Showing papers by "San Francisco State University published in 1981"

Snowball Sampling: Problems and Techniques of Chain Referral Sampling

Abstract: In spite of the fact that chain referral sampling has been widely used in qualitative sociological research, especially in the study of deviant behavior, the problems and techniques involved in its...

Task difficulty and aberrant behavior in severely handicapped students.

Abstract: The influence of task difficulty on aberrant behavior was investigated with three severely handicapped students. Noticeably higher rates of problem behavior occurred in demand compared to no-demand conditions. In addition, there were higher rates of problem behaviors on difficult versus easy tasks. Both these findings were validated with visual discrimination and perceptual motor tasks. An errorless learning procedure effectively minimized errors and aberrant behavior in visual discrimination tasks but not in perceptual motor tasks. It was conceptualized that aberrant behavior was maintained by negative reinforcement contingencies. Difficult tasks were aversive to the children, who emitted aberrant responses to escape or avoid such tasks. By contrast, conditions in which no demands were made, easy tasks, and, in visual discrimination learning, errorless tasks, were less aversive and resulted in little or no problem behavior. Implications for reducing maladaptive behaviors through curricular modifications are discussed and contrasted to more traditional consequence manipulation approaches.

The Relationship between Selectivity and Food Abundance in a Juvenile Lizard

Abstract: Several theoretical models of foraging behavior predict relationships between the rel- ative abundance of a food item and a forager's selectivity for that item. Prey switching models predict that selectivity for items will be positively related to their relative abundance. Optimal foraging models based on energy optimization predict a non-negative correlation between selectivity and the abun- dance of valuable food items. Optimal foraging models based on nutrient constraints predict that selectivity for items should be negatively related to their relative abundance for all nutritionally important food items. The relationship between selectivity and relative abundance was investigated in the field in a juvenile lizard, Anolis aeneus. In each of 11 periods spanning the wet and dry season, sweep samples and stomach contents yielded data on selectivity, the relative and absolute abundance of different prey types in the environment, and the total abundance of food in the environment. The results tend to confirm the optimal foraging models based on nutrient constraints. All of the six important prey types eaten showed a negative correlation between selectivity and relative abun- dance; for four taxa the relationship was significant. In the case of four taxa, juveniles tended to eat the same proportion of the prey type regardless of its relative abundance in the habitat. In two other cases juveniles tended to eat proportionally less of a prey type as the relative abundance of that type increased in the environment. The absolute abundance of prey types also had a negative correlation with selectivity (significant for the two most frequently eaten prey types). Total food abundance was the most important determinant of selectivity in only one prey type; lizards ate more ants when food abundance was low. It is suggested that energy optimization may be a relatively low priority for small ectothermic insectivores such as Anolis aeneus juveniles. Low energy demands, a relative abundance of suitable prey sizes in the environment, and low search costs may allow such animals to feed more like herbivores than like insectivorous birds or mammals.

Gene flow among population of a teleost (painted greenling, Oxylebius pictus) from Puget Sound to southern California

Abstract: Four geographic populations of the painted greenling Oxylebius pictus, a small cryptic reef fish of the western coast of North America, were examined for biochemical evidence of genetic differentiation. Painted greenlings in Puget Sound and those in central and southern California are similar by Nei's genetic identity (I=0.966 to 0.995); Fowever, other observations argue for genetic differentiation among the 4 populations. First, there are geographic differences in allelic frequencies at two loci (Est-3 and Pgm), with a geographic cline exhibited at the latter locus. Second, and most significant, two assayable loci are uniquely present in pairs of populations below Point Conception (G3pdh-3) and above Point Conception (Idh-3), respectively. Larval dispersal patterns are inferred from breeding times for the painted greenling and on patterns of currents off the western coast of North America. We believe that gene flow in this species is less across Point Conception than between Puget Sound, Washington, and Monterey, California, on the basis of these genetic data and the patterns of dispersal.

Population structure of the rare damselfly, Ischnura gemina (Kennedy) (Odonata: Coenagrionidae).

