Classroom context and teachers' perceptions of problem behaviors.

73 teachers of kindergarten to 8th grade viewed disruptive- or nondisruptive-context videotaped vignettes and rated each portrayal in terms of severity, manageability, tolerance, and contagion to investigate the effects of context on Ss' perceptions of 5 problem behaviors (blaming, poor peer cooperation, negative aggression, inattention, and failure anxiety). ANCOVA showed that contagion yielded significant differences (stronger within the disruptive context), suggesting that the target child was held responsible for the classroom disorder. Correlational data explained the relationship between the 4 areas, suggesting a dichotomy between quality (type of behavior) and quantity (degree or severity of behavior) for interpreting perceptions. Low tolerance was associated with higher levels of severity and more outer-directed behaviors. Contagion had more active, observable components and was related more to the qualitative dimension. Manageability (also active, observable, and teacher centered) was strongly influenced by quantitative factors (greater extremes of atypical behavior). (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Secretarial attitudes towards word processors as a function of familiarity and locus of control

The purpose of the present study was to investigate dimensions of secretarial anxiety, eagerness, and curiosity with respect to word processing equipment. Such variables as familiarity, formal training, physical proximity to the equipment, degree of influence in the decision to acquire a word processor, and frequency of use were seen as potential predictors of such attitudes. Additionally, two trait-like dimensions were measured, locus of control and complexity. Questionnaires were sent to 408 secretaries employed at a mid-western university. The response rate was 59 per cent (n = 241). People who had not used word processing equipment were more anxious than those individuals who had. Moreover, frequency of use for people with experience was related to greater change in anxiety levels. While familiarity reduced anxiety, it also tended to reduce curiosity. Frequency of word processor use was related to several variables. For instance, frequency of use was related to how positively the person evaluated the processor as affecting their work capabilities. Heavy users felt that the manuals were less helpful. Internally controlled individuals were more eager, curious and less anxious, while cognitively complex individuals were more curious about word processors. The applied implications of the findings are discussed.     

Subdoctoral education in psychology: A study of issues and attitudes.

Discusses several psychological conferences and committee's attitudes toward the desirability of "programs to train for psychological service at less than the doctoral level." 7 central areas of contention concerning subdoctoral training are (1) type of training, (2) level of training, (3) responsibility for training, (4) locus of training, (5) degree and/or title, (6) roles and duties, and (7) implications for psychology. The 7 issues served as the basis of the specific questions in a large scale survey. The sample (N = 4308) included American Psychological Association members of the Clinical, School, and Counseling Divisions of Psychology and chairmen of graduate departments of psychology. Results indicate that "the large majority of psychologists recognize the need for and approve the training of people at less than the doctoral level to do psychological work." A consensus as to how this is to be implemented was not reached. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Redox speciation of copper in rainwater: temporal variability and atmospheric deposition

Copper speciation was determined in 68 rainwater samples collected in Wilmington, NC, from August 25, 2000, to September 24, 2002. Volume-weighted average concentrations of Cu(total), dissolved Cu(II), and dissolved Cu(I) were 5.3, 3.2, and 1.4 nM, respectively, with a significantly higher ratio of Cu(II)/Cu(I) in summer relative to winter events. The concentrations of all Cu species were higher in storms of continental origin relative to marine-dominated events, suggesting anthropogenic and/or terrestrial sources are important contributors of Cu in precipitation. Concentrations of strong Cu-complexing ligands were consistently lower than dissolved Cu concentrations, indicating a significant portion, but not all, of the dissolved Cu in rainwater is strongly complexed. A portion of these ligands, in addition to the sulfite and chloride in precipitation, may be Cu(I)-complexing ligands, which may explain the resistance of Cu(I) against oxidation in rainwater. Using our rainwater concentration data along with other published rainwater Cu concentrations and an estimate for total global annual rain, the total global flux of Cu removed from the atmosphere via wet deposition is 150 x 106 kg yr(-1). This represents complete removal of the estimated Cu input into the troposphere and indicates essentially all Cu released into the global atmosphere is removed by rain.     

A new species of Hemicheyletia (Acarina: Cheyletidae)

A new species of Hemicheyletia Volgin was found on Scottish farms and in a creamery. This mite falls into the bakeri group according to the arrangement of the dorso-median setae. A short key to some related species is given.     

