The Influence of Computer‐based Model's Race and Gender on Female Students' Attitudes and Beliefs Towards Engineering

Background This study explored the use of interface agents, anthropomorphic, 3D‐animated computer characters that provide teaching or mentoring within a computer‐based learning environment, to encourage young Black and White women to pursue careers in engineering. Purpose (Hypothesis ) We hypothesized that computer‐based models that matched young women in terms of their race and gender would be the most effective in positively influencing their interest, self‐efficacy, and stereotypes about engineering. Design/ Method Eighty African American undergraduate female students in Experiment 1, and 39 White undergraduate female students in Experiment 2 interacted with a computer‐based agent that provided a narrative designed to encourage them to pursue engineering careers. The study employed a 2 × 2 between subjects factorial design (agent gender: male vs. female and agent race: Black vs. White). Results Across both studies we found that race and gender influenced the effectiveness of the agent for several key outcome measures. Computer‐based agents who matched the participants with respect to race and gender tended to be the most effective in improving the women's responses to engineering‐related fields. Nevertheless, the White male agent was actually significantly more influential than the White female agent for female Black participants. Conclusions Personalizing interface agent characteristics to match the target population can increase the effectiveness of a persuasive message to encourage young women to pursue engineering. Such an approach may contribute to the growth and inclusiveness of fields such as engineering.     

Suicidal, abused African American women's response to a culturally informed intervention.

Objective: This study examined (a) the efficacy of a manualized, culturally informed, empowerment-focused psychoeducational group intervention (Nia) designed in accord with the theory of triadic influence or treatment as usual (TAU) for reducing psychological symptomatology (suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, posttraumatic stress symptoms, general psychological distress), and (b) the effect of Nia versus TAU on the relation between exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and psychological symptomatology in these women. Method: Two hundred eight low-socioeconomic-status African American women with a recent history of IPV and a suicide attempt were randomized to Nia or TAU and assessed at baseline, postintervention, and 6- and 12-month follow-up. They were assessed on their levels of IPV (Index of Spouse Abuse), suicidal ideation (Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation), depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory–II), posttraumatic stress symptoms, and general psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory). Results:Hierarchical linear modeling found that women receiving the culturally informed Nia intervention showed more rapid reductions in depressive symptoms and general distress initially, and the between-group difference in depressive symptoms persisted at follow-up. Following intervention, compared with women randomized to TAU, women in Nia exhibited less severe suicidal ideation when exposed to physical and nonphysical IPV. Conclusions:Findings highlight the value of incorporating Nia as an adjunctive intervention for abused, suicidal, low-income women. They underscore the ways the intervention needs to be bolstered to address more directly more mediating and moderating constructs, as well as the need to target more effectively the key outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perfectionism, perceived stress, drinking to cope, and alcohol-related problems among college students.

This study investigated the association between perfectionism (categorized by adaptive perfectionistic, maladaptive perfectionistic, or nonperfectionistic groups), perceived stress, drinking alcohol to cope, and alcohol-related problems in a large sample of college students (N = 354). Maladaptive perfectionists reported significantly higher levels of stress and drinking to cope than adaptive perfectionists and nonperfectionists. Adaptive perfectionists reported the fewest alcohol-related problems, suggesting that healthy levels of high standards may protect against drinking to cope with stress. Across all participants, a significant indirect effect for drinking to cope supported its role as a mediator between stress and alcohol-related problems. Structural equation modeling analyses supported the moderating role of perfectionism in this mediation model, such that maladaptive perfectionists were more likely to drink to cope under stress and report alcohol-related problems, whereas higher stress was associated with fewer alcohol-related problems among nonperfectionists. Additional analyses revealed higher stress levels for women and a stronger link between stress and drinking to cope for women compared to men. Future research directions as well as clinical implications regarding perfectionism, stress, drinking to cope, and alcohol-related problems are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Knowing me-knowing you: Reported personality and trait discrepancies as predictors of marital idealization between long-wed spouses.

In previous research, marital idealization has emerged as a significant predictor of adaptation to widowhood, the psychological well-being of spouses of persons with dementia, and the physical health of older married adults over time. Despite the adaptive value of marital idealization, conceptual confusion regarding this phenomenon persists. To this end, the present study examines the degree to which marital idealization is predicted by personality traits relative to partner perceptions of their spouse's personality, and discrepancies between self- vs. spousal reports for both husbands and wives. Multilevel models were computed on the basis of responses from 125 couples married an average of 34 years. Marital idealization by husbands was predicted by his personality (i.e., lower neuroticism, openness to experience, agreeableness, and higher conscientiousness). In contrast, marital idealization by wives was predicted by trait discrepancies (i.e., being seen, and seeing one's spouse, more positively than she or he sees him- or herself). Conscientiousness emerged as the trait for which between-sex differences were most pronounced, whereas both conscientiousness and agreeableness were the traits most broadly associated with marital idealization by both spouses (intracouple trait averages and discrepancies between spousal reports). These results are discussed in relation to gender socialization and between-sex differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Janes et al. (2009).

