When ideology hurts: Effects of belief in the Protestant ethic and feeling overweight on the psychological well-being of women.

Two studies addressed the relationship between Protestant ethic (PE) ideology and psychological well-being for self-perceived overweight and normal weight women. In Study 1, PE beliefs interacted with self-perceived weight status: For very overweight women, higher PE beliefs were related to lower psychological well-being, whereas the opposite pattern emerged for normal weight women. The relationship of PE to well-being was not mediated by beliefs about controllability of weight or dislike of the overweight. In Study 2, either a PE ideology or an inclusive ideology was primed within the context of the stigma of overweight. For overweight participants, printing PE ideology led to decreased psychological well-being, whereas priming an inclusive ideology led to increased psychological well-being. Normal weight participants were unaffected. PE ideology as a vulnerability factor for the psychological well-being of the overweight is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher effects on cognitive and affective pupil outcomes in elementary school mathematics.

Some writers contend that there is a degree of incompatibility in maximizing both desired cognitive and affective outcomes in pupils. In direct conflict is the contention expressed in literature relating to elementary school mathematics that the promotion of desired cognitive outcomes (or achievement) in pupils is dependent on the prior promotion of desired affective outcomes, such as favorable attitudes toward the subject, and furthermore, that teachers not possessing the desired cognitive and affective attributes may be unable to inspire them in their pupils. The validity of these contentions was assessed by administering mathematics attitude and achievement tests to final-year student teachers and to the 850 pupils (4th–6th grade) of 48 of these teachers during the following year. Statistical analyses were used to investigate teacher–pupil relationships. Findings indicate that high achievement and high attitudes in teachers were each signficantly related to high achievement in pupils but were also related to the least favorable pupil attitudes toward the subject. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher coverage of academic content and pupil achievement.

Reports on 2 studies relating teacher coverage of academic content to pupil achievement. In Exp I, 40 intermediate-grade teachers taught a 4-day content unit and estimated their coverage of each achievement item. Controlling for pupil ability and socioeconomic status, a partial correlation of .40 was obtained between teacher coverage and pupil achievement. In Exp II, 28 intermediate-grade teachers were randomly assigned to 2 groups. All teachers taught 2 content units with a 2-mo interval between. Order of teaching the 2 units was reversed for the 2 groups. Results differed for the 2 groups. However, several significant correlations were obtained between teacher coverage and pupil achievement, ranging up to .67. Teacher coverage scores for the 2 units were surprisingly stable, correlating .60 for 1 teacher group and .87 for the other. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Morphological and functional aspects of the cardiovascular system related to aging: does "aging heart" exist?

Thromboembolic disease (TE) is an important cause of in-hospital morbidity and mortality. The relationship between cancer and abnormalities of blood coagulation has been recognized for well over a century. Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of the lower extremities is the most common cause of thromboembolic disease, but pulmonary embolism, upper extremity vein thrombosis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and other, more unusual, clinical events, may occur. Unexplained TE may serve as a marker for the presence of a hidden tumor. The frequency of pulmonary embolism (PE) among patients with a malignant neoplasm at necropsy is highly increased in the elderly patients. Among subjects with a malignant neoplasm, patients with pancreatic and gastric cancer (mucin-secreting adenocarcinomas), cancer of the large bowel and women with ovarian cancer had the highest frequency of PE. Old age, female sex, gastrointestinal and ovarian cancers must be considered as a significant risk factor for PE. The potentially responsible mechanisms for the thrombotic events, clinical manifestations, diagnostic implications and aspects of treatment of TE in malignant disease are discussed.     

Unity of command and job attitudes of managers in a bureaucratic organization.

Investigated the use of the classical principle of unity of command (i.e., a subordinate should report to 1 superior only. Ss were 304 government managers working in a bureaucratic agency, 181 of whom reported to 1 superior only while 123 reported to 2 or more superiors. The violation of this principle was related to the predicted negative attitudinal orientation of managers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teachers' beliefs about interaction control and their observed behavioral correlates.

A teacher's perception of control over interactions with pupils has been suggested as a possible mediator of the expectation communication process. The present study tested some predictions based on this line of reasoning, with both between- and within-classroom analysis models. Participants were 204 3rd–5th graders from 5 schools and 17 teachers. The within-classroom analysis found, as predicted, that teachers viewed interactions with low-expectation pupils as less controllable than those with high-expectation pupils and that teacher initiations were perceived as more controllable than child initiations. In addition, a predicted (but nonsignificant) negative relation was found between the frequency of a teacher's ignoring a pupil's response and interaction control: Less relative perceived control over a pupil was associated with a relatively more frequent occurrence of no feedback. Reasons for the weakness in relations are discussed. Also, explanatory analyses involving control and the frequency of 6 types of classroom interaction are presented. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prophylactic Greenfield filters: acute complications and long-term follow-up

