Showing papers by "Florida State University published in 1993"

The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance.

Abstract: because observed behavior is the result of interactions between environmental factors and genes during the extended period of development. Therefore, to better understand expert and exceptional performance, we must require that the account specify the different environmental factors that could selectively promote and facilitate the achievement of such performance. In addition, recent research on expert performance and expertise (Chi, Glaser, & Farr, 1988; Ericsson & Smith, 1991a) has shown that important characteristics of experts' superior performance are acquired through experience and that the effect of practice on performance is larger than earlier believed possible. For this reason, an account of exceptional performance must specify the environmental circumstances, such as the duration and structure of activities, and necessary minimal biological attributes that lead to the acquisition of such characteristics and a corresponding level of performance. An account that explains how a majority of individuals can attain a given level of expert performance might seem inherently unable to explain the exceptional performance of only a small number of individuals. However, if such an empirical account could be empirically supported, then the extreme characteristics of experts could be viewed as having been acquired through learning and adaptation, and studies of expert performance could provide unique insights into the possibilities and limits of change in cognitive capacities and bodily functions. In this article we propose a theoretical framework that explains expert performance in terms of acquired characteristics resulting from extended deliberate practice and that limits the role of innate (inherited) characteristics to general levels of activity and emotionality. We provide empirical support from two new studies and from already published evidence on expert performance in many different domains.

Psychology of Learning for Instruction

Abstract: I. INTRODUCTION. 1. Introduction to Theories of Learning and Instruction. II. LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR. 2. Radical Behaviorism. III. LEARNING AND COGNITION. 3. Cognitive Information Processing. 4. Meaningful Learning and Schema Theory. 5. Situated Learning. IV. LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT. 6. Cognitive and Knowledge Development. 7. Interactional Theories of Cognitive Development. V. LEARNING AND BIOLOGY. 8. Biological Bases of Learning and Memory. VI. LEARNING AND MOTIVATION. 9. Motivation and Self-Regulation in Learning. VII. LEARNING AND INSTRUCTION. 10. Gagne's Theory of Instruction. 11. Constructivism. VIII. EPILOGUE. 12. Toward a Personal Theory of Learning and Instruction.

Emotion in the criminal psychopath: startle reflex modulation.

Abstract: Startle-elicited blinks were measured during presentation of affective slides to test hypotheses concerning emotional responding in psychopaths. Subjects were 54 incarcerated sexual offenders divided into nonpsychopathic, psychopathic, and mixed groups based on file and interview data. Consistent with findings for normal college students, nonpsychopaths and mixed subjects showed a significant linear relationship between slide valence and startle magnitude, with startle responses largest during unpleasant slides and smallest during pleasant slides. This effect was absent in psychopaths. Group differences in startle modulation were related to affective features of psychopathy, but not to antisocial behavior per se. Psychopathy had no effect on autonomic or self-report responses to slides. These results suggest an abnormality in the processing of emotional stimuli by psychopaths that manifests itself independently of affective report.

Regression with dummy variables

Abstract: Introduction Creating Dummy Variables Using Dummy Variables as Regressors Assessing Group Differences in Effects Alternative Coding Schemes for Dummy Variables Special Topics in the Use of Dummy Variables Conclusions

Primary production control of methane emission from wetlands

Abstract: Based on simultaneous measurements of CO2 and CH4 exchange in wetlands extending from subarctic peatlands to subtropical marshes, a positive correlation between CH4 emission and net ecosystem production is reported. It is suggested that net ecosystem production is a master variable integrating many factors which control CH4 emission in vegetated wetlands. It is found that about 3 percent of the daily net ecosystem production is emitted back to the atmosphere as CH4. With projected stimulation of primary production and soil microbial activity in wetlands associated with elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration, the potential for increasing CH4 emission from inundated wetlands, further enhancing the greenhouse effect, is examined.

High-resolution conformation of gramicidin A in a lipid bilayer by solid-state NMR

Abstract: Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of uniformly aligned preparations of gramicidin A in lipid bilayers has been used to elucidate a high-resolution dimeric structure of the cation channel conformation solely on the basis of the amino acid sequence and 144 orientational constraints. This initial structure defines the helical pitch as single-stranded, fixes the number of residues per turn at six to seven, specifies the helix sense as right-handed, and identifies the hydrogen bonds. Refinement of this initial structure yields reasonable hydrogen-bonding distances with only minimal changes in the torsion angles.

