Showing papers by "San Diego State University published in 1977"

Humorous lectures and humorous examples: Some effects upon comprehension and retention.

Abstract: versions of a humorous lecture. The three versions of the humorous lecture included humorous examples related to the concepts in the lecture (concept humor), unrelated to the concepts (nonconcept humor), or a combination of concept and nonconcept examples (mixed humor). A test of comprehension and retention was given twice: immediately after the lecture and 6 weeks later. Results indicated that immediate comprehension was not facilitated by the use of humorous examples. Upon retesting, however, retention of concept humor material was significantly improved by viewing a lecture with humorous examples illustrating concepts. Earlier research findings are accounted for in terms of these results. The advice to use humor for communica, lated to the persuasive or educational mestion enhancement has been considered in sage. several empirical studies (Berlo & Ku- Another difficulty with the research on mata, 1956; Gruner, 1965, 1966). Only a humor and learning has been the method handful of studies, however, have focused of evaluating learning. No experimenter upon the efficacy of humor for lectures in a stated exactly from where in the message teaching situation. Although several stud- that test items were taken. Because of ies have shown that humor can increase this, two important questions become obattention and interest in a topic (Gruner, vious: Did any test questions assess recall 1970; Markiewicz, 1974), comprehension of material presented immediately before and acceptance of a message have not been or after a humor item? Was humor associdemonstrated to improve when the mes- ated in some way with the major points on sage includes humor (Gruner, 1967, 1970; which a listener was to be tested? KnowKennedy, 1972; Markiewicz, 1974; Taylor, ing how the humorous items in a message 1964). corresponded to subsequent test questions One problem with humor studies that would allow a more accurate appraisal of focus on learning is determining the na- hum0r's effect on learning. ture of the humor the investigators used. The purpose of the present study was to Subjects' ratings of the perceived humor- explore the effect of two types of humor ": ousness of a message were taken in only a upon learning in a lecture situation. The minority of studies (Gruner, 1967, 1970; two types of humor are humor related to Kennedy, 1972; Lull, 1940). Most reports the concepts presented in the lecture (or omit discussions of fundamental ques- humorous examples) and humor unrelated tions, such as how the humor was chosen to the lecture's content. The primary conin the first place and how the humor re- cern is to determine how varying correspondence of humor with the topics of a classroom lecture moderates the compreA similar version of this article was presented at _ hension and retention of lecture material. the meeting of the Western Psychological Associa- It is our hypothesis that people have

Sex Role Portrayals in Advertising

Abstract: Are women and men critical of the way they are shown in ads, and how does this affect their attitudes toward products?

Root systems of chaparral shrubs.

Abstract: Root systems of chaparral shrubs were excavated from a 70 m2 plot of a mixed chaparral stand located on a north-facing slope in San Diego County (32°54' N; 900 m above sea level). The main shrub species present were Adenostoma fasciculatum, Arctostaphylos pungens, Ceanothus greggii, Erigonum fasciculatum, and Haplopappus pinifolius. Shrubs were wired into their positions, and the soil was washed out beneath them down to a depth of approximately 60 cm, where impenetrable granite impeded further washing and root growth was severely restricted. Spacing and interweaving of root systems were recorded by an in-scale drawing. The roots were harvested in accordance to their depths, separated into diameter size classes for each species, and their dry weights measured. Roots of shrubs were largely confined to the upper soil levels. The roots of Eriogonum fasciculatum were concentrated in the upper soil layer. Roots of Adenostoma fasciculatum tended to be more superficial than those from Ceanothus greggii. It is hypothesized that the shallow soil at the excavation site impeded a clear depth zonation of the different root systems. The average dry weight root:shoot ratio was 0.6, ranging for the individual shrubs from 0.8 to 0.4. The root area always exceeded the shoot area, with the corresponding ratios ranging from 6 for Arctostaphylos pungens to 40 for Haplopappus pinifolius. The fine root density of 64 g dry weight per m2 under the canopy was significantly higher than in the unshaded area. However, the corresponding value of 45 g dry weight per m2 for the open ground is still high enough to make the establishment of other shrubs difficult.

