Showing papers by "Arizona State University published in 1988"

Curves and Surfaces for Computer-Aided Geometric Design: A Practical Guide

Abstract: From the Publisher: This book will be of interest to computer graphics enthusiasts, software developers for CAD/CAM systems, geometric modeling researchers, graphics programmers, academicians, and many others throughout the graphics community Assuming only a background in calculus and basic linear algebra, the author's informal and reader-friendly style makes the material accessible to a wide audience Finally, the included disk contains data sets and all of the C programs used in the book, making it easier for the user to gain first-hand experience with the concepts as they are explained This unified treatment of curve and surface design concepts focuses on Bezier and B-spline methods for curves, rational Bezier and B-spline curves, geometric continuity, spline interpolation, and Coons methods The fourth edition has been thoroughly updated and revised to include a new chapter on recursive subdivision, as well as new sections on triangulations and scattered data interpolants Finally, the disk in the back of the book has been updated to include all of the programs, as well as the data sets from the text

A Causal Model of Linkages Among Environmental Dimensions, Macro Organizational Characteristics, and Performance

Abstract: An integrative model of relationships among environmental dimensions, diversification strategy, firm size, structural divisionalization, and economic performance was developed and tested using environmental and organizational data from 110 large manufacturing firms. The results suggested that among those organizations, (1) higher levels of environmental instability were associated with lower levels of divisionalization and diversification, (2) strategy followed structure, and (3) size did not mediate the strategy-structure relationship. Furthermore, both environmental instability and diversification were positively related to market-determined performance, and instability was negatively related to operating performance. The results provided support for portions of each of three models, the external control, strategic management, and inertial models.

Experimental determination of the fluid-absent melting relations in the pelitic system

Abstract: In order to provide additional constraints on models for partial melting of common metasediments, we have studied experimentally the melting of a natural metapelite under fluid-absent conditions. The starting composition contains quartz, plagioclase, biotite, muscovite, garnet, staurolite, and kyanite. Experiments were done in a halfinch piston-cylinder apparatus at 7, 10, and 12 kbar and at temperatures ranging from 750° to 1250° C. The following reactions account for the mineralogical changes observed at 10 kbar between 750° and 1250° C: Bi+Als+Pl+Q=L+Gt+(Kf), Ky=Sill, Gt+Als=Sp+Q, Gt=L+Sp+Q, and Sp+Q=L+Als. The compositions of the phases (at T>875° C) were determined using an energy-dispersive system on a scanning electron microscope. The relative proportions of melt and crystals were calculated by mass balance and by processing images from the SEM. These constraints, together with other available experimental data, are used to propose a series of P-T, T-XH2O, and liquidus diagrams which represent a model for the fluid-present and fluid-absent melting of metapelites in the range 2–20 kbar and 600°–1250° C. We demonstrate that, even under fluid-absent conditions, a large proportion (≈40%) of S-type granitic liquid is produced within a narrow temperature range (850°–875° C), as a result of the reaction Bi+Als+Pl+Q=L+Gt(+/-Kf). Such liquids, or at least some proportion of them, are likely to segregate from the source, leaving behind a residue composed of quartz, garnet, sillimanite, plagioclase, representing a characteristic assemblage of aluminous granulites. The production of a large amount of melt at around 850° C also has the important effect of buffering the temperature of metamorphism. In a restitic, recycled, lower crust undergoing further metamorphism, temperature may reach values close to 1000° C due to the absence of this buffering effect. Partial melting is the main process leading to intracontinental differentiation. We discuss the crustal cross-section exposed in the North Pyrenean Zone in the context of our experiments and modelling.

Culture and interpersonal communication

Abstract: Culture and Communication Cultural Variability Situational Factors Self-Conceptions Verbal Communication Styles Nonverbal Dimensions and Context-Regulation Personality Social Cognitive Processes Affective Processes Interpersonal Relationships Intergroup Relationships Concluding Remarks

Profiting from controversy. Lessons from the person-situation debate.