The efficacy of prophylactic vena caval filters (VCF) in reducing morbidity and mortality from pulmonary embolism (PE) in high-risk trauma patients has been shown, but minimal follow-up data is currently available. VCFs were prophylactically placed in 110 patients between August 1991 and June 1995. There was an early VCF complication rate of 7%. Twenty-two patients died; the remaining 88 patients formed the basis for the follow-up study. Forty-five patients were located and interviewed by phone, and 30 of these patients (34%) returned for evaluation. The mean follow-up time was 18 months (range, 4-42 months). There was no incidence of caval thrombosis on follow-up. Eleven patients had physical findings, and duplex evidence consistent with postphlebitic syndrome. An additional three patients had evidence of old deep venous thrombosis (DVT) by duplex, but no significant symptomatology. VCF are effective in preventing PE related deaths and have few major complications. The long-term morbidity associated with posttraumatic venous thrombosis is significant. This morbidity is related not to PE or VCF, but to the underlying DVT. Improved strategies against DVT are necessary.     

Functional and anatomical fiber analysis of the posterior commissure (PC) in the cat: evidence for PC fibers of which stimulation elicits non-oculosympathetic pupillary dilation

Pupillary responses were studied by electrical stimulation of the posterior commissure (PC) and the nuclei of origin and termination of PC fibers in the cat. Prior to stimulation experiments, cervical sympathectomy was carried out to study the pupillary responses not mediated by the ocular sympathetic nerve. Pupillary responses were recorded by using an infrared pupillo-analyzing system. The stimulus consisted of a 5 s train of cathodal square wave (0.5 ms duration, 50 Hz) pulses. Stimulation of the PC evoked a pupillary response complex (PRC), which began with a rapid pupillary constriction after the latency of 210-317 ms. The threshold of constriction was 10 or 20 microA. Constriction reached its peak shortly after the onset of the stimulus, then the pupil gradually re-dilated (pupillary escape, PE) even though the stimulus was still lasting. The pupil gradually returned, after stimulus termination, to the size before stimulation in the cases with the pupil area before stimulation larger than 20 mm2. On the other hand, in the cases with smaller pupil area before stimulation (< 20 mm2), rapid constriction and PE were followed, after stimulus termination, by a large dilation (after-dilation, AD). The thresholds of PE and AD were 20 or 40 microA. Pupillary constriction was evoked with a large range of stimulus frequency (1-100 Hz). To evoke PE and AD, stimulus frequencies of 10 and 50 Hz were required respectively, and lower frequencies were ineffective. The peak latency of AD increased in proportion to the increase in stimulus frequency and intensity. Following horseradish peroxidase (dissolved in 5% alkyl-phenol ethylene oxide) injection into the pretectal region where fibers from the PC fan out, retrogradely labeled neurons occurred in many subthalamic, pretectal and midbrain nuclei on the other side. They were classified into three groups in terms of the pupillary response evoked by electrical stimulation; the pupillo-constrictory nuclei (PCNs) of which stimulation evoked constriction with the threshold of 20 microA, the pupillo-dilatory nuclei (PDNs) of which stimulation evoked dilation with the threshold of 20 or 10 microA, and other nuclei with higher thresholds of constriction or dilation. The PDNs were further, classified into two groups (Type 1 and Type 2 PDNs) according to the relationship between stimulus intensity and the peak latency of dilation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

What undergraduate physical education majors learn during a field experience

Early field experiences and student teaching have a significant impact on the development of prospective teachers' perceptions of teaching and themselves as teachers (Dodds, 1989). The purpose of this study was to describe what happened to physical education majors during a secondary physical education methodology course that included two field experiences in which the undergraduates taught at least one lesson a day. The four research questions that guided the study were (a) What issues did the majors attend to as significant incidents from their teaching, and did these issues change during their field experiences? (b) What were the characteristics of field experience lessons they perceived as successful? (c) What were the characteristics of field experience lessons they perceived as unsuccessful? and (d) What were the physical education majors' conceptions of teaching? Participants in the study were 39 junior-year physical education teacher education majors. Data were collected using the critical incident technique (Flanagan, 1954) and an open-ended, written questionnaire that was designed to encourage the majors to reflect on various aspects of their teaching experience. The questionnaire and critical incidents were analyzed using an inductive analytical procedure and a series of categories developed from several readings of students' writings. The teacher preparation program affected how these trainees defined and evaluated their teaching experiences. In contrast to some of the earlier work in physical education, the results indicated pupil learning, quality lesson planning to ensure pupil learning, and efficient lesson management were major characteristics of successful lessons for these trainees. The trainees presented "theories of knowledge" that emphasized technical concepts of teaching with little attention to the social or ethical dimensions of their work or the content knowledge of their field. Additional research is needed to examine appropriate programmatic efforts to help preservice teachers reflect not only on teaching, learning, and schooling as a technical enterprise but also as a moral and ethical enterprise.     