The healing dialogue in psychotherapy

Abstract: This article is a distillation of Maurice Friedman's book The Healing Dialogue in Psychotherapy (1985). With almost no reference to the first, historical part of the book, the article brings together the second, topical part into a compact whole, which isn't done in the book itself. The first section of the article makes explicit the link between philosophy and psychotherapy through a section on "Philosophical Anthropology and the Ontology of the Between." The ontology of the between is the groundwork for that "healing through meeting" (second section) that arises when the meeting between therapist and client is seen as central rather than ancillary. In the third section ("The Unconscious and Dreams"), the unconscious is seen as that personal wholeness that underlies the ever-new elaboration into physical and psychic, outer and inner. Dreams, in consequence, are not raw material of the unconscious but a product of the mixture of unconscious and conscious and of the meeting of the therapist and patient. Ex...

Reevaluation of the Effect of Calcium Ions on Auxin-induced Elongation

Abstract: The mechanism by which calcium ions inhibit cell elongation has been reinvestigated. Growth-inhibiting levels of calcium, when applied to isolated walls (in vitro treatment) do not decrease cell wall extensibility as measured by the Instron technique. Thus, the hypothesis that calcium inhibits growth by forming wall-stiffening calcium bridges must be abandoned. Treatment of living auxin-treated sections with calcium (in vivo treatment) does cause a decrease in the subsequently measured wall extensibility, but this decline appears to be simply a consequence of the growth inhibition rather than its cause. Growth-inhibiting levels of calcium do not appreciably reduce the rate of auxin-enhanced H(+) excretion. Pretreatment with calcium does not reduce the capacity of walls to undergo acid-activated wall loosening in the absence of calcium. High concentrations of CaCl(2) (0.02 m) cause an initial elastic shrinkage of Avena sections comparable to that caused by the same osmolarity of mannitol, but the subsequent growth inhibition is too great to be explained by an osmotic inhibition. Calcium ions do inhibit H(+)-induced extension of frozen-thawed sections under tension. The growth-inhibitory effects of calcium, then, may be ascribed to a direct inhibition exerted by calcium ions on the H(+)-induced wall-loosening process.

Aspects of the problem of variation, origin and evolution of the eutherian auditory bulla

Abstract: A survey of the variation in the eutherian auditory bulla and a consideration of its ontogeny and its possible mode of origin suggests that the basisphenoid bulla of insectivores, the petrosal bulla of primates, and the widely distributed ectotympanic bulla did not represent the condition of the most primitive eutherians. There is also evidence to refute the widely accepted premise that eutherians primitively had a cartilaginous bulla as adults. Instead, this condition is regarded as a secondary specialization derived from a bony entotympanic bulla. The entotympanic bulla was undoubtedly an early, but probably not the earliest, condition in the Eutheria. The contention that the most primitive eutherians lacked a bony or cartilaginous covering of the middle ear cavity ventrally between the petrosal and the nearly horizontal tympanic ring is supported by a number of lines of evidence. The cited existence of an entotympanic in marsupials is regarded as an independent acquisition, parallel with that in eutherians. Evidence is insufficient, in most cases, to determine whether the types of bullae in which an entotympanic is absent evolved through a stage where the latter was present, or arose de novo from the postulated primitive eutherian condition.

Failure of the local exchange approximation in the evaluation of the H - ground state

Abstract: The use of the local approximation for the exchange and correlation energy within the density-functional formalism has proven to be much more successful than originally anticipated. The calculation of the ground state for weakly bound negative ions, such as ${\mathrm{H}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, provides a sensitive test of the local approximation, which is known to lead to an incorrect asymptotic form of the single-particle effective potential. For ${\mathrm{H}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, the result is a qualitatively incorrect ground state, the electrons being partially delocalized. We show how this problem may be corrected by constraining the electrons with a fictitious spherical barrier at a large radius. For ${\mathrm{H}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ we use this procedure to obtain a ground-state energy of -0.518 a.u. and an electronic affinity for H of -0.92 eV.

