustainability of evidence-based health promotion interventions has received increased research attention in recent years. This paper reports sustainability data from Project HEAL (Health through Early Awareness and Learning) a cancer communication implementation trial about early detection, based in African American churches. In this paper, we used a framework by Scheirer and Dearing (Am J Publ Health 101:2059-2067, 2011) to evaluate multiple dimensions of sustainability from Project HEAL. We examined the following dimensions of sustainability: (a) continued benefits for intervention recipients, (b) continuation of intervention activities, c) maintaining community partnerships, (d) changes in organizational policies or structures, (e) sustained attention to the underlying issues, (f) diffusion to additional sites, or even (g) unplanned consequences of the intervention. Project HEAL provided a three-workshop cancer educational series delivered by trained lay peer community health advisors (CHAs) in their churches. Multiple sources of sustainability were collected at 12 and 24 months after the intervention that reflect several levels of analysis: participant surveys; interviews with CHAs; records from the project's management database; and open-ended comments from CHAs, staff, and community partners. Outcomes differ for each dimension of sustainability. For continued benefit, 39 and 37% of the initial 375 church members attended the 12- and 24-month follow-up workshops, respectively. Most participants reported sharing the information from Project HEAL with family or friends (92% at 12 months; 87% at 24 months). For continuation of intervention activities, some CHAs reported that the churches held at least one additional cancer educational workshop (33% at 12 months; 24% at 24 months), but many more CHAs reported subsequent health activities in their churches (71% at 12 months; 52% at 24 months). No church replicated the original series of three workshops. Additional data confirm the maintenance of community partnerships, some changes in church health policies, and continued attention to health issues by churches and CHAs. The multiple dimensions of sustainability require different data sources and levels of analysis and show varied sustainability outcomes in this project. The findings reinforce the dynamic nature of evidence-based health interventions in community contexts.

The effects of a multiple family therapy on adolescents with eating disorders: an outcome study.

PubMed

Gelin, Zoé; Fuso, Silvana; Hendrick, Stephan; Cook-Darzens, Solange; Simon, Yves

2015-03-01

Multiple Family Therapy (MFT) has gained increasing popularity in the treatment of eating disorders and many programs have been developed over the past decade. Still, there is little evidence in the literature on the effectiveness on MFT for treating eating disorders. The present study examines the effects of a particular model of Multiple Family Therapy on eating disorder symptoms, quality of life, and percentage of Expected Body Weight (%EBW) in adolescents with eating disorders (ED). Eighty-two adolescents with ED, aged between 11 and 19 years, were assessed before and after treatment using the Eating Disorders Inventory 2 (EDI-2), the Outcome Questionnaire 45 (OQ-45) and %EBW. Results showed a significant increase in %EBW between the beginning and end of treatment, with a large effect size. 52.4% of patients achieved an EBW above 85%. Symptoms relative to all EDI dimensions (except for bulimia) significantly decreased during treatment. The three dimensions related to quality of life assessment also improved over the course of MFT. At the end of treatment, 70.7% of patients had a total OQ-45 score below clinical significance. This study suggests that Multiple Family Therapy may benefit adolescents with eating disorders, with improvement on several outcome measures (%EBW, ED symptoms, and quality of life). However, the lack of a comparison group entails caution when drawing conclusions. © 2014 Family Process Institute.

A Comparison of Accuracy of Matrix Impression System with Putty Reline Technique and Multiple Mix Technique: An In Vitro Study.

PubMed

Kumar, M Praveen; Patil, Suneel G; Dheeraj, Bhandari; Reddy, Keshav; Goel, Dinker; Krishna, Gopi

2015-06-01

The difficulty in obtaining an acceptable impression increases exponentially as the number of abutments increases. Accuracy of the impression material and the use of a suitable impression technique are of utmost importance in the fabrication of a fixed partial denture. This study compared the accuracy of the matrix impression system with conventional putty reline and multiple mix technique for individual dies by comparing the inter-abutment distance in the casts obtained from the impressions. Three groups, 10 impressions each with three impression techniques (matrix impression system, putty reline technique and multiple mix technique) were made of a master die. Typodont teeth were embedded in a maxillary frasaco model base. The left first premolar was removed to create a three-unit fixed partial denture situation and the left canine and second premolar were prepared conservatively, and hatch marks were made on the abutment teeth. The final casts obtained from the impressions were examined under a profile projector and the inter-abutment distance was calculated for all the casts and compared. The results from this study showed that in the mesiodistal dimensions the percentage deviation from master model in Group I was 0.1 and 0.2, in Group II was 0.9 and 0.3, and Group III was 1.6 and 1.5, respectively. In the labio-palatal dimensions the percentage deviation from master model in Group I was 0.01 and 0.4, Group II was 1.9 and 1.3, and Group III was 2.2 and 2.0, respectively. In the cervico-incisal dimensions the percentage deviation from the master model in Group I was 1.1 and 0.2, Group II was 3.9 and 1.7, and Group III was 1.9 and 3.0, respectively. In the inter-abutment dimension of dies, percentage deviation from master model in Group I was 0.1, Group II was 0.6, and Group III was 1.0. The matrix impression system showed more accuracy of reproduction for individual dies when compared with putty reline technique and multiple mix technique in all the three directions, as well as the inter-abutment distance.

Social and economic ideologies differentially predict prejudice across the political spectrum, but social issues are most divisive.

PubMed

Crawford, Jarret T; Brandt, Mark J; Inbar, Yoel; Chambers, John R; Motyl, Matt

2017-03-01

Liberals and conservatives both express prejudice toward ideologically dissimilar others (Brandt et al., 2014). Previous work on ideological prejudice did not take advantage of evidence showing that ideology is multidimensional, with social and economic ideologies representing related but separable belief systems. In 5 studies (total N = 4912), we test 3 competing hypotheses of a multidimensional account of ideological prejudice. The dimension-specific symmetry hypothesis predicts that social and economic ideologies differentially predict prejudice against targets who are perceived to vary on the social and economic political dimensions, respectively. The social primacy hypothesis predicts that such ideological worldview conflict is experienced more strongly along the social than economic dimension. The social-specific asymmetry hypothesis predicts that social conservatives will be more prejudiced than social liberals, with no specific hypotheses for the economic dimension. Using multiple target groups, multiple prejudice measures (e.g., global evaluations, behavior), and multiple social and economic ideology measures (self-placement, issue positions), we found relatively consistent support for the dimension-specific symmetry and social primacy hypotheses, and no support for the social-specific asymmetry hypothesis. These results suggest that worldview conflict and negative intergroup attitudes and behaviors are dimension-specific, but that the social dimension appears to inspire more political conflict than the economic dimension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Multiple-Relaxation-Time Lattice Boltzmann Models in 3D

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

dHumieres, Dominique; Ginzburg, Irina; Krafczyk, Manfred; Lallemand, Pierre; Luo, Li-Shi; Bushnell, Dennis M. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This article provides a concise exposition of the multiple-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann equation, with examples of fifteen-velocity and nineteen-velocity models in three dimensions. Simulation of a diagonally lid-driven cavity flow in three dimensions at Re=500 and 2000 is performed. The results clearly demonstrate the superior numerical stability of the multiple-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann equation over the popular lattice Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook equation.

Escaping the recent past: Which stimulus dimensions influence proactive interference?

PubMed Central

Craig, Kimberly S.; Berman, Marc G.; Jonides, John; Lustig, Cindy

2013-01-01

Proactive interference occurs when information from the past disrupts current processing and is a major source of confusion and errors in short-term memory (Wickens, Born & Allen, 1963). The present investigation examines potential boundary conditions for interference, testing the hypothesis that potential competitors must be similar along task-relevant dimensions to influence proactive interference effects. We manipulated both the type of task being completed (Experiments 1, 2 and 3) and dimensions of similarity irrelevant to the current task (Experiments 4 and 5) to determine how the recent presentation of a probe item would affect the speed with which participants could reject that item. Experiments 1, 2 and 3 contrasted short-term memory judgments, which require temporal information, with semantic and perceptual judgments, for which temporal information is irrelevant. In Experiments 4 and 5, task-irrelevant information (perceptual similarity) was manipulated within the recent probes task. We found that interference from past items affected short-term memory (STM) task performance but did not affect performance in semantic or perceptual judgment tasks. Conversely, similarity along a nominally-irrelevant perceptual dimension did not affect the magnitude of interference in STM tasks. Results are consistent with the view that items in STM are represented by noisy codes consisting of multiple dimensions, and that interference occurs when items are similar to each other and thus compete along the dimensions relevant to target selection. PMID:23297049

Escaping the recent past: which stimulus dimensions influence proactive interference?

PubMed

Craig, Kimberly S; Berman, Marc G; Jonides, John; Lustig, Cindy

2013-07-01

Proactive interference occurs when information from the past disrupts current processing and is a major source of confusion and errors in short-term memory (STM; Wickens, Born, & Allen, Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 2:440-445, 1963). The present investigation examines potential boundary conditions for interference, testing the hypothesis that potential competitors must be similar along task-relevant dimensions to influence proactive interference effects. We manipulated both the type of task being completed (Experiments 1, 2, and 3) and dimensions of similarity irrelevant to the current task (Experiments 4 and 5) to determine how the recent presentation of a probe item would affect the speed with which participants could reject that item. Experiments 1, 2, and 3 contrasted STM judgments, which require temporal information, with semantic and perceptual judgments, for which temporal information is irrelevant. In Experiments 4 and 5, task-irrelevant information (perceptual similarity) was manipulated within the recent probes task. We found that interference from past items affected STM task performance but did not affect performance in semantic or perceptual judgment tasks. Conversely, similarity along a nominally irrelevant perceptual dimension did not affect the magnitude of interference in STM tasks. Results are consistent with the view that items in STM are represented by noisy codes consisting of multiple dimensions and that interference occurs when items are similar to each other and, thus, compete along the dimensions relevant to target selection.

Neural substrates of trait ruminations in depression

PubMed Central

Mandell, Darcy; Siegle, Greg; Shutt, Luann; Feldmiller, Josh; Thase, Michael E.

2014-01-01

Rumination in depression is a risk factor for longer, more intense, and harder-to-treat depressions. But there appear to be multiple types of depressive rumination – whether they all share these vulnerability mechanisms, and thus would benefit from the same types of clinical attention is unclear. In the current study, we examined neural correlates of empirically-derived dimensions of trait rumination in 35 depressed participants. These individuals and 29 never-depressed controls completed 17 self-report measures of rumination and an alternating emotion-processing/executive-control task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) assessment. We examined associations of regions of interest—the amygdala and other cortical regions subserving a potential role in deficient cognitive control and elaborative emotion-processing—with trait rumination. Rumination of all types was generally associated with increased sustained amygdala reactivity. When controlling for amygdala reactivity, distinct activity patterns in hippocampus were also associated with specific dimensions of rumination. We discuss the possibly utility of targeting more basic biological substrates of emotional reactivity in depressed patients who frequently ruminate. PMID:24661157

Family instability and early initiation of sexual activity in Western Kenya.

PubMed

Goldberg, Rachel E

2013-04-01

Epidemiological, economic, and social forces have produced high levels of volatility in family and household structure for young people growing up in sub-Saharan Africa in recent decades. However, scholarship on the family to date has not examined the influence of this family instability on young people's well-being. The current study employs unique life history calendar data from Western Kenya to investigate the relationship between instability in caregiving and early initiation of sexual activity. It draws on a body of work on parental union instability in the United States, and examines new dimensions of family change. Analyses reveal a positive association between transitions in primary caregiver and the likelihood of early sexual debut that is rapidly manifested following caregiver change and persists for a short period. The association is strongest at early ages, and there is a cumulative effect of multiple caregiver changes. The results highlight the importance of studying family stability in sub-Saharan Africa, as distinct from family structure, and for attention to dimensions such as age and recency.

Optimism and well-being: a prospective multi-method and multi-dimensional examination of optimism as a resilience factor following the occurrence of stressful life events.

PubMed

Kleiman, Evan M; Chiara, Alexandra M; Liu, Richard T; Jager-Hyman, Shari G; Choi, Jimmy Y; Alloy, Lauren B

2017-02-01

Optimism has been conceptualised variously as positive expectations (PE) for the future , optimistic attributions , illusion of control , and self-enhancing biases. Relatively little research has examined these multiple dimensions of optimism in relation to psychological and physical health. The current study assessed the multi-dimensional nature of optimism within a prospective vulnerability-stress framework. Initial principal component analyses revealed the following dimensions: PEs, Inferential Style (IS), Sense of Invulnerability (SI), and Overconfidence (O). Prospective follow-up analyses demonstrated that PE was associated with fewer depressive episodes and moderated the effect of stressful life events on depressive symptoms. SI also moderated the effect of life stress on anxiety symptoms. Generally, our findings indicated that optimism is a multifaceted construct and not all forms of optimism have the same effects on well-being. Specifically, our findings indicted that PE may be the most relevant to depression, whereas SI may be the most relevant to anxiety.

Cognitive impairment, the Mini-Mental State Examination and socio-demographic and dental variables in the elderly in Brazil.

PubMed

Miranda, Leonardo de Paula; Silveira, Marise F; Oliveira, Thatiane L; Alves, Sâmia F F; Júnior, Hercílio M; Batista, André U D; Bonan, Paulo R F

2012-06-01

Dementia, a syndrome characterised by multiple cognitive impairments, is an increasing medical and social problem across the world. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is the instrument most often used in the evaluation of cognitive compromise and dementia in elderly individuals. It is noteworthy that there is a scarcity of works in the literature on the dimensions of the MMSE and its relation to dental variables in the elderly. To evaluate the condition of cognitive impairment, the dimensions of the MMSE, and the latter's relation to socio-demographic and dental variables in elderly individuals of Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study, whereby 218 elderly users of the system were evaluated at the Sistema Único de Saúde (Brazilian health service) in Montes Claros. The collection of data involved the realisation of structured interviews and clinical dentistry examinations. The screening of cognitive impairment was carried out with the Portuguese version of MMSE. The data were subjected to descriptive and bivariate analyses. The prevalence of cognitive impairment found was 6.4%. A statistically significant association was observed between cognitive decline and age, marital status and use of dental prostheses. An association was also noted between several dimensions of MMSE and edentulism (time orientation, attention and calculation, and final score) and use of prostheses (except evocation memory and language). It was noticed that those who were 80 years old or more, not married and using prostheses were more likely to manifest cognitive impairment. Associations between some MMSE dimensions were established, including the final score, with edentulism and the use of prostheses. © 2011 The Gerodontology Society and John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Interest in biology. Part I: A multidimensional construct

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gardner, Paul L.; Tamir, Pinchas

Interest in a school subject (e.g., biology) is conceptualized in terms of three components: topics, activities, and motives, each of which has several dimensions. In this study, seven instruments were developed and administered to grade-10 biology students in Israel. Factor analysis provided support for the conceptualization which underlies the development of the instruments. Topic dimensions included biochemical processes, nonhuman organisms, human biology, personal hygiene, and practical applications; the activity dimensions were experiential learning, reception learning, writing/summarizing and group discussion; motives included environmental issues, moral issues, examination success, personal independence, problem solving, and four career dimensions (research, high-status professions, lower-status careers, woodsy-birdsy careers). In an analysis described in Part II of this paper, the students were classified into four groups on the basis of their grade-11 subject enrollment intentions: H (high-level biology), L (low-level biology), P (physical science), and N (no science). Zero-order and multiple correlations were found between interest and other variables and membership/nonmembership of the four groups. Students in Group H were characterized by higher achievement in year-10 biology, higher levels of enjoyment of biology, career orientations towards research or high-status biology-based professions, greater interest in various biology topics, especially reproduction/cell division/genetics, and a greater tendency to regard the Bagrut (grade-12) examination as interesting. Students in Group N displayed lower levels of interest in various topics (especially the microscope, plants, and reproduction), were less motivated to solve problems, had poorer grades in biology (and chemistry), were less likely to perceive biology as useful, were less likely to regard the Bagrut examination as fair, and were less likely to be interested in social modes of learning. There were few associations between interest variables and membership in Groups L or P.

Dimensions of self-leadership: a German replication and extension.

PubMed

Müller, Güonter F

2006-10-01

In a sample of 167 German students three dimensions of self-leadership, i.e., constructive thoughts, natural reward creation, and proactive behavior, were replicated as when scale values of a German self-leadership questionnaire were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis very satisfactory fit-indices were obtained. In addition, dimensions of self-leadership correlated with entrepreneurial trait disposition (multiple R=0.46, p < .01), and entrepreneurial job orientation (multiple R=0.23, p < .05). Conclusions for further research and practical applications are discussed.

Fractal dimension based damage identification incorporating multi-task sparse Bayesian learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Yong; Li, Hui; Wu, Stephen; Yang, Yongchao

2018-07-01

Sensitivity to damage and robustness to noise are critical requirements for the effectiveness of structural damage detection. In this study, a two-stage damage identification method based on the fractal dimension analysis and multi-task Bayesian learning is presented. The Higuchi’s fractal dimension (HFD) based damage index is first proposed, directly examining the time-frequency characteristic of local free vibration data of structures based on the irregularity sensitivity and noise robustness analysis of HFD. Katz’s fractal dimension is then presented to analyze the abrupt irregularity change of the spatial curve of the displacement mode shape along the structure. At the second stage, the multi-task sparse Bayesian learning technique is employed to infer the final damage localization vector, which borrow the dependent strength of the two fractal dimension based damage indication information and also incorporate the prior knowledge that structural damage occurs at a limited number of locations in a structure in the absence of its collapse. To validate the capability of the proposed method, a steel beam and a bridge, named Yonghe Bridge, are analyzed as illustrative examples. The damage identification results demonstrate that the proposed method is capable of localizing single and multiple damages regardless of its severity, and show superior robustness under heavy noise as well.

Association between types of involvement in school bullying and different dimensions of anxiety symptoms and the moderating effects of age and gender in Taiwanese adolescents.

PubMed

Yen, Cheng-Fang; Huang, Mei-Feng; Kim, Young Shin; Wang, Peng-Wei; Tang, Tze-Chun; Yeh, Yi-Chun; Lin, Huang-Chi; Liu, Tai-Ling; Wu, Yu-Yu; Yang, Pinchen

2013-04-01

The aims of this cross-sectional study were to examine the associations of various types of school bullying involvement experiences with different dimensions of anxiety symptoms on the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) and to examine the moderating effects of gender and age on the associations in Taiwanese adolescent students aged at 11-18. Involvement in passive and physical bullying and belongings snatch and multiple dimensions of anxiety symptoms in 5537 adolescents were determined through use of the self-reported Chinese version of the School Bullying Experience Questionnaire (C-SBEQ) and the Taiwanese version of the MASC, respectively. The associations between four types of bullying involvement and four dimensions of anxiety symptoms and the moderating effects of gender and age were examined using linear mixed model analysis. The results indicated that except for the non-significant association between victimization by verbal and relational bullying and harm avoidance, both victims of verbal and relational bullying and physical bullying and belongings snatch reported more severe anxiety symptoms on all four dimensions of MASC-T than non-bullied subjects. While the perpetrators of verbal and relational bullying reported more severe physical symptoms and social anxiety than did non-perpetrators of verbal and relational bullying, the perpetrators of physical bullying and belongings snatch reported less harm avoidance, social anxiety and separation/panic than did non-perpetrators of physical bullying and belongings snatch. Perpetrator-victims of verbal and relational bullying showed more physical symptoms than those who were pure victims or perpetrators of verbal and relational bullying. Perpetrator-victims of physical bullying and belongings snatch had more social anxiety than those who were pure victims or perpetrators. This study also found that gender and age had the moderating effect on the association between some forms of bullying involvement and some dimensions of anxiety symptoms. The results of this study support the necessity to apply the multi-dimensional scale to evaluate anxiety symptoms in adolescents who are involved in bullying and to take the different directions of association into consideration when developing prevention and intervention programs. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Resistance exercise improves physical fatigue in women with fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Ericsson, Anna; Palstam, Annie; Larsson, Anette; Löfgren, Monika; Bileviciute-Ljungar, Indre; Bjersing, Jan; Gerdle, Björn; Kosek, Eva; Mannerkorpi, Kaisa

2016-07-30

Fibromyalgia (FM) affects approximately 1-3 % of the general population. Fatigue limits the work ability and social life of patients with FM. A few studies of physical exercise have included measures of fatigue in FM, indicating that exercise can decrease fatigue levels. There is limited knowledge about the effects of resistance exercise on multiple dimensions of fatigue in FM. The present study is a sub-study of a multicenter randomized controlled trial in women with FM. The purpose of the present sub-study was to examine the effects of a person-centered progressive resistance exercise program on multiple dimensions of fatigue in women with FM, and to investigate predictors of the potential change in fatigue. A total of 130 women with FM (age 22-64 years) were included in this assessor-blinded randomized controlled multicenter trial examining the effects of person-centered progressive resistance exercise compared with an active control group. The intervention was performed twice a week for 15 weeks. Outcomes were five dimensions of fatigue measured with the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20). Information about background was collected and the women also completed several health-related questionnaires. Multiple linear stepwise regression was used to analyze predictors of change in fatigue in the total population. A higher improvement was found at the post-treatment examination for change in the resistance exercise group, as compared to change in the active control group in the MFI-20 subscale of physical fatigue (resistance group Δ -1.7, SD 4.3, controls Δ 0.0, SD 2.7, p = 0.013), with an effect size of 0.33. Sleep efficiency was the strongest predictor of change in the MFI-20 subscale general fatigue (beta = -0.54, p = 0.031, R (2) = 0.05). Participating in resistance exercise (beta = 1.90, p = 0.010) and working fewer hours per week (beta = 0.84, p = 0.005) were independent significant predictors of change in physical fatigue (R (2) = 0.14). Person-centered progressive resistance exercise improved physical fatigue in women with FM when compared to an active control group. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01226784 . Registered 21 October 2010.

Disparities at the intersection of marginalized groups

PubMed Central

Jackson, John W.; Williams, David R.; VanderWeele, Tyler J.

2016-01-01

Mental health disparities exist across several dimensions of social inequality, including race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and gender. Most investigations of health disparities focus on one dimension. Recent calls by researchers argue for studying persons who are marginalized in multiple ways, often from the perspective of intersectionality, a theoretical framework applied to qualitative studies in law, sociology, and psychology. Quantitative adaptations are emerging but there is little guidance as to what measures or methods are helpful. Here, we consider the concept of a joint disparity and its composition, show that this approach can illuminate how outcomes are patterned for social groups that are marginalized across multiple axes of social inequality, and compare the insights gained with that of other measures of additive interaction. We apply these methods to a cohort of males from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, examining disparities for black males with low early life SES vs. white males with high early life SES across several outcomes that predict mental health, including unemployment, wages, and incarceration. We report striking disparities in each outcome, but show that the contribution of race, SES, and their intersection varies. PMID:27531592

Disparities at the intersection of marginalized groups.

PubMed

Jackson, John W; Williams, David R; VanderWeele, Tyler J

2016-10-01

Mental health disparities exist across several dimensions of social inequality, including race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and gender. Most investigations of health disparities focus on one dimension. Recent calls by researchers argue for studying persons who are marginalized in multiple ways, often from the perspective of intersectionality, a theoretical framework applied to qualitative studies in law, sociology, and psychology. Quantitative adaptations are emerging but there is little guidance as to what measures or methods are helpful. Here, we consider the concept of a joint disparity and its composition, show that this approach can illuminate how outcomes are patterned for social groups that are marginalized across multiple axes of social inequality, and compare the insights gained with that of other measures of additive interaction. We apply these methods to a cohort of young men from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, examining disparities for black men with low early life SES vs. white men with high early life SES across several outcomes that predict mental health, including unemployment, wages, and incarceration. We report striking disparities in each outcome, but show that the contribution of race, SES, and their intersection varies.

Health care administrators' perspectives on the role of absorptive capacity for strategic change initiatives: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Kash, Bita A; Spaulding, Aaron; Gamm, Larry; Johnson, Christopher E

2013-01-01

The dimensions of absorptive capacity (ACAP) are defined, and the importance of ACAP is established in the management literature, but the concept has not been applied to health care organizations attempting to implement multiple strategic initiatives. The aim of this study was to test the utility of ACAP by analyzing health care administrators' experiences with multiple strategic initiatives within two health systems. Results are drawn from administrators' assessments of multiple initiatives within two health systems using in-depth personal interviews with a total of 61 health care administrators. Data analysis was performed following deductive qualitative analysis guidelines. Interview transcripts were coded based on the four dimensions of ACAP: acquiring, assimilating, internalizing/transforming, and exploiting knowledge. Furthermore, we link results related to utilization of management resources, including number of key personnel involved and time consumption, to dimensions of ACAP. Participants' description of multiple strategic change initiatives confirmed the importance of the four ACAP dimensions. ACAP can be a useful framework to assess organizational capacity with respect to the organization's ability to concurrently implement multiple strategic initiatives. This capacity specifically revolves around human capital requirements from upper management based on the initiatives' location or stage within the ACAP framework. Strategic change initiatives in health care can be usefully viewed from an ACAP perspective. There is a tendency for those strategic initiatives ranking higher in priority and time consumption to reflect more advanced dimensions of ACAP (assimilate and transform), whereas few initiatives were identified in the ACAP "exploit" dimension. This may suggest that health care leaders tend to no longer identify as strategic initiatives those innovations that have moved to the exploitation stage or that less attention is given to the exploitation elements of a strategic initiative than to the earlier stages.

Fear of Fear and Broad Dimensions of Psychopathology over the Course of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia in Japan.

PubMed

Ogawa, S; Kondo, M; Ino, K; Ii, T; Imai, R; Furukawa, T A; Akechi, T

2017-12-01

To examine the relationship of fear of fear and broad dimensions of psychopathology in panic disorder with agoraphobia over the course of cognitive behavioural therapy in Japan. A total of 177 Japanese patients with panic disorder with agoraphobia were treated with group cognitive behavioural therapy between 2001 and 2015. We examined associations between the change scores in Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire or Body Sensations Questionnaire and the changes in subscales of Symptom Checklist-90 Revised during cognitive behavioural therapy controlling the change in panic disorder severity using multiple regression analysis. Reduction in Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire score was related to a decrease in all Symptom Checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90-R) subscale scores. Reduction in Body Sensations Questionnaire score was associated with a decrease in anxiety. Reduction in Panic Disorder Severity Scale score was not related to any SCL-90-R subscale changes. Changes in fear of fear, especially maladaptive cognitions, may predict broad dimensions of psychopathology reductions in patients of panic disorder with agoraphobia over the course of cognitive behavioural therapy. For the sake of improving a broader range of psychiatric symptoms in patients of panic disorder with agoraphobia, more attention to maladaptive cognition changes during cognitive behavioural therapy is warranted.

Assessing the Multiple Dimensions of Engagement to Characterize Learning: A Neurophysiological Perspective

PubMed Central

Charland, Patrick; Léger, Pierre-Majorique; Sénécal, Sylvain; Courtemanche, François; Mercier, Julien; Skelling, Yannick; Labonté-Lemoyne, Elise

2015-01-01

In a recent theoretical synthesis on the concept of engagement, Fredricks, Blumenfeld and Paris1 defined engagement by its multiple dimensions: behavioral, emotional and cognitive. They observed that individual types of engagement had not been studied in conjunction, and little information was available about interactions or synergy between the dimensions; consequently, more studies would contribute to creating finely tuned teaching interventions. Benefiting from the recent technological advances in neurosciences, this paper presents a recently developed methodology to gather and synchronize data on multidimensional engagement during learning tasks. The technique involves the collection of (a) electroencephalography, (b) electrodermal, (c) eye-tracking, and (d) facial emotion recognition data on four different computers. This led to synchronization issues for data collected from multiple sources. Post synchronization in specialized integration software gives researchers a better understanding of the dynamics between the multiple dimensions of engagement. For curriculum developers, these data could provide informed guidelines for achieving better instruction/learning efficiency. This technique also opens up possibilities in the field of brain-computer interactions, where adaptive learning or assessment environments could be developed. PMID:26167712

An experimental study of multiple jet mixing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krothapalli, D.; Baganoff, D.; Karamcheti, K.

1979-01-01

Measurements of an incompressible jet issuing from an array of rectangular lobes, equally spaced with their small dimensions in a line, both as a free jet, and as a confined jet, are carried out in three parts: (1) on a single rectangular free jet, (2) on the same jet in a multiple free jet configuration, and (3) on the same jet in a multiple jet configuration with confining surfaces (two parallel plates are symmetrically placed perpendicular to the long dimension of each lobe covering the entire flow field under consideration). In the case of a single rectangular free jet, the flow field of the jet is characterized by the presence of three distinct regions in the axial mean velocity decay and are referred to as: potential core region, two dimensional type region, and axisymmetric type region. In the case of a multiple free jet, the flow field for downstream distance X greater than 60D (D = width of a lobe) resembles that of a jet exiting from a two dimensional nozzle with its short dimension being the long dimension of the lobe.

Differential associations of early callous-unemotional, oppositional, and ADHD behaviors: multiple domains within early-starting conduct problems?

PubMed

Waller, Rebecca; Hyde, Luke W; Grabell, Adam S; Alves, Martha L; Olson, Sheryl L

2015-06-01

Early-starting child conduct problems (CP) are linked to the development of persistent antisocial behavior. Researchers have theorized multiple pathways to CP and that CP comprise separable domains, marked by callous-unemotional (CU) behavior, oppositional behavior, or ADHD symptoms. However, a lack of empirical evidence exists from studies that have examined whether there are unique correlates of these domains. We examined differential correlates of CU, oppositional, and ADHD behaviors during the preschool years to test their potentially distinct nomological networks. Multimethod data, including parent and teacher reports and observations of child behavior, were drawn from a prospective, longitudinal study of children assessed at age 3 and age 6 (N = 240; 48% female). Dimensions of CU, oppositional, and ADHD behaviors were separable within Confirmatory Factor Analyses across mother and father reports. There were differential associations between CU, oppositional, and ADHD behaviors and socioemotional, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes: CU behavior was uniquely related to lower moral regulation, guilt, and empathy. ADHD was uniquely related to lower attentional focusing and observed effortful control. Finally, CU behavior uniquely predicted increases in teacher-reported externalizing from ages 3-6 over and above covariates, and ADHD and oppositional behavior. Consistent with theory, dimensions of CU, ADHD, and oppositional behavior demonstrated separable nomological networks representing separable facets within early-starting CP. © 2014 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Magnetic positioner having a single moving part

DOEpatents

Trumper, David L.; Kim, Won-Jong

1999-01-01

A magnetic positioner is provided which is capable of providing long travel in two dimension and short travel in the remaining four dimensions. The positioner has a movable stage and a stator oriented adjacent and substantially parallel to this stage. At least three sets of first magnetic elements, which for preferred embodiments are winding sets capable of generating forces in two directions, are on the portion of the stator adjacent to the stage at any given time, and at least two second magnetic elements, which are magnet arrays for the preferred embodiment, are on the stage adjacent to the stator. At least one of the second magnetic elements overlaps multiple first magnetic elements for all positions of the stage relative to the stator, with one magnet overlapping multiple windings for one preferred embodiment of the invention and two magnets on the stage overlapping multiple windings on the stator for a second embodiment. The windings form a linear motor providing forces in both a corresponding long travel dimension and in a dimension perpendicular to both long travel dimensions.

Multiple dimensions of HIV stigma and psychological distress among Asians and Pacific Islanders living with HIV illness.

PubMed

Kang, Ezer; Rapkin, Bruce D; Remien, Robert H; Mellins, Claude Ann; Oh, Alina

2005-06-01

Asians and Pacific Islanders (APIs) living with HIV/AIDS in the US are particularly vulnerable to HIV-related stigma largely due to ingrained socio-cultural norms that strongly associate HIV transmission with activities perceived to be immoral. This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between five HIV-stigma factors and psychological distress among 54 HIV-seropositive APIs. Social Rejection, Negative Self-Worth, Perceived Interpersonal Insecurity, and Financial Security were all significantly associated with psychological distress. Results from hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that Social Rejection, Negative Self-Worth, and Perceived Interpersonal Insecurity significantly predicted psychological distress after control for physical symptoms and country of birth. Undocumented Asians endorsed higher levels of Social Rejection, Negative Self-Worth and Perceived Interpersonal Insecurity than documented APIs. Future studies examining mechanisms of psychological distress among HIV-seropositive APIs are needed.

Development of an Adaptive Learning System with Multiple Perspectives based on Students' Learning Styles and Cognitive Styles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Tzu-Chi; Hwang, Gwo-Jen; Yang, Stephen Jen-Hwa

2013-01-01

In this study, an adaptive learning system is developed by taking multiple dimensions of personalized features into account. A personalized presentation module is proposed for developing adaptive learning systems based on the field dependent/independent cognitive style model and the eight dimensions of Felder-Silverman's learning style. An…

Multiple Counseling in Open and Closed Time-Extended Groups.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chambers, W. M.

The open time-extended group, run by multiple counselors, adds a facilitating dimension to the counseling function--a dimension that exemplifies the concepts of self-growth and self-actualization by first providing the atmosphere for the client and then by allowing him to progress at his own rate and to a depth which he determines. An open group…

Big Five personality and health in adults with and without cancer.

PubMed

Rochefort, Catherine; Hoerger, Michael; Turiano, Nicholas A; Duberstein, Paul

2018-01-01

Personality is associated with health, but examinations in patients with illnesses are lacking. We aimed to determine whether personality-physical health associations differed between community and cancer samples. This cross-sectional study involved 168 participants without cancer, 212 men with prostate cancer, and 55 women with breast cancer. We examined whether the Big Five personality dimensions were associated with health behaviors and multiple health indicators. Higher conscientiousness and lower neuroticism were associated with better health behaviors and health ( r max  = .31), with few differences between community and cancer samples. Findings call for research on the implications of personality in patients with serious illnesses.

The impact of managers' perceptions of learning organizations on innovation in healthcare: sample of Turkey.

PubMed

Ugurluoglu, Ozgur; Ugurluoglu Aldogan, Ece; Dilmac, Elife

2013-01-01

Organizational learning is the process of increasing effective organizational activities through knowledge and understanding. Innovation is the creation of any product, service or process, which is new to a business unit. Significant amount of research on organizational learning place a central meaning on the fact that there is a positive relationship between organizational learning and innovation. Both organizational learning and innovation are essential for organizations to prepare for change. The aim of this study is to determine to what extent the identified learning organization dimensions are associated with innovation. The study used a quantitative non-experimental design employing statistical analysis via multiple regression and correlation methods to identify the relationships between the variables examined. Because the research was conducted in a non-experimental way, learning organization dimensions are referred to as predictor variables, and innovation is referred to as the criterion variable. Watkins and Marsick's Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire was used in the study. Questionnaires were distributed to 498 hospital managers and, 243 valid responses were used in this study. Therefore, 243 hospital managers working at 250 Ministry of Health (public) hospitals across Turkey participated in the study. Results demonstrate that there are significant and positive correlations between learning organization dimensions and innovation. Intercorrelations between learning organization dimensions and correlations between learning organization dimensions and innovation were average and high, respectively. Results further indicate that the dimensions of the learning organizations explained 66.5% of the variance for the innovation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Structural invariance of multiple intelligences, based on the level of execution.

PubMed

Almeida, Leandro S; Prieto, María Dolores; Ferreira, Arístides; Ferrando, Mercedes; Ferrandiz, Carmen; Bermejo, Rosario; Hernández, Daniel

2011-11-01

The independence of multiple intelligences (MI) of Gardner's theory has been debated since its conception. This article examines whether the one- factor structure of the MI theory tested in previous studies is invariant for low and high ability students. Two hundred ninety-four children (aged 5 to 7) participated in this study. A set of Gardner's Multiple Intelligence assessment tasks based on the Spectrum Project was used. To analyze the invariance of a general dimension of intelligence, the different models of behaviours were studied in samples of participants with different performance on the Spectrum Project tasks with Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MGCFA). Results suggest an absence of structural invariance in Gardner's tasks. Exploratory analyses suggest a three-factor structure for individuals with higher performance levels and a two-factor structure for individuals with lower performance levels.

New directions in biomedical text annotation: definitions, guidelines and corpus construction

PubMed Central

Wilbur, W John; Rzhetsky, Andrey; Shatkay, Hagit

2006-01-01

Background While biomedical text mining is emerging as an important research area, practical results have proven difficult to achieve. We believe that an important first step towards more accurate text-mining lies in the ability to identify and characterize text that satisfies various types of information needs. We report here the results of our inquiry into properties of scientific text that have sufficient generality to transcend the confines of a narrow subject area, while supporting practical mining of text for factual information. Our ultimate goal is to annotate a significant corpus of biomedical text and train machine learning methods to automatically categorize such text along certain dimensions that we have defined. Results We have identified five qualitative dimensions that we believe characterize a broad range of scientific sentences, and are therefore useful for supporting a general approach to text-mining: focus, polarity, certainty, evidence, and directionality. We define these dimensions and describe the guidelines we have developed for annotating text with regard to them. To examine the effectiveness of the guidelines, twelve annotators independently annotated the same set of 101 sentences that were randomly selected from current biomedical periodicals. Analysis of these annotations shows 70–80% inter-annotator agreement, suggesting that our guidelines indeed present a well-defined, executable and reproducible task. Conclusion We present our guidelines defining a text annotation task, along with annotation results from multiple independently produced annotations, demonstrating the feasibility of the task. The annotation of a very large corpus of documents along these guidelines is currently ongoing. These annotations form the basis for the categorization of text along multiple dimensions, to support viable text mining for experimental results, methodology statements, and other forms of information. We are currently developing machine learning methods, to be trained and tested on the annotated corpus, that would allow for the automatic categorization of biomedical text along the general dimensions that we have presented. The guidelines in full detail, along with annotated examples, are publicly available. PMID:16867190

Nepalese undergraduate nursing students' perceptions of the clinical learning environment, supervision and nurse teachers: A questionnaire survey.

PubMed

Nepal, Bijeta; Taketomi, Kikuko; Ito, Yoichi M; Kohanawa, Masashi; Kawabata, Hidenobu; Tanaka, Michiko; Otaki, Junji

2016-04-01

Clinical practice enables nursing students to acquire essential professional skills, but little is known about nursing students' perceptions of the clinical learning environment (CLE) in Nepal. To examine Nepalese nursing students' perceptions regarding the CLE and supervision. A cross-sectional questionnaire design was used. Government and private hospitals in Nepal where the undergraduate nursing college students undertook their clinical practice. Students with clinical practice experience were recruited from years 2-4 of the B.Sc. nursing program in Nepal (n=350). The final sample comprised 263 students. A self-administered questionnaire including demographic characteristics, latest clinical practice site, and general satisfaction was administered February-March 2014. The previously validated Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher evaluation scale was used in the questionnaire. The analytical approach used exploratory factor analysis, assessments of the scale and sub-dimension reliability, correlations of factors between scale sub-dimensions, and multiple regression analysis. Students' practicum satisfaction level at government hospitals was significantly higher than those at private hospitals (p<0.0001). Five factors explained 85.7% of the variance, with minor factorial structure differences compared with the original scale. Reliability was confirmed (Cronbach's alpha=0.93 for total scale, 0.76-0.92 for sub-dimensions). Inter-correlations between the five original sub-dimensions were 0.27-0.68 (p<0.0001). Students undertaking their practicum in private hospitals evaluated their clinical placements significantly more negatively on most sub-dimensions than those in government hospitals. Multiple regression analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between satisfaction and pedagogical atmosphere (p<0.0001). This is the first study to investigate nursing students' perceptions of the CLE in undergraduate nursing programs in Nepal. Students were satisfied with the CLE overall, but satisfaction varied by practicum hospital sector. The most influential factor explaining satisfaction was pedagogical atmosphere. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reduced P50 suppression is associated with the cognitive disorganisation dimension of schizotypy.

PubMed

Evans, Lisa H; Gray, Nicola S; Snowden, Robert J

2007-12-01

Individuals with schizophrenia fail to demonstrate a reduction in the P50 event-related potential (ERP) to the second of two identical auditory stimuli presented in close succession. This deficit could lead to sensory overload, cognitive disintegration and perhaps some of the symptoms of schizophrenia. However, evidence linking poor P50 suppression to symptoms in patients with schizophrenia has been equivocal; possibly because of the effects of smoking status and antipsychotic medication on both of these variables. The aim of this study was to remove these potentially confounding factors by testing 74 healthy non-smoking participants and assessing the relationship between P50 suppression and dimensions of schizotypy. Multiple regression analyses revealed that individuals scoring highly on the cognitive disorganisation dimension of schizotypy had reduced P50 suppression and a smaller amplitude of response to the first stimulus. No robust associations were found between any P50 variables and the positive or negative dimensions of schizotypy. N100 suppression was also examined using the dual click paradigm but no relationships were found with any of the schizotypy dimensions. Thus individuals high in the cognitive disorganisation dimension of schizotypy have a deficit in inhibiting repetitive information at an early pre-attentive stage of processing, as measured by the P50 ERP, but this did not extend to a later early attentive stage, as reflected by the N100 wave. This research supports the view that there is a link between poor P50 suppression and certain symptom clusters in schizophrenia.

Differentially-dimensioned furrow formation by zygotic gene expression and the MBT

PubMed Central

Xie, Yi

2018-01-01

Despite extensive work on the mechanisms that generate plasma membrane furrows, understanding how cells are able to dynamically regulate furrow dimensions is an unresolved question. Here, we present an in-depth characterization of furrow behaviors and their regulation in vivo during early Drosophila morphogenesis. We show that the deepening in furrow dimensions with successive nuclear cycles is largely due to the introduction of a new, rapid ingression phase (Ingression II). Blocking the midblastula transition (MBT) by suppressing zygotic transcription through pharmacological or genetic means causes the absence of Ingression II, and consequently reduces furrow dimensions. The analysis of compound chromosomes that produce chromosomal aneuploidies suggests that multiple loci on the X, II, and III chromosomes contribute to the production of differentially-dimensioned furrows, and we track the X-chromosomal contribution to furrow lengthening to the nullo gene product. We further show that checkpoint proteins are required for furrow lengthening; however, mitotic phases of the cell cycle are not strictly deterministic for furrow dimensions, as a decoupling of mitotic phases with periods of active ingression occurs as syncytial furrow cycles progress. Finally, we examined the turnover of maternal gene products and find that this is a minor contributor to the developmental regulation of furrow morphologies. Our results suggest that cellularization dynamics during cycle 14 are a continuation of dynamics established during the syncytial cycles and provide a more nuanced view of developmental- and MBT-driven morphogenesis. PMID:29337989

How the Process of the CSR Activities Works on Private Hospitals and Pharmaceutical Firms: Multiple Case Study from Strategic Perspective.

PubMed

Yıldırım, Mustafa; Dinçer, Mustafa Abdül Metin

2018-06-23

The phenomenon of corporate social responsibility "CSR" has stimulated lots of debates and disagreement among the business scholars. One of the most howling sounds comes from strategy and CSR thinkers. Strategic thinkers of this debate believe that CSR is not only an accountability action but also it is countability action. Due to this countability action heavily based on profit, the scholar of strategy field stated that strategic thinking lens should revise the phenomenon of CSR and the result of its activities. To this end in this study, we examine the CSR activities, especially philanthropy activities (sports, art sponsorships, etc.) from strategy perspectives. And the question of this study is "How the process of the CSR activities work on private hospitals and pharmaceutical firms?" In this framework, private hospitals, pharmaceutical firms in Turkey, and their CSR activity and global compact reports are used as the cases of the study. We make qualitative content analysis, and the documents in this study are analyzed with qualitative analysis software (MAXQDA). The results which were obtained from the analysis are considered important by the researchers since it is shown in this multiple case study that private hospitals and pharmaceutical firms have to focus on some specific points in their social responsibility activities to get competitive superiority for themselves and gain profit in the long term. While the CSR orientation of the private hospitals concentrates on sports dimension, the direction of pharmaceutical firms is on education dimension. In both fields, the cases construct their CSR activities on these two dimensions or relate their other CSR activities with these dimensions.

Relationship of neuromotor disturbances to psychosis symptoms in first-episode neuroleptic-naive schizophrenia patients.