Dimensions of teacher self-efficacy and relations with strain factors, perceived collective teacher efficacy, and teacher burnout.

In this study, the authors developed and factor analyzed the Norwegian Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale. They also examined relations among teacher self-efficacy, perceived collective teacher efficacy, external control (teachers' general beliefs about limitations to what can be achieved through education), strain factors, and teacher burnout. Participants were 244 elementary and middle school teachers. The analysis supported the conceptualization of teacher self-efficacy as a multidimensional construct. They found strong support for 6 separate but correlated dimensions of teacher self-efficacy, which were included in the following subscales: Instruction, Adapting Education to Individual Students' Needs, Motivating Students, Keeping Discipline, Cooperating With Colleagues and Parents, and Coping With Changes and Challenges. They also found support for a strong 2nd-order self-efficacy factor underlying the 6 dimensions. Teacher self-efficacy was conceptually distinguished from perceived collective teacher efficacy and external control. Teacher self-efficacy was strongly related to collective teacher efficacy and teacher burnout. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between classroom process variables and middle-school science achievement.

Describes relationships between teacher variables, pupil engagement, and science achievement. Teacher wait time (TWT), the length of the pause preceding a teacher utterance, and quality of questioning were manipulated. Questioning quality comprised cognitive level, clarity, and relevance of questioning. 13 middle-school teachers were randomly assigned to groups to receive feedback on TWT and questioning quality, TWT only, questioning quality only, or placebo feedback only. The feedback was intended to increase TWT beyond 3 sec and to enhance questioning quality. 12 pupils were selected from 6th, 7th, and 8th grades as data sources for 9 engagement measures. Formal reasoning ability, locus of control (the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire), and achievement measures were obtained for all pupils. Results show that 2 engagement measures, attending and generalizing, were enhanced when a mean TWT of approximately 3 sec was used and when questions were relevant, clear, and at a variety of cognitive levels. Formal reasoning ability was significantly related to generalizing, and locus of control was significantly related to attending. Variation in science achievement was significantly related to variation in TWT, attending, generalizing, and formal reasoning ability. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher verbal and nonverbal behavioral expression toward selected pupils.

Using the context of pupil-initiated questions, selected verbal and nonverbal behaviors of teachers were investigated. 12 secondary school teachers in individualized classroom settings were asked to select 4 students subsequently labeled accepted, concerned, indifferent, and rejected. Teacher verbal behaviors were recorded with the Observation Schedule and Record 5V. Teacher–pupil interpersonal distance was recorded with the kinesthetic scale of the proxemic notation system (E. T. Hall, 1963). The 44 pupils selected completed the Describe Your School Inventory, a measure of pupil attitudes. Results show that school attitudes differed significantly between pupils labeled accepted, concerned, indifferent, and rejected. No significant differences were found in teacher behaviors toward these pupil groups. The usefulness of the situational context approach to the investigation of teacher behaviors is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Goal Orientation: Effects on Backing Up Behavior, Performance, Efficacy, and Commitment in Teams.

The author examined the predictive validity of goal orientation in teams on both team process and outcome variables. Results indicate that when mean goal orientation scores were used as a way of describing team members' inputs, learning orientation was related to backing up behavior, efficacy, and commitment. The relationships between performance orientation and efficacy and commitment, however, were more complex and were clarified when task performance was also taken into account. Performance orientation had a negative effect on efficacy when task performance was low and a positive effect on commitment when task performance was high. The implications of these findings for theory and research on goal orientation in teams and team staffing are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pyrimethamine-clindamycin vs. pyrimethamine-sulfadiazine as acute and long-term therapy for toxoplasmic encephalitis in patients with AIDS

This European multicenter study compares the efficacy and tolerance of the combination of pyrimethamine-clindamycin (Pyr-Cm) with the standard therapy pyrimethamine-sulfadiazine (Pyr-Sdz) for the treatment of toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE) in patients with AIDS. Two hundred ninety-nine human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients with TE were randomly assigned to receive 50 mg of pyrimethamine daily combined with either 2,400 mg of clindamycin or 4 g of sulfadiazine for 6 weeks followed by maintenance therapy with 25 mg of pyrimethamine daily with either 1,200 mg of clindamycin or 2 g of sulfadiazine. An intent-to-treat analysis showed that Pyr-Cm was less effective than Pyr-Sdz; the overall risk of progression of TE was 1.84 times higher for patients receiving Pyr-Cm therapy. There was no statistically significant difference in efficacy during acute therapy, although the rate of crossover motivated by a lack of response was higher among Pyr-Cm recipients. The difference in efficacy was evidenced during the maintenance phase of treatment; the relapse rate was twice as high among patients in the Pyr-Cm group (P = .02). The rate of side effects due to both regimens was similar, although the toxic effects of Pyr-Cm led to fewer discontinuations of therapy than did those of Pyr-Sdz (11% vs. 30%, respectively; P = .001). Pyr-Sdz appears to be the most effective treatment of TE. Pyr-Cm is a valuable alternative but is less effective for long-term prevention of relapses.     