Inverted tandem (“mirror”) duplications in human chromosomes: Inv dup 8p, 4q, 22q

Abstract: We have studied 4 patients with inverted tandem duplications of parts of chromosomes, a hitherto rarely identified form of a structural rearrangement involving a single chromosome in man. In patients 1 and 2, the duplication involved parts of the short arm of chromosome 8 (regions 8p12 leads to 8p23 and 8p21 leads to 8p23, respectively). Both patients manifested certain characteristics of the mosaic trisomy 8 syndrome. Elevated levels of glutathione reductase (GSR) in their erythrocytes supported the interpretation of a partial duplication of chromosome 8 and indicated a regional localization for the GSR gene locus. In Partient 3, the distal half of the long arm of chromosome 4 was duplicated (region 4q23 leads to 4q35). Clinical evidence supported this interpretation, as Patient 3 resembled phenotypically the 13 reported cases with duplication of the distal 4q. The cytogenetic findings in Patient 4 suggested a possibly inverted duplication of 22q. The clinical correlation was less convincing due to the lack of a well-defined phenotype for trisomy 22. These chromosome aberrations had occurred de novo in all 4 cases. Although they involved different chromosomal regions, they might well have arisen by the same mechanism. Possible modes of origin that are discussed in detail include unequal exchange between homologous chromosomes, between chromatids of 1 chromosome or between strands of 1 DNA duplex.

Reconnaissance geology of coastal Sonora between Puerto Lobos and Bahia Kino

Abstract: Coastal Sonora between Puerto Lobos and Bahia Kino can be subdivided into four structural-petrographic subprovinces: an inland subprovince in which unmetamorphosed upper Precambrian and Cambrian strata rest on older Precambrian gneiss and three other subprovinces in which Cenozoic volcanic strata rest on metamorphosed strata of post-Precambrian age intruded by granitic rocks of Mesozoic age. One of these latter subprovinces displays basin-and-range fault blocks; a second has northwest-trending strike-slip(?) faults; and the third, Isla Tiburon, shows structure related to the Neogene dilation of the Gulf of California depression. The pregranitic rocks include upper Precambrian and Cambrian carbonate rocks, a chert-graywacke-volcaniclastic sequence of probable Carboniferous age, and volcanic-volcaniclastic rocks of Jurassic age. The granitic rocks range from gabbro to granite and have K-Ar cooling ages of from 91 to 30 m.y. Dikes of basaltic to dacitic composition and quartz porphyritic bodies of late Mesozoic or early Cenozoic age cut the granitic rocks. The lowermost Cenozoic volcanic strata (pre–22 m.y. B.P.) are predominantly composed of rhyolite and basalt. These are followed by a sequence of predominant andesite (∼20 to 18 m.y. old), a sequence of partially marine conglomerate and pyroclastic deposits, and a widespread, predominantly rhyolitic sequence (∼14 to 10 m.y.). All strata 10 m.y. old or older are involved in basin-and-range–type tilting. Volcanic strata less than 8 m.y. old are nearly flat-lying.

Consumer Interdependence via Reference Groups

Abstract: In solving choice problems under bounded rationality, one relies on “heuristics” provided by social interdependence. Such “heuristics” consist in taking a particular social group as a reference group and in emulating its life-style by acquiring an associated cluster of complementary wants. A preference map generated by this reference-group-taking behavior exhibits smooth indifference curves which are convex to the origin with a “relevant range” over which the marginal rate of substitution is positive and diminishing. However, its implications on consumer choice and welfare economics are significantly different from those of traditional theory.

Spin-label studies on rat liver and heart plasma membranes: Do probe-probe interactions interfere with the measurement of membrane properties?

Abstract: The structures of purified rat liver and heart plasma membranes were studied with the 5-nitroxide stearic acid spin probe,I(12, 3). ESR spectra were recorded with a 50 gauss field sweep, and also with a new technique which “expands” the spectrum by (1) recording pairs of adjoining peaks with a smaller field sweep and (2) superposing the common peaks. The hyperfine splittings measured from the “expanded” spectra were significantly more precise than those obtained from the “unexpanded” spectra. Both procedures were used to study the effects of variousI(12,3) prove concentrations on the spectra of liver and heart membranes, as well as the effects of temperature and CaCl2 additions on the spectra of liver membranes, and revealed the following:

Auxin-induced H Secretion in Helianthus and Its Implications.

Abstract: We have examined the ability of Helianthus hypocotyl segments as well as segments from a variety of other species to elongate in response to H+ and to secrete H+ in response to auxin and fusicoccin. In all cases a positive response was obtained when the cuticular barrier was abraded with carborundum. Removal of the cuticular barrier by “peeling” prevented detection of both auxin-induced elongation and H+ secretion. Fusicoccin-induced growth and acid secretion are not prevented by peeling. These results suggest considerable tissue selectivity with respect to auxin action but considerably less specificity with respect to fusicoccin. It seems likely that in many dicots auxin-enhanced proton secretion and elongation are controlled by the epidermis and/or closely associated cell layers. The data presented in this paper provide further support for the acid growth theory of auxin action.