Abstract: For the past two decades the person-situation debate has dominated personality psychology and had important repercussions in clinical, social, and organizational psychology. This controversy strikes to the heart of each of these disciplines because it puts on trial the central assumption that internal dispositions have an important influence on behavior. According to emerging views of scientific progress, controversy serves the useful function of narrowing the field of competing hypotheses. In this light, we examine seven hypotheses that arose during the course of the person-situation debate, ranging from most to least pessimistic about the existence of consensual, discriminative personality traits. The accumulated evidence fails to support the hypotheses that personality traits are simply (a) in the eye of the beholder, (b) semantic illusions, (c) artifacts of base-rate accuracy, (d) artifacts of shared stereotypes, (e) due to discussion between observers (who ignore behavior in favor of verbal self-presentation or reputation), or (f) mere by-products of situational consistencies. Evidence also fails to support the hypothesis (g) that although traits are related to behavior, the relationship is too small to be important. Yet we have not simply come full circle to a reacceptance of traits as they were understood 20 years ago. Research generated by these hypotheses has allowed us to better specify the circumstances under which personality assessments will be valid. Whether we are acting as professional psychologists, as academic psychologists, or simply as lay psychologists engaging in everyday gossip, the assumption that people have "traits" (or enduring cross-situational consistencies in their behavior) provides a basis for many of our decisions. When a clinical or counseling psychologist uses a standard assessment battery, he or she assumes that there is some degree of trait-like consistency in pathological behavior to be measured. When an organizational psychologist designs a personnel selection procedure, he or she assumes that consistent individual differences between the applicants are there to be found. When an academic psychologist teaches a course in personality, he or she must either assume some consistency in behavior or else face a bit of existential absurdity for at least three hours a week. Likewise, a good portion of our courses on clinical and developmental psychology would be unimaginable unless we assumed some cross-situational consistency. Even in everyday lay psychology, our attempts to analyze the behaviors of our friends, relatives, and co-workers are riddled with assumptions about personality traits. Despite the wide appeal of the trait assumption, personality psychologists have been entangled for some time in a debate about whether it might be based more on illusion than reality (e.g., Alker, 1972; Allport, 1966; Argyle & Little, 1972; Bem, 1972; Block, 1968, 1977; Bowers, 1973; Epstein, 1977, 1979, 1980; Fiske, 1974; Gormly & Edelberg, 1974; Hogan, DeSoto, & Solano, 1977; Hunt, 1965; Magnusson & Endler, 1977; Mischel, 1968, 1983; West, 1983). Murmurs of the current debate could be heard more than 40 years ago (Ichheisser, 1943), but the volume increased markedly after Mischel's (1968) critique, and things have not quieted down yet (Bem, 1983; Epstein, 1983; Funder, 1983; Kenrick, 1986; Mischel, 1983; Mischel & Peake, 1982, 1983). Of late, discussants have begun to express yearning to end what some see as an endless cycle of repeating the same arguments. Mischel and Peake (1982) and Bem (1983), for instance, both use the term ddjd vu in the titles of recent contributions, suggesting that they feel as if they have been here before. Other commentators maintain that the debate has been a "pseudo-controversy" (Carlson, 1984; Endler, 1973)that never should have occurred in the first place. However fatiguing it may now seem to some of its erstwhile protagonists, the debate over the alleged inconsistency of personality has been more than an exercise in sophistry. In the course of the nearly two decades since Mischers (1968) critique, a number of provocative hypotheses have been put forward, along with a host of studies to evaluate them. Platt (1964) and Popper (1959), among others, maintained that science typically progresses through the accumulation of negative informat iontha t is, by eliminating hypotheses that data suggest are no longer tenable. From this perspective, it may be worth taking a look back at the hypotheses suggested during the consistency controversy, this time in the improved light shed by two decades of research. In this light, the debate can be seen as an intellectually stimulating chapter in the history of the discipline, replete with useful lessons for professionals who include assessment in their repertoire. The "Pure Trait" Mode l and Its Alternatives Discussions of the "person versus situation" debate traditionally begin with the "pure trait" model (Alston, 1975; January 1988 9 American Psychologist Copyright 1988 by the Amtxican Psychological Association. Inc. 0003-066X/88/$00.75 Vol. 43, No. 1, 23-34 23 Argyle & Little, 1972; Mischel, 1968): that people show powerful, unmodulated consistencies in their behavior across time and diverse situations. This position has been attacked frequently over the years. However, it is really just a "straw man," and even traditional personality researchers find it unacceptable (see, e.g., Allport, 1931, 1966; Block, 1977; Hogan et al., 1977; Jackson, 1983; Wiggins, 1973; Zuroff, 1986). Complete invariance in behavior is associated more with severe psychopathology than with "normal" behavior. If the consensus rejects the "pure trait" position, then what can replace it? Several alternative hypotheses have been advanced over the years. These hypotheses differ with regard to four issues, which can be arranged into a logical hierarchy: 1. Consensus versus solipsism. Are traits merely idiosyncratic constructs that reside solely inside the heads of individual observers, or can observers reach agreement in applying trait terms? 2. Discriminativeness versus generality. I f observers can agree with one another in ascribing traits to targets, is it simply because they apply a nondiscriminative "one size fits all" approach? 3. Behavior versus labeling. I f observers can agree with one another, and can also differentiate between who is low or high on a given trait, does this occur because they really observe behavior? Or do they merely provide their judgments based on superficial stereotypes, targets' self-presentations, or other socially assigned labels? 4. Internal versus external locus of causal explanation. If observers can agree with one another and can distinguish individual differences on the basis of actual behavior of the people they are observing, are the causes ofthese consistencies located within each person or within his or her situation and role? Each of these issues depends on the resolution of those earlier in the list. For instance, if observers cannot agree with one another about who has which traits, there is no point in going on to debate whether traits have a behavioral basis. Ultimately, assumptions about traits must pass the tests of consensus, discriminativeness, behavioral foundation, and internality. We will discuss seven hypotheses that assume that traits fail one or more of these tests. In Table 1, we list the hypotheses in terms of the four hierarchical issues just discussed. As can be seen, the hypotheses can be arranged more or less in order of their pessimism regarding the existence of (consensually verifiable, discriminative, internal) trait-like consistencies. I We will consider each hypothesis in its purest form and, for the moment, disregard the various qualifications that have sometimes been attached to each. Placing each hypothesis in bold relief allows us to assess it most clearly, and philosophers of science tell us that we learn most when hypotheses are stated in such a way as to allow disproof(e.g., Platt, 1964; Popper, 1959). Moreover, each of these hypotheses has, at some time, actually been stated in its bold form. In 1968, for instance, one social psychologist argued that T a b l e 1 Hierarchy of Hypotheses From the Person-Situation Controversy, Arranged From Most to Least Pessimistic Cdtical assumptions Hypotheses

