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

Stress and the etiology of osteoarthritis

Abstract: Although degenerative joint disease is an old and exceedingly common problem, clinical investigators have not reached a consensus regarding the etiology of this disease. Comparative osteological analysis of the knee, hip, shoulder, and elbow joints of 789 individuals from four human skeletal populations (Black and White Americans, Pueblo Indians, and Alaskan Eskimos) indicates that age of onset, frequency, and location of degenerative changes are directly related to the nature and degree of environmentally associated stress, as reflected by the variable life styles of the populations sampled. Eskimos have the earliest onset and most severe involvement for all four joints studied, the right side is usually more affected than the left, and Blacks are more frequently involved than Whites in the knee, shoulder, and elbow. Functional stress, when constant and severe in nature, becomes the primary focus of degenerative disease, but other background contributing agents such as age, sex, and hormonal influence must not be ignored.

The measurement of verbal predispositions: scale development and application

Abstract: A self-report instrument (PVB), designed to measure Predispositions toward Verbal Behavior, was found to have acceptable internal reliability, content validity, moderate construct validity, and strong criterion-related validity Subjects were found to have a generalized cognitive orientation toward their speech patterning that correlated positively with number of words and duration of talk in both highly-structured interviews and unstructured discussion situations

General principles of neurofunctional organization and their manifestation in primary and nonprimary language acquisition1

Abstract: In this paper an attempt is made to characterize and contrast aspects of the functional organization of neuropsychological systems carrying out primary language acquisition and two distinct types of nonprimary language acquisition: secondary language acquisition, and foreign language learning. It is noted that foreign language learning is quite different from primary language acquisition, but that between secondary language acquisition and primary language acquisition there seem to be more similarities than differences. One of the most significant differences is that secondary language acquisition is based on neurofunctional systems that are fully operational for children 6–13, but essentially mature for still older learners. While there is no critical period for secondary language acquisition such as exists for primary language acquisition, there is evidence that younger children are in fact better able to achieve communicative competence in a new language than teens or older adults. Several explanations have been proposed for the existence of what may be called a sensitive period for secondary language acquisition, and it is concluded here that in addition to a combination of personality variables, affective variables, social variables, cognitive style and environmental circumstances, there still remains an intrinsic neurofunctional basis for the greater facility with which young children achieve secondary language competence.

The Limbic System in Human Communication

Abstract: Publisher Summary The limbic system plays an important role in human communication of all types This chapter focuses on the role of limbic system in social and communicative behavior The limbic system is responsible for the bulk of nonpropositional human communication This forebrain network of cortical and subcortical structures has been thought of only in relation to its regulation of emotion and motivation, but in fact its range of functional responsibilities is large and includes major segments of social and communicative behavior It is known that humans share these structures homologously with other mammals, and for nonhuman primates, the limbic system comprises the level of neural activity that controls species-wide communication interactions The chapter discusses the evolution of the limbic system in human species, its development in human ontogeny, and several human clinical syndromes that have limbic etiologies It also provides an overview of the relationship between limbic and linguistic communication Moreover, limbic information processing is of interest not only as a nonverbal fringe to language but also because it lies at the heart of many theoretical issues currently under discussion in linguistics and psycholinguistics

The systems perspective as a theoretical basis for the study of human communication

Abstract: This essay presents the logical and empirical requirements for studying communication from the systems perspective. Four alternatives are distinguished: open, closed, cybernetic, and structural‐functional systems. The systems perspective is contrasted with competing theoretical views, and it is argued that the systems view can incorporate important aspects of each. A brief account of the epistemic framework provided by systems is provided.

Observations of Mesoscale Effects on Frontal Movement Through an Urban Area

Abstract: Data obtained from the extensive mesoscale anemometer network established during the New York University Urban Air Polution Dynamics Program were used to study the effects of New York City on frontal movement. Frontal position and movement were determined using sequential hourly streamline and isotach analyses of the flow through the New York City metropolitan area. Results showed that frontal movement during nonheat-island periods was retarded significantly over the entire central urban area. The retardation was probably due to the increased surface frictional drag exerted on the front by the increased surface roughness of the city as compared to that of its surrounding environs. During periods with well-developed urban heat islands, the results showed a retardation in frontal speed over the upwind half of the city, followed by a significant acceleration of the front over its downwind half.

