Showing papers by "University of South Carolina published in 1993"

Prevalence of civilian trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in a representative national sample of women

Abstract: Prevalence of crime and noncrime civilian traumatic events, lifetime posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and PTSD in the past 6 months were assessed in a sample of U.S. adult women (N = 4,008). Random digit-dial telephone methods were used to identify study participants. Structured telephone interviews for assessment of specific crime or other traumatic event history and PTSD were conducted by trained female interviewers. Lifetime exposure to any type of traumatic event was 69%, whereas exposure to crimes that included sexual or aggravated assault or homicide of a close relative or friend occurred among 36%. Overall sample prevalence of PTSD was 12.3% lifetime and 4.6% within the past 6 months. The rate of PTSD was significantly higher among crime versus noncrime victims (25.8% vs. 9.4%). History of incidents that included direct threat to life or receipt of injury was a risk factor for PTSD. Findings are compared with data from other epidemiological studies. Results are discussed as they relate to PTSD etiology.

Re-examining perceived ease of use and usefulness

Abstract: Recently, Adams, et al. (1992) presented the results of two studies designed to replicate previous work by Fred Davis (1989) regarding perceived usefulness, ease of use, and their influence on the usage of information technology. Specifically, these authors sought to: (1) evaluate the psychometric properties of the ease of use and usefulness scales, and (2) empirically examine the relationship between the constructs (or traits) of usefulness, ease of use, and reported levels of usage.

A water and heat management model for proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells

Abstract: Proper water and heat management are essential for obtaining high-power-density performance at high energy efficiency for proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells. A water and heat management model was developed and used to investigate the effectiveness of various humidification designs. The model accounts for water transport across the membrane by electro-osmosis and diffusion, heat transfer from the solid phase to the gas phase and latent heat associated with water evaporation and condensation in the flow channels. Results from the model showed that at high current (> 1A/cm[sup 2]) ohmic loss in the membrane accounts for a large fraction of the voltage loss in the cell and back diffusion of water from the cathode side of the membrane is insufficient to keep the membrane hydrated (i.e., conductive). Consequently, to minimize this ohmic loss the anode stream must be humidified, and when air is used instead of pure oxygen the cathode stream must also be humidified.

An Empirically Derived Model for the Adoption of Customer-based Interorganizational Systems*

Abstract: Information systems (IS) researchers are now calling for the need to draw from the empirically rich field of organizational innovation. As the impact of strategic systems is increasingly being felt by organizations, the view that these systems are innovations or innovative uses of technology is becoming prevalent. Customer based interorganizational systems (CIOS) represent one of the most prominent types of such systems. This research investigates CIOS adoption. A model is constructed based on significant studies in innovation to identify factors facilitating the adoption decision of a CIOS. Data are gathered from 226 senior executives. Discriminant analysis is used to identify factors that distinguish adopters from nonadopters. Factor analysis of significant variables yielded a parsimonious model of CIOS adoption. The five factor model includes (1) a proactive technological orientation and (2) an internal push for the system as the two most significant sets of facilitators. Implications for research and practice are then discussed.

Accumulation of Maillard reaction products in skin collagen in diabetes and aging

Abstract: To investigate the contribution of glycation and oxidation reactions to the modification of insoluble collagen in aging and diabetes, Maillard reaction products were measured in skin collagen from 39 type 1 diabetic patients and 52 nondiabetic control subjects. Compounds studied included fructoselysine (FL), the initial glycation product, and the glycoxidation products, N epsilon-(carboxymethyl) lysine (CML) and pentosidine, formed during later Maillard reactions. Collagen-linked fluorescence was also studied. In nondiabetic subjects, glycation of collagen (FL content) increased only 33% between 20 and 85 yr of age. In contrast, CML, pentosidine and fluorescence increased five-fold, correlating strongly with age. In diabetic patients, collagen FL was increased threefold compared with nondiabetic subjects, correlating strongly with glycated hemoglobin but not with age. Collagen CML, pentosidine and fluorescence were increased up to twofold in diabetic compared with control patients: this could be explained by the increase in glycation alone, without invoking increased oxidative stress. There were strong correlations among CML, pentosidine and fluorescence in both groups, providing evidence for age-dependent chemical modification of collagen via the Maillard reaction, and acceleration of this process in diabetes. These results support the description of diabetes as a disease characterized by accelerated chemical aging of long-lived tissue proteins.