PubMed

Cortese, Leonardo; Caligiuri, Michael P; Malla, Ashok K; Manchanda, Rahul; Takhar, Jatinder; Haricharan, Raj

2005-06-01

From the very inception of the modern diagnostic scheme for psychotic disorders, abnormalities in motor function have been observed in these conditions. Despite convergence from multiple areas of research supporting the notion that multiple frontal-subcortical circuits regulate motor and limbic behavior, the precise relationship between motor abnormalities and psychopathology has not been elucidated. The goals of this study were to examine the prevalence of extrapyramidal signs (EPS) in first-episode schizophrenia patients and their relationships to three psychopathological dimensions (positive psychosis syndrome, negative syndrome, and disorganization). We assessed EPS using traditional observer-based as well as quantitative instrumental measures in 39 neuroleptic-naive first-episode schizophrenia subjects. Subjects were followed for 6 months after initiating antipsychotic treatment to examine the stability of motor-limbic relationships. Four main findings emerged from this study. First, depending on the measure used the prevalence of dyskinesia prior to treatment ranged from 13% to 20%. The prevalence of parkinsonism ranged from 18% to 28%. Second, severity of dyskinesia was associated with the positive psychotic syndrome; whereas parkinsonism was associated with the positive psychosis, negative syndrome and disorganization. Third, psychopathology improved significantly across all symptom dimensions following antipsychotic treatment, while EPS remained stable. This suggests that some motor abnormalities in schizophrenia may reflect trait characteristics. Fourth, abnormalities on the pre-treatment instrumental measure of parkinsonism predicted greater improvement on positive psychosis symptoms following treatment (p=0.008). Our findings support the notion that neuromotor disturbances may be a core feature of schizophrenia in a substantial proportion of patients and implicate multiple fronto-striatal circuits regulating limbic and neuromotor behavior in schizophrenia.

English Language Learning: Diverse Federal and State Efforts to Support Adult English Language Learning Could Benefit from More Coordination. Report to the Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Children and Families, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, U.S. Senate. GAO-09-575

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ashby, Cornelia M.

2009-01-01

Millions of adults in the U.S. report that they speak limited English, and English language ability appears linked to multiple dimensions of adult life, such as civic participation and workforce participation and mobility. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined: (1) the trends in the need for and enrollment in federally funded…

Necessary Contributions of Human Frontal Lobe Subregions to Reward Learning in a Dynamic, Multidimensional Environment.

PubMed

Vaidya, Avinash R; Fellows, Lesley K

2016-09-21

Real-world decisions are typically made between options that vary along multiple dimensions, requiring prioritization of the important dimensions to support optimal choice. Learning in this setting depends on attributing decision outcomes to the dimensions with predictive relevance rather than to dimensions that are irrelevant and nonpredictive. This attribution problem is computationally challenging, and likely requires an interplay between selective attention and reward learning. Both these processes have been separately linked to the prefrontal cortex, but little is known about how they combine to support learning the reward value of multidimensional stimuli. Here, we examined the necessary contributions of frontal lobe subregions in attributing feedback to relevant and irrelevant dimensions on a trial-by-trial basis in humans. Patients with focal frontal lobe damage completed a demanding reward learning task where options varied on three dimensions, only one of which predicted reward. Participants with left lateral frontal lobe damage attributed rewards to irrelevant dimensions, rather than the relevant dimension. Damage to the ventromedial frontal lobe also impaired learning about the relevant dimension, but did not increase reward attribution to irrelevant dimensions. The results argue for distinct roles for these two regions in learning the value of multidimensional decision options under dynamic conditions, with the lateral frontal lobe required for selecting the relevant dimension to associate with reward, and the ventromedial frontal lobe required to learn the reward association itself. The real world is complex and multidimensional; how do we attribute rewards to predictive features when surrounded by competing cues? Here, we tested the critical involvement of human frontal lobe subregions in a probabilistic, multidimensional learning environment, asking whether focal lesions affected trial-by-trial attribution of feedback to relevant and irrelevant dimensions. The left lateral frontal lobe was required for filtering option dimensions to allow appropriate feedback attribution, while the ventromedial frontal lobe was necessary for learning the value of features in the relevant dimension. These findings argue that selective attention and associative learning processes mediated by anatomically distinct frontal lobe subregions are both critical for adaptive choice in more complex, ecologically valid settings. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/369843-16$15.00/0.

Nursing Scholars, Writing Dimensions, and Productivity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Megel, Mary Erickson

1987-01-01

A study to describe cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions associated with writing among doctorally prepared nurses and to determine relationships between writing dimensions and journal article publication is discussed. Multiple regression analysis showed that five variables accounted for 18 percent of the variance in research article…

Enhanced protective role in materials with gradient structural orientations: Lessons from Nature.

PubMed

Liu, Zengqian; Zhu, Yankun; Jiao, Da; Weng, Zhaoyong; Zhang, Zhefeng; Ritchie, Robert O

2016-10-15

Living organisms are adept at resisting contact deformation and damage by assembling protective surfaces with spatially varied mechanical properties, i.e., by creating functionally graded materials. Such gradients, together with multiple length-scale hierarchical structures, represent the two prime characteristics of many biological materials to be translated into engineering design. Here, we examine one design motif from a variety of biological tissues and materials where site-specific mechanical properties are generated for enhanced protection by adopting gradients in structural orientation over multiple length-scales, without manipulation of composition or microstructural dimension. Quantitative correlations are established between the structural orientations and local mechanical properties, such as stiffness, strength and fracture resistance; based on such gradients, the underlying mechanisms for the enhanced protective role of these materials are clarified. Theoretical analysis is presented and corroborated through numerical simulations of the indentation behavior of composites with distinct orientations. The design strategy of such bioinspired gradients is outlined in terms of the geometry of constituents. This study may offer a feasible approach towards generating functionally graded mechanical properties in synthetic materials for improved contact damage resistance. Living organisms are adept at resisting contact damage by assembling protective surfaces with spatially varied mechanical properties, i.e., by creating functionally-graded materials. Such gradients, together with multiple length-scale hierarchical structures, represent the prime characteristics of many biological materials. Here, we examine one design motif from a variety of biological tissues where site-specific mechanical properties are generated for enhanced protection by adopting gradients in structural orientation at multiple length-scales, without changes in composition or microstructural dimension. The design strategy of such bioinspired gradients is outlined in terms of the geometry of constituents. This study may offer a feasible approach towards generating functionally-graded mechanical properties in synthetic materials for improved damage resistance. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Multiple Dimensions to the Application for the Effectiveness of Team Building in ROTC

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Yin-Che; Chen, Yun-Chi; Tsao, Ya-Lun

2009-01-01

Team building has been given increasing attention and applied in diverse disciplines in recent years. The purpose of this study was to determine the multiple dimensions to the application for the effectiveness of team building in the military units such as ROTC since not many existing literature has investigated this in such an expectedly high…

Listening, Watching, and Reading: The Structure and Correlates of Entertainment Preferences

PubMed Central

Rentfrow, Peter J.; Goldberg, Lewis R.; Zilca, Ran

2010-01-01

People spend considerable amounts of time and money listening to music, watching TV and movies, and reading books and magazines, yet almost no attention in psychology has been devoted to understanding individual differences in preferences for such entertainment. The present research was designed to examine the structure and correlates of entertainment genre preferences. Analyses of the genre preferences of over 3,000 individuals revealed a remarkably clear factor structure. Using multiple samples, methods, and geographic regions, data converged to reveal five entertainment-preference dimensions: Communal, Aesthetic, Dark, Thrilling, and Cerebral. Preferences for these entertainment dimensions were uniquely related to demographics and personality traits. Results also indicated that personality accounted for significant proportions of variance in entertainment preferences over and above demographics. The results provide a foundation for developing and testing hypotheses about the psychology of entertainment preferences. PMID:20649744

A Comparison of Accuracy of Matrix Impression System with Putty Reline Technique and Multiple Mix Technique: An In Vitro Study

PubMed Central

Kumar, M Praveen; Patil, Suneel G; Dheeraj, Bhandari; Reddy, Keshav; Goel, Dinker; Krishna, Gopi

2015-01-01

Background: The difficulty in obtaining an acceptable impression increases exponentially as the number of abutments increases. Accuracy of the impression material and the use of a suitable impression technique are of utmost importance in the fabrication of a fixed partial denture. This study compared the accuracy of the matrix impression system with conventional putty reline and multiple mix technique for individual dies by comparing the inter-abutment distance in the casts obtained from the impressions. Materials and Methods: Three groups, 10 impressions each with three impression techniques (matrix impression system, putty reline technique and multiple mix technique) were made of a master die. Typodont teeth were embedded in a maxillary frasaco model base. The left first premolar was removed to create a three-unit fixed partial denture situation and the left canine and second premolar were prepared conservatively, and hatch marks were made on the abutment teeth. The final casts obtained from the impressions were examined under a profile projector and the inter-abutment distance was calculated for all the casts and compared. Results: The results from this study showed that in the mesiodistal dimensions the percentage deviation from master model in Group I was 0.1 and 0.2, in Group II was 0.9 and 0.3, and Group III was 1.6 and 1.5, respectively. In the labio-palatal dimensions the percentage deviation from master model in Group I was 0.01 and 0.4, Group II was 1.9 and 1.3, and Group III was 2.2 and 2.0, respectively. In the cervico-incisal dimensions the percentage deviation from the master model in Group I was 1.1 and 0.2, Group II was 3.9 and 1.7, and Group III was 1.9 and 3.0, respectively. In the inter-abutment dimension of dies, percentage deviation from master model in Group I was 0.1, Group II was 0.6, and Group III was 1.0. Conclusion: The matrix impression system showed more accuracy of reproduction for individual dies when compared with putty reline technique and multiple mix technique in all the three directions, as well as the inter-abutment distance. PMID:26124599

Work related stress and blood glucose levels.

PubMed

Sancini, A; Ricci, S; Tomei, F; Sacco, C; Pacchiarotti, A; Nardone, N; Ricci, P; Suppi, A; De Cesare, D P; Anzelmo, V; Giubilati, R; Pimpinella, B; Rosati, M V; Tomei, G

2017-01-01

The aim of the study is to evaluate work-related subjective stress in a group of workers on a major Italian company in the field of healthcare through the administration of a valid "questionnaire-tool indicator" (HSE Indicator Tool), and to analyze any correlation between stress levels taken from questionnaire scores and blood glucose values. We studied a final sample consisting of 241 subjects with different tasks. The HSE questionnaire - made up of 35 items (divided into 7 organizational dimensions) with 5 possible answers - has been distributed to all the subjects in occasion of the health surveillance examinations provided by law. The questionnaire was then analyzed using its specific software to process the results related to the 7 dimensions. These results were compared using the Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression with the blood glucose values obtained from each subject. From the analysis of the data the following areas resulted critical, in other words linked to an intermediate (yellow area) or high (red area) condition of stress: sustain from managers, sustain from colleagues, quality of relationships and professional changes. A significant positive correlation (p <0.05) between the mean values of all critical areas and the concentrations of glucose values have been highlighted with the correlation index of Pearson. Multiple linear regression confirmed these findings, showing that the critical dimensions resulting from the questionnaire were the significant variables that can increase the levels of blood glucose. The preliminary results indicate that perceived work stress can be statistically associated with increased levels of blood glucose.

Family Instability and Early Initiation of Sexual Activity in Western Kenya

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Epidemiological, economic, and social forces have produced high levels of volatility in family and household structure for young people growing up in sub-Saharan Africa in recent decades. However, scholarship on the family to date has not examined the influence of this family instability on young people’s well-being. The current study employs unique life history calendar data from Western Kenya to investigate the relationship between instability in caregiving and early initiation of sexual activity. It draws on a body of work on parental union instability in the United States, and examines new dimensions of family change. Analyses reveal a positive association between transitions in primary caregiver and the likelihood of early sexual debut that is rapidly manifested following caregiver change and persists for a short period. The association is strongest at early ages, and there is a cumulative effect of multiple caregiver changes. The results highlight the importance of studying family stability in sub-Saharan Africa, as distinct from family structure, and for attention to dimensions such as age and recency. PMID:23055236

Optimism and well-being: A prospective multi-method and multi-dimensional examination of optimism as a resilience factor following the occurrence of stressful life events

PubMed Central

Kleiman, Evan M.; Chiara, Alexandra M.; Liu, Richard T.; Jager-Hyman, Shari G.; Choi, Jimmy Y.; Alloy, Lauren B.

2016-01-01

Optimism has been conceptualized variously as positive expectations for the future (Scheier & Carver, 1985), optimistic attributions (Peterson & Seligman, 1984), illusion of control (Alloy & Abramson, 1979), and self-enhancing biases (Weinstein, 1980). Relatively little research has examined these multiple dimensions of optimism in relation to psychological and physical health. The current study assessed the multidimensional nature of optimism within a prospective vulnerability-stress framework. Initial principal component analyses revealed the following dimensions: Positive Expectations (PE), Inferential Style (IS), Sense of Invulnerability (SI), and Overconfidence (O). Prospective follow-up analyses demonstrated that PE was associated with fewer depressive episodes and moderated the effect of stressful life events on depressive symptoms. SI also moderated the effect of life stress on anxiety symptoms. Generally, our findings indicated that optimism is a multifaceted construct and not all forms of optimism have the same effects on well-being. Specifically, our findings indicted that PE may be the most relevant to depression, whereas SI may be the most relevant to anxiety. PMID:26558316

The SYMLOG Dimensions and Small Group Conflict.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wall, Victor D., Jr.; Galanes, Gloria J.

1986-01-01

Explores the potential usefulness of R.F. Bales' systematic method for the multiple level observation of groups (SYMLOG) by testing the predictive capability of the three SYMLOG dimensions and the amount of member dispersion on each dimension with the amounts of conflict, reported satisfaction, styles of conflict management, and quality of…

Effects of Verb Familiarity on Finiteness Marking in Children with SLI

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abel, Alyson D.

2012-01-01

Children must acquire multiple language dimensions to ultimately achieve adult levels of language competence. Two such language dimensions, finiteness marking and the verb lexicon, are considered areas of weakness in specific language impairment (SLI). Given these weaknesses, the question arises of whether these two dimensions are related in…

Dimensions of Sexual Orientation and the Prevalence of Mood and Anxiety Disorders in the United States

PubMed Central

Boyd, Carol J.; Hughes, Tonda L.; McCabe, Sean Esteban

2010-01-01

Objectives. We used data from a nationally representative sample to examine the associations among 3 dimensions of sexual orientation (identity, attraction, and behavior), lifetime and past-year mood and anxiety disorders, and sex. Methods. We analyzed data from wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Results. Mental health outcomes differed by sex, dimension of sexual orientation, and sexual minority group. Whereas a lesbian, gay, or bisexual identity was associated with higher odds of any mood or anxiety disorder for both men and women, women reporting only same-sex sexual partners in their lifetime had the lowest rates of most disorders. Higher odds of any lifetime mood or anxiety disorder were more consistent and pronounced among sexual minority men than among sexual minority women. Finally, bisexual behavior conferred the highest odds of any mood or anxiety disorder for both males and females. Conclusions. Findings point to mental health disparities among some, but not all, sexual minority groups and emphasize the importance of including multiple measures of sexual orientation in population-based health studies. PMID:19696380

Early Health Shocks, Intra-household Resource Allocation and Child Outcomes*

PubMed Central

Yi, Junjian; Heckman, James J.; Zhang, Junsen; Conti, Gabriella

2016-01-01

An open question in the literature is whether families compensate or reinforce the impact of child health shocks. Discussions usually focus on one dimension of child investment. This paper examines multiple dimensions using household survey data on Chinese child twins whose average age is 11. We find that, compared with a twin sibling who did not suffer from negative early health shocks at ages 0–3, the other twin sibling who did suffer negative health shocks received RMB 305 more in terms of health investments, but received RMB 182 less in terms of educational investments in the 12 months prior to the survey. In terms of financial transfers over all dimensions of investment, the family acts as a net equalizer in response to early health shocks for children. We estimate a human capital production function and establish that, for this sample, early health shocks negatively affect child human capital, including health, education, and socioemotional skills. Compensating investments in health as measured by BMI reduce the adverse effects of health shocks by 50%, but exacerbate the adverse impact of shocks on educational attainment by 30%. PMID:27019517

Cross-cultural relationships between self-concept and body image in high school-age boys.

PubMed

Austin, J K; Champion, V L; Tzeng, O C

1989-08-01

The relationship between self-concept and body image was investigated through a secondary analysis of data from a sample of 1,200 high school male students from 30 language/culture communities (Osgood, May, & Myron, 1975). Subjects rated adjectives pertaining to self-concept and body image using 7-step semantic differential bipolar scales. Adjectives were related to the dimensions of Evaluation, Potency, and Activity. Correlation, factor analysis, and multiple regression were utilized to examine multivariate relationships among self-concept dimensions and body-image dimensions. Significant positive correlations were found between self-concept and body image. In addition, significant positive relationships were found when self-concept factors were regressed on the body-image factor (R2 = .49 to .57, p less than or equal to .001) for Activity and Potency. Results support the existence of a strong positive relationship between self-concept and body image across the 30 cultures involved. Findings have important implications for nursing in assessment and interventions with clients who have deficits in either self-concept or body image.

Substance Use, Distress, and Adolescent School Networks

PubMed Central

McLeod, Jane D.; Uemura, Ryotaro

2012-01-01

This study examined the associations of substance use, psychological distress, and mental health services receipt with the structure and content of adolescent school-based networks. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we found that substance use was associated with receiving more, but making fewer, peer nominations. It also was associated with less favorable network characteristics, such as low GPA. Services receipt was associated with receiving and making fewer nominations, less favorable network characteristics, and a lower likelihood of reciprocated best friendships. Psychological distress had fewer significant associations. All associations were modest in magnitude. Our results suggest the importance of considering multiple indicators of socioemotional problems and multiple dimensions of social networks in research on adolescent peer relations. PMID:23066337

Self-harm in adolescence: protective health assets in the family, school and community.

PubMed

Klemera, Ellen; Brooks, Fiona M; Chester, Kayleigh L; Magnusson, Josefine; Spencer, Neil

2017-07-01

The aim of this paper was to examine if the multiple environments of the adolescent including family, peers, school and neighbourhood might function as protective health assets against self-harming behaviour during adolescence. The present study utilised data collected from 1608 respondents aged 15 years as part of the England WHO Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Study. Multilevel modelling was undertaken using the package MLwiN (version 2.33) to investigate the potential domains and dimensions of family life, school culture and environment, and neighbourhood factors that may operate as protective health assets. The results indicated that while peer support did not appear to operate as a protective health asset in the context of self-harm, key dimensions of adolescent/parent interaction and adolescent experience of the school culture and their neighbourhood were associated with reduced likelihood of self-harming behaviours during adolescence. The Findings highlight the significance of belonging and connectedness as important constituent elements of protective health assets for young people. Interventions that address the multiple environments of the young person, may offer an effective means to reduce the levels of self-harm.

Hospital outpatient perceptions of the physical environment of waiting areas: the role of patient characteristics on atmospherics in one academic medical center.

PubMed

Tsai, Chun-Yen; Wang, Mu-Chia; Liao, Wei-Tsen; Lu, Jui-Heng; Sun, Pi-Hung; Lin, Blossom Yen-Ju; Breen, Gerald-Mark

2007-12-05

This study examines hospital outpatient perceptions of the physical environment of the outpatient waiting areas in one medical center. The relationship of patient characteristics and their perceptions and needs for the outpatient waiting areas are also examined. The examined medical center consists of five main buildings which house seventeen primary waiting areas for the outpatient clinics of nine medical specialties: 1) Internal Medicine; 2) Surgery; 3) Ophthalmology; 4) Obstetrics-Gynecology and Pediatrics; 5) Chinese Medicine; 6) Otolaryngology; 7) Orthopedics; 8) Family Medicine; and 9) Dermatology. A 15-item structured questionnaire was developed to rate patient satisfaction covering the four dimensions of the physical environments of the outpatient waiting areas: 1) visual environment; 2) hearing environment; 3) body contact environment; and 4) cleanliness. The survey was conducted between November 28, 2005 and December 8, 2005. A total of 680 outpatients responded. Descriptive, univariate, and multiple regression analyses were applied in this study. All of the 15 items were ranked as relatively high with a range from 3.362 to 4.010, with a neutral score of 3. Using a principal component analysis' summated scores of four constructed dimensions of patient satisfaction with the physical environments (i.e. visual environment, hearing environment, body contact environment, and cleanliness), multiple regression analyses revealed that patient satisfaction with the physical environment of outpatient waiting areas was associated with gender, age, visiting frequency, and visiting time. Patients' socio-demographics and context backgrounds demonstrated to have effects on their satisfaction with the physical environment of outpatient waiting areas. In addition to noticing the overall rankings for less satisfactory items, what should receive further attention is the consideration of the patients' personal characteristics when redesigning more comfortable and customized physical environments of waiting areas.

The stress-buffering effects of hope on changes in adjustment to caregiving in multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Madan, Sindia; Pakenham, Kenneth I

2015-09-01

This study examined the direct and stress-buffering effects of global hope and its components (agency and pathways) on changes in adjustment to multiple sclerosis caregiving over 12 months. A total of 140 carers and their care-recipients completed questionnaires at Time 1 and 12 months later, Time 2. Focal predictors were stress, hope, agency and pathways, and the adjustment outcomes were anxiety, depression, positive affect, positive states of mind and life satisfaction. Results showed that as predicted, greater hope was associated with better adjustment after controlling for the effects of initial adjustment and caregiving and care-recipient illness variables. No stress-buffering effects of hope emerged. Regarding hope components, only the agency dimension emerged as a significant predictor of adjustment. Findings highlight hope as an important protective resource for coping with multiple sclerosis caregiving and underscore the role of agency thinking in this process. © The Author(s) 2013.

Categorizing by Social Dimensions: A Developmental Basis for Stereotyping?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doyle, Anna-Beth; And Others

The use by 254 Canadian children of the dimensions of gender, language/ethnicity, and body type as bases of categorization was examined. A developmental approach was taken to see whether a sequence exists in the relative predominance of these dimensions; to examine the relation between the salience of these dimensions and cognitive developmental…

Global priorities for conservation across multiple dimensions of mammalian diversity

PubMed Central

Graham, Catherine H.; Costa, Gabriel C.; Hedges, S. Blair; Penone, Caterina; Radeloff, Volker C.; Rondinini, Carlo; Davidson, Ana D.

2017-01-01

Conservation priorities that are based on species distribution, endemism, and vulnerability may underrepresent biologically unique species as well as their functional roles and evolutionary histories. To ensure that priorities are biologically comprehensive, multiple dimensions of diversity must be considered. Further, understanding how the different dimensions relate to one another spatially is important for conservation prioritization, but the relationship remains poorly understood. Here, we use spatial conservation planning to (i) identify and compare priority regions for global mammal conservation across three key dimensions of biodiversity—taxonomic, phylogenetic, and traits—and (ii) determine the overlap of these regions with the locations of threatened species and existing protected areas. We show that priority areas for mammal conservation exhibit low overlap across the three dimensions, highlighting the need for an integrative approach for biodiversity conservation. Additionally, currently protected areas poorly represent the three dimensions of mammalian biodiversity. We identify areas of high conservation priority among and across the dimensions that should receive special attention for expanding the global protected area network. These high-priority areas, combined with areas of high priority for other taxonomic groups and with social, economic, and political considerations, provide a biological foundation for future conservation planning efforts. PMID:28674013

Global priorities for conservation across multiple dimensions of mammalian diversity.

PubMed

Brum, Fernanda T; Graham, Catherine H; Costa, Gabriel C; Hedges, S Blair; Penone, Caterina; Radeloff, Volker C; Rondinini, Carlo; Loyola, Rafael; Davidson, Ana D

2017-07-18

Conservation priorities that are based on species distribution, endemism, and vulnerability may underrepresent biologically unique species as well as their functional roles and evolutionary histories. To ensure that priorities are biologically comprehensive, multiple dimensions of diversity must be considered. Further, understanding how the different dimensions relate to one another spatially is important for conservation prioritization, but the relationship remains poorly understood. Here, we use spatial conservation planning to ( i ) identify and compare priority regions for global mammal conservation across three key dimensions of biodiversity-taxonomic, phylogenetic, and traits-and ( ii ) determine the overlap of these regions with the locations of threatened species and existing protected areas. We show that priority areas for mammal conservation exhibit low overlap across the three dimensions, highlighting the need for an integrative approach for biodiversity conservation. Additionally, currently protected areas poorly represent the three dimensions of mammalian biodiversity. We identify areas of high conservation priority among and across the dimensions that should receive special attention for expanding the global protected area network. These high-priority areas, combined with areas of high priority for other taxonomic groups and with social, economic, and political considerations, provide a biological foundation for future conservation planning efforts.

Actualizing Flexible National Security Space Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

single launch vehicle is a decision unique to small satellites that adds an extra dimension to the launch risk calculation. While bundling...following a launch failure. The ability to bundle multiple payloads on a single launch vehicle is a decision unique to small satellites that adds an extra ... dimension to the launch risk calculation. While bundling multiple small satellites on a single launch vehicle spreads the initial launch cost across

Systems and precision medicine approaches to diabetes heterogeneity: a Big Data perspective.

PubMed

Capobianco, Enrico

2017-12-01

Big Data, and in particular Electronic Health Records, provide the medical community with a great opportunity to analyze multiple pathological conditions at an unprecedented depth for many complex diseases, including diabetes. How can we infer on diabetes from large heterogeneous datasets? A possible solution is provided by invoking next-generation computational methods and data analytics tools within systems medicine approaches. By deciphering the multi-faceted complexity of biological systems, the potential of emerging diagnostic tools and therapeutic functions can be ultimately revealed. In diabetes, a multidimensional approach to data analysis is needed to better understand the disease conditions, trajectories and the associated comorbidities. Elucidation of multidimensionality comes from the analysis of factors such as disease phenotypes, marker types, and biological motifs while seeking to make use of multiple levels of information including genetics, omics, clinical data, and environmental and lifestyle factors. Examining the synergy between multiple dimensions represents a challenge. In such regard, the role of Big Data fuels the rise of Precision Medicine by allowing an increasing number of descriptions to be captured from individuals. Thus, data curations and analyses should be designed to deliver highly accurate predicted risk profiles and treatment recommendations. It is important to establish linkages between systems and precision medicine in order to translate their principles into clinical practice. Equivalently, to realize their full potential, the involved multiple dimensions must be able to process information ensuring inter-exchange, reducing ambiguities and redundancies, and ultimately improving health care solutions by introducing clinical decision support systems focused on reclassified phenotypes (or digital biomarkers) and community-driven patient stratifications.

Particle size analysis of some water/oil/water multiple emulsions.

PubMed

Ursica, L; Tita, D; Palici, I; Tita, B; Vlaia, V

2005-04-29

Particle size analysis gives useful information about the structure and stability of multiple emulsions, which are important characteristics of these systems. It also enables the observation of the growth process of particles dispersed in multiple emulsions, accordingly, the evolution of their dimension in time. The size of multiple particles in the seven water/oil/water (W/O/W) emulsions was determined by measuring the particles size observed during the microscopic examination. In order to describe the distribution of the size of multiple particles, the value of two parameters that define the particle size was calculated: the arithmetical mean diameter and the median diameter. The results of the particle size analysis in the seven multiple emulsions W/O/W studied are presented as histograms of the distribution density immediately, 1 and 3 months after the preparation of each emulsion, as well as by establishing the mean and the median diameter of particles. The comparative study of the distribution histograms and of the mean and median diameters of W/O/W multiple particles indicates that the prepared emulsions are fine and very fine dispersions, stable, and presenting a growth of the abovementioned diameters during the study.

Family Functioning and Dysfunctional Eating Among Italian Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Gender.

PubMed

Laghi, Fiorenzo; McPhie, Meghan L; Baumgartner, Emma; Rawana, Jennine S; Pompili, Sara; Baiocco, Roberto

2016-02-01

The first aim of this study was to examine the association between different dimensions of family functioning and dysfunctional eating in a sample of Italian adolescent boys and girls. The second aim was to investigate whether gender moderates the relationship between family functioning and dysfunctional eating. Seven hundred and twenty seven adolescents (500 boys and 227 girls) with ages ranging from 15 to 18 years completed a survey of self-report measures. Findings from hierarchical multiple regression analysis suggested that aspects of family functioning such as flexibility, cohesion, disengagement, enmeshment, rigidity and chaotic were related to dysfunctional eating in adolescents. Additionally the results indicated differences between boys and girls, in particular dysfunctional eating in adolescent boys seemed to be more affected by dimensions of enmeshment and disengagement than dysfunctional eating in girls. This research highlights the important role of various aspects of family functioning in relation to dysfunctional eating in adolescents.

Coping and negative appraisal as mediators between control beliefs and psychological symptoms in children of divorce.

PubMed

Sandler, I N; Kim-Bae, L S; MacKinnon, D

2000-09-01

Examined control beliefs of children of divorce as predictors of their coping, negative appraisals for stressful events, and mental health problems. We tested whether coping and negative appraisal for stressful events mediated the relations between multiple dimensions of control beliefs and mental health problems. Different dimensions of control beliefs were related to different aspects of coping and negative stress appraisal. Internal control beliefs for positive events were related to both active and avoidant coping. Unknown control beliefs for positive events were related to higher active coping and higher negative appraisal. Unknown control beliefs for negative events were related to higher avoidant coping. In addition, evidence for mediation was found such that the effect of unknown control beliefs for positive events on mental health problems was mediated by negative appraisal. Implications and directions for further research are discussed.

Listening, watching, and reading: the structure and correlates of entertainment preferences.

PubMed

Rentfrow, Peter J; Goldberg, Lewis R; Zilca, Ran

2011-04-01

People spend considerable amounts of time and money listening to music, watching TV and movies, and reading books and magazines, yet almost no attention in psychology has been devoted to understanding individual differences in preferences for such entertainment. The present research was designed to examine the structure and correlates of entertainment genre preferences. Analyses of the genre preferences of more than 3,000 individuals revealed a remarkably clear factor structure. Using multiple samples, methods, and geographic regions, data converged to reveal five entertainment-preference dimensions: Communal, Aesthetic, Dark, Thrilling, and Cerebral. Preferences for these entertainment dimensions were uniquely related to demographics and personality traits. Results also indicated that personality accounted for significant proportions of variance in entertainment preferences over and above demographics. The results provide a foundation for developing and testing hypotheses about the psychology of entertainment preferences. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Personality © 2011, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Compassion Fatigue and Psychological Distress Among Social Workers: A Validation Study

PubMed Central

Adams, Richard E.; Boscarino, Joseph A.; Figley, Charles R.

2009-01-01

Few studies have focused on caring professionals and their emotional exhaustion from working with traumatized clients, referred to as compassion fatigue (CF). The present study had 2 goals: (a) to assess the psychometric properties of a CF scale, and (b) to examine the scale's predictive validity in a multivariate model. The data came from a survey of social workers living in New York City following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Factor analyses indicated that the CF scale measured multiple dimensions. After overlapping items were eliminated, the scale measured 2 key underlying dimensions—secondary trauma and job burnout. In a multivariate model, these dimensions were related to psychological distress, even after other risk factors were controlled. The authors discuss the results in light of increasing the ability of professional caregivers to meet the emotional needs of their clients within a stressful environment without experiencing CF. PMID:16569133

Preventing Obesity Across Generations: Evidence for Early Life Intervention.

PubMed

Haire-Joshu, Debra; Tabak, Rachel

2016-01-01

To prevent the intergenerational transfer of obesity and end the current epidemic, interventions are needed across the early life stages, from preconception to prenatal to infancy through the age of 2 years. The foundation for obesity is laid in early life by actions and interactions passed from parent to child that have long-lasting biologic and behavioral consequences. The purpose of this paper is to examine the best evidence about (a) factors in parents and offspring that promote obesity during the early life stages, (b) the social determinants and dimensions of obesity in early life, (c) promising and effective interventions for preventing obesity in early life, and (d) opportunities for future research into strategies to disrupt the intergenerational cycle of obesity that begins early in life. The pathway for halting the intergenerational obesity epidemic requires the discovery and development of evidence-based interventions that can act across multiple dimensions of influence on early life.

Preventing Obesity Across Generations: Evidence for Early Life Intervention

PubMed Central

Haire-Joshu, Debra; Tabak, Rachel

2017-01-01

To prevent the intergenerational transfer of obesity and end the current epidemic, interventions are needed across the early life stages, from preconception to prenatal to infancy through the age of 2 years. The foundation for obesity is laid in early life by actions and interactions passed from parent to child that have long-lasting biologic and behavioral consequences. The purpose of this paper is to examine the best evidence about (a) factors in parents and offspring that promote obesity during the early life stages, (b) the social determinants and dimensions of obesity in early life, (c) promising and effective interventions for preventing obesity in early life, and (d) opportunities for future research into strategies to disrupt the intergenerational cycle of obesity that begins early in life. The pathway for halting the intergenerational obesity epidemic requires the discovery and development of evidence-based interventions that can act across multiple dimensions of influence on early life. PMID:26989828

Childhood Maltreatment as Predictor of Pathological Personality Traits Using PSY-5 in an Adult Psychiatric Sample.

PubMed

Choi, Ji Young; Park, Soo Hyun

2018-02-01

Extant literature indicates that childhood maltreatment is significantly associated with personality disorders. With the recent call for a more dimensional approach to understanding personality and pathological personality traits, the aim of the present study was to examine whether the experience of childhood maltreatment is associated with pathological personality traits as measured by the Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5). We analyzed data from 557 adult psychiatric patients with diverse psychiatric diagnoses, including mood disorders, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and anxiety disorders. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine the degree to which childhood maltreatment explained the five trait dimensions after controlling for demographic variables, presence of psychotic symptoms, and degree of depressive symptoms. Childhood maltreatment significantly predicted all of the five trait dimensions of the PSY-5. This suggests that childhood maltreatment may negatively affect the development of an adaptive adjustment system, thereby potentially contributing to the emergence of pathological personality traits.

Gender differences of airway dimensions in anatomically matched sites on CT in smokers.

PubMed

Kim, Yu-Il; Schroeder, Joyce; Lynch, David; Newell, John; Make, Barry; Friedlander, Adam; Estépar, Raúl San José; Hanania, Nicola A; Washko, George; Murphy, James R; Wilson, Carla; Hokanson, John E; Zach, Jordan; Butterfield, Kiel; Bowler, Russell P; Copdgene Investigators

2011-08-01

There are limited data on, and controversies regarding gender differences in the airway dimensions of smokers. Multi-detector CT (MDCT) images were analyzed to examine whether gender could explain differences in airway dimensions of anatomically matched airways in smokers. We used VIDA imaging software to analyze MDCT scans from 2047 smokers (M:F, 1021:1026) from the COPDGene® cohort. The airway dimensions were analyzed from segmental to subsubsegmental bronchi. We compared the differences of luminal area, inner diameter, wall thickness, wall area percentage (WA%) for each airway between men and women, and multiple linear regression including covariates (age, gender, body sizes, and other relevant confounding factors) was used to determine the predictors of each airway dimensions. Lumen area, internal diameter and wall thickness were smaller for women than men in all measured airway (18.4 vs 22.5 mm(2) for segmental bronchial lumen area, 10.4 vs 12.5 mm(2) for subsegmental bronchi, 6.5 vs 7.7 mm(2) for subsubsegmental bronchi, respectively p < 0.001). However, women had greater WA% in subsegmental and subsubsegmental bronchi. In multivariate regression, gender remained one of the most significant predictors of WA%, lumen area, inner diameter and wall thickness. Women smokers have higher WA%, but lower luminal area, internal diameter and airway thickness in anatomically matched airways as measured by CT scan than do male smokers. This difference may explain, in part, gender differences in the prevalence of COPD and airflow limitation.

Physical Inactivity From Adolescence to Young Adulthood: The Relevance of Various Dimensions of Inequality in a Swedish Longitudinal Sample.

PubMed

Wells, Laura; Nermo, Magnus; Östberg, Viveca

2017-06-01

As physical inactivity may track from adolescence to adulthood, it is important to identify social determinants of physical inactivity in early life. However, most studies have measured socioeconomic position as one dimension. We examine whether multiple dimensions of socioeconomic position, in addition to other dimensions of inequality (i.e., gender, immigrant background), associate with physical inactivity at two time points in youth. Longitudinal data were drawn from the Swedish Level of Living Survey ( N = 765) and analysed by gender-stratified logistic regression. Among girls, low parental social class (odds ratio [OR] = 2.63, 95% confidence interval [CI; 1.28, 5.42]) and income (OR = 2.28, 95% [CI 1.12, 4.65]) were associated with physical inactivity, while immigrant background (OR = 2.33, 95% CI [1.03, 5.23]) and a low level of parental education (OR = 3.38, 95% CI [1.15, 9.95]) predicted physical inactivity among women. Among boys, low parental income (OR = 3.27, 95% CI [1.39, 7.69]) was associated with physical inactivity, whereas immigrant background (OR = 2.29, 95% CI [1.04, 5.03]) predicted physical inactivity among men. Our results suggest that physical inactivity is socially patterned, but different dimensions of social stratification should not be considered interchangeable as they may operate independently, through intersection with gender, and at different time points in youth in increasing the risk of physical inactivity.

Rapid, High-Throughput Tracking of Bacterial Motility in 3D via Phase-Contrast Holographic Video Microscopy

PubMed Central

Cheong, Fook Chiong; Wong, Chui Ching; Gao, YunFeng; Nai, Mui Hoon; Cui, Yidan; Park, Sungsu; Kenney, Linda J.; Lim, Chwee Teck

2015-01-01

Tracking fast-swimming bacteria in three dimensions can be extremely challenging with current optical techniques and a microscopic approach that can rapidly acquire volumetric information is required. Here, we introduce phase-contrast holographic video microscopy as a solution for the simultaneous tracking of multiple fast moving cells in three dimensions. This technique uses interference patterns formed between the scattered and the incident field to infer the three-dimensional (3D) position and size of bacteria. Using this optical approach, motility dynamics of multiple bacteria in three dimensions, such as speed and turn angles, can be obtained within minutes. We demonstrated the feasibility of this method by effectively tracking multiple bacteria species, including Escherichia coli, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition, we combined our fast 3D imaging technique with a microfluidic device to present an example of a drug/chemical assay to study effects on bacterial motility. PMID:25762336

Using "Flatland 2: Sphereland" to Help Teach Motion and Multiple Dimensions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caplan, Seth; Johnson, Dano; Vondracek, Mark

2015-01-01

The 1884 book "Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions," written by Edwin Abbott, has captured the interest of numerous generations, and has also been used in schools to help students learn and think about the concept of dimension in a creative, fun way. In 2007, a film was released called "Flatland: The Movie," and over one…

Complementary or competing climates? Examining the interactive effect of service and ethical climates on company-level financial performance.

PubMed

Myer, Adam T; Thoroughgood, Christian N; Mohammed, Susan

2016-08-01

By bending rules to please their customers, companies with high service climates may be less ethical but ultimately more profitable. In this article, we pose the question of whether being ethical comes at a cost to profits in customer-oriented firms. Despite the organizational reality that multiple climates coexist at a given time, research has largely ignored these types of questions, and the simultaneous analysis of multiple climate dimensions has received little empirical attention to date. Given their scientific and practical importance, this study tested complementary and conflicting perspectives regarding interactions between service (outcome-focused) and ethical (process-focused) climates on company-level financial performance. Drawing on a sample of 16,862 medical sales representatives spread across 77 subsidiary companies of a large multinational corporation in the health care product industry, we found support for a complementary view. More precisely, results revealed that profitability was enhanced, not diminished, in service-oriented firms that also stressed the importance of ethics. Results suggest studying the interactive effects of multiple climates is a more fruitful approach than examining main effects alone. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

[Self-judgment of personality traits and cognitive dimensions of the self].

PubMed

Horiuchi, T

1996-12-01

When people make a judgment as to whether a trait describes themselves or not, cognitive structure about the self must play an important role. Cognitive dimensions are a characteristic of such cognitive structure. The present study examined whether a self-referent information processing was mediated by cognitive dimensions of the self. For the purpose, Klein, Loftus, and Burton's task facilitation paradigm (1989) was adapted, which consisted of performing in succession two tasks, initial and target, for each trait adjective used. Experiment 1, which examined the evaluative dimension, showed that an evaluative processing in the target task was facilitated when the initial task was self-referent. Experiment 2, which examined six dimensions, showed that processing of the relevant dimension in the target task was facilitated when the initial task was self-referent. These results suggest that a self-referent information processing is mediated by cognitive dimensions of the self.

Asymptotic behavior for systems of nonlinear wave equations with multiple propagation speeds in three space dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katayama, Soichiro

We consider the Cauchy problem for systems of nonlinear wave equations with multiple propagation speeds in three space dimensions. Under the null condition for such systems, the global existence of small amplitude solutions is known. In this paper, we will show that the global solution is asymptotically free in the energy sense, by obtaining the asymptotic pointwise behavior of the derivatives of the solution. Nonetheless we can also show that the pointwise behavior of the solution itself may be quite different from that of the free solution. In connection with the above results, a theorem is also developed to characterize asymptotically free solutions for wave equations in arbitrary space dimensions.

Physician work intensity among medical specialties: emerging evidence on its magnitude and composition.

PubMed

Horner, Ronnie D; Szaflarski, Jerzy P; Ying, Jun; Meganathan, Karthikeyan; Matthews, Gerald; Schroer, Brian; Weber, Debra; Raphaelson, Marc

2011-11-01

Similarities and differences in physician work intensity among specialties are poorly understood but have implications for quality of care, patient safety, practice organization and management, and payment. To determine the magnitude and important dimensions of physician work intensity for 4 specialties. Cross-sectional assessment of work intensity associated with actual patient care in the examination room or operating room. A convenience sample of 45 family physicians, 20 general internists, 22 neurologists, and 21 surgeons, located in Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, and Virginia. Work intensity measures included the National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), Subjective Work Assessment Technique (SWAT), and Multiple Resource Questionnaire. Stress was measured by the Dundee Stress State Questionnaire. Physicians reported similar magnitude of work intensity on the NASA-TLX and Multiple Resource Questionnaire. On the SWAT, general internists reported work intensity similar to surgeons but significantly lower than family physicians and neurologists (P=0.035). Surgeons reported significantly higher levels of task engagement on the stress measure than the other specialties (P=0.019), significantly higher intensity on physical demand (P < 0.001), and significantly lower intensity on the performance dimensions of the NASA-TLX than the other specialties (P=0.003). Surgeons reported the lowest intensity for temporal demand of all specialties, being significantly lower than either family physicians or neurologists (P=0.014). Family physicians reported the highest intensity on the time dimension of the SWAT, being significantly higher than either general internists or surgeons (P=0.008). Level of physician work intensity seems to be similar among specialties.

Work Ability Index (WAI) and its health-related determinants among Iranian farmers working in small farm enterprises.

PubMed

Rostamabadi, Akbar; Mazloumi, Adel; Rahimi Foroushani, Abbas

2014-01-01

This study aimed to determine the Work Ability Index (WAI) and examine the influence of health dimensions and demographic variables on the work ability of Iranian farmers working in small farm enterprises. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 294 male farmers. The WAI and SF-36 questionnaires were used to determine work ability and health status. The effect of demographics variables on the work ability index was investigated with the independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA. Also, multiple linear regression analysis was used to test the association between the mean WAI score and the SF-36 scales. The mean WAI score was 35.1 (SD=10.6). One-way ANOVA revealed a significant relationship between the mean WAI and age. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that work ability was more influenced by physical scales of the health dimensions, such as physical function, role-physical, and general health, whereas a lower association was found for mental scales such as mental health. The average WAI was at a moderate work ability level for the sample population of farmers in this study. Based on the WAI guidelines, improvement of work ability and identification of factors affecting it should be considered a priority in interventional programs. Given the influence of health dimensions on WAI, any intervention program for preservation and promotion of work ability among the studied farmers should be based on balancing and optimizing the physical and psychosocial work environments, with a special focus on reducing physical work load.(J Occup Health 2014; 56: 478-484).

Breast Cancer Survivors’ Experiences of Lymphedema-Related Symptoms

PubMed Central

Fu, Mei Rosemary; Rosedale, Mary

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe breast cancer survivors’ lymphedema-related symptom experiences. As a serious chronic condition from breast cancer treatment, lymphedema, or persistent swelling, is caused by chronic accumulation of lymph fluid in the interstitial spaces of the affected limb or surrounding areas. While significant prevalence of ongoing multiple symptoms have been reported, little is known about how survivors with lymphedema perceive and respond to lymphedema-related symptoms in their daily lives. This study employed a descriptive phenomenological method. Thirty-four participants were recruited in the US. Three in-depth interviews were conducted with each participant; a total of 102 interviews were completed, audio-taped, and transcribed. Interview transcripts and field notes were the data sources for this analysis, which was part of three larger studies. Data were analyzed to identify the essential themes within and across cases. Four essential themes were revealed: living with perpetual discomfort; confronting the unexpected; losing pre-lymphedema being; and feeling handicapped. Participants experienced multiple symptoms on a daily basis. Distress was heightened when women expected symptoms to disappear but instead they remained as a “perpetual discomfort.” Moreover, distress was intensified when symptoms evoked unexpected situations or when symptoms elicited emotional responses powerful enough to change perceived personal identity. Findings suggest that symptom distress may encompass temporal, situational and attributive dimensions. Prospective studies are needed to examine lymphedema-related symptom distress in terms of these dimensions so that more specific interventions can be developed to target distress occurring in each dimension. PMID:19819668

A multiple-dimension liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry data strategy for the rapid discovery and identification of unknown compounds from a Chinese herbal formula (Er-xian decoction).

