Showing papers by "University of Massachusetts Boston published in 1997"

Individual and collective processes in the construction of the self: Self-enhancement in the United States and self-criticism in Japan.

Abstract: A collective constructionist theory of the self proposes that many psychological processes, including enhancement of the self (pervasive in the United States) and criticism and subsequent improvement of the self (widespread in Japan), result from and support the very ways in which social acts and situations are collectively defined and subjectively experienced in the respective cultural contexts. In support of the theory, 2 studies showed, first, that American situations are relatively conducive to self-enhancement and American people are relatively likely to engage in self-enhancement and, second, that Japanese situations are relatively conducive to self-criticism and Japanese people are relatively likely to engage in self-criticism. Implications are discussed for the collective construction of psychological processes implicated in the self and, more generally, for the mutual constitution of culture and the self.

Systems methods and instruments for minimally invasive surgery

Abstract: Systems, methods, and miniature instruments (e.g., 12, 30, 40, 50, and 102) are disclosed for minimally invasive surgical procedures. A miniature surgical instrument can be inserted directly into a body cavity (16) through a cannula (10, 118) in a way that a surgeon can insert his or her hand into the cavity (16) through a separate minimal incision and use the miniature instruments. A miniature surgical system can include: a cannula (10, 118) having a hollow body configured to receive a miniature surgical instrument (102) and a tether (13, 104) connected to the instrument; and a plunger (108) sized to engage a proximal end of the body and including a conduit (106) therethrough for receiving the tether. The system can also include the tether and the instrument. During use, the instruments can be quickly and safely removed from the body cavity to enable the surgeon to use his or her fingers, e.g., to manipulate tissue.

Instrument for thoracic surgical procedures

Abstract: An instrument for performing thoracic surgical procedures including an instrument body, a tool assembly, and an actuating mechanism. The instrument body has a proximal end spaced along a longitudinal axis from a distal end. The tool assembly has two cooperating tool members operably connected to the distal end of the instrument body for insertion into the body cavity. Each of the tool members can include a cam slot. Furthermore, each of the tool members are rotatable between an open and a closed position about a rotation axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The actuating mechanism is carried by the instrument body and provides a high torque on the tool members. The actuating mechanism can include first and second oppositely facing bosses, oriented parallel to the rotation axis, and an actuating element. Each one of the bosses is offset from the plane defined by the longitudinal axis of the instrument body and the rotation axis of the tool members and engages a respective one of the cam slots in a camming relationship. The actuating element is operable for motion relative to the instrument body such that movement of the actuating element relative to the instrument body causes the bosses to effect cooperative movement of the tool members. In an alternative embodiment, the bosses are positioned on the tool members and the cam slots are formed on the actuating mechanism.

Device, surgical access port, and method of retracting an incision into an opening and providing a channel through the incision

Abstract: A device for retracting edges of an incision in a surface to form an opening including: a flexible, tubular skirt having an upper end, a lower end, and a channel therebetween; a ring connected to the lower end of the skirt for maintaining the lower end in an open configuration and defining an exit opening to the channel; and an inflatable collar connected to the skirt and surrounding the upper end. The ring is designed to fit through the incision and remain under the surface when it is oriented parallel to surface. The collar, when inflated, maintains the upper end in an open configuration and defines an entry opening to the channel. During use, the ring is inserted through the incision and the collar is inflated while remaining outside of the incision, thereby drawing the skirt against the edges of the incision and retracting the edges of the incision to form the opening. The retracting device can be included in a surgical access port, which further includes a flexible sleeve connected to at least one of the inflatable collar and the skirt, extending the channel from the exit opening of the skirt to an open end of the flexible sleeve distal to the skirt. The device can include a light source in the vicinity of the exit opening.

A major biopolymeric component to dissolved organic carbon in surface sea water

Abstract: Organic carbon dissolved in sea water is an important component of the global carbon cycle1. Concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the ocean's surface mixed layer are at least twice those in the deep sea2,3, because of the production of soluble carbon compounds by marine algae in the euphotic zone4,5. But very little is known about the chemical composition of DOC, and the connection between photosynthetic production and DOC accumulation is not well understood6,7. Here we report the chemical characterization of macromolecular DOC at several sites in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Neutral sugars, acetate and lipids show similar distributions, suggesting that these constituents are linked together in a common macromolecular structure. Chemical linkage patterns between the oligosaccharide portions of dissolved organic matter subjected to ultrafiltration are highly specific, with little variation between ocean basins. We show that laboratory culture experiments on the decomposition of algal exudate produce macromolecular organic matter with similar compositions and linkage characteristics. We propose that a significant fraction of DOC in sea surface water consists of structurally related and biosynthetically derived acyl oligosaccharides that persist after more labile organic matter has been degraded.

