Showing papers by "York University published in 1990"

Things I Have Learned (So Far).

Abstract: This is an account of what I have learned (so far) about the application of statistics to psychology and the other sociobiomedical sciences. It includes the principles "less is more" (fewer variables, more highly targeted issues, sharp rounding off), "simple is better" (graphic representation, unit weighting for linear composites), and "some things you learn aren't so." I have learned to avoid the many misconceptions that surround Fisherian null hypothesis testing. I have also learned the importance of power analysis and the determination of just how big (rather than how statistically significant) are the effects that we study. Finally, I have learned that there is no royal road to statistical induction, that the informed judgment of the investigator is the crucial element in the interpretation of data, and that things take time.

Gender Differences in Concern with Body Weight and Physical Appearance Over the Life Span

Abstract: Age, gender, and gender role differences on a set of variables including concern with eating, body weight, and physical appearance, global self-esteem, and appearance self-esteem were examined in a sample of subjects consisting of 639 visitors to a participatory science museum. Their ages ranged from 10 to 79 years. Results showed that females are more concerned than males about eating, body weight, and physical appearance and have lower appearance self-esteem. More important, these gender differences are generally apparent at all ages. The importance of gender differences across the life span in appearance concern and appearance self-esteem is discussed.

The Personal/Group Discrimination Discrepancy Perceiving My Group, but not Myself, to be a Target for Discrimination

Abstract: An unexpected finding that has surfaced in research on discrimination is that respondents perceive a higher level of discrimination directed at their group as a whole than at themselves as individual members of that group. The present study directly tested this personal/group discrepancy by focusing on two groups of Canadian immigrants who have been the targets of much discrimination, Haitian and South Asian women. Respondents were questioned about their personal and group discrimination on four separate dimensions: race, culture, status as newcomers to Canada, and gender Strong support was found for the generality of the personal/group discrimination discrepancy. Three possible explanations for the discrepancy point to possible avenues for future research: the denial of personal discrimination, the exaggeration of group discrimination, and information-processing biases.

Investment in general training: the role of information and labour mobility*

Abstract: Following the seminal work of Becker (I964), it is widely accepted in the literature that firms will be unwilling to finance training which workers may use in other firms. This paper takes issue with this prediction and suggests that firms will frequently share in the cost of such general training.1 Becker argues that a firm which pays for the training of workers in skills of potential use to other firms will lose these workers: since other firms bear none of the costs of general training, they can attract a worker with such training by outbidding the firm which trained him. Recognising this absence of property rights over an investment in general training, firms will refuse to provide it. Hence, if general training is to take place, the trainee will have to pay for it. If potential trainees are unwilling or unable to pay, general training will not take place. A shortage in general training is likely to emerge; this may be especially pronounced in developing countries.2 In contrast, the outlook for

Masochism, submission, surrender: masochism as a perversion of surrender

Abstract: Tentative pour preciser le concept de reddition, etude de ses relations ou masochismes et a la soumission. Le masochisme en tant que perversion de la reddition le sadisme en tant que perversion de l'usage de l'objet (Winnicott). Quelques applications possibles du concept de reddition

Rent-seeking for pure public goods*

Abstract: In this paper we present a formal analysis of rent-seeking for public goods by two or more groups with different numbers of individuals. We begin by considering equally wealthy groups under risk neutrality, a case which constitutes our basic model. Several surprising and interesting results emerge from the analysis of this basic case. The problem is then extended to deal with (a) groups with different wealth levels, and (b) risk aversion. This last extension brings about a further crop of interesting and useful results.

Real-time systems and their programming languages

Abstract: A survey of real-time systems and the programming languages used in their development. Shows how modern real-time programming techniques are used in a wide variety of applications, including robotics, factory automation, and control. A critical requirement for such systems is that the software must

An anatomical study of the suprascapular nerve

Abstract: The course of the suprascapular nerve and its distance from fixed scapular landmarks were measured in 90 cadaveric shoulders. In an additional 15 cadavers, three pins were passed at various angles in a general anterior-posterior direction through the middle of the glenoid neck just inferior and lateral to the base of the coracoid process. The distance between the exit site on the posterior glenoid neck and the suprascapular nerve at the base of the scapular spine was recorded for each pin. Inferiorly directed pins were the furthest from the suprascapular nerve and averaged 16 mm. On the basis of these data, a relative safe zone is described in the posterior glenoid neck. Knowledge of the anatomic course of the suprascapular nerve may aid the physician in the diagnosis and treatment of suprascapular neuropathies. Appreciation of the safe zone may help the shoulder surgeon avoid iatrogenic injury to the suprascapular nerve during arthroscopic Bankart procedures and other open surgical procedures requiring dissection of the posterior glenoid neck.