The Microstructure of California Coastal Fog and Stratus

Abstract: Detailed vertical profiles of the microphysical properties of West Coast advection fog were made over theSan Francisco peninsula during the summers of 1974 and 1975. The sampling platform was the 250 m highMount Sutro tower which, during much of the summer, protrudes through the coastal marine layer intothe subsidence inversion. The microphysical structure was found to vary systematically as a function of airparcel trajectory and air mass history. Maritime trajectories had an average droplet concentration of 89 cm-3, contrasting sharply with continental trajectories averaging 265 cm-3. The effect of nuclei depletiondue to washout processes as the air parcels travel through stratus decks was found to reduce the numberof nuclei available for condensation by as much as 30%. Despite large variations in their initial structure,each sample displayed a remarkable consistency in its microphysical development. Over the peninsula, themean droplet diameter and liquid water content increased with height in e...

Eddy exchange coefficients in numerical models of the planetary boundary layer

Abstract: Specification of the eddy exchange coefficients is perhaps one of the most difficult problems in the numerical modeling of the planetary boundary layer. These coefficients have been computed from finite-difference analogs to analytical expressions associated with surface boundary-layer similarity theory, which is based on observations in an equilibrium surface layer. This procedure leads to erroneous results in the region above the surface layer and in a non-equilibrium surface layer. In addition, differencing problems arise in regions of small vertical wind shear. A new turbulence transport model has been obtained through the closure procedures for the transport equations of the Reynolds stress and the turbulent length scale. The new approach could be used to calculate Reynolds stresses and eddy exchange coefficients throughout a non-neutral planetary boundary layer under non-equilibrium conditions.

A systematic study of the oblique retinacular ligament of the human finger: Its structure and function

Abstract: A dissection of 14 preserved and two fresh human hands, a total of 64 fingers, all from different individuals, showed the oblique retinacular ligament to vary in completeness and to be functionally present in only 40 to 50 percent of the specimens, except for the ulnar side of the ring finger where it was present in over 90 percent. When present, it was made taut by flexion of the distal phalanx, regardless of the position of the proximal interphalangeal joint. Excision of the ligament when present, or in its absence in these fingers, did not alter the coordinated motion of the interphalangeal joints produced by traction on the extrinsic flexors and the lateral bands. In absence of the ligament, a constant finding was the presence of a proximally located osteocapsular ligament which became taut on extension of the proximal interphalangeal joint.

Failures in organization development and change: Cases and essays for learning

Abstract: The article reviews the book “Failures in Organization Development and Change: Cases and Essays for Learning,” edited by Philip H. Mirvis.

Intra-Audience Effects: A Field Test

Abstract: Audience feedback has been demonstrated to result in intra-audience effects in addition to having effects on message sources. This experiment was designed to demonstrate intra-audience effects in a naturalistic field setting. Sixty male and female undergraduates were required as part of a bogus class assignment to go to a bar on one of two nights and “observe communication behaviors in the field.” A group of about 30 confederates attended both nights, one night giving positive responses to the band and the other night giving negative responses. Subjects filled out a questionnaire in their classes on the day following participation. Results supported predictions that observable audience responses would affect subjects' evaluations of the band and the length of time spent at the bar.

Was development of brackish oceans a factor in Permian extinctions

Abstract: Extinction of major components of marine communities during Permian time was the most devastating event in the history of life. The pattern of extinction suggests that, among other possibilities, salinity changes in the oceans could have been a primary contributing factor. New data on Permian halite deposits show that the volume is far greater than previously suspected, amounting to at least 10 percent of the volume of salt presently in solution in the oceans. This amount is well over one-half the volume that, if removed from modern oceans, would produce brackish conditions resulting in mass extinctions in modern marine communities. Inasmuch as there may be considerably more Permian halite than has yet been discovered or dated as Permian, and as vast amounts of halite may have been lost from Permian deposits through solution in the past 225 m.y., it is considered probable that development of brackish oceans was an important factor in Permian extinctions.

Anxiety levels of short and long sleepers.

Abstract: As a test of the hypothesis that consistent short sleepers tend to be non-worriers while consistent long sleepers tend to worry, the anxiety levels of 17 short and 17 long sleepers were compared. Contrary to this hypothesis, we found that short sleepers showed significantly higher levels of anxiety than long sleepers.

Part one: Paleoepidemiology of degenerative knee disease

Abstract: Degenerative knee disease is investigated in osteological samples from three human skeletal populations. The distribution of incidence shows Eskimos are the most frequently and severely affected group, and multivariate analysis further indicates localized age‐independent patterns of degenerative involvement within the knee. It is suggested that such variation results from functional stress within the knee joint. Various modes of cultural behavior may have caused biomechanical stress to differ significantly in prehistoric peoples, and variable functional factors most probably produced the observed differences in the distribution of degenerative disease.