Community coalitions for prevention and health promotion

Abstract: In the last several years, health promotion specialists have stressed the importance of multiple interventions aimed both at individuals who are at health risk, and at risk-producing environments and policies (Milio, 1980; McLeroy et al., 1988; Pentz et al., 1989; Winett et al., 1989). The current emphasis on multiple interventions at multiple levels of the 'social ecology' is a response to the severity and complexity of chronic health conditions that are rooted in a larger social, cultural, political and economic fabric. The current wisdom in health promotion holds that targeting the behavior of individuals, without also intervening at these other social levels that shape behavior, will not have as great an impact on health status (McLeroy et al., 1988; Minkler, 1989; Hawkins and Catalano, 1992; Stokols, 1992). The development of coalitions of community agencies, institutions and concerned citizens to combat chronic health conditions is gaining popularity as an intervention aimed at strengthening the social fabric. Currently, hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested in coalition development as a health promotion intervention. For instance, both the COMMIT and ASSIST community tobacco control programs, funded by the National Institutes for Health, require coalitions of citizens in order to develop local strategies to decrease tobacco use (National Cancer Institute, 1988; Shopland, 1989).

Accurate measurement of three-dimensional deformations in deformable and rigid bodies using computer vision

Abstract: Recently, digital-image-correlation techniques have been used to accurately determine two-dimensional in-plane displacements and strains. An extension of the two-dimensional method to the acquisition of accurate, three-dimensional surfacedisplacement data from a stereo pair of CCD cameras is presented in this paper. A pin-hole camera model is used to express the transformation relating three-dimensional world coordinates to two-dimensional computer-image coordinates by the use of camera extrinsic and intrinsic parameters. Accurate camera model parameters are obtained for each camera independently by (a) using several points which have three-dimensional world coordinates that are accurate within 0.001 mm and (b) using two-dimensional image-correlation methods that are accurate to within 0.05 pixels to obtain the computer-image coordinates of various object positions. A nonlinear, least-squares method is used to select the optimal camera parameters such that the deviations between the measured and estimated image positions are minimized. Using multiple orientations of the cameras, the accuracy of the methodology is tested by performing translation tests. Using theoretical error estimates, error analyses are presented. To verify the methodology for actual tests both the displacement field for a cantilever beam and also the surface, three-dimensional displacement and strain fields for a 304L stainless-steel compact-tension specimen were experimentally obtained using stereo vision. Results indicate that the three-dimensional measurement methodology, when combined with two-dimensional digital correlation for subpixel accuracy, is a viable tool for the accurate measurement of surface displacements and strains.

BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: Building a Comprehensive Methodology

Abstract: The new paradigm of business process reengineering seeks to achieve dramatic performance improvement by radically redesigning the organization; it replaces information systems development that has focused largely on automating and supporting existing organizational procedures. The Process Reengineering Life Cycle (PRLC) proposed in this article is a comprehensive, six-stage methodology with guidelines for envisioning a reengineering project, getting started, diagnosing process pathologies, and redesigning, reorganizing, and measuring the newly configured process.

Production Competence and Business Strategy: Do They Affect Business Performance?

Abstract: The purpose of this article is threefold. First, a comprehensive measure of production competence that assesses the level of support that manufacturing provides for the strategic objectives of a firm is developed. Second, hypotheses relating production competence to several financial measures of business performance are tested using data from a large sample of firms (n=65) in the furniture industry. Third, the impact of business strategy both directly on performance and as a moderating variable in relation to production competence is analyzed. The results of the study suggest that production competence may have more of an effect on business performance for certain strategies than for others.

