Directional hypotheses for models of helping and coping using Graves's theory.

Commends the work of C. W. Graves (1966, 1970, 1974) on human biopsychosocial systems. Within Graves's system, individuals perceive themselves as alone in the overwhelming fight for survival in a threatening world where others fight back. Graves states that conflicting personality theories, schools of psychotherapy, learning theories, and conflicting views of how the world should function can be explained by assessing the systems from which they emanate. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discovery misattribution: When solving is confused with remembering.

This study explored the discovery misattribution hypothesis, which posits that the experience of solving an insight problem can be confused with recognition. In Experiment 1, solutions to successfully solved anagrams were more likely to be judged as old on a recognition test than were solutions to unsolved anagrams regardless of whether they had been studied. Experiment 2 demonstrated that anagram solving can increase the proportion of "old" judgments relative to words presented outright. Experiment 3 revealed that under certain conditions, solving anagrams influences the proportion of "old" judgments to unrelated items immediately following the solved item. In Experiment 4, the effect of solving was reduced by the introduction of a delay between solving the anagrams and the recognition judgments. Finally, Experiments 5 and 6 demonstrated that anagram solving leads to an illusion of recollection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Remembering the message: The use of a reminder cue to increase condom use following a safer sex intervention.

Condom use interventions may be more powerful if they provide cues to recall safe-sex messages when sexual activity occurs. The authors tested this notion by assigning sexually active introductory psychology students (N = 196) to a standard safe-sex intervention, a safe-sex with reminder intervention, or a control (drinking and driving) intervention. Participants assigned to the reminder intervention were given a "friendship bracelet" to wear and were instructed to have the bracelet remind them of the intervention. In a follow-up session (5-7 weeks later), they were asked questions pertaining to condom use. Of the 125 participants who had engaged in sexual intercourse, condom use at last intercourse was higher in the bracelet condition (55%) than in the standard (27%) or control (36%) conditions. The authors also found that the bracelet remained effective, even when participants were under the influence of alcohol. These findings therefore imply that health intervention programs may be more efficacious if they include strategies such as reminder cues to increase the salience of health information in the appropriate contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of document location during computer use in terms of neck muscle activity and neck movement

This study evaluated the impact on neck movement and muscle activity of placing documents in three commonly used locations: in-line, flat desktop left of the keyboard and laterally placed level with the computer screen. Neck excursion during three standard head movements between the computer monitor and each document location and neck extensor and upper trapezius muscle activity during a 5 min typing task for each of the document locations was measured in 20 healthy participants. Results indicated that muscle activity and neck flexion were least when documents were placed laterally suggesting it may be the optimal location. The desktop option produced both the greatest neck movement and muscle activity in all muscle groups. The in-line document location required significantly more neck flexion but less lateral flexion and rotation than the laterally placed document. Evaluation of other holders is needed to guide decision making for this commonly used office equipment.     

Prevalence of smoking among major movie characters: 1996-2004

Background

Reports of a relationship between watching smoking in movies and smoking among adolescents have prompted greater scrutiny of smoking in movies by the public health community.

Objective

To assess the smoking prevalence among adult and adolescent movie characters, examine trends in smoking in movies over time, and compare the data with actual smoking prevalence among US adults and adolescents.

Design and methods

Smoking status of all major human adolescent and adult movie characters in the top 100 box office hits from 1996 to 2004 (900 movies) was assessed, and smoking prevalence was examined by Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rating and year of release.

Results

The movies contained 5944 major characters, of whom 4911 were adults and 466 were adolescents. Among adult movie characters, the overall smoking prevalence was 20.6%; smoking was more common in men than in women (22.6% v 16.1%, respectively, p<0.001), and was related to MPAA rating category (26.9% for movies rated R (restricted, people aged <17 years require accompanying adult), 17.9% for PG‐13 (parents strongly cautioned that some material might be inappropriate for children) and 10.4% for G/PG (general audiences, all ages; parental guidance suggested for children), p<0.001). In 1996, the smoking prevalence for major adult movie characters (25.7%) was similar to that in the actual US population (24.7%). Smoking prevalence among adult movie characters declined to 18.4% in 2004 (p for trend <0.001), slightly below that for the US population for that year (20.9%). Examination of trends by MPAA rating showed that the downward trend in smoking among adult movie characters was statistically significant in movies rated G/PG and R, but not in those rated PG‐13. A downward trend over time was also found for smoking among adolescent movie characters. There was no smoking among adult characters in 43.3% of the movies; however, in 39% of the movies, smoking prevalence among adult characters was higher than that in the US adult population in the year of release.