Understanding regression assumptions

Abstract: Introduction A Formal Presentation of the Regression Assumptions A 'Weighty' Illustration The Consequences of the Regression Assumptions Being Satisfied The Substantive Meaning of Regression Assumptions Conclusion

Development of young readers' phonological processing abilities

Abstract: In a cross-sectional study of 184 kindergarten and 2nd grade students, confirmatory factor analysis of a battery of phonological and control tasks were used to compare alternative models of young readers' phonological processing abilities. We found evidence for 5 distinct but correlated phonological processing abilities. Latent phonological processing abilities were more highly correlated with general cognitive ability than previous reports would suggest, although they accounted for variance in word recognition independent of general cognitive ability. The results of this study, coupled with those of a previous study of prereaders, suggest that phonological abilities are best conceptualized as relatively stable and coherent individual difference attributes, as opposed to relatively unstable measures of reading-related knowledge

Differences in Managerial Values: A Study of U.S., Hong Kong and PRC Managers

Abstract: In this study of convergence/divergence of managerial values, four Western-developed measures (Machiavellianism, locus of control, intolerance of ambiguity and dogmatism) and the four dimensions of the Eastern-developed Chinese Value Survey (Confucian dynamism, human-heartedness, integration, and moral discipline) were the measures used. The findings indicate that often times both culture and the business environment interact to create a unique set of managerial values in a country.

An introduction to wavelet analysis in oceanography and meteorology - With application to the dispersion of Yanai waves

Abstract: Wavelet analysis is a relatively new technique that is an important addition to standard signal analysis methods. Unlike Fourier analysis that yields an average amplitude and phase for each harmonic in a dataset, the wavelet transform produces an instantaneous estimate or local value for the amplitude and phase of each harmonic. This allows detailed study of nonstationary spatial or time-dependent signal characteristics. The wavelet transform is discussed, examples are given, and some methods for preprocessing data for wavelet analysis are compared. By studying the dispersion of Yanai waves in a reduced gravity equatorial model, the usefulness of the transform is demonstrated. The group velocity is measured directly over a finite range of wavenumbers by examining the time evolution of the transform. The results agree well with linear theory at higher wavenumber but the measured group velocity is reduced at lower wavenumbers, possibly due to interaction with the basin boundaries.

Bank efficiency derived from the profit function

Abstract: Both input and output inefficiencies are derived from a profit function for US banks. These inefficiencies are decomposed into allocative and technical components in a new way using shadow prices. About half of all potential variable profits are estimated to be lost to inefficiency. Most inefficiencies are from deficient output revenues, rather than excessive input costs. Larger banks are found to be more efficient than smaller banks, which may offset scale diseconomies found elsewhere. Tests of a new concept, ‘optimal scope economies’, suggest that joint production is optimal for most banks, but that specialization is optimal for others.

New Monte Carlo algorithm: Entropic sampling.

Abstract: We present a new Monte Carlo sampling algorithm, with which one can obtain any desired distribution of the sampling in one Monte Carlo simulation The free energy and the entropy of a system can thus be obtained from a simple exercise of this algorithm The main idea is to sample directly the entropy of a system at infinite temperature Importance sampling is shown to be a particular case of the new algorithm The algorithm is tested against the exact partition function of the [ital L]=4 simple cubic Ising model A comparison with the multicanonical ensemble for the [ital L]=12, [ital q]=10 Potts model shows that the new algorithm is more general and more efficient

Constructivist values for instructional systems design: Five principles toward a new mindset

Abstract: In this article, the implications of constructivism for instructional systems design (ISD) are summarized as five principles that integrate the affective and cognitive domains of learning In contrast to current views, it is suggested that constructivist philosophy offers instructional designers an alternative set of values that may significantly influence the emphasis of ISD methods without undermining the coherence and consistency of the ISD model Distinguishing characteristics of the two approaches are described, based on a review of recent literature The article concludes with the assertion that the influence of constructivist philosophy on ISD should be to focus attention on critical enabling objectives traditionally overlooked by instructional designers