Fingertip-mounted minimally invasive surgical instruments and methods of use

Abstract: The invention is a number of minimally invasive, miniature surgical instruments (10) that can be mounted directly on a surgeon's fingertips in a way that the surgeon can insert his or her hand into a patient through a minimal incision to perform surgical procedures, and also to use his or her fingers to manipulate tissues. The invention enables the surgeon to perform the procedures with all the benefits of minimally invasive surgery, but with much greater tactile sense, control, and ease of manipulation, than enabled by known minimally invasive surgical instruments.

SAR applications in human settlement detection, population estimation and urban land use pattern analysis: a status report

Abstract: Over 70 percent of the population of the world's developed countries live in urbanized areas. In developing countries migration to urban areas is continuing at an increasing rate. Detection and analysis of settlement patterns, estimating population, and monitoring population migration in a timely manner are requisite to accurately assess the impact of human activities on the environment. Monitoring urban land use change patterns is among the most critical information needs for future economic development planning, natural resource allocation, and environmental and ecosystem management. Previous research has demonstrated the potential of imaging radar systems in analyzing urban, population, and settlement phenomena. However, the variability and complexity within and between urban land use morphologies present a convoluted environment for analysis. Studies of vegetation, soils, geology, hydrology, and ice and snow have all received more attention and been the subject of considerably more widespread and in-depth radar research. Nevertheless, imaging radars offer some distinct advantages and opportunities for urban-based research. With the arrival of operational space imaging SAR systems, a review of the current status of applications of radar remote sensing in urban studies should be useful for focusing the authors' attention on this important area of radar research and identification of specific problems for in-depth analysis. This paper traces the history of imaging radar research for urban, settlement, and population analysis. It presents a status report on the applications of SAR in settlement detection, population estimation, assessment of the impact of human activities on the physical environment, mapping and analyzing urban land use patterns, and interpretation of socioeconomic characteristics. The demonstrated capabilities and limitations of past and current imaging radar systems with reference to these applications are described. Potential avenues of future research are addressed.

An Examination of Factors Affecting the Decision to Waive Audit Adjustments

Abstract: The value of audit services is determined by an auditor's ability to both (1) discover misstatements in the client's accounting system and (2) report those misstatements (DeAngelo [1981a, 1981b]) Audit adjustments reflect the auditor's discovery of a potential breach in the client's accounting system The decision to waive an audit adjustment is important, since it can potentially lead to misleading financial statements Waiving an adjustments) may also result in litigation and loss of auditor reputation Despite its importance, we have very little empirical evidence on the decision to waive an adjustment The purpose of this study is to initiate an understanding of the importance placed by auditors on a number of factors noted in the literature in determining whether a proposed audit adjustment is waivedThe study reported here utilizes archival data gathered from actual audit engagements to examine variables that may explain the decision to waive an audit adjustment The findings reveal that in additio

Toward a Model of Transculturation

Abstract: The TESOL Quarterly invites commentary on current trends or practices in the TESOL profession. It also welcomes responses to rebuttals to any articles or remarks published here in The Forum or elsewhere in the Quarterly.

Environmental Management as Political Sustainability

Abstract: Grounded in critical theory and the Gramscian concept of hegemony, this article argues that environmental management (EM) can be understood as an accommodation to growing public awareness of environmental problems that potentially threatens dominant hegemonic coalitions. On the material level, EM is a set of practices that ameliorates the more egregious environmental consequences of industrialproduction; on the ideological and symbolic level, EM constructs products and companies as "green " and legitimizes the primacy of corporate management's role in addressing environmental problemrs. EM is thus seen to be more about political than environmental sustainability.

