DePaul University

About: DePaul University is a education organization based out in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 5658 authors who have published 11562 publications receiving 295257 citations.

Locally adapted arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi improve vigor and resistance to herbivory of native prairie plant species

Abstract: Soil microbial communities contribute to ecosystem function and structure plant communities, but are altered by anthropogenic disturbance. Successful restoration may require microbial community restoration. Inoculation of plants with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) may improve ecological restoration, but AMF species that are locally adapted to native plant communities are often unavailable and commercially propagated AMF are not necessarily locally adapted to the desired plant community target. The disconnect between readily available commercial fungi and later-successional plants may inhibit successful establishment of the restoration. We tested this concept using four mid- to late successional prairie plant species planted with one of three inoculum sources: a locally adapted AMF mix cultured from native prairie, a non-locally adapted commercial AMF product, or a sterilized background soil control. The inoculated plants (termed nurse plants) were planted in the middle of field plots. In each plot, un...

The Link Between Religion and Helping Others: The Role of Values, Ideas, and Language

Abstract: This study used life narrative interview data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study to examine how religious values, ideas, and language motivate prosocial behaviors. Open coding of 88 in-depth interviews revealed six themes: defining morality in religious terms, considering religion an important aspect of one’s identity, feeling that one’s life involves carrying out God’s mission, making an increased commitment to religion over time, drawing an explicit connection between religion and helping others, and, for Christian respondents, finding inspiration for helping in Jesus’s teaching, example, and sacrifice. Using ratings from independent coders, statistically significant relationships were found between most of the themes and prosocial behaviors, particularly for respondents who engaged in multiple helping behaviors. In addition to documenting the relationship between religious ideas and values and helping behaviors, the study demonstrates how language mediates the relationship between the social and personal aspects of religion.

Effectiveness of Teacher-Child Interaction Training (TCIT) in a preschool setting.

Abstract: This research addressed the need for trained child care staff to support optimal early social-emotional development in urban, low-income, ethnic minority children. We evaluated effectiveness of Teacher-Child Interaction Training (TCIT), an approach adapted from Eyberg's Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). TCIT focuses on increasing preschool teachers' positive attention skills and consistent discipline in order to enhance children's psychosocial functioning and prevent mental health problems. A total of 12 teachers participated in small-group workshop sessions with in vivo coaching on their use of skills in the classroom. A multiple-baseline design across four classrooms (3 teachers each) evaluated effects of training on teacher behaviors during weekly classroom observations. Findings indicated systematic increases in trained skills during intervention, and consumer evaluations showed that the training was rated positively. Our results suggest that TCIT is a promising approach for enhancing positive teacher-child interactions in a preschool setting and should receive further investigation.

Robust Collaborative Recommendation

Abstract: Collaborative recommender systems are vulnerable to malicious users who seek to bias their output, causing them to recommend (or not recommend) particular items. This problem has been an active research topic since 2002. Researchers have found that the most widely-studied memory-based algorithms have significant vulnerabilities to attacks that can be fairly easily mounted. This chapter discusses these findings and the responses that have been investigated, especially detection of attack profiles and the implementation of robust recommendation algorithms.

Facing and Coping with Uncertainty During Organizational Encounter

Abstract: Drawing from previous “encounter” work by several researchers, this investigation identifies the types of uncertainty new hires experience and documents newcomers' information-seeking strategy preferences and target reliance patterns for coping with different forms of uncertainty. Organizational newcomers' (n = 200) uncertainty narratives reveal that new hires experience some uncertainty types more than others. Information-seeking strategy preference patterns reported in the article closely parallel those described by Miller. These patterns, although not affected by uncertainty type, are influenced by information-seeking strategy targets. New hire information target preferences were found to be influenced by type of uncertainty. Findings make a strong case for broadening the operationalization of information-seeking targets to include both intra- and extraorganizational sources. The final portion of the article discusses study limitations and directions for future research.