Conclusions

Smoking prevalence among major adolescent and adult movie characters is declining, with the downward trend among adult characters weakest for PG‐13‐rated movies. Although many movies depict no adult smoking, more than one third depict smoking as more prevalent than that among US adults at the time of release.Recent research has established that there is an association between watching smoking in movies and smoking among adolescents.^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7} This has prompted greater scrutiny of the movie industry by the public health community,⁸ and has highlighted the need to understand better how and why smoking is depicted in movies. As smoking among movie characters considerably influences smoking among youths, the public health community needs data on its frequency and reach. Just as quantitative measures of smoking among the general population are used to assess the effectiveness of public health campaigns on smoking, quantitative measures could be used to assess the success of public health campaigns aimed at reducing depictions of smoking in movies. Smoking in movies is generally quantified through content analysis, in which a specified sample frame of movies is assessed according to a set of predefined criteria. Previous studies generally agree that (1) smoking is depicted in most movies^{9,10,11,12,13,14,15}; (2) smoking in movies increases as Motion Picture Association of America rating increases from G to R^9,14,15; (3) movie characters who smoke do not represent the typical smoker (in that they are more likely to be affluent, good looking and powerful than are typical smokers)^9,12; and (4) smoking in movies is rarely depicted in the context of negative health outcomes.^9,10,12,15Content analyses vary in the way they quantify movie smoking, and this makes it difficult to compare results across studies. One objective measure of smoking in movies is the smoking prevalence among major characters. This type of assessment requires coders to determine the number of major characters (however this is defined) and also to determine whether or not each character is depicted as a smoker. The overall smoking prevalence among characters and yearly time trends can then be determined, as can prevalence rates by movie and character traits (eg, sex or age). Although the smoking prevalence among characters has not been measured in all content analyses, it is reported in many of them, and is remarkably consistent. McIntosh et al¹³ reported a smoking rate of 21% among characters in films released in the 1980s. Dalton et al⁹ and Omidvari et al¹⁶ reported rates of 25% and 21%, respectively, for movies released in the 1990s. We report time trends for smoking prevalence among adult and adolescent movie characters for the top 100 US box office hits released over a 9‐year period to better understand recent trends in smoking among movie characters.     

Pre-incubation of chemically crosslinked hyaluronan-based hydrogels,loaded with BMP-2 and hydroxyapatite,and its effect on ectopic bone formation

The effects of pre-incubation of hyaluronan hydrogels, for different lengths of time after the initiation of chemical crosslinking and prior to injection, were explored both by investigating the in vitro BMP-2 release kinetics from the hydrogel and by studying the ectopic bone formation in rats. From the curing profile, obtained from rheological analysis, appropriate pre-incubation times (1 min, 5 h and 3 days) were selected, to prepare slightly, moderately and fully cured hydrogels. Comparable release profiles were observed for all three test groups in vitro. Furthermore, radiography, pQCT and histology of the explanted grafts showed cancellous bone formation in all groups after 5 weeks in vivo. However, longer pre-incubation times gave rise to an increase in bone volume, but a decrease in bone density. Moreover, the 5 h and the 3 days grafts appeared to be more ordered and resistant to deformation from the surrounding tissue than the 1 min grafts. The observed variations in mechanical and biological properties could potentially be used to adapt the treatment for a specific indication.     

History and development of industrial/organisational psychology in the Canadian Forces Personnel Selection Branch: 1938–2009.