The NASA Ames Research Center one- and two-dimensional stratospheric models. Part 1: The one-dimensional model

Abstract: A one-dimensional model of stratospheric trace constituents is described in detail. Specifically, the numerical solution of the species continuity equations, including a technique for treating the stiff differential equations representing the chemical kinetic terms, and an appropriate method for simulating the diurnal variations of the species concentrations, are discussed. A specialized treatment of atmospheric photodissociation rates is outlined in the text. The choice of a vertical eddy diffusivity profile and its success in predicting the vertical tracer distributions (carbon 14, methane, and nitrous oxide) are also discussed.

The Summertime Stratus over the Offshore Waters of California

Abstract: Satellite pictures have been used to investigate the distribution of stratus clouds over the Pacific Ocean near California during one summer. A north-south oriented line of minimum cloudiness, which was particularly well-defined in July, was found off the northern and central California coast. The characteristic is believed to be caused by strong divergence of the surface winds. The clouds east of this minimum cloudiness line are generally “smooth-topped” stratus that form in air which is cooled by the upwelled water adjacent to the coast; in contrast, those to the west of the line are mainly stratocumulus, formed in air streaming southward over warmer water. A strong diurnal variation in low cloudiness was noted: over 18% of the clouds present at 0745 PST dissipated (in the mean) by 1345 PST. The maximum cloud cover occurred near sunrise and the minimum in the late afternoon, suggesting that the net radiative flux by clouds is primarily responsible for the diurnal variation. Divergence and advec...

Women in Campaigns: From Lickin' and Stickin' to Strategy

Abstract: n the last ten years, research on women and politics has come I into its own. Sex differences in political life began to attract scholarly interest in the postwar period when social scientists moved into the study of political behavior. Recently, that interest has intensified remarkably because of four related factors: (1) rising levels of female political participation, (2) efforts of the contemporary feminist movement to involve women in political decision-making,’ (3) acceptance of women’s studies as a legitimate academic discipline, and (4) the commitment of a new and larger generation of female political scientists to expanding knowledge about their own sex and its successes, failures, and overall impact in the political world. The field of American politics has been a particularly rich one for

Police Leadership: An Analysis of Executive Styles

Abstract: Managerial styles are often discussed in terms of the leadership abilities of the manager. One of the contemporary methods of determining effective leadership is the managerial grid developed by Blake and Mouton. Using a style assessment instrument based upon the managerial grid, leadership, or managerial, styles of the executives of an urban police agency are analyzed and discussed. Differences are noted between the overall primary style of the executives and their primary style in separate managerial activities. There is a tendency among the executives to move from the most desirable grid style (9/9) during the "thinking" (i.e., philosophy of management and planning and goal setting) phases of management to either task-or person-oriented (9/1 or 1/9) approaches during the "acting" phases (i.e., implementation and evaluation).

An advanced boundary integral equation method for two-dimensional electromagnetic field problems*

Abstract: The features of an advanced numerical solution capability for two-dimensional electromagnetic field problems governed by Laplace's Equation or, under certain conditions, by Poisson's Equation are outlined. Specifically, the relevant Boundary Integral Equation (BIE) formulation is presented, and a process for numerical solution is given based on assumed piecewise-quadratic variation of the boundary functions over boundary segments which, in turn, are assumed to be piecewise-quadratic curves between nodes. This numerical process based on quadratic assumptions is contrasted with the piecewise-constant or piecewise-linear assumptions which appear more commonly in the literature. A problem involving the forces on the windings in the “window” of a simple core-type transformer is solved for illustration

Inversion climatology at San Jose, California

Abstract: Month-to-month variations in the early morning surface-based and near-noon elevated inversions at San Jose, Calif., were determined from slow rise radiosondes launched during a four-year period. A high frequency of shallow, radiative, surface-based inversions were found in winter during the early morning hours, while during the same period in summer, a low frequency of deeper based inversions arose from a combination of radiative and subsidence processes. The frequency of elevated inversions in the hours near noon was lowest during fall and spring, while inversion bases were highest and thicknesses least during these periods.

A Measure of Psychological Realism on a Visual Simulator

Abstract: A FUNDAMENTAL question of simulation technology is how to determine if an aircraft simulation is creating the proper psychological space necessary to assess manned-system performance. The standard approach to this problem for visual simulators is to measure how well pilots can make approaches and landings on the simulator. Experiments of this type generally show that simulator performance is worse than actual landing performance and that there is an excessive amount of training required to reach acceptable performance. Unfortunately, in these experiments it is difficult to sort out the inadequacies of the visual subsystem from possible inadequacies in other simulator subsystems, such as the motion subsystem. This synoptic presents the results from one of a series of five experiments which attempted to provide direct measures of the psychological realism on a computer graphics night visual flight attachment. These experiments used experimental procedures and methodologies that psychologists have developed in their attempts to determine how people perceived visual space in the real world.