Origin and history of upper Pleistocene marine terraces, San Diego, California

Abstract: Geomorphic, structural, paleontologic, and stratigraphic analysis of features of emergent marine terraces have been used to reconstruct part of the late Pleistocene paleoenvironmental, paleogeographic, and tectonic history of the San Diego area. The Nestor terrace abrasion platform was cut 120,000 yr B.P. during a marine stillstand 6 ± 4 m above present sea level. Fossil marine invertebrates on this platform reflect slightly higher than present shallow-water marine temperatures, consistent with the slightly higher level of the sea and smaller volume of glacial ice. The 105,000-yr B.P. stillstand 12 ± 3 m lower than present sea level may be recorded in a single very small unfossiliferous terrace remnant. The Bird Rock terrace abrasion platform was cut 80,000 yr B.P. during a stillstand 14 ± 2 m lower than present sea level. Fossil marine invertebrates on this platform reflect slightly lower than present shallow-water marine temperatures, consistent with the slightly lower level of the sea and larger volume of glacial ice. General, rather uniform tectonic elevation of the entire San Diego coastal area has amounted to 19 to 24 m during the past 80,000 yr for a rate of uplift of 24 to 30 cm per thousand years. Just south of the Rose Canyon fault, the Nestor platform was elevated tectonically by approximately 23 m between 120,000 and 80,000 yr B.P. and another 31 m during the subsequent 80,000 yr to a total of 54 m in 120,000 yr, or 45 cm per thousand years.

Aluminum-26 as a planetoid heat source in the early solar system

Abstract: The results of thermal model calculations which assume Al-26 as a heat source are presented. The relation between Al-26 content, the maximum central temperature obtained, and the time interval after formation until central cooling commences is elucidated. Because of the heating times required, these results constrain maximum permissible planetoid dimensions more severely than do previous calculations which assume a high initial temperature.

The Effect of Asynchronous Inputs on Sequential Network Reliability

Abstract: Synchronous sequential networks (SSN's) with high-frequency asynchronous inputs are subject to substantial failure rates due to the failure of input synchronizing networks. An apparent solution to this problem is to design asynchronous sequential networks (ASN's) to process the asynchronous inputs directly using the unrestricted input change technique of Unger. It is noted that this technique requires the use of inertial-delay elements and it is shown that inertial-delay elements can also be used to design reliable input synchronizers directly. Several common inertial-delay designs are examined. It is shown that none can be guaranteed reliable. An extensive dynamic analysis is required to prove the unreliability of one of these, an inertial delay which uses a Schmitt trigger. It is thus established that ASN's are subject to the same type of reliability problems as those recently exposed for synchronizers in synchronous networks. Furthermore, inertial delays are shown to be of central importance in that the development of a reliable inertial delay will solve both synchronous and asynchronous reliability problems.

Natural history of the Pan‐American sand beach isopod Excirolana braziliensis (Crustacea: Malacostraca)

Abstract: A population of the intertidal isopod Excirolana braziliensis was followed over a 10-month period at Naos Island, Panama. Average intertidal density was 2147/m2 with maximum abundance occurring in the highest level. Adults were present only in the highest tidal level. Juveniles were distributed throughout all tidal levels and comprised at least 70% of the population at all times. Mean size of individuals decreased from the highest level seaward. Reproductive females were present the year round. The number of young ranged from four to 17 per brood and was dependent on the length of the female. Adults were very tolerant of changes in temperature and salinity.

Acceptance of Ideas Generated Through Individual and Group Brainstorming

Abstract: Summary This study compared the performance of nominal groups of individuals (N = 64 undergraduates) who actually brainstormed alone and real groups (N = 64 undergraduates) in terms of the number of ideas they produced for realistic and unrealistic brainstorming tasks, time taken to select a “best” idea following brainstorming, and level of agreement as to the quality of selected ideas. As in previous studies, nominal groups produced significantly more ideas than real groups, and an unrealistic problem stimulated more ideas than a realistic problem. Contrary to predictions of group brainstorming advocates, real groups were not found to be superior to nominal groups regarding either the selection of “best” ideas or level of agreement as to the quality of selected ideas. For both nominal and real groups, selection of “best” ideas was accomplished faster for an unrealistic as opposed to a realistic problem.