PubMed

Wang, Caihong; Zhang, Jinlan; Wu, Caisheng; Wang, Zhe

2017-10-06

It is very important to rapidly discover and identify the multiple components of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula. High performance liquid chromatography with high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-HRMS/MS) has been widely used to analyze TCM formula and contains multiple-dimension data including retention time (RT), high resolution mass (HRMS), multiple-stage mass spectrometric (MS n ), and isotope intensity distribution (IID) data. So it is very necessary to exploit a useful strategy to utilize multiple-dimension data to rapidly probe structural information and identify chemical compounds. In this study, a new strategy to initiatively use the multiple-dimension LC-MS data has been developed to discover and identify unknown compounds of TCM in many styles. The strategy guarantees the fast discovery of candidate structural information and provides efficient structure clues for identification. The strategy contains four steps in sequence: (1) to discover potential compounds and obtain sub-structure information by the mass spectral tree similarity filter (MTSF) technique, based on HRMS and MS n data; (2) to classify potential compounds into known chemical classes by discriminant analysis (DA) on the basis of RT and HRMS data; (3) to hit the candidate structural information of compounds by intersection sub-structure between MTSF and DA (M,D-INSS); (4) to annotate and confirm candidate structures by IID data. This strategy allowed for the high exclusion efficiency (greater than 41%) of irrelevant ions in er-xian decoction (EXD) while providing accurate structural information of 553 potential compounds and identifying 66 candidates, therefore accelerating and simplifying the discovery and identification of unknown compounds in TCM formula. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Relational Encoding of a Conceptual Model with Multiple Temporal Dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gubiani, Donatella; Montanari, Angelo

The theoretical interest and the practical relevance of a systematic treatment of multiple temporal dimensions is widely recognized in the database and information system communities. Nevertheless, most relational databases have no temporal support at all. A few of them provide a limited support, in terms of temporal data types and predicates, constructors, and functions for the management of time values (borrowed from the SQL standard). One (resp., two) temporal dimensions are supported by historical and transaction-time (resp., bitemporal) databases only. In this paper, we provide a relational encoding of a conceptual model featuring four temporal dimensions, namely, the classical valid and transaction times, plus the event and availability times. We focus our attention on the distinctive technical features of the proposed temporal extension of the relation model. In the last part of the paper, we briefly show how to implement it in a standard DBMS.

Temporal Characteristics of Electron Flux Events at Geosynchronous Orbit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olson, D. K.; Larsen, B.; Henderson, M. G.

2017-12-01

Geosynchronous satellites such as the LANL-GEO fleet are exposed to hazardous conditions when they encounter regions of hot, intense plasma such as that from the plasma sheet. These conditions can lead to the build-up of charge on the surface of a spacecraft, with undesired, and often dangerous, side effects. Observation of electron flux levels at geosynchronous orbit (GEO) with multiple satellites provides a unique view of plasma sheet access to that region. Flux "events", or periods when fluxes are elevated continuously above the LANL-GEO spacecraft charging threshold, can be characterized by duration in two dimensions: a spatial dimension of local time, describing the duration of an event from the perspective of a single spacecraft, and a temporal dimension describing the duration in time in which high energy plasma sheet particles have access to geosynchronous orbit. We examine the statistical properties of the temporal duration of 8 keV electron flux events at geosynchronous orbit over a twelve-year period. These results, coupled with the spatial duration characteristics, provide the key information needed to formulate a statistical model for forecasting the electron flux conditions at GEO that are correlated with LANL-GEO surface charging. Forecasting models are an essential component to understanding space weather and mitigating the dangers of surface charging on our satellites. We also examine the correlation of flux event durations with solar wind parameters and geomagnetic indices, identifying the data needed to improve upon a statistical forecasting model

Morphometry of medial gaps of human brain artery branches.

PubMed

Canham, Peter B; Finlay, Helen M

2004-05-01

The bifurcation regions of the major human cerebral arteries are vulnerable to the formation of saccular aneurysms. A consistent feature of these bifurcations is a discontinuity of the tunica media at the apex of the flow divider. The objective was to measure the 3-dimensional geometry of these medial gaps or "medial defects." Nineteen bifurcations and 2 junctions of human cerebral arteries branches (from 4 male and 2 female subjects) were formalin-fixed at physiological pressure and processed for longitudinal serial sectioning. The apex and adjacent regions were examined and measurements were made from high-magnification photomicrographs, or projection microscope images, of the gap dimensions at multiple levels through the bifurcation. Plots were made of the width of the media as a function of distance from the apex. The media at each edge of the medial gap widened over a short distance, reaching the full width of the media of the contiguous daughter vessel. Medial gap dimensions were compared with the planar angle of the bifurcation, and a strong negative correlation was found, ie, the acute angled branches have the more prominent medial gaps. A discontinuity of the media at the apex was seen in all the bifurcations examined and was also found in the junction regions of brain arteries. We determined that the gap width is continuous with well-defined dimensions throughout its length and average length-to-width ratio of 6.9. The gaps were generally centered on the prominence of the apical ridge.

Dimensions of Religiosity and Access to Religious Social Capital: Correlates with Substance Use among Urban Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mason, Michael J.; Schmidt, Christopher; Mennis, Jeremy

2012-01-01

Although some evidence indicates that religiosity may be protective against substance use in the urban youth population, limited research has investigated the effects of multiple dimensions of religiosity on substance use in this population. In this study, a sample of 301 urban adolescents was used (a) to test the effects of three dimensions of…

A comparative analysis of the categorization of multidimensional stimuli: I. Unidimensional classification does not necessarily imply analytic processing; evidence from pigeons (Columba livia), squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), and humans (Homo sapiens).

PubMed

Wills, A J; Lea, Stephen E G; Leaver, Lisa A; Osthaus, Britta; Ryan, Catriona M E; Suret, Mark B; Bryant, Catherine M L; Chapman, Sue J A; Millar, Louise

2009-11-01

Pigeons (Columba livia), gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), and undergraduates (Homo sapiens) learned discrimination tasks involving multiple mutually redundant dimensions. First, pigeons and undergraduates learned conditional discriminations between stimuli composed of three spatially separated dimensions, after first learning to discriminate the individual elements of the stimuli. When subsequently tested with stimuli in which one of the dimensions took an anomalous value, the majority of both species categorized test stimuli by their overall similarity to training stimuli. However some individuals of both species categorized them according to a single dimension. In a second set of experiments, squirrels, pigeons, and undergraduates learned go/no-go discriminations using multiple simultaneous presentations of stimuli composed of three spatially integrated, highly salient dimensions. The tendency to categorize test stimuli including anomalous dimension values unidimensionally was higher than in the first set of experiments and did not differ significantly between species. The authors conclude that unidimensional categorization of multidimensional stimuli is not diagnostic for analytic cognitive processing, and that any differences between human's and pigeons' behavior in such tasks are not due to special features of avian visual cognition.

Analyzing multicomponent receptive fields from neural responses to natural stimuli

PubMed Central

Rowekamp, Ryan; Sharpee, Tatyana O

2011-01-01

The challenge of building increasingly better models of neural responses to natural stimuli is to accurately estimate the multiple stimulus features that may jointly affect the neural spike probability. The selectivity for combinations of features is thought to be crucial for achieving classical properties of neural responses such as contrast invariance. The joint search for these multiple stimulus features is difficult because estimating spike probability as a multidimensional function of stimulus projections onto candidate relevant dimensions is subject to the curse of dimensionality. An attractive alternative is to search for relevant dimensions sequentially, as in projection pursuit regression. Here we demonstrate using analytic arguments and simulations of model cells that different types of sequential search strategies exhibit systematic biases when used with natural stimuli. Simulations show that joint optimization is feasible for up to three dimensions with current algorithms. When applied to the responses of V1 neurons to natural scenes, models based on three jointly optimized dimensions had better predictive power in a majority of cases compared to dimensions optimized sequentially, with different sequential methods yielding comparable results. Thus, although the curse of dimensionality remains, at least several relevant dimensions can be estimated by joint information maximization. PMID:21780916

A psychometric examination of the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale among college men.

PubMed

Davidson, M Meghan; Gervais, Sarah J; Canivez, Gary L; Cole, Brian P

2013-04-01

Whereas sexual objectification has most commonly been studied among women, recent calls by counseling psychologists have urged for an extension of objectification research to more fully include men (e.g., Heimerdinger-Edwards, Vogel, & Hammer, 2011). The present study examined the factor structure of the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale (ISOS; Kozee, Tylka, Augustus-Horvath, & Denchik, 2007) with men. Specifically, analyses included exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with a sample of 287 college men and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with an independent sample of 221 college men. A correlated 3-factor structure was suggested by multiple criteria in EFA and was further confirmed by CFA with a bifactor model illustrating the most item variance associated with a general interpersonal sexual objectification dimension for men.

Dimensions of insight in schizophrenia: Exploratory factor analysis of items from multiple self- and interviewer-rated measures of insight.

PubMed

Konsztowicz, Susanna; Schmitz, Norbert; Lepage, Martin

2018-03-10

Insight in schizophrenia is regarded as a multidimensional construct that comprises aspects such as awareness of the disorder and recognition of the need for treatment. The proposed number of underlying dimensions of insight is variable in the literature. In an effort to identify a range of existing dimensions of insight, we conducted a factor analysis on combined items from multiple measures of insight. We recruited 165 participants with enduring schizophrenia (treated for >3years). Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on itemized scores from two interviewer-rated measures of insight: the Schedule for the Assessment of Insight-Expanded and the abbreviated Scale to assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder; and two self-report measures: the Birchwood Insight Scale and the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale. A five-factor solution was selected as the best-fitting model, with the following dimensions of insight: 1) awareness of illness and the need for treatment; 2) awareness and attribution of symptoms and consequences; 3) self-certainty; 4) self-reflectiveness for objectivity and fallibility; and 5) self-reflectiveness for errors in reasoning and openness to feedback. Insight in schizophrenia is a multidimensional construct comprised of distinct clinical and cognitive domains of awareness. Multiple measures of insight, both clinician- and self-rated, are needed to capture all of the existing dimensions of insight. Future exploration of associations between the various dimensions and their potential determinants will facilitate the development of clinically useful models of insight and effective interventions to improve outcome. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A factor confirmation and convergent validity of the “areas of worklife scale” (AWS) to Spanish translation

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Perceived incongruity between the individual and the job on work-life areas such as workload, control, reward, fairness, community and values have implications for the dimensions of burnout syndrome. The “Areas of Work-life Scale” (AWS) is a practical instrument to measure employees´ perceptions of their work environments. AIMS: Validate a Spanish translation of the AWS, and it relationship with Masclach Burnout Inventory dimensions. Methods The study was conducted in three medium-sized hospitals and seven rural and urban Primary Care centres (N = 871) in Spain. The “Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey” (MBI-GS) and AWS were applied. We developed a complete psychometric analysis of its reliability, and validity. Results Data on the reliability supported a good internal consistency (Cronbach α between .71, and .85). Construct validity was confirmed by a six factor model of the AWS as a good measure of work environments (χ2(352) = 806.21, p < 0.001; χ2/df = 2.29; CFI = 0.935, RMSEA = 0.039); concurrent validity was analysed for its relationship with other measures (opposing dimensions to burnout, and MBI), and each correlation between dimensions and sub-dimensions were statistically significant; as well, predictive validity, by a series of Multiple Regression Analysis examined the resulting patterns of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirms the relationship between the work-life areas and burnout dimensions. Conclusions Leiter and Maslach’s AWS has been an important instrument in exploring several work-life factors that contribute to burnout. This scale can now be used to assess the quality of work-life in order to design and assess the need for intervention programs in Spanish-speaking countries. PMID:23596987

Gender Differences in Patients' Perceptions of Inpatient Care

PubMed Central

Elliott, Marc N; Lehrman, William G; Beckett, Megan K; Goldstein, Elizabeth; Hambarsoomian, Katrin; Giordano, Laura A

2012-01-01

Objective To examine gender differences in inpatient experiences and how they vary by dimensions of care and other patient characteristics. Data Source A total of 1,971,632 patients (medical and surgical service lines) discharged from 3,830 hospitals, July 2007–June 2008, and completing the HCAHPS survey. Study Design We compare the experiences of male and female inpatients on 10 HCAHPS dimensions using multiple linear regression, adjusting for survey mode and patient mix. Additional models add additional patient characteristics and their interactions with patient gender. Principal Findings We find generally less positive experiences for women than men, especially for Communication about Medicines, Discharge Information, and Cleanliness. Gender differences are similar in magnitude to previously reported HCAHPS differences by race/ethnicity. The gender gap is generally larger for older patients and for patients with worse self-reported health status. Gender disparities are largest in for-profit hospitals. Conclusions Targeting the experiences of women may be a promising means of improving overall patient experience scores (because women comprise a majority of all inpatients); the experiences of older and sicker women, and those in for-profit hospitals, may merit additional examination. PMID:22375827

78. PALMDALE WATER COMPANY, LITTLEROCK DAM, EASTWOOD MULTIPLEARCHED TYPE: DIMENSIONS, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

78. PALMDALE WATER COMPANY, LITTLEROCK DAM, EASTWOOD MULTIPLE-ARCHED TYPE: DIMENSIONS, SECTION THROUGH ARCH RING, SHEET 5; OCTOBER 2, 1919. Littlerock Water District files. - Little Rock Creek Dam, Little Rock Creek, Littlerock, Los Angeles County, CA

Eight-Week Battle Rope Training Improves Multiple Physical Fitness Dimensions and Shooting Accuracy in Collegiate Basketball Players.

PubMed

Chen, Wei-Han; Wu, Huey-June; Lo, Shin-Liang; Chen, Hui; Yang, Wen-Wen; Huang, Chen-Fu; Liu, Chiang

2018-05-28

Chen, WH, Wu, HJ, Lo, SL, Chen, H, Yang, WW, Huang, CF, and Liu, C. Eight-week battle rope training improves multiple physical fitness dimensions and shooting accuracy in collegiate basketball players. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2018-Basketball players must possess optimally developed physical fitness in multiple dimensions and shooting accuracy. This study investigated whether (battle rope [BR]) training enhances multiple physical fitness dimensions, including aerobic capacity (AC), upper-body anaerobic power (AnP), upper-body and lower-body power, agility, and core muscle endurance, and shooting accuracy in basketball players and compared its effects with those of regular training (shuttle run [SR]). Thirty male collegiate basketball players were randomly assigned to the BR or SR groups (n = 15 per group). Both groups received 8-week interval training for 3 sessions per week; the protocol consisted of the same number of sets, exercise time, and rest interval time. The BR group exhibited significant improvements in AC (Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run laps: 17.6%), upper-body AnP (mean power: 7.3%), upper-body power (basketball chest pass speed: 4.8%), lower-body power (jump height: 2.6%), core muscle endurance (flexion: 37.0%, extension: 22.8%, and right side bridge: 23.0%), and shooting accuracy (free throw: 14.0% and dynamic shooting: 36.2%). However, the SR group exhibited improvements in only AC (12.0%) and upper-body power (3.8%) (p < 0.05). The BR group demonstrated larger pre-post improvements in upper-body AnP (fatigue index) and dynamic shooting accuracy than the SR group did (p < 0.05). The BR group showed higher post-training performance in upper-body AnP (mean power and fatigue index) than the SR group did (p < 0.05). Thus, BR training effectively improves multiple physical fitness dimensions and shooting accuracy in collegiate basketball players.

University Students' Satisfaction with their Academic Studies: Personality and Motivation Matter.

PubMed

Wach, F-Sophie; Karbach, Julia; Ruffing, Stephanie; Brünken, Roland; Spinath, Frank M

2016-01-01

Although there is consensus about the importance of students' satisfaction with their academic studies as one facet of academic success, little is known about the determinants of this significant outcome variable. Past research rarely investigated the predictive power of multiple predictors simultaneously. Hence, we examined how demographic variables, personality, cognitive and achievement-related variables (intelligence, academic achievement), as well as various motivational constructs were associated with three different dimensions of satisfaction (satisfaction with study content, satisfaction with the conditions of the academic program, satisfaction with the ability to cope with academic stress) assessed approximately 2 years apart. Analyzing data of a sample of university students (N = 620; M age = 20.77; SD age = 3.22) using structural equation modeling, our results underline the significance of personality and motivational variables: Neuroticism predicted satisfaction with academic studies, but its relevance varied between outcome dimensions. Regarding the predictive validity of motivational variables, the initial motivation for enrolling in a particular major was correlated with two dimensions of subsequent satisfaction with academic studies. In contrast, the predictive value of cognitive and achievement-related variables was relatively low, with academic achievement only related to satisfaction with the conditions of the academic program after controlling for the prior satisfaction level.

Mortality Burden and Socioeconomic Status in India

PubMed Central

Po, June Y. T.; Subramanian, S. V.

2011-01-01

Background The dimensions along which mortality is patterned in India remains unclear. We examined the specific contribution of social castes, household income, assets, and monthly per capita consumption to mortality differentials in India. Methods and Findings Cross-sectional data on 217 363 individuals from 41 554 households from the 2004–2005 India Human Development Survey was analyzed using multiple logistic regressions. Mortality differentials across social castes were attenuated after adjusting for household economic factors such as income and assets. Individuals living in the lowest income and assets quintiles had an increased risk of mortality with odds ratio (OR) of 1.66 (95% CI  = 1.23–2.24) in the bottom income quintile and OR of 2.94 (95% CI  = 1.66–5.22) in the bottom asset quintile. Counter-intuitively, individuals living in households with lowest monthly consumption per capita had significantly lower probability of death (OR  = 0.27, 95% CI  = 0.20–0.38). Conclusions Mortality burden in India is largely patterned on economic dimensions as opposed to caste dimensions, though caste may play an important role in predicting economic opportunities. PMID:21347373

University Students' Satisfaction with their Academic Studies: Personality and Motivation Matter

PubMed Central

Wach, F.-Sophie; Karbach, Julia; Ruffing, Stephanie; Brünken, Roland; Spinath, Frank M.

2016-01-01

Although there is consensus about the importance of students' satisfaction with their academic studies as one facet of academic success, little is known about the determinants of this significant outcome variable. Past research rarely investigated the predictive power of multiple predictors simultaneously. Hence, we examined how demographic variables, personality, cognitive and achievement-related variables (intelligence, academic achievement), as well as various motivational constructs were associated with three different dimensions of satisfaction (satisfaction with study content, satisfaction with the conditions of the academic program, satisfaction with the ability to cope with academic stress) assessed approximately 2 years apart. Analyzing data of a sample of university students (N = 620; Mage = 20.77; SDage = 3.22) using structural equation modeling, our results underline the significance of personality and motivational variables: Neuroticism predicted satisfaction with academic studies, but its relevance varied between outcome dimensions. Regarding the predictive validity of motivational variables, the initial motivation for enrolling in a particular major was correlated with two dimensions of subsequent satisfaction with academic studies. In contrast, the predictive value of cognitive and achievement-related variables was relatively low, with academic achievement only related to satisfaction with the conditions of the academic program after controlling for the prior satisfaction level. PMID:26909049

Peer effects on self-regulation in adolescence depend on the nature and quality of the peer interaction.

PubMed

King, Kevin M; McLaughlin, Katie A; Silk, Jennifer; Monahan, Kathryn C

2017-11-21

Adolescence is a critical period for the development of self-regulation, and peer interactions are thought to strongly influence regulation ability. Simple exposure to peers has been found to alter decisions about risky behaviors and increase sensitivity to rewards. The link between peer exposure and self-regulation is likely to vary as a function of the type and quality of peer interaction (e.g., rejection or acceptance). Little is known about how the nature of interactions with peers influences different dimensions of self-regulation. We examined how randomization to acceptance or rejection by online "virtual" peers influenced multiple dimensions of self-regulation in a multisite community sample of 273 adolescents aged 16-17 years. Compared to a neutral condition, exposure to peers produced increases in cold cognitive control, but decreased hot cognitive control. Relative to peer acceptance, peer rejection reduced distress tolerance and increased sensitivity to losses. These findings suggest that different dimensions of adolescent self-regulation are influenced by the nature of the peer context: basic cognitive functions are altered by mere exposure to peers, whereas more complex decision making and emotion regulation processes are influenced primarily by the quality of that exposure.

Invariance of ADHD Symptoms Across Sex and Age: a Latent Analysis of ADHD and Impairment Ratings from Early Childhood into Adolescence.

PubMed

Leopold, Daniel R; Christopher, Micaela E; Olson, Richard K; Petrill, Stephen A; Willcutt, Erik G

2018-04-25

A population-based longitudinal sample of 489 twin pairs was assessed at six time points over ten years to examine the measurement invariance and stability of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, as well as the developmental relations between inattention (IN), hyperactivity-impulsivity (HI), and multiple aspects of functional impairment. Parent ratings of ADHD symptoms and functional impairment were obtained in preschool and after the completion of kindergarten, first, second, fourth, and ninth grades. Results of the temporal and sex invariance models indicated that parent ratings of the 18 ADHD symptoms function in the same manner for females and males from early childhood into adolescence. In addition to establishing this prerequisite condition for the interpretation of longitudinal and between-sex differences in the IN and HI symptom dimensions, cross-lagged models indicated that both IN and HI were associated with increased risk for both concurrent and future overall, social, and recreational impairment, whereas only IN was uniquely associated with later academic impairment. Taken together, the current results demonstrate that IN and HI are highly stable from preschool through ninth grade, invariant between females and males, and indicative of risk for impairment in multiple areas, thereby providing strong support for the validity of the symptom dimensions among both sexes.

Mobility as an emergent property of biological organization: Insights from experimental evolution.

PubMed

Wallace, Ian J; Garland, Theodore

2016-05-06

Anthropologists accept that mobility is a critical dimension of human culture, one that links economy, technology, and social relations. Less often acknowledged is that mobility depends on complex and dynamic interactions between multiple levels of our biological organization, including anatomy, physiology, neurobiology, and genetics. Here, we describe a novel experimental approach to examining the biological foundations of mobility, using mice from a long-term artificial selection experiment for high levels of voluntary exercise on wheels. In this experiment, mice from selectively bred lines have evolved to run roughly three times as far per day as those from nonselected control lines. We consider three insights gleaned from this experiment as foundational principles for the study of mobility from the perspective of biological evolution. First, an evolutionary change in mobility will necessarily be associated with alterations in biological traits both directly and indirectly connected to mobility. Second, changing mobility will result in trade-offs and constraints among some of the affected traits. Third, multiple solutions exist to altering mobility, so that various combinations of adjustments to traits linked with mobility can achieve the same overall behavioral outcome. We suggest that anthropological knowledge of variation in human mobility might be improved by greater research attention to its biological dimensions. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Multiple Dimensions of Stigma and Health Related Factors Among Young Black Men Who Have Sex with Men

PubMed Central

Quinn, Katherine; Voisin, Dexter R.; Bouris, Alida; Jaffe, Kate; Kuhns, Lisa; Eavou, Rebecca; Schneider, John

2016-01-01

This study is among the first to examine the association between multiple domains of HIV-related stigma and health-related correlates including viral load and medication adherence among young Black men who have sex with men (N = 92). Individual logistic regressions were done to examine the hypothesized relationships between HIV-related stigma and various health and psychosocial outcomes. In addition to examining total stigma, we also examined four domains of HIV stigma. Findings revealed the various domains of stigma had differential effects on health-related outcomes. Individuals who reported higher levels of total stigma and personalized stigma were less likely to be virally suppressed (OR 0.96, 95 % CI 0.91–1.00 and OR 0.50, 95 % CI 0.25–1.02, respectively). Concerns about public attitudes toward HIV were positively related to medication adherence (OR 2.18, 95 % CI 1.20–3.94) and psychological distress (OR 5.02, 95 % CI 1.54–16.34). The various domains of HIV stigma differentially affected health and psychosocial outcomes, and our findings suggest that some forms of HIV stigma may significantly affect viral load and medication adherence among this population. Stigma-informed approaches to care and treatment are needed, along with incorporated psychological and social supports. PMID:27233249

Multiple high-intensity focused ultrasound probes for kidney-tissue ablation.

PubMed

Häcker, Axel; Chauhan, Sunita; Peters, Kristina; Hildenbrand, Ralf; Marlinghaus, Ernst; Alken, Peter; Michel, Maurice Stephan

2005-10-01

To investigate kidney-tissue ablation by high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) using multiple and single probes. Ultrasound beams (1.75 MHz) produced by a piezoceramic element (focal distance 80 mm) were focused at the center of renal parenchyma. One of the three probes (mounted on a jig) could also be used for comparison with a single probe at comparable power ratings. Lesion dimensions were examined in perfused and unperfused ex vivo porcine kidneys at different power levels (40, 60, and 80 W) and treatment times (4, 6, and 8 seconds). At identical power levels, the lesions induced by multiple probes were larger than those induced by a single probe. Lesion size increased with increasing pulse duration and generator power. The sizes and shapes of the lesions were predictably repeatable in all samples. Lesions in perfused kidneys were smaller than those in unperfused kidneys. Ex vivo, kidney-tissue ablation by means of multiple HIFU probes offers significant advantages over single HIFU probes in respect of lesion size and formation. These advantages need to be confirmed by tests in vivo at higher energy levels.

Interactions across Multiple Stimulus Dimensions in Primary Auditory Cortex.

PubMed

Sloas, David C; Zhuo, Ran; Xue, Hongbo; Chambers, Anna R; Kolaczyk, Eric; Polley, Daniel B; Sen, Kamal

2016-01-01

Although sensory cortex is thought to be important for the perception of complex objects, its specific role in representing complex stimuli remains unknown. Complex objects are rich in information along multiple stimulus dimensions. The position of cortex in the sensory hierarchy suggests that cortical neurons may integrate across these dimensions to form a more gestalt representation of auditory objects. Yet, studies of cortical neurons typically explore single or few dimensions due to the difficulty of determining optimal stimuli in a high dimensional stimulus space. Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) provide a potentially powerful approach for exploring multidimensional stimulus spaces based on real-time spike feedback, but two important issues arise in their application. First, it is unclear whether it is necessary to characterize cortical responses to multidimensional stimuli or whether it suffices to characterize cortical responses to a single dimension at a time. Second, quantitative methods for analyzing complex multidimensional data from an EA are lacking. Here, we apply a statistical method for nonlinear regression, the generalized additive model (GAM), to address these issues. The GAM quantitatively describes the dependence between neural response and all stimulus dimensions. We find that auditory cortical neurons in mice are sensitive to interactions across dimensions. These interactions are diverse across the population, indicating significant integration across stimulus dimensions in auditory cortex. This result strongly motivates using multidimensional stimuli in auditory cortex. Together, the EA and the GAM provide a novel quantitative paradigm for investigating neural coding of complex multidimensional stimuli in auditory and other sensory cortices.

Gender Differences of Airway Dimensions in Anatomically Matched Sites on CT in Smokers

PubMed Central

Kim, Yu-Il; Schroeder, Joyce; Lynch, David; Newell, John; Make, Barry; Friedlander, Adam; Estépar, Raúl San José; Hanania, Nicola A.; Washko, George; Murphy, James R.; Wilson, Carla; Hokanson, John E.; Zach, Jordan; Butterfield, Kiel; Bowler, Russell P.

2013-01-01

Rationale and Objectives There are limited data on, and controversies regarding gender differences in the airway dimensions of smokers. Multi-detector CT (MDCT) images were analyzed to examine whether gender could explain differences in airway dimensions of anatomically matched airways in smokers. Materials and Methods We used VIDA imaging software to analyze MDCT scans from 2047 smokers (M:F, 1021:1026) from the COPDGene® cohort. The airway dimensions were analyzed from segmental to subsubsegmental bronchi. We compared the differences of luminal area, inner diameter, wall thickness, wall area percentage (WA%) for each airway between men and women, and multiple linear regression including covariates (age, gender, body sizes, and other relevant confounding factors) was used to determine the predictors of each airway dimensions. Results Lumen area, internal diameter and wall thickness were smaller for women than men in all measured airway (18.4 vs 22.5 mm2 for segmental bronchial lumen area, 10.4 vs 12.5 mm2 for subsegmental bronchi, 6.5 vs 7.7 mm2 for subsubsegmental bronchi, respectively p < 0.001). However, women had greater WA% in subsegmental and subsubsegmental bronchi. In multivariate regression, gender remained one of the most significant predictors of WA%, lumen area, inner diameter and wall thickness. Conclusion Women smokers have higher WA%, but lower luminal area, internal diameter and airway thickness in anatomically matched airways as measured by CT scan than do male smokers. This difference may explain, in part, gender differences in the prevalence of COPD and airflow limitation. PMID:21756032

Depressive symptoms in adolescence: The role of perceived parental support, psychological control, and proactive control in interaction with 5-HTTLPR.

PubMed

Van Assche, E; Moons, T; Van Leeuwen, K; Colpin, H; Verschueren, K; Van Den Noortgate, W; Goossens, L; Claes, S

2016-05-01

Parenting dimensions are associated with depressive symptoms in adolescents. We investigated the role of perceived parenting dimensions and gene-environment interactions between these perceived parenting dimensions and five well-known variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs): 5-HTTLPR, STin2, DAT1, DRD4, and MAO-A, in depressive symptoms. From a non-clinical sample of 1111 Belgian adolescents (mean age: 13.79 years, SD=.94; 51% boys), 1103 adolescents consented for genetic research. Five VNTRs were analyzed using DNA from saliva samples. Perceived parenting dimensions (i.e., support, proactive control, psychological control, punishment, and harsh punishment) were examined using self-report scales completed by adolescents and their parents. Depressive symptoms were investigated using the CES-D self-report scale. Statistical analyses were performed in R using linear regression. Parental support, as perceived by the adolescent, was negatively associated with depressive symptoms (CES-D) and psychological control was positively associated with these symptoms. The only interaction effect withstanding correction for multiple testing was observed for 5-HTTLPR and the difference in proactive control as perceived by adolescents in comparison to parents. Short-allele carriers showed more depressive symptoms when there was a higher discrepancy in proactive control as perceived by adolescents versus parents. Our results suggest that perceived parenting dimensions are associated with depressive symptoms, as measured by the CES-D. We only found modest evidence for 5-HTTLPR as a moderator in the association between the difference in perception of proactive control (adolescents vs. parents) and depressive symptoms. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Cognitive content specificity in anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms: a twin study of cross-sectional associations with anxiety sensitivity dimensions across development.

PubMed

Brown, H M; Waszczuk, M A; Zavos, H M S; Trzaskowski, M; Gregory, A M; Eley, T C

2014-12-01

The classification of anxiety and depressive disorders has long been debated and has important clinical implications. The present study combined a genetically sensitive design and multiple time points to investigate cognitive content specificity in anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms across anxiety sensitivity dimensions, a cognitive distortion implicated in both disorders. Phenotypic and genetic correlations between anxiety sensitivity dimensions, anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms were examined at five waves of data collection within childhood, adolescence and early adulthood in two representative twin studies (n pairs = 300 and 1372). The physical concerns dimension of anxiety sensitivity (fear of bodily symptoms) was significantly associated with anxiety but not depression at all waves. Genetic influences on physical concerns overlapped substantially more with anxiety than depression. Conversely, mental concerns (worry regarding cognitive control) were phenotypically more strongly associated with depression than anxiety. Social concerns (fear of publicly observable symptoms of anxiety) were associated with both anxiety and depression in adolescence. Genetic influences on mental and social concerns were shared to a similar extent with both anxiety and depression. Phenotypic patterns of cognitive specificity and broader genetic associations between anxiety sensitivity dimensions, anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms were similar at all waves. Both disorder-specific and shared cognitive concerns were identified, suggesting it is appropriate to classify anxiety and depression as distinct but related disorders and confirming the clinical perspective that cognitive therapy is most likely to benefit by targeting cognitive concerns relating specifically to the individual's presenting symptoms across development.

Unique associations between peer relations and social anxiety in early adolescence.

PubMed

Flanagan, Kelly S; Erath, Stephen A; Bierman, Karen L

2008-10-01

This study examined the unique associations between feelings of social anxiety and multiple dimensions of peer relations (positive peer nominations, peer- and self-reported peer victimization, and self-reported friendship quality) among 383 sixth- and seventh-grade students. Hierarchical regression analysis provided evidence for the unique contribution made by peer relations to social anxiety above that made by adolescents' individual vulnerabilities (i.e., teacher ratings of social behavior, self-reported social appraisals assessed by hypothetical vignettes). Two subgroups of socially anxious adolescents--those with and without peer problems--were distinguished by their social behavior but not their social appraisals.

Immigration Stress and Alcohol Use Severity Among Recently Immigrated Hispanic Adults: Examining Moderating Effects of Gender, Immigration Status, and Social Support.

PubMed

Cano, Miguel Ángel; Sánchez, Mariana; Trepka, Mary Jo; Dillon, Frank R; Sheehan, Diana M; Rojas, Patria; Kanamori, Mariano J; Huang, Hui; Auf, Rehab; De La Rosa, Mario

2017-03-01

Identifying and understanding determinants of alcohol use behavior among Hispanic immigrants is an increasingly significant public health concern. Although prior research has examined associations of cultural stressors with alcohol use among Hispanics, few studies have tested these associations among recent adult immigrants. As such, this study aimed to examine (a) the association of immigration stress on alcohol use severity among recently immigrated Hispanic adults (≤ 1 year in the United States) and (b) the moderating effects of gender, immigration status, and social support. A hierarchical multiple regression and moderation analyses were conducted on a sample of 527 participants in South Florida. Results indicated that, after controlling for demographic variables, preimmigration drinking behavior, and dimensions of social support, the association of higher immigration stress with higher alcohol use severity was statistically significant. Moderation analyses indicated that immigration stress had a statistically significant association with alcohol use severity among men, but not women. Also, dimensions of social support consistently reduced the deleterious effect of immigration stress on alcohol use severity. This study adds to the scarce literature on cultural stressors and alcohol use among recent Hispanic immigrants. Findings suggest that it may be important to design gender-specific interventions and that increasing levels of social support may offset the effects of immigration stress on alcohol use. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Measuring technical and mathematical investigation of multiple reignitions at the switching of a motor using vacuum circuit breakers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luxa, Andreas

The necessary conditions in switching system and vacuum circuit breaker for the occurrence of multiple re-ignitions and accompanying effects were examined. The shape of the occurring voltages was determined in relationship to other types of overvoltage. A phenomenological model of the arc, based on an extension of the Mayr equation for arcs was used with the simulation program NETOMAC for the switching transients. Factors which affect the arc parameters were analyzed. The results were statistically verified by 3000 three-phase switching tests on 3 standard vacuum circuit breakers under realistic systems conditions; the occurring overvoltage level was measured. Dimensioning criteria for motor simulation circuits in power plants were formulated on the basis of a theoretical equivalence analysis and experimental studies. The simulation model allows a sufficiently correct estimation of all effects.

Cognitive Development and Reading: The Relation of Reading-Specific Multiple Classification Skill to Reading Comprehension in Elementary School Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cartwright, Kelly B.

2002-01-01

A reading-specific multiple classification task was designed that required children to classify printed words along phonological and semantic dimensions simultaneously. Reading-specific multiple classification skill made a unique contribution to children's reading comprehension over contributions made by age, domain-general multiple classification…

Determining the optimal number of independent components for reproducible transcriptomic data analysis.

PubMed

Kairov, Ulykbek; Cantini, Laura; Greco, Alessandro; Molkenov, Askhat; Czerwinska, Urszula; Barillot, Emmanuel; Zinovyev, Andrei

2017-09-11

Independent Component Analysis (ICA) is a method that models gene expression data as an action of a set of statistically independent hidden factors. The output of ICA depends on a fundamental parameter: the number of components (factors) to compute. The optimal choice of this parameter, related to determining the effective data dimension, remains an open question in the application of blind source separation techniques to transcriptomic data. Here we address the question of optimizing the number of statistically independent components in the analysis of transcriptomic data for reproducibility of the components in multiple runs of ICA (within the same or within varying effective dimensions) and in multiple independent datasets. To this end, we introduce ranking of independent components based on their stability in multiple ICA computation runs and define a distinguished number of components (Most Stable Transcriptome Dimension, MSTD) corresponding to the point of the qualitative change of the stability profile. Based on a large body of data, we demonstrate that a sufficient number of dimensions is required for biological interpretability of the ICA decomposition and that the most stable components with ranks below MSTD have more chances to be reproduced in independent studies compared to the less stable ones. At the same time, we show that a transcriptomics dataset can be reduced to a relatively high number of dimensions without losing the interpretability of ICA, even though higher dimensions give rise to components driven by small gene sets. We suggest a protocol of ICA application to transcriptomics data with a possibility of prioritizing components with respect to their reproducibility that strengthens the biological interpretation. Computing too few components (much less than MSTD) is not optimal for interpretability of the results. The components ranked within MSTD range have more chances to be reproduced in independent studies.

An approach to the development of numerical algorithms for first order linear hyperbolic systems in multiple space dimensions: The constant coefficient case

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodrich, John W.

1995-01-01

Two methods for developing high order single step explicit algorithms on symmetric stencils with data on only one time level are presented. Examples are given for the convection and linearized Euler equations with up to the eighth order accuracy in both space and time in one space dimension, and up to the sixth in two space dimensions. The method of characteristics is generalized to nondiagonalizable hyperbolic systems by using exact local polynominal solutions of the system, and the resulting exact propagator methods automatically incorporate the correct multidimensional wave propagation dynamics. Multivariate Taylor or Cauchy-Kowaleskaya expansions are also used to develop algorithms. Both of these methods can be applied to obtain algorithms of arbitrarily high order for hyperbolic systems in multiple space dimensions. Cross derivatives are included in the local approximations used to develop the algorithms in this paper in order to obtain high order accuracy, and improved isotropy and stability. Efficiency in meeting global error bounds is an important criterion for evaluating algorithms, and the higher order algorithms are shown to be up to several orders of magnitude more efficient even though they are more complex. Stable high order boundary conditions for the linearized Euler equations are developed in one space dimension, and demonstrated in two space dimensions.

Multiple response optimization for higher dimensions in factors and responses

DOE PAGES

Lu, Lu; Chapman, Jessica L.; Anderson-Cook, Christine M.

2016-07-19

When optimizing a product or process with multiple responses, a two-stage Pareto front approach is a useful strategy to evaluate and balance trade-offs between different estimated responses to seek optimum input locations for achieving the best outcomes. After objectively eliminating non-contenders in the first stage by looking for a Pareto front of superior solutions, graphical tools can be used to identify a final solution in the second subjective stage to compare options and match with user priorities. Until now, there have been limitations on the number of response variables and input factors that could effectively be visualized with existing graphicalmore » summaries. We present novel graphical tools that can be more easily scaled to higher dimensions, in both the input and response spaces, to facilitate informed decision making when simultaneously optimizing multiple responses. A key aspect of these graphics is that the potential solutions can be flexibly sorted to investigate specific queries, and that multiple aspects of the solutions can be simultaneously considered. As a result, recommendations are made about how to evaluate the impact of the uncertainty associated with the estimated response surfaces on decision making with higher dimensions.« less

Measuring social isolation among older adults using multiple indicators from the NSHAP study.

PubMed

Cornwell, Erin York; Waite, Linda J

2009-11-01

The National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) data contain multiple indicators of social connectedness, social participation, social support, and loneliness among older adults. We suggest that these indicators can be combined to measure two aspects of social isolation: social disconnectedness (i.e., physical separation from others) and perceived isolation (i.e., feelings of loneliness and a lack of social support). We use the NSHAP data to create scales measuring social disconnectedness and perceived isolation and examine their distribution among older adults. We assess the reliability of the scales using Cronbach's alpha and item-total correlations and perform confirmatory factor analysis to test the model against the data. Finally, we test differences in scale means across subgroups to assess the distribution of social disconnectedness and perceived isolation among older adults. We find that 17 indicators combine into two reliable scales. The social disconnectedness scale has a two-factor structure, including the restricted social network dimension and the social inactivity dimension. The perceived isolation scale also comprises two dimensions: lack of support and loneliness. We find that social disconnectedness does not vary across age groups, but the oldest old feel more isolated than the young old. Social disconnectedness and perceived isolation are greater among those who have worse health. Discussion The creation of scales measuring social disconnectedness and perceived isolation provides one way to utilize the wide variety of indicators of social isolation collected in the NSHAP study. Although individual indicators of social connectedness or isolation are useful in their own right, these scales provide parsimonious, continuous variables that account for a variety of aspects of social isolation, which may be especially useful for inclusion in multivariate analyses predicting health outcomes.

Career Preparation: A Longitudinal, Process-Oriented Examination

PubMed Central

Stringer, Kate; Kerpelman, Jennifer; Skorikov, Vladimir

2011-01-01

Preparing for an adult career through careful planning, choosing a career, and gaining confidence to achieve career goals is a primary task during adolescence and early adulthood. The current study bridged identity process literature and career construction theory (Savickas, 2005) by examining the commitment component of career adaptability, career preparation (i.e., career planning, career decision-making, and career confidence), from an identity process perspective (Luyckx, Goossens, & Soenens, 2006). Research has suggested that career preparation dimensions are interrelated during adolescence and early adulthood; however, what remains to be known is how each dimension changes over time and the interrelationships among the dimensions during the transition from high school. Drawing parallels between career preparation and identity development dimensions, the current study addressed these questions by examining the patterns of change in each career preparation dimension and parallel process models that tested associations among the slopes and intercepts of the career preparation dimensions. Results showed that the career preparation dimensions were not developing similarly over time, although each dimension was associated cross-sectionally and longitudinally with the other dimensions. Results also suggested that career planning and decision-making precede career confidence. The results of the current study supported career construction theory and showed similarities between the processes of career preparation and identity development. PMID:21804641

Career Preparation: A Longitudinal, Process-Oriented Examination.

PubMed

Stringer, Kate; Kerpelman, Jennifer; Skorikov, Vladimir

2011-08-01

Preparing for an adult career through careful planning, choosing a career, and gaining confidence to achieve career goals is a primary task during adolescence and early adulthood. The current study bridged identity process literature and career construction theory (Savickas, 2005) by examining the commitment component of career adaptability, career preparation (i.e., career planning, career decision-making, and career confidence), from an identity process perspective (Luyckx, Goossens, & Soenens, 2006). Research has suggested that career preparation dimensions are interrelated during adolescence and early adulthood; however, what remains to be known is how each dimension changes over time and the interrelationships among the dimensions during the transition from high school. Drawing parallels between career preparation and identity development dimensions, the current study addressed these questions by examining the patterns of change in each career preparation dimension and parallel process models that tested associations among the slopes and intercepts of the career preparation dimensions. Results showed that the career preparation dimensions were not developing similarly over time, although each dimension was associated cross-sectionally and longitudinally with the other dimensions. Results also suggested that career planning and decision-making precede career confidence. The results of the current study supported career construction theory and showed similarities between the processes of career preparation and identity development.

The Use of Multiple Correspondence Analysis to Explore Associations between Categories of Qualitative Variables in Healthy Ageing.

PubMed

Costa, Patrício Soares; Santos, Nadine Correia; Cunha, Pedro; Cotter, Jorge; Sousa, Nuno

2013-01-01

The main focus of this study was to illustrate the applicability of multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) in detecting and representing underlying structures in large datasets used to investigate cognitive ageing. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to obtain main cognitive dimensions, and MCA was used to detect and explore relationships between cognitive, clinical, physical, and lifestyle variables. Two PCA dimensions were identified (general cognition/executive function and memory), and two MCA dimensions were retained. Poorer cognitive performance was associated with older age, less school years, unhealthier lifestyle indicators, and presence of pathology. The first MCA dimension indicated the clustering of general/executive function and lifestyle indicators and education, while the second association was between memory and clinical parameters and age. The clustering analysis with object scores method was used to identify groups sharing similar characteristics. The weaker cognitive clusters in terms of memory and executive function comprised individuals with characteristics contributing to a higher MCA dimensional mean score (age, less education, and presence of indicators of unhealthier lifestyle habits and/or clinical pathologies). MCA provided a powerful tool to explore complex ageing data, covering multiple and diverse variables, showing if a relationship exists and how variables are related, and offering statistical results that can be seen both analytically and visually.

Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique and Fractal Dimension for Identifying Multiple Sclerosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yu-Dong; Zhang, Yin; Phillips, Preetha; Dong, Zhengchao; Wang, Shuihua

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a severe brain disease. Early detection can provide timely treatment. Fractal dimension can provide statistical index of pattern changes with scale at a given brain image. In this study, our team used susceptibility weighted imaging technique to obtain 676 MS slices and 880 healthy slices. We used synthetic minority oversampling technique to process the unbalanced dataset. Then, we used Canny edge detector to extract distinguishing edges. The Minkowski-Bouligand dimension was a fractal dimension estimation method and used to extract features from edges. Single hidden layer neural network was used as the classifier. Finally, we proposed a three-segment representation biogeography-based optimization to train the classifier. Our method achieved a sensitivity of 97.78±1.29%, a specificity of 97.82±1.60% and an accuracy of 97.80±1.40%. The proposed method is superior to seven state-of-the-art methods in terms of sensitivity and accuracy.

