Showing papers by "Albion College published in 2008"

Moral disengagement in ethical decision making: A study of antecedents and outcomes.

Abstract: This article advances understanding of the antecedents and outcomes of moral disengagement by testing hypotheses with 3 waves of survey data from 307 business and education undergraduate students. The authors theorize that 6 individual differences will either increase or decrease moral disengagement, defined as a set of cognitive mechanisms that deactivate moral self-regulatory processes and thereby help to explain why individuals often make unethical decisions without apparent guilt or self-censure (Bandura, 1986). Results support 4 individual difference hypotheses, specifically, that empathy and moral identity are negatively related to moral disengagement, while trait cynicism and chance locus of control orientation are positively related to moral disengagement. Two additional locus of control orientations are not significantly related to moral disengagement. The authors also hypothesize and find that moral disengagement is positively related to unethical decision making. Finally, the authors hypothesize that moral disengagement plays a mediating role between the individual differences they studied and unethical decisions. Their results offer partial support for these mediating hypotheses. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for future research and for practice.

Counting near-infrared single-photons with 95% efficiency

Abstract: Single-photon detectors operating at visible and near-infrared wavelengths with high detection efficiency and low noise are a requirement for many quantum-information applications. Superconducting transition-edge sensors (TESs) are capable of detecting visible and near-infrared light at the single-photon level and are capable of discriminating between one-and two-photon absorption events; however these capabilities place stringent design requirements on the TES heat capacity, thermometry, and optical detection efficiency. We describe the fabrication and evaluation of a fiber-coupled, photon-number-resolving TES detector optimized for absorption at 1550 and 1310 nm wavelengths. The measured system detection efficiency at 1556 nm is 95 %±2 %, which to our knowledge is the highest system detection efficiency reported for a near-infrared single-photon detector.Work of US government: not subject to US copyright

Genomics Education Partnership

Abstract: The Genomics Education Partnership offers an inclusive model for undergraduate research experiences, with students pooling their work to contribute to international databases.

Large sensitive-area NbN nanowire superconducting single-photon detectors fabricated on single-crystal MgO substrates

Abstract: We report on the performance of large area NbN nanowire superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs). 20×20μm2 area SSPDs with 80 and 100nm linewidths and 50% fill factor were fabricated in 4-nm-thick NbN films grown on single-crystal MgO substrates. The high quality of the devices was verified by electrical and optical testing and compares favorably to measurements of 10×10μm2 area SSPDs. Measurements of kinetic inductance versus bias current indicate that the constriction density is low. The fiber-coupled detection efficiency of the devices was 0.4%–3.5% at 100Hz dark count rate.

A communication model of employee cynicism toward organizational change

Abstract: Purpose – The study was designed to generate and test a model of employee cynicism toward organizational change from the communication perspective in a higher education institution.Design/methodology/approach – Using the theoretical framework of social information processing (SIP), the study investigated the communication processes in the social context, which contributed to employee cynicism toward organizational change in the higher education setting. Path analysis was used to test the overall model fit.Findings – The findings suggest that the three variables, perceived quality of information, cynicism of colleagues, and trust in the administration, predict change‐specific cynicism, which, in turn, lead to intention to resist change.Research limitations/implications – As an initial attempt to explain employee cynicism toward organizational change in higher education settings, this model inevitably has loose ends. Further research is needed to expand the model from a communication perspective.Practical i...

Multiple Events of Dispersal and Radiation of the Tribe Miconieae (Melastomataceae) in the Caribbean

Abstract: In the Caribbean region, the Melastomataceae are represented by about 450 species (from 28 genera), close to 400 of them endemic. The majority of these endemic species (approximately 330) belong to the tribe Miconieae, a monophyletic group characterized by flowers with inferior or partly inferior ovaries that develop into baccate fruits, stamens with no or only poorly developed connective appendages, and the absence of megastyloids and imbricate bracts at the base of the flowers. A phylogenetic analysis of 460 accessions from 450 species of the tribe Miconieae, including 139 present in the Antilles (103 of these endemic), was performed based on nuclear (nrITS) and plastid (ndhF) DNA sequence data. This analysis shows that most of the Caribbean endemics are the product of five radiation events: (1) a clade containing the Caribbean endemic (or near-endemic) genera Pachyanthus, Calycogonium, Tetrazygia and Charianthus, as well as a few representatives of Miconia and Leandra. (2) The genus Mecranium. (3) The Caribbean species of Miconia section Chaenopleura (which are probably not the sister group of Andean Chaenopleura). (4) The Greater Antillean species of Clidemia and Ossaea (including Sagraea). (5) The Lesser Antillean representatives of Clidemia. Caribbean endemics that are more closely related to mainland species, rather than other Caribbean species are rare, and these often are segregates of widespread continental species. Because of a lack of resolution at the base of several clades, it is currently not possible to determine which mainland groups are the closest relatives of these Caribbean endemics, thus preventing us from establishing unequivocally the geographical origins of these species.

