Showing papers by "Gettysburg College published in 1997"

A high observed substitution rate in the human mitochondrial DNA control region

Abstract: The rate and pattern of sequence substitutions in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (CR) is of central importance to studies of human evolution and to forensic identity testing. Here, we report a direct measurement of the intergenerational substitution rate in the human CR. We compared DNA sequences of two CR hypervariable segments from close maternal relatives, from 134 independent mtDNA lineages spanning 327 generational events. Ten substitutions were observed, resulting in an empirical rate of 1/33 generations, or 2.5/site/Myr. This is roughly twenty-fold higher than estimates derived from phylogenetic analyses. This disparity cannot be accounted for simply by substitutions at mutational hot spots, suggesting additional factors that produce the discrepancy between very near-term and long-term apparent rates of sequence divergence. The data also indicate that extremely rapid segregation of CR sequence variants between generations is common in humans, with a very small mtDNA bottleneck. These results have implications for forensic applications and studies of human evolution.

Mandates for Mothers and Fathers: Perceptions of Breadwinners and Care Givers

Abstract: The current experiment was designed to examine perceptions of employed and unemployed mothers and fathers in the context of Eagly's [(1987) Sex Differences in Social Behavior: A Social-Role Interpretation, Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum] social role theory of sex differences in social behavior. Participants, who were students from a private college with a primarily white student body, read a brief description of a mother or father who was employed or had given up employment in order to stay at home with a young child. Reasons for current or previous employment were either financial or for personal fulfillment. As predicted by Eagly's social role theory, participants rated employed mothers and fathers similarly and perceived them to be more agentic and less communal than unemployed mothers and fathers. Approval ratings deteriorated significantly when a father sacrificed financial security for care giving; the same behavior by mothers received high approval. These findings provided evidence of a continuing societal mandate for fathers (and not mothers) to provide financially for their families.

Preschoolers' Ability to Make Dispositional Predictions Within and Across Domain.

Abstract: Although children over eight years of age appear to view others in dispositional terms, findings for children of kindergarten age are mixed. Few studies have examined dispositional thinking in children younger than kindergarteners. The present studies addressed two questions about trait conceptions in 4- and 5-year-old preschoolers'. (1). Do children of this age use past behaviors to predict future behavior si (2) Do they show evidence of global evaluative thinking, such that they generalize information about behavior in one domain to make predictions in other domains'? Three studies of 4- and 5-year-old preschoolers addressed these issues by presenting information about individuals' behavior in the target domain of sociomoral goodness, and asking subjects to predict the protagonists' future behaviors with regard to goodness, intelligence, and athletic skill. Study 1 focused on children's predictions for highly familiar fairy-tale characters, whereas Studies 2 and 3 required children to make predictions for unfamiliar characters. Studies 1 and 2 utilized a dichotomous choice task for assessing predictions, and Study 3 employed a quantitative rating procedure. The results of the three studies converged and suggested that preschoolers can use past behaviors to predict future behaviors. Children showed some evidence of global thinking and also some evidence of differentiation across distinctive domains.

State Expenditures and Policy Outcomes in Environmental Program Management

Abstract: Comparative state environmental research seeks to explain the factors contributing to intergovernmental environmental management. In pursuing the answer to this query, researchers have relied on either fiscal (expenditures) or nonfiscal (ranking) measures of state environmental effort. Respecting the debate surrounding state policy outputs and fiscal versus nonfiscal measures, we evaluate comprehensive state environmental management comparing spending and ranking measures in our analysis. Though pronounced differences do exist between the two models, we find pollution and state size to be the primary factors affecting a state's environmental effort no matter which measure is used.

Philip of Spain

Abstract: Philip II of Spain, ruler of the most extensive empire the world had ever known, has been viewed in a harsh and negative light since his death in 1598. Identified with repression, bigotry and fanaticism by his enemies, he has been judged more by the political events of his reign than by his person. This book is published 400 years after Philip's death. Placing him within that social, cultural, religious and regional context of his times, it presents a picture of his character and reign. Drawing on Philip's unpublished correspondence and on many other archival sources, Henry Kamen reveals much about Philip the youth, the man, the husband, the father, the frequently troubled Christian and the king. Kamen finds that Philip was a cosmopolitan prince whose extensive experience of northern Europe broadened his cultural imagination and tastes, whose staunchly conservatives ideas were far from being illiberal and fanatical, whose religious attitudes led him to accept a practical coexistence with protestants and jews, and whose support for Las Casas and other defenders of the Indians in America helped determine government policy.