Maillard reaction products and their relation to complications in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

Abstract: Glycation, oxidation, and browning of proteins have all been implicated in the development of diabetic complications. We measured the initial Amadori adduct, fructoselysine (FL); two Maillard products, N epsilon-(carboxymethyl) lysine (CML) and pentosidine; and fluorescence (excitation = 328 nm, emission = 378 nm) in skin collagen from 39 type 1 diabetic patients (aged 41.5 +/- 15.3 [17-73] yr; duration of diabetes 17.9 +/- 11.5 [0-46] yr, [mean +/- SD, range]). The measurements were related to the presence of background (n = 9) or proliferative (n = 16) retinopathy; early nephropathy (24-h albumin excretion rate [AER24] > or = 20 micrograms/min; n = 9); and limited joint mobility (LJM; n = 20). FL, CML, pentosidine, and fluorescence increased progressively across diabetic retinopathy (P < 0.05, P < 0.001, P < 0.05, P < 0.01, respectively). FL, CML, pentosidine, and fluorescence were also elevated in patients with early nephropathy (P < 0.05, P < 0.001, P < 0.01, P < 0.01, respectively). There was no association with LJM. Controlling for age, sex, and duration of diabetes using logistic regression, FL and CML were independently associated with retinopathy (FL odds ratio (OR) = 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01-1.12, P < 0.05; CML OR = 6.77, 95% CI = 1.33-34.56, P < 0.05) and with early nephropathy (FL OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.01-1.10, P < 0.05; CML OR = 13.44, 95% CI = 2.00-93.30, P < 0.01). The associations between fluorescence and retinopathy and between pentosidine and nephropathy approached significance (P = 0.05). These data show that FL and Maillard products in skin correlate with functional abnormalities in other tissues and suggest that protein glycation and oxidation (glycoxidation) may be implicated in the development of diabetic retinopathy and early nephropathy.

Aggression, Substance Use, and Suicidal Behaviors in High School Students.

Abstract: OBJECTIVES. We sought to analyze the frequency and correlates of suicidal behaviors in a community sample of adolescents. METHODS. Information concerning suicidal thoughts and acts, aggressive behaviors, substance use and physical recklessness were collected with the 70-item self-report Youth Risk Behavior Survey from a statewide sample of 3764 South Carolina public high school students. RESULTS. Seventy-five percent of students reported no suicidal behaviors, 11% reported serious suicidal thoughts, 6.4% reported specific suicidal plans, 5.9% reported attempts not requiring medical care, and 1.6% reported attempts requiring medical care. All types of suicidal behaviors occurred more frequently in females than males. Odds ratios for aggressive behaviors and cigarette use were elevated across all categories of suicide behaviors, increasing in magnitude with severity of reported suicidal behavior. Substance use was associated with some but not all categories of suicidal behaviors. The relationships were most pronounced with the use of potentially more dangerous drugs. CONCLUSIONS. The results suggest that suicidal behaviors are not infrequent occurrences among adolescents and that they often coexist with other high-risk behaviors. Interventions designed to reduce suicidal behaviors should simultaneously address coexisting high-risk behaviors. Language: en

A link between breast cancer and local estrogen biosynthesis suggested by quantification of breast adipose tissue aromatase cytochrome P450 transcripts using competitive polymerase chain reaction after reverse transcription.

Abstract: C19 steroids are converted to estrogens in a number of tissues by a specific form of cytochrome P450, namely aromatase cytochrome P450 (P450arom). Adipose tissue is the principal site of estrogen formation in postmenopausal women. Aromatase activity as well as P450arom transcripts primarily reside in the stromal cell component of the adipose tissue. Studies designed to investigate whether increased local aromatase activity in breast adipose tissue influences the growth of breast cancers have yielded discrepant results. In an attempt to clarify this controversy, adipose tissue was obtained from the four breast quadrants at the time of mastectomy (n = 13) performed for removal of a tumor. Breast fat P450arom messenger RNA levels were quantified and compared between the four quadrants within each specimen using competitive polymerase chain reaction after reverse transcription in which 10 micrograms human adipose total RNA together with 1 pg rat complementary RNA (internal standard) were reverse transcribed a...

Plant-insect herbivore interactions in elevated CO2 environments

Abstract: The increasing concentration of CO(2) in the atmosphere is expected to lead to global changes in the physical environment of terrestrial organisms. We are beginning to understand how these changes are transmitted into pervasive effects on the interactions between plants and their leaf-feeding insect herbivores. An elevated CO(2) atmosphere often stimulates plant carbon assimilation and growth and alters carbon allocation patterns. This, in turn, determines the quality of plants as resources for herbivorous insects. These 'quality' factors include: the concentrations of water, nitrogen and allelochemicals in host-plant leaves, and the toughness and starch and fiber content of leaf tissue. Because these parameters change in plants grown in enriched CO(2) environments, the doubled CO(2) levels anticipated for the next century will alter the dynamics of plant-insect herbivore interactions because herbivore consumption, growth and fitness are affected by the typically lower quality of plants grown under these conditions.