Suprafroth in type-I superconductors

Abstract: Froths and foams are complex structures, particularly those that disappear irreversibly. Superconducting froth, however, can be reversibly controlled by several external parameters, so it may help quantify froth dynamics across different systems.

Social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism, sexism, and prejudice toward women in the workforce.

Abstract: This study examined how social dominance orientation (SDO) and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) were related to two different forms of prejudice against working women: employment skepticism and traditional role preference. Three hundred forty-nine American adults completed measures of SDO, RWA, employment skepticism, traditional role preference, hostile sexism, and benevolent sexism. Multiple regression analyses revealed that SDO accounted for significant variability in both employment skepticism and traditional role preference, and that RWA accounted for significant variability in traditional role preference. Mediational analyses suggested that hostile sexism attenuated the relationship between SDO and employment skepticism, and benevolent sexism attenuated the relationship between RWA and traditional role preference. Results are discussed with respect to different forms of prejudice against working women and how each one might be rooted in different ideological preferences.

The Multiple Identities of Aztec Craft Specialists

Abstract: This paper argues that because Atec specialists worked in a variety of institutional settings and produced a range of goods with different symbolic implications, they shared no single social identity. These factors produced almost a continuous range of variation in the social identities of specialists. For both male and female specialists, the concentration of production was the most important determinant of specialist identity because it determined the ability of specialists to negotiate their own status through collective action and public ritual.

Risk beliefs and smoking behavior

Abstract: I. INTRODUCTION More people die from smoking each year than from any other consumption activity. These risks arise from consumer choices in a market context. As a result, whether consumers are cognizant of the attendant hazards is a central concern in assessing whether there is a market failure and the extent of such a failure. Influencing people's risk beliefs has been a primary focus of many government interventions in this market, including warnings requirements and public information campaigns. Public opinion poll data provide some insight into general trends in smoking risk beliefs but do little to resolve the more fundamental concern of whether people underestimate the risks posed by cigarettes. Typical questions ask respondents if cigarette smoking is "one of the causes of lung cancer" or whether smoking is "harmful." (1) These general measures of risk awareness provide a useful historical perspective on smoking risk beliefs but do not make it possible to determine whether the public perceives the risk accurately. Recognizing that smoking is harmful does not imply that the perceived risk level is as great as the actual risk. The first exploration of the adequacy of risk beliefs was in Viscusi (1990, 1992), which examined the adequacy of lung cancer risk beliefs using a quantitative risk question. (2) The 1985 national survey used in these studies asked respondents how many smokers out of 100 would get lung cancer because they smoke. People generally overestimate the risks of getting lung cancer due to smoking. These risk beliefs in turn affect the decision to smoke in the expected manner. At least for this risk component, which has been the most prominent smoking risk since the 1964 Surgeon General report linking smoking and lung cancer, the empirical evidence does not indicate a market failure. Notwithstanding these results, a variety of puzzles remain. Do smokers also perceive the other hazards of cigarettes, such as the total mortality risk of smoking? If they understand the risk of death, do they also properly assess how much life expectancy will be lost due to their premature mortality? Even if there is such a general understanding on average for the population, are there major pockets of ignorance? The difference between the smoking and the nonsmoking populations is striking. The current U.S. smoking population is less well educated and has lower income levels than the non-smoking population. A possible explanation for this difference is that the higher education levels of nonsmokers enable them to obtain a better understanding of the hazards of smoking, leading to lower smoking rates among the better educated. Such differences in risk beliefs have never been analyzed previously due to the absence of smoking risk belief surveys that include such demographic information. In this article, we exploit the more refined capabilities of two large data sets: a 1997 national survey of smoking risk beliefs and a 1998 survey undertaken in Massachusetts. Each of these surveys includes several quantitative risk perception measures as well as much more comprehensive data on background characteristics than in the 1985 survey analyzed in Viscusi (1990, 1992). In Section II, we introduce the survey data and provide an overview of smoking risk beliefs. Irrespective of the risk measure, there is a pronounced tendency to overestimate the risk level compared to objective scientific measures of the risk. These results contrast with the frequently expressed claim in the literature that cigarette smokers are the victims of companies' advertising. (3) According to this alternative view, companies have allegedly designed their advertising strategies to exploit potential irrationalities in order to foster higher rates of smoking. Section III explores the determinants of these risk beliefs, yielding some intriguing results. Better educated respondents do have more accurate beliefs, but because people generally overestimate the risks of smoking, the greater accuracy is reflected in a lower assessment of the risks. …