Layer-by-layer growth of solid4He on graphite

Recent experiments by Maynard et al on fourth sound in a Grafoil-filled⁴He cell show a periodic dependence of the resonant frequency on the average number of solid layers. We interpret their sharp minima as resulting from the inherent smoothness of complete layers, which inhibits the propagation of waves of melting and freezing, and reduces their damping and their coupling to fourth sound. Using a lattice-gas model, we study the roughness of incomplete surface layers, and suggest how this can lead to the observed broad maxima. We predict that the maxima of damping and of resonant frequency coincide.     

A central cholinergic inhibitory system as a basis for tonic immobility (animal hypnosis) in chickens.

4 experiments provided support for the hypothesis that tonic immobility (TI) in chickens, which may be analogous to response suppression in the rat, is a result of fear and is mediated by central cholinergic systems. A total of 124 experimental and 54 control, White Leghorn cockerel chicks were the Ss. Exp I established that scopolamine, a central and peripheral acting anticholinergic, will reduce the duration of TI, whereas methylscopolamine, which acts only peripherally, will not. Exp II established a dose-response curve for scopolamine and TI. Exp III demonstrated that scopolamine increased activity and that this increase may be a factor in reducing the duration of TI. Exp IV showed that physostigmine, which blocks acetylcholinesterase and allows longer action of acetylcholine at the synapse, increased the duration of TI. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of multiwavelength transmission spectroscopy for the characterization of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts: quantitative interpretation

Combined scattering and absorption properties of suspended particles can be obtained as a function of wavelength by measuring the complete ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectrum. This research reports on the quantitative interpretation of measured UV-vis spectra of Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst suspensions obtained from several commercial sources and evaluated using two different purification techniques. The reproducibility of the measured spectral data was assessed, and the quantitative interpretation of the oocyst spectra in terms of the particle size and the chemical composition of the particles are reported herein. The interpretation model of the spectra is based on light scattering theory, spectral deconvolution techniques, and on the approximation of the wavelength-dependent optical properties of the basic constituents of living organisms. A characteristic set of optical properties for C. parvum oocysts has been determined as a function of wavelength and used for the quantitative interpretation of UV-vis spectra. The results from the spectral deconvolution show quantitative differences among oocyst preparations. These results represent the first step in establishing a set of critical parameters (e.g., oocyst size and chemical composition) necessary for the detection and identification of C. parvum oocysts in water using spectroscopy.     

Passive in situ remediation of metal-polluted water with caustic magnesia: evidence from column experiments

Passive remediation consists of a permeable system that enables the water to pass through while retaining metals by means of biogeochemical reactions. Conventional passive treatments are based on calcite dissolution. This increases the pH to values between 6 and 7, which are insufficiently high to precipitate divalent metals. Alternative treatments are based on sulfate reduction with organic matter in order to precipitate metal sulfides. However, redox reactions are usually too slow to treat large groundwater flows as currently found in gravel aquifers (>50 m/a). Caustic magnesia obtained from calcination of magnesium carbonate was tested as an alternative material to devising passive remediation systems. Caustic magnesia reacts with water to form magnesium hydroxide, which dissolves, increasing the pH to values higher than 8.5. Then zinc and lead are mainly precipitated as hydroxides, copper is precipitated as hydroxysulfate, and manganese(II) is oxidized and precipitated as manganese(III) oxides. Thus, metal concentrations as high as 75 mg/L in the inflowing water are depleted to values below 0.04 mg/L. Magnesia dissolution is sufficiently fast to treat flows as high as 100 m/a. The new precipitates may lead to a permeability drop in the porous treating system. Mixtures of caustic magnesia and an inert material such as silica sand (approximately 50% of each) have been shown to be as reactive as pure magnesia and permeable for a longer time (more than 10 months and 1000 pore vol).     

Greetings and Closings in Workplace Email

This article reports on a study of the use and form of greetings and closings in the emails of two New Zealand workplaces: an educational organization and a manufacturing plant. Using discourse analytic techniques, 515 emails were analyzed and a number of differences were identified. In the educational organization, where restructuring has resulted in low staff morale and a mistrust of management, indirect and socially distant styles of communication prevailed and greetings and closings were not widely used. In the manufacturing plant, the more extensive use of greetings and closings reflected and constructed the open and positive relationships between staff and management and the direct, friendly, and familial workplace culture. The findings suggest that workplace culture is a more important factor accounting for the frequency and form of greetings and closings than are relative status, social distance, and gender.