Sex stereotypes and social judgment.

Tested the assumption that sexual stereotypic beliefs affect the judgments of individuals in an experiment with 98 male and 97 female undergraduates. No evidence was found for effects of stereotypes on Ss' judgments about a target individual. Instead, Ss judgments were strongly influenced by behavioral information about the target. To explain these results, it is noted that the predicted effects of social stereotypes on judgments conform to Bayes' theorem for the normative use of prior probabilities in judgment tasks, inasmuch as stereotypic beliefs may be regarded as intuitive estimates for the probabilities of traits in social groups. Research in the psychology of prediction has demonstrated that people often neglect prior probabilities when making predictions about people, especially when they have individuating information about the person that is subjectively diagnostic of the criterion. An implication of this research is that a minimal amount of subjectively diagnostic target case information should be sufficient to eradicate effects of stereotypes on judgments. Results of a 2nd experiment with 75 female and 55 male undergraduates support this argument. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of calcium salts differing in fatty acid composition on duodenal and milk fatty acid profiles in dairy cows

Ruminal biohydrogenation of fatty acids (FA) was studied in vivo in relation with the fermentation pattern in the rumen and milk secretion. Calcium salts (Ca salts) of palm oil (diet 1) or rapeseed oil (diet 2) were given to dairy cows (about 650 g day^?1) in a diet based on maize silage. Significant variation in propionate concentration was observed among diets. Rumen pH and total volatile fatty acids (VFA) did not change. Duodenal FA pattern was analysed throughout the day. With diets 1 and 2, linoleic acid was to a large extent biohydrogenated: calculations of ruminal biohydrogenation were equal to 63.6 and 74.0% for diets 1 and 2, respectively. No difference between diets was observed in milk production, fat and protein percentages. The percentages of stearic and octadecenoic FA in milk were higher and the percentage of palmitic acid was lower with Ca salts of rapeseed oil FA than with Ca salts of palm oil FA.     

Embedding a Threshold Concept in Teaching and Learning of Product Development Management

This paper uses insights from the literature on threshold concepts to develop a structure for understanding teaching and learning in the area of managing product development. The paper defines the threshold concept, outlines pedagogic principles and describes learning activities that seek to enact these principles. The paper is based upon experience of an established final‐year university undergraduate course.     

Oxidation in fish oil-enriched mayonnaise: 4. Effect of tocopherol concentration on oxidative deterioration

The effect of the water-dispersible tocopherol preparation, Grindox 1032, and the oil-soluble tocopherol preparation, Toco 70, on oxidative stability in fish oil-enriched mayonnaise was examined. The two commercial antioxidant preparations were supplemented in different levels corresponding to 20-280 ppm tocopherol in addition to the 600 ppm present in the oils used for the mayonnaise. The oxidative stability was assessed by sensory analysis, the tendency of formation of free radicals, and concentrations of lipid hydroperoxides and volatile oxidation products. The effect of tocopherol on oxidation depended on the nature and the concentration of the tocopherol preparation employed, and it also depended on the parameters evaluated. Addition of high levels of Grindox 1032 (~140-280 ppm tocopherol) thus decreased the intensity of rancid off-flavor, but increased the formation of fishy off-flavors, the tendency of free radical formation and the concentration of certain volatiles. In contrast, low levels of Grindox 1032 (<70 ppm tocopherol) reduced the concentration of some volatiles, but did not seem to influence the off-flavor profile of the mayonnaise. Toco 70, which was only supplemented in low levels (<40 ppm tocopherol) increased the tendency for free radical formation, changed the profile of volatiles, and did not have a clear effect on the fishy and rancid off-flavor formation. Thus, additional tocopherol did not appear to be an efficient antioxidant in fish oil-enriched mayonnaise, perhaps because it cannot prevent the metal-catalyzed decomposition of peroxides, which we previously suggested to play an important role in mayonnaise.     

An exploration of empowerment in manufacturing enterprises

This paper investigates empowerment within manufacturing production. Empowerment is multidimensional. Understanding the implications of operationalising empowerment requires an appreciation of all its dimensions. These dimensions are captured in Empowerment Profiles, which are incorporated within a conceptual framework. A sample of the Empowerment Profiles is validated using case studies. The Empowerment Profiles appear to have potential as a tool to assist in preparing to implement empowered work strategies, focusing attention on issues to be considered.     

Review of Career counseling: A narrative approach.

Reviews the book, Career counseling: A narrative approach by Larry Cochran (2000). This book introduces a narrative approach to career counselling. The author specifically makes the distinction that this is a counselling approach, not a career development theory. A narrative approach invites counsellors to make their career interventions with clients more personal. In contrast to the traditional objective emphasis in career counselling, this is a subjective approach that emphasizes meaning and meaning-making. Cochran characterizes the central task of career counselling as "emplotment" rather than matching. Emplotment involves casting the individual as the main character in a career narrative that is meaningful, productive, and fulfilling. The book is intended for scholars, professionals, and graduate students who already have some familiarity with counselling and career development. It is presumed that the reader has at least some knowledge and skill in counselling. At the end of each chapter, there are exercises that enable the reader to apply the principles and concepts outlined in the chapter. A client situation is described, and several questions are used to guide the reader. Overall, this book is a welcome addition to the career literature. Indeed, the approach need not only be used in counselling involving work or occupational problems. Meaning-making and narrative concepts can be applied to any and all issues in people's lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Passive rational fitting of a network transfer function from its real part

A methodology is presented for the rational function approximation of a passive network function from sampled values of its real part over the bandwidth of interest. The accuracy and validity of the proposed methodology are demonstrated through its application to the fitting of several broadband, multiport transfer functions. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2008.     

Researching pedagogy: a sociocultural agenda

Pedagogy is currently receiving attention from producers of education policy in England. It is, however, a version of pedagogy that remains located in a history of schooling as social control, of curricular knowledge as a commodity to be transmitted and of teachers as paraprofessionals. Those who resist recent attempts to shape pedagogy, and attempt to enhance both pedagogy and professionalism in order to prepare learners and teachers for informed participation in the new knowledge economy, are constrained by the impoverished understandings of pedagogy available in the United Kingdom. The author argues that understandings of pedagogy that are grounded in the hermeneutic psychology offered by Vygotskian theory can enhance teachers' professionalism and inform a pedagogy for the new knowledge age, 'Vygotsky is concerned to study how people, through the use of their own social activities, by changing their own conditions of existence can change themselves' (Shotter, 1993, p. 111).     

Change experienced during group therapy by female survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Change during a 20-week group therapy program was researched for 40 women who were survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Results indicated that the women who participated in group therapy, compared with a quasi-experimental control group, decreased significantly on measures of depression, social maladjustment, self-blame, and posttraumatic stress responses, with no significant increases in anger. Scores on the main variables remained stable during assessment and follow-up periods for the women who participated in group therapy. In addition, there were no significantly different patterns of change based on either sexual abuse variables (number of perpetrators, sexual abuse by a father figure, nature of sexual abuse, and duration) or participation in concurrent individual therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)