I See What You See: Eye Movements in Real-World Scenes Are Affected by Perceived Direction of Gaze

Abstract: In this chapter, we report an investigation the influence of the saliency of another person's direction of gaze on an observer's eye movements through real-world scenes. Participants' eye movements were recorded while they viewed a sequence of scene photographs that told a story. A subset of the scenes contained an actor. The actor's face was highly likely to be fixated, and when it was, the observer's next saccade was more likely to be toward the object that was the focus of the actor's gaze than in any other direction. Furthermore, when eye movement patterns did not show an immediate saccade to the focused object, observers were nonetheless more likely to fixate the focused object than a control object within close temporal proximity of fixation on the face. We conclude that during real-world scene perception, observers are sensitive to another's direction of gaze and use it to help guide their own eye movements.

Conscientiousness and Work Ethic Ideology A Facet-Level Analysis

Abstract: Prior research on work ethic ideology has tended to neglect the multidimensional nature of such ideology. To examine how different facets of work ethic ideology may be rooted in the basic personality construct of conscientiousness, 299 Americans completed a 133-item online survey that contained six facets of conscientiousness and seven different dimensions of work ethic ideology. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the conscientiousness facets of dutifulness and achievement striving were the two most consistent predictors of seven dimensions of work ethic ideology. Subsequent dominance analyses suggested that achievement striving, followed by dutifulness, tended to predict the most work ethic dimensions. Discussion focuses on the theoretical importance of using work ethic dimensions rather than global work ethic scores in future research.

Networking to Develop a Professional Identity: A Look at the First-Semester Experience of Doctoral Students in Business.

Abstract: Bringing together mentoring, social networks, and professional identity theories, this chapter explores how messages received from network partners influenced the professional identity development of business doctoral students in their first semester of study.

Constructing Threat and Appropriating “Civil Rights”: Rhetorical Strategies of Gun Rights and English Only Leaders

Abstract: Using a grounded theory method, we analyze the framing strategies of organizational leaders of the gun rights and English Only movements. Although we find greater variability in the framing strategies of English Only leaders, leaders of both movements mobilize fear by rhetorically constructing moral threats to American society in ways that draw on, and uphold, the ideals and practices of dominant social groups. In doing so, they appeal to their constituents’ status anxieties. We also find that these movements engage in a particular form of frame transformation that we call “frame appropriation” to counter opponents’ claims and broaden their support. Future research should examine when and how, and to what effect, other social movements similarly mobilize fear and engage in frame appropriation.

Free the animals? Investigating attitudes toward animal testing in Britain and the United States.

Abstract: In this study, 185 British and 143 American undergraduates completed a battery of tests that measured attitudes toward animal testing and various individual difference variables. Attitudes toward animal testing factored into two interpretable factors: general attitudes toward animal testing, and animal welfare and conditions of testing. Overall, there was support for animal testing under the right conditions, although there was also concern for the welfare of animals and the conditions under which testing takes place. There were small but significant national difference on both factors (with Americans more positive about testing and less positive about animal welfare), and a significant sex difference on the first factor (women were more negative about testing). Correlation and regression analyses showed that there were few significant individual difference predictors of both factors. These results are discussed in relation to past and future work on attitudes toward animal testing.

