Being the best bearer of bad tidings.

Giving bad news is an unpleasant task, and the medical literature provides numerous guidelines for giving bad news well. However, what people mean by "giving bad news well" is less clear. What should be the goal when communicating bad news? The authors suggest that the goal of news-givers should be to guide recipients toward a desired response and the authors propose a theoretical framework, the Bad News Response Model, for delivering bad news that draws from research in health and social psychology. The model is applicable to all forms of bad news and specifies that three characteristics of the news (controllability, likelihood, and severity) influence which response (Watchful Waiting, Active Change, or Acceptance) will most often lead to the best quality of life for the recipient. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bad news transmission as a function of the definitiveness of consequences and the relationship between communicator and recipient.

There is ample evidence suggesting (e.g., A. Tesser & S. Rosen, 1975) that people are reluctant to transmit bad news. Research on rumors, on the other hand, suggests that people sometimes are less reluctant to transmit bad news. It is argued that differences between the 2 lines of research include the definitiveness of the consequences of the news and the relationship between communicator and recipient. The influence of these 2 factors on news transmission was investigated in 3 experiments. Results showed that bad news with indefinite consequences was transmitted more often than bad news with definite consequences and that both kinds of bad news were transmitted more often if the recipient was a friend rather than a stranger. Differences in feelings of moral responsibility to transmit the news largely accounted for both effects. The 2 factors did not affect the likelihood of good news transmission. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

News and notes.

Provides news and notes for APA members. Specifically: books published; conference information and news on various APA divisions and members. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two distinct regions of the CD28 intracytoplasmic domain are involved in the tyrosine phosphorylation of Vav and GTPase activating protein-associated p62 protein

We surveyed 868 community-dwelling older adults about their (a) utilization of media news, (b) opinion of news media coverage of older people, and (c) preferences among terms used by news media to refer to senior citizens. Those with more than high school education read more newspaper news than those with less education. All groups watched TV news more frequently than they read the newspaper. Respondents had reservations about the news media's accuracy in, attitude toward, and interest in stories regarding seniors. Clear education and gender-related patterns emerged, whereas age proved nonsignificant in many analyses. Respondents' preferred reference terms were: (nouns) senior citizen, retiree, senior, and older adult; (adjectives) retired, senior, and mature. Respondents disliked: (nouns) old man/woman, old person, oldster, old timer, and geezer; (adjectives) old, aged, gray, and geriatric.     

Communicating developmental research results to the general public through television.

Describes a project in which developmental psychologists worked cooperatively with producers to create a series of 20 news features (60–250 sec episodes) that were broadcast on the local news of TV stations across the US. Topics included divorce, adolescent abuse, parent–infant attachment, and the visual capabilities of babies. Public relations specialists, an interviewer, and 2 developmental psychologists experienced in TV appearances provided suggestions for developmental psychologists on how to be more effective as sources for news programs, talk shows, and documentaries. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

News and notes.

This section of News & Notes provides the latest information about the Society for the History of Psychology. It contains Division news for the Division 26 of the American Psychological Association Society for the History of Psychology, meeting reports for the Council of Representatives and general member news. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory for news in young and old adults.

Memory for news stories was studied in 48 young and 48 old adults (20–40 and 60–80 years of age, respectively). Three stories selected from actual news programs were presented in print, audio, and TV formats for study. Young adults recalled a higher proportion of news content than old adults and performed better on source recognition tests. Presentation of the information in a TV format led to better performance than in an audio format for both young and old adults. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that approximately 86% of the age-related variance in news recall was mediated by measures of sensory acuity and processing speed, and commonality analysis revealed that 75% of the age-related variance was mediated jointly by acuity and speed. Findings support common-cause and generalized slowing views of memory impairment in old age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children and terrorism-related news: Training parents in coping and media literacy.

This study examined associations between televised news regarding risk for future terrorism and youth outcomes and investigated the effects of training mothers in an empirically based approach to addressing such news with children. This approach--Coping and Media Literacy (CML)--emphasized modeling, media literacy, and contingent reinforcement and was compared via randomized design to Discussion as Usual (DAU). Ninety community youth (aged 7-13 years) and their mothers viewed a televised news clip about the risk of future terrorism, and threat perceptions and state anxiety were assessed preclip, postclip, and postdiscussion. Children responded to the clip with elevated threat perceptions and anxiety. Children of CML-trained mothers exhibited lower threat perceptions than DAU youth at postclip and at postdiscussion. Additionally, CML-trained mothers exhibited lower threat perceptions and state anxiety at postclip and postdiscussion than did DAU mothers. Moreover, older youth responded to the clip with greater societal threat perception than did younger youth. Findings document associations between terrorism-related news, threat perceptions, and anxiety and support the utility of providing parents with strategies for addressing news with children. Implications and research suggestions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

News and notes.

