Life task appraisals, spouse involvement in strategies, and daily affect among short- and long-term married couples.

The purpose of this study was to examine predictors and consequences of spouses' involvement in each others' strategies for pursuing important personal goals called life tasks. Husbands and wives within 39 short- and long-term marriages described five life tasks and provided appraisals of whether each was shared with their spouse. Participants later completed 14 consecutive diary entries recording daily life task pursuit strategies, the extent of spouse involvement in each, and measures of positive and negative affect. Results indicated that interdependence in life task appraisals prospectively predicted greater spouse involvement, and greater spouse involvement was associated with more positive affect for that day. Life task appraisals may provide avenues for understanding couples' strategies for dealing with goals or stressors and how those strategies affect mood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analyzing Nonindependent Outcomes in Couple Therapy Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model.

The nonindependent components of couple data require data-analytic strategies tailored to the interpersonal processes occurring between relationship partners. This article examines the benefits of a specifically dyadic analytic method, the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM), for evaluating interpartner influence across time. Both conceptual and methodological features of the APIM are exemplified by applying this model to observations of negative and positive affect and global distress in spouses participating in a randomized trial of couple therapy. In addition to elucidating specific advantages of the APIM relative to alternative data-analytic strategies, the current results shed new light on previous findings from a comparative treatment outcome study evaluating behavioral and insight-oriented approaches to couple therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of computer-assisted cooperative learning methods and group size on the EFL learners’ achievement in communication skills

This study explored the effect of cooperative learning small group size and two different instructional modes (positive interdependence vs. individual accountability) on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) undergraduate learners’ communication skills (speaking and writing) achievement in computer-based environments. The study also examined the effects of disclosing/blinding the participants’ identities while interacting around computers on their post-test. The findings of the study revealed that the computer-based environment enabled the participants to blind their identities and reduce their anxiety from face-to-face debate, and so was very helpful in developing their communication skills. The use of the individual accountability mode was quite useful compared with the positive interdependence mode as it enabled all group members to perform their roles significantly. The 5-student group also significantly outperformed other groups of 2-7 members on the post-test communication skills. In conclusion, the findings of this study bring us a step closer to understanding the technique of cooperative language learning and group size.     

High-maintenance interaction: Inefficient social coordination impairs self-regulation.

Tasks requiring interpersonal coordination permeate all spheres of life. Although social coordination is sometimes efficient and effortless (low maintenance), at other times it is inefficient and effortful (high maintenance). Across 5 studies, participants experienced either a high- or a low-maintenance interaction with a confederate before engaging in an individual-level task requiring self-regulation. Self-regulation was operationalized with measures of (a) preferences for a challenging task with high reward potential over an easy task with low reward potential (Study 1) and (b) task performance (anagram performance in Study 1, Graduate Record Exam performance in Studies 2 and 3, physical stamina in Study 4, and fine motor control in Study 5). Results uniformly supported the hypothesis that experiencing high-maintenance interaction impairs one's self-regulatory success on subsequent, unrelated tasks. These effects were not mediated through participants' conscious processes and emerged even with a nonconscious manipulation of high-maintenance interaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Hierarchical Model of Supply-Chain Integration: Information Sharing and Operational Interdependence in the US Grocery Channel

This paper examines costs of and motivations for interconnectivity within the grocery supply chain, employing evidence from multiple case studies and survey data to develop a seven-level model of technology-enabled supply-chain connectivity and channel interdependence. This theoretical model, built around a modified transactions-costs framework, is illustrated using examples of processes that span multiple levels of interconnectivity and interdependence within the grocery channel between different groups of customers and suppliers. Our analysis suggests that while a discernible hierarchy of levels of IT-enabled interorganizational connectivity exists, not all relationships necessarily evolve to the highest level of virtual integration. Indeed, limits on executive attention preclude this level from being achieved by more than a small fraction of trading partners. The model generates eight testable hypotheses for further study.     

一种基于自适应复制的多Agent容错模型

为了构造和部署大规模的多agent系统,人们必须找到并解决其基本问题,其中之一就是可能存在的局部性系统故障。这也就意味着,容错对于大规模多agent系统来说,是一个无法回避的主题。文中讨论了这类问题并且提出了一种多agent系统的容错方法。最先的想法是将复制策略运用到agent中,对处于危急状态的agent进行复制从而避免系统故障,但是由于agent的危急性会在执行过程中演变,并且agent的可用资源是绑定的,所以需要动态以及自动地调整agent的复制体个数,从而最大化它们的作用和可靠性。文中将描述评估某个agent危险性的方法以及相关机制,并且决定使用何种策略（如：主动复制,被动复制）以及如何将其参数化（如：复制的个数）。     

一种基于自适应复制的多Agent容错模型

为了构造和部署大规模的多agent系统,人们必须找到并解决其基本问题,其中之一就是可能存在的局部性系统故障。这也就意味着,容错对于大规模多agent系统来说,是一个无法回避的主题。文中讨论了这类问题并且提出了一种多agent系统的容错方法。最先的想法是将复制策略运用到agent中,对处于危急状态的agent进行复制从而避免系统故障,但是由于agent的危急性会在执行过程中演变,并且agent的可用资源是绑定的,所以需要动态以及自动地调整agent的复制体个数,从而最大化它们的作用和可靠性。文中将描述评估某个agent危险性的方法以及相关机制,并且决定使用何种策略(如:主动复制,被动复制)以及如何将其参数化(如:复制的个数)。     

The role of the self-concept and the social context in determining the behavior of power holders: Self-construal in intergroup versus dyadic dispute resolution negotiations.

In this work, the authors explored how a person's view of himself or herself might determine his or her use of power in a complex dispute resolution negotiation. In 3 studies of asymmetric power in negotiations, the authors demonstrated that the impact of power on motivation and behavior is moderated by both a person's self-view and the social context. In Study 1, the results revealed that in a one-on-one dispute, powerful individuals primed to hold an interdependent (as opposed to independent) self-construal are more generous in resolving their disputes with low-powered opponents. Study 2 replicated this finding but revealed a different pattern in intergroup disputes, in which powerful interdependent teams of negotiators are actually less generous than are independent teams. Study 3 provided a conceptual replication of Study 2, with the use of chronic measures of self-construal and self-reported measures of behavior. Results suggest that an interdependent self-construal may lead to a more benevolent use of power in dyadic conflicts but more exploitive uses of power in intergroup conflicts. Implications for the understanding of power and self-construal are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)