College Students’ Racial Attitudes

Abstract: Factor analyses of responses from white (N= 260) and black (N= 81) college students in two neighboring universities were utilized to develop contemporary measures of racial attitudes and of the degree of interracial contact experienced by blacks and by whites. Two sets of 112 attitudinal statements were utilized for the initial factor analyses, one set for black respondents and one for whites. About 60% of the items in the two sets were identical or the same except that the racial designations were reversed. Two 20-item racial attitude scales were derived from the factor analyses, one for blacks and one for whites. For students of each race, scores on the attitude measure showed a weak but significant relationship with a 16-item self-report scale of amount of interracial contact experienced, past and present. The relationship of these scales to earlier racial attitude measures (symbolic racism, modern racism, the MRAI, value rankings) were assessed. Second-order factor analyses suggested that the black students’ racial attitudes were more heterogeneous than were the white students’ racial attitudes. In general, black respondents tended to show more support than whites for programs designed to increase opportunities for, and recognition of, blacks. Black students also tended to endorse a greater degree of social distance between the races than white students did. The pattern of relationships between racial attitudes and sociopolitical issues differed for whites and blacks.

Prediction of peptide conformation by multicanonical algorithm: new approach to the multiple-minima problem

Abstract: We apply a recently developed method, the multicanonical algorithm, to the problem of tertiary structure prediction of peptides and proteins As a simple example to test the effectiveness of the algorithm, metenkephalin is studied and the ergodicity problem, or multiple-minima problem, is shown to be overcome by this algorithm The lowest-energy conformation obtained agrees with that determined by other efficient methods such as Monte Carlo simulated annealing The superiority of the present method to simulated annealing lies in the fact that the relationship to the canonical ensemble remains exactly controlled Once the multicanonical parameters are determined, only one simulation run is necessary to obtain the lowest-energy conformation and further the results of this one run can be used to calculate various thermodynamic quantities at any temperature

Noises in the Blood: Orality, Gender, and the"Vulgar" Body of Jamaican Popular Culture

Abstract: The language of Jamaican popular culture--its folklore, idioms, music, poetry, song--even when written is based on a tradition of sound, an orality that has often been denigrated as not worthy of serious study. In "Noises in the Blood," Carolyn Cooper critically examines the dismissed discourse of Jamaica's vibrant popular culture and reclaims these cultural forms, both oral and textual, from an undeserved neglect.Cooper's exploration of Jamaican popular culture covers a wide range of topics, including Bob Marley's lyrics, the performance poetry of Louise Bennett, Mikey Smith, and Jean Binta Breeze, Michael Thelwell's novelization of "The Harder They Come," the Sistren Theater Collective's "Lionheart Gal," and the vitality of the Jamaican DJ culture. Her analysis of this cultural "noise" conveys the powerful and evocative content of these writers and performers and emphasizes their contribution to an undervalued Caribbean identity. Making the connection between this orality, the feminized Jamaican "mother tongue," and the characterization of this culture as low or coarse or vulgar, she incorporates issues of gender into her postcolonial perspective. Cooper powerfully argues that these contemporary vernacular forms must be recognized as genuine expressions of Jamaican culture and as expressions of resistance to marginalization, racism, and sexism.With its focus on the continuum of oral/textual performance in Jamaican culture, "Noises in the Blood," vividly and stylishly written, offers a distinctive approach to Caribbean cultural studies.

On the relation between rainfall and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index for diverse vegetation types in East Africa

Abstract: This study is an investigation of the relation between the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and rainfall in East Africa. The temporal and spatial patterns of both variables and their inter-relationships are evaluated. The NDVI and rain-fall associations are analysed for ten vegetation formations of East Africa: four forest zones, two woodland zones, and four drier bush, thicket and grassland types. There is a strong similarity between temporal and spatial patterns of NDVI when annual rainfall is below about 1000 mm and monthly rainfall does not exceed ∼ 200 mm. In this range, NDVI is also a sensitive indicator of the inter-annual variability of rainfall. The overall relation between NDVI and rainfall is log-linear and the correlation between annually-integrated NDVI and the log of annual rainfall at 65 stations is 0–89. The best correlation on a monthly time scale is between the monthly composite NDVI and a three-month average of rainfall in the concurrent and two previous months. Co...

Cluster algorithm for vertex models.