National and international efforts at integrated coastal management: Definitions, achievements, and lessons

Abstract: Integrated coastal management (ICM) is a global practice involving approximately 90 coastal nations and semisovereign states which have been engaged in at'least 180 programs, projects, or feasibility studies. Despite the continual growth of ICM over the past three decades, relatively little information has been generated on what works, what does not work and why. Improving the state of the art and increasing successes while diminishing failures depend on a number of factors, such as formulation of a better consensus on definitions, concepts, and measuring achievements; determination of lessons that can be derived from cross‐national comparisons and the transferability of these lessons to international, national, and subnational institutions; and development of new as well as improved information exchange networks. This article addresses these factors and recommends an agenda for improving the practice of ICM.

The Cyclic Behavior of the Greater London Office Market

Abstract: This paper applies structural econometric methodology to estimating and forecasting the greater London office market. We assemble a time series covering the 1970–1995 period and estimate equations for net space absorption, movements in rents, and new building orders. Together with two identities, calculating the stock and vacancy, these form a complete model. We estimate a generally inelastic supply and demand relationship that yields a dynamically stable system. Without unanticipated economic shocks, the market is noncyclic. Therefore the building boom of the 1980s largely is delayed response to the huge growth in service jobs that occurred over that period.

Polyactic acid-based blends

Abstract: Biodegradable blends including a first, polylactic acid-based polymer or copolymer, and a second polymer or copolymer including one or more polyesters, e.g., an aliphatic polyester or a polyester of one aliphatic C 2 to C 20 diacid or of a combination of two more different aliphatic C 2 to C 20 diacids, wherein the first and second polymers are present in a ratio of 9:1 to 1:9, are described.

Weight, weight-related aspects of body image, and depression in early adolescent girls

Abstract: Body image - the individual, subjective sense of the body - is theorized to be a core component of personality (Freud, 1927). Assumed to be a matter of conscious as well as unconscious apprehension, body image is thought to reflect the combined impact of actual body structure and function, early and continuing body-related experience, lifelong social response to body appearance, and sociocultural values and ideals regarding the body (Fisher, 1990). Body image, thus, is a biopsychosocial construction, partially determined by, but not reducible to, the objective physical body. Because body image has been viewed as fundamental in personality development, variations in body image have been thought to be related to individual differences in broad aspects of personality and self-experience. Peto (1972), for example, theorized that differences in body image were related to different levels of self-esteem, a normally distributed dimension of personality, and varying degrees of depression, a dimension of abnormal personality. Peto (1972) focused on maturity of body image in his consideration of psychological vulnerability to depression. In contrast, most empirical investigations relating body image to self-esteem or depression have focused on the valuative aspect of body image, pertaining to body satisfaction. Studies of late adolescents and adults have reported a significant relationship between lesser body satisfaction and lower self-esteem or higher levels of depressive symptomatology (Abrams, Allen, & Gray, 1993; Denniston, Roth, & Gilroy, 1992; Goldberg & Folkins, 1974; Marsella, Shizura, Brennan, & Kameoka, 1981; McCauley, Mintz, & Glenn, 1988; Noles, Cash, & Winstead, 1985; Silberstein, Striegel-Moore, Timko, & Rodin, 1988; Teri, 1982; Tiggemann, 1994). Further clarification of the relationship between body image and depression seems important for early adolescents, particularly for girls. It is in the early adolescent years that rates of depression increase significantly, with this increase greater for girls than for boys (e.g., Stroufe & Rutter, 1984). Further, not only does the body change dramatically with puberty for both girls and boys (e.g., Lerner, 1987), but for girls it changes away from the cultural ideal of thinness (Faust, 1983): A normal part of girls' pubertal development involves a significant increase in fat, and thus weight (Frisch, 1980; Young, Sipin, & Roe, 1980). Associated with this physical change is the oft-observed decrease in body satisfaction for early adolescent girls (e.g., Koff & Rierdan, 1991), with a prominent focus of this dissatisfaction being weight and parts of the body associated with greater fat deposits (Kirkley & Burge, 1989; Tobin-Richards, Boxer, & Petersen, 1983). This study seeks to clarify hypothesized relationships between weight, weight-related aspects of body image, and depression in early adolescent girls. While empirical findings have confirmed a relationship between global body dissatisfaction and depression among early adolescent girls (Allgood-Merton, Lewinsohn, & Hops, 1990; Alsaker, 1992; Faust, 1987; Hops, Lewinsohn, Andrews & Roberts, 1990; Richards, Casper, & Larson, 1990; Rierdan, Koff, & Stubbs, 1987), it is not yet clear if weight experience per se is related to depressive symptomatology among these girls. Among the few pertinent studies, Kaplan, Busner, and Pollack (1988) related self-perceived classification of weight to depressive symptoms in a group of 11-18-year olds. They did not focus on early adolescents, whose bodies change most dramatically, nor did they measure and control for actual weight. Rosen, Gross, and Vera (1987) did control for objective weight in their study of high school students, and confirmed a relationship between a wish to change weight - presumably a measure of body image dissatisfaction-and depressive symptoms, with this relationship stronger for girls than for boys. …