Recall and recognition of words and pictures by adults and children

Abstract: Recall and recognition performance were compared under three different modes of presentation (written words, black-and-white pictures of objects, and color pictures of objects) for 30 subjects in each of three grade levels (college students, sixth graders, and fourth graders). The results showed a developmental trend of increasing recall performance with age. Whereas adult performance was significantly affected by mode of presentation (color pictures >black-and-white pictures >written words), no difference was found across presentation modes for the fourth and sixth graders. However, the data also indicated that children do have pictorial and color cues available in memory in a manner very similar to adults. It was suggested that the cognitive structures of children do not utilize this stimulus information.

Minimum Stream Power for Rivers and Deltas

Abstract: A numerical model for channel alteration is developed for sand-bed rivers and deltas. The unsteady river flow is computed using the continuity equation and momentum equation of flow with prescribed boundary conditions. Changes in cross-sectional area and delta growth are evaluated based upon the continuity equation for sediment and a sediment transport equation. Subject to certain physical constraints, the part of the river on the delta (delta stream) is assumed to adjust its width freely. To determine the variation in delta stream width, it is assumed to vary in such a way that the total stream power of the river flow is a minimum subject to the physical constraints. The analytical results substantiated with field data indicate that the width-depth ratio of the delta stream tends to increase with a decreasing velocity in an aggrading delta stream, while it tends to decrease with an increasing velocity in a degrading delta stream.

Validation of A Model of the Effect of Tundra Vegetation on Soil Temperatures

Abstract: A model of physical processes of heat transfer through vegetation canopies and soil was developed for the tundra and tested with data from the wet coastal tundra near Point Barrow, Alaska. The total leaf area index of the canopy was varied by clipping and adding dead material to different plots. Air and soil temperatures were monitored continuously in the growing season to validate the model. Calculated air and soil temperatures were within 1?C of the measured temperatures through the profiles. Calculated and observed depths of thaw were usually within 0.01 m through the season. Deviations were greatest during a period of snow. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the important variables and processes, many difficult to measure, are those relating to evaporation from the wet moss surface under the canopy.

Chemical evolution and the evolution of the earth's crust.

Abstract: It is hypothesized that there is a close relationship between the geologic evolution of the global plates of the Earth's crust and the chemical evolution of life on the Earth. Characteristics of the axes of plate spreading are discussed in relation to postulated environments conducive to the synthesis of chemical compounds thought to be important biological precursors. Likely locations forin situ measurements to test the hypothesis are identified.

Coping Activities in Solitary Confinement of U.S. Navy POWs in Vietnam1

Abstract: A questionnaire was developed and administered to 137 Navy aviators, who were repatriated prisoners of war (RPWs) from North Vietnam, to investigate the usefulness of specific “time-killing” activities or adaptational strategies for coping with extensive periods of solitary confimement during captivity. Factor analysis of the usefulness scores resulted in the derivation of four factors accounting for 32% of the variance: (1) Captor-Captive Relationship, (2) Reliving the Past, (3) Repetitive Behavior, and (4) Self-development Activities. Factor 1 coping activities were rated as most useful, and Factor 3 as least useful. Factor 2 activities were used by most RPWs during the first few weeks in solitary, while Factor 4 activities were not used until later. In addition, the usefulness of all four factors increased significantly over time. The results were discussed in terms of the personality characteristics of aviators, and theoretical formulations emphasizing the individual's need for optimal stimulation.

Beauty or Brains: Which Image for Your Mate?

Abstract: Male and female subjects evaluated a male after seeing a videotape of him with his girlfriend. The attractiveness and intelligence of the girlfriend was varied. A multivariate analysis of variance on 10 dependent measures showed the male to be evalu ated more favorably when his partner was more attractive or more intelligent. Univariate analysis showed attractiveness affected all of the dependent measures. Intelligence affected a more select group of attributes--talent, self-confidence, and intelli gence--but affected this group about as much as attractiveness did. Intelligence and beauty have special and different places in the interpersonal marketplace.