Abstract: We present a new type of cluster algorithm that strongly reduces critical slowing down in simulations of vertex models. Since the clusters are closed paths of bonds, we call it the loop algorithm. The basic steps in constructing a cluster are the breakup and the freezing of vertices. We concentrate on the case of the F model, which is a subset of the six-vertex model exhibiting a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. The loop algorithm is also applicable to simulations of other vertex models and of one- and two-dimensional quantum spin systems.

Empirically-Based Guidelines for the Design of Interactive Multimedia.

Abstract: While interest in interactive multimedia continues to grow, thus far its activities have been driven more by technological capacity than research and theory. Typically, guidelines for interactive multimedia design are based not upon empirical evidence, but on the intuitive beliefs of designers. In this article, relevant research and theory are organized within an overarching framework, and their principles and implications for the design of interactive multimedia are derived.

Excitation spectrum of Heisenberg spin ladders.

Abstract: Heisenberg antiferromagnetic spin ``ladders'' (two coupled spin chains) are low-dimensional magnetic systems which for S=1/2 interpolate between half-integer-spin chains, when the chains are decoupled, and effective integer-spin one-dimensional chains in the strong-coupling limit. The spin-1/2 ladder may be realized in nature by vanadyl pyrophosphate, (VO${)}_{2}$${\mathrm{P}}_{2}$${\mathrm{O}}_{7}$. In this paper we apply strong-coupling perturbation theory, spin-wave theory, Lanczos techniques, and a Monte Carlo method to determine the ground-state energy and the low-lying excitation spectrum of the ladder. We find evidence of a nonzero spin gap for all interchain couplings ${\mathit{J}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\perp}}}$g0. A band of spin-triplet excitations above the gap is also analyzed. These excitations are unusual for an antiferromagnet, since their long-wavelength dispersion relation behaves as (k-${\mathit{k}}_{0}$${)}^{2}$ (in the strong-coupling limit ${\mathit{J}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\perp}}}$\ensuremath{\gg}J, where J is the in-chain antiferromagnetic coupling). Their band is folded, with a minimum energy at ${\mathit{k}}_{0}$=\ensuremath{\pi}, and a maximum between ${\mathit{k}}_{1}$=\ensuremath{\pi}/2 (for ${\mathit{J}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\perp}}}$=0) and 0 (for ${\mathit{J}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\perp}}}$=\ensuremath{\infty}). We also give numerical results for the dynamical structure factor S(q,\ensuremath{\omega}), which can be determined in neutron scattering experiments. Finally, possible experimental techniques for studying the excitation spectrum are discussed.

The impact of gun control and gun ownership levels on violence rates

Abstract: What effects do gun control restrictions and gun prevalence have on rates of violence and crime? Data were gathered for all 170 U.S. cities with a 1980 population of at least 100,000. The cities were coded for the presence of 19 major categories of firearms restriction, including both state- and city-level restrictions. Multiple indirect indicators of gun prevalence levels were measured and models of city violence rates were estimated using two-stage least-squares methods. The models covered all major categories of intentional violence and crime which frequently involve guns: homicide, suicide, fatal gun accidents, robbery, and aggravated assaults, as well as rape. Findings indicate that (1) gun prevalence levels generally have no net positive effect on total violence rates, (2) homicide, gun assault, and rape rates increase gun prevalence, (3) gun control restrictions have no net effect on gun prevalence levels, and (4) most gun control restrictions generally have no net effect on violence rates. There were, however, some possible exceptions to this last conclusion—of 108 assessments of effects of different gun laws on different types of violence, 7 indicated good support, and another 11 partial support, for the hypothesis of gun control efficacy.

Portfolios in Teacher Education

Abstract: Les AA. proposent une analyse des portefeuilles dans le cadre de la formation des enseignants. Ils expliquent comment les portefeuilles peuvent servir a l'evaluation des programmes de formation, ils decrivent les characteristiques d'un portefeuille educatif et presentent la maniere dont un portefeuille se definit et se developpe

Effects of omnivorous shrimp in a montane tropical stream : sediment removal, disturbance of sessile invertebrates and enhancement of understory algal biomass