Reasons for studying: Motivational orientations and study strategies.

Abstract: This study explored the relationship among (a) individual differences in three motivational or goal orientations and (b) valuing and use of study strategies by eighth graders reading expository passages. Task orientation (the goal of learning or understanding for its own sake) was positively correlated with both perceived value and use of strategies requiring deep processing of information. To a lesser degree, task orientation correlated with valuing and use of strategies requiring only surface-level processing. Ego orientation (the goal of demonstrating high ability relative to others) was positively related to use and perceived value of surface-level strategies only. Work avoidance (academic alienation) was negatively related to use and valuing of both kinds of strategies. A path analysis indicated that task orientation, more than perceived ability or knowledge of the value of deep-processing strategies, predicts the spontaneous use of these strategies. That the prediction held over an interval of 4 to ...

Signal enhancement-a composite property mapping algorithm

Abstract: A signal enhancement algorithm is developed that seeks to recover a signal from noise-contaminated distorted measurements made on that signal. This object is achieved by utilizing a set of properties which the signal is known or is hypothesized as possessing. The measured signal is modified to the smallest degree necessary to sequentially possess each of the individual properties. Conditions for the algorithm's convergence are established in which the primary requirement is that a composite property mapping be closed. This is a relatively unrestricted condition in comparison to that required of most existing signal-enhancement algorithms. >

Nest Predation and Nest-Site Selection of a Western Population of the Hermit Thrush