An empirical study of the effect of the control rate as a predictor of treatment efficacy in meta-analysis of clinical trials

If the control rate (CR) in a clinical trial represents the incidence or the baseline severity of illness in the study population, the size of treatment effects may tend to very with the size of control rates. To investigate this hypothesis, we examined 115 meta-analyses covering a wide range of medical applications for evidence of a linear relationship between the CR and three treatment effect (TE) measures: the risk difference (RD); the log relative risk (RR), and the log odds ratio (OR). We used a hierarchical model that estimates the true regression while accounting for the random error in the measurement of and the functional dependence between the observed TE and the CR. Using a two standard error rule of significance, we found the control rate was about two times more likely to be significantly related to the RD (31 per cent) than to the RR (13 per cent) or the OR (14 per cent). Correlations between TE and CR were more likely when the meta-analysis included 10 or more trials and if patient follow-up was less than six months and homogeneous. Use of weighted linear regression (WLR) of the observed TE on the observed CR instead of the hierarchical model underestimated standard errors and overestimated the number of significant results by a factor of two. The significant correlation between the CR and the TE suggests that, rather than merely pooling the TE into a single summary estimate, investigators should search for the causes of heterogeneity related to patient characteristics and treatment protocols to determine when treatment is most beneficial and that they should plan to study this heterogeneity in clinical trials.     

A Prospective Study of Participation in Optional School Physical Education Using a Self-Determination Theory Framework.

This study examined whether contextual and personal motivational variables, taken from self-determination theory, could predict student cognitive and affective experiences in school physical education (PE), as well as participation in optional PE in the following school year. Structural equation modeling analysis with a sample of 302 British adolescents showed that need support provided by the PE teachers was related to student need satisfaction, which in turn predicted self-determined motivation. The latter predicted directly various motivational indices and indirectly future participation in optional PE. Furthermore, multivariate analysis of variance tests showed that those who opted for PE (n = 171), compared with those who did not (n = 131), reported more positive motivational experiences in the previous school year. The findings call for the promotion of self-determined motivation in PE in order to enhance student positive experiences and participation rates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal ideology polarity: Its emotional foundation and its manifestation in individual value systems, religiosity, political orientation, and assumptions concerning human nature.

Personal ideology is an individual's philosophy of how life should be lived and of what forces influence human living. In this study S. S. Tomkins's (1963, 1965, 1978, 1987) polarity theory of ideology was used to examine the manifestation of personal ideology in 4 value-laden domains of personality. Tomkins's theoretical postulates concerning the emotional foundation of personal ideology also were tested. Analyses revealed that the 2 defining dimensions of polarity theory—humanism and normativism—are related in the predicted meaningful ways to value systems, assumptions concerning human nature, religiosity, and political orientation. Evidence also was found for Tomkins's contention that specific affect clusters serve as the foundation of personal ideology. Participants who scored high in humanism ideology related autobiographical memories containing the emotion cluster of joy, distress, fear, and shame, whereas the memories of participants with normative ideologies contained relatively more anger. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does practice in orientation discrimination lead to changes in the response properties of macaque inferior temporal neurons?

We trained two rhesus monkeys in a task in which they had to judge whether or not two successively presented gratings differed in orientation. In a first experiment, we trained a monkey for only a restricted set of orientations and then recorded from the temporal cortical visual area (TE) while he made discriminations at trained and untrained orientations. Although this orientation-selective practice induced a marked anisotropy in his behavioural performance, this was not matched by a similar anisotropy in single-cell response properties. In a second experiment, we compared the response properties of TE cells in two monkeys before and after practice in the discrimination of small orientation differences. The training had no effect on either the responsiveness or the orientation tuning. We did, however, observe alterations in the pattern of response modulations induced by the behavioural context. However, these changes with practice, although present in both monkeys, were not consistent from animal to animal. The relevance of these findings for the functional significance of behavioural context dependencies of TE cells, as well as for the plasticity of TE responses, is discussed.     

Educators' attitudes toward working mothers.

In an exploratory study of educators' sex-role perceptions, 411 teachers, administrators, and pupil personnel workers were administered the Attitudes Toward Working Mothers Scale. Administrators and teachers were found to have significantly less positive attitudes toward working mothers than did pupil personnel workers. Within each of the groups, males had the least positive attitudes. Marital status, maternal employment history, and child-bearing status were unrelated to these attitudes. Replication on a second sample (330 Ss) produced similar findings. (58 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)