Effect of sex, intelligence, and style of thinking on creativity: A comparison of gifted and average IQ children.

15 boys and 15 girls, aged 9–11 yrs, from a gifted program (IQs of 130 or more on the Otis Lennon Test of Mental Abilities) and 30 age- and sex-matched average children (IQs between 95 and 110) were compared on Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking and left hemisphere, right hemisphere, and integrated thinking styles. Results show that sex, IQ, and thinking style each had an effect on different dimensions of Ss' creativity. Girls, irrespective of their IQ level and thinking style, scored higher than boys consistently across the 7 creativity subscales, reaching significance in verbal and figural fluency. Gifted Ss, independent of their thinking style, were better than the nongifted Ss but only in verbal originality. The integrated thinking style was related to creativity on the Elaboration and Figural Flexibility subtests. Results support the relative independence of select facets of children's creativity from general intellectual factors; they also suggest that performance on each of the creativity subtests may be strongly influenced by different psychological, intellectual, and perhaps, social factors. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expression of emotion through family grouping schemata, distance, and interpersonal focus.

Used a family doll placement technique to study separateness and connectedness within the family as this varies over positive and negative emotional themes. All members of 10 intact families (father, mother, and 2 children), in which 1 child had learning difficulties, participated. Separateness and connectedness were measured by (a) family grouping schemata categories, describing the groupings and subgroupings of dolls; (b) linear distance between dolls; and (c) interpersonal focus of dolls. As hypothesized, positive emotional themes were represented by closer doll placements than negative themes. Parents tended to group the family as a single unit more than children. The child with learning difficulties tended to orient dolls away from one another in painful emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High-speed gas chromatography using synchronized dual-valve injection

A novel injection technique for high-speed gas chromatography is demonstrated. Synchronized dual-valve injection is shown to provide peak widths as low as 1.5 ms (width at half-height) for an unretained analyte. This was achieved using a 0.5-m DB-5 column with an internal diameter of 100 microm and a film thickness of 0.4 microm operated at a temperature of 150 degrees C with a column absolute head pressure of 85 psi, resulting in a dead time of only t(o) = 26 ms ( approximately 1900 cm/s, 26 mL/min). Using the DB-5 column in a 1-m length under the same instrumental parameters, with a resulting linear flow velocity of 935 cm/s (12.7 mL/min, t(o) = 117 ms), a minimum peak width of 3.3 ms was obtained. During an isothermal separation, 10 analytes were separated in a time window of 400 ms. A rigorous comparison of experimental and theoretical band-broadening data based on the Golay equation showed that band broadening is limited almost entirely by the chromatographic band broadening terms expressed by the Golay equation and not by extra column band broadening due to the injection process. Synchronized dual-valve injection offers a rugged and inexpensive design, providing extremely reproducible injections with peak height precision of 2.4% (RSD) and low run-to-run variation in retention times, with an average standard deviation less than 0.1 ms. Herein, synchronized dual-valve injection is demonstrated as a proof of principle using high-speed diaphragm valves. It is foreseen that the injection technique could be readily implemented using a combination of thermal modulation and high-speed valve hardware, thus optimizing the mass transfer and not significantly sacrificing the limit of detection performance for high-speed GC. Further implications are that, if properly implemented, high-speed temperature programming coupled with this new technology should lead to very large peak capacities for approximately 1-s separations.     

An experience report on the verification of autonomic protocols in the cloud

Cloud applications are often complex distributed applications composed of multiple software components running on separate virtual machines. Setting up, (re)configuring, and monitoring these applications are complicated tasks because a software application may depend on several remote software and virtual machine configurations. These management tasks involve many complex protocols, which fully automate these tasks while preserving application consistency as well as some key properties. In this article, we present two experiences we had in formally specifying and verifying such protocols. The first one aims at designing a reconfiguration protocol of a component-based platform, intended as the foundation for building robust dynamic systems. The second aims at automating the configuration task of a set of virtual machines running a set of interconnected software components. Both applications are specified using the LNT process algebra and verified using the CADP verification toolbox. The use of formal specification languages and tools was a success. We conclude with a number of lessons we have learned while working on this topic in the last 3 years.     

Model-Based Adaptation of Behavioral Mismatching Components

Component-Based Software Engineering focuses on the reuse of existing software components. In practice, most components cannot be integrated directly into an application-to-be, because they are incompatible. Software Adaptation aims at generating, as automatically as possible, adaptors to compensate mismatch between component interfaces, and is therefore a promising solution for the development of a real market of components promoting software reuse. In this article, we present our approach for software adaptation which relies on an abstract notation based on synchronous vectors and transition systems for governing adaptation rules. Our proposal is supported by dedicated algorithms that generate automatically adaptor protocols. These algorithms have been implemented in a tool, called Adaptor, that can be used through a user-friendly graphical interface.     

