Showing papers by "Saint Anselm College published in 2009"

Distractibility in Attention/Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): the virtual reality classroom.

Abstract: Nineteen boys aged 8 to 14 with a diagnosis of ADHD and 16 age-matched controls were compared in a virtual reality (VR) classroom version of a continuous performance task (CPT), with a second standard CPT presentation using the same projection display dome system. The Virtual Classroom included simulated "real-world" auditory and visual distracters. Parent ratings of attention, hyperactivity, internalizing problems, and adaptive skills on the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) Monitor for ADHD confirmed that the ADHD children had more problems in these areas than controls. The difference between the ADHD group (who performed worse) and the control group approached significance (p = .05; adjusted p = .02) in the Virtual Classroom presentation, and the classification rate of the Virtual Classroom was better than when the standard CPT was used (87.5% versus 68.8%). Children with ADHD were more affected by distractions in the VR classroom than those without ADHD. Results are discussed in relation to distractibility in ADHD.

Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy in Women of African Descent

Abstract: Objective To determine whether breastfeeding self-efficacy predicts the duration and pattern of breastfeeding in a sample of Black women of African descent. Design Descriptive, longitudinal, cohort study. Participants were recruited during the postpartum hospitalization and followed monthly for 6 months or until complete weaning. Breastfeeding self-efficacy was measured using the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale—Short Form (BSES-SF) (Dennis, 2003). Setting A large urban teaching hospital in New England. Patients/participants Women who self-identified as being of African descent with full-term infants who were planning to breastfeed ( N =125). Main outcome measures Breastfeeding pattern was determined by the total number of feedings the infant received in the past 24 hours and how many of these were breast milk. Duration of breastfeeding was defined as the number of weeks until complete weaning. Results Higher levels of breastfeeding self-efficacy predicted longer duration and a more exclusive pattern of breastfeeding at 1 and 6 months postpartum, consistent with prior research ( p p p Conclusion Theory-based interventions to enhance self-efficacy will help improve breastfeeding outcomes.

The Problem of Polity: Political Participation and Aristotle's Best Regime

Abstract: Aristotle uses the same word—politeia—to describe both the genus of “regimes” and a particular species within that genus. I argue that this usage is a common practice in Aristotle's practical works and identifies the most developed species within its genus. Aristotle thus sees the regime of polity as more appropriate for developed communities than the regimes often taken to represent his ideals, i.e., kingship and aristocracy. Aristotle's understanding of the capacities, and limitations, of the multitude leads him to propose the mixed regime of polity as the best regime generally possible. While polity differs from the best regime simply discussed in Book VII, it still offers rich possibilities for both political and theoretical activity.

A comment on F. Aguado & A. Marin: ‘Warning coloration associated with nematocyst-based defences in aeolidioidean nudibranchs’