The authors examined public and published archival documents and interviewed senior and retired Personnel Selection Officers, and influential Industrial/Organisational (I/O) psychologists in Canada to document the history of the Canadian Forces Personnel Selection Branch. The authors highlight the close working relationship between civilian and military I/O psychologists and suggest that they have been mutually influential in shaping the practise of I/O psychology in Canada. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improved conversion efficiency of a‐Si:H/µc‐Si:H thin‐film solar cells by using annealed Al‐doped zinc oxide as front electrode material

In recent years, zinc oxide has been investigated as a front electrode material in hydrogenated amorphous silicon/hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (a‐Si:H/µc‐Si:H) tandem solar cells. Such as for other transparent conducting oxide materials and applications, a proper balancing of transparency and conductivity is necessary. The latter is directly related to the density and the mobility of charge carriers. A high density of charge carriers increases conductivity but leads to a higher absorption of light in the near‐infrared part of the spectrum due to increased free‐carrier absorption. Hence, the only way to achieve high conductivity while keeping the transparency as high as possible relies on an increase of carrier mobility. The carrier density and the mobility of sputtered Al‐doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) can be tailored by a sequence of different annealing steps. In this work, we implemented such annealed ZnO:Al films as a front electrode in a‐Si:H/µc‐Si:H tandem solar cells and compared the results with those of reference cells grown on as‐deposited ZnO:Al. We observed an improvement of short‐circuit current density as well as open‐circuit voltage and fill factor. The gain in current density could be attributed to a reduction of both sub‐band‐gap absorption and free‐carrier absorption in the ZnO:Al. The higher open‐circuit voltage and fill factor are indicators of a better device quality of the silicon for cells grown on annealed ZnO:Al. Altogether, the annealing led to an improved initial conversion efficiency of 12.1%, which was a gain of +0.7% in absolute terms. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fabrication of an Inductively Coupled Plasma Antenna in Low Temperature Co‐Fired Ceramic

A miniature electrostatic thruster is being developed in Low Temperature Co‐fired Ceramic (LTCC) at Boise State University. The thruster is composed of an antenna to create the plasma, a cylinder to contain the plasma, and grids to extract the plasma beam at high velocity. In this work, the development of the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) antenna in LTCC will be presented. This antenna is fabricated using DuPont 951 LTCC tape. A Direct Write dispenser is used to apply silver paste for the spiral ICP antenna. Using LTCC allows for the antenna to be embedded in the device under a thin sheet of LTCC dielectric, which protects the antenna from ion back bombardment during operation. This thin sheet is the seventh layer of the total device, with the ICP antenna one layer below the top. The design of the antenna is based on the research done by J. Hopwood. This article discusses the fabrication and performance of the ICP antennas in LTCC. These ICP antennas are operated at pressures from 10 mTorr to 1 Torr with radio frequencies (RF) of 500 MHz to 1 GHz to inductively couple with low‐pressure argon to produce plasma. The performance of the antennas will be verified with data showing the start and stop power of the plasma at various pressures and an electric field map of the RF field above the antenna.     

Direct ink writing of hierarchical porous ultra-high temperature ceramics (ZrB2)

An approach to producing hierarchical multi-scale porous ultra-high temperature ceramics (zirconium diboride, ZrB₂) using 3D printing has been developed. Porous ceramic filaments can be 3D printed via Direct Ink Writing (DIW) (paste extrusion). Millimeter scale porosity is created by the 3D printed scaffold filaments. We introduce 20-micron-scale porosity into the scaffold filaments with the addition of oil to produce capillary suspension paste inks. Micron-scale porosity is also developed by partial sintering of the ceramic. The rheological (flow) properties of the capillary suspension paste inks suitable for printing by extrusion through the needle of the 3D printer have been characterized. The samples are strengthened by partial sintering at high temperatures. Complex-shaped components can be printed and sintered into crack-free components, but distortion during drying and sintering lead to poor shape and tolerance control. X-ray tomography is used to characterize the internal structure of the printed components. Printed test bars measured in 4-point bend testing exhibit high strength to density ratio. Such materials potentially have applications as insulation near very high-temperature surfaces in aerospace applications.