Collaborative Problem Solving Through Creativity in Problem Definition: Expanding the Pie

The classic models of two party problem solving in situations of potential conflict are reviewed and the growing impetus for a process that would encourage collaborative win‐win solutions is summarized. In is demonstrated that in‐win collaboration requires innovative thinking, and that a four stage process of deliberate creativity with a track record of success is described. The process, called Simplex, emphasizes ‘out of the box’ thinking in problem defining (before solving) as the key to making a perceived ‘fixed pie’ larger, moving beyond the shackles of zero‐sum, win‐lose, compromise thinking. If a problem can be conceptualized from a new angle in such a way that each party believes its resolution would provide a high level of satisfaction, then the parties will be more likely to work together collaboratively. This process uses four specific creative thinking skills. A case study is described in which the Simplex process was used in union management bargaining. In the case study, when the creative process was deliberately applied, success was achieved in building trust and developing expanded pies and new solutions. However, when the process was abandoned, the trust was lost, no creative solutions were developed, and a sub‐optimal lose‐lose situation resulted. A two‐dimensional diagnostic model which shows the relationship between skill level in the process and motivation to use it is provided. This model defines four modes of pure and mixed distributive and integrative bargaining.     

Physical self-concept and self-esteem mediate cross-sectional relations of physical activity and sport participation with depression symptoms among adolescent girls.

The authors tested whether physical self-concept and self-esteem would mediate cross-sectional relations of physical activity and sport participation with depression symptoms among 1,250 girls in 12th grade. There was a strong positive relation between global physical self-concept and self-esteem and a moderate inverse relation between self-esteem and depression symptoms. Physical activity and sport participation each had an indirect, positive relation with global physical self-concept that was independent of objective measures of cardiorespiratory fitness and body fatness. These correlational findings provide initial evidence suggesting that physical activity and sport participation might reduce depression risk among adolescent girls by unique, positive influences on physical self-concept that operate independently of fitness, body mass index, and perceptions of sports competence, body fat, and appearance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Decision-making in the dairy aisle: maximizing taste, health, cost and family considerations.

PURPOSE: To gain insight into the decision-making processes used by women when selecting dairy and dairy alternative foods, including examination of the role of bone health concerns. METHODS: Semi-structured, point-of-purchase interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 30 female grocery shoppers. Constant comparative data analysis was used to generate themes on shoppers' decision-making processes. RESULTS: Women considered multiple issues in their dairy and dairy alternative food choice strategies: taste was most often associated with the fat and sugar content of foods; health concerns were centred on achieving an acceptable body weight and preventing osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, and women chose foods to satisfy other family members' needs and preferences and to obtain "good food value." Women prioritized their food choices by weighing the value of each issue, which led to a strategic process for "maximizing the value" of their food choices. The availability of a wide range of dairy and dairy alternative foods meant that in most instances, it was unnecessary for women to "trade off" one area of concern for another. CONCLUSIONS: Dietitians and nutrition educators can help women make dietary changes by helping them identify foods that they perceive as meeting a variety of needs.     

Probiotics in fermented sausages

Probiotic foods receive market interest as health-promoting, functional foods. They have been introduced in a wide range of food industries. However, commercial application of probiotic microorganisms in fermented sausages is not common yet. There are both advantages and disadvantages connected to fermented meat matrices. They are adequate for the carriage of probiotic bacteria since they are usually not or only mildly heated and may promote the survival of probiotic bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. In contrast, bacterial viability may be reduced due to the high content in curing salt and the low water activity and pH. Therefore, results are expected to be strain-dependent. Up till now, several approaches have been followed but most results are too preliminary to be able to evaluate the effect of probiotic fermented meats on human health. Candidate probiotic strains have been obtained through screening for technological requirements among bacteria that are naturally present in the meat or that originate from meat starter cultures. Alternatively, existing probiotic bacteria have been applied in meat products. Finally, the evaluation of the end-products needs to deal with both health effects and technological characteristics, for instance through human intervention studies and taste panels, respectively.     

Accounting-Related Transmission Issues

Accounting and financial reporting issues will have to be carefully considered to ensure that transmission entities are not handicapped in becoming viable enterprises which can attract capital at reasonable cost.