Abstract: In their paper concerning defences of the nudibranch Cratena peregrina (Gmelin, 1791), Aguado & Marin (2007) assert in the title and text that the deterrence observed is due to the kleptocnidae of the nudibranchs. However, the source and treatment of the nematocysts used in assays make this unlikely, and a positive result for deterrence alone cannot be taken as evidence for a nematocyst-based defence. Kleptocnidae have often been presumed to be defensive (Edmunds, 1966; Harris, 1973; Thompson, 1976; Todd, 1981), but direct observational and experimental evidence to support this is lacking (Todd, 1981; Miller & Byrne, 2000). Many nudibranchs possess chemical defences (Avila, 1995; Cimino & Ghiselin, 2001) and the relative importance of chemical vs kleptocnidal defence has been debated since the discovery that some nudibranchs possessed active nematocysts (Harris, 1973). Assays using whole nudibranchs cannot distinguish between these possibilities (Edmunds, 1966; Hand, 1994–1996) and for several reasons Aguado and Marin’s experiments with models also fail in this regard. First, the authors obtained nematocysts by macerating Eudendrium hydroids with a mortar and pestle (Aguado & Marin, 2007) and this cannot be considered equivalent to kleptocnidae isolated from C. peregrina. Many nudibranchs sequester only particular nematocyst types from their prey and may keep nematocysts from several prey species simultaneously (Harris, 1973; Todd, 1981; Frick, 2003). Eudendrium is only one of many prey species reported for C. peregrina (McDonald & Nybakken, 1997) and at least one species of these hydroids is known to deter fish via chemical defence rather than nematocysts (Stachowicz & Lindquist, 2000), so C. peregrina may not obtain nematocysts useful against fish from this prey species. Also, some nematocysts discharge in response to mechanical stimulation (Hessinger, 1988) such as grinding with mortar and pestle. While a greater percentage discharge when appropriate chemical factors are present (Kass-Simon & Scappaticci, 2002), we do not know whether different nematocyst types are more likely to discharge with mechanical stimulation alone. Beyond this, studies of antipredator defence should ensure that the treatment used in the bioassay matches the concentration normally found in the organism of concern (Hay et al., 1998). The authors do not describe how they attempted to match concentrations of Eudendrium extract with concentrations found in the average slug. Therefore, the method used by Aguado and Marin leads to isolation of a subset of nematocysts that may not represent the cnidome seen in C. peregrina in the field. Second, the method by which the authors attempted to incorporate nematocysts into the test food is unclear; they describe two very different methods, one which might denature nematocysts and the other where nematocysts may not stay on the artificial food for the assays. On page 24 they state that the artificial food models were ‘made distasteful by impregnation with nematocysts,’ suggesting that nematocysts were mixed throughout the entire volume of artificial food, presumably before it solidified. The artificial food recipe used includes boiling water (Aguado & Marin, 2007). The potential alteration of nematocyst discharge with temperature change is not well investigated (McKay & Anderson, 1988), but nematocysts are composed of a number of proteins crucial for their function (Tardent, 1995; Kass-Simon & Scappaticci, 2002) and boiling water denatures proteins, so it seems unlikely that any nematocysts so incorporated would be functional. Even if they were, many nematocysts would be buried within the food too deeply to be effective. Conversely, on page 25 the authors state that the artificial food models were ‘bathed in hydroid sauce’ in order to add nematocysts. If this was the case, it is quite possible that any nematocysts that might have adhered to the models could be washed off when the models contacted the water of the aquarium or field site. There is no indication that the authors checked the models after preparation to ensure functional nematocysts were included. Third, regardless of how nematocysts were added to the artificial food models, it is possible that no functional nematocysts would remain by the time fish encountered them. Nematocysts isolated from their cnidocytes discharge differently from those still in situ (Thorington & Hessinger, 1988), and in many cases they discharge upon contact with seawater (Todd, 1981; Martin, 2003). Therefore, all nematocysts added may have already discharged once the food was introduced to the aquaria or water at the field site. Taken together, these concerns suggest that the antipredator deterrence observed by Aguado and Marin may stem from a factor other than nematocysts, and a chemical defence seems possible. Application of extract to an artificial food before solidification or as a coat on the outside of such food are both proven methods for testing chemical defence against predators (Hay et al., 1998). Given the aforementioned chemical defence of a North American Eudendrium species (Stachowicz & Lindquist, 2000), this seems a quite likely explanation for Aguado and Marin’s results. However, we cannot be certain that the chemical defence found in the Eudendrium extract used is the same as any chemical defence that C. peregrina might have. Other nudibranchs are known to modify dietary metabolites or to synthesize their own chemical defences de novo (Avila, 1995; Cimino & Ghiselin, 2001; Cimino & Gavagnin, 2006); although this ability has not yet been documented in aeolids, chemical defence in general has not been as wellinvestigated in this group as in other nudibranchs (Cimino & Ghiselin, 2001) and biosynthetic origin of defensive compounds may not have been explicitly tested. Aguado and Marin’s paper nicely shows that C. peregrina is deterrent to fish predators and that fish can associate shape and colour with deterrent factors, and their conclusion that defences could arise via individual selection has been noted previously (Penney, 2004). However, a true test of the defensive efficacy of kleptocnidae awaits the ability to separate this factor from other potential defences in manipulative experiments. Correspondence: B.K. Penney; e-mail: bpenney@anselm.edu

A brief educational video about prostate cancer screening: a community intervention.

Abstract: In this study, men scored higher on a knowledge questionnaire, were more likely to rate their personal risk of developing prostate cancer correctly, and stated they were more likely to discuss screening with their primary care provider after a brief video intervention.

Resolving conflicts over employee work schedules

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine justice perceptions using potential employee conflict over provision of a work‐life benefit, and to link the findings to existing theory and research in organizational justice.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 208 undergraduates at a liberal arts college responded to a version of the scenario. There were six versions, representing varied organizational conditions, with hypotheses based on both theory and previous empirical work.Findings – Students were asked whether they preferred equity (contribution), equality or need as the allocation norm to be used in the scenario. Under all organizational conditions, equity is favored over the other two norms, but some differences emerge. Organizational conditions that are less empowering and more stressful lead to higher preference for equality and need than when organizations are seen as treating employees well. In contrast with some earlier findings, women are more likely than men to prefer equity as the ba...

The social and economic impact of corruption on nations and multinational corporations

Abstract: This paper focuses on the social and economics impact of corruption on national economies and multinational corporation s. The paper addresses the importance of eliminating corruption from the stand point of its macro economics effects on gross domestic product, foreign direct i nvestment and entrepreneurial activity within an economy. It also examines the i mpact that corrupt business environments have on multi national corporations an d their abilities to compete in such environments.

Integral Parallel Architecture & Berkeley's Motifs

Abstract: The Integral Parallel Architecture (IPA) developed and actually implemented by BrightScale is a low-power(133 GOPS/Watt) & low-area (8 GOPS/mm^2) one-chip solution to solve intense computational problems using data-parallel, time-parallel and speculative-parallel mechanisms. BrightScale technology is presented from the point of view of each of the 13 motifs proposed in The Berkeley's View. IPA emerges from Kleene's computational model of the partial recursive functions as the simplest parallel architecture, a good starting point for a true science of parallel computation. We briefly investigate how such an elementary parallel architecture performs, for the main computational motifs, in solving the problems of programmability, portability, flexibility, data movement between computational cells, and between cells and the main memory.

Perfection in r-processes

Abstract: R-processes are a new type of discrete stationary stochastic process. In this paper, we investigate the underlying structure of two special classes of r-processes. For each class, we will prove precisely when the associated multidigraph is perfect.