Abstract: Freshwater shrimp dominate the faunal biomass of many headwater tropical streams: however, their role in community organization is unclear. Enclosure/exclosure experiments in a montane Puerto Rican stream examined direct and indirect effects of two dominant taxa of atyid (Atyidae) shrimp, Atya lanipes Holthuis and Xiphocaris elongata Guerin-Meneville. Both shrimp taxa caused significant reductions in sediment cover on rock substrata, reducing sedimentation and enhancing algal biovolume on clay tiles in cages. When tiles incubated in shrimp exclosures for 2 wks were placed outside of cages, atyid shrimp removed 100% of the sediment cover within a 30 min observation period. Atyid shrimp appear to play an important role in stream recovery after high discharge events by rapidly removing sediments and detritus deposited on benthic substrata in pools. We evaluated the mechanism by which A. lanipes influences algae and benthic insects by comparing patterns of algal biomass, taxonomic composition, and insect abundance between shrimp-exclusion and shrimp-presence treatments both with and without manual sediment removal. The shrimp exclusion treatment without manual sediment removal bad significantly lower algal biomass and greater sedimentation than all other treatments. The treatment in which shrimp were excluded but sediment was manually removed, however, accrued almost the same algal biovolume as the shrimp enclosure treatment, supporting the hypothesis that sediment removal enhances the biovolume of understory algal taxa. Algal community composition was similar between stream bottom bedrock exposed to natural densities of shrimp and all experimental treatments for both Atya and Xiphocaris: a diatom community strongly dominated (78–95%) by the adnate taxon, Achnanthes lanceolata Breb ex. Kutz. Atyid shrimp are important in determining the distribution and abundance of benthic insects through both direct and indirect effects. Sessile, retreat-building chironomid larvae (Chironomidae: Diptera) are negatively affected by both A. lanipes and X. elongata, through direct removal by foraging activities and/or indirectly through depression of sediment resources available to larvae for the construction of retreats. In constrast, the mobile grazer, Cloeodes maculipes (Baetidae: Ephemeroptera) was not adversely affected and atyid shrimp have the potential to exert positive indirect effects on this taxon by facilitating its exploitation of algal resources and/or through enhancement of understory algal food resources through sediment removal.

A re-evaluation of rainfall variability in the sahel. Part I. Characteristics of rainfall fluctuations

Abstract: This article deals with the characteristics of rainfall variability in West Africa. Time series of June—July, August—September and annual rainfall anomalies are derived for 19 regions, most of which are in the Sahel—Soudan zones of West Africa. The temporal characteristics of the series, such as trend, persistence, and low frequency variance are evaluated using regression, lag-1 autocorrelation, and spectral analysis. High-frequency-filtered series are also derived. The spatial teleconnections among the regions are examined using linear correlations and principal component analysis. The study shows that there are primarily three spatial modes of rainfall variability in the region and these differ with respect to the part of the rainy season in which they are most important and to what extent they describe high and low-frequency components of the variability. The study also defines three broad homogeneous sectors and demonstrates that the characteristics of rainfall variability in these sectors differ markedly. A strong contrast between the bulk of the Sahel—Soudan and its West Coast sector is apparent.

Comparative sequence specificities of human 72- and 92-kDa gelatinases (type IV collagenases) and PUMP (matrilysin)

Abstract: The sequence specificities of human 72-kDa fibroblast gelatinase (type IV collagenase), human 92-kDa neutrophil gelatinase (type IV collagenase), and putative metalloproteinase (PUMP or matrilysin) have been examined by measuring the rate of hydrolysis of over 50 synthetic oligopeptides covering the P4 through P4' subsites of the substrate. The peptides investigated in this paper were those employed in our previous study which systematically examined the sequence specificity of human fibroblast and neutrophil collagenases [Netzel-Arnett et al. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 6747]. The initial rate of hydrolysis of the P1-P1' bond of each peptide has been measured under first-order conditions ([S0] << KM), and kcat/KM values have been calculated from the initial rates. The specificities of these five metalloproteinases are similar, but distinct, with the largest differences occurring at subsites P1, P1', and P3'. The specificities of the two gelatinases are the most similar to each other. They tolerate only small amino acids such as Gly and Ala in subsite P1. In contrast, larger residues such as Met, Pro, Gln, and Glu are also accommodated well by PUMP. All five enzymes prefer hydrophobic, aliphatic residues in subsite P1'. PUMP exhibits a stronger preference for Leu in this subsite than is shown by the other enzymes. The P3' subsite specificities of the gelatinases and collagenases are very similar but different from those of PUMP which particularly prefers Met in this position. The specificity data from this study allow the design of optimized substrates and selective inhibitors for these metalloproteinases.