Abstract: The population structure of the endemic San Francisco Bay Area damselfly, Ischnura gemina, is examined using mark-recapture methods. Average daily movements, sex ratios, population size, maturation times, survivorship, and dispersion patterns, were recorded and calculated from two small (each less than one hectare) sites 150 m apart in Glen Canyon, San Francisco. Of 563 adults marked over 36 days, 412 (73%) were recaptured at least once. Average daily movements for males and females were less than 6 m, suggesting local movements. However, directional movements of 150 m were observed from one site to the other, indicating dispersal potential. One of the populations was a satellite composed entirely, of emigrating individuals from the other site; no larvae or teneral adults were found at the satellite area. Males were more aggregated than females at both sites. Both sexes were highly clumped at one site but were nearly randomly dispersed at the other site. Total population size for both sexes tended to be constant throughout the sampling period, at about 250. Adult population estimates showed more males were present than, females, but larval counts at one site indicated only a slight excess of males. Average life span estimates ranged from 6.5 days (females) to 23.3 days (males). One male lived at least 36 days. Maturation time for males was about 5–7 days, 7–10 days for females. A long life span and long flight season (March to November) are probably adaptations to the foggy San Francisco climate. All populations of I. gemina located to date are small, possibly originating from founders from nearby demes, and may be subject to different selection pressures. The dispersal potential of I. gemina may increase its chance of survival should small urban demes be threatened with destruction.

The Relationship Between Invasion of Personal Space and Stress

Abstract: This study examines the relationship between the invasion of personal space and stress in an interview situation. Fifty-three subjects were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions. The first condition served as a control group in which no spatial manipulation was made. In condition two, the interviewer (experimental confederate) unobtrusively moved toward the subject (interviewee) approximately one-third of the way through the interview. The third condition involved invasions at one-third and again at two-thirds of the way through the interview. From video-tapes made of each inteview, trained raters assessed the subjects' stress using a ratio-scaled direct observational measurement procedure. Paralleling the findings of previous research, the results of this study provide evidence demonstrating that spatial invasions are stress producing.

A theory of government enterprise: University Ph. D. production

Abstract: In a recent study, Lindsay (1976) proposed a theory of government enterprise based in part on the costs of monitoring managerial performance. He argued that because the public authority (in his case Congress) does not in general establish product value by market price, it must rely on measuring product attributes; since the authority will be able to monitor only highly visible product attributes, managers will direct resources toward these attributes and away from less visible and unmeasured attributes. Proprietary firms, in contrast, rely on paying customers to meter all of the product's attributes, with undesirable deviations in the attribute mix reflected in falling product price and profits. The more complete monitoring of product attributes for proprietary firms will insure that their products more closely match consumer demands and are thus of a higher quality. Empirically, Lindsay implements his theory by comparing VA hospitals with proprietary and voluntary hospitals, theorizing that because Congress meters output by patient days but not patient care, VA hospital managers will have an incentive to keep the wards filled but devote fewer resources to care. This leads him to predict, and indeed confirm, that the average length of stay, for a given ailment, is substantially longer in VA than voluntary hospitals. In this paper, I examine the same phenomena as it occurs in public universities. In public universities, tuition is held below the market clearing price, preventing market valuation of the product mix, and forcing the public authority to monitor a subset of product attributes. In general, the attribute selected is simply enrollment, with funding directly linked to the number of FTE (full time equivalent) students an attribute strikingly similar to beddays in hospitals. As a result, one can predict that university managers will divert resources toward enrollment and away from instruction, e.g., larger classes, lower admission standards, fewer auxiliary facilities, less financial assistance, less preparation for the classroom by instructors. If these policies are not met by an equivalent fall in standards for awarding degrees, public university students should have a diminished chance of earning a degree. It is this possibility which I wish to test. Though a fall in standards may occur, there is a priori reason to believe

Down’s Syndrome Children

Abstract: Down’s syndrome is generally believed to be the most common specific form of mental retardation. For a number of years, this syndrome has evoked great interest from researchers in a variety of fields—education, psychological, medical. Given that the physical stigmata typically associated with this syndrome are recognizable from birth, that medical complications often are present, and the finding that individuals with Down’s syndrome have benefited greatly from educational intervention, it is not surprising that this syndrome has been the target of many research efforts.