The supreme court as a countermajoritarian institution? the impact of public opinion on supreme court decisions

Abstract: Although normative questions about the role of the Supreme Court as a countermajoritarian institution have long excited controversy in democratic theory, empirical questions about how far the Court acts contrary to majoritarian opinion have received less attention. Time series analyses for the period 1956–89 indicate the existence of a reciprocal and positive relationship between long-term trends in aggregate public opinion and the Court's collective decisions. The Court's ideological composition changes in response to previous shifts in the partisan and ideological orientation of the president and Congress. The Court also responds to public opinion at the margins even in the absence of membership change. Since 1981, the relationship has vanished or turned negative in direction. The Court's ideological balance has been upset by an unbroken string of conservative-to-moderate appointments, thereby undermining the dynamics that promote judicial responsiveness and raising questions about the majoritarianism of the contemporary and future Court.

Engineering Education: Innovation Through Integration

Abstract: The several reports and papers of the past decade suggesting paradigm shifts in engineering education are shown to reveal a common theme, to wit: engineering is an integrative process and thus engineering education, particularly at the baccalaureate level, should be designed toward that end. Suggesting a change in intellectual culture, the roots of contemporary collegiate education in the United States are traced to their origin and attention is given to discussing the current emphasis on reductionism vis-a-vis integration or, said another way, a course-focused education compared to a more holistic approach in which process and knowledge are woven throughout the curriculum. A new construct for systemic change in baccalaureate engineering education is suggested in terms of a taxonomy of intellectual components connected holistically with a core focus on developing human potential, as opposed to the present system in which students are passed serially through course filters.

On the Construction of Multivariate (pre) Wavelets

Abstract: A new approach for the construction of wavelets and prewavelets on R d from multiresolution is presented. The method uses only properties of shift- invariant spaces and orthogonal projectors from L2(R d) onto these spaces, and requires neither decay nor stability of the scaling function. Furthermore, this approach allows a simple derivation of previous, as well as new, constructions of wavelets, and leads to a complete resolution of questions concerning the nature of the intersection and the union of a scale of spaces to be used in a multi- resolution. We present a new approach for the construction of wavelets and prewavelets on R a from multiresolution. Our method, which is based on our earlier work (BDR), (BDR1), uses only properties of shift-invariant spaces and orthogonal projectors from L2(R a) onto these spaces, and requires neither decay nor stability of the scaling function. Furthermore, this approach allows us to derive in a simple way previous constructions of wavelets, as well as new constructions, and to settle completely certain basic questions about multiresolution. A univariate function ~ E L2(R ) is called an orthogonal wavelet if its normalized, translated dilates ~kj.k:= 2k/2r j, k rZ, form an orthonormal basis for L~(R). In other words, this system is complete and satisfies the orthogonality conditions

Expatriation, Repatriation, and Domestic Geographical Relocation: An Empirical Investigation of Adjustment to new Job Assignments

Abstract: This research examines the relative impact of six sets of factors on multiple indices of adjustment to new job assignments. These six sets of factors include demographic variables, indices of the “internationalness” of the job change (e.g., whether the job changer is an expatriate, repatriate, or domestic geographical relocator), job characteristics variables, types and amount of career development assistance, degree of change between successive job assignments, and types of individual coping strategies employed by job changers. Data were collected from 459 job changers from twenty-six countries. The results highlight both the commonalities among expatriates, repatriates, and domestic geographical relocators in adjusting to new job assignments as well as the differences among them.