Stress, Social Support, and Adjustment of Adolescents in Middle School

Abstract: Examined in this study were middle school stress, social supports, and adjustment of 482 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade adolescents. Multiple regression analyses were used to relate differing types of stress and social support to students' self-concept, feelings of depression, and liking of school. The effects of adolescent characteristics (gender, grade level, grade point average, and education placement status) also were assessed. Results showed that higher academic stress and less emotional support from the family were related to lower academic self-concept, and higher peer stress and less companionship support from peers were associated with lower social self-concept. Emotional support from the family moderated the influence of peer stress on feelings of depression. Problem-solving support from adults outside the family moderated the effects of teacher/rules stress on adolescents' liking of school. The importance of identifying the linkages between types of stress, social support, and adjustment, ...

Conservation of microsatellites among tropical trees (Leguminosae).

Abstract: Although microsatellites or simple sequence repeats (SSRs) have become a popular tool in genetic mapping and gene flow studies, their utility is limited due to paucity of information about DNA sequences in plants We tested the utility of microsatellite markers characterized for the tropical tree Pithecellobium elegans as a genetic tool for related species The results indicate that SSR loci are conserved among closely related species, and SSR primers developed for P elegans could be successfully used as a genetic tool in several species of the tribe Ingeae This study indicates that there is high potential for the transfer of SSR markers among closely related taxa, circumventing laborious cloning and screening procedures involved in characterizing SSR loci for many species

ERP assessment of visual and auditory language processing in schizophrenia.

Abstract: Language disturbance in schizophrenia has been recently attributed to disturbed priming mechanisms. In the present study, event-related potentials (ERPs), were recorded to final words in sentences presented to 13 chronic patients with schizophrenia and 12 normal controls. Half of the final words fit a sentence context and another half did not. The N400 (the ERP sensitive to language) latency was prolonged, and its amplitude was more negative to both correct and incorrect sentence endings in the group with schizophrenia relative to the group of normal controls. The early ERP components, N100 and P200, were similar in both groups. These results suggest that language abnormalities in schizophrenia are related to a dysfunction in the language system and not to a general cognitive dysfunction, and may be related to poor use of context in patients with schizophrenia.

Pathways to Labor Force Exit: Work Transitions and Work Instability

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine alternative pathways to labor force exit among older men. Based on the life course perspective, we distinguish between crisp exits from the labor force, which are characterized as being unidirectional, and blurred transition patterns, which include repeated exits, entrances, and unemployment spells. Using longitudinal data from the 1984 Survey of Income and Program Participation, we find that one-quarter of the sample of men aged 55 to 74 at first interview experienced at least one transition in labor force status over a 28-month observation period. Fewer than half of these can be characterized as crisp exits from the labor force. Our multivariate analysis suggests that blurred transition patterns are likely part of an effort to maintain economic status in later life.

On optimal design of multitier wireless cellular systems

Abstract: We present a general cell-design methodology for the optimal design of a multitier wireless cellular network. Multitier networks are useful when there are a multitude of traffic types with drastically different parameters and/or different requirements, such as different mobility parameters or quality-of-service requirements. In such situations, it may be cost-effective to build a multitude of cellular infrastructures, each serving a particular traffic type. The network resources (e.g., the radio channels) are then partitioned among the multitude of tiers. In general terms, we are interested in quantifying the cost reduction due to the multitier network design, as opposed to a single-tier network. Our study is motivated by the expected proliferation of personal communication services, which will serve different mobility platforms and support multimedia applications through a newly deployed infrastructure based on the multitier approach.