Prediction With Dimension Reduction of Multiple Molecular Data Sources for Patient Survival.

PubMed

Kaplan, Adam; Lock, Eric F

2017-01-01

Predictive modeling from high-dimensional genomic data is often preceded by a dimension reduction step, such as principal component analysis (PCA). However, the application of PCA is not straightforward for multisource data, wherein multiple sources of 'omics data measure different but related biological components. In this article, we use recent advances in the dimension reduction of multisource data for predictive modeling. In particular, we apply exploratory results from Joint and Individual Variation Explained (JIVE), an extension of PCA for multisource data, for prediction of differing response types. We conduct illustrative simulations to illustrate the practical advantages and interpretability of our approach. As an application example, we consider predicting survival for patients with glioblastoma multiforme from 3 data sources measuring messenger RNA expression, microRNA expression, and DNA methylation. We also introduce a method to estimate JIVE scores for new samples that were not used in the initial dimension reduction and study its theoretical properties; this method is implemented in the R package R.JIVE on CRAN, in the function jive.predict.

Multiple dimensions of climate change and their implications for biodiversity.

PubMed

Garcia, Raquel A; Cabeza, Mar; Rahbek, Carsten; Araújo, Miguel B

2014-05-02

The 21st century is projected to witness unprecedented climatic changes, with greater warming often reported for high latitudes. Yet, climate change can be measured in a variety of ways, reflecting distinct dimensions of change with unequal spatial patterns across the world. Polar climates are projected to not only warm, but also to shrink in area. By contrast, today's hot and arid climates are expected to expand worldwide and to reach climate states with no current analog. Although rarely appreciated in combination, these multiple dimensions of change convey complementary information. We review existing climate change metrics and discuss how they relate to threats and opportunities for biodiversity. Interpreting climate change metrics is particularly useful for unknown or poorly described species, which represent most of Earth's biodiversity.

Hospital outpatient perceptions of the physical environment of waiting areas: the role of patient characteristics on atmospherics in one academic medical center

PubMed Central

Tsai, Chun-Yen; Wang, Mu-Chia; Liao, Wei-Tsen; Lu, Jui-Heng; Sun, Pi-hung; Lin, Blossom Yen-Ju; Breen, Gerald-Mark

2007-01-01

Background This study examines hospital outpatient perceptions of the physical environment of the outpatient waiting areas in one medical center. The relationship of patient characteristics and their perceptions and needs for the outpatient waiting areas are also examined. Method The examined medical center consists of five main buildings which house seventeen primary waiting areas for the outpatient clinics of nine medical specialties: 1) Internal Medicine; 2) Surgery; 3) Ophthalmology; 4) Obstetrics-Gynecology and Pediatrics; 5) Chinese Medicine; 6) Otolaryngology; 7) Orthopedics; 8) Family Medicine; and 9) Dermatology. A 15-item structured questionnaire was developed to rate patient satisfaction covering the four dimensions of the physical environments of the outpatient waiting areas: 1) visual environment; 2) hearing environment; 3) body contact environment; and 4) cleanliness. The survey was conducted between November 28, 2005 and December 8, 2005. A total of 680 outpatients responded. Descriptive, univariate, and multiple regression analyses were applied in this study. Results All of the 15 items were ranked as relatively high with a range from 3.362 to 4.010, with a neutral score of 3. Using a principal component analysis' summated scores of four constructed dimensions of patient satisfaction with the physical environments (i.e. visual environment, hearing environment, body contact environment, and cleanliness), multiple regression analyses revealed that patient satisfaction with the physical environment of outpatient waiting areas was associated with gender, age, visiting frequency, and visiting time. Conclusion Patients' socio-demographics and context backgrounds demonstrated to have effects on their satisfaction with the physical environment of outpatient waiting areas. In addition to noticing the overall rankings for less satisfactory items, what should receive further attention is the consideration of the patients' personal characteristics when redesigning more comfortable and customized physical environments of waiting areas. PMID:18053239

Surgical team member assessment of the safety of surgery practice in 38 South Carolina hospitals.

PubMed

Singer, Sara J; Jiang, Wei; Huang, Lyen C; Gibbons, Lorri; Kiang, Mathew V; Edmondson, Lizabeth; Gawande, Atul A; Berry, William R

2015-06-01

We assessed surgical team member perceptions of multiple dimensions of safe surgical practice in 38 South Carolina hospitals participating in a statewide initiative to implement surgical safety checklists. Primary data were collected using a novel 35-item survey. We calculated the percentage of 1,852 respondents with strongly positive, positive, and neutral/negative responses about the safety of surgical practice, compared results by hospital and professional discipline, and examined how readiness, teamwork, and adherence related to staff perception of care quality. Overall, 78% of responses were positive about surgical safety at respondent's hospitals, but in each survey dimension, from 16% to 40% of responses were neutral/negative, suggesting significant opportunity to improve surgical safety. Respondents not reporting they would feel safe being treated in their operating rooms varied from 0% to 57% among hospitals. Surgeons responded more positively than nonsurgeons. Readiness, teamwork, and practice adherence related directly to staff perceptions of patient safety (p < .001). © The Author(s) 2015.

Embodied possibilities and disruptions: The emergence of the Experience of Embodiment construct from qualitative studies with girls and women.

PubMed

Piran, Niva

2016-09-01

There are multiple indicators of disruption in the way girls and women inhabit their bodies. The qualitative research program examined lived experiences of embodiment among girls and women by conducting 171 interviews with 69 girls and women in three different studies: (a) A life history study of 30 interviews with 11 women, ages 20-27; (b) A 5-year prospective interview study of 87 interviews with 27 girls, ages 9-14 in the first phase of the study; and (c) A life history study of 54 interviews with 31 women, ages 50-68. Data analyses used a constructivist grounded theory approach. In all three studies the emergent core construct of Experience of Embodiment had five central dimensions, each with a positive and negative pole. These dimensions included: body-self connection, agency, desire, self-attunement, and resisting objectification. The Experience of Embodiment provides a new, integrated perspective on ways girls and women inhabit their bodies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A view from organizational studies.

PubMed

Dopson, Sue

2007-01-01

This presentation highlights the dimensions that organizational studies scholarship would highlight as being critical to furthering knowledge translation research. Attention is drawn to a number of dimensions of organizational complexity: knowledge translation as a processual phenomena, the contestability of knowledge, the existence and influence of multiple actors in healthcare contacts, the influence of professional and cognitive boundaries and the active role of context. It is argued that inclusion of such dimensions may enhance the impact of Estabrooks' work.

Gender Justice and School Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gao, Desheng

2009-01-01

Gender justice includes three basic dimensions: gender equality, respect for difference, and free choice. In reality, schools construct and reproduce the gender injustice of the social culture through multiple dimensions that include the visible and the invisible curriculum, and the teacher's behaviour. In terms of gender justice, the social…

Socioeconomic Status, Financial Strain, and Leukocyte Telomere Length in a Sample of African American Midlife Men.

PubMed

Schrock, Joshua M; Adler, Nancy E; Epel, Elissa S; Nuru-Jeter, Amani M; Lin, Jue; Blackburn, Elizabeth H; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Chae, David H

2018-06-01

African American men in the USA experience poorer aging-related health outcomes compared to their White counterparts, partially due to socioeconomic disparities along racial lines. Greater exposure to socioeconomic strains among African American men may adversely impact health and aging at the cellular level, as indexed by shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL). This study examined associations between socioeconomic factors and LTL among African American men in midlife, a life course stage when heterogeneity in both health and socioeconomic status are particularly pronounced. Using multinomial logistic regression, we examined associations between multiple measures of SES and tertiles of LTL in a sample of 92 African American men between 30 to 50 years of age. Reports of greater financial strain were associated with higher odds of short versus medium LTL (odds ratio (OR)=2.21, p = 0.03). Higher income was associated with lower odds of short versus medium telomeres (OR=0.97, p = 0.04). Exploratory analyses revealed a significant interaction between educational attainment and employment status (χ 2  = 4.07, p = 0.04), with greater education associated with lower odds of short versus long telomeres only among those not employed (OR=0.10, p = 0.040). Cellular aging associated with multiple dimensions of socioeconomic adversity may contribute to poor aging-related health outcomes among African American men. Subjective appraisal of financial difficulty may impact LTL independently of objective dimensions of SES. Self-appraised success in fulfilling traditionally masculine gender roles, including being an economic provider, may be a particularly salient aspect of identity for African American men and have implications for cellular aging in this population.

Examination of a Bifactor Model of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptom Dimensions.

PubMed

Olatunji, Bunmi O; Ebesutani, Chad; Abramowitz, Jonathan S

2017-01-01

Although obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms are observed along four dimensions (contamination, responsibility for harm, order/symmetry, and unacceptable thoughts), the structure of the dimensions remains unclear. The current study evaluated a bifactor model of OC symptoms among those with and without obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The goals were (a) to evaluate if OC symptoms should be conceptualized as unidimensional or whether distinct dimensions should be interpreted and (b) to use structural equation modeling to examine the convergence of the OC dimensions above and beyond a general dimension with related criteria. Results revealed that a bifactor model fit the data well and that OC symptoms were influenced by a general dimension and by four dimensions. Measurement invariance of the bifactor model was also supported among those with and without OCD. However, the general OC dimension accounted for only half of the variability in OC symptoms, with the remaining variability accounted for by distinct dimensions. Despite evidence of multidimensionality, the dimensions were unreliable after covarying for the general OC dimension. However, the four dimensions did significantly converge with a latent OC spectrum factor above and beyond the general OC dimension. The implications of these findings for conceptualizing the structure of OCD are discussed. © The Author(s) 2015.

Recreational music-making: an integrative group intervention for reducing burnout and improving mood states in first year associate degree nursing students: insights and economic impact.

PubMed

Bittman, Barry B; Snyder, Cherie; Bruhn, Karl T; Liebfreid, Fran; Stevens, Christine K; Westengard, James; Umbach, Paul O

2004-01-01

The challenges of providing exemplary undergraduate nursing education cannot be underestimated in an era when burnout and negative mood states predictably lead to alarming rates of academic as well as career attrition. While the multi-dimensional nature of this complex issue has been extensively elucidated, few rational strategies exist to reverse a disheartening trend recognizable early in the educational process that subsequently threatens to undermine the future viability of quality healthcare. This controlled prospective crossover study examined the impact of a 6-session Recreational Music-making (RMM) protocol on burnout and mood dimensions as well as Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) in first year associate level nursing students. A total of 75 first year associate degree nursing students from Allegany College of Maryland (ACM) participated in a 6-session RMM protocol focusing on group support and stress reduction utilizing a specific group drumming protocol. Burnout and mood dimensions were assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Profile of Mood States respectively. Statistically significant reductions of multiple burnout and mood dimensions as well as TMD scores were noted. Potential annual cost savings for the typical associate degree nursing program (16,800 dollars) and acute care hospital (322,000 dollars) were projected by an independent economic analysis firm. A cost-effective 6-session RMM protocol reduces burnout and mood dimensions as well as TMD in associate degree nursing students.

Measuring Strategic Processing when Students Read Multiple Texts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braten, Ivar; Stromso, Helge I.

2011-01-01

This study explored the dimensionality of multiple-text comprehension strategies in a sample of 216 Norwegian education undergraduates who read seven separate texts on a science topic and immediately afterwards responded to a self-report inventory focusing on strategic multiple-text processing in that specific task context. Two dimensions were…

Interleaved Practice in Multi-Dimensional Learning Tasks: Which Dimension Should We Interleave?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rau, Martina A.; Aleven, Vincent; Rummel, Nikol

2013-01-01

Research shows that multiple representations can enhance student learning. Many curricula use multiple representations across multiple task types. The temporal sequence of representations and task types is likely to impact student learning. Research on contextual interference shows that interleaving learning tasks leads to better learning results…

The representation of patient experience and satisfaction in physician rating sites. A criteria-based analysis of English- and German-language sites

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Information on patient experience and satisfaction with individual physicians could play an important role for performance measures, improved health care and health literacy. Physician rating sites (PRSs) bear the potential to be a widely available source for this kind of information. However, patient experience and satisfaction are complex constructs operationalized by multiple dimensions. The way in which PRSs allow users to express and rate patient experience and satisfaction could likely influence the image of doctors in society and the self-understanding of both doctors and patients. This study examines the extent to which PRSs currently represent the constructs of patient experience and satisfaction. Methods First, a systematic review of research instruments for measuring patient experience and satisfaction was conducted. The content of these instruments was analyzed qualitatively to create a comprehensive set of dimensions for patient experience and patient satisfaction. Second, PRSs were searched for systematically in English-language and German-language search engines of Google and Yahoo. Finally, we classified every structured question asked by the different PRS using the set of dimensions of patient experience and satisfaction. Results The qualitative content analysis of the measurement instruments produced 13 dimensions of patient experience and satisfaction. We identified a total of 21 PRSs. No PRSs represented all 13 dimensions of patient satisfaction and experience with its structured questions. The 3 most trafficked English-language PRS represent between 5 and 6 dimensions and the 3 most trafficked German language PRSs between 8 and 11 dimensions The dimensions for patient experience and satisfaction most frequently represented in PRSs included diversely operationalized ones such as professional competence and doctor-patient relationship/support. However, other less complex but nevertheless important dimensions such as communication skills and information/advice were rarely represented, especially in English-language PRSs. Conclusions Concerning the potential impact of PRSs on health systems, further research is needed to show which of the current operationalizations of patient experience and satisfaction presented in our study are establishing themselves in PRSs. Independently of this factual development, the question also arises whether and to what extent health policy can and should influence the operationalization of patient experience and satisfaction in PRSs. Here, the challenge would be to produce a set of dimensions capable of consensus from among the wide range of operationalizations found by this study. PMID:21138579

Analyzing Group Coordination when Solving Geometry Problems with Dynamic Geometry Software

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oner, Diler

2013-01-01

In CSCL research, collaborative activity is conceptualized along various yet intertwined dimensions. When functioning within these multiple dimensions, participants make use of several resources, which can be social or content-related (and sometimes temporal) in nature. It is the effective coordination of these resources that appears to…

Thinking in Three Dimensions: Leadership for Capacity Building, Sustainability, and Succession

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byrne-Jimenez, Monica; Orr, Margaret Terry

2012-01-01

Urban schools often experience rapid turnover among teachers and leaders. Yet, research and practice highlight the importance of sustained leadership over time as an integral component of school improvement. Successful leadership requires principals who operate in multiple dimensions at once, moving from individual capacity to group empowerment,…

Discrepancies between self- and adult-perceptions of social competence in children with neuropsychiatric disorders.

PubMed

Vuori, M; Autti-Rämö, I; Junttila, N; Vauras, M; Tuulio-Henriksson, A

2017-09-01

The present study examines discrepancies between self- and adult-perceptions of social competence in children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and possible co-morbid disruptive behaviour disorders (DBD). Self-reported questionnaires were collected from multiple informants at the baseline of a multi-systemic family intervention programme for children (aged 5-12) with ADHD, ASD and possible co-morbid DBD. In total, out of the 154 families eligible for the study, information was received concerning children from 124 families (children n = 121; mothers n = 117; fathers n = 86; teachers n = 97). In addition to this, a comparison community sample of 318 school-aged children (approximately 10 years old) was utilized to examine the perceptions of children's social competence across intervention and population groups in more detail. Children's self-perceptions in the prosocial dimension of social competence (i.e. cooperating skills, empathy) did not differ between the intervention and comparison groups. Interestingly, the children in the intervention sample expressed more impulsivity and disruptiveness - the antisocial dimension of social competence - when compared with the children in the comparison sample. Adult ratings demonstrated that mothers, fathers and teachers reported decreased prosocial behaviour and increased antisocial behaviour across overall dimensions and sub-dimensions when compared with adults' ratings of elementary school children. Informant discrepancies between self-ratings and adult ratings across intervention groups yielded significant effect sizes (eta-squared) across all domains of social competence ranging from .09 to .25. Children's positive self-ratings of social competence relative to adult ratings increased within intervention sample when compared with population sample. The intervention sample children appeared to acknowledge their social competence deficits, yet self-perceptions were inflated relative to adult ratings when focusing on peer relationship difficulties, particularly, aggression to peers. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Functional traits, convergent evolution, and periodic tables of niches.

PubMed

Winemiller, Kirk O; Fitzgerald, Daniel B; Bower, Luke M; Pianka, Eric R

2015-08-01

Ecology is often said to lack general theories sufficiently predictive for applications. Here, we examine the concept of a periodic table of niches and feasibility of niche classification schemes from functional trait and performance data. Niche differences and their influence on ecological patterns and processes could be revealed effectively by first performing data reduction/ordination analyses separately on matrices of trait and performance data compiled according to logical associations with five basic niche 'dimensions', or aspects: habitat, life history, trophic, defence and metabolic. Resultant patterns then are integrated to produce interpretable niche gradients, ordinations and classifications. Degree of scheme periodicity would depend on degrees of niche conservatism and convergence causing species clustering across multiple niche dimensions. We analysed a sample data set containing trait and performance data to contrast two approaches for producing niche schemes: species ordination within niche gradient space, and niche categorisation according to trait-value thresholds. Creation of niche schemes useful for advancing ecological knowledge and its applications will depend on research that produces functional trait and performance datasets directly related to niche dimensions along with criteria for data standardisation and quality. As larger databases are compiled, opportunities will emerge to explore new methods for data reduction, ordination and classification. © 2015 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by CNRS and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Service quality perceptions in primary health care centres in Greece

PubMed Central

Papanikolaou, Vicky; Zygiaris, Sotiris

2012-01-01

Abstract Context  The paper refers to the increased competition between health care providers and the need for patient‐centred services in Greece. Using service quality methodology, this paper investigates service quality perceptions of patients in Greek public primary health centres. Objective  To test the internal consistency and applicability of SERVQUAL in primary health care centres in Greece. Strategy  SERVQUAL was used to examine whether patients have different expectations from health care providers and whether different groups of patients may consider some dimensions of care more important than others. Results  The analysis showed that there were gaps in all dimensions measured by SERVQUAL. The largest gap was detected in empathy. Further analysis showed that there were also differences depending on gender, age and education levels. A separate analysis of expectations and perceptions revealed that this gap was because of differences in patients’ perceptions rather than expectations. Discussion and conclusions  This paper raises a number of issues that concern the applicability of SERVQUAL in health care services and could enhance current discussions about SERVQUAL improvement. Quality of health care needs to be redefined by encompassing multiple dimensions. Beyond a simple expectations–perceptions gap, people may hold different understandings of health care that, in turn, influence their perception of the quality of services. PMID:22296402

Service quality perceptions in primary health care centres in Greece.

PubMed

Papanikolaou, Vicky; Zygiaris, Sotiris

2014-04-01

The paper refers to the increased competition between health care providers and the need for patient-centred services in Greece. Using service quality methodology, this paper investigates service quality perceptions of patients in Greek public primary health centres. To test the internal consistency and applicability of SERVQUAL in primary health care centres in Greece. SERVQUAL was used to examine whether patients have different expectations from health care providers and whether different groups of patients may consider some dimensions of care more important than others. The analysis showed that there were gaps in all dimensions measured by SERVQUAL. The largest gap was detected in empathy. Further analysis showed that there were also differences depending on gender, age and education levels. A separate analysis of expectations and perceptions revealed that this gap was because of differences in patients' perceptions rather than expectations. THIS paper raises a number of issues that concern the applicability of SERVQUAL in health care services and could enhance current discussions about SERVQUAL improvement. Quality of health care needs to be redefined by encompassing multiple dimensions. Beyond a simple expectations-perceptions gap, people may hold different understandings of health care that, in turn, influence their perception of the quality of services. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sex work and three dimensions of self-esteem: self-worth, authenticity and self-efficacy.

PubMed

Benoit, Cecilia; Smith, Michaela; Jansson, Mikael; Magnus, Samantha; Flagg, Jackson; Maurice, Renay

2018-01-01

Sex work is assumed to have a negative effect on self-esteem, nearly exclusively expressed as low self-worth, due to its social unacceptability and despite the diversity of persons, positions and roles within the sex industry. In this study, we asked a heterogeneous sample of 218 Canadian sex workers delivering services in various venues about how their work affected their sense of self. Using thematic analysis based on a three-dimensional conception of self-esteem - self-worth (viewing oneself in a favourable light), authenticity (being one's true self) and self-efficacy (competency) - we shed light on the relationship between involvement in sex work and self-esteem. Findings demonstrate that the relationship between sex work and self-esteem is complex: the majority of participants discussed multiple dimensions of self-esteem and often spoke of how sex work had both positive and negative effects on their sense of self. Social background factors, work location and life events and experiences also had an effect on self-esteem. Future research should take a more complex approach to understanding these issues by considering elements beyond self-worth, such as authenticity and self-efficacy, and examining how sex workers' backgrounds and individual motivations intersect with these three dimensions.

Predictive capacity of prodromal symptoms in first-episode psychosis of recent onset.

PubMed

Barajas, Ana; Pelaez, Trinidad; González, Olga; Usall, Judith; Iniesta, Raquel; Arteaga, Maria; Jackson, Chris; Baños, Iris; Sánchez, Bernardo; Dolz, Montserrat; Obiols, Jordi E; Haro, Josep M; Ochoa, Susana

2017-11-08

Both the nature and number of a wide range of prodromal symptoms have been related to the severity and type of psychopathology in the psychotic phase. However, at present there is an incomplete picture focused mainly on the positive pre-psychotic dimension. To characterize the prodromal phase retrospectively, examining the number and nature of prodromal symptoms as well as their relationship with psychopathology at the onset of first-episode psychosis. Retrospective study of 79 patients experiencing a first-episode psychosis of less than 1 year from the onset of full-blown psychosis. All patients were evaluated with a comprehensive battery of instruments including socio-demographic and clinical questionnaire, IRAOS interview, PANSS, stressful life events scale (PERI) and WAIS/WISC (vocabulary subtest). Bivariate associations and multiple regression analysis were performed. Regression models revealed that several prodromal dimensions of IRAOS (delusions, affect, language, behaviour and non-hallucinatory disturbances of perception) predicted the onset of psychosis, with positive (22.4% of the variance) and disorganized (25.6% of the variance) dimensions being the most widely explained. In addition to attenuated positive symptoms, other symptoms such as affective, behavioural and language disturbances should also be considered in the definitions criteria of at-high-risk people. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Effects of relative embodiment in lexical and semantic processing of verbs.

PubMed

Sidhu, David M; Kwan, Rachel; Pexman, Penny M; Siakaluk, Paul D

2014-06-01

Research examining semantic richness effects in visual word recognition has shown that multiple dimensions of meaning are activated in the process of word recognition (e.g., Yap et al., 2012). This research has, however, been limited to nouns. In the present research we extended the semantic richness approach to verb stimuli in order to investigate how verb meanings are represented. We characterized a dimension of relative embodiment for verbs, based on the bodily sense described by Borghi and Cimatti (2010), and collected ratings on that dimension for 687 English verbs. The relative embodiment ratings revealed that bodily experience was judged to be more important to the meanings of some verbs (e.g., dance, breathe) than to others (e.g., evaporate, expect). We then tested the effects of relative embodiment and imageability on verb processing in lexical decision (Experiment 1), action picture naming (Experiment 2), and syntactic classification (Experiment 3). In all three experiments results showed facilitatory effects of relative embodiment, but not imageability: latencies were faster for relatively more embodied verbs, even after several other lexical variables were controlled. The results suggest that relative embodiment is an important aspect of verb meaning, and that the semantic richness approach holds promise as a strategy for investigating other aspects of verb meaning. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Landscape metrics for three-dimension urban pattern recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, M.; Hu, Y.; Zhang, W.; Li, C.

2017-12-01

Understanding how landscape pattern determines population or ecosystem dynamics is crucial for managing our landscapes. Urban areas are becoming increasingly dominant social-ecological systems, so it is important to understand patterns of urbanization. Most studies of urban landscape pattern examine land-use maps in two dimensions because the acquisition of 3-dimensional information is difficult. We used Brista software based on Quickbird images and aerial photos to interpret the height of buildings, thus incorporating a 3-dimensional approach. We estimated the feasibility and accuracy of this approach. A total of 164,345 buildings in the Liaoning central urban agglomeration of China, which included seven cities, were measured. Twelve landscape metrics were proposed or chosen to describe the urban landscape patterns in 2- and 3-dimensional scales. The ecological and social meaning of landscape metrics were analyzed with multiple correlation analysis. The results showed that classification accuracy compared with field surveys was 87.6%, which means this method for interpreting building height was acceptable. The metrics effectively reflected the urban architecture in relation to number of buildings, area, height, 3-D shape and diversity aspects. We were able to describe the urban characteristics of each city with these metrics. The metrics also captured ecological and social meanings. The proposed landscape metrics provided a new method for urban landscape analysis in three dimensions.

Burnout and Coping Strategies in Male Staff from National Police in Valparaíso, Chile

PubMed Central

BRIONES MELLA, Daniel; KINKEAD BOUTIN, Ana P.

2013-01-01

Abstract Background This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the relationship between several dimensions of the burnout syndrome with certain stress-coping strategies, seniority level and marital status in male staff from National Police in Vaparaíso, Chile. Methods The sample collected in 2010 was composed of 338 male officers coming from various special units of a National Police in Valparaíso. Burnout and Coping Strategies were assessed and classified according Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and COPE Inventory, respectively. Data was analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation, t-test for independent measures and Multiple Linear Regression to generate a predictive model. Results The prevalence of the burnout syndrome disaggregated by grouping criteria, the dimensions concentrated in middle levels for emotional exhaustion with a 52.1%, a 51.8% for depersonalization and finally, personal achievement with a 48.8%. Only 28% of participants showed more exacerbated dimensions of the burnout syndrome. There was a weak and direct yet statistically significant relationship between personal achievement and active coping. Mental disconnection had a weak direct relationship between both coping strategies and emotional exhaustion also existed. Certain correlations between burnout dimensions and coping strategies focused on emotion as predictor variables over the criterion variable corresponding to emotional exhaustion were mental disconnection in first place, secondly, focusing on emotions, and emotional social support. Conclusions Burnout dimensions scored medium values ​​focusing mainly on emotional exhaustion and reduced personal accomplishment. Coping strategies are used in parallel and in general are not mutually exclusive. Finally, there were not any relationship between variables seniority level and marital status. PMID:26060656

Mother-son discrepant reporting on parenting practices: The contribution of temperament and depression.

PubMed

Shishido, Yuri; Latzman, Robert D

2017-06-01

Despite low to moderate convergent correlations, assessment of youth typically relies on multiple informants for information across a range of psychosocial domains including parenting practices. Although parent-youth informant discrepancies have been found to predict adverse youth outcomes, few studies have examined contributing factors to the explanation of informant disagreements on parenting practices. The current study represents the first investigation to concurrently examine the role of mother and son's self-reported affective dimensions of temperament and depression as pathways to informant discrepancies on parenting practices. Within a community sample of 174 mother-son dyads, results suggest that whereas mother's self-reported temperament evidenced no direct effects on discrepancies, the association between the product term of mother's negative and positive temperament and discrepancies on positive parenting was fully mediated by mother's depression (a mediated moderation). In contrast, son's self-reported temperament evidenced both direct and indirect effects, partially mediated by depression, on rating discrepancies for positive parenting. All told, both son's self-reported affective dimensions of temperament and depression contributed to the explanation of discrepant reporting on parenting practices; only mother's self-reported depression, but not temperament, uniquely contributed. Results highlight the importance of considering both parent and youth's report in the investigation of informant discrepancies on parenting practices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Professional Success and Gender in Family Medicine: Design of Scales and Examination of Gender Differences in Subjective and Objective Success Among Family Physicians.

PubMed

Delgado, Ana; Saletti-Cuesta, Lorena; López-Fernández, Luis Andrés; Toro-Cárdenas, Silvia; Luna del Castillo, Juan de Dios

2016-03-01

Two components of professional success have been defined: objective career success (OCS) and subjective career success (SCS). Despite the increasing number of women practicing medicine, gender inequalities persist. The objectives of this descriptive, cross-sectional, and multicenter study were (a) to construct and validate OCS and SCS scales, (b) to determine the relationships between OCS and SCS and between each scale and professional/family characteristics, and (c) to compare these associations between male and female family physicians (FPs). The study sample comprised 250 female and 250 male FPs from urban health centers in Andalusia (Spain). Data were gathered over 6 months on gender, age, care load, professional/family variables, and family-work balance, using a self-administered questionnaire. OSC and SCS scales were examined by using exploratory factorial analysis and Cronbach's α, and scores were compared by gender-stratified bivariate and multiple regression analyses. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated using a multilevel analysis. The response rate was 73.6%. We identified three OCS factors and two SCS factors. Lower scores were obtained by female versus male FPs in the OCS dimensions, but there were no gender differences in either SCS dimension. © The Author(s) 2014.

Online Social Support for Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Thematic Analysis of Messages Posted to a Virtual Support Community.

PubMed

Shavazi, Masoumeh Abbasi; Morowatisharifabad, Mohammad Ali; Shavazi, Mohammad Taghi Abbasi; Mirzaei, Masoud; Ardekani, Ali Mellat

2016-07-01

Currently with the emergence of the Internet, patients have an opportunity to exchange social support online. However, little attention has been devoted to different dimensions of online social support exchanged in virtual support communities for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). To provide a rich insight, the aim of this qualitative study was to explore and categorize different dimensions of online social support in messages exchanged in a virtual support community for patients with MS. A total of 548 posted messages created during one year period were selected using purposive sampling to consider the maximum variation sampling. Prior-research-driven thematic analysis was then conducted. In this regard, we used the Cutruna and Suhr's coding system. The messages that could not be categorized with the used coding system were thematically analyzed to explore new additional social support themes. The results showed that various forms of social support including informational, emotional, network, esteem and tangible support were exchanged. Moreover, new additional social support themes including sharing personal experiences, sharing coping strategies and spiritual support emerged in this virtual support community. The wide range of online social support exchanged in the virtual support community can be regarded as a supplementary source of social support for patients with MS. Future researches can examine online social support more comprehensively considering additional social support themes emerging in the present study.

An investigation of two dimensions of impulsivity as predictors of loss-of-control eating severity and frequency.

PubMed

Espel, Hallie M; Muratore, Alexandra F; Lowe, Michael R

2017-10-01

Loss-of-control (LOC) eating episodes represent one form of dysregulated eating common to full- and sub-threshold eating disorders. Extensive evidence suggests that impulsivity, particularly in the context of negative affect and/or depression, may play an important etiological role in the development and maintenance of LOC eating. However, most prior studies have considered LOC eating as a dichotomous rather than dimensional construct, and few studies have considered the interaction of multiple dimensions of impulsivity while also accounting for the role of depressive symptoms. The present study examined the independent and interacting effects of two facets of impulsivity-response inhibition and negative urgency-on LOC eating episode severity and frequency among college women (N = 102). Depressive symptom severity was included as a covariate. Results indicated that greater negative urgency was associated with greater LOC severity; this effect was moderated by response inhibition, such that the effect of urgency was particularly pronounced for individuals with higher response inhibition capacity. Negative urgency was the only significant predictor of LOC frequency. Depression had no significant effect on either LOC severity or frequency (ps ≥ 0.16). Results support the importance of considering multiple facets of impulsivity in predicting LOC eating behavior, and further indicate that factors influencing subjective severity and frequency of LOC may be distinct. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Principals' instructional management skills and middle school science teacher job satisfaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gibbs-Harper, Nzinga A.

The purpose of this research study was to determine if a relationship exists between teachers' perceptions of principals' instructional leadership behaviors and middle school teacher job satisfaction. Additionally, this study sought to assess whether principal's instructional leadership skills were predictors of middle school teachers' satisfaction with work itself. This study drew from 13 middle schools in an urban Mississippi school district. Participants included teachers who taught science. Each teacher was given the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS; Hallinger, 2011) and the Teacher Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (TJSQ; Lester, 1987) to answer the research questions. The study was guided by two research questions: (a) Is there a relationship between the independent variables Defining the School's Mission, Managing the Instructional Program, and Developing the School Learning Climate Program and the dependent variable Work Itself?; (b) Are Defining the School's Mission, Managing the Instructional Program, and Developing the School Learning Climate Program predictors of Work Itself? The Pearson's correlation and multiple regression analysis were utilized to examine the relationship between the three dimensions of principals' instructional leadership and teacher satisfaction with work itself. The data revealed that there was a strong, positive correlation between all three dimensions of principals' instructional leadership and teacher satisfaction with work itself. However, the multiple regression analysis determined that teachers' perceptions of principals' instructional management skills is a slight predictor of Defining the School's Mission only.

Dopamine prediction error responses integrate subjective value from different reward dimensions

PubMed Central

Lak, Armin; Stauffer, William R.; Schultz, Wolfram

2014-01-01

Prediction error signals enable us to learn through experience. These experiences include economic choices between different rewards that vary along multiple dimensions. Therefore, an ideal way to reinforce economic choice is to encode a prediction error that reflects the subjective value integrated across these reward dimensions. Previous studies demonstrated that dopamine prediction error responses reflect the value of singular reward attributes that include magnitude, probability, and delay. Obviously, preferences between rewards that vary along one dimension are completely determined by the manipulated variable. However, it is unknown whether dopamine prediction error responses reflect the subjective value integrated from different reward dimensions. Here, we measured the preferences between rewards that varied along multiple dimensions, and as such could not be ranked according to objective metrics. Monkeys chose between rewards that differed in amount, risk, and type. Because their choices were complete and transitive, the monkeys chose “as if” they integrated different rewards and attributes into a common scale of value. The prediction error responses of single dopamine neurons reflected the integrated subjective value inferred from the choices, rather than the singular reward attributes. Specifically, amount, risk, and reward type modulated dopamine responses exactly to the extent that they influenced economic choices, even when rewards were vastly different, such as liquid and food. This prediction error response could provide a direct updating signal for economic values. PMID:24453218

Mental Health Consequences of Intimate Partner Abuse

PubMed Central

Mechanic, Mindy B.; Weaver, Terri L.; Resick, Patricia A.

2010-01-01

Battered women are exposed to multiple forms of intimate partner abuse. This article explores the independent contributions of physical violence, sexual coercion, psychological abuse, and stalking on symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among a sample of 413 severely battered, help-seeking women. The authors test the unique effects of psychological abuse and stalking on mental health outcomes, after controlling for physical violence, injuries, and sexual coercion. Mean scores for the sample fall into the moderate to severe range for PTSD and within the moderate category for depression scores. Hierarchical regressions test the unique effects of stalking and psychological abuse, after controlling for physical violence, injuries, and sexual coercion. Psychological abuse and stalking contribute uniquely to the prediction of PTSD and depression symptoms, even after controlling for the effects of physical violence, injuries, and sexual coercion. Results highlight the importance of examining multiple dimensions of intimate partner abuse. PMID:18535306

Support for adolescent spirituality: contributions of religious practice and trait mindfulness.

PubMed

Cobb, Eleanor; Kor, Ariel; Miller, Lisa

2015-06-01

Spirituality and the surge of its development in adolescence have been established in the research. To date, however, these studies look at tendencies across full samples of adolescence rather than investigating multiple subgroups or multiple pathways of spiritual development. The current study uses latent class analysis to identify subgroup portraits of spiritual life in adolescence, based upon a range of dimensions of spiritual experience, religious practice, and mindfulness. Mindfulness, as a dispositional trait, is examined alongside the impact of religious practice on the level of spiritual experience (relationship with the Higher Power, spiritual values, and spiritual self). The findings suggest there is a complimentary contribution to spiritual life in adolescence from religious practice and mindfulness, with both as supportive pathways for spiritual development. Adolescents with the highest level of spiritual experience benefit from both religious practice and trait mindfulness, suggesting that taken together, there is an additive and augmenting contribution.

Speaker variability augments phonological processing in early word learning

PubMed Central

Rost, Gwyneth C.; McMurray, Bob

2010-01-01

Infants in the early stages of word learning have difficulty learning lexical neighbors (i.e., word pairs that differ by a single phoneme), despite the ability to discriminate the same contrast in a purely auditory task. While prior work has focused on top-down explanations for this failure (e.g. task demands, lexical competition), none has examined if bottom-up acoustic-phonetic factors play a role. We hypothesized that lexical neighbor learning could be improved by incorporating greater acoustic variability in the words being learned, as this may buttress still developing phonetic categories, and help infants identify the relevant contrastive dimension. Infants were exposed to pictures accompanied by labels spoken by either a single or multiple speakers. At test, infants in the single-speaker condition failed to recognize the difference between the two words, while infants who heard multiple speakers discriminated between them. PMID:19143806

Anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty as potential risk factors for cyberchondria: A replication and extension examining dimensions of each construct.

PubMed

Fergus, Thomas A

2015-09-15

Preliminary findings suggest that anxiety sensitivity (AS) and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) may confer vulnerability for cyberchondria, defined as repeated internet searches for medical information that exacerbates health anxiety. Prior studies are limited because it remains unclear whether specific AS or IU dimensions differentially relate to certain cyberchondria dimensions. The present study examined associations among AS, IU, and cyberchondria dimensions using a sample of community adults (N = 578) located in the United States. As predicted, physical AS and inhibitory IU were the only AS or IU dimensions to share unique associations with the distress cyberchondria dimension after controlling for the overlap among the AS dimensions, IU dimensions, and health anxiety. Cognitive AS and social AS unexpectedly evidenced unique associations with cyberchondria dimensions. The results are limited by the cross-sectional study design and use of a community, rather than clinical, sample. This study provides evidence that specific AS and IU dimensions may confer vulnerability to certain cyberchondria dimensions. Further clarifying associations among AS, IU, and cyberchondria may lead to improvements in our conceptualization and, ultimately, treatment of cyberchondria. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reexamining the domain of hypochondriasis: comparing the Illness Attitudes Scale to other approaches.

PubMed

Fergus, Thomas A; Valentiner, David P

2009-08-01

The present study examined utility of the Illness Attitudes Scale (IAS; [Kellner, R. (1986). Somatization and hypochondriasis. New York: Praeger Publishers]) in a non-clinical college sample (N=235). Relationships among five recently identified IAS dimensions (fear of illness and pain, symptom effects, treatment experience, disease conviction, and health habits) and self-report measures of several anxiety-related constructs (health anxiety, body vigilance, intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety sensitivity, and non-specific anxiety symptoms) were examined. In addition, this study investigated the incremental validity of the IAS dimensions in predicting medical utilization. The fear of illness and pain dimension and the symptom effects dimension consistently shared stronger relations with the anxiety-related constructs compared to the other three IAS dimensions. The symptom effects dimension, the disease conviction dimension, and the health habits dimension showed incremental validity over the anxiety-related constructs in predicting medical utilization. Implications for the IAS and future conceptualizations of HC are discussed.

[Female students in internships in Parisian hospitals (1871-1910). Exclusion and inclusion processes].

PubMed

José, María; Somavilla, Ruiz

2016-01-01

This study addresses the explicit and implicit exclusion mechanisms that limited the access of women to internships in Paris hospitals during the last decades of the 19th century through examination of the documentation generated in the admission process and the texts of female physicians who supported their access. In response to the applications of female medical students to register for the admission tests, the Conseil de Surveillance de l'Assistance Publique delayed their entry for some years until their registration was finally permitted. However, their inclusion in the institution did not produce integration because of the multiple dimensions of the exclusion mechanisms.

What accounts for men's hostile attitudes toward women? The influence of hegemonic male role norms and masculine gender role stress.

PubMed

Gallagher, Kathryn E; Parrott, Dominic J

2011-05-01

This study examined masculine gender role stress (MGRS) as a mediator of the relation between adherence to dimensions of a hegemonic masculinity and hostility toward women (HTW). Among a sample of 338 heterosexual men, results indicated that MGRS mediated the relation between adherence to the status and antifemininity norms, but not the toughness norm, and HTW. Adherence to the toughness norm maintained a positive association with HTW. These findings suggest that men's HTW develops via multiple pathways that are associated with different norms of hegemonic masculinity. Implications for the prediction of men's aggression against women are discussed.

WHAT ACCOUNTS FOR MEN'S HOSTILE ATTITUDES TOWARD WOMEN?: THE INFLUENCE OF HEGEMONIC MALE ROLE NORMS AND MASCULINE GENDER ROLE STRESS

PubMed Central

Gallagher, Kathryn E.; Parrott, Dominic J.

2011-01-01

This study examined masculine gender role stress (MGRS) as a mediator of the relation between adherence to dimensions of a hegemonic masculinity and hostility toward women (HTW). Among a sample of 338 heterosexual men, results indicated that MGRS mediated the relation between adherence to the status and antifemininity norms, but not the toughness norm, and HTW. Adherence to the toughness norm maintained a positive association with HTW. These findings suggest that men's HTW develops via multiple pathways that are associated with different norms of hegemonic masculinity. Implications for the prediction of men's aggression against women are discussed. PMID:21531691

Multiple dimensions of attitudes about homosexuality: development of a multifaceted scale measuring attitudes toward homosexuality.

PubMed

Adolfsen, Anna; Iedema, Jurjen; Keuzenkamp, Saskia

2010-01-01

Attitudes toward homosexuality are complex. To get a comprehensive view on the attitudes of people, different dimensions need to be included in research. Based on a review of the literature, we distinguish five dimensions: acceptance of homosexuality in a general sense; attitude toward equal rights; reactions to homosexuality "at close quarters"; reactions to homosexuality in public; and so-called modern homonegativity. In a study on a representative sample of Dutch Defence personnel (N = 1,607) we tested this model. Structural equation modeling of several items measuring the attitude toward homosexuality offers a six factor solution. These six factors are more or less comparable to the five dimensions we distinguished. The dimension "reactions to homosexuality at close quarters" is, however, empirically split in a dimension on affective reactions to homosexuality and homosexual persons in general and a dimension on affective reaction to homosexual friends or acquaintances.

One-Shot Determination of Residual Dipolar Couplings: Application to the Structural Discrimination of Small Molecules Containing Multiple Stereocenters.

PubMed

Castañar, Laura; Garcia, Manuela; Hellemann, Erich; Nolis, Pau; Gil, Roberto R; Parella, Teodor

2016-11-18

A novel approach for the fast and efficient structural discrimination of molecules containing multiple stereochemical centers is described. A robust J-resolved HSQC experiment affording highly resolved 1 J CH / 1 T CH splittings along the indirect dimension and homodecoupled 1 H signals in the detected dimension is proposed. The experiment enables in situ distinction of both isotropic and anisotropic components of molecules dissolved in compressed PMMA gels, allowing a rapid and direct one-shot determination of accurate residual dipolar coupling constants from a single NMR spectrum.

Small Area Indices of Multiple Deprivation in South Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Noble, Michael; Barnes, Helen; Wright, Gemma; Roberts, Benjamin

2010-01-01

This paper presents the Provincial Indices of Multiple Deprivation that were constructed by the authors at ward level using 2001 Census data for each of South Africa's nine provinces. The principles adopted in conceptualising the indices are described and multiple deprivation is defined as a weighted combination of discrete dimensions of…

The relation between the bifactor model of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory and conduct problems in adolescence: Variations across gender, ethnic background, and age.

PubMed

Zwaanswijk, Wendy; Veen, Violaine C; van Geel, Mitch; Andershed, Henrik; Vedder, Paul

2017-08-01

The current study examines how the bifactor model of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) is related to conduct problems in a sample of Dutch adolescents (N = 2,874; 43% female). It addresses to what extent the YPI dimensions explain variance over and above a General Psychopathy factor (i.e., one factor related to all items) and how the general factor and dimensional factors are related to conduct problems. Group differences in these relations for gender, ethnic background, and age were examined. Results showed that the general factor is most important, but dimensions explain variance over and above the general factor. The general factor, and Affective and Lifestyle dimensions, of the YPI were positively related to conduct problems, whereas the Interpersonal dimension was not, after taking the general factor into account. However, across gender, ethnic background, and age, different dimensions were related to conduct problems over and above the general factor. This suggests that all 3 dimensions should be assessed when examining the psychopathy construct. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

English Language Teachers' Burnout within the Cultural Dimensions Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saboori, Fahime; Pishghadam, Reza

2016-01-01

The aim of the present study was to explore burnout among Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers within Hofstede's cultural framework. To this end, first multiple correspondence analysis was run, and the results of which revealed a significant relationship between the cultural dimensions and the burnout components. Next, multiple…

Selection of a Man-Modelling CAD (Computer-Aided Design),

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-09-01

OPTIONS link-length input options internal dimensions - V V external dimensions V V V percentile values V V V absolute values (mm) V V/ V somatotypes V...specific data .035 A3 somatotype representation .020 A4 a-typical postures possible .035 * A5 flesh contour representation .040 A6 multiple number of

Dimensions of Family Connectedness among Adolescents with Mexican, Chinese, and European Backgrounds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardway, Christina; Fuligni, Andrew J.