Abstract: Audubon's Hermit Thrushes (Catharus guttatus auduboni) in central Arizona have a low nesting success (7 to 20%) due almost exclusively to nest predation. We examine the sites chosen for nesting and compare them to nonuse sites randomly selected within the vegetation types associated with nests. Hermit Thrush nest sites differ from nonuse sites primarily in that nest sites have more small (1to 3-m tall) white firs (Abies concolor) in the patch (5-m radius circle) surrounding the nest. Hermit Thrushes nest almost exclusively in small white firs and they do not forage in or near them. Hermit Thrushes may select nest sites that have a large number of other potential nest sites (i.e., small white firs) near the nest because predation risk is thereby reduced. Indeed, nests with a high probability of predation were surrounded by a lower density of small white firs than more successful nests. However, low predation nests also were more concealed than high predation nests. Nestsite selection appears to be a function of characteristics in the immediate vicinity of the nest (concealment, overhead cover, nest orientation), but also on a larger scale surrounding the nest. Consideration of nest-site selection on this larger scale may cast light on the question of whether nest sites limit territory and habitat selection by birds.

An Investigation of Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis Techniques for Computer Models

Abstract: Many different techniques have been proposed for performing uncertainty and sensitivity analyses on computer models for complex processes. The objective of the present study is to investigate the applicability of three widely used techniques to three computer models having large uncertainties and varying degrees of complexity in order to highlight some of the problem areas that must be addressed in actual applications. The following approaches to uncertainty and sensitivity analysis are considered: (1) response surface methodology based on input determined from a fractional factorial design; (2) Latin hypercube sampling with and without regression analysis; and (3) differential analysis. These techniques are investigated with respect to (1) ease of implementation, (2) flexibility, (3) estimation of the cumulative distribution function of the output, and (4) adaptability to different methods of sensitivity analysis. With respect to these criteria, the technique using Latin hypercube sampling and regression analysis had the best overall performance. The models used in the investigation are well documented, thus making it possible for researchers to make comparisons of other techniques with the results in this study.

Planning and financial performance among small firms in a growth industry

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between planning process sophistication and the financial performance of a select group of small firms in a growth industry. Multivariate analysis of variance is used to identify statistically significant differences between firms that employ sophisticated plans and those that do not. The results support previous research on strategic planning and financial performance.

Word identification in reading proceeds from spelling to sound to meaning.

Abstract: Van Orden (1987) reported that false positive errors in a categorization task are elevated for homophonic foils (e.g., HARE for A PART OF THE HUMAN BODY). Two new experiments replicate this finding and extend it to nonword homophone foils (e.g., SUTE FOR AN ARTICLE OF CLOTHING). False positive errors to nonword homophone foils substantially exceed false positive errors to nonhomophonic nonword spelling controls, showing that the phonological characteristics of the nonword foils are critical. Because nonwords are not represented in the lexicon, this new result implicates computed phonological codes as a source of the categorization errors. Additionally, in each of two experiments, matched word and nonword homophones produced virtually identical error rates. If stimulus nonword homophones are viewed as extremely unfamiliar words, compared with the relatively familiar stimulus word homophones, then our failure to observe an effect of stimulus familiarity strengthens the case that phonological coding plays a role in the identification of all printed words. The fact that the results are obtained in a categorization task that requires reading for meaning (rather than a lexical decision task) makes it difficult to avoid the conclusion that phonological mediation plays a role in normal reading of text for meaning.

Self‐report as an approach to measuring communication competence

Abstract: Approaches to measurement of communication competence are reviewed. The self‐report approach to measurement of communication competence is examined. It is concluded that self‐reports have little validity as indicants of competent communicative performances but may serve as useful measures of self‐perceptions which may function as precursors of communicative choices. The Self‐Perceived Communication Competence scale is suggested as a measure which can he used for such purposes.

Expert-Novice Differences in Perceiving and Processing Visual Classroom Information:

Abstract: Findings from a study designed to examine differences in ex pert and novice teachers' information processing are pre sented. Specifically, results are described which suggest differ ences in the ways expert, novice, and "postulant" teachers perceive, understand, monitor, and process visual information in classrooms. Expert, novice, and postulant subjects were asked to view a series of slides taken in science and mathema tics classrooms and to discuss their perceptions about and reactions to visual stimuli. Subjects were asked to respond to structured interview questions both orally and in writing; the responses were recorded and transcribed for analysis. Protocols and written responses were analyzed through a multi-step, itera tive process designed to determine patterns, trends, and differ ences in both kind and quantity of responses. Results suggested that experts, novices, and postulants differed with respect to their abilities to perceive and interpret classroom information. Experts appeared better abl...

