The Climate for Creativity and Change in Teams

This article reports the results of a study conducted to examine the ability of the Situational Outlook Questionnaire (SOQ^TM) to effectively discern climates that either encourage or discourage creativity and the ability to initiate change in a team setting. The purpose of the study is to examine the concurrent criterion–related validity of the SOQ. The article explores the characteristics in an organisational climate that promote teamwork and some of the tripwires one needs to be aware of in the formation and management of teams. Nine dimensions of the climate for creativity and change as measured by the Situational Outlook Questionnaire are put forward and defined in relation to teams. The methodology and results of the study are reported. The results show that when subjects (N7equals;154) complete the SOQ based on their recollection of a best– and worst–case team experience, the measure is able to consistently and significantly discriminate between the two types of experiences. Conclusions, implications, and areas for future research to further examine the validity of the SOQ are explored.     

Gender differences in evaluations of tobacco and alcohol advertisements.

Examined the relation between gender and reactions to different styles of advertising tobacco and alcohol products among 41 females and 34 males (aged 12–16 yrs) and their parents (39 mothers and 36 fathers). Self-monitoring was also examined as a possible correlate. Ss rated magazine advertisements oriented toward the product's image or qualities. Girls liked image-oriented advertisements more and perceived them to be more persuasive than quality-oriented advertising. This gender difference was not observed among adults. All Ss liked image-oriented more than quality-oriented advertising. Moreover, image-oriented advertisements were seen as more persuasive than quality-oriented advertisements by girls' parents who were high in self-monitoring. Results suggest that girls in early adolescence may be particularly attentive to image-oriented commercials that portray smoking and drinking as desirable behaviors. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analysis of clinical trial data: The problem of outcome overlap.

The immediate goal of any clinical trial is to determine to which of a specified set of treatments future patients are to be assigned, particularly when analyzing data from clinical trials. When the outcome distributions of Experimental (E) and Control (C) treatments overlap, differences between treatment group means are not conclusive and may not be very informative, so a display of the overlapped frequency distributions and a summary measure of the probability of a random patient in E doing better than a random patient in C are needed. When outcome distributions overlap, the question of statistical model becomes crucial even when there are very significant differences between group means and very large effect sizes. Determining what patient variables interact with treatments is the route to optimal assignment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A correlation between attendance and grades in a first-year psychology class.

Performed a correlational analysis of attendance records and grades in a 1st-yr psychology class. 103 undergraduates were informed that the attendance records would not affect their grades in the course. A positive correlation was found between attendance and final grades in the course. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Computational modeling and elementary process analysis in visual word recognition.

An attempt is made to isolate the assumptions that make a connectionist approach to visual word recognition distinctive. These include the commitment to distributed representations, the claim that there is no distinction between lexical and nonlexical systems in the naming task, and the claim that it is possible to map from orthography to meaning without using localized representations. It is argued that merely demonstrating that a network model can perform these tasks is not sufficient and that a detailed theory of how the network performs its tasks must accompany the simulation, because a simulation is not equivalent to an explanation. It is argued that further progress requires detailed modeling and experimental study of the elementary processes assumed to be involved in networks and that it is premature to dismiss alternative models of lexical access such as serial search models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A simple SCC specimen incorporating heat transfer with a crevice or deposits

A simple stress-corrosion cracking (SCC) specimen, suitable for slow strain rate testing and incorporating heat transfer, with an artificial crevice or deposits has been designed and tested. It appears that when the solute level is above a certain value it can concentrate. The kinetics of solute accumulation and the concentration that can be induced in the specimen have been determined. Build up of solute from the ppm level in the bulk environment to the level required to cause cracking can take hours, not days or years. The limiting concentration reached is controlled by thermodynamics, specifically the available superheat. A brief review of relevant literature suggests that this experimental approach to predicting SCC has significant advantages over a modelling or measurement approach. The specimen also lends itself to a monitoring role--a modern version of the Schroeder embrittlement detector.     

Adhesive Contact of a Membrane with a Hemispherical Indenter: Theoretical Analysis and Model Liquid System

The axisymmetric Laplace equation is solved numerically to extract contact-angle data for a flat liquid/vapor interface contacting a submerged hemispherical solid. The liquid/vapor interface is treated as a membrane, with a membrane tension equal to the surface energy of the liquid. By measuring the vertical displacement of the membrane and the projected contact area the membrane makes with the hemisphere, the contact angle and correspondingly the driving force for motion of the contact line can be measured. We show that characteristic receding and advancing contact angles can be obtained by measuring the contact radii formed upon initial contact between the interface and hemisphere and final contact just prior to detachment of the interface, respectively. Use of the technique is illustrated with a model experiment involving the contact of an air/water interface with a poly(methyl methacrylate) surface.     

Mathematical analysis of viscometric (polymer) flow fields in capillaries: Taylor dispersion revisited

A general formulation for capillary flow of two miscible fluids – one a dilute plug of polymer fluid inserted into a fully developed Poiseuille flow of the other, a Newtonian stream – is examined for its long time behavior. Phenomenologically, the system evolves from an initial state, that of a plug within the boundaries of sharp, well defined fronts inside a Newtonian stream, to a more homogenized state in the very long time scale. This problem was addressed by G.I. Taylor but with regard to a system of two Newtonian fluids, leading to the well-known results commonly described as `Taylor axial dispersion'. In this paper, a general and systematic perturbation analysis is presented from which Taylor's result is recovered as a special case of a more general solution which applies to fluids incorporating elastic properties. In particular, the influence of viscoelasticity and (polymer) diffusivity on the observed pressure profile in the capillary conduit is examined. This effect is clearly separated out for small Peclet number flows using asymptotic and numerical analysis. The results identify the influence of fluid viscosity, elasticity, and diffusivity on the observed pressure profile and form the basis for the improved characterization of polymeric elasticity using capillaries – a finding that is of significant scientific and commercial interest. These results were obtained by the authors as a class of observations resulting from the perturbation analysis of forced-flow capillary devices in viscoelastic fluid property investigation.     

Two studies of the long-term follow-up of minimal therapist contact treatments of vascular and tension headache.

Tension and vascular headache patients, initially treated with biofeedback and/or relaxation training in either a minimal therapist contact protocol (3 visits) or an intensive individual protocol (10 or 16 visits) were followed-up prospectively for 2 years. In the first study, for the first 6 months of follow-up, half of all patients continued to keep headache diaries and were seen monthly and the other half had only minimal contact. The results at 1-year follow-up, based on 4 weeks of daily headache diaries, revealed equally good maintenance from both treatment protocols and from both follow-up conditions. In Study 2, we found that patients remained improved over pretreatment baseline levels at the 2-year follow-up regardless of initial treatment intensity. Approximately three quarters of vascular patients who were initially improved at posttreatment remained improved at 2 years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)