2006-01-01

Multiple dimensions of adolescents' connectedness with their families were investigated among 489 9th-grade students (M = 14.86 years) from families with Mexican, Chinese, and European backgrounds. Participants reported on various aspects of their family relationships and completed diary checklists of daily behaviors for a 2-week period. …

Development and comparison of multiple regression models to predict bankfull channel dimensions for use in hydrologic models

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Bankfull hydraulic geometry relationships are used to estimate channel dimensions for streamflow simulation models, which require channel geometry data as input parameters. Often, one nationwide curve is used across the entire United States (U.S.) (e.g., in Soil and Water Assessment Tool), even tho...

National Culture, Creativity, and Productivity: What's the Relationship with Student Achievement?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fang, Zheng; Xu, Xianxuan; Grant, Leslie W.; Stronge, James H.; Ward, Thomas J.

2016-01-01

Using Hofstede's culture dimensions and World Values Survey (WVS) dimensions, the study uses a series of multiple regressions to explore the relationship among national culture, creativity as measured by patents, economic productivity as measured by gross domestic product per capita, and student achievement as measured by Trends in International…

Forgiveness and relationship satisfaction: mediating mechanisms.

PubMed

Braithwaite, Scott R; Selby, Edward A; Fincham, Frank D

2011-08-01

Although the ability to forgive transgressions has been linked to overall relationship satisfaction, the mechanisms that mediate this association have not been established. We propose that the tendency to forgive a romantic partner increases relationship satisfaction via increased relational effort and decreased negative conflict. In two studies, we used structural equations modeling to examine these variables as potential mechanisms that drive this association. In Study 1 (N = 523) and Study 2 (N = 446) we found that these variables significantly mediated the association between forgiveness and relationship satisfaction. The findings were robust when examined concurrently and longitudinally, across multiple measures of forgiveness, and when accounting for baseline relationship satisfaction and interpersonal commitment. These two mechanisms parallel theorized positive and negative dimensions of forgiveness and the motivational transformation that is said to underlie forgiveness. Theoretical implications and implications for intervention are discussed.

The relationship of otitis media in early childhood to attention dimensions during the early elementary school years.

PubMed

Hooper, Stephen R; Ashley, Timothy A; Roberts, Joanne E; Zeisel, Susan A; Poe, Michele D

2006-08-01

This study examined the impact of otitis media with effusion (OME) and associated hearing loss between 6 and 48 months of age on attention dimensions (i.e., selective/focus, sustained) during the elementary school years. A prospective cohort design in which 74 African American infants were recruited between ages 6 and 12 months. Ear examinations were done repeatedly using both otoscopy and tympanometry, and hearing was assessed using standard audiometric procedures between 6 and 48 months. Multiple measures of attention (i.e., direct assessment, behavioral observations, parent/teacher ratings) were administered from kindergarten through second grade to assess two theoretical dimensions of attention: selective/focused and sustained. The home environment was assessed annually. Results indicated that neither early childhood OME nor hearing loss showed significant correlations with any of the longitudinal or cross-sectional measures of selective/focused attention and sustained attention. In contrast, children with mothers who had fewer years of education and who lived in less responsive and supportive home environments scored higher on both parent and teacher ratings of sustained attention (i.e., hyperactivity) through the second grade of elementary school. For NEPSY Auditory Attention in second grade, a significant interaction between the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment and hearing loss was uncovered. This interaction showed that children with hearing loss from poor home environments experienced greater difficulties on the NEPSY Auditory Attention task than those with hearing loss from good home environments. These findings do not support a direct linkage of a history of OME and associated hearing loss to difficulties in selective/focused attention or sustained attention in early elementary school children. Relationships between sociodemographic variables and attention-related functions appear stronger and should be considered as mediators in any examination of the linkages between early OME and subsequent attention functions.

Family accommodation in obsessive-compulsive disorder: Relation to symptom dimensions, clinical and family characteristics.

PubMed

Albert, Umberto; Bogetto, Filippo; Maina, Giuseppe; Saracco, Paola; Brunatto, Cinthia; Mataix-Cols, David

2010-09-30

Family accommodation is the term used to indicate the process whereby family members of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) assist or participate in the patients' rituals. Family accommodation is a relatively under-researched phenomenon in OCD but an important one because it may be predictive of poor treatment outcome. This study systematically examined several socio-demographic and clinical variables that are associated with family accommodation in a well-characterized sample of adult patients and their healthy family members. Experienced clinicians administered the Family Accommodation Scale (FAS) to 141 psychopathology-free family members cohabiting with 97 patients with OCD. The items of the FAS were first subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) and the resulting domains of family accommodation (Participation, Modification, and Distress and Consequences) introduced as dependent variables in a series of multiple regression models assessing the relationship between family accommodation domains and a wide range of clinical variables, including Axis I and II psychopathology and symptom dimensions derived from the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) Symptom Checklist. The results showed that family accommodation was common, with the provision of reassurance, participation in rituals and assisting the patient in avoidance being the most frequent practices (occurring on a daily basis in 47%, 35%, and 43% of family members, respectively). The PCA of the YBOCS Symptom Checklist yielded four symptom dimensions, which were identical to those previously identified in the international literature. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that a higher score on the contamination/washing symptom dimension and a positive family history for an anxiety disorder other than OCD (referring to a family member other than the participant in this study) predicted greater scores on several domains of family accommodation. Our study confirms that family accommodation is frequent and distressing in psychopathology-free family members cohabiting with adult OCD patients. Family accommodation is particularly frequent and distressing when the patient has prominent contamination/washing symptoms and/or when another family member has a history of an anxiety disorder. Such families may be more likely to benefit from family-based interventions but this remains to be tested in controlled trials. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Doing without dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spurgin, C. B.

1986-03-01

The author discusses the concept of dimensions of a physical quantity, and the relationship between derived units (expressed in terms of their base units) and the dimensions of the derived quantities. He calls for the replacement of 'dimensions' by base units in the GCE A-level syllabus and provides some recommendations to GCE examining boards.

Intergenerational Sharing of Knowledge as Means of Deepening the Organisational Learning Culture in Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klein, Joseph; Shapira-Lishchinsky, Orly

2016-01-01

Learning organisations promote the transfer of insights to new personnel (vertical dimension) and the development of shared team knowledge (horizontal dimension). Educational research focuses mainly on the horizontal dimension. This study examined a theoretical framework combining both dimensions and its contribution to teachers' work. Three…

The Examination of Secondary Education Chemistry Curricula Published between 1957-2007 in Terms of the Dimensions of Rationale, Goals, and Subject-Matter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pekdag, Bulent; Erol, Hilal

2013-01-01

Fifteen secondary education chemistry curricula published from 1957 until 2007 were examined based on the dimensions of rationale, goals, and subject matter. An examination of documents in the scope of qualitative research was carried out in the study. The goals included in the examined chemistry curricula were analyzed according to the cognitive,…

Convex hulls of random walks in higher dimensions: A large-deviation study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schawe, Hendrik; Hartmann, Alexander K.; Majumdar, Satya N.

2017-12-01

The distribution of the hypervolume V and surface ∂ V of convex hulls of (multiple) random walks in higher dimensions are determined numerically, especially containing probabilities far smaller than P =10-1000 to estimate large deviation properties. For arbitrary dimensions and large walk lengths T , we suggest a scaling behavior of the distribution with the length of the walk T similar to the two-dimensional case and behavior of the distributions in the tails. We underpin both with numerical data in d =3 and d =4 dimensions. Further, we confirm the analytically known means of those distributions and calculate their variances for large T .

When status hurts: dimensions of women's status and domestic abuse in rural Northern India.

PubMed

Mogford, Elizabeth

2011-07-01

This study is a multiple logistic regression analysis of the relationship between dimensions of women's status and domestic abuse in rural Uttar Pradesh, India, using the 1998-1999 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-2). Findings indicate that the effects of a woman's status on her likelihood of experiencing abuse depend on the social realm within which status operates. Specifically, more "public" dimensions of status are associated with a greater probability of abuse, while "domestic" dimensions are protective. The findings are interpreted in terms of transitioning gender norms in Uttar Pradesh and provide clarity to the literature on the complex relationship between status and abuse.

Efficacy of the Fun For Wellness Online Intervention to Promote Multidimensional Well-Being: a Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Myers, Nicholas D; Prilleltensky, Isaac; Prilleltensky, Ora; McMahon, Adam; Dietz, Samantha; Rubenstein, Carolyn L

2017-11-01

Subjective well-being refers to people's level of satisfaction with life as a whole and with multiple dimensions within it. Interventions that promote subjective well-being are important because there is evidence that physical health, mental health, substance use, and health care costs may be related to subjective well-being. Fun For Wellness (FFW) is a new online universal intervention designed to promote growth in multiple dimensions of subjective well-being. The purpose of this study was to provide an initial evaluation of the efficacy of FFW to increase subjective well-being in multiple dimensions in a universal sample. The study design was a prospective, double-blind, parallel group randomized controlled trial. Data were collected at baseline and 30 and 60 days-post baseline. A total of 479 adult employees at a major university in the southeast of the USA were enrolled. Recruitment, eligibility verification, and data collection were conducted online. Measures of interpersonal, community, occupational, physical, psychological, economic (i.e., I COPPE), and overall subjective well-being were constructed based on responses to the I COPPE Scale. A two-class linear regression model with complier average causal effect estimation was imposed for each dimension of subjective well-being. Participants who complied with the FFW intervention had significantly higher subjective well-being, as compared to potential compliers in the Usual Care group, in the following dimensions: interpersonal at 60 days, community at 30 and 60 days, psychological at 60 days, and economic at 30 and 60 days. Results from this study provide some initial evidence for both the efficacy of, and possible revisions to, the FFW intervention.

Does the Social Functioning Scale reflect real-life social functioning? An experience sampling study in patients with a non-affective psychotic disorder and healthy control individuals.

PubMed

Schneider, M; Reininghaus, U; van Nierop, M; Janssens, M; Myin-Germeys, I

2017-12-01

The ecological validity of retrospective measures of social functioning is currently unknown in patients with schizophrenia. In the present study, patients with a diagnosis of non-affective psychosis were compared with controls on two measures of social functioning: the Social Functioning Scale (SFS) and daily-life measures collected with the Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM). The associations between both measures were examined in each group of participants to test for the ecological validity of the SFS. A total of 126 participants with a non-affective psychotic disorder and 109 controls completed the SFS and a 6-day momentary ESM protocol assessing various aspects of social functioning. Multiple linear and multilevel regression analyses were performed to test for group differences in social functioning level and examine associations between the two assessment techniques. Lower social functioning was observed in patients compared with controls on retrospective and momentary measures. The SFS interpersonal domain (social engagement/withdrawal and interpersonal behaviour dimensions) was associated with the percentage of time spent alone and negative appraisal of social interactions. The SFS activity domain (pro-social and recreational activities dimensions) was negatively associated with time spent in leisure activities. The SFS showed some degree of ecological validity at assessing broad aspects of social functioning. Low scores on the SFS social engagement/withdrawal and interpersonal behaviour dimensions captured social isolation and social avoidance in daily life, but not lack of interest in socializing. Ecological validity of the SFS activity domain was low. ESM offers a rich alternative to classical assessment techniques of social functioning.

Measuring Patients' Experience of Rehabilitation Services Across the Care Continuum. Part II: Key Dimensions.

PubMed

McMurray, Josephine; McNeil, Heather; Lafortune, Claire; Black, Samantha; Prorok, Jeanette; Stolee, Paul

2016-01-01

To identify key dimensions of patients' experience across the rehabilitative care system and to recommend a framework to develop survey items that measure the rehabilitative care experience. Data were sourced from a literature review that searched MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL (Ebsco), and PsycINFO (APA PsycNET) databases from 2004 to 2014, the reference lists of the final accepted articles, and hand searches of relevant journals. Four reviewers performed the screening process on 2472 articles; 33 were included for analysis. Interrater reliability was confirmed through 2 rounds of title review and 1 round of abstract review, with an average κ score of .69. The final sample of 33 accepted articles was imported into a qualitative data analysis software application. Multiple levels of coding and a constant comparative methodology generated 6 themes. There were 502 discreet survey questions measuring patient experience that were categorized using the following dimensions: rehabilitative care ecosystem, client and informal caregiver engagement, patient and health care provider relation, pain and functional status, group and individual identity, and open ended. The most common survey questions examine the care delivery ecosystem (37%), the engagement of clients and their informal caregivers (24.9%), and the quality of relations between providers and patients (21.7%). Examination of patient's functional status and management of pain yielded (15.3%) of the instruments' questions. Currently available instruments and questions that measure patients' experience in rehabilitative care are unable to assess the performance of rehabilitative delivery systems that aspire to integrate care across the continuum. However, question panels derived from our 6 key themes may measure the key concepts that define rehabilitative care and facilitate measurement of patient experience at the system level. Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Utilizing novel diversity estimators to quantify multiple dimensions of microbial biodiversity across domains

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Microbial ecologists often employ methods from classical community ecology to analyze microbial community diversity. However, these methods have limitations because microbial communities differ from macro-organismal communities in key ways. This study sought to quantify microbial diversity using methods that are better suited for data spanning multiple domains of life and dimensions of diversity. Diversity profiles are one novel, promising way to analyze microbial datasets. Diversity profiles encompass many other indices, provide effective numbers of diversity (mathematical generalizations of previous indices that better convey the magnitude of differences in diversity), and can incorporate taxa similarity information. To explore whether these profiles change interpretations of microbial datasets, diversity profiles were calculated for four microbial datasets from different environments spanning all domains of life as well as viruses. Both similarity-based profiles that incorporated phylogenetic relatedness and naïve (not similarity-based) profiles were calculated. Simulated datasets were used to examine the robustness of diversity profiles to varying phylogenetic topology and community composition. Results Diversity profiles provided insights into microbial datasets that were not detectable with classical univariate diversity metrics. For all datasets analyzed, there were key distinctions between calculations that incorporated phylogenetic diversity as a measure of taxa similarity and naïve calculations. The profiles also provided information about the effects of rare species on diversity calculations. Additionally, diversity profiles were used to examine thousands of simulated microbial communities, showing that similarity-based and naïve diversity profiles only agreed approximately 50% of the time in their classification of which sample was most diverse. This is a strong argument for incorporating similarity information and calculating diversity with a range of emphases on rare and abundant species when quantifying microbial community diversity. Conclusions For many datasets, diversity profiles provided a different view of microbial community diversity compared to analyses that did not take into account taxa similarity information, effective diversity, or multiple diversity metrics. These findings are a valuable contribution to data analysis methodology in microbial ecology. PMID:24238386

Interactions between child and parent temperament and child behavior problems.

PubMed

Rettew, David C; Stanger, Catherine; McKee, Laura; Doyle, Alicia; Hudziak, James J

2006-01-01

Few studies of temperament have tested goodness-of-fit theories of child behavior problems. In this study, we test the hypothesis that interactions between child and parent temperament dimensions predict levels of child psychopathology after controlling for the effects of these dimensions individually. Temperament and psychopathology were assessed in a total of 175 children (97 boys, 78 girls; mean age, 10.99 years; SD, 3.66 years) using composite scores from multiple informants of the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory and the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment. Parent temperament was assessed using the adult version of the Temperament and Character Inventory. Statistical analyses included multiple regression procedures to assess the contribution of child-parent temperament interactions after controlling for demographic variables, other types of child psychopathology, and the individual Temperament and Character Inventory and Junior Temperament and Character Inventory dimensions. Interactions between child and parent temperament dimensions predicted higher levels of externalizing, internalizing, and attention problems over and above the effects of these dimensions alone. Among others, the combination of high child novelty seeking with high maternal novelty was associated with child attention problems, whereas the combination of high child harm avoidance and high father harm avoidance was associated with increased child internalizing problems. Many child temperament dimensions also exerted significant effects independently. The association between a child temperament trait and psychopathology can be dependent upon the temperament of parents. These data lend support to previous theories of the importance of goodness-of-fit.

Multi-Faceted Dimensions of Self-Concept and Personal Control: A Collection of Six Related Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sherman, Lawrence W.; And Others

A series of six papers and an introduction which present the results and tentative analyses of studies investigating such constructs as self-esteem, perceptions of control, and competence are included in this document. These papers are: (1) "Multiple Dimensions of Locus of Control and Their Relationship To Standardized Achievement Scores in Fifth…

Association of Quality Physical Education Teaching with Students’ Physical Fitness

PubMed Central

Chen, Weiyun; Mason, Steve; Hypnar, Andrew; Hammond-Bennett, Austin

2016-01-01

This study examined the extent to which four essential dimensions of quality physical education teaching (QPET) were associated with healthy levels of physical fitness in elementary school students. Participants were nine elementary PE teachers and 1, 201 fourth- and fifth-grade students who were enrolled in nine elementary schools. The students’ physical fitness were assessed using four FITNESSGRAM tests. The PE teachers’ levels of QPET were assessed using the Assessing Quality Teaching Rubrics (AQTR). The AQTR consisted of four essential dimensions including Task Design, Task Presentation, Class Management, and Instructional Guidance. Codes were confirmed through inter-rater reliability (82.4% and 84.5%). Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, multiple R-squared regression models, and independent sample t-tests. The four essential teaching dimensions of QPET were significantly associated with the students’ cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility. However, they accounted for relatively low percentage of the total variance in PACER test, followed by Curl-up test, while explaining very low portions of the total variance in Push-up and Trunk Lift tests. This study indicated that the students who had experienced high level of QPET were more physically fit than their peers who did not have this experience in PACER and Curl-up tests, but not in Push-up and Trunk lift tests. In addition, the significant contribution of the four essential teaching dimensions to physical fitness components was gender-specific. It was concluded that the four teaching dimensions of QPET were significantly associated with students’ health-enhancing physical fitness. Key points Although Task Design, Task Presentation, Class Management, and Instructional Guidance has its unique and critical teaching components, each essential teaching dimensions is intertwined and immersed in teaching practices. Four essential teaching dimensions all significantly contributed to students’ health-enhancing physical fitness. Implementation of QPET in a lesson plays more significant role in contributing to improving girls’ cardiovascular endurance. Implementation of QPET in a lesson contributed significantly to improving boy’s abdominal, upper-body, and back extensor muscular strength and endurance as well as flexibility PMID:27274673

From the macro to the micro: a geographic examination of the community context and early adolescent problem behaviors.

PubMed

Chilenski, Sarah M

2011-12-01

This study examined how multiple dimensions and levels of the community context associated with early adolescent problem behaviors in rural communities. Four thousand, five hundred and nine eighth-grade students in 28 rural and small town school districts in two states participated in surveys regarding substance use and delinquency in 2005. Locations of alcohol retailers, tobacco retailers, youth-serving organizations, and student residences were geocoded. Associations of the number of proximal alcohol and tobacco retailers, and youth-serving organizations with an early-adolescent problem behavior index were tested in Nonlinear Mixed Models that controlled for multiple district-level and individual characteristics. Multi-level model results demonstrated that the number of alcohol and tobacco retail locations within a one-mile radius of each adolescent's home positively associated with student-reported problem behaviors above and beyond the influence of school district and individual characteristics. Results suggest that the proximal community context added significantly to the district context when understanding the occurrence of early adolescent problem behaviors. Recognizing this variability in geographically determined risk within a community will likely enhance the effectiveness of community prevention activities.

From the macro to the micro: A geographic examination of the community context and early adolescent problem behaviors

PubMed Central

Chilenski, Sarah M.

2013-01-01

This study examined how multiple dimensions and levels of the community context associated with early adolescent problem behaviors in rural communities. Four thousand, five hundred and nine eighth-grade students in 28 rural and small town school districts in two states participated in surveys regarding substance use and delinquency in 2005. Locations of alcohol retailers, tobacco retailers, youth-serving organizations, and student residences were geocoded. Associations of the number of proximal alcohol and tobacco retailers, and youth-serving organizations with an early-adolescent problem behavior index were tested in Nonlinear Mixed Models that controlled for multiple district-level and individual characteristics. Multi-level model results demonstrated that the number of alcohol and tobacco retail locations within a one-mile radius of each adolescent’s home positively associated with student-reported problem behaviors above and beyond the influence of school district and individual characteristics. Results suggest that the proximal community context added significantly to the district context when understanding the occurrence of early adolescent problem behaviors. Recognizing this variability in geographically determined risk within a community will likely enhance the effectiveness of community prevention activities. PMID:21336674

Association between women's empowerment and infant and child feeding practices in sub-Saharan Africa: an analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys.

PubMed

Na, Muzi; Jennings, Larissa; Talegawkar, Sameera A; Ahmed, Saifuddin

2015-12-01

To explore the relationship between women's empowerment and WHO recommended infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices in sub-Saharan Africa. Analysis was conducted using data from ten Demographic and Health Surveys between 2010 and 2013. Women's empowerment was assessed by nine standard items covering three dimensions: economic, socio-familial and legal empowerment. Three core IYCF practices examined were minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet. Separate multivariable logistic regression models were applied for the IYCF practices on dimensional and overall empowerment in each country. Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Youngest singleton children aged 6-23 months and their mothers (n 15 153). Less than 35 %, 60 % and 18 % of children 6-23 months of age met the criterion of minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet, respectively. In general, likelihood of meeting the recommended IYCF criteria was positively associated with the economic dimension of women's empowerment. Socio-familial empowerment was negatively associated with the three feeding criteria, except in Zimbabwe. The legal dimension of empowerment did not show any clear pattern in the associations. Greater overall empowerment of women was consistently and positively associated with multiple IYCF practices in Mali, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. However, consistent negative relationships were found in Benin and Niger. Null or mixed results were observed in the remaining countries. The importance of women's empowerment for IYCF practices needs to be discussed by context and by dimension of empowerment.

Multiple Dimensions of Private Information: Evidence from the Long-Term Care Insurance Market.

PubMed

Finkelstein, Amy; McGarry, Kathleen

2006-09-01

We demonstrate the existence of multiple dimensions of private information in the long-term care insurance market. Two types of people purchase insurance: individuals with private information that they are high risk and individuals with private information that they have strong taste for insurance. Ex post, the former are higher risk than insurance companies expect, while the latter are lower risk. In aggregate, those with more insurance are not higher risk. Our results demonstrate that insurance markets may suffer from asymmetric information even absent a positive correlation between insurance coverage and risk occurrence. The results also suggest a general test for asymmetric information.

Multiple Dimensions of Private Information: Evidence from the Long-Term Care Insurance Market

PubMed Central

Finkelstein, Amy; McGarry, Kathleen

2010-01-01

We demonstrate the existence of multiple dimensions of private information in the long-term care insurance market. Two types of people purchase insurance: individuals with private information that they are high risk and individuals with private information that they have strong taste for insurance. Ex post, the former are higher risk than insurance companies expect, while the latter are lower risk. In aggregate, those with more insurance are not higher risk. Our results demonstrate that insurance markets may suffer from asymmetric information even absent a positive correlation between insurance coverage and risk occurrence. The results also suggest a general test for asymmetric information. PMID:21253439

Measuring Five Dimensions of Religiosity across Adolescence

PubMed Central

Pearce, Lisa D.; Hayward, George M.; Pearlman, Jessica A.

2017-01-01

This paper theorizes and tests a latent variable model of adolescent religiosity in which five dimensions of religiosity are interrelated: religious beliefs, religious exclusivity, external religiosity, private practice, and religious salience. Research often theorizes overlapping and independent influences of single items or dimensions of religiosity on outcomes such as adolescent sexual behavior, but rarely operationalizes the dimensions in a measurement model accounting for their associations with each other and across time. We use longitudinal structural equation modeling (SEM) with latent variables to analyze data from two waves of the National Study of Youth and Religion. We test our hypothesized measurement model as compared to four alternate measurement models and find that our proposed model maintains superior fit. We then discuss the associations between the five dimensions of religiosity we measure and how these change over time. Our findings suggest how future research might better operationalize multiple dimensions of religiosity in studies of the influence of religion in adolescence. PMID:28931956

Healthy, wealthy, and wise: retirement planning predicts employee health improvements.

PubMed

Gubler, Timothy; Pierce, Lamar

2014-09-01

Are poor physical and financial health driven by the same underlying psychological factors? We found that the decision to contribute to a 401(k) retirement plan predicted whether an individual acted to correct poor physical-health indicators revealed during an employer-sponsored health examination. Using this examination as a quasi-exogenous shock to employees' personal-health knowledge, we examined which employees were more likely to improve their health, controlling for differences in initial health, demographics, job type, and income. We found that existing retirement-contribution patterns and future health improvements were highly correlated. Employees who saved for the future by contributing to a 401(k) showed improvements in their abnormal blood-test results and health behaviors approximately 27% more often than noncontributors did. These findings are consistent with an underlying individual time-discounting trait that is both difficult to change and domain interdependent, and that predicts long-term individual behaviors in multiple dimensions. © The Author(s) 2014.

An analysis of relationships among transformational leadership, job satisfaction, organizational commitment and organizational trust in two Turkish hospitals.

PubMed

Top, Mehmet; Tarcan, Menderes; Tekingündüz, Sabahattin; Hikmet, Neşet

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among employee organizational commitment, organizational trust, job satisfaction and employees' perceptions of their immediate supervisors' transformational leadership behaviors in Turkey. First, this study examined the relationships among organizational commitment, organizational trust, job satisfaction and transformational leadership in two Turkish public hospitals. Second, this investigation examined how job satisfaction, organizational trust and transformational leadership affect organizational commitment. Moreover, it was aimed to investigate how organizational commitment, job satisfaction and transformational leadership affect organizational trust. A quantitative, cross-sectional method, self-administered questionnaire was used for this study. Eight hundred four employees from two public hospitals in Turkey were recruited for collecting data. The overall response rate was 38.14%. The measurement instruments of survey were the Job Satisfaction Survey (developed by P. Spector), the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (developed by J. Meyer and N. Allen), the Organizational Trust Inventory-short form (developed by L. Cummings and P. Bromiley) and the Transformational Leadership Inventory (TLI) (developed by P. M. Podsakoff). Five-point Likert scales were used in these measurement instruments. Correlation test (the Pearson's rank test) was used to examine relationships between variables. Also, multiple regression analysis was used to determine the regressors for organizational commitment and organizational trust. There were significant relationships among overall job satisfaction, overall transformational leadership and organizational trust. Regression analyses showed that organizational trust and two job satisfaction dimensions (contingent rewards and communication) were significant predictors for organizational commitment. It was found that one transformational leadership dimension (articulating a vision), two job satisfaction dimensions (pay and supervision) and two organizational commitment dimensions (affective commitment and normative commitment) were significant regressors for organizational trust. There is a lack of research in the health organizations regarding organizational commitment, organizational trust, job satisfaction and transformational leadership. The investigator of the proposed study intends to add to the literature and intends to prove that the proposed study would be important for healthcare organizations. A number of specific measures should be undertaken to reduce factors that negatively affect organizational commitment, organizational trust and job satisfaction of hospital personnel and to improve transformational leadership behaviors of hospital administrators. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ADHD and personality: a meta-analytic review.

PubMed

Gomez, Rapson; Corr, Philip J

2014-07-01

We report a meta-analysis of up to 40 data sets that examined the personality dimensions in the Five-Factor Model (FFM) and the integrated Five-Factor Model (IFFM) in relation to ADHD symptom domains of inattention (IA) and hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI). The IFFM incorporated the dimensions of other personality models (in particular, those of Eysenck, Tellegen, and Cloninger, as well as the FFM). Major findings were: (1) IA and HI were both associated with low conscientious inhibition/conscientiousness, and low agreeable inhibition/agreeableness, and with high negative emotionality/neuroticism; (2) conscientious inhibition and conscientiousness were more strongly related to IA than HI; (3) agreeable inhibition and agreeableness were more strongly related to HI than IA; and (4) the association of conscientious inhibition and conscientiousness with HI was moderated by age group and source from where participants were recruited (associations were stronger in children than adults, and clinical samples than community samples). These findings are discussed in relation to single and multiple pathway theories, underlying factors and processes for the personality-ADHD link, and clinical implications. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How similar are recognition memory and inductive reasoning?

PubMed

Hayes, Brett K; Heit, Evan

2013-07-01

Conventionally, memory and reasoning are seen as different types of cognitive activities driven by different processes. In two experiments, we challenged this view by examining the relationship between recognition memory and inductive reasoning involving multiple forms of similarity. A common study set (members of a conjunctive category) was followed by a test set containing old and new category members, as well as items that matched the study set on only one dimension. The study and test sets were presented under recognition or induction instructions. In Experiments 1 and 2, the inductive property being generalized was varied in order to direct attention to different dimensions of similarity. When there was no time pressure on decisions, patterns of positive responding were strongly affected by property type, indicating that different types of similarity were driving recognition and induction. By comparison, speeded judgments showed weaker property effects and could be explained by generalization based on overall similarity. An exemplar model, GEN-EX (GENeralization from EXamples), could account for both the induction and recognition data. These findings show that induction and recognition share core component processes, even when the tasks involve flexible forms of similarity.

Stress and burden among caregivers of patients with Lewy body dementia.

PubMed

Leggett, Amanda N; Zarit, Steven; Taylor, Angela; Galvin, James E

2011-02-01

Patients with Lewy body dementia (LBD) may present a unique set of symptoms and challenges to family caregivers compared with other types of dementia. Prominent difficulties include motor impairment, activities of daily living (ADLs) disability, recurrent behavioral and emotional problems (BEPs), and diagnostic difficulties. These problems are likely to affect caregivers' subjective burden. The present study used data from an Internet survey conducted by the Lewy Body Dementia Association. Respondents were 611 people who indicated that they were currently involved in the care of their relative with LBD. Subjective burden was assessed with a 12-item short version of the Zarit Burden Interview. A factor analysis revealed 3 dimensions of burden: role strain, personal strain, and worry about performance. Multiple regressions were used to examine predictors of these dimensions. BEPs, ADL disability, isolation, caregiver age, and patient gender were significant predictors of specific factors. Falls, formal service use, difficulty finding a physician, and evaluation of the physician had no significant associations with burden. These findings highlight burden experiences by caregivers of patients with LBD and the impact of BEPs, ADL assistance, and awareness about LBD on subjective burden.

Phenotypic and genetic associations between reading and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder dimensions in adolescence.

PubMed

Plourde, Vickie; Boivin, Michel; Brendgen, Mara; Vitaro, Frank; Dionne, Ginette

2017-10-01

Multiple studies have shown that reading abilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, mainly inattention symptoms, are phenotypically and genetically associated during childhood. However, few studies have looked at these associations during adolescence to investigate possible developmental changes. The aim of the study is to examine the genetic and environmental etiology of the associations between inattention and hyperactivity reported by parents, and reading accuracy, reading speed, and word reading in a population-based twin sample (Quebec Newborn Twin Study). Participants were between 14 and 15 years of age at the time of testing (N = 668-837). Phenotypic results showed that when nonverbal and verbal abilities were controlled, inattention, but not hyperactivity/impulsivity, was a modest and significant predictor of reading accuracy, reading speed, and word reading. The associations between inattention and all reading abilities were partly explained by genetic and unique environmental factors. However, the genetic correlations were no longer significant after controlling for verbal abilities. In midadolescence, inattention is the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder dimension associated with reading abilities, but they could also share genetic factors with general verbal skills.

Regulatory accountability: Telecommunications and electricity agencies in the United Kingdom, France and Sweden

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rubinstein, Dorit

2007-12-01

This dissertation examines how administrative agencies deal with multiple and conflicting accountability pressures. Drawing on an empirical study of six agencies, the telecommunications and electricity regulators of the UK, France and Sweden, it describes how the agencies legitimized their behavior in relation to three major issues, network pricing, universal service and retail competition. I find that agencies use different forms of accountability in different circumstances, and suggest a classification of accountability strategies along two dimensions: internalizing v. externalizing authority, and the breadth of the target audience. What explains variations along these dimensions is the task characteristics of the issue an agency is dealing with, and specifically, its informational aspects and the degree of political controversy associated with it. The more an issue requires expertise, the more an agency will seek to rely on its professional judgment. The more an issue can be addressed only in terms of the values surrounding it, the more an agency will seek to externalize authority and defer to other actors. Also, the more politically controversial an issue, the broader the target audience before whom an agency will try to justify itself.

Factorial structure of the 'ToM Storybooks': A test evaluating multiple components of Theory of Mind.

PubMed

Bulgarelli, Daniela; Testa, Silvia; Molina, Paola

2015-06-01

This study examined the factorial structure of the Theory of Mind (ToM) Storybooks, a comprehensive 93-item instrument tapping the five components in Wellman's model of ToM (emotion recognition, understanding of desire and beliefs, ability to distinguish between physical and mental entities, and awareness of the link between perception and knowledge). A sample of 681 three- to eight-year-old Italian children was divided into three age groups to assess whether factorial structure varied across different age ranges. Partial credit model analysis was applied to the data, leading to the empirical identification of 23 composite variables aggregating the ToM Storybooks items. Confirmatory factor analysis was then conducted on the composite variables, providing support for the theoretical model. There were partial differences in the specific composite variables making up the dimensions for each of the three age groups. A single test evaluating distinct dimensions of ToM is a valuable resource for clinical practice which may be used to define differential profiles for specific populations. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Triaxial ellipsoid dimensions and rotational poles of seven asteroids from Lick Observatory adaptive optics images, and of Ceres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drummond, Jack; Christou, Julian

2008-10-01

Seven main belt asteroids, 2 Pallas, 3 Juno, 4 Vesta, 16 Psyche, 87 Sylvia, 324 Bamberga, and 707 Interamnia, were imaged with the adaptive optics system on the 3 m Shane telescope at Lick Observatory in the near infrared, and their triaxial ellipsoid dimensions and rotational poles have been determined with parametric blind deconvolution. In addition, the dimensions and pole for 1 Ceres are derived from resolved images at multiple epochs, even though it is an oblate spheroid.

Institutional Quality of a Higher Education Institution from the Perspective of Employers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodman, Karmen; Biloslavo, Roberto; Bratoz, Silva

2013-01-01

The present paper proposes a theoretical model of institutional quality of a higher education institution (HEI) which, in addition to the internal dimensions of quality, incorporates also the external dimension, i.e. the outcomes dimension. This dimension has been neglected by the quality standards and models examined in our paper. Furthermore,…

Parsing the heterogeneity of psychopathy and aggression: Differential associations across dimensions and gender.

PubMed

Hecht, Lisa K; Berg, Joanna M; Lilienfeld, Scott O; Latzman, Robert D

2016-01-01

Psychopathy is a multidimensional construct that is broadly associated with both reactive (RA) and proactive (PA) aggression. Nevertheless, a consistent pattern of associations between psychopathy and these 2 aggression subtypes has yet to emerge because of methodological differences across studies. Moreover, research has yet to examine gender differences in the relation between dimensions of psychopathy and RA/PA. Accordingly, we examined the associations between psychopathy dimensions, as operationalized by 2 self-report instruments, and subtypes of aggression within a diverse sample of undergraduates (N = 1,158). Results confirmed that psychopathy is broadly associated with PA, as well as RA, with dimensions of psychopathy evidencing common and distinct associations with both raw and residual RA and PA scores. In both models of psychopathy, PA was significantly and positively associated with all dimensions, whereas RA was significantly negatively associated with interpersonal and affective dimensions, and significantly positively associated with dimensions related to an antisocial and impulsive lifestyle. Gender significantly moderated associations among dimensions of psychopathy and RA/PA, such that the antisocial/behavioral dimension of psychopathy was positively associated with PA for males, whereas the antisocial/behavioral dimension was positively associated with RA for females. Results suggest both generality and specificity of psychopathy dimensions as related to subtypes of aggression, as well as possible differential pathways from psychopathy to different subtypes of aggression in men and women. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Leading Schools in Circumstances of Multiple Deprivation in South Africa: Mapping Some Conceptual, Contextual and Research Dimensions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maringe, Felix; Moletsane, Relebohile

2015-01-01

The paper suggests that multiple deprivation is a concept as yet lacking in substantial theoretical analysis and that its application as a research framing tool in education is relatively recent. As a concept, multiple deprivation suggests a confluence of factors which depress learning and place unique challenges on leadership and which act in…

Knowledge production and learning for sustainable landscapes: seven steps using social-ecological systems as laboratories.

PubMed

Angelstam, Per; Elbakidze, Marine; Axelsson, Robert; Dixelius, Malcolm; Törnblom, Johan

2013-03-01

There are multiple challenges regarding use and governance of landscapes' goods, functions and intangible values for ecosystem health and human well-being. One group of challenges is to measure and assess principal sustainability dimensions through performance targets, so stakeholders have transparent information about states and trends. Another group is to develop adaptive governance at multiple levels, and management of larger geographical areas across scales. Addressing these challenges, we present a framework for transdisciplinary research using multiple landscapes as place-based case studies that integrates multiple research disciplines and non-academic actors: (1) identify a suite of landscapes, and for each (2) review landscape history, (3) map stakeholders, use and non-use values, products and land use, (4) analyze institutions, policies and the system of governance, (5) measure ecological, economic, social and cultural sustainability, (6) assess sustainability dimensions and governance, and finally (7) make comparisons and synthesize. Collaboration, communication and dissemination are additional core features. We discuss barriers bridges and bridges for applying this approach.

Galilei group with multiple central extension, vorticity, and entropy generation: Exotic fluid in 3 +1 dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Praloy; Ghosh, Subir

2017-12-01

A noncommutative extension of an ideal (Hamiltonian) fluid model in 3 +1 dimensions is proposed. The model enjoys several interesting features: it allows a multiparameter central extension in Galilean boost algebra (which is significant being contrary to the existing belief that a similar feature can appear only in 2 +1 -dimensions); noncommutativity generates vorticity in a canonically irrotational fluid; it induces a nonbarotropic pressure leading to a nonisentropic system. (Barotropic fluids are entropy preserving as the pressure depends only on the matter density.) Our fluid model is termed "exotic" since it has a close resemblance with the extensively studied planar (2 +1 dimensions) exotic models and exotic (noncommutative) field theories.

Event-related potentials dissociate facilitation and interference effects in the numerical Stroop paradigm.

PubMed

Szucs, Dénes; Soltész, Fruzsina

2007-11-05

In the numerical Stroop paradigm (NSP) participants compare simultaneously presented Arabic digits based on either their numerical or on their physical size dimension. Responses are faster when the numerical and size dimensions are congruent with each other (facilitation), and responses are slower when the numerical and size dimensions are incongruent with each other (interference). We aimed to find out whether facilitation and interference appears during the course of perceptual or response processing. To this end, facilitation and interference effects in the amplitude of event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were examined. The onset of motor preparation was determined by monitoring the lateralized readiness potential. In numerical comparison one facilitation effect was related to perceptual processing at the level of the magnitude representation. A second facilitation effect and interference effects appeared during response processing. In size comparison facilitation and interference appeared exclusively during response processing. In both tasks, ERP interference effects were probably related to contextual analysis and to the conflict monitoring and selection for action activity of the anterior cingulate cortex. The results demonstrate that facilitation and interference effects in the NSP appear during multiple stages of processing, and that they are related to different cognitive processes. Therefore these effects should be clearly separated in studies of the NSP. A model of the processes involved in the NSP is provided and implications for studies of the NSP are drawn.

Recreation and Agroforestry: Examining New Dimensions of Multifunctionality in Family Farms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barbieri, Carla; Valdivia, Corinne

2010-01-01

Multifunctionality serves as an analytical framework to recognize many services that farms provide to their surrounding communities and society. This study explores an often overlooked dimension of multifunctionality by examining different recreational services provided by landowners in Missouri and analyzing the relationship between recreational…

Feminism and public health ethics

PubMed Central

Rogers, W A

2006-01-01

This paper sketches an account of public health ethics drawing upon established scholarship in feminist ethics. Health inequities are one of the central problems in public health ethics; a feminist approach leads us to examine not only the connections between gender, disadvantage, and health, but also the distribution of power in the processes of public health, from policy making through to programme delivery. The complexity of public health demands investigation using multiple perspectives and an attention to detail that is capable of identifying the health issues that are important to women, and investigating ways to address these issues. Finally, a feminist account of public health ethics embraces rather than avoids the inescapable political dimensions of public health. PMID:16731735

Feminism and public health ethics.

PubMed

Rogers, W A

2006-06-01

This paper sketches an account of public health ethics drawing upon established scholarship in feminist ethics. Health inequities are one of the central problems in public health ethics; a feminist approach leads us to examine not only the connections between gender, disadvantage, and health, but also the distribution of power in the processes of public health, from policy making through to programme delivery. The complexity of public health demands investigation using multiple perspectives and an attention to detail that is capable of identifying the health issues that are important to women, and investigating ways to address these issues. Finally, a feminist account of public health ethics embraces rather than avoids the inescapable political dimensions of public health.

Immunity's fourth dimension: approaching the circadian-immune connection.

PubMed

Arjona, Alvaro; Silver, Adam C; Walker, Wendy E; Fikrig, Erol

2012-12-01

The circadian system ensures the generation and maintenance of self-sustained ~24-h rhythms in physiology that are linked to internal and environmental changes. In mammals, daily variations in light intensity and other cues are integrated by a hypothalamic master clock that conveys circadian information to peripheral molecular clocks that orchestrate physiology. Multiple immune parameters also vary throughout the day and disruption of circadian homeostasis is associated with immune-related disease. Here, we discuss the molecular links between the circadian and immune systems and examine their outputs and disease implications. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie circadian-immune crosstalk may prove valuable for devising novel prophylactic and therapeutic interventions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The big challenges in modeling human and environmental well-being.

PubMed

Tuljapurkar, Shripad

2016-01-01

This article is a selective review of quantitative research, historical and prospective, that is needed to inform sustainable development policy. I start with a simple framework to highlight how demography and productivity shape human well-being. I use that to discuss three sets of issues and corresponding challenges to modeling: first, population prehistory and early human development and their implications for the future; second, the multiple distinct dimensions of human and environmental well-being and the meaning of sustainability; and, third, inequality as a phenomenon triggered by development and models to examine changing inequality and its consequences. I conclude with a few words about other important factors: political, institutional, and cultural.

Emotional autonomy and depression among Chinese adolescents.

PubMed

Chou, K L

2000-06-01

Depression is quite common among young people in Hong Kong Chinese society. This study examined the association between emotional autonomy and depressive symptomatology among Chinese young people in Hong Kong. The respondents were 512 young people between 16 and 18 years of age from a cross-sectional study in Hong Kong. Significant bivariate relationships were found between depressive symptomatology and three dimensions of emotional autonomy (individuation, nondependency on parents, and deidealization of parents). Using multiple regression models, the author found that depressive symptomatology was associated with two aspects of emotional autonomy: individuation and deidealization of parents. Results indicate that the relationships between depressive symptomatology and these three aspects of emotional autonomy are similar in both individualistic and collectivistic societies.

Emotional autonomy and problem behavior among Chinese adolescents.

PubMed

Chou, Kee-Lee

2003-12-01

The author examined the association between emotional autonomy and problem behavior among Chinese adolescents living in Hong Kong. The respondents were 512 adolescents, 16 to 18 years of age, who were interviewed for a cross-sectional study. Three dimensions of emotional autonomy including individuation, nondependency on parents, and de-idealization of parents were significantly and positively correlated with the amount of problem behavior the participants engaged in during the past 6 months. Using a simple linear multiple regression model, the author found that problem behavior was associated with only one aspect of emotional autonomy-individuation. Results indicated that the relationship between problem behavior and three aspects of emotional autonomy was similar in both individualistic and collectivistic societies.

Rendering an archive in three dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leiman, David A.; Twose, Claire; Lee, Teresa Y. H.; Fletcher, Alex; Yoo, Terry S.

2003-05-01

We examine the requirements for a publicly accessible, online collection of three-dimensional biomedical image data, including those yielded by radiological processes such as MRI, ultrasound and others. Intended as a repository and distribution mechanism for such medical data, we created the National Online Volumetric Archive (NOVA) as a case study aimed at identifying the multiple issues involved in realizing a large-scale digital archive. In the paper we discuss such factors as the current legal and health information privacy policy affecting the collection of human medical images, retrieval and management of information and technical implementation. This project culminated in the launching of a website that includes downloadable datasets and a prototype data submission system.

Emotional intelligence and depressive symptoms in Spanish institutionalized elders: does emotional self-efficacy act as a mediator?