Evolutionary costs of aggression revealed by testosterone manipulations in free-living male lizards

Abstract: We examined the hypothesis that increased aggression results in decreased survivorship. We tested this hypothesis by increasing aggression of free-living male lizards Sceloporus jarrovi with testosterone implants and evaluating the effects on survivorship. A previous study showed that testosterone-implanted males were more aggressive than controls, suggesting a greater degree of success in male-male competition. Results of the present study show that the same testosterone-implanted lizards experienced greater mortality. Testosterone-treated males were also seen more frequently and more conspicuous ones were less likely to survive. Testosterone-treated males lost more weight over the summer. In controls, survivorship was negatively correlated with the body weight index. These data suggest that conspicuousness and energetic demands interact in their influence on survivorship. Thus, the natural plasma level of testosterone may be at an optimal level balancing any potential selection pressures for a higher level of testosterone through sexual selection with selection pressures for a lower level through a decrease in survivorship.

The Far-Ultraviolet Spectra of Early-Type Galaxies

Abstract: New and revised ultraviolet energy distributions ar presented based on 97 IUE spectra of 31 early-type galaxies and the bulge of M31. Based on optical spectra and morphology, the sample galaxies are divided into star-forming galaxies, active galaxies, and quiescent galaxies. A well-defined nonlinear relationship between (1550-V) color and Mg2 for the 24 quiescent galaxies is obtained. The ultraviolet spectra of these galaxies can be modeled as a sum of two components: a normal, cool stellar population of main-sequence and giant branch stars that is redder at high Mg2, plus a very blue population having a steeply rising UV flux below 2000 A that increases in strength with metallicity. The UV spectra of star-forming galaxies are significantly flatter than the very blue component of quiescent galxies and are consistent with aging bursts of star formation. Two sample population models are explored for the blue stellar component of quiescent galaxies: postasymptotic giant branch stars and young stars from continuing star formation.

On the advantage of being different: Nest predation and the coexistence of bird species

Abstract: A long-standing debate in ecology centers on identifying the processes that determine which species coexist in a local community. Partitioning of resources, where species differ in resource use, is often thought to reflect the primary role of competition in determining coexistence of species. However, in theory predation can favor similar patterns. This theory premises that predators increase their search intensity with increasing density of prey. One set of experiments reported here supports this premise based on predators that search for bird nests. A second set of experiments documents that predation rates are lower when nest sites are partitioned among different sites than when the same number of nests are placed in similar sites. Moreover, predation rates on experimental nests are more similar to rates on real nests when experimental nests are partitioned among different sites. These results provide support for a hypothesis that nest predation is a process that can favor coexistence of bird species that partition resources, where nest sites are the resources.

Processes organizing open-nesting bird assemblages: competition or nest predation?

Abstract: The addition of nest predation as a major process to current theories of space utilization and coexistence of open-nesting bird species adds predictive power to hypotheses of resource partitioning and organization of species assemblages. Nest predation can influence the organization of assemblages if predators respond to nests in a density-dependent manner and if predators specialize on nest types. Evidence shows that nest predation is commonly density-dependent and that predators can specialize on nest types. Consequently, nest predation can select for coexistence of bird species that nest at different heights and in different microhabitats (i.e. partitioning of nesting space) to minimize density-dependent responses of predators to the accumulating densities of species within similar nest sites. I establish a series of predicted patterns (1) to test whether predation is operating to influence partitioning of space and coexistence of species, (2) to distinguish effects of nest predation from competition, and (3) to determine the mechanism by which nest predation acts to organize assemblages. Using published and unpublished data to test the predictions, nest predation is seen as a process that we can no longer afford to ignore.

Etzioni's model of organizational involvement: A perspective for understanding commitment to organizations

Abstract: There are two predominant views of organizational commitment: instrumental and affective. The purpose of the paper is to explore the extent to which an adapted version of Etzioni's macro organizational model of involvement may serve as a single model of both affective and instrumental perspectives of organizational commitment. Moral commitment and alienative commitment are treated as affective forms of organizational attachment, and calculative commitment is treated as an instrumental form of organizational attachment. The paper employs five samples for the investigation. It develops scales for measuring each of the three dimensions of commitment. The paper concludes that organizational commitment is multidimensional. It also concludes that employees report a mixture of commitment types. Evidence is offered in support of the affective character of moral and alienative commitment. Although the evidence is equivocal, there is support for the independence of the two dimensions of affective commitment: moral and alienative. Evidence is also offered for the differential association of the three dimensions of organizational commitment with related aspects of organizational behavior. The paper extends our understanding of organizational commitment by providing a place for both instrumental and affective forms of psychological attachment to organizations. It offers scales which may be used for future research, and it suggests research which may extend the adapted model in this paper as well as provide direction for practising managers.