On Predicting Nucleation of Microcracks Due to Slip-Twin Interactions at Grain Boundaries in Duplex Near γ-TiAl

Abstract: Simkin et al. (2003, "A Factor to Predict Microcrack Nucleation at Gamma-Gamma Grain Boundaries in TiAl," Scr. Mater., 49(2), 149-154) proposed a relationship for predicting crack initiation in γ-TiAl in a scenario where a mechanical twin interacts with a grain boundary. This correlation (quantified using a fracture initiation parameter or fip) was based only on the geometry of the Burgers vectors as they are related to slip transfer across the grain boundary and the Mode I type opening force experienced by the grain boundary. Generally, a fip is a mathematical combination of factors that allow weak boundaries to be probabilistically identified in the context of a state of stress. This paper further develops this approach by considering the inclusion of the mismatch between the slip planes in the grain boundary and a parameter that accounts for the different elastic properties in adjoining grains. Also, the significance of primary twin (slip) systems versus secondary slip systems is assessed. When compared to fips that can be constructed through a variety of other combinations of nine geometrical parameters that could affect grain boundary damage nucleation, the fip obtained by multiplying Simkin's original parameter by E min /E max , the ratio of Young's modulus in the stress direction in the two grains, is best able to distinguish between cracked and intact grain boundary populations. Cracked and intact boundaries are also characterized to assess tilt and twist character and whether they are low Σ (or coincident site lattice) boundaries (using a cubic criterion). It is also shown that fips based on Σ values or the tilt and twist character of the boundary lead to an unacceptably high probability of incorrectly distinguishing between cracked and intact grain boundaries, implying that these are not critical parameters affecting crack nucleation at the grain boundary in duplex near-y TiAl. The paper closes with a discussion on how combined microscopic and crystal plasticity finite element analyses provide insights on local stress-strain relationships that can be used to evaluate a fip in the context of heterogeneous deformation in multigrain ensembles.

Beliefs about the meaning and measurement of intelligence: A cross-cultural comparison of American, British and Malaysian undergraduates

Abstract: This study examined lay beliefs about intelligence cross-culturally using a questionnaire based on an expert summary of what is known about intelligence. Two hundred and thirty five university undergraduates in Malaysia, 347 undergraduates in Britain and 137 undergraduates in the US rated for agreement 30 items about the nature, measurement, between-group differences and practical importance of intelligence. An exploratory factor analysis revealed three factors: (1) stability, reliability and validity of intelligence tests; (2) practical importance of intelligence and (3) source and stability of within-group intelligence. While the overall factor structure did not vary a great deal between groups, there were significant cross-cultural differences on the mean scores for Factors 1-3. Explanations for cross-cultural differences in implicit theories of intelligences are considered, and limitations of the study discussed.

Reproductive behavior of intersexes of an intertidal amphipod Corophium volutator

Abstract: . Intersexes are common in crustaceans. Typically, these intersexes are sterile or function as females, but prior evidence from laboratory experiments suggests that intersexes of a key species of gammaridean amphipod, Corophium volutator, might function as males. We observed that intersexes of C. volutator behaved as males by crawling (mate-searching) on a mudflat during ebb tides and pairing in burrows with female amphipods. In the laboratory, intersexes and males did not differ in aspects of crawling such as movement rate and measures of burrow investigation. I`ntersexuality was costly in that intersexes crawled less often than males on a mudflat, formed fewer pairs with females than males, and remained in tandem less often with receptive females than males. The use of PCR-based identification methods failed to identify the presence of transovarial, feminizing, microsporidian parasites as a major cause of intersexuality in this species in that infected females did not produce broods that contained more intersexes than broods produced by uninfected females. Because intersexes may be mistaken as females, the percentage of functional males in amphipod populations may be underestimated: an important consideration given male limitation in populations of C. volutator. The occurrence of intersexes has significant implications for studies on the evolution and ecology of sex ratios, and the use of crustaceans as indicators of environmental quality.

Rotating Dual-Wire Beam Profile Monitor Optimized for Use in Merged-Beams Experiments

Abstract: A rotating dual-wire beam profile monitor based upon a National Electrostatics Corporation Model BPM80 beam profile monitor is described. The device can measure beam profiles in two perpendicular directions (horizontal and vertical) in each of two pseudoplanes that are situated along the beam axis and are separated by a distance of 5.4 cm. The output signal from the device is analyzed in real time to yield horizontal and vertical beam profiles and to calculate the divergence of a particle beam that traverses the device. This set-up is well-suited for merged-beams experiments where one beam is tuned to saved profiles from a second beam in order to minimize the merge angle and beam divergences while maximizing the beam–beam overlaps.