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Background. This work examines the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and depressive symptomatology in institutionalized older adults, delving into the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Considering that previous evidence of the variation of the EI-depression relationship depending on whether the emotional ability or the perception of that ability is evaluated, a model of multiple mediation was tested in which the dimensions of emotional self-efficacy (ESE) act as mediators in the relationship between ability EI and depressive symptomatology. Methods. The sample consisted of 115 institutionalized older adults (47.82% women; 80.3 ± 7.9 years of age) from the province of Jaén (Spain) who completed a test of ESE, a measure of ability EI, and a self-administered questionnaire of depressive symptoms. Results. The results showed a positive association between older adults’ emotional performance and depressive symptomatology, finding stronger associations with ESE than with EI abilities. In addition, multiple mediation analyses showed that two of the four dimensions of ESE fully mediated the relationship between ability EI and depressive symptoms. Discussion. These findings suggest that older adults’ high levels of emotional competence generate a feeling of ESE which can protect them against depressive symptoms. This work supports the predictive validity of emotional abilities and ESE for the mental health of a group that is particularly vulnerable to depression, institutionalized older adults. The limitations of the work are discussed, and future lines of research were considered. PMID:27547553

Online Social Support for Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Thematic Analysis of Messages Posted to a Virtual Support Community

PubMed Central

Shavazi, Masoumeh Abbasi; Morowatisharifabad, Mohammad Ali; Shavazi, Mohammad Taghi Abbasi; Mirzaei, Masoud; Ardekani, Ali Mellat

2016-01-01

Background: Currently with the emergence of the Internet, patients have an opportunity to exchange social support online. However, little attention has been devoted to different dimensions of online social support exchanged in virtual support communities for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: To provide a rich insight, the aim of this qualitative study was to explore and categorize different dimensions of online social support in messages exchanged in a virtual support community for patients with MS. A total of 548 posted messages created during one year period were selected using purposive sampling to consider the maximum variation sampling. Prior-research-driven thematic analysis was then conducted. In this regard, we used the Cutruna and Suhr’s coding system. The messages that could not be categorized with the used coding system were thematically analyzed to explore new additional social support themes. Results: The results showed that various forms of social support including informational, emotional, network, esteem and tangible support were exchanged. Moreover, new additional social support themes including sharing personal experiences, sharing coping strategies and spiritual support emerged in this virtual support community. Conclusion: The wide range of online social support exchanged in the virtual support community can be regarded as a supplementary source of social support for patients with MS. Future researches can examine online social support more comprehensively considering additional social support themes emerging in the present study. PMID:27382585

Family-Supportive Organization Perceptions, Multiple Dimensions of Work-Family Conflict, and Employee Satisfaction: A Test of Model across Five Samples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lapierre, Laurent M.; Spector, Paul E.; Allen, Tammy D.; Poelmans, Steven; Cooper, Cary L.; O'Driscoll, Michael P.; Sanchez, Juan I.; Brough, Paula; Kinnunen, Ulla

2008-01-01

Using samples of managers drawn from five Western countries, we tested a theoretical model linking employees' perceptions of their work environment's family-supportiveness to six different dimensions of work-family conflict (WFC), and to their job satisfaction, family satisfaction, and life satisfaction. Our results are consistent with a causal…

Targeting Performance Dimensions in Sequence According to the Instructional Hierarchy: Effects on Children's Math Work within a Self-Monitoring Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lannie, Amanda L.; Martens, Brian K.

2008-01-01

Four fifth-grade students were presented with frustration-level math probes while three performance dimensions were measured (i.e., percent intervals on-task, percent correct digits, and digits correct per minute (DCM)). Using a multiple baseline design across participants, students were trained to self-monitor time on-task, accuracy, and…

New Models for Predicting Diameter at Breast Height from Stump Dimensions

Treesearch

James A. Westfall

2010-01-01

Models to predict dbh from stump dimensions are presented for 18 species groups. Data used to fit the models were collected across thirteen states in the northeastern United States. Primarily because of the presence of multiple measurements from each tree, a mixed-effects modeling approach was used to account for the lack of independence among observations. The...

Estimating forest ecosystem evapotranspiration at multiple temporal scales with a dimension analysis approach

Treesearch

Guoyi Zhou; Ge Sun; Xu Wang; Chuanyan Zhou; Steven G. McNulty; James M. Vose; Devendra M. Amatya

2008-01-01

It is critical that evapotranspiration (ET) be quantified accurately so that scientists can evaluate the effects of land management and global change on water availability, streamflow, nutrient and sediment loading, and ecosystem productivity in watersheds. The objective of this study was to derive a new semi-empirical ET modeled using a dimension analysis method that...

Dimensions of L2 Performance and Proficiency: Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency in SLA. Language Learning & Language Teaching. Volume 32

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Housen, Alex, Ed.; Kuiken, Folkert, Ed.; Vedder, Ineke, Ed.

2012-01-01

Research into complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF) as basic dimensions of second language performance, proficiency and development has received increased attention in SLA. However, the larger picture in this field of research is often obscured by the breadth of scope, multiple objectives and lack of clarity as to how complexity, accuracy and…

Examining the construct validity of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised: preferential correlates of fearless dominance and self-centered impulsivity.

PubMed

Edens, John F; McDermott, Barbara E

2010-03-01

Although the construct of psychopathy is frequently construed as a unitary syndrome, the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996) and its revision, the PPI-R (Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005), are composed of 2 scales, termed Fearless Dominance (FD) and Self-Centered Impulsivity (SCI), which appear to reflect orthogonal dimensions. In this study, we examined the construct validity of the FD and SCI scales of the PPI-R as markers of these constructs with a range of theoretically relevant correlates assessed across multiple domains in a sample of 200 forensic psychiatric inpatients. Results were generally, though not uniformly, consistent with hypothesized relationships: The SCI scale positively and selectively predicted anger and hostility, impulsivity, total psychiatric symptoms, drug abuse or dependence, antisocial behavior, and violence risk, whereas FD predicted anger, depression, anxiety symptoms (negatively), and alcohol abuse or dependence (positively). PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

Estimation of Fractal Dimension in Differential Diagnosis of Pigmented Skin Lesions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aralica, Gorana; Milošević, Danko; Konjevoda, Paško; Seiwerth, Sven; Štambuk, Nikola

Medical differential diagnosis is a method of identifying the presence of a particular entity (disease) within a set of multiple possible alternatives. The significant problem in dermatology and pathology is the differential diagnosis of malignant melanoma and other pigmented skin lesions, especially of dysplastic nevi. Malignant melanoma is the most malignant skin neoplasma, with increasing incidence in various parts of the world. It is hoped that the methods of quantitative pathology, i.e. morphometry, can help objectification of the diagnostic process, since early discovery of melanoma results in 10-year survival rate of 90%. The aim of the study was to use fractal dimension calculated from the perimeter-area relation of the cell nuclei as a tool for the differential diagnosis of pigmented skin lesions. We analyzed hemalaun-eosin stained pathohistological slides of pigmented skin lesions: intradermal naevi (n = 45), dysplastic naevi (n = 47), and malignant melanoma (n = 50). It was found that fractal dimension of malignant melanoma cell nuclei differs significantly from the intradermal and dysplastic naevi (p ≤ 0. 001, Steel-Dwass Multiple Comparison Test). Additionaly, ROC analysis confirmed the value of fractal dimension based evaluation. It is suggested that the estimation of fractal dimension from the perimeter-area relation of the cell nuclei may be a potentially useful morphometric parameter in the medical differential diagnosis of pigmented skin lesions.

Caring for frail elders with musculoskeletal conditions and family caregivers' subjective well-being: The role of multidimensional caregiver burden.

PubMed

Lu, Nan; Liu, Jinyu; Lou, Vivian W Q

2015-01-01

The present study examined the unique set of correlates of each dimension of the burden experienced by family caregivers of frail elders with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions in China, and the role of caregiver burden in between caregiver stressors and subjective well-being. The data was derived from a community sample of 494 elder-caregiver dyads from six urban districts of Shanghai (China). The elders were aged 75 or above, needed assistance in activities of daily living (ADL) and had MSK conditions. The family caregivers were these elders' primary caregivers and at the age of 18 or older. Path analysis was used to examine the proposed model. Care recipients' functional health, cognitive status and behavioral problems affected the multiple dimensions of caregiver burden differently. These three stressors also indirectly affected caregivers' subjective well-being through physical, social and developmental burden. The findings highlighted the mediator role of caregiver burden in between caregiver stressors and subjective well-being, which supported burden-as-mediator theory in understanding family caregiving for frail elders with musculoskeletal conditions in a Chinese context. The focus of intervention should be varied according to the levels of the primary stressors. Policy and intervention implications with regard to the ways of helping Chinese families care for their frail elders with MSK conditions were discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of maxillary anterior tooth width and facial dimensions of 3 ethnicities.

PubMed

Parciak, Ewa C; Dahiya, Ankur T; AlRumaih, Hamad S; Kattadiyil, Mathew T; Baba, Nadim Z; Goodacre, Charles J

2017-10-01

As the cosmetic demands of patients increase, determining the appropriate dimensions of the maxillary anterior teeth has become increasingly relevant. The relationship between facial measurements and tooth size provide guidance for maxillary anterior tooth size selection. However, most publications on this topic have focused on the white population, and more data for tooth sizes and their proportions in other ethnicities are needed. The purpose of this observational study was to investigate the relationship between the mesiodistal dimensions of the 6 maxillary anterior teeth and the bizygomatic width, interpupillary distance, intercanthal distance, interalar width, and intercommissural width of individuals of Asian, African-American, and white ethnicities. Standardized digital images of 360 participants (120 Asian, 120 African-American, and 120 white) were used to measure facial segments. Individual dimensions of the 6 maxillary anterior teeth were measured using stone casts with digital sliding caliper. The combined width of the 6 maxillary anterior teeth on a straight line corresponded to the sum of the anterior tooth width. The means and standard deviations from descriptive measurements were calculated and analyzed for face and maxillary anterior tooth ratios and correlations. Statistical analysis was done using the Kruskal-Wallis procedure to compare facial and tooth parameters among the 3 ethnicities. Appropriate post hoc comparisons that adjusted for multiple testing were conducted when warranted (α=.05). The Spearman rho correlation, a nonparametric correlate of the Pearson correlation, was used to associate the facial and tooth parameters within the strata of sex and ethnicity. No consistent ratios were found among the examined facial dimensions and the mesiodistal dimensions of the 6 maxillary anterior teeth among the 3 ethnicities, except for the central incisor width-to-bizygomatic width ratio. No correlations were found between the facial dimensions and mesiodistal dimensions of the 6 maxillary anterior teeth among the 3 ethnicities except in Asian women. For Asian women, the intercommissural width correlated with the width of the central incisor (P=.001), the width of 2 central incisors (P=.001), the width of 4 incisors (P=.003), and the width of 6 maxillary anterior teeth (P=.005). No facial proportions by which the exact width of maxillary anterior teeth could be predicted were found in Asian, African-American, or white populations. Copyright © 2016 Editorial Council for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Association between body mass index and health-related quality of life, and the impact of self-reported long-term conditions - cross-sectional study from the south Yorkshire cohort dataset.

PubMed

Kearns, Benjamin; Ara, Roberta; Young, Tracey; Relton, Clare

2013-10-25

We sought to quantify the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and health-related quality (HRQoL) of life, as measured by the EQ-5D, whilst controlling for potential confounders. In addition, we hypothesised that certain long-term conditions (LTCs), for which being overweight or obese is a known risk factor, may mediate the association between BMI and HRQoL. Hence the aim of our study was to explore the association between BMI and HRQoL, first controlling for confounders and then exploring the potential impact of LTCs. We used baseline data from the South Yorkshire Cohort, a cross-sectional observational study which uses a cohort multiple randomised controlled trial design. For each EQ-5D health dimension we used logistic regression to model the probability of responding as having a problem for each of the five health dimensions. All continuous variables were modelled using fractional polynomials. We examined the impact on the coefficients for BMI of removing LTCs from our model. We considered the self-reported LTCs: diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, osteoarthritis, breathing problems and high blood pressure. The dataset used in our analysis had data for 19,460 individuals, who had a mean EQ-5D score of 0.81 and a mean BMI of 26.3 kg/m². For each dimension, BMI and all of the LTCs were significant predictors. For overweight or obese individuals (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m²), each unit increase in BMI was associated with approximately a 3% increase in the odds of reporting a problem for the anxiety/depression dimension, a 8% increase for the mobility dimension, and approximately 6% for the remaining dimension s. Diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis and high blood pressure were identified as being potentially mediating variables for all of the dimensions. Compared to those of a normal weight (18.5 < BMI < 25 kg/m²), overweight and obese individuals had a reduced HRQoL, with each unit increase in BMI associated with approximately a 6% increase in the odds of reporting a problem on any of the EQ-5D health dimensions. There was evidence to suggest that diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis and high blood pressure may mediate the association between being overweight and HRQoL.

Isolating and Examining Sources of Suppression and Multicollinearity in Multiple Linear Regression.

PubMed

Beckstead, Jason W

2012-03-30

The presence of suppression (and multicollinearity) in multiple regression analysis complicates interpretation of predictor-criterion relationships. The mathematical conditions that produce suppression in regression analysis have received considerable attention in the methodological literature but until now nothing in the way of an analytic strategy to isolate, examine, and remove suppression effects has been offered. In this article such an approach, rooted in confirmatory factor analysis theory and employing matrix algebra, is developed. Suppression is viewed as the result of criterion-irrelevant variance operating among predictors. Decomposition of predictor variables into criterion-relevant and criterion-irrelevant components using structural equation modeling permits derivation of regression weights with the effects of criterion-irrelevant variance omitted. Three examples with data from applied research are used to illustrate the approach: the first assesses child and parent characteristics to explain why some parents of children with obsessive-compulsive disorder accommodate their child's compulsions more so than do others, the second examines various dimensions of personal health to explain individual differences in global quality of life among patients following heart surgery, and the third deals with quantifying the relative importance of various aptitudes for explaining academic performance in a sample of nursing students. The approach is offered as an analytic tool for investigators interested in understanding predictor-criterion relationships when complex patterns of intercorrelation among predictors are present and is shown to augment dominance analysis.

People-Things and Data-Ideas: Bipolar Dimensions?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tay, Louis; Su, Rong; Rounds, James

2011-01-01

We examined a longstanding assumption in vocational psychology that people-things and data-ideas are bipolar dimensions. Two minimal criteria for bipolarity were proposed and examined across 3 studies: (a) The correlation between opposite interest types should be negative; (b) after correcting for systematic responding, the correlation should be…

Teacher's Turnover Intentions: Examining the Impact of Motivation and Organizational Commitment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Imran, Rabia; Allil, Kamaal; Mahmoud, Ali Bassam

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the path of motivation leading to organizational commitment resulting in reduced turnover intentions (TIs). It examines the relationship between dimensions of motivation (amotivation, introjected regulations (IRs) and intrinsic motivation (IM)) with dimensions of commitment (affective, normative and…

How many dimensions underlie judgments of learning and recall? Evidence from state-trace methodology.

PubMed

Jang, Yoonhee; Nelson, Thomas O

2005-08-01

The authors used state-trace methodology to investigate whether a single dimension (e.g., strength) is sufficient to account for recall and judgments of learning (JOLs) or whether multiple dimensions (e.g., intrinsic and extrinsic factors) are needed. The authors separately manipulated the independent variables of intrinsic and extrinsic cues, determining their state traces for recall and JOLs. In contrast to the supposition that intrinsic cues have similar effects on both recall and JOLs whereas extrinsic cues affect JOLs less strongly than recall (i.e., 2 dimensions underlying recall and JOLs), the authors found repeated support for the sufficiency of a single dimension for both recall and JOLs (not only immediate JOLs but also delayed JOLs) across a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic cues. ((c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved).

Inflation from periodic extra dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higaki, Tetsutaro; Tatsuta, Yoshiyuki

2017-07-01

We discuss a realization of a small field inflation based on string inspired supergravities. In theories accompanying extra dimensions, compactification of them with small radii is required for realistic situations. Since the extra dimension can have a periodicity, there will appear (quasi-)periodic functions under transformations of moduli of the extra dimensions in low energy scales. Such a periodic property can lead to a UV completion of so-called multi-natural inflation model where inflaton potential consists of a sum of multiple sinusoidal functions with a decay constant smaller than the Planck scale. As an illustration, we construct a SUSY breaking model, and then show that such an inflaton potential can be generated by a sum of world sheet instantons in intersecting brane models on extra dimensions containing orbifold. We show also predictions of cosmic observables by numerical analyzes.

Inflation from periodic extra dimensions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Higaki, Tetsutaro; Tatsuta, Yoshiyuki, E-mail: thigaki@rk.phys.keio.ac.jp, E-mail: y_tatsuta@akane.waseda.jp

We discuss a realization of a small field inflation based on string inspired supergravities. In theories accompanying extra dimensions, compactification of them with small radii is required for realistic situations. Since the extra dimension can have a periodicity, there will appear (quasi-)periodic functions under transformations of moduli of the extra dimensions in low energy scales. Such a periodic property can lead to a UV completion of so-called multi-natural inflation model where inflaton potential consists of a sum of multiple sinusoidal functions with a decay constant smaller than the Planck scale. As an illustration, we construct a SUSY breaking model, andmore » then show that such an inflaton potential can be generated by a sum of world sheet instantons in intersecting brane models on extra dimensions containing orbifold. We show also predictions of cosmic observables by numerical analyzes.« less

Data Compatibility in the Addiction Sciences: An Examination of Measure Commonality*

PubMed Central

Conway, Kevin P.; Vullo, Genevieve C.; Kennedy, Ashley P.; Finger, Matthew S.; Agrawal, Arpana; Bjork, James M.; Farrer, Lindsay A.; Hancock, Dana B.; Hussong, Andrea; Wakim, Paul; Huggins, Wayne; Hendershot, Tabitha; Nettles, Destiney S.; Pratt, Joseph; Maiese, Deborah; Junkins, Heather A.; Ramos, Erin M.; Strader, Lisa C.; Hamilton, Carol M.; Sher, Kenneth J.

2014-01-01

The need for comprehensive analysis to compare and combine data across multiple studies in order to validate and extend results is widely recognized. This paper aims to assess the extent of data compatibility in the substance abuse and addiction (SAA) sciences through an examination of measure commonality, defined as the use of similar measures, across grants funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Data were extracted from applications of funded, active grants involving human-subjects research in four scientific areas (epidemiology, prevention, services, and treatment) and six frequently assessed scientific domains. A total of 548 distinct measures were cited across 141 randomly sampled applications. Commonality, as assessed by density (range of 0–1) of shared measurement, was examined. Results showed that commonality was low and varied by domain/area. Commonality was most prominent for (1) diagnostic interviews (structured and semi-structured) for substance use disorders and psychopathology (density of 0.88), followed by (2) scales to assess dimensions of substance use problems and disorders (0.70), (3) scales to assess dimensions of affect and psychopathology (0.69), (4) measures of substance use quantity and frequency (0.62), (5) measures of personality traits (0.40), and (6) assessments of cognitive/neurologic ability (0.22). The areas of prevention (density of 0.41) and treatment (0.42) had greater commonality than epidemiology (0.36) and services (0.32). To address the lack of measure commonality, NIDA and its scientific partners recommend and provide common measures for SAA researchers within the PhenX Toolkit. PMID:24954640

Data compatibility in the addiction sciences: an examination of measure commonality.

PubMed

Conway, Kevin P; Vullo, Genevieve C; Kennedy, Ashley P; Finger, Matthew S; Agrawal, Arpana; Bjork, James M; Farrer, Lindsay A; Hancock, Dana B; Hussong, Andrea; Wakim, Paul; Huggins, Wayne; Hendershot, Tabitha; Nettles, Destiney S; Pratt, Joseph; Maiese, Deborah; Junkins, Heather A; Ramos, Erin M; Strader, Lisa C; Hamilton, Carol M; Sher, Kenneth J

2014-08-01

The need for comprehensive analysis to compare and combine data across multiple studies in order to validate and extend results is widely recognized. This paper aims to assess the extent of data compatibility in the substance abuse and addiction (SAA) sciences through an examination of measure commonality, defined as the use of similar measures, across grants funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Data were extracted from applications of funded, active grants involving human-subjects research in four scientific areas (epidemiology, prevention, services, and treatment) and six frequently assessed scientific domains. A total of 548 distinct measures were cited across 141 randomly sampled applications. Commonality, as assessed by density (range of 0-1) of shared measurement, was examined. Results showed that commonality was low and varied by domain/area. Commonality was most prominent for (1) diagnostic interviews (structured and semi-structured) for substance use disorders and psychopathology (density of 0.88), followed by (2) scales to assess dimensions of substance use problems and disorders (0.70), (3) scales to assess dimensions of affect and psychopathology (0.69), (4) measures of substance use quantity and frequency (0.62), (5) measures of personality traits (0.40), and (6) assessments of cognitive/neurologic ability (0.22). The areas of prevention (density of 0.41) and treatment (0.42) had greater commonality than epidemiology (0.36) and services (0.32). To address the lack of measure commonality, NIDA and its scientific partners recommend and provide common measures for SAA researchers within the PhenX Toolkit. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

The Relationship between Learning Organization Dimensions and Library Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haley, Qing Kong

2010-01-01

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between learning organization dimensions and academic library performance. It studied whether differences existed in learning organization dimensions given the predictor variables of performance indicators, library resources, and demographics of the academic library. This research…

Examining Effects of Technology Level and Reinforcer Arrangements on Preference and Efficacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoffmann, Audrey N.

2017-01-01

Understanding dimensions that influence reinforcement is important for applied behavior analysts. Preference, and reinforcer effectiveness, may change depending upon several dimensions of reinforcement. Two influential dimensions that may influence preference and reinforcer efficacy are response-reinforcer arrangements and stimulus type. Many…

Beyond R0 Maximisation: On Pathogen Evolution and Environmental Dimensions.

PubMed

Lion, Sébastien; Metz, Johan A J

2018-06-01

A widespread tenet is that evolution of pathogens maximises their basic reproduction ratio, R 0 . The breakdown of this principle is typically discussed as exception. Here, we argue that a radically different stance is needed, based on evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) arguments that take account of the 'dimension of the environmental feedback loop'. The R 0 maximisation paradigm requires this feedback loop to be one-dimensional, which notably excludes pathogen diversification. By contrast, almost all realistic ecological ingredients of host-pathogen interactions (density-dependent mortality, multiple infections, limited cross-immunity, multiple transmission routes, host heterogeneity, and spatial structure) will lead to multidimensional feedbacks. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improving Unstructured Mesh Partitions for Multiple Criteria Using Mesh Adjacencies

DOE PAGES

Smith, Cameron W.; Rasquin, Michel; Ibanez, Dan; ...

2018-02-13

The scalability of unstructured mesh based applications depends on partitioning methods that quickly balance the computational work while reducing communication costs. Zhou et al. [SIAM J. Sci. Comput., 32 (2010), pp. 3201{3227; J. Supercomput., 59 (2012), pp. 1218{1228] demonstrated the combination of (hyper)graph methods with vertex and element partition improvement for PHASTA CFD scaling to hundreds of thousands of processes. Our work generalizes partition improvement to support balancing combinations of all the mesh entity dimensions (vertices, edges, faces, regions) in partitions with imbalances exceeding 70%. Improvement results are then presented for multiple entity dimensions on up to one million processesmore » on meshes with over 12 billion tetrahedral elements.« less

Improving Unstructured Mesh Partitions for Multiple Criteria Using Mesh Adjacencies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, Cameron W.; Rasquin, Michel; Ibanez, Dan

The scalability of unstructured mesh based applications depends on partitioning methods that quickly balance the computational work while reducing communication costs. Zhou et al. [SIAM J. Sci. Comput., 32 (2010), pp. 3201{3227; J. Supercomput., 59 (2012), pp. 1218{1228] demonstrated the combination of (hyper)graph methods with vertex and element partition improvement for PHASTA CFD scaling to hundreds of thousands of processes. Our work generalizes partition improvement to support balancing combinations of all the mesh entity dimensions (vertices, edges, faces, regions) in partitions with imbalances exceeding 70%. Improvement results are then presented for multiple entity dimensions on up to one million processesmore » on meshes with over 12 billion tetrahedral elements.« less

Big Five personality characteristics are associated with depression subtypes and symptom dimensions of depression in older adults.

PubMed

Koorevaar, A M L; Hegeman, J M; Lamers, F; Dhondt, A D F; van der Mast, R C; Stek, M L; Comijs, H C

2017-12-01

This study examined the associations of personality characteristics with both subtypes and symptom dimensions of depression in older adults. Three hundred and seventy-eight depressed older adults participated in the Netherlands Study of Depression in Older Persons. Personality characteristics were assessed by the NEO-Five Factor Inventory. Subtypes and symptom dimensions of depression were determined using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS). Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the associations between personality and atypical, melancholic, and unspecified subtypes of major depression. Linear regression analyses examined the associations between personality and the IDS mood, somatic, and motivation symptom dimensions. The analyses were adjusted for confounders and additionally adjusted for depression severity. Neuroticism, Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness were associated with specified (atypical or melancholic) major depression compared with unspecified major depression in the bivariate analyses but lost their significance after adjustments for functional limitations and severity of depression. Neuroticism was positively associated with the IDS mood and motivation symptom dimensions, also in the adjusted models. Further, Extraversion and Agreeableness were negatively associated with the IDS mood symptom dimension, and Extraversion and Conscientiousness were negatively associated with the IDS motivation symptom dimension. None was associated with the IDS somatic symptom dimension. This study demonstrated the association of personality characteristics with mood and motivational symptoms of late-life depression. The lacking ability of personality to differentiate between melancholic and atypical depression seems to be largely explained by severity of depressive symptoms. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Voronoi Implicit Interface Method for computing multiphase physics

PubMed Central

Saye, Robert I.; Sethian, James A.

2011-01-01

We introduce a numerical framework, the Voronoi Implicit Interface Method for tracking multiple interacting and evolving regions (phases) whose motion is determined by complex physics (fluids, mechanics, elasticity, etc.), intricate jump conditions, internal constraints, and boundary conditions. The method works in two and three dimensions, handles tens of thousands of interfaces and separate phases, and easily and automatically handles multiple junctions, triple points, and quadruple points in two dimensions, as well as triple lines, etc., in higher dimensions. Topological changes occur naturally, with no surgery required. The method is first-order accurate at junction points/lines, and of arbitrarily high-order accuracy away from such degeneracies. The method uses a single function to describe all phases simultaneously, represented on a fixed Eulerian mesh. We test the method’s accuracy through convergence tests, and demonstrate its applications to geometric flows, accurate prediction of von Neumann’s law for multiphase curvature flow, and robustness under complex fluid flow with surface tension and large shearing forces. PMID:22106269

The Voronoi Implicit Interface Method for computing multiphase physics.

PubMed

Saye, Robert I; Sethian, James A

2011-12-06

We introduce a numerical framework, the Voronoi Implicit Interface Method for tracking multiple interacting and evolving regions (phases) whose motion is determined by complex physics (fluids, mechanics, elasticity, etc.), intricate jump conditions, internal constraints, and boundary conditions. The method works in two and three dimensions, handles tens of thousands of interfaces and separate phases, and easily and automatically handles multiple junctions, triple points, and quadruple points in two dimensions, as well as triple lines, etc., in higher dimensions. Topological changes occur naturally, with no surgery required. The method is first-order accurate at junction points/lines, and of arbitrarily high-order accuracy away from such degeneracies. The method uses a single function to describe all phases simultaneously, represented on a fixed Eulerian mesh. We test the method's accuracy through convergence tests, and demonstrate its applications to geometric flows, accurate prediction of von Neumann's law for multiphase curvature flow, and robustness under complex fluid flow with surface tension and large shearing forces.

The Voronoi Implicit Interface Method for computing multiphase physics

DOE PAGES

Saye, Robert I.; Sethian, James A.

2011-11-21

In this paper, we introduce a numerical framework, the Voronoi Implicit Interface Method for tracking multiple interacting and evolving regions (phases) whose motion is determined by complex physics (fluids, mechanics, elasticity, etc.), intricate jump conditions, internal constraints, and boundary conditions. The method works in two and three dimensions, handles tens of thousands of interfaces and separate phases, and easily and automatically handles multiple junctions, triple points, and quadruple points in two dimensions, as well as triple lines, etc., in higher dimensions. Topological changes occur naturally, with no surgery required. The method is first-order accurate at junction points/lines, and of arbitrarilymore » high-order accuracy away from such degeneracies. The method uses a single function to describe all phases simultaneously, represented on a fixed Eulerian mesh. Finally, we test the method’s accuracy through convergence tests, and demonstrate its applications to geometric flows, accurate prediction of von Neumann’s law for multiphase curvature flow, and robustness under complex fluid flow with surface tension and large shearing forces.« less

Dimensional feature weighting utilizing multiple kernel learning for single-channel talker location discrimination using the acoustic transfer function.

PubMed

Takashima, Ryoichi; Takiguchi, Tetsuya; Ariki, Yasuo

2013-02-01

This paper presents a method for discriminating the location of the sound source (talker) using only a single microphone. In a previous work, the single-channel approach for discriminating the location of the sound source was discussed, where the acoustic transfer function from a user's position is estimated by using a hidden Markov model of clean speech in the cepstral domain. In this paper, each cepstral dimension of the acoustic transfer function is newly weighted, in order to obtain the cepstral dimensions having information that is useful for classifying the user's position. Then, this paper proposes a feature-weighting method for the cepstral parameter using multiple kernel learning, defining the base kernels for each cepstral dimension of the acoustic transfer function. The user's position is trained and classified by support vector machine. The effectiveness of this method has been confirmed by sound source (talker) localization experiments performed in different room environments.

Redundancy Matters: Flexible Learning of Multiple Contingencies in Infants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sloutsky, Vladimir M.; Robinson, Christopher W.

2013-01-01

Many objects and events can be categorized in different ways, and learning multiple categories in parallel often requires flexibly attending to different stimulus dimensions in different contexts. Although infants and young children often exhibit poor attentional control, several theoretical proposals argue that such flexibility can be achieved…

Strengthening Families through a Re-Envisioned Approach to Fatherhood Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bates, James S.; Wilkinson, Deanna L.; McCartan, Jason Paul; Remley, Daniel T.; Light, Mark D.; Crawford, David C.; Dellifield, Jami

2017-01-01

Fatherhood education has the potential to affect not only fathers' nurturant behaviors but also multiple dimensions of family life. The weGrill program blends fatherhood, youth development, and nutrition education, with food grilling as the focal activity. Grounded in multiple learning theories, the program helps fathers and their adolescent…

The Multiplicative Zak Transform, Dimension Reduction, and Wavelet Analysis of LIDAR Data

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

systems is likely to fail. Auslander, Eichmann , Gertner, and Tolimieri defined a multiplicative Zak transform [1], mimicking the construction of the Gabor...L. Auslander, G. Eichmann , I. Gertner and R. Tolimieri, “Time-Frequency Analysis and Synthesis of Non-Stationary Signals,” Proc. Soc. Photo-Opt. In

Psychosocial and Cognitive Functioning of Children with Specific Profiles of Maltreatment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pears, Katherine C.; Kim, Hyoun K.; Fisher, Philip A.

2008-01-01

Objective: Up to 90% of child welfare system cases involve multiple types of maltreatment; however, studies have rarely incorporated multiple dimensions of maltreatment. The present study employed a latent profile analysis to identify naturally occurring subgroups of children who had experienced maltreatment. Methods: Reports of maltreatment…

Using Queer Theory to Explore Lesbian College Students' Multiple Dimensions of Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abes, Elisa S.; Kasch, David

2007-01-01

By introducing queer theory to Abes and Jones's (2004) constructivist narrative inquiry of lesbian college students' perceptions of their multiple identities, we retell the developmental narrative of one participant's negotiation of her sexuality, religion, gender, and social class. This queer retelling of a developmental story shows how…

Association analysis and marker development for grain quality traits using USDA diverse rice germplasm collections

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

New molecular markers are being designed and validated for grain quality improvement based on computationally assisted analysis of genome wide association study (GWAS) findings across multiple panels and multiple grain quality traits. The traits include grain dimensions, apparent amylose content (A...

Strategies for Multi-Modal Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hexemer, Alexander; Wang, Cheng; Pandolfi, Ronald; Kumar, Dinesh; Venkatakrishnan, Singanallur; Sethian, James; Camera Team

This section on soft materials will be dedicated to discuss the extraction of the chemical distribution and spatial arrangement of constituent elements and functional groups at multiple length scales and, thus, the examination of collective dynamics, transport, and electronic ordering phenomena. Traditional measures of structure in soft materials have relied heavily on scattering and imaging based techniques due to their capacity to measure nanoscale dimensions and their capacity to monitor structure under conditions of dynamic stress loading. Special attentions are planned to focus on the application of resonant x-ray scattering, contrast-varied neutron scattering, analytical transmission electron microscopy, and their combinations. This session aims to bring experts in both scattering and electron microscope fields to discuss recent advances in selectively characterizing structural architectures of complex soft materials, which have often multi-components with a wide range of length scales and multiple functionalities, and thus hopes to foster novel ideas to decipher a higher level of structural complexity in soft materials in future. CAMERA, Early Career Award.

Identifying Network Structure, Influencers and Social Mood in Digital Spheres: A Sentiment and Content Analysis of Down Syndrome Awareness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sani-Bozkurt, Sunagul

2018-01-01

Down syndrome is a sensitive subject and one that requires efforts being made to improve conditions for individuals with Down syndrome across multiple dimensions. Social awareness is one of the important dimensions for the inclusion of individuals with Down syndrome. Online spaces, as well as offline spaces, are an important part of our daily…

Association of academic performance of premedical students to satisfaction and engagement in a short training program: a cross sectional study presenting gender differences

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background It is important that students have a high academic engagement and satisfaction in order to have good academic achievement. No study measures association of these elements in a short training program. This study aimed to measure the correlation between academic achievement, satisfaction and engagement dimensions in a short training program among premedical students. Methods We carried out a cross sectional study, in August 2013, at Cercle d’Etudiants, Ingénieurs, Médecins et Professeurs de Lycée pour le Triomphe de l’Excellence (CEMPLEX) training center, a center which prepares students for the national common entrance examination into medical schools in Cameroon. We included all students attending this training center during last examination period. They were asked to fill out a questionnaire on paper. Academic engagement was measured using three dimensions: vigor, dedication and absorption. Satisfaction to lessons, for each learning subject was collected. Academic achievement was calculated using mean of the score of all learning subjects affected with their coefficient. Pearson coefficient (r) and multiple regression models were used to measure association. A p value < 0.05 was statistically significant. Results In total, 180 students were analyzed. In univariate linear analysis, we found correlation with academic achievement for vigor (r = 0.338, p = 0.006) and dedication (r = 0.287, p = 0.021) only in male students. In multiple regression linear analysis, academic engagement and satisfaction were correlated to academic achievement only in male students (R2 = 0.159, p = 0.035). No correlation was found in female students and in all students. The independent variables (vigor, dedication, absorption and satisfaction) explained 6.8-24.3% of the variance of academic achievement. Conclusion It is only in male students that academic engagement and satisfaction to lessons are correlated to academic achievement in this short training program for premedical students and this correlation is weak. PMID:24564911

A study of the relationship between characteristic traits and Employee Engagement (A case study of nurses across Kermanshah, Iran in 2015).

PubMed

Ziapour, A; Kianipour, N

2015-01-01

Staff Engagement is an individual's interest and enthusiasm to accomplish the specified duties, all together with his sustained profession with organizations. Accordingly, the current research aimed to delve into the relationship between the characteristical traits and Staff Engag ement among nurses employed in Kermanshah-based hospitals in 2015. In this descriptive-correlational study, 322 nurses of public hospitals in Kermanshah were picked in 2015. For information gathering, Schaufeli & Bakker's Utrecht Staff Engagement scale and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) were used. Information was examined through descriptive analytics (Frequency, Rate, Average, and Standard Deviation) and inferential analytics (Pearson Correlation Test and Multiple Regression Analysis). Also, the 21st version of SPSS software was applied for information investigation. The results demonstrated that the greatest and smallest means of characteristical traits among nurses related to acceptance to experience (3.75 ± 0.63) and neuroticism (2.82 ± 0.55). Also, the highest and lowest means of Staff Engagement related to absorption (5.41 ± 0.76) and vigor (5.04 ± 0.86). Moreover, the outcomes of the Pearson correlation examination showed that there were important connections between the two dimensions of personality traits, i.e. neuroticism (P<0.001, r=0.172) and extraversion (P<0.001, r=0.038), and job engagement. Moreover, neuroticism had the most meaningful relationship with Staff Engagement (P<0.001, r=0.172). On the other hand, the outcomes of multiple regression analysis revealed that dutifulness and agreeableness were good predictors for job engagement. Given that the two scopes of personality traits, i.e. dutifulness and agreeableness, were closely related to work engagement, it was suggested that these dimensions were given a careful consideration in the event of employing workforce, especially nurses, with the aim of boosting the organizational productivity.

Association of academic performance of premedical students to satisfaction and engagement in a short training program: a cross sectional study presenting gender differences.

PubMed

Bigna, Jean Joel R; Fonkoue, Loic; Tchatcho, Manuela Francette F; Dongmo, Christelle N; Soh, Dorothée M; Um, Joseph Lin Lewis N; Sime, Paule Sandra D; Affana, Landry A; Woum, Albert Ruben N; Noumegni, Steve Raoul N; Tabekou, Alphonce; Wanke, Arlette M; Taffe, Herman Rhais K; Tchoukouan, Miriette Linda N; Anyope, Kevin O; Ella, Stephane Brice E; Mouaha, Berny Vanessa T; Kenne, Edgar Y; Mbessoh, Ulrich Igor K; Tchapmi, Adrienne Y; Tene, Donald F; Voufouo, Steve S; Zogo, Stephanie M; Nouebissi, Linda P; Satcho, Kevine F; Tchoumo, Wati Joel T; Basso, Moise Fabrice; Tcheutchoua, Bertrand Daryl N; Agbor, Ako A

2014-02-24

It is important that students have a high academic engagement and satisfaction in order to have good academic achievement. No study measures association of these elements in a short training program. This study aimed to measure the correlation between academic achievement, satisfaction and engagement dimensions in a short training program among premedical students. We carried out a cross sectional study, in August 2013, at Cercle d'Etudiants, Ingénieurs, Médecins et Professeurs de Lycée pour le Triomphe de l'Excellence (CEMPLEX) training center, a center which prepares students for the national common entrance examination into medical schools in Cameroon. We included all students attending this training center during last examination period. They were asked to fill out a questionnaire on paper. Academic engagement was measured using three dimensions: vigor, dedication and absorption. Satisfaction to lessons, for each learning subject was collected. Academic achievement was calculated using mean of the score of all learning subjects affected with their coefficient. Pearson coefficient (r) and multiple regression models were used to measure association. A p value < 0.05 was statistically significant. In total, 180 students were analyzed. In univariate linear analysis, we found correlation with academic achievement for vigor (r = 0.338, p = 0.006) and dedication (r = 0.287, p = 0.021) only in male students. In multiple regression linear analysis, academic engagement and satisfaction were correlated to academic achievement only in male students (R2 = 0.159, p = 0.035). No correlation was found in female students and in all students. The independent variables (vigor, dedication, absorption and satisfaction) explained 6.8-24.3% of the variance of academic achievement. It is only in male students that academic engagement and satisfaction to lessons are correlated to academic achievement in this short training program for premedical students and this correlation is weak.

A study of the relationship between characteristic traits and Employee Engagement (A case study of nurses across Kermanshah, Iran in 2015)

PubMed Central

Ziapour, A; Kianipour, N

2015-01-01

Staff Engagement is an individual’s interest and enthusiasm to accomplish the specified duties, all together with his sustained profession with organizations. Accordingly, the current research aimed to delve into the relationship between the characteristical traits and Staff Engag ement among nurses employed in Kermanshah-based hospitals in 2015. In this descriptive-correlational study, 322 nurses of public hospitals in Kermanshah were picked in 2015. For information gathering, Schaufeli & Bakker’s Utrecht Staff Engagement scale and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) were used. Information was examined through descriptive analytics (Frequency, Rate, Average, and Standard Deviation) and inferential analytics (Pearson Correlation Test and Multiple Regression Analysis). Also, the 21st version of SPSS software was applied for information investigation. The results demonstrated that the greatest and smallest means of characteristical traits among nurses related to acceptance to experience (3.75 ± 0.63) and neuroticism (2.82 ± 0.55). Also, the highest and lowest means of Staff Engagement related to absorption (5.41 ± 0.76) and vigor (5.04 ± 0.86). Moreover, the outcomes of the Pearson correlation examination showed that there were important connections between the two dimensions of personality traits, i.e. neuroticism (P<0.001, r=0.172) and extraversion (P<0.001, r=0.038), and job engagement. Moreover, neuroticism had the most meaningful relationship with Staff Engagement (P<0.001, r=0.172). On the other hand, the outcomes of multiple regression analysis revealed that dutifulness and agreeableness were good predictors for job engagement. Given that the two scopes of personality traits, i.e. dutifulness and agreeableness, were closely related to work engagement, it was suggested that these dimensions were given a careful consideration in the event of employing workforce, especially nurses, with the aim of boosting the organizational productivity. PMID:28316680

How to Construct a Mixed Methods Research Design.

PubMed

Schoonenboom, Judith; Johnson, R Burke

2017-01-01

This article provides researchers with knowledge of how to design a high quality mixed methods research study. To design a mixed study, researchers must understand and carefully consider each of the dimensions of mixed methods design, and always keep an eye on the issue of validity. We explain the seven major design dimensions: purpose, theoretical drive, timing (simultaneity and dependency), point of integration, typological versus interactive design approaches, planned versus emergent design, and design complexity. There also are multiple secondary dimensions that need to be considered during the design process. We explain ten secondary dimensions of design to be considered for each research study. We also provide two case studies showing how the mixed designs were constructed.

Four Essential Dimensions of Workplace Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hopwood, Nick

2014-01-01

Purpose: This conceptual paper aims to argue that times, spaces, bodies and things constitute four essential dimensions of workplace learning. It examines how practices relate or hang together, taking Gherardi's texture of practices or connectedness in action as the foundation for making visible essential but often overlooked dimensions of…

The Religious Dimension in Recent Notable Adolescent Novels.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cotton, Rickey A.

A study examined notable contemporary novels published for adolescents to determine the extent of religious concerns and issues in the critical dialogue. Twenty-four novels published for adolescents on Donelson and Nilsen's Honor Listing for 1982-86 were examined. Eleven of these novels were found to have a strong religious dimension, indicating…

Examining the Organizational Cynicism among Teachers at Schools: A Mixed Methods Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levent, Faruk; Keser, Sitar

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the organizational cynicism among teachers at schools. In this study, which was conducted by a mixed method, "the Organizational Cynicism Scale for Teachers" was used in the quantitative dimension, while a semi-structured interviewing technique was used in the qualitative dimension. The…

Single-Track Melt-Pool Measurements and Microstructures in Inconel 625

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Supriyo; Ma, Li; Levine, Lyle E.; Ricker, Richard E.; Stoudt, Mark R.; Heigel, Jarred C.; Guyer, Jonathan E.

2018-06-01

We use single-track laser melting experiments and simulations on Inconel 625 to estimate the dimensions and microstructure of the resulting melt pool. Our work is based on a design-of-experiments approach which uses multiple laser power and scan speed combinations. Single-track experiments generated melt pools of certain dimensions that showed reasonable agreement with our finite-element calculations. Phase-field simulations were used to predict the size and segregation of the cellular microstructure that formed along the melt-pool boundaries for the solidification conditions that changed as a function of melt-pool dimensions.

Single-Track Melt-Pool Measurements and Microstructures in Inconel 625

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Supriyo; Ma, Li; Levine, Lyle E.; Ricker, Richard E.; Stoudt, Mark R.; Heigel, Jarred C.; Guyer, Jonathan E.

2018-02-01

We use single-track laser melting experiments and simulations on Inconel 625 to estimate the dimensions and microstructure of the resulting melt pool. Our work is based on a design-of-experiments approach which uses multiple laser power and scan speed combinations. Single-track experiments generated melt pools of certain dimensions that showed reasonable agreement with our finite-element calculations. Phase-field simulations were used to predict the size and segregation of the cellular microstructure that formed along the melt-pool boundaries for the solidification conditions that changed as a function of melt-pool dimensions.

Audit of CT reporting standards in cases of intracerebral haemorrhage at a comprehensive stroke centre in Australia.