Merging BSP trees yields polyhedral set operations

Abstract: BSP trees have been shown to provide an effective representation of polyhedra through the use of spatial subdivision, and are an alternative to the topologically based b-reps. While bsp tree algorithms are known for a number of important operations, such as rendering, no previous work on bsp trees has provided the capability of performing boolean set operations between two objects represented by bsp trees, i.e. there has been no closed boolean algebra when using bsp trees. This paper presents the algorithms required to perform such operations. In doing so, a distinction is made between the semantics of polyhedra and the more fundamental mechanism of spatial partitioning. Given a partitioning of a space, a particular semantics is induced on the space by associating attributes required by the desired semantics with the cells of the partitioning. So, for example, polyhedra are obtained simply by associating a boolean attribute with each cell. Set operations on polyhedra are then constructed on top of the operation of merging spatial partitionings. We present then the algorithm for merging two bsp trees independent of any attributes/semantics, and then follow this by the additional algorithmic considerations needed to provide set operations on polyhedra. The result is a simple and numerically robust algorithm for set operations.

Culture and Human Development: A New Look

Abstract: Each culture generates a ‘folk psychology’ in the form of narratives about how people are, how and why they act, and how they deal with trouble. These narratives typically depict a canonical state of

State and trait anxiety, depression and coping styles

Abstract: Considerable interest has recently been directed at the relationship between coping styles and depression. However, a systematic understanding of this relationship has been impeded because of the use of coping measures with problematic psychometric qualities. The present study examined the relationship between depressive symptoms and coping styles in a college sample, using the recently developed Multidimensional Coping Inventory (MCI) to assess coping styles. The relationships between depression and both state and trait anxiety were also examined, since there is accumulating evidence that the constructs of depression and anxiety are difficult to distinguish in a college population. The study found gender differences in coping behaviour, with females reporting more emotion-oriented and avoidance-oriented coping behaviours than males. Males and females scoring high on depressive symptoms were found to use more emotion-oriented coping than those scoring low. A strong relationship was found between ...

Mutational specificity of alkylating agents and the influence of DNA repair.

Abstract: Alkylating treatments predominantly induce G: C = greater than A:T transitions, consistent with the predicted significance of the miscoding potential of the O6-alG lesion. However, the frequency and distribution of these events induced by any one compound may be diagnostic. SN1 agents that act via an alkyldiazonium cation, such as the N-nitroso compounds, preferentially generate G: C = greater than A:T transitions at 5'-RG-3' sites, while the more SN2 alkylsulfates and alkylalkane-sulfonates do not. The precise nature of this site bias and the possibility of strand bias are target dependent. The extent of this site bias and the contribution of other base substitutions are substituent size dependent. A similar 5'-RT-3' effect is seen for A:T = greater than G:C transitions, presumably directed by O4-alT lesions. The 5'-RG-3' effect, at least, likely reflects a deposition specificity arising from some aspect of helix geometry, although it may be further exaggerated by alkylation-specific repair. Excision repair appears to preferentially reduce the occurrence of ethylation-induced G:C = greater than A:T and A:T = greater than G:C transitions at sites flanked by A:T base pairs. This may be due to an enhancement of the helical distortion imposed by damage at such positions. A similar effect is not seen for methylation-induced mutations and in the case of propyl adducts, the influence of excision repair on the ultimate distribution of mutation cannot be as easily defined with respect to neighbouring sequence.

Assimilation and Contrast Effects in Spontaneous Trait Inference

Abstract: Previous research has shown that the trait implication of a behavior cues recall of that behavior even when subjects have no impression formation goals. This suggests that trait inferences are made spontaneously at encoding, but alternative explanations have suggested that retrieval processes alone can account for these data. In Experiment 1, encoding conditions were varied by subtly priming alternative traits relevant to ambiguous behaviors. Contrary to retrieval interpretations, the effectiveness of trait cues varied with the nature of the primes and awareness of the primes at encoding. Primes led to both assimilation and contrast effects and seemed to operate primarily by inhibiting alternative trait constructs. In Experiment 2, contrast effects were found with the same stimuli when priming was blatant and inferences were made intentionally. Results are discussed in terms of the role of construct activation and inhibition in spontaneous and intentional trait inferences.