Dependent Personality Disorder in the DSM‐IV and Beyond

Abstract: The DSM-IV dependent personality disorder (DPD) criteria are inconsistent with empirical research on dependency in several respects. DPD is associated with a wider range of disorders than is acknowledged in the DSM-IV, and is less prevalent in outpatient settings than the DSM-IV suggests. Contrary to the assertions of the DSM-IV, women receive DPD diagnoses at higher rates than men do. Two of the eight DSM-IV DPD symptoms are contradicted by empirical research on dependency, and two other symptoms have never been tested empirically. A revised set of DPD criteria is offered that (a) emphasizes the dependency-related cognitions central to DPD, (b) makes explicit the variability of the dependent person's relationship-facilitating behavior, and (c) minimises attachment-related confounds that characterize the current DPD criteria.

Gender and Archaeology

Abstract: Gender and Archaeology. Rita P. Wright. ed. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996. 296 pp.

Long-Term Retest Reliability of Interpersonal Dependency Inventory Scores in College Students:

Abstract: Eighty undergraduate students (40 women and 40 men) completed the Interpersonal Dependency Inventory (IDI) twice, with the two testing sessions separated by an 84-week interval. Retest reliability coefficients for IDI whole-scale scores, r = .71, and subscale scores (rs ranged from .60 to .72) were similar to those obtained in IDI retest reliability studies that used shorter intertest intervals. Gender differences in IDI scores in the present sample paralleled those obtained in previous investigations involving clinical and nonclinical participants. Implications of these results for the construct validity of the IDI as a measure of interpersonal dependency are discussed.

Effects of imagery on vernier acuity under conditions of induced depth.

Abstract: Imagery interferes with visual acuity (the "Perky effect") when an image is close to a visual target and both the image and the acuity target are located in the same depth plane. Whether imagery-induced interference occurs when a mental image and a target are separated by induced depth was investigated. Participants projects an image in front of or behind a vernier acuity target on a frontal or back plan suggested by the panels of an outline cube. A drop in accuracy for the target was found when an image was projected in front of, but not behind, the target. Thus, induced depth can influence the Perky effect. By contrast, real lines interfered with the target regardless of perceived depth plane, which is inconsistent with the hypothesis that imagery and perception are equivalent. Results support the hypothesis that images interfere with perception only when the participant must see through an image to obtain information specifying the visual target.

Political Pacts as Negotiated Agreements: Comparing Ethnic and Non-Ethnic Cases

Abstract: This article seeks to conceptualize political pacts as a transitional strategy that has been employed by a number of countries seeking to move toward democratic regimes or outcomes. Political pacts, which are formed in an effort to manage large-scale and often violent societal conflict, have certain common characteristics, among them the key role played by elites in negotiating and designing these agreements. After examining the concept of political pacts, the defining characteristics of pacts, and the relation they bear to societal conflict, we focus on the latter factor, differentiating between cases of domestic societal conflict that have an identity/personalistic dimension to them and those that do not. In particular, we seek to determine the types of factors that may facilitate or complicate the successful use of pacts as a transitional strategy for creating and maintaining democratic regimes.

Construct validity of the Rorschach Oral Dependency (ROD) Scale: relationship of ROD scores to WAIS-R scores in a psychiatric inpatient sample.

Abstract: Three-hundred and two psychiatric inpatients (166 women and 136 men) completed Masling, Rabie, and Blondheim's Rorschach Oral Dependency (ROD) Scale and the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale Revised (WAIS-R). As predicted, ROD scale scores were unrelated to WAIS-R scores in subjects of either sex. These findings support the discriminant validity of the ROD scale as a measure of interpersonal dependency, and suggest that deficits in intellectual ability do not underlie the dependency-related behaviors (e.g., suggestibility, conformity, interpersonal yielding) that are associated with high scores on the ROD scale. Implications of these findings for research on the dependency-academic performance relationship are discussed, and suggestions for future studies assessing the convergent and discriminant validity of the ROD scale are offered.

An Heir or a Rebel? Charles Grandison Finney and the New England Theology

Abstract: Examines the contributions of Charles Grandison Finney to mid-nineteenth century theology. Finney's rejection of Calvinism; Critiques on Finney's theology by interpreters including William McLoughlin; Reference to the book `Memoirs'; Finney's perverse admiration of Jonathan Edwards; Development of the doctrine of perfection.

Abraham Lincoln and the Doctrine of Necessity

Abstract: Abraham Lincoln was a fatalist. That, at least, was what he told many people over the course of his life. "I have all my life been a fatalist," Lincoln informed his Illinois congressional ally, Isaac Ar nold. "Mr. Lincoln was a fatalist," remembered Henry Clay Whit ney, one of his Springfield law clerks, "he believed ... that the uni verse is governed by one uniform, unbroken, primordial law." His Springfield law partner William Henry Herndon, likewise, affirmed that Lincoln "believed in predestination, foreordination, that all things were fixed, doomed one way or the other, from which there was no appeal." Even Mary Todd Lincoln acknowledged that her husband had been guided by the conviction that "what is to be will be, and no cares of ours can arrest nor reverse the decree."1 What this meant in practical terms, as Herndon discovered, was that Lin coln believed that "there was no freedom of the will," that "men had no free choice":