PubMed

Barras, Christen D; Asadi, Hamed; Phal, Pramit M; Tress, Brian M; Davis, Stephen M; Desmond, Patricia M

2016-12-01

Multiple CT-derived biomarkers that are predictive of intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) growth and outcome have been described in the literature, but the extent to which these appear in imaging reports of ICH is unknown. The aim of this retrospective process audit was to determine which of the known predictors of ICH outcome was recorded in reports of the disease, with a view to providing reporting recommendations, as appropriate. We examined the initial CT report of patients diagnosed with ICH presenting to a metropolitan comprehensive stroke centre and meeting inclusion criteria during the audit period between 1 March 2013 and 28 February 2014. Each report was assessed for the inclusion of the following ICH characteristics: the number of measurement dimensions; volume; location; hydrocephalus; shape; density; 'CTA spot sign' (where CTA was performed). A total of 100 patients met audit inclusion criteria. At least one ICH dimension was recorded in 90% of reports; however, 39% did not include the measurements in three dimensions and volume was reported in just 6%. No ICH dimension was recorded in 10% of reports. With the exception of density and shape, reporting of other CT features exceeded 95%. Where CTA was performed (58%), 14 (24%) of 58 reported the 'CTA spot sign' status. In this audit, volume was the most under-reported of the established ICH characteristics predictive of ICH outcome. Readily calculated from multiplanar reformats using the ABC/2 technique, the routine reporting of ICH volume is recommended. More reporting attention to ICH density heterogeneity and shape irregularity is encouraged, given their emerging importance. Where acute CTA is performed, the presence of any dynamic haemorrhage (CTA spot sign) should be reported. © 2016 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.

Quick screen of patients’ numeracy and document literacy skills: the factor structure of the Newest Vital Sign

PubMed Central

Huang, Yen-Ming; Shiyanbola, Olayinka O; Smith, Paul D; Chan, Hsun-Yu

2018-01-01

Introduction The Newest Vital Sign (NVS) is a survey designed to measure general health literacy whereby an interviewer asks six questions related to information printed on a nutritional label from an ice cream container. It enables researchers to evaluate several health literacy dimensions in a short period of time, including document literacy, comprehension, quantitative literacy (numeracy), application, and evaluation. No study has empirically examined which items belong to which latent dimensions of health literacy in the NVS using factor analysis. Identifying the factor structure of the NVS would enable health care providers to choose appropriate intervention strategies to address patients’ health literacy as well as improve their health outcomes accordingly. This study aimed to explore the factor structure of the NVS that is used to assess multiple dimensions of health literacy. Methods A cross-sectional study administering the NVS in a face-to-face manner was conducted at two family medicine clinics in the USA. One hundred and seventy four individuals who participated were at least 20 years old, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, prescribed at least one oral diabetes medicine, and used English as their primary language. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to investigate the factor structure of the NVS. Results Numeracy and document literacy are two dimensions of health literacy that were identified and accounted for 63.05% of the variance in the NVS. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) of the NVS were 0.78 and 0.91 for numeracy and document literacy, respectively. Conclusion Numeracy and document literacy appropriately represent the factor structure of the NVS and may be used for assessing health literacy in greater detail for patients with type 2 diabetes. PMID:29844661

A multidimensional approach to examine student interdisciplinary learning in science and engineering in higher education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spelt, Elisabeth Jacoba Hendrika; Luning, Pieternelleke Arianne; van Boekel, Martinus A. J. S.; Mulder, Martin

2017-11-01

Preparing science and engineering students to work in interdisciplinary teams necessitates research on teaching and learning of interdisciplinary thinking. A multidimensional approach was taken to examine student interdisciplinary learning in a master course on food quality management. The collected 615 student experiences were analysed for the cognitive, emotional, and social learning dimensions using the learning theory of Illeris. Of these 615 experiences, the analysis showed that students reported 214, 194, and 207 times on, respectively, the emotional, the cognitive, and the social dimension. Per learning dimension, key learning experiences featuring interdisciplinary learning were identified such as 'frustrations in selecting and matching disciplinary knowledge to complex problems' (emotional), 'understanding how to apply theoretical models or concepts to real-world situations' (cognitive), and 'socially engaging with peers to recognise similarities in perceptions and experiences' (social). Furthermore, the results showed that students appreciated the cognitive dimension relatively more than the emotional and social dimensions.

Leaf economics and hydraulic traits are decoupled in five species-rich tropical-subtropical forests.

PubMed

Li, Le; McCormack, M Luke; Ma, Chengen; Kong, Deliang; Zhang, Qian; Chen, Xiaoyong; Zeng, Hui; Niinemets, Ülo; Guo, Dali

2015-09-01

Leaf economics and hydraulic traits are critical to leaf photosynthesis, yet it is debated whether these two sets of traits vary in a fully coordinated manner or there is room for independent variation. Here, we tested the relationship between leaf economics traits, including leaf nitrogen concentration and leaf dry mass per area, and leaf hydraulic traits including stomatal density and vein density in five tropical-subtropical forests. Surprisingly, these two suites of traits were statistically decoupled. This decoupling suggests that independent trait dimensions exist within a leaf, with leaf economics dimension corresponding to light capture and tissue longevity, and the hydraulic dimension to water-use and leaf temperature maintenance. Clearly, leaf economics and hydraulic traits can vary independently, thus allowing for more possible plant trait combinations. Compared with a single trait dimension, multiple trait dimensions may better enable species adaptations to multifarious niche dimensions, promote diverse plant strategies and facilitate species coexistence. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Measuring individual work performance: identifying and selecting indicators.

PubMed

Koopmans, Linda; Bernaards, Claire M; Hildebrandt, Vincent H; de Vet, Henrica C W; van der Beek, Allard J

2014-01-01

Theoretically, individual work performance (IWP) can be divided into four dimensions: task performance, contextual performance, adaptive performance, and counterproductive work behavior. However, there is no consensus on the indicators used to measure these dimensions. This study was designed to (1) identify indicators for each dimension, (2) select the most relevant indicators, and (3) determine the relative weight of each dimension in ratings of work performance. IWP indicators were identified from multiple research disciplines, via literature, existing questionnaires, and expert interviews. Subsequently, experts selected the most relevant indicators per dimension and scored the relative weight of each dimension in ratings of IWP. In total, 128 unique indicators were identified. Twenty-three of these indicators were selected by experts as most relevant for measuring IWP. Task performance determined 36% of the work performance rating, while the other three dimensions respectively determined 22%, 20% and 21% of the rating. Notable consensus was found on relevant indicators of IWP, reducing the number from 128 to 23 relevant indicators. This provides an important step towards the development of a standardized, generic and short measurement instrument for assessing IWP.

Beyond 3-D: The New Spectrum of Lidar Applications for Earth and Ecological Sciences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eitel, Jan U. H.; Hofle, Bernhard; Vierling, Lee A.; Abellan, Antonio; Asner, Gregory P.; Deems, Jeffrey S.; Glennie, Craig L.; Joerg, Phillip C.; LeWinter, Adam L.; Magney, Troy S.;

Examining the etiological associations among higher-order temperament dimensions

PubMed Central

Allan, Nicholas P.; Mikolajewski, Amy J.; Lonigan, Christopher J.; Hart, Sara A.; Taylor, Jeanette

2014-01-01

A multivariate independent pathway model was used to examine the shared and unique genetic and environmental influences of Positive Affect (PA), Negative Affect (NA), and effortful control (EC) in a sample of 686 twin pairs (M age = 10.07, SD = 1.74). There were common genetic influences and nonshared environmental influences shared across all three temperament dimensions and shared environmental influences in common to NA and EC. There were also significant independent genetic influences unique to PA and NA and significant independent shared environmental influences unique to PA. This study demonstrates that there are genetic and environmental influences that affect the covariance among temperament dimensions as well as unique genetic and environmental influences that influence the dimensions independently. PMID:24729641

Analysis and investigation of temperature and hydrostatic pressure effects on optical characteristics of multiple quantum well slow light devices.

PubMed

Abdolhosseini, Saeed; Kohandani, Reza; Kaatuzian, Hassan

2017-09-10

This paper represents the influences of temperature and hydrostatic pressure variations on GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well slow light systems based on coherence population oscillations. An analytical model in non-integer dimension space is used to study the considerable effects of these parameters on optical properties of the slow light apparatus. Exciton oscillator strength and fractional dimension constants have special roles on the analytical model in fractional dimension. Hence, the impacts of hydrostatic pressure and temperature on exciton oscillator strength and fractional dimension quantity are investigated theoretically in this paper. Based on the achieved results, temperature and hydrostatic pressure play key roles on optical parameters of the slow light systems, such as the slow down factor and central energy of the device. It is found that the slope and value of the refractive index real part change with alterations of temperature and hydrostatic pressure in the range of 5-40 deg of Kelvin and 1 bar to 2 kbar, respectively. Thus, the peak value of the slow down factor can be adjusted by altering these parameters. Moreover, the central energy of the device shifts when the hydrostatic pressure is applied to the slow light device or temperature is varied. In comparison with previous reported experimental results, our simulations follow them successfully. It is shown that the maximum value of the slow down factor is estimated close to 5.5×10 4 with a fine adjustment of temperature and hydrostatic pressure. Meanwhile, the central energy shift of the slow light device rises up to 27 meV, which provides an appropriate basis for different optical devices in which multiple quantum well slow light is one of their essential subsections. This multiple quantum well slow light device has potential applications for use as a tunable optical buffer and pressure/temperature sensors.

Beyond Shared Book Reading: Dimensions of Home Literacy and Low-Income African American Preschoolers' Skills.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Britto, Pia Rebello; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

2001-01-01

Examined associations between individual dimensions of the home literacy environment and specific emergent literacy skills among low-income preschoolers. Found that three dimensions of family literacy environments--language and verbal interactions, learning climate, and social and emotional climate--differentially foster preschool children's…

A Community Study of Association between Parenting Dimensions and Externalizing Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharma, Vandana; Sandhu, Gurpreet K.

2006-01-01

Background: Association between parenting dimensions and externalizing behaviors in children was examined. Method: Data on children from the middle class families of Patiala (N = 240) were collected from schools and families. Parents completed questionnaires on parenting dimensions and externalizing behaviors of children. Results: Analysis of…

Learning Strategies in Enterprises: Empirical Findings, Implications and Perspectives for the Immediate Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brandi, Ulrik; Iannone, Rosa Lisa

2016-01-01

The article examines learning strategies at the enterprise level, conceptualising them into three main dimensions: learning systems and incentives, connecting to the affective dimension of learning which behavioural learning addresses effectively; skills' development, chiefly addressing the cognitive dimension of learning to which cognitive and…

The structure of service quality perceptions for multiple-encounter services.

PubMed

Andaleeb, Syed Saad; Kara, Ali

2013-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine a complex service environment-hospitals-to suggest how service quality could be reframed and measured for multiple-encounter service situations more effectively. In this cross-sectional study, a sample of 371 patients completed the survey instrument. Service quality measures were guided by the literature but allowed to flow from the respondents at the preliminary stage. Confirmatory factor analysis, along with structural equation modeling, was used to test the hypothesized relationships among key actors' performance metrics (KAPMs). Patient satisfaction is significantly influenced by perceived service quality based on KAPMs. For multiple-encounter services, service quality dimensions and measures ought to be tied to KAPMs. Primary actors-ie, doctors-need knowledge and skills about patient psychology, negotiation, handling difficult patients, and, importantly, "putting the customer first." Sensitivity training on such matters should be provided. The secondary actors are the nurses who have more frequent contact with the patients. Nurses need to be perceived as "patient advocates." Effective advocacy begins with prompt and caring services to build trust. The tertiary actors in their support role also ought to be integrated into becoming vital part of the service provided.

An Historical Framework for Cohort Differences in Intelligence

PubMed Central

Schaie, K. Warner; Willis, Sherry L.; Pennak, Sara

2006-01-01

This article reviews key issues regarding the controversy on the direction and magnitude of cohort differences in intelligence. Data from the Seattle Longitudinal Study (SLS) illustrate why differences must be studied across multiple cohorts and multiple chronological ages. Differential cohort patterns for multiple dimensions of intelligence are described. A conceptual framework is suggested for the identification of historical influences important for developmental study of cohort differences. PMID:16858496

The Essential Properties of Yoga Questionnaire (EPYQ): Psychometric Properties.

PubMed

Park, Crystal L; Elwy, A Rani; Maiya, Meghan; Sarkin, Andrew J; Riley, Kristen E; Eisen, Susan V; Gutierrez, Ian; Finkelstein-Fox, Lucy; Lee, Sharon Y; Casteel, Danielle; Braun, Tosca; Groessl, Erik J

2018-03-02

Yoga interventions are heterogeneous and vary along multiple dimensions. These dimensions may affect mental and physical health outcomes in different ways or through different mechanisms. However, most studies of the effects of yoga on health do not adequately describe or quantify the components of the interventions being implemented. This lack of detail prevents researchers from making comparisons across studies and limits our understanding of the relative effects of different aspects of yoga interventions. To address this problem, we developed the Essential Properties of Yoga Questionnaire (EPYQ), which allows researchers to objectively characterize their interventions. We present here the reliability and validity data from the final phases of this measure-development project. Analyses identified fourteen key dimensions of yoga interventions measured by the EPYQ: acceptance/compassion, bandhas, body awareness, breathwork, instructor mention of health benefits, individual attention, meditation and mindfulness, mental and emotional awareness, physicality, active postures, restorative postures, social aspects, spirituality, and yoga philosophy. The EPYQ demonstrated good reliability, as assessed by internal consistency and test-retest reliability analysis, and evidence suggests that the EPYQ is a valid measure of multiple dimensions of yoga. The measure is ready for use by clinicians and researchers. Results indicate that, currently, trained objective raters should score interventions to avoid reference frame errors and potential rating bias, but alternative approaches may be developed. The EPYQ will allow researchers to link specific yoga dimensions to identifiable health outcomes and optimize the design of yoga interventions for specific conditions.

Toward an Understanding of Dimensions, Predictors, and the Gender Gap in Written Composition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Young-Suk; Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Wanzek, Jeanne; Gatlin, Brandy

2015-01-01

We had 3 aims in the present study: (a) to examine the dimensionality of various evaluative approaches to scoring writing samples (e.g., quality, productivity, and curriculum-based measurement [CBM] writing scoring), (b) to investigate unique language and cognitive predictors of the identified dimensions, and (c) to examine gender gap in the…

Chinese Student Teachers' Perspectives on Becoming a Teacher in the Practicum: Emotional and Ethical Dimensions of Identity Shaping

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhu, Gang

2017-01-01

This research examines the emotional and ethical dimensions of identity shaping in student teachers' teaching practicum. By interviewing seven Chinese student teachers who had just finished their student teaching practice, the research examines the participants' emotional experiences and the ethical dilemmas they encountered in their practicum.…

Multiplicative Measurements of a Trait Anxiety Scale as Predictors of Burnout

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cremades, J. Gualberto; Wated, Guillermo; Wiggins, Matthew S.

2011-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether combining the two dimensions of anxiety (i.e., intensity and direction) by using a multiplicative model would strengthen the prediction of burnout. Collegiate athletes (N = 157) completed the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire as well as a trait version of the Competitive State Anxiety…

Relationships between Organizations and Publics: Development of a Multi-Dimensional Organization-Public Relationship Scale.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruning, Stephen D.; Ledingham, John A.

1999-01-01

Attempts to design a multiple-item, multiple-dimension organization/public relationship scale. Finds that organizations and key publics have three types of relationships: professional, personal, and community. Provides an instrument that can be used to measure the influence that perceptions of the organization/public relationship have on consumer…

Multiple Subtypes among Vocationally Undecided College Students: A Model and Assessment Instrument.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Lawrence K.; Chenery, Mary Faeth

1980-01-01

A model of vocational decision status was developed, and an instrument was constructed and used to assess its three dimensions. Results demonstrated the utility of the model, supported the reliability and validity of the instrument, and illustrated the value of viewing vocationally undecided students as multiple subtypes. (Author)

An Integrative Framework for the Analysis of Multiple and Multimodal Representations for Meaning-Making in Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tang, Kok-Sing; Delgado, Cesar; Moje, Elizabeth Birr

2014-01-01

This paper presents an integrative framework for analyzing science meaning-making with representations. It integrates the research on multiple representations and multimodal representations by identifying and leveraging the differences in their units of analysis in two dimensions: timescale and compositional grain size. Timescale considers the…

[Social participation after childhood craniopharyngioma].

PubMed

Olivari-Philiponnet, C; Roumenoff, F; Schneider, M; Chantran, C; Picot, M; Berlier, P; Mottolese, C; Bernard, J-C; Vuillerot, C

2016-12-01

Craniopharyngioma is a rare, benign central nervous system tumor, which may be a source of multiple complications, from endocrinology to vision, neurology and neurocognitive functions. This morbidity can lead to reduced participation in life activities, as described in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health. The primary objective of this study was to measure participation in life activities in a population of children and young adults affected by childhood craniopharyngioma, using the LIFE-H questionnaire (Assessment of Life Habits), validated as a social participation measurement tool in various pediatric disabilities. We also describe complications in our population and examined the potential links between tumor characteristics, complications, and participation in life activities. This was a descriptive study, including all patients having presented childhood craniopharyngioma (before 18 years of age), followed in the Lyon region between 2007 and 2013. The main criterion was the LIFE-H results, completed by the patient or the carer. Of 21 patients included in the study, 14 completed the questionnaire, a mean 6.7 years after the diagnosis (SD: 3.9 years). The mean total LIFE-H score was 8.4 (SD: 1.03) for a normal score estimated at 10 in the general population. The lowest scores affected the nutrition, community life, and recreation dimensions. No patient had a normal score on all dimensions; 57% of the patients had more than three dimensions affected. The variability of the results between patients was lower for some dimensions with high means (fitness, personal care, communication, housing, mobility, responsibilities, and education) than in others (nutrition, interpersonal relationships, community life, employment, and recreation) with rather low means. All patients had an endocrinological deficit, 19% hypothalamic syndrome, 52% an impaired fulfillment feeling, 76% visual impairment, 14% neurologic impairment, and 91% neurocognitive impairment. In the entire group of patients, 57% were able to attend a normal school (of which 38% needed a personal helper), 43% had to enter a specialized school. In patients in a specialized school, the LIFE-H results were significantly lower in the nutrition, communication, housing, and recreation dimensions. Girls also had significantly better results in many dimensions than boys. Heavy comorbidity goes with childhood craniopharyngioma and affects patients' participation in life activities, which is not very low but multidimensional (more than three affected dimensions). This participation is mainly affected in social dimensions, whereas in cerebral palsy, where the LIFE-H has been tested several times, the daily activities dimensions are more affected. Patients with childhood craniopharyngioma are affected in their participation in daily activities, mainly in the social dimensions. This could be improved with systematic diagnosis of these participation impairments, with the goal of adapted multidisciplinary management. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Dimensions of Oppositionality in a Brazilian Community Sample: Testing the DSM-5 Proposal and Etiological Links

PubMed Central

Krieger, Fernanda Valle; Polanczyk, Guilherme Vanoni; Goodman, Robert; Rohde, Luis Augusto; Graeff-Martins, Ana Soledade; Salum, Giovanni; Gadelha, Ary; Pan, Pedro; Stahl, Daniel; Stringaris, Argyris

2013-01-01

Objective Investigating dimensions of oppositional symptoms may help to explain heterogeneity of etiology and outcomes for mental disorders across development and provide further empirical justification for the DSM-5–proposed modifications of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). However, dimensions of oppositionality have not previously been tested in samples outside Europe or the United States. In this study, we used a large Brazilian community sample to compare the fit of different models for dimensions of oppositional symptoms; to examine the association of psychiatric diagnoses and symptoms with dimensions of oppositionality; and to examine the associations between dimensions of oppositionality and parental history of mental disorders. Method A Brazilian community sample of 2,512 children 6 through 12 years old were investigated in this study. Confirmatory factorial analyses were performed to compare the fit of alternative models, followed by linear and logistic regression analyses of associations with psychiatric diagnosis and parental history of psychopathology. Results A three-factor model with irritable, headstrong, and hurtful dimensions fitted best. The irritable dimension showed a strong association with emotional disorders in the child (p<.001) and history of depression (p<.01) and suicidality (p<.05) in the mother. The headstrong dimension was uniquely associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the child (p<.001) and with maternal history of ADHD symptoms (p<.05). The hurtful dimension was specifically associated with conduct disorder (p< .05). Conclusions Our findings from a large community sample of Brazilian children support a distinction between dimensions of oppositionality consistent with current DSM-5 recommendations and provide further evidence for etiological distinctions between these dimensions. PMID:23582870

"¿Pertenezco a Esta Universidad?" The Mediating Role of Belonging for Collective Self-Esteem and Mattering for Latin@ Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dueñas, Mary; Gloria, Alberta M.

2017-01-01

We examined differences in and relationship of psychological (collective self-esteem), social (cohesion and university belonging), and cultural (cultural congruity) dimensions of university mattering for 141 Latin@ undergraduates. Collectively the dimensions accounted for 50% of the variance, with the psychological dimension having the largest…

The Faith Development of Selected Adult Couples.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gorman, Margaret

Theories and studies of adult development are largely confined to adult male career development and ignore a moral or faith dimension of adult development. To determine the faith and moral dimension of adult couples, three hypotheses were examined, i.e.,: (1) religion is a significant dimension in their consciousness; (2) the family is integrally…

Efficient hierarchical trans-dimensional Bayesian inversion of magnetotelluric data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang, Enming; Guo, Rongwen; Dosso, Stan E.; Liu, Jianxin; Dong, Hao; Ren, Zhengyong

2018-06-01

This paper develops an efficient hierarchical trans-dimensional (trans-D) Bayesian algorithm to invert magnetotelluric (MT) data for subsurface geoelectrical structure, with unknown geophysical model parameterization (the number of conductivity-layer interfaces) and data-error models parameterized by an auto-regressive (AR) process to account for potential error correlations. The reversible-jump Markov-chain Monte Carlo algorithm, which adds/removes interfaces and AR parameters in birth/death steps, is applied to sample the trans-D posterior probability density for model parameterization, model parameters, error variance and AR parameters, accounting for the uncertainties of model dimension and data-error statistics in the uncertainty estimates of the conductivity profile. To provide efficient sampling over the multiple subspaces of different dimensions, advanced proposal schemes are applied. Parameter perturbations are carried out in principal-component space, defined by eigen-decomposition of the unit-lag model covariance matrix, to minimize the effect of inter-parameter correlations and provide effective perturbation directions and length scales. Parameters of new layers in birth steps are proposed from the prior, instead of focused distributions centred at existing values, to improve birth acceptance rates. Parallel tempering, based on a series of parallel interacting Markov chains with successively relaxed likelihoods, is applied to improve chain mixing over model dimensions. The trans-D inversion is applied in a simulation study to examine the resolution of model structure according to the data information content. The inversion is also applied to a measured MT data set from south-central Australia.

The evolution of spillover effects between oil and stock markets across multi-scales using a wavelet-based GARCH-BEKK model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xueyong; An, Haizhong; Huang, Shupei; Wen, Shaobo

2017-01-01

Aiming to investigate the evolution of mean and volatility spillovers between oil and stock markets in the time and frequency dimensions, we employed WTI crude oil prices, the S&P 500 (USA) index and the MICEX index (Russia) for the period Jan. 2003-Dec. 2014 as sample data. We first applied a wavelet-based GARCH-BEKK method to examine the spillover features in frequency dimension. To consider the evolution of spillover effects in time dimension at multiple-scales, we then divided the full sample period into three sub-periods, pre-crisis period, crisis period, and post-crisis period. The results indicate that spillover effects vary across wavelet scales in terms of strength and direction. By analysis the time-varying linkage, we found the different evolution features of spillover effects between the Oil-US stock market and Oil-Russia stock market. The spillover relationship between oil and US stock market is shifting to short-term while the spillover relationship between oil and Russia stock market is changing to all time scales. That result implies that the linkage between oil and US stock market is weakening in the long-term, and the linkage between oil and Russia stock market is getting close in all time scales. This may explain the phenomenon that the US stock index and the Russia stock index showed the opposite trend with the falling of oil price in the post-crisis period.

Health-related quality of life of young people with long-term illnesses before and after transfer from child to adult healthcare.

PubMed

While, A E; Heery, E; Sheehan, A M; Coyne, I

2017-01-01

The numbers of children with long-term illnesses surviving into adulthood and transferring from child to adult services has increased dramatically in the last 30 years. This study aimed to examine health-related quality of life pre- and post-transfer from child to adult healthcare for young people with three long-term illnesses. A total of 217 young people with cystic fibrosis, congenital heart defects or diabetes attending child and adult hospital services in Dublin, Ireland completed a questionnaire survey. Multiple linear regression was used to identify predictors of five dimensions of health-related quality of life pre- and post-transfer. Post-transfer young people with congenital heart disease and diabetes reported significantly lower physical well-being than their pre-transfer counterparts. Pre-transfer young people with cystic fibrosis reported significantly lower physical well-being than those with diabetes, but there was no significant difference post-transfer. Pre-transfer females reported lower scores than males on the Psychological Well-being and Autonomy and Parent Relation dimensions; however, these differences disappeared post-transfer. Higher maternal overprotection scores were associated with significantly lower scores on the Psychological Well-being, Autonomy and Parent Relation, and Social Support and Peers dimensions, regardless of transfer status. Disease group, gender and maternal overprotection were predictors of health-related quality of life pre- and post-transfer from child to adult healthcare. Transition programmes should promote self-management and discourage parental overprotection. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Does impulsivity predict outcome in treatment for binge eating disorder? A multimodal investigation.

PubMed

Manasse, Stephanie M; Espel, Hallie M; Schumacher, Leah M; Kerrigan, Stephanie G; Zhang, Fengqing; Forman, Evan M; Juarascio, Adrienne S

2016-10-01

Multiple dimensions of impulsivity (e.g., affect-driven impulsivity, impulsive inhibition - both general and food-specific, and impulsive decision-making) are associated with binge eating pathology cross-sectionally, yet the literature on whether impulsivity predicts treatment outcome is limited. The present pilot study explored impulsivity-related predictors of 20-week outcome in a small open trial (n = 17) of a novel treatment for binge eating disorder. Overall, dimensions of impulsivity related to emotions (i.e., negative urgency) and food cues emerged as predictors of treatment outcomes (i.e., binge eating frequency and global eating pathology as measured by the Eating Disorders Examination), while more general measures of impulsivity were statistically unrelated to global eating pathology or binge frequency. Specifically, those with higher levels of negative urgency at baseline experienced slower and less pronounced benefit from treatment, and those with higher food-specific impulsivity had more severe global eating pathology at baseline that was consistent at post-treatment and follow-up. These preliminary findings suggest that patients high in negative urgency and with poor response inhibition to food cues may benefit from augmentation of existing treatments to achieve optimal outcomes. Future research will benefit from replication with a larger sample, parsing out the role of different dimensions of impulsivity in treatment outcome for eating disorders, and identifying how treatment can be improved to accommodate higher levels of baseline impulsivity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Part-to-itself model inversion in process compensated resonance testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayes, Alexander; Jauriqui, Leanne; Biedermann, Eric; Heffernan, Julieanne; Livings, Richard; Aldrin, John C.; Goodlet, Brent; Mazdiyasni, Siamack

2018-04-01

Process Compensated Resonance Testing (PCRT) is a non-destructive evaluation (NDE) method involving the collection and analysis of a part's resonance spectrum to characterize its material or damage state. Prior work used the finite element method (FEM) to develop forward modeling and model inversion techniques. In many cases, the inversion problem can become confounded by multiple parameters having similar effects on a part's resonance frequencies. To reduce the influence of confounding parameters and isolate the change in a part (e.g., creep), a part-to-itself (PTI) approach can be taken. A PTI approach involves inverting only the change in resonance frequencies from the before and after states of a part. This approach reduces the possible inversion parameters to only those that change in response to in-service loads and damage mechanisms. To evaluate the effectiveness of using a PTI inversion approach, creep strain and material properties were estimated in virtual and real samples using FEM inversion. Virtual and real dog bone samples composed of nickel-based superalloy Mar-M-247 were examined. Virtual samples were modeled with typically observed variations in material properties and dimensions. Creep modeling was verified with the collected resonance spectra from an incrementally crept physical sample. All samples were inverted against a model space that allowed for change in the creep damage state and the material properties but was blind to initial part dimensions. Results quantified the capabilities of PTI inversion in evaluating creep strain and material properties, as well as its sensitivity to confounding initial dimensions.

What are the contents of patient engagement interventions for older adults? A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

PubMed

Menichetti, Julia; Graffigna, Guendalina; Steinsbekk, Aslak

2018-06-01

To describe the contents of interventions reported in RCTs focusing on patient engagement of older adults. A systematic literature review based on a search for "patient engagement/activation/empowerment/involvement/participation". Interventions were classified according to: (i) specific components (micro level), (ii) single/multiple dimensions (educational, behavioral, affective) (meso level), and (iii) the studies' main educational, behavioral or affective dimension (macro level). After screening 2749 articles, 35 were included. 20 unique components were identified, mostly behavioral or educational (45.5% each) (e.g., goal setting or written informational materials). Most interventions with a single-focus were classified as educational (31%), one was solely affective (3%). Half of the interventions covered more than one dimension, with four (11%) combining all three dimensions. Studies mainly focusing on the affective dimension included older participants (72 vs. 67 years), had a higher proportion of females (71% vs. 44%), and included other dimensions more frequently (67% vs. 31%) than did studies with a main focus on the educational dimension. The contents of the interventions that focused on patient engagement of older adults tend to focus more on behavioral and educational dimensions than the affective dimension. The possibility of adding the affective dimension into behavioral and/or educational interventions should be explored. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Examining occupational stress, sources of stress and stress management strategies through the eyes of management consultants: a multiple correspondence analysis for latent constructs.

PubMed

von Humboldt, Sofia; Leal, Isabel; Laneiro, Tito; Tavares, Patrícia

2013-12-01

To date, little research has yet focused in broad assessment for management consultancy professionals. This investigation aims to analyse management consultants' self-perceptions of occupational stress (SPoOS), sources of stress (SoS) and stress management strategies (SMS) and to find latent constructs that can work as major determinants in consultants' conceptualization of SPoOS, SoS and SMS. Measures were completed, including demographics and interviews. Complete data were available for 39 management consultants, 53.8% male and aged between 23 and 56 years (M = 38.0; SD = 9.2). The data were subjected to content analysis. Representation of the associations and latent constructs were analysed by a multiple correspondence analysis. Results indicated that 'intellectual disturber' (31.4%) was the most referred SPoOS, 'high workload' (15.1%) was identified as the most prevalent perceived SoS and 'coaching' (19.0%) was the most mentioned SMS. No significant differences between the two gender groups were found regarding the three total scores. SPoOS was explained by a two-factor model: 'organization-oriented' and 'person-oriented'. A three-dimension model formed by 'job concerns', 'organizational constraints' and 'career expectations' was indicated as a best-fit solution for SoS, and SMS was best explained in a three-dimension model by 'group dynamics strategies', 'organizational culture strategies' and 'individual support strategies'. This research makes a unique contribution for a better understanding of what defines SPoOS, SoS and SMS for management consultants. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Predicting musically induced emotions from physiological inputs: linear and neural network models.

PubMed

Russo, Frank A; Vempala, Naresh N; Sandstrom, Gillian M

2013-01-01

Listening to music often leads to physiological responses. Do these physiological responses contain sufficient information to infer emotion induced in the listener? The current study explores this question by attempting to predict judgments of "felt" emotion from physiological responses alone using linear and neural network models. We measured five channels of peripheral physiology from 20 participants-heart rate (HR), respiration, galvanic skin response, and activity in corrugator supercilii and zygomaticus major facial muscles. Using valence and arousal (VA) dimensions, participants rated their felt emotion after listening to each of 12 classical music excerpts. After extracting features from the five channels, we examined their correlation with VA ratings, and then performed multiple linear regression to see if a linear relationship between the physiological responses could account for the ratings. Although linear models predicted a significant amount of variance in arousal ratings, they were unable to do so with valence ratings. We then used a neural network to provide a non-linear account of the ratings. The network was trained on the mean ratings of eight of the 12 excerpts and tested on the remainder. Performance of the neural network confirms that physiological responses alone can be used to predict musically induced emotion. The non-linear model derived from the neural network was more accurate than linear models derived from multiple linear regression, particularly along the valence dimension. A secondary analysis allowed us to quantify the relative contributions of inputs to the non-linear model. The study represents a novel approach to understanding the complex relationship between physiological responses and musically induced emotion.

SU-D-BRA-04: Fractal Dimension Analysis of Edge-Detected Rectal Cancer CTs for Outcome Prediction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhong, H; Wang, J; Hu, W

2015-06-15

Purpose: To extract the fractal dimension features from edge-detected rectal cancer CTs, and to examine the predictability of fractal dimensions to outcomes of primary rectal cancer patients. Methods: Ninety-seven rectal cancer patients treated with neo-adjuvant chemoradiation were enrolled in this study. CT images were obtained before chemoradiotherapy. The primary lesions of the rectal cancer were delineated by experienced radiation oncologists. These images were extracted and filtered by six different Laplacian of Gaussian (LoG) filters with different filter values (0.5–3.0: from fine to coarse) to achieve primary lesions in different anatomical scales. Edges of the original images were found at zero-crossingsmore » of the filtered images. Three different fractal dimensions (box-counting dimension, Minkowski dimension, mass dimension) were calculated upon the image slice with the largest cross-section of the primary lesion. The significance of these fractal dimensions in survival, recurrence and metastasis were examined by Student’s t-test. Results: For a follow-up time of two years, 18 of 97 patients had experienced recurrence, 24 had metastasis, and 18 were dead. Minkowski dimensions under large filter values (2.0, 2.5, 3.0) were significantly larger (p=0.014, 0.006, 0.015) in patients with recurrence than those without. For metastasis, only box-counting dimensions under a single filter value (2.5) showed differences (p=0.016) between patients with and without. For overall survival, box-counting dimensions (filter values = 0.5, 1.0, 1.5), Minkowski dimensions (filter values = 0.5, 1.5, 2.0, 2,5) and mass dimensions (filter values = 1.5, 2.0) were all significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: It is feasible to extract shape information by edge detection and fractal dimensions analysis in neo-adjuvant rectal cancer patients. This information can be used to prognosis prediction.« less

Slow kinetics of Brownian maxima.

PubMed

Ben-Naim, E; Krapivsky, P L

2014-07-18

We study extreme-value statistics of Brownian trajectories in one dimension. We define the maximum as the largest position to date and compare maxima of two particles undergoing independent Brownian motion. We focus on the probability P(t) that the two maxima remain ordered up to time t and find the algebraic decay P ∼ t(-β) with exponent β = 1/4. When the two particles have diffusion constants D(1) and D(2), the exponent depends on the mobilities, β = (1/π) arctan sqrt[D(2)/D(1)]. We also use numerical simulations to investigate maxima of multiple particles in one dimension and the largest extension of particles in higher dimensions.

Qualification and Gender Dimensions in Attitude of Secondary School Social Studies Teachers towards Computer Usage in Kogi State Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Achor, Emmanuel E.; Shaibu, Joshua S.

2013-01-01

This study examined attitude dimensions of secondary school social studies teachers towards computer usage in Kogi State Nigeria. Qualification and Gender influence on their use was examined. Participants were 427 (Male = 224; female = 203) social studies teachers. Sampling was purposive and random. The study adopted the survey design. Data were…

Examination of the Relationship among Different Dimensions of Trait Anxiety, Demographic Variables, and Self-Reported School Adjustment in Elementary and Secondary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Witteborg, Kristin M.; Lowe, Patricia A.; Lee, Steven W.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the relationship among different dimensions of trait anxiety (social concerns, physiological anxiety, and worry/oversensitivity), demographic variables (age and gender), and school adjustment (attitude to school and attitude to teachers) in children and adolescents. The study participants,…

Disability, Poverty, and Material Hardship since the Passage of the ADA

PubMed Central

Drew, Julia A. Rivera

2015-01-01

The past 25 years have seen an unprecedented expansion in formal civil rights for people with disabilities that, among other things, was predicted to improve their economic well-being. Studies of economic well-being among people with disabilities have traditionally focused on employment and earnings, despite the fact that a minority of people with disabilities are employed. More recent literature has expanded to include measures of income poverty and material hardship, but has not examined trends in these dimensions of economic well-being over time or across different groups of people with disabilities. The current study uses nationally representative data covering the 1993-2010 period to examine trends over time in cross-sectional and dynamic measures of income poverty, and multiple dimensions of material hardship. It also describes differences in time trends by education, sex, race/ethnicity, and employment status among people with disabilities in income poverty and any material hardship. Levels of both material hardship and income poverty are high across the entire period for all groups, but while material hardship remains at the same level between 1993 and 2010, income poverty declines. These findings show that there has been little improvement over the past two decades in the economic well-being of people with disabilities, and additional research is needed to understand the mechanisms that keep even groups that are relatively privileged – college graduates and full-time, full-year workers – at very low levels of economic well-being. PMID:27042381

Nature vs nurture: are leaders born or made? A behavior genetic investigation of leadership style.

PubMed

Johnson, A M; Vernon, P A; McCarthy, J M; Molson, M; Harris, J A; Jang, K L

1998-12-01

With the recent resurgence in popularity of trait theories of leadership, it is timely to consider the genetic determination of the multiple factors comprising the leadership construct. Individual differences in personality traits have been found to be moderately to highly heritable, and so it follows that if there are reliable personality trait differences between leaders and non-leaders, then there may be a heritable component to these individual differences. Despite this connection between leadership and personality traits, however, there are no studies of the genetic basis of leadership using modern behavior genetic methodology. The present study proposes to address the lack of research in this area by examining the heritability of leadership style, as measured by self-report psychometric inventories. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), the Leadership Ability Evaluation, and the Adjective Checklist were completed by 247 adult twin pairs (183 monozygotic and 64 same-sex dizygotic). Results indicated that most of the leadership dimensions examined in this study are heritable, as are two higher level factors (resembling transactional and transformational leadership) derived from an obliquely rotated principal components factors analysis of the MLQ. Univariate analyses suggested that 48% of the variance in transactional leadership may be explained by additive heritability, and 59% of the variance in transformational leadership may be explained by non-additive (dominance) heritability. Multivariate analyses indicated that most of the variables studied shared substantial genetic covariance, suggesting a large overlap in the underlying genes responsible for the leadership dimensions.

Multiple-output support vector machine regression with feature selection for arousal/valence space emotion assessment.

PubMed

Torres-Valencia, Cristian A; Álvarez, Mauricio A; Orozco-Gutiérrez, Alvaro A

2014-01-01

Human emotion recognition (HER) allows the assessment of an affective state of a subject. Until recently, such emotional states were described in terms of discrete emotions, like happiness or contempt. In order to cover a high range of emotions, researchers in the field have introduced different dimensional spaces for emotion description that allow the characterization of affective states in terms of several variables or dimensions that measure distinct aspects of the emotion. One of the most common of such dimensional spaces is the bidimensional Arousal/Valence space. To the best of our knowledge, all HER systems so far have modelled independently, the dimensions in these dimensional spaces. In this paper, we study the effect of modelling the output dimensions simultaneously and show experimentally the advantages in modeling them in this way. We consider a multimodal approach by including features from the Electroencephalogram and a few physiological signals. For modelling the multiple outputs, we employ a multiple output regressor based on support vector machines. We also include an stage of feature selection that is developed within an embedded approach known as Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE), proposed initially for SVM. The results show that several features can be eliminated using the multiple output support vector regressor with RFE without affecting the performance of the regressor. From the analysis of the features selected in smaller subsets via RFE, it can be observed that the signals that are more informative into the arousal and valence space discrimination are the EEG, Electrooculogram/Electromiogram (EOG/EMG) and the Galvanic Skin Response (GSR).

Development of multiple choice pictorial test for measuring the dimensions of knowledge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nahadi, Siswaningsih, Wiwi; Erna

2017-05-01

This study aims to develop a multiple choice pictorial test as a tool to measure dimension of knowledge in chemical equilibrium subject. The method used is Research and Development and validation that was conducted in the preliminary studies and model development. The product is multiple choice pictorial test. The test was developed by 22 items and tested to 64 high school students in XII grade. The quality of test was determined by value of validity, reliability, difficulty index, discrimination power, and distractor effectiveness. The validity of test was determined by CVR calculation using 8 validators (4 university teachers and 4 high school teachers) with average CVR value 0,89. The reliability of test has very high category with value 0,87. Discrimination power of items with a very good category is 32%, 59% as good category, and 20% as sufficient category. This test has a varying level of difficulty, item with difficult category is 23%, the medium category is 50%, and the easy category is 27%. The distractor effectiveness of items with a very poor category is 1%, poor category is 1%, medium category is 4%, good category is 39%, and very good category is 55%. The dimension of knowledge that was measured consist of factual knowledge, conceptual knowledge, and procedural knowledge. Based on the questionnaire, students responded quite well to the developed test and most of the students like this kind of multiple choice pictorial test that include picture as evaluation tool compared to the naration tests was dominated by text.

Psychosocial stress in pregnancy and preterm birth: associations and mechanisms

PubMed Central

Shapiro, Gabriel D.; Fraser, William D.; Frasch, Martin G.; Séguin, Jean R.

2016-01-01

Aims Psychosocial stress during pregnancy (PSP) is a risk factor of growing interest in the etiology of preterm birth (PTB). This literature review assesses the published evidence concerning the association between PSP and PTB, highlighting established and hypothesized physiological pathways mediating this association. Method The PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched using the keywords “psychosocial stress”, “pregnancy”, “pregnancy stress”, “preterm”, “preterm birth”, “gestational age”, “anxiety”, and “social support”. After applying the exclusion criteria, the search produced 107 articles. Results The association of PSP with PTB varied according to the dimensions and timing of PSP. Stronger associations were generally found in early pregnancy, and most studies demonstrating positive results found moderate effect sizes, with risk ratios between 1.2 and 2.1. Subjective perception of stress and pregnancy-related anxiety appeared to be the stress measures most closely associated with PTB. Potential physiological pathways identified included behavioral, infectious, neuroinflammatory, and neuroendocrine mechanisms. Conclusions Future research should examine the biological pathways of these different psychosocial stress dimensions and at multiple time points across pregnancy. Culture-independent characterization of the vaginal microbiome and noninvasive monitoring of cholinergic activity represent two exciting frontiers in this research. PMID:24216160

The State of Nursing Home Information Technology Sophistication in Rural and Nonrural US Markets.

PubMed

Alexander, Gregory L; Madsen, Richard W; Miller, Erin L; Wakefield, Douglas S; Wise, Keely K; Alexander, Rachel L

2017-06-01

To test for significant differences in information technology sophistication (ITS) in US nursing homes (NH) based on location. We administered a primary survey January 2014 to July 2015 to NH in each US state. The survey was cross-sectional and examined 3 dimensions (IT capabilities, extent of IT use, degree of IT integration) among 3 domains (resident care, clinical support, administrative activities) of ITS. ITS was broken down by NH location. Mean responses were compared across 4 NH categories (Metropolitan, Micropolitan, Small Town, and Rural) for all 9 ITS dimensions and domains. Least square means and Tukey's method were used for multiple comparisons. Methods yielded 815/1,799 surveys (45% response rate). In every health care domain (resident care, clinical support, and administrative activities) statistical differences in facility ITS occurred in larger (metropolitan or micropolitan) and smaller (small town or rural) populated areas. This study represents the most current national assessment of NH IT since 2004. Historically, NH IT has been used solely for administrative activities and much less for resident care and clinical support. However, results are encouraging as ITS in other domains appears to be greater than previously imagined. © 2016 National Rural Health Association.

Nonlinear Waves, Dynamical Systems and Other Applied Mathematics Programs

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-10-04

present a general scheme of perturbation method for perturbed soliton systems, based on the normal form theory and the method of multiple scales. By this...dimension, and discuss possible consequences of the interplay between wavefront- interactions and curvature in two dimensions. Thursday, October 19 All ... normal speed D parametrized by the local mean surface curvature x. Its solution provides a relation D = D(x) which determines the evolution of the front

Association between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Health-Related Quality of Life among Patients at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease in Uruguay.

PubMed

Clennin, Morgan N; Payne, Jonathan P W; Rienzi, Edgardo G; Lavie, Carl J; Blair, Steven N; Pate, Russell R; Sui, Xuemei

2015-01-01

To examine the association between objectively measured CRF and physical and mental components of HRQoL in a Uruguayan cohort at risk for developing CVD. Patient data records from 2002-2012 at the Calidad de Vida Center were examined. To assess CRF, participants performed a submaximal exercise test. During the evaluation, participants also completed the SF-36, a HRQoL measure comprised of eight dimensions that are summarized by physical and mental component scores (PCS and MCS, respectively). ANCOVA was used to examine the relationship between HRQoL dimensions and CRF. Logistic regression was then used to compare the odds of having a HRQoL component score above the norm across CRF. All analyses were performed separately for males and females with additional stratified analyses across age and BMI conducted among significant trends. A total of 2,302 subjects were included in the analysis. Among females, a significant relationship was observed between CRF and vitality, physical functioning, physical role, bodily pain, and general health dimensions. However, for males the only dimension found to be significantly associated with CRF was physical health. After adjusting for potential confounders, a significant linear trend (p<0.001) for PCS scores above the norm across CRF levels was observed for females only. Among females with one or more risk factors for developing CVD, higher levels of CRF were positively associated with the vitality and physical dimensions of HRQoL, as well as the overall PCS. However, among males the only dimension associated with CRF was physical functioning. Future studies should examine this relationship among populations at risk for developing CVD in more detail and over time.

