Inhibitory effects of drinker and nondrinker prototypes on adolescent alcohol consumption.

This prospective study examined the relation between 308 adolescents' images of typical drinkers and nondrinkers and their subsequent alcohol consumption. The results indicate that both images are associated with changes in consumption between ages 16 and 18 but that they operate in different ways. Contrary to previous assumptions, drinker images do not represent goal states for adolescents in that they are more negative than their self-images and nondrinker images and are not correlated with their ideal selves. In contrast, nondrinker images do appear to represent goal states for adolescents who abstain from drinking. Implications for intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sulfation of nod factors via nodHPQ is nodD independent in Rhizobium tropici CIAT899

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the relationships between subjective life satisfaction and the following 8 factors of quality of life: physical condition, daily living activities, working condition, economic status, social status, medical status, marriage status, mental status. One hundred and fifty-four male and 116 female Beh?et patients in 13 medical facilities were analyzed in this study. Mantel-Haenszel's odds ratio method and stepwise logistic regression analysis were applied to evaluate the influence of quality of life on subjective life satisfaction in Beh?et disease patients. Males had higher problem scores than females in the following: physical condition, daily living activities, working condition, economic status, social status, marriage status, mental status. With regard to the effect on subjective life satisfaction, physical condition, daily living activities, working phase, economic phase, social phase, marriage relations, mental phase showed significantly high odds ratio in male, while physical condition, working phase, economic phase, social phase, medical phase, marriage relations, mental phase showed significantly high odds ratios in females by Mantel-Haenzel age-adjusted method. Physical condition, daily living activities, working phase, economic phase, social phase, and mental phase showed significantly high odds ratios in males after adjusting for active disease symptom periods, while physical condition, working phase, economic phase, social phase, medical phase, marriage relations, mental phase showed significantly high odds ratio in females after adjusting for active disease symptom. By stepwise logistic regression analysis, working phase and mental phase in males, economic phase and mental phase in females were shown to be significant. Improvement of quality of life including mental phase and working phase appear to raise the life satisfaction in Beh?et's disease patients.     

Diurnal variations of individual organic compound constituents of ultrafine and accumulation mode particulate matter in the Los Angeles Basin

Individual organic compounds can be used as tracers for primary sources of ambient particulate matter (PM) in chemical mass balance receptor models. Previous work has examined PM2.5 only and usually over long sampling periods encompassing entire days or longer. In this study, a high-flow-rate, low-pressure-drop ultrafine particle separator was deployed to collect sufficient mass for organic speciation of ultrafine and accumulation mode aerosol on a diurnal basis. Particles between 0.18 and 2.5 microm in diameter were collected on a quartz-fiber impaction substrate, and ultrafine particles below 0.18 microm were collected downstream on a high-volume filter. Four daily time period samples (morning, midday, evening, and overnight) were sampled over five weekdays to form a weekly average composite for each diurnal period. Sampling was conducted at two sites over two seasons; summer (August) and winter (January) samples were collected at both an urban site near downtown Los Angeles (University of Southern California) and a downwind, inland site in Riverside, CA. Hopanes, used as organic markers for vehicular emissions, were found to exist primarily in the ultrafine mode. Levoglucosan, an indicator of wood combustion, was quantified in both size ranges, but more was present in the accumulation mode particles. An indicator of photochemical secondary organic aerosol formation, 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, was found primarily in the accumulation mode and varied with site, season, and time of day as one would expect for a photochemical product. The atmospheric variations of particulate cholesterol and other organic acids were also considered. By examining the diurnal variation, size-fractionation, and intercorrelations of individual organic compounds, the sources and atmospheric fate of these tracers can be better understood and their utility as molecular markers can be assessed.     

Emotional modulation of urgent and evaluative behaviors in risky driving scenarios

This study demonstrated that task features are important factors for the understanding of risk behavior under emotional conditions in driving scenarios. We introduce a distinction between urgent and evaluative behaviors. Urgent behaviors are performed under high time-pressure and, when successful, they will help to avoid high negative outcomes. According to some social psychologists, evaluation is considered a type of value categorization (for example, risk or no risk). Emotional cues in the urgency task make participants slower and less able to discriminate risk from no risk, and prone to positive responses. However, negative emotional pictures speed up the evaluation of risk without affecting the ability to discriminate risk from no risk in a driving scenario.     

Comparison-level preferences after performance: Is downward comparison theory still useful?

Although often credited with prompting a paradigm shift in social comparison theory, T. A. Wills's (1981) downward comparison (DC) theory has received some criticism recently. In particular, several recent studies have failed to find support for Wills's (1981) contention that threat and accompanying negative affect lead to a desire for DC. These apparent failures have led some investigators to question basic principles of the theory. To resolve this controversy, 5 studies were conducted examining preferred comparison level (PCL) after performance; 4 of the studies also assessed change in this preference. Results supported DC theory, but with modifications. Specifically, individuals who performed poorly lowered their PCLs. Under some circumstances, this "downward shift" included an increased interest in "true" DC-comparing with worse-off others. A reconciliation of these results with those of previous studies is offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral reputation: A cross-age perspective.