This section of News & Notes provides information on current news from Division 26, announces the winner for the Best Student Paper Award for the 2008 APA Division 26 Program, general member news, and a short announcement about Kurt Danziger's book Marking the Mind: A History of Memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's recall of television and print news: A media comparison study.

An experiment was conducted (a) to compare children's recall of news information presented either audiovisually or in print, and (b) to establish whether the relative effectiveness of both media in conveying the news is dependent on children's reading proficiency and expectation of a memory test. A sample of 152 4th and 6th graders was presented with a sequence of 5 children's news stories, either in their original televised form or in a printed version. In each condition, half of the children were led to expect a memory test, whereas the other children were not. The results of a cued-recall test indicated that children who had watched the news on television remembered more than those who had received the same news in print, regardless of their reading proficiency or expectation of a memory test. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

News & notes.

This article covers the latest information about the The Society for the History of Psychology. The news and notes summarize the call for fellowship nominations and papers for the 2006 convention. The column also discusses membership, personal news, and meetings and exhibits concerning the history of psychology around the world. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chinese aerospace titanium melt contract for PSI

A specialist UK atomisation company has won major equipment contract to provide the Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials (BIAM) with a cold-crucible inert gas atomisation system.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest powder metallurgy industry news.     

News and notes.

This section of News & Notes provides the latest information about the Society for the History of Psychology. It contains Division news for the Division 26 of the American Psychological Association Society for the History of Psychology, meeting reports for the Society for the History of Psychology Program at the Convention of the Association for Psychological Science, call for papers, general member news, and reports from the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

APA report from the Central Office, Washington.

Document highlights American Psychological Association news forwarded through the Central Office. Items include: news on the Community Mental Health Centers programs from the Professional Practice and the Public Interest; the publishing of a casebook by the Committee on Scientific and Professional Ethics and Conduct; news on a recent study that includes projected Changes from the Labor Department and Office of Education; new laws applicable to psychology; The APA Program of Visiting Psychologists in Field (Service) Settings; as well as correspondence forwarded to the Association. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

EPSI makes HIP sale in Taiwan as prospects look up

US and Belgium_based Engineered Pressure Systems has sold a hot isostatic press (HIP) system to a customer in Taiwan. The unit has a maximum operating pressure of 200 MPa (29?000 psi) and an operating temperature of 1300°C.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest powder metallurgy industry news.     

The evening news and presidential evaluations.

Examined the effects of TV news accessibility, relevance, and expertise on presidential evaluations in 2 experiments. In each, Ss viewed TV news programs in which the amount of attention given to various national problems was manipulated. In Exp I, 73 undergraduates were divided among 3 conditions defined by level of exposure to stories about energy. Ss viewed 40 mins of news taken from 1979–1980 newscasts before answering questions about President Carter's performance, competence, and integrity. In Exp II, 140 Ss from the community watched newscasts that varied with regard to exposure level to particular national problems. After rating Carter's performance, Ss also completed a political expertise questionnaire. Results show that by drawing attention to certain national problems while ignoring others, TV news programs can define the standards by which presidents are evaluated. As predicted, this effect was greater for evaluations of general performance than for judgments of his competence and integrity, and it was more pronounced among novices than among experts. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

ASL builds service with new atomisers

Two years after their move from Sheffield Science Park to an industrial unit, Atomising Systems Limited (ASL) has expanded their range of atomising equipment to improve service flexibility.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest metallurgy industry news     

Europe joins the race for solid oxide fuel cells

Two German companies have signed a co-operation agreement that will see the development of solid oxide fuel cell stacks (SOFC) that could blunt the drive towards 42-volt auto electrical systems.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest powder metallurgy industry news.     

Reading achievement and diminishing returns to time.

Investigated the association of reading achievement with factors in learning by regressing the scores of 2,890 13-yr-old students from a National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) sample on 24 indexes of the factors, singly and as a set. The productivity factors most closely connected with learning can be divided into 9 categories: student age, ability, and motivation; amount and quality of instruction; the psychological environments of the home and the school; and exposure to mass media, particularly TV. Results of analysis indicate that the achievement correlations with the factors are close to the averages revealed by recent quantitative syntheses of bivariate studies. A considerable amount of the reliable variance in achievement, 40%, is accounted for by the factors, although they are colinear or correlated with one another. Achievement shows diminishing or eventually negative rather than linear marginal returns to 8 time variables: homework last night, read for enjoyment, spare-time reading last night, TV watched yesterday, news source—TV, news source—radio, news source—magazines, and news source—newspapers. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Design competition opens

The Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF) has opened the 2004 International PM Design Competition. Entries must be received by 27 February. The competition recognises outstanding achievements in the commercial production of PM components.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest powder metallurgy industry news.