In Their Own Words: Consequences 0f Child Labor in Urban Nigeria

Abstract: This paper utilizes a 2002 datasets gathered through interviews with 1,535 children (aged 8-14 years) and their parents in urban Nigeria to examine the dangers and hazards reported by children who work in the urban economy. Findings indicate that slightly over half of interviewed child laborers are female; they begin work as early as age 7; and work for an average of 4 hours a day in order to contribute financially to the sustenance of the family; and to acquire training needed in future occupations. The children come mostly from large households of about 6 persons, where many of their parents have low levels of education, income, and occupational statuses. Furthermore, because the sample is urban based, children come mostly from nuclear and monogamous households. A significant percentage of working children are involved in motor accidents, face attempted kidnapping, rape, and sexual molestation. Many are also invited by gangsters to participate in robbery and anti-social activities. Others suffer from physical exhaustion and pains due to frequent long walks. These health problems have detrimental effects on children's school attendance, punctuality, school performance, and leisure time. This study has policy implications for regulating child labor in Nigeria.

Choosing to believe

Abstract: This article defends a regulative ethics of voluntary belief. In order to determine the occasion and the scope of such an ethics, the article begins with an examination of the concept of belief in conversation with the view of J. L. Schellenberg. Next, against the dominant position in contemporary epistemology, it argues that some beliefs can be voluntary, in the sense that they are under the immediate control of the believer, and replies to William Alston’s influential objections to doxastic voluntarism. If some beliefs are subject to the immediate control of the believer, then in these cases believers are ethically responsible not only for how they investigate those beliefs, but also for the choice of whether or not to believe them. The article concludes by formulating and defending two types of regulative ethical principles governing voluntary belief.

Energy Collection Efficiency of Tungsten Transition-Edge Sensors in the Near-Infrared

Abstract: Single-photon detectors operating at visible and near-infrared wavelengths with high detection efficiency and low noise are a requirement for many quantum-information applications. Detection of visible and near-infrared light at the single-photon level and discrimination between one- and two-photon absorption events place stringent requirements on TES design in terms of heat capacity, thermometry, and optical detection efficiency. Energy loss in the conversion of the photon energy in tungsten TESs to heat degrades the performance of these devices. By fabricating TESs on surface-micromachined Si3N4 membranes we improved the energy collection efficiency by a factor of two, to ∼80% energy efficiency.

Low-energy charge transfer for collisions of Si3+ with atomic hydrogen

Abstract: Cross sections of charge transfer for Si{sup 3+} ions with atomic hydrogen at collision energies of {approx} 40-2500 eV/u were carried out using a merged-beam technique at the Multicharged Ion Research Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The data span an energy range in which both molecular orbital close coupling (MOCC) and classical trajectory Monte Carlo (CTMC) calculations are available. The influence of quantum mechanical effects of the ionic core as predicted by MOCC is clearly seen in our results. However, discrepancies between our experiment and MOCC results toward higher collision energies are observed. At energies above 1000 eV/u good agreement is found with CTMC results.

Taxonomic studies in the Miconieae (Melastomataceae). IX. Calycogonium formonense , a new species from the Massif de la Hotte, Haiti

Abstract: Calycogonium formonense, a new species, is here described from the floristically diverse Massif de la Hotte of southern Haiti. It is compared to C. hispidulum, to which it is likely related. Although the genus Calycogonium is not monophyletic, C. formonense and C. hispidulum are probably related to other species, e.g., C. calycopteris, C. heterophyllum, and C. reticulatum, that exhibit reduced inflorescences and 4-merous flowers having hypanthia with four conspicuous lobes separated by longitudinal grooves and external calyx lobes that are flattened parallel to the floral radii. These distinctive species may form a clade. Calycogonium formonense is distinguished from C. hispidulum by its smaller leaves with the tertiary veins not raised on the abaxial surface, with entire margins (i.e., margin without elongate multicellular hairs), and usually solitary flowers.