Receptivity to volunteering in the immediate postretirement period

Abstract: Higher rates of volunteering might be expected of elders in the period immediately after retirement because they tend to be in relatively good health and have fewer competing obliga tions. Data from the Commonwealth Productive Aging Survey, a telephone survey of a repre sentative national sample of 2,999 people 55 years of age and older, confirmed findings of previous research that retirement is not associated with higher rates of volunteering. However, in the first and second years following termination of employment, nonvolunteers show a heightened receptivity to volunteering; that is, they indicate more willingness to take on volunteer assignments and an ability to do so than do elders who are employed or who have been out of the workforce for longer periods. The findings suggest that volunteer coordinators should focus volunteer recruiting efforts on elders who are about to leave jobs or who have recently left jobs.

An Investigation of Attention and Affect in Children with Autism and Down Syndrome

Abstract: Longitudinal videotape recordings of six young children with autism and six age- and language-matched children with Down syndrome in structured play with their mothers at home were coded for the focus of the child's visual attention for four bimonthly visits and for facial affect for two of the four visits. The main finding was that the children with autism showed reduced expression of positive affect in a familiar social context. The autistic group attended to the mother's face and the researchers only about half as much as the Down syndrome group, but these differences did not reach statistical significance. Compared to the Down syndrome group, the autistic group displayed a smaller proportion of their total positive affect toward the mother's face and toward the researcher, but only the latter group difference reached statistical significance. Although limited by the small sample size, these findings suggest that autistic children's known deficits in attention and affective responsiveness to others persist even in structured interactions with a familiar partner in the home.

Assessing resilience in adults with histories of childhood sexual abuse

Abstract: Adults with histories of childhood sexual abuse were categorized as being either resilient or nonresilient on the basis of current levels of depression and self-esteem. Characteristics of both the individual and the early family environment distinguished resilient from nonresilient abuse survivors, as did the physically coercive nature of the abuse experience.

Understanding and harnessing the power of the cohort model in preparing educational leaders

Abstract: (1997). Understanding and harnessing the power of the cohort model in preparing educational leaders. Peabody Journal of Education: Vol. 72, No. 2, pp. 66-85.

Endoscope deployment apparatus

Abstract: An endoscope system according to the present invention is characterized by an imaging assembly that a user can alternatively attach to a first deployment assembly and to a second deployment assembly. The image assembly has a distal end configured for detecting image information and a proximal end configured for delivering the image information to a location remote from the imaging assembly distal end. The deployment assembly for deploying the imaging assembly includes a support member and a connecting member. The connecting member is carried on the support member and is removably and replaceably mountable with the imaging assembly housing for connecting the support member to the imaging assembly. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the support member includes a shaft member, a handle element connected to the proximal end of the shaft member for manual engagement of the deployment assembly, an articulating portion connected to the distal end of the shaft member and movable between undeflected and deflected positions for deflecting the tip of the imaging assembly, and a deflecting element. The deflecting element is attached in selected proximity to the distal end of the articulating portion for deflecting the articulating portion. The deployment assembly can include an imaging assembly guide element slidably and removably and replaceably mountable with the imaging assembly. Thus, an operator can use her hand to slidably extend the imaging assembly from the deployment means so as to position the imaging assembly's distal end in selected proximity to a target site.

Mother-infant interactions in two strains of rats: implications for dissociating mechanism and function of a maternal pattern.

Abstract: Mother-infant interaction was observed in Long-Evans and Fischer 344 rats after fostering within or across strains. Interactions immediately following introduction of foster pups to the cage as well as undisturbed interactions with resident litters were examined. Some differences were related to alien status, some to strain of pups, and others to strain of dams. Greater responsiveness to pups of the maternal strain was exhibited in retrieval and body licking. Long-Evans pups received more crouching from dams of both strains 3-12 days postpartum, perhaps because they are significantly larger. Regardless of pup strain, Long-Evans dams engaged in more maternal licking than did F344 dams, and this was more likely directed to the anogenital region. Dams of both strains were more likely to lick male than female pups, regardless of pup strain. The strain difference in maternal licking is consistent with adult strain differences in water and salt appetite and may contribute developmentally to the superior copulatory performance of Long-Evans males.