Split-screen display system and standardized methods for ultrasound image acquisition and multi-frame data processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Selzer, Robert H. (Inventor); Hodis, Howard N. (Inventor)

2011-01-01

A standardized acquisition methodology assists operators to accurately replicate high resolution B-mode ultrasound images obtained over several spaced-apart examinations utilizing a split-screen display in which the arterial ultrasound image from an earlier examination is displayed on one side of the screen while a real-time "live" ultrasound image from a current examination is displayed next to the earlier image on the opposite side of the screen. By viewing both images, whether simultaneously or alternately, while manually adjusting the ultrasound transducer, an operator is able to bring into view the real-time image that best matches a selected image from the earlier ultrasound examination. Utilizing this methodology, dynamic material properties of arterial structures, such as IMT and diameter, are measured in a standard region over successive image frames. Each frame of the sequence has its echo edge boundaries automatically determined by using the immediately prior frame's true echo edge coordinates as initial boundary conditions. Computerized echo edge recognition and tracking over multiple successive image frames enhances measurement of arterial diameter and IMT and allows for improved vascular dimension measurements, including vascular stiffness and IMT determinations.

Mapping the Margins in Higher Education: On the Promise of Intersectionality Frameworks in Research and Discourse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Museus, Samuel D.; Griffin, Kimberly A.

2011-01-01

"Intersectionality" can be defined as the "relationships among multiple social dimensions and modalities of social relations and subject formations." In simpler terms, it can be defined as the processes through which multiple social identities converge and ultimately shape individual and group experiences. In this article, the authors discuss the…

Nonparametric Bayesian Multiple Imputation for Incomplete Categorical Variables in Large-Scale Assessment Surveys

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Si, Yajuan; Reiter, Jerome P.

2013-01-01

In many surveys, the data comprise a large number of categorical variables that suffer from item nonresponse. Standard methods for multiple imputation, like log-linear models or sequential regression imputation, can fail to capture complex dependencies and can be difficult to implement effectively in high dimensions. We present a fully Bayesian,…

Commentary to "Multiple Grammars and Second Language Representation," by Luiz Amaral and Tom Roeper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pérez-Leroux, Ana T.

2014-01-01

In this commentary, the author defends the Multiple Grammars (MG) theory proposed by Luiz Amaral and Tom Roepe (A&R) in the present issue. Topics discussed include second language acquisition, the concept of developmental optionality, and the idea that structural decisions involve the lexical dimension. The author states that A&R's…

Relationships, Being-ness, and Voice: Exploring Multiple Dimensions of Humanizing Work with Black Girls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Erica; McArthur, Sherell A.; Russell-Owens, LaToya

2016-01-01

This work argues for an approach to research and education practices that considers the historically deficit-based research practices and views on Black girls and develops humanizing research methods that consider the multiple oppressions that act as barriers for this group. Research must acknowledge the precarious position of Black girls in order…

Multiple Pathways and State Policy: Toward Education and Training Beyond High School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Callan, Patrick M.; Finney, Joni E.

This paper discusses the policy dimensions to increase the nation's educational capital by providing at least two years of education beyond high school for almost every young and working-age adult who is motivated and able to benefit. It focuses on creating multiple pathways resulting from collaborative efforts across educational sectors or…

Chance Events in Career Development: Influence, Control and Multiplicity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bright, Jim E. H.; Pryor, Robert G. L.; Chan, Eva Wing Man; Rijanto, Jeniyanti

2009-01-01

This article reports three studies on the nature and impact of chance events. The first study investigated chance events in terms of the dimensions of influence and control. The second and third studies investigated the effects of multiplicity of chance events on career development are in terms of respondents' own careers and then in terms of…

Neurofunctional Correlates of Personality Traits in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: An fMRI Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gioia, Maria C.; Cerasa, Antonio; Valentino, Paola; Fera, Francesco; Nistico, Rita; Liguori, Maria; Lanza, Pierluigi; Quattrone, Aldo

2009-01-01

Extraversion and Neuroticism are two fundamental dimensions of human personality that influence cognitive functioning in healthy subjects. Little is known about personality changes that may occur in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) nor about, in particular, their neurofunctional basis. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of…

Association between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Health-Related Quality of Life among Patients at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease in Uruguay

PubMed Central

Payne, Jonathan P. W.; Rienzi, Edgardo G.; Lavie, Carl J.; Blair, Steven N.; Pate, Russell R.

2015-01-01

To date, few studies have examined the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in populations at high risk for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Purpose To examine the association between objectively measured CRF and physical and mental components of HRQoL in a Uruguayan cohort at risk for developing CVD. Methods Patient data records from 2002–2012 at the Calidad de Vida Center were examined. To assess CRF, participants performed a submaximal exercise test. During the evaluation, participants also completed the SF-36, a HRQoL measure comprised of eight dimensions that are summarized by physical and mental component scores (PCS and MCS, respectively). ANCOVA was used to examine the relationship between HRQoL dimensions and CRF. Logistic regression was then used to compare the odds of having a HRQoL component score above the norm across CRF. All analyses were performed separately for males and females with additional stratified analyses across age and BMI conducted among significant trends. Results A total of 2,302 subjects were included in the analysis. Among females, a significant relationship was observed between CRF and vitality, physical functioning, physical role, bodily pain, and general health dimensions. However, for males the only dimension found to be significantly associated with CRF was physical health. After adjusting for potential confounders, a significant linear trend (p<0.001) for PCS scores above the norm across CRF levels was observed for females only. Conclusion Among females with one or more risk factors for developing CVD, higher levels of CRF were positively associated with the vitality and physical dimensions of HRQoL, as well as the overall PCS. However, among males the only dimension associated with CRF was physical functioning. Future studies should examine this relationship among populations at risk for developing CVD in more detail and over time. PMID:25901358

Exploring the Dimensions of Brand Reputation in Higher Education--A Case Study of a Finnish Master's Degree Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suomi, Kati

2014-01-01

This exploratory study examines the dimensions that are relevant to brand reputation, particularly in the context of master's degree programmes. The data analysis is based on Vidaver-Cohen's "Business school quality dimensions and reputational attributes". The qualitative data for the case study comprise a student questionnaire and…

Can One Take the Logarithm or the Sine of a Dimensioned Quantity or a Unit? Dimensional Analysis Involving Transcendental Functions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matta, Cherif F.; Massa, Lou; Gubskaya, Anna V.; Knoll, Eva

2011-01-01

The fate of dimensions of dimensioned quantities that are inserted into the argument of transcendental functions such as logarithms, exponentiation, trigonometric, and hyperbolic functions is discussed. Emphasis is placed on common misconceptions that are not often systematically examined in undergraduate courses of physical sciences. The argument…

Dimensions of Conscience in Mid-Adolescence: Links with Social Behavior, Parenting, and Temperament

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laible, Deborah; Eye, Jessica; Carlo, Gustavo

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether aspects of conscience cohere into broader dimensions and to examine how these broader dimensions of conscience relate to parenting, temperament, and social behavior. One hundred and thirteen adolescents (M age = 15.88 years, 51% female) completed measures of sympathy, guilt, empathic anger, shame,…

The Ethical Dimension of Teacher Practical Knowledge: A Narrative Inquiry into Chinese Teachers' Thinking and Actions in Dilemmatic Spaces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Xiangming; Wei, Ge; Jiang, Shuling

2017-01-01

Previous research concerning teacher practical knowledge has revealed its epistemological foundations, content structure and research methodology, but little research examines its ethical dimension. Based on a four-year project in China, this study probes the ethical dimension of an experienced teacher's practical knowledge, explicated in a…

Continuously phase-modulated standing surface acoustic waves for separation of particles and cells in microfluidic channels containing multiple pressure nodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Junseok; Rhyou, Chanryeol; Kang, Byungjun; Lee, Hyungsuk

2017-04-01

This paper describes continuously phase-modulated standing surface acoustic waves (CPM-SSAW) and its application for particle separation in multiple pressure nodes. A linear change of phase in CPM-SSAW applies a force to particles whose magnitude depends on their size and contrast factors. During continuous phase modulation, we demonstrate that particles with a target dimension are translated in the direction of moving pressure nodes, whereas smaller particles show oscillatory movements. The rate of phase modulation is optimized for separation of target particles from the relationship between mean particle velocity and period of oscillation. The developed technique is applied to separate particles of a target dimension from the particle mixture. Furthermore, we also demonstrate human keratinocyte cells can be separated in the cell and bead mixture. The separation technique is incorporated with a microfluidic channel spanning multiple pressure nodes, which is advantageous over separation in a single pressure node in terms of throughput.

The Associations Among Individual Factors, eHealth Literacy, and Health-Promoting Lifestyles Among College Students

PubMed Central

Luo, Yi-Fang

2017-01-01

Background eHealth literacy is gaining importance for maintaining and promoting health. Studies have found that individuals with high eHealth literacy are more likely to adopt healthy eating, exercise, and sleep behaviors. In addition, previous studies have shown that various individual factors (eg, frequency of seeking information on health issues, degree of health concern, frequency of eating organic food, and students’ college major) are associated with eHealth literacy and health-promoting lifestyles. Nevertheless, few studies have explored the associations among individual factors, eHealth literacy, and health-promoting lifestyles among college students. Moreover, there is a lack of studies that focus on eHealth literacy as a predictor of psychological health behaviors. Objective To examine the associations among various individual factors, eHealth literacy, and health-promoting lifestyles. Methods The eHealth Literacy Scale is a 12-item instrument designed to measure college students’ functional, interactive, and critical eHealth literacy. The Health-promoting Lifestyle Scale is a 23-item instrument developed to measure college students’ self-actualization, health responsibility, interpersonal support, exercise, nutrition, and stress management. A nationally representative sample of 556 valid college students in Taiwan was surveyed. A questionnaire was administered to gather the respondents’ background information, including the frequency of seeking information on health issues, the frequency of eating organic food, the degree of health concern, and the students’ major. We then conducted a multiple regression analysis to examine the associations among individual factors, eHealth literacy, and health-promoting lifestyles. Results The study found that factors such as medical majors (t550=2.47-7.55, P<.05) and greater concern with health (t550=2.15-9.01, P<.05) predicted college students’ 4-6 health-promoting lifestyle dimensions and the 3 dimensions of eHealth literacy. Moreover, critical eHealth literacy positively predicted all 6 health-promoting lifestyle dimensions (t547=2.66-7.28, P<.01), functional literacy positively predicted 2 dimensions (t547=2.32-2.98, P<.05), and interactive literacy predicted only the self-actualization dimension (t547=2.81, P<.01). Conclusions This study found that participants who majored in medical fields had greater concern with their health and frequently sought health information, exhibited better eHealth literacy, and had a positive health-promoting lifestyle. Moreover, this study showed that college students with a higher critical eHealth literacy engaged better in health-promoting activities than those with functional and interactive literacy. PMID:28073739

Integration trumps selection in object recognition.

PubMed

Saarela, Toni P; Landy, Michael S

2015-03-30

Finding and recognizing objects is a fundamental task of vision. Objects can be defined by several "cues" (color, luminance, texture, etc.), and humans can integrate sensory cues to improve detection and recognition [1-3]. Cortical mechanisms fuse information from multiple cues [4], and shape-selective neural mechanisms can display cue invariance by responding to a given shape independent of the visual cue defining it [5-8]. Selective attention, in contrast, improves recognition by isolating a subset of the visual information [9]. Humans can select single features (red or vertical) within a perceptual dimension (color or orientation), giving faster and more accurate responses to items having the attended feature [10, 11]. Attention elevates neural responses and sharpens neural tuning to the attended feature, as shown by studies in psychophysics and modeling [11, 12], imaging [13-16], and single-cell and neural population recordings [17, 18]. Besides single features, attention can select whole objects [19-21]. Objects are among the suggested "units" of attention because attention to a single feature of an object causes the selection of all of its features [19-21]. Here, we pit integration against attentional selection in object recognition. We find, first, that humans can integrate information near optimally from several perceptual dimensions (color, texture, luminance) to improve recognition. They cannot, however, isolate a single dimension even when the other dimensions provide task-irrelevant, potentially conflicting information. For object recognition, it appears that there is mandatory integration of information from multiple dimensions of visual experience. The advantage afforded by this integration, however, comes at the expense of attentional selection. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integration trumps selection in object recognition

PubMed Central

Saarela, Toni P.; Landy, Michael S.

2015-01-01

Summary Finding and recognizing objects is a fundamental task of vision. Objects can be defined by several “cues” (color, luminance, texture etc.), and humans can integrate sensory cues to improve detection and recognition [1–3]. Cortical mechanisms fuse information from multiple cues [4], and shape-selective neural mechanisms can display cue-invariance by responding to a given shape independent of the visual cue defining it [5–8]. Selective attention, in contrast, improves recognition by isolating a subset of the visual information [9]. Humans can select single features (red or vertical) within a perceptual dimension (color or orientation), giving faster and more accurate responses to items having the attended feature [10,11]. Attention elevates neural responses and sharpens neural tuning to the attended feature, as shown by studies in psychophysics and modeling [11,12], imaging [13–16], and single-cell and neural population recordings [17,18]. Besides single features, attention can select whole objects [19–21]. Objects are among the suggested “units” of attention because attention to a single feature of an object causes the selection of all of its features [19–21]. Here, we pit integration against attentional selection in object recognition. We find, first, that humans can integrate information near-optimally from several perceptual dimensions (color, texture, luminance) to improve recognition. They cannot, however, isolate a single dimension even when the other dimensions provide task-irrelevant, potentially conflicting information. For object recognition, it appears that there is mandatory integration of information from multiple dimensions of visual experience. The advantage afforded by this integration, however, comes at the expense of attentional selection. PMID:25802154

Examining the Five Dimensions of Professional Learning Communities in Nigerian Schools: A Study of the Perceptions of Educators in Delta State Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Egbune, Francisca

2013-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether educators perceive the existence of the five dimensions of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in Delta State Schools in Nigeria. This study used an online survey to assess 105 teachers' and administrator's perceptions from six randomly sampled Delta State Central Senatorial…

Using SEM to Examine the Dimensions of Perfectionism and Investigate the Mediating Role of Self-Esteem between Perfectionism and Depression in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Bin; Cai, Taisheng

2012-01-01

The aim of the study was to examine the nature of perfectionism, to gain a better understanding of the construct using the Chinese population. The study also explored the relationships between perfectionism, self-esteem and depression after identifying the three dimensions of perfectionism. A sample of 292 Chinese university students completed the…

An Examination of xMOOCs: An Embedded Single Case Study Based on Conole's 12 Dimensions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kocdar, Serpil; Okur, M. Recep; Bozkurt, Aras

2017-01-01

This study intends to examine the xMOOCs offered by one of the mainstream MOOC platforms in Conole's 12 dimensions. For this purpose, the research employed an embedded single case study using heuristic inquiry to collect data. The researchers participated in three xMOOCs and took into consideration the characteristics of these MOOCs by rating them…

Stimulus discriminability in visual search.

PubMed

Verghese, P; Nakayama, K

1994-09-01

We measured the probability of detecting the target in a visual search task, as a function of the following parameters: the discriminability of the target from the distractors, the duration of the display, and the number of elements in the display. We examined the relation between these parameters at criterion performance (80% correct) to determine if the parameters traded off according to the predictions of a limited capacity model. For the three dimensions that we studied, orientation, color, and spatial frequency, the observed relationship between the parameters deviates significantly from a limited capacity model. The data relating discriminability to display duration are better than predicted over the entire range of orientation and color differences that we examined, and are consistent with the prediction for only a limited range of spatial frequency differences--from 12 to 23%. The relation between discriminability and number varies considerably across the three dimensions and is better than the limited capacity prediction for two of the three dimensions that we studied. Orientation discrimination shows a strong number effect, color discrimination shows almost no effect, and spatial frequency discrimination shows an intermediate effect. The different trading relationships in each dimension are more consistent with early filtering in that dimension, than with a common limited capacity stage. Our results indicate that higher-level processes that group elements together also play a strong role. Our experiments provide little support for limited capacity mechanisms over the range of stimulus differences that we examined in three different dimensions.

Multi-dimension feature fusion for action recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Pei; Li, Jie; Dong, Junyu; Qi, Lin

2018-04-01

Typical human actions last several seconds and exhibit characteristic spatio-temporal structure. The challenge for action recognition is to capture and fuse the multi-dimension information in video data. In order to take into account these characteristics simultaneously, we present a novel method that fuses multiple dimensional features, such as chromatic images, depth and optical flow fields. We built our model based on the multi-stream deep convolutional networks with the help of temporal segment networks and extract discriminative spatial and temporal features by fusing ConvNets towers multi-dimension, in which different feature weights are assigned in order to take full advantage of this multi-dimension information. Our architecture is trained and evaluated on the currently largest and most challenging benchmark NTU RGB-D dataset. The experiments demonstrate that the performance of our method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.

Do Leadership Style, Unit Climate, and Safety Climate Contribute to Safe Medication Practices?

PubMed

Farag, Amany; Tullai-McGuinness, Susan; Anthony, Mary K; Burant, Christopher

2017-01-01

This study aims at: examining if leadership style and unit climate predict safety climate; and testing the direct, indirect, and total effect of leadership style, unit climate, and safety climate on nurses' safe medication practices. The Institute of Medicine and nursing scholars propose that safety climate is a prerequisite to safety practices. However, there is limited empirical evidence about factors contributing to the development of safety climate and about the association with nurses' safe medication practices. This cross-sectional study used survey data from 246 RNs working in a Magnet® hospital. Leadership style and unit climate predicted 20% to 50% of variance on all safety climate dimensions. Model testing revealed the indirect impact of leadership style and unit climate on nurses' safe medication practices. Our hypothesized model explained small amount of the variance on nurses' safe medication practices. This finding suggests that nurses' safe medication practices are influenced by multiple contextual and personal factors that should be further examined.

Some Insights on Roughness Induced Transition and Control from DNS and Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suryanarayanan, Saikishan; Ibitayo, Ifeoluwa; Goldstein, David; Brown, Garry

2016-11-01

We study the receptivity and subsequent evolution of an initially laminar flat boundary layer on a flat plate to single and multiple discrete roughness elements (DRE) using a combination of immersed boundary DNS and water channel flow visualization experiments. We examine the transition caused by a single DRE and demonstrate the possibility of suppressing it by an appropriately designed second DRE in both DNS and experiments. The different phases of transition are identified and the roles of Reynolds numbers based on roughness height and boundary layer thickness are investigated. The underlying mechanisms in the observed transition and its control are understood by examining detailed vorticity flux balances. Connections are also made to recent developments in transient growth and streak instability. A unified picture is sought from a parametric study of different DRE dimensions and orientations. The potential applicability of the observations and understanding derived from this study to controlling transition caused by design and environmental roughness over aircraft wings is discussed. Supported by AFOSR # FA9550-15-1-0345.

Perceiving social inequity: when subordinate-group positioning on one dimension of social hierarchy enhances privilege recognition on another.

PubMed

Rosette, Ashleigh Shelby; Tost, Leigh Plunkett

2013-08-01

Researchers have suggested that viewing social inequity as dominant-group privilege (rather than subordinate-group disadvantage) enhances dominant-group members' support for social policies aimed at lessening such inequity. However, because viewing inequity as dominant-group privilege can be damaging to dominant-group members' self-images, this perspective is frequently resisted. In the research reported here, we explored the circumstances that enhance the likelihood of dominant-group members' viewing inequity as privilege. Because social hierarchies have multiple vertical dimensions, individuals may have high status on one dimension but low status on another. We predicted that occupying a subordinate position on one dimension of social hierarchy could enhance perceptions of one's own privilege on a different dimension of hierarchy, but that this tendency would be diminished among individuals who felt they had achieved a particularly high level of success. Results from three studies that considered gender-based and race-based hierarchies in organizational settings supported our hypothesis.

Adaptive Discontinuous Galerkin Methods in Multiwavelets Bases

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Archibald, Richard K; Fann, George I; Shelton Jr, William Allison

2011-01-01

We use a multiwavelet basis with the Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method to produce a multi-scale DG method. We apply this Multiwavelet DG method to convection and convection-diffusion problems in multiple dimensions. Merging the DG method with multiwavelets allows the adaptivity in the DG method to be resolved through manipulation of multiwavelet coefficients rather than grid manipulation. Additionally, the Multiwavelet DG method is tested on non-linear equations in one dimension and on the cubed sphere.

Calculating DWI/DWAI Recidivism with Limited Data: Using State Driver License File for Drinking and Driving Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yu, Jiang; Williford, William R.

1991-01-01

Used sample from New York State Driver License File to mathematically extend dimension of file so that data purging procedure exerts minimum influence on calculation of drinking-driving recidivism. Examined impact of dimension of data on recidivism rate and mathematically extended file until impact of data dimension was minimum. Calculated New…

Toward theoretical understanding of the fertility preservation decision-making process: examining information processing among young women with cancer.

PubMed

Hershberger, Patricia E; Finnegan, Lorna; Altfeld, Susan; Lake, Sara; Hirshfeld-Cytron, Jennifer

2013-01-01

Young women with cancer now face the complex decision about whether to undergo fertility preservation. Yet little is known about how these women process information involved in making this decision. The purpose of this article is to expand theoretical understanding of the decision-making process by examining aspects of information processing among young women diagnosed with cancer. Using a grounded theory approach, 27 women with cancer participated in individual, semistructured interviews. Data were coded and analyzed using constant-comparison techniques that were guided by 5 dimensions within the Contemplate phase of the decision-making process framework. In the first dimension, young women acquired information primarily from clinicians and Internet sources. Experiential information, often obtained from peers, occurred in the second dimension. Preferences and values were constructed in the third dimension as women acquired factual, moral, and ethical information. Women desired tailored, personalized information that was specific to their situation in the fourth dimension; however, women struggled with communicating these needs to clinicians. In the fifth dimension, women offered detailed descriptions of clinician behaviors that enhance or impede decisional debriefing. Better understanding of theoretical underpinnings surrounding women's information processes can facilitate decision support and improve clinical care.

THE IMPACT OF CRISIS UPON THE BEHAVIOR OF NATIONS IN THE 1960's.

PubMed

Phillips, W R; Lorimor, T

1974-10-01

This study examines international crises in the 1960's, specifically those crises that occurred between June, 1962 and July, 1968. The conflictual aspects of interacting dyads involved in crises during that period were examined t o discern the conflictual dimensions of national behavior in crises. In addition, conflict behavior was examined for those periods immediately prior to and immediately following crisis situations. This resulted in dimensions of conflict behavior for pre-crisis, during-crisis, and post-crisis periods. The periods were contrasted with one another to gain a better conception of the behavior exhibited in international crises. It was found that the dimensions of behavior change in predictable ways in the shift from one period to another. The behavior of individual dyads does shift in ways which are not predictable by simple linear technique.

Modeling Multiplicative Error Variance: An Example Predicting Tree Diameter from Stump Dimensions in Baldcypress

Treesearch

Bernard R. Parresol

1993-01-01

In the context of forest modeling, it is often reasonable to assume a multiplicative heteroscedastic error structure to the data. Under such circumstances ordinary least squares no longer provides minimum variance estimates of the model parameters. Through study of the error structure, a suitable error variance model can be specified and its parameters estimated. This...

Intersectionality in psychotherapy: The experiences of an AfroLatinx queer immigrant.

PubMed

Adames, Hector Y; Chavez-Dueñas, Nayeli Y; Sharma, Shweta; La Roche, Martin J

2018-03-01

Culturally responsive and racially conscious psychotherapeutic work requires that therapists recognize the ways clients are impacted by their multiple marginalized identities and by systems of oppression (e.g., racism, ethnocentrism, sexism, heterosexism, and nativism). Attending exclusively to clients' marginalized identities (i.e., weak intersectionality) may drive therapists to only focus on internal, subjective, and emotional experiences, hence, missing the opportunity to consider and address how multiple sociostructural dimensions (i.e., strong intersectionality) may be impacting the client's presenting problems. Alternatively, focusing solely on the impact of sociostructural dimensions on the lives of clients may miss the more nuanced and variable individual personal experiences. In this article, we highlight the challenge of maintaining a culturally responsive and racially conscious stance when considering multiple marginalized identities, overlapping systemic inequities, and how both affect clients' lives and experiences. The case of an AfroLatinx queer immigrant is presented to illustrate some of the challenges and opportunities while simultaneously considering (a) the client's multiple marginalized identities, (b) the way clients are impacted by systemic oppression, and (c) integrating the client's personal experiences and narratives in psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

A Hierarchical Causal Taxonomy of Psychopathology across the Life Span

PubMed Central

Lahey, Benjamin B.; Krueger, Robert F.; Rathouz, Paul J.; Waldman, Irwin D.; Zald, David H.

2016-01-01

We propose a taxonomy of psychopathology based on patterns of shared causal influences identified in a review of multivariate behavior genetic studies that distinguish genetic and environmental influences that are either common to multiple dimensions of psychopathology or unique to each dimension. At the phenotypic level, first-order dimensions are defined by correlations among symptoms; correlations among first-order dimensions similarly define higher-order domains (e.g., internalizing or externalizing psychopathology). We hypothesize that the robust phenotypic correlations among first-order dimensions reflect a hierarchy of increasingly specific etiologic influences. Some nonspecific etiologic factors increase risk for all first-order dimensions of psychopathology to varying degrees through a general factor of psychopathology. Other nonspecific etiologic factors increase risk only for all first-order dimensions within a more specific higher-order domain. Furthermore, each first-order dimension has its own unique causal influences. Genetic and environmental influences common to family members tend to be nonspecific, whereas environmental influences unique to each individual are more dimension-specific. We posit that these causal influences on psychopathology are moderated by sex and developmental processes. This causal taxonomy also provides a novel framework for understanding the heterogeneity of each first-order dimension: Different persons exhibiting similar symptoms may be influenced by different combinations of etiologic influences from each of the three levels of the etiologic hierarchy. Furthermore, we relate the proposed causal taxonomy to transdimensional psychobiological processes, which also impact the heterogeneity of each psychopathology dimension. This causal taxonomy implies the need for changes in strategies for studying the etiology, psychobiology, prevention, and treatment of psychopathology. PMID:28004947

"Parsing the heterogeneity of psychopathy and aggression: Differential associations across dimensions and gender": Correction to Hecht et al. (2016).

PubMed

2017-01-01

Reports an error in "Parsing the heterogeneity of psychopathy and aggression: Differential associations across dimensions and gender" by Lisa K. Hecht, Joanna M. Berg, Scott O. Lilienfeld and Robert D. Latzman ( Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment , 2016[Jan], Vol 7[1], 2-14). In the article, there was an error in Table 3 and in the fifth paragraph of the Results. The correct information has been provided. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2015-29370-001.) Psychopathy is a multidimensional construct that is broadly associated with both reactive (RA) and proactive (PA) aggression. Nevertheless, a consistent pattern of associations between psychopathy and these 2 aggression subtypes has yet to emerge because of methodological differences across studies. Moreover, research has yet to examine gender differences in the relation between dimensions of psychopathy and RA/PA. Accordingly, we examined the associations between psychopathy dimensions, as operationalized by 2 self-report instruments, and subtypes of aggression within a diverse sample of undergraduates (N = 1,158). Results confirmed that psychopathy is broadly associated with PA, as well as RA, with dimensions of psychopathy evidencing common and distinct associations with both raw and residual RA and PA scores. In both models of psychopathy, PA was significantly and positively associated with all dimensions, whereas RA was significantly negatively associated with interpersonal and affective dimensions, and significantly positively associated with dimensions related to an antisocial and impulsive lifestyle. Gender significantly moderated associations among dimensions of psychopathy and RA/PA, such that the antisocial/behavioral dimension of psychopathy was positively associated with PA for males, whereas the antisocial/behavioral dimension was positively associated with RA for females. Results suggest both generality and specificity of psychopathy dimensions as related to subtypes of aggression, as well as possible differential pathways from psychopathy to different subtypes of aggression in men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Association between Types of Involvement in School Bullying and Different Dimensions of Anxiety Symptoms and the Moderating Effects of Age and Gender in Taiwanese Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yen, Cheng-Fang; Huang, Mei-Feng; Kim, Young Shin; Wang, Peng-Wei; Tang, Tze-Chun; Yeh, Yi-Chun; Lin, Huang-Chi; Liu, Tai-Ling; Wu, Yu-Yu; Yang, Pinchen

2013-01-01

Objective: The aims of this cross-sectional study were to examine the associations of various types of school bullying involvement experiences with different dimensions of anxiety symptoms on the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) and to examine the moderating effects of gender and age on the associations in Taiwanese adolescent…

Does Adolescents’ Disclosure to their Parents Matter for their Academic Adjustment?

PubMed Central

Cheung, Cecilia Sin-Sze; Pomerantz, Eva M.; Dong, Wei

2012-01-01

The role of adolescents’ disclosure to their parents in their academic adjustment was examined in a study of 825 American and Chinese adolescents (mean age = 12.73 years). Four times over the seventh and eighth grades, adolescents reported on their spontaneous disclosure of everyday activities to their parents, the quality of their relationships with their parents, and their parents’ autonomy support and control. Information about multiple dimensions of adolescents’ academic adjustment (e.g., learning strategies, autonomous vs. controlled motivation, and grades) was also obtained. Both American and Chinese adolescents’ disclosure predicted their enhanced academic adjustment over time. However, when American adolescents disclosed in a negative context (e.g., a poor parent-child relationship or controlling parenting), their autonomous (vs. controlled) motivation was undermined. PMID:23006004

Cross-Ethnic Friendships and Intergroup Attitudes Among Asian American Adolescents

PubMed Central

Chen, Xiaochen; Graham, Sandra

2014-01-01

This study examined cross-ethnic friendship choices and intergroup attitudes in a sample of 762 sixth grade Asian American students (Mage=11.5 years) attending one of 19 middle schools that varied in ethnic composition. Multiple measures of friendship (quantity and quality) and intergroup attitudes (affective, cognitive, behavioral) toward White, Latino, and Black grademates were assessed. The results showed that Asian American students over-nominated White students and under-nominated Latino and Black students as their friends when school availability of each ethnic group was accounted for. Cross-ethnic friendships were related to better intergroup attitudes, especially the behavioral dimension of attitudes. Cross-ethnic friendships were least likely to change attitudes towards Blacks. Implications for future research, educational practice, and attitude intervention programs were discussed. PMID:25626492

MEASUREMENT EQUIVALENCE OF NEIGHBORHOOD QUALITY MEASURES FOR EUROPEAN AMERICAN AND MEXICAN AMERICAN FAMILIES

PubMed Central

Kim, Su Yeong; Nair, Rajni; Knight, George P.; Roosa, Mark W.; Updegraff, Kimberly A.

2009-01-01

The factorial and construct equivalence of subscales assessing parents’ and children’s perceptions of the quality of their neighborhood was examined in Mexican American and European American families. All subscales (dangerous people in the neighborhood, sense of safety in the neighborhood, quality of the physical environment) demonstrated adequate partial factorial invariance across English- and Spanish-speaking Mexican American and European American families. Reports by children about dangerous people in the neighborhood was the closest to achieving strict factorial invariance, and the only one of the four dimensions to achieve invariance in the validity analyses across Mexican American and European American families. The implications of using these self-report neighborhood quality measures in studies of multiple cultural or language groups are discussed. PMID:19183709

Impact of Requirements Quality on Project Success or Failure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamai, Tetsuo; Kamata, Mayumi Itakura

We are interested in the relationship between the quality of the requirements specifications for software projects and the subsequent outcome of the projects. To examine this relationship, we investigated 32 projects started and completed between 2003 and 2005 by the software development division of a large company in Tokyo. The company has collected reliable data on requirements specification quality, as evaluated by software quality assurance teams, and overall project performance data relating to cost and time overruns. The data for requirements specification quality were first converted into a multiple-dimensional space, with each dimension corresponding to an item of the recommended structure for software requirements specifications (SRS) defined in IEEE Std. 830-1998. We applied various statistical analysis methods to the SRS quality data and project outcomes.

Why not procrastinate? Development and validation of a new active procrastination scale.

PubMed

Choi, Jin Nam; Moran, Sarah V

2009-04-01

Procrastination has been studied as a dysfunctional, self-effacing behavior that ultimately results in undesirable outcomes. However, A. H. C. Chu and J. N. Choi (2005) found a different form of procrastination (i.e., active procrastination) that leads to desirable outcomes. The construct of active procrastination has a high potential to expand the time management literature and is likely to be adopted by researchers in multiple areas of psychology. To facilitate the research on this new construct and its further integration into the literature, the authors developed and validated a new, expanded measure of active procrastination that reliably assesses its four dimensions. Using this new measure of active procrastination, they further examined its nomological network. The new 16-item measure is a critical step toward further empirical investigation of active procrastination.

Interference among the Processing of Facial Emotion, Face Race, and Face Gender.

PubMed

Li, Yongna; Tse, Chi-Shing

2016-01-01

People can process multiple dimensions of facial properties simultaneously. Facial processing models are based on the processing of facial properties. The current study examined the processing of facial emotion, face race, and face gender using categorization tasks. The same set of Chinese, White and Black faces, each posing a neutral, happy or angry expression, was used in three experiments. Facial emotion interacted with face race in all the tasks. The interaction of face race and face gender was found in the race and gender categorization tasks, whereas the interaction of facial emotion and face gender was significant in the emotion and gender categorization tasks. These results provided evidence for a symmetric interaction between variant facial properties (emotion) and invariant facial properties (race and gender).

Interference among the Processing of Facial Emotion, Face Race, and Face Gender

PubMed Central

Li, Yongna; Tse, Chi-Shing

2016-01-01

People can process multiple dimensions of facial properties simultaneously. Facial processing models are based on the processing of facial properties. The current study examined the processing of facial emotion, face race, and face gender using categorization tasks. The same set of Chinese, White and Black faces, each posing a neutral, happy or angry expression, was used in three experiments. Facial emotion interacted with face race in all the tasks. The interaction of face race and face gender was found in the race and gender categorization tasks, whereas the interaction of facial emotion and face gender was significant in the emotion and gender categorization tasks. These results provided evidence for a symmetric interaction between variant facial properties (emotion) and invariant facial properties (race and gender). PMID:27840621

The impact and implications of undocumented immigration on individual and collective health in the United States.

PubMed

Hilfinger Messias, DeAnne K; McEwen, Marylyn Morris; Clark, Lauren

2015-01-01

A nation of immigrants, the United States currently has more foreign-born residents than any other country; approximately 28% of these foreign-born residents are undocumented immigrants--individuals who either entered or are currently residing in the country without valid immigration or residency documents. The complex and constantly changing social, political, and economic context of undocumented migration has profound effects on individuals, families, and communities. The lack of demographic and epidemiologic data on undocumented immigrants is a major public health challenge. In this article, we identify multiple dimensions of vulnerability among undocumented persons; examine how undocumentedness impacts health and health care access and utilization; and consider the professional, practice, and policy issues and implications for nurses. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developing dimensions for a multicomponent multidisciplinary approach to obesity management: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Cochrane, Anita J; Dick, Bob; King, Neil A; Hills, Andrew P; Kavanagh, David J

2017-10-16

There have been consistent recommendations for multicomponent and multidisciplinary approaches for obesity management. However, there is no clear agreement on the components, disciplines or processes to be considered within such an approach. In this study, we explored multicomponent and multidisciplinary approaches through an examination of knowledge, skills, beliefs, and recommendations of stakeholders involved in obesity management. These stakeholders included researchers, practitioners, educators, and patients. We used qualitative action research methods, including convergent interviewing and observation, to assist the process of inquiry. The consensus was that a multicomponent and multidisciplinary approach should be based on four central meta-components (patient, practitioner, process, and environmental factors), and specific components of these factors were identified. Psychologists, dieticians, exercise physiologists and general practitioners were nominated as key practitioners to be included. A complex condition like obesity requires that multiple components be addressed, and that both patients and multiple disciplines are involved in developing solutions. Implementing cycles of continuous improvement to deal with complexity, instead of trying to control for it, offers an effective way to deal with complex, changing multisystem problems like obesity.

Detection, imaging, and kinetics of sub-micron organelles of chondrocytes by multiple beam interference microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joshi, Narahari V.; Medina, Honorio; Barboza, J. M.; Colantuoni, Gladys; Quintero, Maritza

2004-07-01

Chondrocytes, obtained from testosterone treated human articular cartilage, were examined by a recently developed Multiple Beam Interference Microscopy (MBIM) attached to a confocal set up, Video-enhanced differential interference microphotography and also by cinematography. In the MBIM, the intensity of the transmitted pattern is given by the Airy function which increases the contrast dramatically as the coefficient of the reflectance of the parallel plates increases. Moreover, in this configuration, the beam passes several times through a specific organelle and increases its optical path difference both because of the increase in the trajectory and refractive index (high density) of the organelle. The improved contrast enhances the resolving power of the system and makes visible several structural details of sub micron dimensions like nucleolus, retraction fibers, podia, etc. which are not possible to reveal with such a clarity by conventional techniques such as bright field, phase contrast or DIC. This technique permits to detect the oscillatory and rotational motions of unstained cilia for the first time. The frequency of oscillations was found to be 0.8 Hz.

Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Behavioral Stability and Change in Children 6-36 months of Age Using Louisville Twin Study Data.

PubMed

Davis, Deborah Winders; Finkel, Deborah; Turkheimer, Eric; Dickens, William

2015-11-01

The Infant Behavior Record (IBR) from the Bayley Scales of Infant Development has been used to study behavioral development since the 1960s. Matheny (1983) examined behavioral development at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months from the Louisville Twin Study (LTS). The extracted temperament scales included Task Orientation, Affect-Extraversion, and Activity. He concluded that monozygotic twins were more similar than same-sex dizygotic twins on these dimensions. Since this seminal work was published, a larger LTS sample and more advanced analytical methods are available. In the current analyses, Choleksy decomposition was applied to behavioral data (n = 1231) from twins 6-36 months. Different patterns of genetic continuity vs genetic innovations were identified for each IBR scale. Single common genetic and shared environmental factors explained cross-age twin similarity in the Activity scale. Multiple shared environmental factors and a single genetic factor coming on line at age 18 months contributed to Affect-Extraversion. A single shared environmental factor and multiple genetic factors explained cross-age twin similarity in Task Orientation.

Career success implications of political skill.

PubMed

Todd, Samuel Y; Harris, Kenneth J; Harris, Ranida B; Wheeler, Anthony R

2009-06-01

The authors investigated the individual characteristic of political skill and its relation to 5 different career-related outcomes (total compensation, promotions, career satisfaction, life satisfaction, and perceived external job mobility). They examined data obtained from a sample of 191 employees working a wide range of occupations. The results reveal that political skill is associated with 4 of the 5 outcomes. In addition, they examined the 4 dimensions of political skill and found that the networking ability dimension dominates the relations with the examined outcomes. The authors discuss practical implications, limitations, and directions for future research.

Race, Class, and Gender: A Constellation of "Positionalities" with Implications for Counseling.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harley, Debra A.; Jolivette, Kristine; McCormick, Katherine; Tice, Karen

2002-01-01

Examines the intersection of race, class, and gender and the dimensions of oppression and discrimination in counseling. Historical and contemporary dimensions of racism, misogyny, and classism are presented. (Contains 96 references.) (GCP)

Interindividual differences in cognitive flexibility: influence of gray matter volume, functional connectivity and trait impulsivity

PubMed Central

Langner, Robert; Cieslik, Edna C.; Rottschy, Claudia; Eickhoff, Simon B.

2016-01-01

Cognitive flexibility, a core aspect of executive functioning, is required for the speeded shifting between different tasks and sets. Using an interindividual differences approach, we examined whether cognitive flexibility, as assessed by the Delis–Kaplan card-sorting test, is associated with gray matter volume (GMV) and functional connectivity (FC) of regions of a core network of multiple cognitive demands as well as with different facets of trait impulsivity. The core multiple-demand network was derived from three large-scale neuroimaging meta-analyses and only included regions that showed consistent associations with sustained attention, working memory as well as inhibitory control. We tested to what extent self-reported impulsivity as well as GMV and resting-state FC in this core network predicted cognitive flexibility independently and incrementally. Our analyses revealed that card-sorting performance correlated positively with GMV of the right anterior insula, FC between bilateral anterior insula and midcingulate cortex/supplementary motor area as well as the impulsivity dimension “Premeditation.” Importantly, GMV, FC and impulsivity together accounted for more variance of card-sorting performance than every parameter alone. Our results therefore indicate that various factors contribute individually to cognitive flexibility, underlining the need to search across multiple modalities when aiming to unveil the mechanisms behind executive functioning. PMID:24878823

Satisfaction with communicative participation as defined by adults with multiple sclerosis: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Yorkston, Kathryn M; Baylor, Carolyn R; Klasner, Estelle R; Deitz, Jean; Dudgeon, Brian J; Eadie, Tanya; Miller, Robert M; Amtmann, Dagmar

2007-01-01

This study examined satisfaction with communicative participation as reported by adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). Eight community-dwelling adults with MS participated in semi-structured interviews. They were asked to discuss their satisfaction with their communication in a variety of situations. Interviews were analyzed using a constant comparative method of qualitative description. Themes derived included: Comfort, consisting of Ease and Confidence; Success of the Outcome, including Function is Achieved and A Connection is Made; and Personal Meaning of Participation, including Personal Preferences, Comparison with the Past, and Thinking about One's Own Communication. Participants described multiple facets of satisfaction with communicative participation. Some of the dimensions were similar to those in existing assessment instruments such as levels of ease or difficulty with performance. Participants did not talk about frequency of activities as a key part of their satisfaction. Implications for identifying intervention targets and treatment outcome measurements are provided. The reader should be able to: 1) define communicative participation and identify key elements of this construct; 2) identify the issues that were most relevant to satisfaction with communicative participation with participants with MS; and 3) identify reasons for greater emphasis on the subjective viewpoint of people with communication disorders in measurement of treatment outcomes.

The Influence of Rehabilitative and Punishment Ideology on Correctional Officers' Perceptions of Informal Bases of Power.

PubMed

Gordon, Jill A; Stichman, Amy J

2016-10-01

Maintaining order is a key goal for prison managers. Much of the research on order maintenance focuses, however, on disruptions of order, even when order is more common. Examining factors related to perceptions on how officers get inmates to comply is, therefore, an important consideration. Using a survey of correctional officers from a Mid-Atlantic state, this study considers three dimensions of French and Raven's theory on the bases of power. The focus is to examine correctional orientation and compliance regarding three dimensions of power that rely on informal control and relationships. The results indicate that officers' belief in rehabilitative ideals is consistently related to the dimensions of legitimate, referent, and expert control. Other individual and organizational factors are also related to dimensions of power. Implications for policies and for future research are discussed. © The Author(s) 2015.

Cigarette and e-liquid demand and substitution in e-cigarette-naïve smokers.

PubMed

Stein, Jeffrey S; Koffarnus, Mikhail N; Stepanov, Irina; Hatsukami, Dorothy K; Bickel, Warren K

2018-06-01

Behavioral economic methods allow experimental manipulation of price and examination of its effects on tobacco product purchasing. These methods may be used to examine tobacco product abuse liability and to prospectively model possible effects of price regulation. In the present study, we examined multiple measures of behavioral economic demand for cigarettes and e-liquid for use in a second-generation electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) in e-cigarette-naïve cigarette smokers. Twenty-five smokers received an e-cigarette (eGo ONE CT), sampled study e-liquid (24 mg/mL nicotine), and completed recurring sessions in which they used an experimental income to purchase real-world supplies of cigarettes and/or e-liquid. Participants also completed self-report measures of drug effects/liking. When products were available alone, we observed lower demand for e-liquid than for cigarettes. This effect was magnified when cigarettes and e-liquid were available concurrently. In additional assessments, e-liquid served as a partial substitute for cigarettes, but cigarettes did not serve as a substitute for e-liquid. Finally, participants rated e-liquid more poorly than cigarettes on several dimensions of drug effects/liking (any effects, liking, desire, and probability of continued use). We conclude that e-cigarette-naïve smokers value cigarettes more highly than e-liquid across multiple contexts and measurements. Nonetheless, participants still valued e-liquid positively and purchased it frequently, both as a substitute for cigarettes and independently of cigarettes. To understand the variables that influence transitions from exclusive smoking to either dual cigarette/e-cigarette use or exclusive e-cigarette use, future work should systematically examine the role of duration of e-liquid exposure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

"In, Through and About" Movement: Is There a Place for the Arnoldian Dimensions in the New Australian Curriculum for Health and Physical Education?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Trent D.

2013-01-01

Arnold's dimensions of movement, commonly known as education "in, through and about" movement, serve as one of five propositions in the development of a new national curriculum document for Health and Physical Education. The purpose of this article is to examine these dimensions, before undertaking an interrogation of their usefulness in…