Neuroendocrine and substrate responses to altered brain 5-HT activity during prolonged exercise to fatigue

Abstract: Pharmacological manipulation of brain serotonergic [5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)] activity affects run time to exhaustion in the rat. These effects may be mediated by neurochemical, hormonal, or substrate mechanisms. Groups of rats were decapitated during rest, after 1 h of treadmill running (20 m/min, 5% grade), and at exhaustion. Immediately before exercise rats were injected intraperitoneally with 1 mg/kg of quipazine dimaleate (QD; a 5-HT agonist), 1.5 mg/kg of LY 53857 (LY; a 5-HT antagonist), or the vehicle (V; 0.9% saline). LY increased and QD decreased time to exhaustion (approximately 28 and 32%, respectively; P < 0.05). At fatigue, QD animals had greater plasma glucose, liver glycogen, and muscle glycogen concentrations but lower plasma free fatty acid concentration than did V and LY animals (P < 0.05). In general, plasma corticosterone and catecholamine levels during exercise in QD and LY rats were similar to those in V rats. Brain 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid concentrations were higher at 1 h of exercise than at rest (P < 0.05), and the latter increased even further at fatigue in the midbrain and striatum (P < 0.05). Brain dopamine (DA) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) were higher at 1 h of exercise (P < 0.05) but were similar to resting levels at fatigue. QD appeared to block the increase in DA and DOPAC at 1 h of exercise, and LY prevented the decrease in DA and DOPAC at fatigue (P < 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The Location of Export-Oriented Foreign Direct Investment in the Caribbean Basin

Abstract: This paper analyzes the location of export-oriented manufacturing investment. The analysis focuses on direct investment in the Caribbean Basin, using micro data for all reported manufacturing plant openings from 1984–87. We test a broad range of influences on country selection and compare the results with the existing literature on foreign direct investment in less-developed countries. The probability of country selection was estimated with a conditional logit model. The estimates were then used to predict the location of Caribbean Basin investments made in 1988 and 1989. Twelve independent variables were tested. Six variables had a statistically significant, positive relationship with plant location: per capita GNP, exchange rate devaluation, the length of income tax holidays, the size of free trade zones, political stability, and manufacturing concentration. Negative relationships were found for the wage rate, inflation rate, transportation cost, and profit repatriation restrictions.

Countries and their products: A cognitive structure perspective

Abstract: This research reports on consumers’ cognitive structures for countries and their products. In-depth personal interviews identified respondents’ knowledge, beliefs, myths, and other relevant cognitions related to a diverse set of 11 countries and their products. Derived cognitive dimensions were analyzed via correspondence analysis, and the 11 countries were subsequently grouped into five sets, or cognitive categories. In addition to the empirical findings, the article introduces the concept of country equity as a new way of thinking about global brands and discusses managerial implications related thereto.

The Mature Brand and Brand Interest: An Alternative Consequence of Ad-Evoked Affect:

Abstract: The authors propose that for mature brands, ad-evoked affect will not have a strong influence on brand attitude; they formulate brand interest, a new construct, as a more relevant consequence of ad...

The chief information officer: a study of managerial roles

Abstract: This study investigates the managerial roles of the chief information officer (CIO) based on Mintzberg's classic managerial role model. Our findings indicate that CIOs differ from manufacturing and sales executives in the relative importance they place on managerial roles. This difference does not exist between CIOs and finance executives or between CIOs and information systems (IS) middle managers. As IS management matures, the spokesman and liaison role of the CIO becomes more important. Surprisingly, as IS matures, the strategic responsibilities entitled in the monitor and entrepreneur roles of the CIO do not become more important. However, it was found that the more centralized the IS resource, the greater the CIO's role in acting as a spokesman, environmental monitor, and resource allocator. The results of this study have implications for management development, training, and the career planning of IS management.

Impact of 'adverse selection' on managers' project evaluation decisions

Abstract: Agency theory can be used to explain decisions to continue a failing project. The results of a decision-making experiment provide empirical support for the proposition that when the conditions for adverse selection exist-an agent has private information and an incentive to shirk-such decisions, apparently irrational from a principal's perspective, may be rational from the agent's perspective. The traditional approach to rational decision making derived from economic theory assumes a firm's managers will reach decisions that maximize the profitability of their firms. Managers should invest resources in the projects projected to provide the greatest profits to a firm and then periodically evaluate the economic performance of those projects. They should continue the projects projected to be profitable and, to avoid losses, discontinue those projected to be unprofitable (Horngren & Foster, 1991: 366-380).1 Prior research has provided empirical support for the proposition that managers who initiate projects that become unprofitable are more likely to continue supporting those projects than managers who did not initiate them (Arkes & Blumer, 1985; Staw, 1976, 1981; Staw & Fox, 1977; Staw & Ross, 1978). The rationale given for this seemingly irrational behavior is that the