Gaining and sustaining organizational support through a sociotechnical intervention.

Sociotechnical interventions in large organizations pose multiple challenges for consulting psychologists. The nature of this intervention was technical (a reengineered human resources information system) but had social, workplace impact in both its execution and its outcomes. The key issue of organizational support for an intervention of this magnitude is discussed. This case study describes the theoretical framework for the intervention, the implementation model, and the unforeseen critical junctures in the project, plus it addresses the lessons learned by a consulting group of industrial/organizational psychologists in implementing this long-term, large-scale project. A discussion of implications for both theory and practice concludes the article. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Forgotten partners of international assignments: Development and test of a model of spouse adjustment.

The authors developed and tested a model of spouse adjustment to international assignments in a sequence of qualitative and quantitative investigations. From in-depth interviews with expatriate spouses, half of whom had either positive or negative experiences living abroad, the authors identified several potentially important sources of adjustment. These constructs were integrated with others from identity theory and earlier research on expatriates to develop a conceptual model of spouse adjustment. The model was tested by collecting multisource questionnaire data from 221 international assignee couples working in 37 countries. Correlation and regression analyses revealed several important relationships between individual, interpersonal relationship, and environmental sources of identity, and the adjustment of expatriate spouses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Considerations for infectious disease research and practice

As the 21st century unfolds, strategies to prevent and control infectious diseases remain an area of vital interest and concern. The burden of disease, disability, and death caused by infectious diseases is felt around the world in both developed and developing nations. Moreover, the ability of infectious agents to destabilize populations, economies, and governments is strikingly apparent. To an unprecedented degree, infectious disease-related issues are high on the agendas of world leaders, philanthropists, policymakers, and the public. This enhanced focus, combined with recent scientific and technological advances, creates new opportunities and challenges for infectious disease research and practice. This paper examines these issues in the context of three countries: China, India, and the United States.     

Alarm reaction in acquisition and social transmission of simulated-predator recognition by zebra danio fish (Brachydanio rerio).

Alarm reactions occur in response to alarm substance passively released by injury to skin of zebra danio fish (Brachydanio rerio). Visual observation of alarmed conspecifics yields socially facilitated alarm by observers. Concurrent exposure of fish to alarm substance and a novel odorant (morpholine) later produced learned alarm to morpholine alone. Fish trained with morpholine plus alarm substance were mixed in with naive fish for a test with morpholine alone. The naive fish, separated out from the mixed groups, then demonstrated not only an acquired alarm reaction to morpholine but also an ability to communicate the acquired recognition of a simulated predator to a new group of naive observers. The results suggest the operation of a sophisticated antipredator defensive system in zebra danios that involves unlearned releasing stimuli, social facilitation, visual communication, learned predator recognition, and social communication of predator recognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Determinants of Mortgage Protection Insurance Take-up

The aim of this paper is to identify the factors which affect the take-up of Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance (MPPI), to estimate the sensitivity of take-up to changes in determinants. The paper finds that: (1) MPPI premiums have a negative but marginal effect on take-up; (2) the probability of being unemployed has a positive effect: a 10 per cent rise in the probability resulting in a 3 per cent increase in take-up; (3) the local male unemployment rate has a positive effect on take-up (around 1 per cent increase in take-up for every 10 per cent rise in the male unemployment rate); (4) there is likely to be a pro-cyclical element in the take-up rate, but the variation is substantially damped compared with the volatility of the unemployment cycle; and (5) ISMI cover was found to have a negligible negative effect on take-up (a 10 per cent fall in ISMI would cause a 0.3 per cent rise in take-up), an effect that could not be statistically distinguished from zero.     

Diagnostic validity of the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery—Children's Revision.

Compared the diagnostic validity of the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery—Children's Revision (LNNB—C) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC—R) for 96 8–12 yr olds in 1 of 3 diagnostic groups: neurological, psychiatric, and normal controls. Interrater reliability was demonstrated. Separate stepwise discriminant analyses using 6 variables (subtest scores) selected by each test correctly classified 81% (LNNB—C) and 85% (WISC—R) of the psychiatric and neurological groups. No clear incremental validity for the use of the LNNB—C over the WISC—R was demonstrated. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of ingesting protein with various forms of carbohydrate following resistance-exercise on substrate availability and markers of anabolism, catabolism, and immunity

Background  

Ingestion of carbohydrate (CHO) and protein (PRO) following intense exercise has been reported to increase insulin levels, optimize glycogen resynthesis, enhance PRO synthesis, and lessen the immuno-suppressive effects of intense exercise. Since different forms of CHO have varying glycemic effects, the purpose of this study was to determine whether the type of CHO ingested with PRO following resistance-exercise affects blood glucose availability and insulin levels, markers of anabolism and catabolism, and/or general immune markers.     

Modeling homophily over time with an actor-partner interdependence model.

Selection and socialization have been implicated in friendship homophily, but the relative contributions of each are difficult to measure simultaneously because of the nonindependent nature of the data. To address this problem, the authors applied a multiple-groups longitudinal actor-partner interdependence model (D. A. Kashy & D. A. Kenny, 2000) for distinguishable dyads to 3 consecutive years of intoxication frequency data from a large community-based sample of Swedish youth. Participants, ranging from 12 to 18 years old (M = 14.35, SD = 1.56) at the start of the study, included 902 adolescents (426 girls and 476 boys) with at least one reciprocated friend during at least one time point and 212 adolescents (84 girls and 128 boys) without reciprocated friends at any time. Similarity estimates indicated strong effects for selection and socialization in friends' intoxication frequency. Over time, younger members of these dyads had less stable patterns of intoxication than older members, largely because younger partners changed their drinking behavior to resemble that of older partners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of parental separation and divorce on very young children.

Data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care were analyzed to explore effects of marital separation on children in the first 3 years of life. The sample included 73 never-married mothers and 97 separated mothers; a comparison group of 170 was conditionally randomly selected from the 2-parent families. Children in 2-parent families performed better than children in 1-parent families on assessments of cognitive and social abilities, problem behavior, attachment security, and behavior with mother. However, controlling for mothers' education and family income reduced these differences, and associations with separated-intact marital status were nonsignificant (the effect size was .01). Thus, children's psychological development was not affected by parental separation per se; it was related to mothers' income, education, ethnicity, childrearing beliefs, depressive symptoms, and behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Liquid metals and vapours under pressure

This review covers experimental and theoretical work on the properties of liquid metals under pressure, both at higher than normal densities near the normal melting point, and at lower densities in the region of the critical point. Information about the equation of state is summarized in section 2, together with some properties of the equilibrium vapour phase. The measurement and prediction of critical point data, and the application of the law of corresponding states, are discussed in section 3. Electrical measurements, in particular of the electrical conductivity, are reviewed in section 4; the extent to which present theories are adequate, and the theory of the metal-insulator transition, are also considered.