University of Memphis

About: University of Memphis is a education organization based out in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 7710 authors who have published 20082 publications receiving 611618 citations. The organization is also known as: U of M.

Lexical Influences on the Perception of Sarcasm

Abstract: Speakers and listeners make use of a variety of pragmatic factors to produce and identify sarcastic statements It is also possible that lexical factors play a role, although this possibility has not been investigated previously College students were asked to read excerpts from published works that originally contained the phrase said sarcastically, although the word sarcastically was deleted The participants rated the characters' statements in these excerpts as more likely to be sarcastic than those from similar excerpts that did not originally contain the word sarcastically The use of interjections, such as gee or gosh, predicted a significant amount of the variance in the participants' ratings of sarcastic intent This outcome suggests that sarcastic statements may be more formulaic than previously realized It also suggests that computer software could be written to recognize such lexical factors, greatly increasing the likelihood that non-literal intent could be correctly interpreted by such programs, even if they are unable to identify the pragmatic components of nonliteral language

Developmental trajectories of Body Mass Index from infancy to 18 years of age: prenatal determinants and health consequences

Abstract: Background Knowledge on the long-term development of adiposity throughout childhood/adolescence and its prenatal determinants and health sequelae is lacking. We sought to (1) identify trajectories of Body Mass Index (BMI) from 1 to 18 years of age, (2) examine associations of maternal gestational smoking and early pregnancy overweight with offspring BMI trajectories and (3) determine whether BMI trajectories predict health outcomes: asthma, lung function parameters (forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1 )/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio), and blood pressure, at 18 years. Methods The Isle of Wight birth cohort, a population-based sample of 1456 infants born between January 1989 and February 1990, was prospectively assessed at ages 1, 2, 4, 10 and 18 years. Group-based trajectory modelling was applied to test for the presence of latent BMI trajectories. Associations were assessed using log-binomial and linear regression models. Results Four trajectories of BMI were identified: ‘normal’, ‘early persistent obesity’, ‘delayed overweight’, and ‘early transient overweight’. Risk factors for being in the early persistent obesity trajectory included maternal smoking during pregnancy (RR 2.16, 95% CI 1.02 to 4.68) and early pregnancy overweight (3.16, 1.52 to 6.58). When comparing the early persistent obesity to the normal trajectory, a 2.15-fold (1.33 to 3.49) increased risk of asthma, 3.2% (0.4% to 6.0%) deficit in FEV 1 /FVC ratio, and elevated systolic 11.3 mm Hg (7.1 to 15.4) and diastolic 12.0 mm Hg (8.9 to 15.1) blood pressure were observed at age 18 years. Conclusions Maternal prenatal exposures show prolonged effects on offspring9s propensity towards overweight-obesity. Distinct morbid BMI trajectories are evident during the first 18 years of life that are associated with higher risk of asthma, reduced FEV 1 /FVC ratio, and elevated blood pressure.

Effects of anisotropy on elastic moduli measured by nanoindentation in human tibial cortical bone

Abstract: Many biological materials are known to be anisotropic. In particular, microstructural components of biological materials may grow in a preferred direction, giving rise to anisotropy in the microstructure. Nanoindentation has been shown to be an effective technique for determining the mechanical properties of microstructures as small as a few microns. However, the effects of anisotropy on the properties measured by nanoindentation have not been fully addressed. This study presents a method to account for the effects of anisotropy on elastic properties measured by nanoindentation. This method is used to correlate elastic properties determined from earlier nanoindentation experiments and from earlier ultrasonic velocity measurements in human tibial cortical bone. Also presented is a procedure to determine anisotropic elastic moduli from indentation measurements in multiple directions.

Procedural justice in promotion decisions: using perceptions of fairness to build employee commitment

Abstract: Although companies spend millions of dollars each year in their attempts to comply with fair employment laws, many firms continue to have problems with employees who perceive unfair treatment in promotion decisions. Procedural justice refers to the perceived fairness or equity of the procedures used in making decisions regarding the distribution of rewards, such as promotion. Previous research indicates a positive relationship between procedural justice and organizational commitment, but these findings relate to the effect of unfair selection decisions on organizational commitment, instead of specifically focusing on justice perceptions in promotion decisions. Because employee perceptions of unfairness may result in negative consequences for organizations, the purpose of this study was to examine the significance of procedural justice in promotion decisions in predicting organizational commitment. Regression analysis results indicate a significant main effect of the perceived fairness of the promotion‐decision system on organizational commitment. Implications for research and practitioners are discussed.