Human Resource Planning Challenges for Industrial/Organizational Psychologists

Abstract: I ABSTRACT: Human resource planning has traditionally been used by organizations to ensure that the right person is in the right job at the right time. Under past conditions of relative environmental certainty and stability, human resource planning focused on the short term and was dic- tated largely by line management concerns. Increasing environmental instability, demographic shifts, changes in technology, and heightened international competition are changing the need for and the nature of human resource planning in leading organizations. Planning is increas- ingly the product of the interaction between line manage- ment and planners. In addition, organizations are real- izing that in order to adequately address human resource concerns, they must develop long-term as well as short- term solutions. As human resource planners involve themselves in more programs to serve the needs of the business, and even influence the direction of the business, they face new and increased responsibilities and chal- lenges.

Perceived stress, psychological burnout and paths to turnover intentions among sport officials.

Abstract: Despite high turnover rates and a shortage of referees in many sports there have been few studies to examine the desocialization process. This study investigated the role of burnout as a mediating affective response between perceived stress and dropout intentions among soccer officials over the course of a soccer season. The mailed Ontario Soccer Officials' Survey included 30 stressor items, a I6 item version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and 5 items to assess turnover intentions. Data from the 529 officials (42%) who responded at TI (3 months into the season) and 4 months later (T2) were reported. From a cross-sectional path analysis, fear of failure, role-culturc conflict and interpersonal conflict were shown to have only indirect effects, through burnout, on turnover intentions. Age was negatively related to burnout. A longitudinal path analysis suggested that total perceived stress and burnout had only indirect effects on turnover intentions. Stress had a direct negative effect on burnout...

Ground water flow paths in relation to nitrogen chemistry in the near-stream zone

Abstract: Interactions between ground water flow paths and water chemistry were studied in the riparian zone of a small headwater catchment near Toronto, Ontario. Significant variations in oxygen — 18 and chloride indicated the presence of distinct sources of water in the ground water flow system entering the near-stream zone. Shallow ground water at the upland perimeter of the riparian zone had nitrate-N, chloride and dissolved oxygen concentrations which ranged between 100–180 µg L−1, 1.2–1.8 mg L−1 and 4.6–9.1 mg L−1 respectively. Concentrations of nitrate — N in deep ground water flowing upward beneath the riparian wetland were < 10 µg L−1, whereas chloride and dissolved oxygen ranged between 0.6–0.9 mg L−1 and 0.4–2.2 mg L−1 respectively. Ammonium — N concentrations (20–60 µg L−1) were similar in shallow and deep ground water. Ground water was transported through the wetland to the stream by three hydrologic pathways. 1) Shallow ground water emerged as springs near the base of the hillslope producing surface rivulets which crossed the riparian zone to the stream. 2) Deep ground water flowed upward through organic soils and entered the rivulets within the wetland. 3) Deep ground water reached the stream as bed and bank seepage. Springs were higher in nitrate and chloride than rivulets entering the stream, whereas bank seeps had lower concentrations of nitrate and chloride and considerably higher ammonium concentrations than the rivulets. These contrasts in nitrate and chloride concentrations were related to initial differences in the ion chemistry of shallow and deep ground water rather than to element transformations within the riparian wetland. Differences in ammonium concentration between seeps and rivulets were caused by immobilization of ammonium in the substrates of aerobic rivulets, whereas little ammonium depletion probably occurred in deep ground water flowing upward through reduced subsurface organic soils around the stream perimeter.

Size‐Dependent Winter Mortality of Young‐of‐the‐Year White Perch: Climate Warming and Invasion of the Laurentian Great Lakes

Abstract: White perch Morone americana invaded Lake Ontario about 1946 and are now found in Lakes Erie, St. Clair, and Huron, and in Green Bay, Lake Michigan. The indigenous marine distribution of white perch along the Atlantic coast of North America and analysis of climatological data suggest that the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence in the vicinity of the Gasp& Peninsula is too cold to permit white perch to establish local populations or to invade the Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence River. High mortalities of white perch have occurred in Lake Ontario during very cold winters, further suggesting that distribution of white perch is limited by low tolerance of cold temperature. Warmer-than-average summer and winter temperatures during the late 1940s coincided with the invasion of white perch into the Great Lakes via transportation canals in the state of New York. Tolerance of young-of-the-year white perch for low temperature was tested in the laboratory in overwinter experiments at constant temperatures of 2....

