Sagacious judgment via word association.

Based on K. E. Scheibe's (1979) concepts of the mask and the prediction mode of sagacity, 4 experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that awareness of subtle cues accounts for success on a judgment task that requires recognizing the implications of target persons' word associations. Preliminary studies with 7 undergraduates identified word associations but not facial expressions or reaction times as relevant to success on the task. Thus, it was hypothesized that successful judges would be more accurate than unsuccessful judges in assessing the diagnosticity of word association clues. 30 undergraduate social welfare majors participated in Exp I; Exp II was a replication of Exp I using 73 high school students. Both Exps I and II involved a video presentation. Exp III involved a pencil-and-paper version of the judgment task used in Exps I and II. Ss were 76 undergraduates. Exp IV tested the generalizability of the previous results across S groups. 12 American and 14 foreign-born undergraduates (e.g., Malaysian, Taiwanese, Colombian, and Nigerian) served as Ss. Overall findings show that the predicted relation emerged in all 4 studies, despite variations in the task and S groups (varying in age, nationality, and amount of psychology-related training). Results are generally consistent with expectations based on Scheibe's analysis of sagacity and provide a basis for research on the judgment task in terms of personality correlates of cue utilization, individual differences in depth of processing, and ability to draw pragmatic implications. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An ionisation chamber for measuring gamma exposure rates in mixed radiation fields

The development of an ionisation chamber for measuring gamma exposure rates in graphite thermal reactors is described. Through careful design, the absolute thermal neutron sensitivity has been minimized.     

How people learn to skip steps.

Novices often explicitly apply in a domain each necessary operator while solving a problem, whereas experts often skip steps, and as a result, the solution procedures they use are often organized differently from those of novices. Using an algebra analog, the authors examined this change in process. In 2 experiments people learned the rules of the task and then solved many problems. Their solution procedures were monitored, and concurrent verbal protocols were taken. When participants started overtly skipping steps, they appeared to be performing them mentally but later started to use new transformations, thereby covertly skipping steps as well. An adaptive control of thought–rational model ( J. R. Anderson, 1993) of problem solver behavior within this task was developed and evaluated with respect to existing theories of skill acquisition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

No one analogy is sufficient: Rejoinder to Kubovy.

Although it appears that the disagreement between Kubovy and the current author revolves around the issue of whether listening is spatial, it hides a deeper division. In this rejoinder the current author accepts Kubovy's analogy that space-time is to pitch-time as vision is to audition in the context of form perception. He also agree's with Kubovy that science will not progress without theoretical commitments, but commitment to one of many possibilities will necessarily impoverish our understanding of perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Estimates of housing inflation for 39 SMSAs: An alternative to the consumer price index

This paper presents new estimates of the inflation rate of the value of owner-occupied housing and the gross rents of renteroccupied housing in 39 large metropolitan areas. The inflation rates are computed via the method of hedonic indexes usingAnnual Housing Survey data for the period April 1974 to March 1976. The estimates are compared to the official rent index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and it is argued that the official index understates the rate of inflation for renter-occupied housing. Also, the hedonic estimates are used to determine the pattern of regional differences in inflation as well as differences between the rate of inflation of rents versus values.The research underlying this paper was supported in large part by the Office of Policy Development and Research of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development while Dr. Follain was at the Urban Institute.     

International residential energy end use data: Analysis of historical and present day structure and dynamics

International comparisons of residential energy use have been hindered in the past by lack of data and common measuring systems. In this paper, we report on ongoing efforts to disaggregate data on residential space comfort and appliance energy use for major member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Indicators of structure (i.e. dwelling size, number of appliances, incomes) and of intensity (energy use per degree day, etc.) are developed for various countries and compared. It is shown that there is much room for energy conservation by reductions in energy intensity, even while structural factors (e.g., rising incomes) tend to increase energy use.     

Sex pheromone ofPlanotortrix species found on mangrove

(Z)-5-Tetradecenyl acetate and tetradecyl acetate were identified as sex pheromone components of an unnamedPlanotortrix leafroller moth species found onAvicennia resinifera (mangrove). An equal mixture of the two compounds used as bait gave field trap catches at least as good as those baited with caged virgin females. Traps baited with the two chemicals caught malePlanotortrix moths in a mangrove swamp not previously found to host the unnamedPlanotortrix species. Adults of the unnamedPlanotortrix species and of the greenheaded leafroller,Planotortrix excessana are morphologically indistinguishable. The sex pheromone ofP. excessana has been found previously to be a mixture of (Z)-S-tetradecenyl acetate and tetradecyl acetate, and this means that the two species may now be distinguished by sex pheromone differences.Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Tortricinae.     

A Comparison of Heavy Ion Sources Used in Cosmic Ray Simulation Studies of VLSI Circuits

A comparison has been made between the heavy ions from the ALICE cyclotron and Californium-252. The results of SEU cross-section measurements support the use of the CASE system (Californium-252 Assessment of Single-event Effects) to simulate cosmic ray effects in VLSI circuits.