Reports an error in "Brain fMRI reactivity to smoking-related images before and during extended smoking abstinence" by Amy C. Janes, Blaise deB. Frederick, Sarah Richardt, Caitlin Burbridge, Emilio Merlo-Pich, Perry F. Renshaw, A. Eden Evins, Maurizio Fava and Marc J. Kaufman (Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2009[Dec], Vol 17[6], 365-373). In the article the authors find it necessary to redefine the thresholding procedure used for data analyses, due to problems in the Brain Voyager software. This does not affect the main findings of the paper. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-23091-001.) Reactivity to smoking-related cues may play a role in the maintenance of smoking behavior and may change depending on smoking status. Whether smoking cue-related functional MRI (fMRI) reactivity differs between active smoking and extended smoking abstinence states currently is unknown. We used fMRI to measure brain reactivity in response to smoking-related versus neutral images in 13 tobacco-dependent subjects before a smoking cessation attempt and again during extended smoking abstinence (52 ± 11 days) aided by nicotine replacement therapy. Prequit smoking cue induced fMRI activity patterns paralleled those reported in prior smoking cue reactivity fMRI studies. Greater fMRI activity was detected during extended smoking abstinence than during the prequit assessment subcortically in the caudate nucleus and cortically in prefrontal (BA 6, 9, 44, 46), primary somatosensory (BA 1, 2, 3), temporal (BA 22, 41, 42), parietal (BA 7, 40) anterior cingulate (BA 24, 32), and posterior cingulate (BA 31) cortex. These data suggest that during extended smoking abstinence, fMRI reactivity to smoking versus neutral stimuli persists in brain areas involved in attention, somatosensory processing, motor planning, and conditioned cue responding. In some brain regions, fMRI smoking cue reactivity is increased during extended smoking abstinence in comparison to the prequit state, which may contribute to persisting relapse vulnerability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infants' perception of affordances of slopes under high- and low-friction conditions.

Three experiments investigated whether 14- and 15-month-old infants use information for both friction and slant for prospective control of locomotion down slopes. In Experiment 1, high- and low-friction conditions were interleaved on a range of shallow and steep slopes. In Experiment 2, friction conditions were blocked. In Experiment 3, the low-friction surface was visually distinct from the surrounding high-friction surface. In all three experiments, infants could walk down steeper slopes in the high-friction condition than they could in the low-friction condition. Infants detected affordances for walking down slopes in the high-friction condition, but in the low-friction condition, they attempted impossibly slippery slopes and fell repeatedly. In both friction conditions, when infants paused to explore slopes, they were less likely to attempt slopes beyond their ability. Exploration was elicited by visual information for slant (Experiments 1 and 2) or by a visually distinct surface that marked the change in friction (Experiment 3). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Design of Dynamically Wind-Loaded Helical Piers for Small Wind Turbines

The expansion of alternative energy has created a demand for sustainable alternatives for wind turbine foundation design. This study investigates the proposed application of helical piers as foundations for guyed cables of small (1–10-kW) wind towers. Before the foundation system can be implemented, pier response to typical working loads and extreme environmental conditions must be determined. Field conditions were determined by equipping an existing wind tower with accelerometers and load cells while monitoring wind speed to determine tower response. A full-scale testing program was conducted, which simulated dynamic loading conditions based on the tower response. The testing program varied between typical working conditions and extreme load events to determine the critical loading case and creep potential from long-term loading. This paper discusses the effects of dynamic loading on helical pier performance and compares the results to that of uplift prediction methods typically used in helical pier design.     

A hierarchical taxonomy of top managers' goals.

To embed goal theories more deeply in the domain of top-level leadership behavior and to provide a vehicle to facilitate future research, the authors developed a taxonomy of managerial goals. Interviews with 75 company leaders--founders and presidents--from 3 countries generated 2,182 articulated goals. Content analysis supported 2 taxonomic dimensions: goal content and hierarchical level. The goal content dimension specified 10 categories of substantive goal targets, and the second dimension captured the hierarchical structure of the top leaders' goal sets, with lower-level goals being instrumental toward achieving superordinate goals. The hierarchy comprised 5 goal levels: ultimate, enterprise, strategic, project, and process. Chi-square analyses revealed relationships between goal content and hierarchical level as well as differences between the national subsamples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rates of Trace Mineral-Catalyzed Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide

Rapid hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) decomposition is a significant limitation of catalyzed H2O2 propagations (i.e., modified Fenton’s reagent) for the remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater by in situ chemical oxidation. Rates of H2O2 decomposition mediated by seven trace minerals and four iron and manganese oxides were evaluated in batch reactors containing slurries of H2O2 and each of 11 minerals. At pH 3, the dominant catalysts in the decomposition of H2O2 on a per surface area basis were the manganese and iron oxides pyrolusite, goethite, and hematite, while decomposition rates in the presence of the manganese oxyhydroxide manganite and the trace mineral siderite were one to two orders of magnitude lower. At pH 7, the dominant catalysts were hematite and pyrolusite, and decomposition rates were one to two orders of magnitude lower in the presence of goethite, manganite, and siderite. The trace minerals anatase, bauxite, cuprite, ilmenite, magnesite, and willemite provided the least activity for decomposing H2O2 at both pH regimes. The results of this study document that the trace minerals anatase, bauxite, cuprite, ilmenite, magnesite, siderite, and willemite do not provide a significant pathway for H2O2 decomposition in the subsurface, and efforts to stabilize H2O2 for ISCO should focus on reactions occurring on the surfaces of iron and manganese oxides.     

Sharing intelligence: Decision-making interactions between users and software in maestro

By combining the best of automated and human decision-making in scheduling, many advantages can accrue. The joint performance of the user and system is potentially much better than either alone. Features of the MAESTRO scheduling system serve to illustrate concepts of user/software cooperation. MAESTRO may be operated at a user-determinable and dynamic level of autonomy. Because the system allows so much flexibility in the allocation of decision-making responsibilities, and provides users with a wealth of information and other support for their own decision-making, better overall schedules may result.