OPINION Manipulating lake community structure: where do we go from here?

Abstract: SUMMARY. 1 More than 10 years experience with whole lake pelagic manipulation has suggested some general trends applicable to all freshwater pelagic communities and some specific trends related to lake depth. 2 Among the general trends is the observation that the trophic cascade is strongly damped. This means that changes in phytoplankton biomass can be assured only when the fish community is strongly manipulated. 3 Among the depth related trends is the observation that in shallow lakes, changes in fish community structure are more likely to have cascading impacts on phytoplankton than are changes in deep lakes. 4 In shallow lakes, fish removal frequently results in decreased turbidity which is associated with the development of dense macrophyte populations and significant reductions of algal standing stocks. The mechanisms involve: increased grazing by zooplankton, the removal of fish induced bioturbation and nutrient recycling, and direct and indirect macrophyte effects (shading, zooplankton refuges and competition for nutrients). 5 In shallow lakes, where planktivore biomass can be regulated and macrophyte development is acceptable, fish biomanipulalions are likely to result in reduced algal populations and improved water quality. 6 In deep lakes, where macrophytes are not as important, long-term effects of fish manipulations are strongly dependent upon the probability of non-grazable algal bloom development. This is determined by many factors (chemical, physical and grazer related) which modify the impact that grazers have on phytoplankton biomass. 7 In deep lakes, successful fish biomanipulations may only be effective when chemical and physical factors are altered to produce algal species compositions that permit strong top-down control of prey by predators.

A Gender‐role Perspective of Coping and Burnout

Abstract: Cette etude explore la relation entre la depression, le stress professionnel et les reactions positives chez du personnel scolaire des deux sexes. Les resultats indiquent que les hommes presentent un score significativement plus eleve que celui des femmes a l‘echelle de depersonnalisation du “Mas-lach Burnout Inventory”. Alors que les hommes sont plus que les femmes victimes de stress au travail et cela de facon significative, ils ont aussi une plus faible probabilite de faire appel a des techniques de compensation en particulier dans la qualite de Ieur vie quotidienne (les investissements dans les relations amicales et les activites culturelles). D'autres donnees suggerent que les femmes sont plus que les hommes capables d'utiliser des strategies susceptibles de contrecarrer l'effondrement. Chez les hommes, la depression releve a la fois du stress professionnel et des enfants: la presence d'enfants eleve significativement le niveau de depression d'un homme. This study examines the relationship between burnout, work stress, and coping in female and male school personnel. Results indicated that men, compared to women, scored significantly higher on depersonalisation, one of the subscales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Men were experiencing significantly greater work stress than women, but were less likely than their female counterparts to employ coping techniques, particularly with regard to their quality of daily life, investment in friends, and cultural activities. Further results suggested that women were better able to use coping strategies to reduce burnout than men. In men, burnout appeared to be a joint function of work stress and children, with the presence of children significantly raising a man's level of burnout.

Deciding properties of timed transition models

Abstract: Real-time distributed systems are modeled by a times transition model (TTM). For any finite-state TTM, decision procedures are provided for checking a small but important class of properties (specified in real-time temporal logic). The procedures are linear in the size of the system reachability graph. The class of properties includes invariance, precedence, eventuality and real-time response specifications. >

Transition to motherhood and the self: measurement, stability, and change.

Abstract: Different ways of conceptualizing and measuring change in attitudes during transition to motherhood are examined. A series of analyses was performed on data from a cross-sectional sample (N = 667) and a smaller longitudinal sample (n = 48) to demonstrate sound psychometric properties for 2 new scales and to show construct comparability across different phases of childbearing. For Childbearing Attitudes Questionnaire, results demonstrated equality of covariance for 16 scales and comparability of structure and meaning of 4 higher order factors--identification with motherhood, social orientation, self-confidence, and negative aspects of giving birth. For Mothering Self-Definition Questionnaire, results demonstrated equality of covariance of 5 scales and comparability of structure and meaning of a single higher order factor, interpreted as reflecting positive feelings about one's mothering characteristics. Analyses of correlations and mean differences identified areas of change and stability.