HEAO 1 high energy X-ray observations of the Virgo cluster and A2142

Abstract: Observations are reported of the Virgo cluster and Abell 2142 in the energy range of 15-150 keV, detected by using hard X-ray and low energy gamma-ray instruments on board the HEAO-1 spacecraft, during 1977 and 1978. The Virgo cluster was detected at a mean flux of (1.3 + or - 0.3) x 10 to the 0.001 photons/sq cm-s in the 20-100 keV band, and A2142 was detected marginally at a flux of (2 + or - 0.8) x 10 to the 0.001 photons/sq cm-s in the 15-40 keV band. Inverse Compton emission was not observed in these clusters. Results are used to derive limits to the intracluster magnetic field of B approximately greater than 5 x 10 to the -7th gauss and B approximately 5 x 10 to the -8th gauss in the Virgo cluster and A1242, respectively. There is some evidence for variability in these sources, which implies that the hard X-ray emission originates in a relatively compact object or region rather than from the cluster as a whole.

Asymptotic efficiency of rank tests of randomness against autocorrelation

Abstract: This note is concerned with the problem of testing the hypothesisH of randomness against the alternative that the variables are auto-correlated. Two rank tests ofH are considered and their asymptotic efficiencies relative to the classical normal theory tests are obtained.

Sex Differences in Achievement and Affiliation Motivation among Undergraduates Majoring in Different Academic Fields

Abstract: The NachNaff scale, a 30-item questionnaire that requires subjects to choose between self-descriptions consistent with either need for achievement (n Ach) or need for affiliation (n Aff) was administered to 165 male and 274 female university undergraduates Male marketing majors scored higher in n Ach (and lower in n Aff) than subjects in other majors Female education and nursing majors scored lower in n Ach (and higher in n Aff) than other subjects Males scored generally higher in n Ach if they were business majors, but lower if they were psychology majors, whereas females scored higher in n Ach if they were psychology majors, but lower if they were business majors

Observations on the First International Conference on Children of Holocaust Survivors.

Abstract: This first large-scale gathering of children of Holocaust survivors revealed-more from the unanticipated group process of the conference than from its official proceedings-that the second generation seeks a collective identity subordinate neither to the older generation of parents nor of mental-health authorities. Vital moments of tension and reconciliation at the conference between the children's self-help movement (with a sizable membership of young mental-health professionals) and distinguished mental-health experts indicated the legitimacy of intergenerational encounter and the place that it will likely be accorded in future meetings.

The Relationship between Moral Thought and Moral Action: Implications for Social Studies Education

Abstract: This article focuses upon the question “Does level of moral reasoning increase the likelihood of moral behavior occurring?” Through a review of the literature on this subject, the author draws thes...

Carcinogens and mutagens in the undergraduate laboratory

Abstract: Identifying carcinogens and suspected carcinogens; methods for identification and safe disposal; results and specific recommendations for metals, organic solvents, and others.

The residential correspondence between japanese and other ethnic groups in san francisco

Abstract: In social geography, a number of studies have delineated the residential patterns of individual ethnic groups using the concept of concentration and segregation. Ironically, none of those studies have demonstrated the degree to which a given group lives with other groups in part of a city. This study investigates the degree of areal correspondence between the residential patterns of Japanese in San Francisco and six other ethnic groups: White, Latin, Black, Chinese, Filipino and American Indian. Analysis of 1970 census data, utilizing Spearman's rank order correlation, reveals three major patterns in ethnic residential areal correspondence and it also reveals the fact that only the Japanese group shows a positive correspondence, at a statistically significant level, with the White category among all other groups.

Discrimination of early sleep stages: behavioral indicators.

Abstract: Six subjects participated in a one-night sleep-onset experiment. They were aroused from stage 1 and stage 2 as defined by standard electroencephalographic criteria. Subjects pressed a button upon arousal to indicate which of two subjective states they were in just before awakening. Performance accuracy from stage 1 awakenings appeared to remain relatively constant at approximately 83%; performance from stage 2 awakenings showed increasing accuracy. Response latencies increased between stage 1 and stage 2 awakenings.