Spin observables for the 208 Pb ( p , n ) 208 Bi reaction at 135 MeV

Abstract: We measured the spin observables ${A}_{y},$ $P$, and ${S}_{{\mathrm{NN}}^{\ensuremath{'}}}$ for the ${}^{208}$Pb${(p,n)}^{208}$Bi reaction at 135 MeV at laboratory angles of 0$\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$, 3$\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$, 6$\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$, and 9$\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$. The overall energy resolution was about 1 MeV. Data for ${S}_{{\mathrm{NN}}^{\ensuremath{'}}}$ are compared with distorted-wave impulse-approximation calculations that use random-phase approximation wave functions. Comparisons are also made for the ${}^{48}$Ca${(p,n)}^{48}$Sc reaction. The agreement between these calculations and the data is generally good, after adjustment of the nucleon-nucleon interaction in the random-phase approximation calculations to place the 0${}^{+}$ isobaric-analog states at the correct excitation energies. A single adjustment of the nucleon-nucleon force works for both target nuclei.

Varieties of self-deception

Abstract: Mele's analysis of self-deception is persuasive but it might also be useful to consider the varieties of self-deception that occur in real-world settings. Instances of self-deception can be classified along three dimensions: implicit versus explicit, motivated versus process-based, and public versus private. All three types of self-deception have implications for the scientific research enterprise.

An Intervening Cause Counterexample to Railton's DNP Model of Explanation

Abstract: Peter Railton (1978) has introduced the influential deductive-nomological-probabilistic (DNP) model of explanation which is the culmination of a tradition of formal, non-pragmatic accounts of scientific explanation. The other models in this tradition have been shown to be susceptible to a class of counterexamples involving intervening causes which speak against their sufficiency. This treatment has never been extended to the DNP model; we contend that the usual form of these counterexamples is ineffective in this case. However, we develop below a new version which overcomes these difficulties. Thus we claim that all of the models in this tradition, DNP included, have an equal status with respect to sufficiency.

Commutativity criteria for Banach *-algebras

Abstract: Let A be a Banach *-algebra with an identity Necessary and sufficient conditions are given for A to be commutative modulo its *-radical and for A to be commutative if A has a faithful *-representation as operators on a Hilbert space

Lavinia Dock: Adams County Suffragette

Abstract: In the aftermath of the anniversary celebrations held to commemorate women's right to vote, it is fitting to remember an Adams county resident who figured prominently in the most militant phase of the suffrage campaign-Lavinia Lloyd Dock. Lavinia Dock was born February 26, 1858, the second child of Gilliard and Lavinia Lloyd Bombaugh Dock. Gilliard, who had attended Gettysburg College, was a well-to-do engineer and machinist. Both parents were liberal in their views. Lavinia said that "Father had some whimsical masculine prejudices, but Mother was broad on all subjects and very tolerant and charitable towards persons." Although the family, eventually numbering five daughters and one son, grew up in this parental atmosphere that encouraged enlightened thinking, nothing in Lavinia's privileged life gave any hint of the distinguished if unusual career that she would make for herself. [excerpt]

Program image ratings of a psychiatric facility as a measure of system performance.

Abstract: The present study used in-patient psychiatric patient's ratings of 17 major elements of a hospital's programs. Previous work indicated that ratings by mental health staff of such elements were useful in discriminating quality among the services provided. Current work shows that patient ratings in such a facility show promising reliability and validity as measures of system performance and can thus be a valuable addition to the assessment and management of psychiatric services.

The Turbulent Sixties At Rutgers: An Interview With Richard P. Mccormick

Abstract: Richard P. McCormick's professional life has been so intertwined with Rutgers University's history that it is difficult to imagine anyone who knows more about Rutgers or who has put a greater imprint on the institution. Except for half a dozen years living in Philadelphia and Newark, Delaware, during the era of the Second World War, McCormick has been a significant presence at Rutgers for six decades. He arrived as a freshman at Rutgers College in 1934 and, after graduating in 1938, worked for the Department of History as a factotum while completing a master's degree in history. Recruited to join the department as a junior faculty member in 1945 while still completing his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania, McCormick has never left. He worked his way up the ranks of the faculty, served on virtually every major college committee during a thirty-seven-year teaching career at Rutgers, including a tumultuous term as department chair in the 1960s, and a three-year tenure as dean of Rutgers College in the 1970s. Although he formally retired from teaching at age sixty-five in 1982, McCormick has maintained an office on campus and since then has published a steady stream of articles, pamphlets, essays, and books, some on Rutgers University history. During his years teaching at Rutgers, McCormick was frequently invited to chair history departments at other institutions, assume deanships, and in one case, be seriously considered for a small college presidency. Always he declined, not because the offers were not flattering or were unattractive, but because, as he later told an interviewer, "I never wanted to leave Rutgers. . . . I was happy—and appreciated—here."