Multiple-indicant approach for studying new product adopters.

Criticizes aspects of the traditional approach to identifying and studying innovators (i.e., select the 1st 21/2 or 10% to try a single new product and compare characteristics of these individuals to later triers and nontriers). In contrast, a 0-15 innovation proneness index was derived based on responses to experimental stimuli presented for 15 product classes. 60 female undergraduates (tested on form e of the rokeach dogmatism scale), confronted by 1 new and 4 old items in each product class, role-played purchase selections. Using this index, the hypothesis that low dogmatic individuals would make significantly more innovative responses than would high dogmatics was confirmed. (28 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phase transitions in an itinerant model

The aim of this work is to examine ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phase transitions within an itinerant model. Calculating the free energy with the help of the so-called Stoner curves, first-order phase transitions from the paramagnetic to the ferromagnetic state and second-order phase transitions from the paramagnetic to the antiferromagnetic state are found.     

A family practice education system based on patient care outcomes in family practice settings

The philosophy, goals, objectives, methodology, and results of a family practice faculty development program are described. Developing family practice educators who will create an education system based on patient care outcomes in family practice settings is the central philosophical purpose of this faculty development program. On completion of the program all participants recognized the essential nature of this philosophical goal and were more comfortable and confident in their ability to: (1) determine resident learning needs; (2) organize curriculum units; (3) use different teaching techniques; and (4) understand their own personal teaching needs and interests. The implications of these changes for developing a family practice curriculum based on patient needs are described.     

Memory influences subjective experience: Noise judgments.

The influence of memory on the subjective experience of later events was investigated in two experiments. In one experiment, previously heard sentences and new sentences were presented against a background of white noise that varied in intensity. In a second experiment, a cue set of words was presented either before or after a target set that was embedded in noise. The cue set was either the same as or different from the target set. In both experiments, one of the tasks was to judge the loudness of the noise. The data show that subjects were unable to discount the contribution of memory to perception when judging the noise level. Subjects appeared to base their noise judgments on ease of interpretation of the message presented through noise, with differences in ease being misattributed to a difference in noise level. The advantages of subjective experience as a measure of memory, and the role of subjective experience and misattribution in confusions between cognitive and physical deficits are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Response bias and the process-dissociation procedure": Correction to Yonelinas and Jacoby (1996).

Reports an error in the original article by A. P. Yonelinas and L. L. Jacoby (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 1996, Vol 125[4], 422–434). On page 433, Appendix A, the equations were presented incorrectly. The correct reading of the equations is provided. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 84-06353.) Two different approaches for treating response bias in the process-dissociation procedure were assessed: a multinomial approach proposed by A. Buchner et al (see record 1995-31816-001) and a dual-process, signal-detection approach proposed by A. P. Yonelinas et al (see record 1996-29360-001). The authors examined data presented by Buchner et al and found that, although the signal-detection-based model worked slightly better than the multinomial model, the data did not provide a strong test of either model. However, an examination of other recognition data showed that the multinomial model produced distorted estimates of recollection and familiarity, and it was unable to account for observed receiver operating characteristics (ROCs). In contrast, the dual-process, signal detection model produced unbiased estimates and was able to account for the observed ROCs.… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Simulation of a complex protein structural change: the T {leftrightarrow} R transition in the insulin hexamer

The T R transition in the insulin hexamer is an outstandingmodel for protein structural changes in terms of its extentand complexity: the limiting structures T₆, T₃R₃ and R₆ havebeen defined by X-ray crystallography. The transition occurscooperatively within trimers. It involves displacements of >30Å and a secondary structural rearrangement of 15% of thepeptide chain between extended and helical conformations. Experimentaldata for the transition are plentiful. Theoretical methods tosimulate pathways without constraints would never succeed withsuch substantial transitions. We have developed two approaches,targeted energy minimization (TEM) and targeted molecular dynamics(TMD). Previously successful in simulating the T R transitionof the insulin monomer, these procedures are also shown hereto be effective in the hexamer. With TMD, more conformationalspace is explored and pathways are found at 500 kJ/mol lowerenergy than with TEM. Because the atoms have to meet distanceconstraints in sum rather than individually, a high degree ofconformational freedom and independence. is implied. T₆ T₃R₃and T₃R₃ T₆ pathways do not coincide because the transformationis directed. One subunit enters a dead end pathway in one directionof the TMD simulation, which shows that constraint and freedomare critically balanced. The ensemble of productive pathwaysrepresents a plausible corridor for the transition. A videodisplay of the transformations is available     

Associative recognition of face pairs by younger and older adults: The role of familiarity-based processing.

Previous research suggested that older adults have a specific impairment in remembering verbal associative information, but it is unclear how elaboration and familiarity might influence this deficit in situations that involve perceptual processing. In the present experiments, younger and older participants studied male-female pairs of faces. Participants were then administered an associative recognition test consisting of previously studied pairs, pairs that contained previously studied items that were not studied together (i.e., conjunction pairs), and entirely new pairs of faces, and participants were instructed to identify pairs that had been presented together at study. Overall, participants were successful at recognizing previously presented pairs but were highly likely to mistakenly endorse conjunction pairs. This pattern was more pronounced for older adults, especially when items were repeated at encoding. Such data suggest that memory for face pairs relies largely on the familiarity of each face and not on a more precise recollection of associative information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Remembering without awareness.

Amnesics reveal savings in their objective performance of a task even though they are not aware of remembering. The authors review experiments that reveal a dissociation of memory and awareness for normals as well as amnesics. The episodic–semantic memory distinction has been employed by others as an account of the dissociation of memory and awareness. An account of this sort leads one to expect that remembering without awareness would be relatively context-free. In contrast, several experiments show that remembering without awareness can be specific to memory for a particular episode. (French abstract) (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The future of U.S. natural gas production,use, and trade

Two computable general equilibrium models, one global and the other providing U.S. regional detail, are applied to analysis of the future of U.S. natural gas. The focus is on uncertainties including the scale and cost of gas resources, the costs of competing technologies, the pattern of greenhouse gas mitigation, and the evolution of global natural gas markets. Results show that the outlook for gas over the next several decades is very favorable. In electric generation, given the unproven and relatively high cost of other low-carbon generation alternatives, gas is likely the preferred alternative to coal. A broad GHG pricing policy would increase gas use in generation but reduce use in other sectors, on balance increasing its role from present levels. The shale gas resource is a major contributor to this optimistic view of the future of gas. Gas can be an effective bridge to a lower emissions future, but investment in the development of still lower CO₂ technologies remains an important priority. International gas resources may well prove to be less costly than those in the U.S., except for the lowest-cost domestic shale resources, and the emergence of an integrated global gas market could result in significant U.S. gas imports.