A new decisional balance measure of motivation to change among at-risk college drinkers.

In this study, an open-ended decisional balance worksheet was used to elicit self-generated pros and cons of current drinking and reducing drinking, which were then quantified to create a decisional balance proportion (DBP) reflecting movement toward change (i.e., counts of pros of reducing drinking and cons of current drinking to all decisional balance fields). This study’s goal was to examine the convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of the DBP as a measure of motivation to change. Participants were college students (N = 143) who reported having engaged in weekly heavy, episodic drinking and who had participated in a larger randomized clinical trial of brief motivational interventions (K. B. Carey, M. P. Carey, S. A. Maisto, & J. M. Henson, 2006). Findings indicated partial support for convergent and discriminant validity of the DBP. Compared with Likert scale measures of decisional balance and readiness to change, DBP scores reflecting greater movement toward change best predicted reductions in heavy drinking quantity and frequency and experience of alcohol-related consequences, although some of these effects decayed by the 12-month follow-up. Findings suggest that the DBP is a valid measure of motivation to change among at-risk college drinkers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of early menarche to depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, and comorbid psychopathology among adolescent girls.

This prospective study tested whether early menarche partially accounts for the increases in depression, eating pathology, substance abuse, and comorbid psychopathology that occur among adolescent girls, with structured interview data from a community sample (N?=?496). Early menarche (prior to 11.6 years) was associated with elevated depression, substance abuse, and "any" disorder but did not confer increased risk for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder. Although there was significant comorbidity across all three classes of pathology, early menarche was associated only with comorbid depression and substance abuse. Results provide partial support for the assertion that early menarche is a general risk factor for psychopathology among adolescent girls but suggest that this risk may not apply to certain disorders and that the effects are modest in size. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discretion vs. regulation and the sorry case of Melbourne city plan 2010

Introduction

In the 1990s the former Kennett government made fundamental changes to the Victorian planning system. Central to these are the Victoria Planning Provisions (VPPs) which set out the structure of local planning schemes across the State. The VPPs include a general State Planning Policy section and provide for local variation through a Local Planning Policy Framework (LPPF), itself made up of a Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS) and local planning policies. The MSS contains the planning objectives of local city councils and the strategies to achieve these; the local policies are more detailed and area or issue-specific. The LPPF is the only significant element of the planning scheme to be prepared by councils and tailored to local concerns: all other components of the schemes, including zones and overlays—the tools with which councils are to implement their planning policies—are standardised.     

Perceived control, Type A/B behavior, and quality of instruction.

Perceived control can impede achievement by interfering with instruction. College students who suffer temporary loss of control perform no better with an effective instructor than with an ineffective instructor. Type A students, however, may continue to benefit from effective instruction because of their intensified efforts to maintain control over academic outcomes when their control is threatened. Type A and B students received either contingent or noncontingent feedback on an aptitude test and then observed a half-hour lecture from either an unexpressive or expressive instructor. After the aptitude test they completed an attribution questionnaire, and after the lecture they took an achievement test and responded to a test-related questionnaire. Noncontingent feedback lowered both Type A and B students' perceived control and their internal attribution locus. It also reduced the effectiveness of instruction for Type B students but not for Type A students. Unlike those of Type B students, Type A students' self-perceptions were unaffected by instructional quality, which suggests a greater emphasis on self-directed, rather than other-directed, responsibility for achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Book reviews

IMMIGRATION AND AUSTRALIAN CITIES. Ian Burnley, Peter Murphy and Robert Fagan. The Federation Press, Annandale, NSW, 1997. ISBN 1 86287 258 9. 167 pp, RRP $29.95, Paperback.

REGENERATING TOWN CENTRES. Richard Evans. Manchester University Press. Manchester, 1997. ISBN 0 7190 4718 8. 174 pp, RRP $78.00 Hardback.

SPATIAL BEHAVIOR: A GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE. Reginald G. Golledge and Robert J. Stimson. The Guilford Press, New York/London, 1997. ISBN 1 57230 050 7. 620pp: RRP $39.95 Paperback.

THE CREAM BRICK FRONTIER: HISTORIES OF AUSTRALIAN SUBURBS. Edited by Graeme Davison, Tony Dingle, Seamus O'Hanlon. Monash Publications in History, Clayton, 1995. ISBN 0 7326 0595 4. 167 pp, RRP $17.95 (plus $3.50 p&h) Paperback.

CHANGING PLACES - NEW ZEALAND IN THE '90s. Richard Le Heron and Eric Pawson. Paul Longman, Auckland, 1996. ISBN 0 582 86104 7. pp. 447, RRP $54.00 Paperback.     

Patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.

The present study used meta-analytic techniques (number of samples = 92) to determine the patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course. Results showed that people increase in measures of social dominance (a facet of extraversion), conscientiousness, and emotional stability, especially in young adulthood (age 20 to 40). In contrast, people increase on measures of social vitality (a 2nd facet of extraversion) and openness in adolescence but then decrease in both of these domains in old age. Agreeableness changed only in old age. Of the 6 trait categories, 4 demonstrated significant change in middle and old age. Gender and attrition had minimal effects on change, whereas longer studies and studies based on younger cohorts showed greater change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental results on an integrated strip detector with CCD readout

A strip detector for measuring the position of particles in high-energy physics experiments has been integrated on a single chip, together with a readout JCCD having a transistor-like input. By simulating radiation with a pulsed LED it is shown that charge packets generated in the detector of even 5 fC can easily be seen. All charge is injected within one clock period into the JCCD.The theory of injection time is reviewed. It appears that the strip capacitance together with the gate area and charge-handling capability of the CCD determines whether all charge can be injected within one clock period.     

Computer experience: a poor predictor of computer attitudes

Considerable research has focused on the relationship between computer experience and attitudes. This study aimed to identify those experience factors that are best able to predict computer attitudes. A questionnaire was designed to incorporate various measures of experience as defined by previous researchers. Reliability analyses were appropriate for both experience and attitude scales. Relationships between these constructs whilst significant (p<0.01) were at best moderate in magnitude, and experience factors were poor predictors of computer attitude scores. However, exploratory analyses showed that high levels of variance in the variable ‘computer confidence’ could be explained by quantifiable use data. It is concluded that current questionnaire scales inadequately reflect the many aspects of experience that contribute toward computer attitudes.     

Social loafing and self-evaluation with a social standard.

Social loafing has been described as the phenomenon in which participants who work together generate less effort than do participants who work alone (e.g., Latané, Williams, & Harkins, 1979). Subsequent research (Harkins & Jackson, 1985; Williams, Harkins, & Latané, 1981) has shown that a particular aspect of this paradigm leads to the loafing effect. In those studies, the evaluation potential of the experimenter has been emphasized. However, when the experimenter could not evaluate individual outputs, neither could the participants evaluate themselves. In this study we tested the possibility that the opportunity for the participants to evaluate themselves would be sufficient to eliminate the loafing effect. In 2 experiments, the evaluation potential of the experimenter (experimenter evaluation vs. no experimenter evaluation) was crossed with the potential for self-evaluation (self-evaluation vs. no self-evaluation). Consistent with previous loafing research, the potential for evaluation by the experimenter was sufficient to increase motivation, whether participants could self-evaluate or not. However, when the experimenter could not evaluate the participants' outputs, the potential for self-evaluation reliably improved participant performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)