A pareto race

Abstract: A dynamic and visual “free-search” type of interactive procedure for multiple-objective linear programming is presented. The method enables a decision maker to freely search any part of the efficient frontier by controlling the speed and direction of motion. The objective function values are represented in numeric form and as bar graphs on a display. The method is implemented on an IBM PC/1 microcomputer and is illustrated using a multiple-objective linear-programming model for managing disposal of sewage sludge in the New York Bight. Some other applications are also briefly discussed.

Organic matter in carbonaceous chondrites, planetary satellites, asteroids and comets

Abstract: A detailed review is given of the organic compounds found in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, especially the Murchison meteorite, and detected spectroscopically in other solar-system objects. The chemical processes by which the organic compounds could have formed in the early solar system and the conditions required for these processes are discussed, taking into account the possible alteration of the compounds during the lifetime of the meteoroid. Also considered are the implications for prebiotic evolution and the origin of life. Diagrams, graphs, and tables of numerical data are provided.

Capacity Management in Health Care Services: Review and Future Research Directions*

Abstract: Health care has undergone a number of radical changes during the past five years. These include increased competition, fixed-rate reimbursement systems, declining hospital occupancy rates, and growth in health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations. Given these changes in the manner in which health care is provided, contracted, and paid for, it is appropriate to review the past research on capacity management and to determine its relevance to the changing industry. This paper provides a review, classification, and analysis of the literature on this topic. In addition, future research needs are discussed and specific problem areas not dealt with in the previous literature are targeted.

Systems of ordinary differential equations which generate an order preserving flow. A survey of results

Abstract: This article consists of a survey of results concerning the qualitative behavior of solutions of systems of ordinary differential equations which generate an order preserving flow We restrict our consideration to partial orderings on $R^n $ induced by any one of its orthants; a flow preserves ordering if any two solutions $x(t)$ and $y(t)$ are ordered, $x(t) \leqq y(t)$, for all $t > 0$ whenever $x(0) \leqq y(0)$ Many of the important results for such systems have only recently been obtained, principally by M W Hirsch, who pointed out the tendency of their solutions to converge to equilibrium Less well known are some global geometric constraints on the stable manifold of an equilibrium and the existence of heteroclinic orbits connecting ordered equilibria A particularly striking result for this class of systems is the easily computable necessary and sufficient condition for stability of an equilibriumOne of our main goals is to show that by allowing partial orderings on $R^n $ generated by orthants

Formal Reasoning Ability and Misconceptions concerning Genetics and Natural Selection.

Abstract: Students often hold misconceptions about natural phenomena. To overcome misconceptions students must become aware of the scientific conceptions, the evidence that bears on the validity of their misconceptions and the scientific conceptions, and they must be able to generate the logical relationships among the evidence and alternative conceptions. Because formal operational reasoning patterns are necessary to generate these logical relationships, it was predicted that, following instruction, formal operational students would hold significantly fewer misconceptions than their concrete operational classmates. To test this hypothesis 131 seventh-grade students were administered an essay test on principles of genetics and natural selection following instruction. Responses were categorized in terms of the number of misconceptions present. The number of misconceptions was compared to reasoning ability (concrete, transitional, formal), mental capacity (<6, 6, 7), verbal intelligence (low, medium, high), and cognitive style (field dependent, intermediate, field independent). The only student variable consistently and significantly related to the number of misconceptions was reasoning ability; thus, support for the major hypothesis of the study was obtained.

Toward a Theory of Small Firm Performance: A Conceptual Model:

Abstract: A conceptual model of small firm performance is developed based on extant theory in strategy, entrepreneurship and organization theory. It provides a framework for the study of the interrelationships among entrepreneurial characteristics, contextual factors and performance outcomes. It is considered a first step toward a limited domain theory of small firm performance.