This study examined the measurement of peer perceptions of behavioral reputation within the contexts of elementary, middle, and high school environments (Grades 2-12, N=2,812) through the systematic evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Revised Class Play (A. S. Masten, P. Morison, & D. S. Pellegrini, 1985). Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the data did not fit A. S. Masten et al.'s original 3-factor structure. Cross-loading of items and different patterns of association between subscales across age groups (elementary, middle, and high school) contributed to the overall poor fit. Exploratory factor analyses revealed an alternative 4-factor structure as a more reliable and valid means of assessing behavioral reputation regardless of the age of the peer group sampled. Both convergent and divergent patterns of associations emerged across developmental levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Good self-control moderates the effect of mass media on adolescent tobacco and alcohol use: Tests with studies of children and adolescents.

Objective: To investigate whether self-control moderates the effect of media influences on tobacco and alcohol use among youth and if so how this effect occurs. Design: In Study 1, a regional sample of 10-year olds (N = 290) was interviewed in households; attention to tobacco/alcohol advertising was assessed. In Study 2, a national sample of youth ages 10–14 years (N = 6,522) was surveyed by telephone; exposure to tobacco/alcohol use in movies was assessed. Good self-control was measured in both studies. Main Outcome Measures: Willingness to use substances and affiliation with peer substance users (Study 1); involvement in smoking or drinking (Study 2). Results: In Study 1, the effect of tobacco/alcohol advertising on predisposition for substance use was lower among persons scoring higher on good self-control. In Study 2, the effect of movie smoking/alcohol exposure on adolescent tobacco/alcohol use was lower, concurrently and prospectively, among persons scoring higher on good self-control. Moderation occurred primarily through reducing the effect of movie exposure on positive smoking/alcohol expectancies and the effect of expectancies on adolescent use; some evidence for moderation of social processes was also noted. Covariates in the analyses included demographics, sensation seeking, and IQ. Conclusion: Good self-control reduces the effect of adverse media influences on adolescent tobacco and alcohol use. Findings on the processes underlying this effect may be useful for media literacy and primary prevention programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Movie exposure to alcohol cues and adolescent alcohol problems: A longitudinal analysis in a national sample.

The authors tested a theoretical model of how exposure to alcohol cues in movies predicts level of alcohol use (ever use plus ever and recent binge drinking) and alcohol-related problems. A national sample of younger adolescents was interviewed by telephone with 4 repeated assessments spaced at 8-month intervals. A structural equation modeling analysis performed for ever-drinkers at Time 3 (N = 961) indicated that, controlling for a number of covariates, movie alcohol exposure at Time 1 was related to increases in peer alcohol use and adolescent alcohol use at Time 2. Movie exposure had indirect effects to alcohol use and problems at Times 3 and 4 through these pathways, with direct effects to problems from Time 1 rebelliousness and Time 2 movie exposure also found. Prospective risk-promoting effects were also found for alcohol expectancies, peer alcohol use, and availability of alcohol in the home; protective effects were found for mother's responsiveness and for adolescent's school performance and self-control. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Book reviews

Suburban Backlash: The Battle for the World's Most Liveable City. Miles Lewis. Blooming, Melbourne, 1999. ISBN 1876473169. 298 pp. RRP $38.45.

A Very Public Solution: Transport in the Dispersed City. Paul Mees. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2000. ISBN 0522848672. 306 pp.; bibliography and index. RRP $29.95.

Framing Places: Mediating Power in Built Form. Kim Dovey. Routledge, London, 1999. ISBN 041517368X (paperback). 218 pp.; bibliography and index. RRP $39.95.

Environmental Democracy. Michael Mason. Earthscan, London, 1999. ISBN 1853836176 (paperback). 266 pp.; bibliography and index. RRP $39.95.

Cities and the Environment: New Approaches for Eco-Societies. Takashi Inoguchi, Edward Newman and Glen Paoletto (eds). United Nations University Press, Tokyo, 1999. ISBN 9280810235. 368 pp.. RRP $54.95.

Making Social Science Matter: Why Social Inquiry Fails and How It Can Succeed Again. Bent Flyvbjerg. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2001. ISBN 052177268X. 204 pp. RRP $37.95.

Unemployment and Government: Genealogies of the Social. William Walters. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000. ISBN 0521643333 (hardback). 195 pp.. RRP $103.95.     

An in-the-wild study to find type of questions people ask to a social robot providing question-answering service

Intelligent Service Robotics - The role of a human assistant, such as receptionist, is to provide specific information to the public. Questions asked by the public are often context dependent and...