Traits and social stereotypes : efficiency differences in social information processing

Abstract: Research on the associative structure of social stereotypes and trait-defined categories has shown that stereotypes are associatively richer, more visual, and more distinctive (Andersen & Klatzky, 1987). We hypothesized that stereotypes might also operate more efficiently than trait-defined categories in social information processing. Participants were presented with sentences pairing either a stereotype or a trait label with an overt act or an internal state. Participants judged whether or not the designated target person would be likely to do or to experience what was described in the sentence. As predicted, participants judged the stereotype sentences significantly more quickly than the trait sentences. An incidental recall test of memory for the taiget terms, cued by the acts and states, showed that participants were also better able to remember the stereotypes than the traits.

Inhibition of norfloxacin absorption by antacids.

Abstract: The effect of antacids on the systemic absorption of oral norfloxacin was evaluated in 12 healthy volunteers. Subjects were given each treatment in a balanced sequence at 7-day intervals. Treatments included 400 mg of norfloxacin alone, 400 mg of norfloxacin 5 min after aluminum-magnesium hydroxide (Maalox), Maalox 2 h after 400 mg of norfloxacin, and 400 mg of norfloxacin 5 min after calcium carbonate (Titralac). Blood and urine samples were collected at predetermined time intervals for 24 and 48 h, respectively. Norfloxacin concentrations in plasma and urine were determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography. The area under the plasma concentration-versus-time curve from time zero to infinity and urinary recovery were used to compare the relative bioavailability of norfloxacin with antacids with that of norfloxacin alone. Norfloxacin bioavailability was markedly reduced when subjects received antacid pretreatment. When norfloxacin was given 5 min after Maalox and Titralac, the bioavailabilities were 9.02 and 37.5%, respectively, relative to that for 400 mg of norfloxacin alone. When Maalox was given 2 h after norfloxacin, maximal concentrations of norfloxacin in plasma occurred between 1 and 1.5 h postdose, and absorption was reduced to a lesser extent, with a relative bioavailability of 81.31%. Norfloxacin concentrations in urine were also reduced as a result of antacid administration. Antacids containing aluminum and magnesium salts and calcium carbonate should be avoided by patients taking norfloxacin.

The association between bulimic symptoms and reported psychopathology

Abstract: Findings from the current study were derived from 50 bulimia nervosa patients participating in a short-term psychotherapy trial. Multivariate analyses revealed that patients with good and poor outcome were indistinguishable on most measures at pretreatment and that those who evidenced the greatest reduction in eating symptoms also experienced a marked improvement on a wide range of self-report personality and adjustment measures

Aircraft measurements of NO x over the eastern Pacific and continental United States and implications for ozone production

Abstract: Results are reported from airborne measurements of NO, NO2, O3, and CO obtained in the free troposphere (FT) and boundary layer (BL) over the western U.S. and eastern Pacific during the NASA Global Tropospheric Experiment Chemical Instrumentation Test and Evaluation 2 (CITE 2) in summer 1986. The aircraft instrumentation and the CITE 2 flight protocols are described, and the results are presented in extensive tables and graphs. Over the ocean the median mixing ratios for NO and NO2 were found to be 4.0 and 10.4 parts per trillion by volume (pptv), respectively, in the BL and 12.4 and 18.0 pptv in the FT; the corresponding values over land were 34.5 and 75.0 pptv in the BL and 13.0 and 36.0 pptv in the FT. in continental air masses. NO(x) is shown to be positively correlated with O3 and CO and negatively correlated with dewpoint over the ocean, whereas over land NO(x) was positively correlated with O3, CO, and dewpoint.

Sex differences and cross-sex effects on mentoring: some preliminary data

Abstract: The mentor relationship is increasingly being seen as an important ingredient in career development, particularly for women managers and professionals This study examined sex differences and cross-sex effects of the mentor-protege relationship Data were collected, using questionnaires, from 81 male and 13 female mentors in high technology firms Both sex and cross-sex effects were observed Psychosocial functions were more prevalent when women were involved as either mentors or proteges and most prevalent in pairs of women