Showing papers by "York University published in 1992"

A power primer.

Abstract: One possible reason for the continued neglect of statistical power analysis in research in the behavioral sciences is the inaccessibility of or difficulty with the standard material. A convenient, although not comprehensive, presentation of required sample sizes is provided here. Effect-size indexes and conventional values for these are given for operationally defined small, medium, and large effects. The sample sizes necessary for .80 power to detect effects at these levels are tabled for eight standard statistical tests: (a) the difference between independent means, (b) the significance of a product-moment correlation, (c) the difference between independent rs, (d) the sign test, (e) the difference between independent proportions, (f) chi-square tests for goodness of fit and contingency tables, (g) one-way analysis of variance, and (h) the significance of a multiple or multiple partial correlation.

The Antecedents of Deinstitutionalization

Abstract: Deinstitutionalization refers here to the erosion or discontinuity of an institution alized organizational activity or practice. This paper identifies a set of organiza tional and environmental factors that are hypothesized to determine the likelihood that institutionalized organizational behaviours will be vulnerable to erosion or rejection over time. Contrary to the emphasis in institutional theory on the cultural persistence and endurance of institutionalized organizational behaviours, it is suggested that, under a variety of conditions, these behaviours will be highly susceptible to dissipation, rejection or replacement.

Generalized Collinearity Diagnostics

Abstract: Working in the context of the linear model y = Xβ + e, we generalize the concept of variance inflation as a measure of collinearity to a subset of parameters in β (denoted by β 1, with the associated columns of X given by X 1). The essential idea underlying this generalization is to examine the impact on the precision of estimation—in particular, the size of an ellipsoidal joint confidence region for β 1—of less-than-optimal selection of other columns of the design matrix (X 2), treating still other columns (X 0) as unalterable, even hypothetically. In typical applications, X 1 contains a set of dummy regressors coding categories of a qualitative variable or a set of polynomial regressors in a quantitative variable; X 2 contains all other regressors in the model, save the constant, which is in X 0. If σ 2 V denotes the realized variance of , and σ 2 U is the variance associated with an optimal selection of X 2, then the corresponding scaled dispersion ellipsoids to be compared are ℰ v = {x : x′V ...

Empowering Place: Multilocality and Multivocality

Abstract: The concept of “voice” has received considerable attention in anthropology recently. This article suggests that the concept of “place” requires a concomitant rethinking. It explores ways in which place, like voice and time, is a politicized social and cultural construct. It applies insights from geography and sociology to the anthropological study of place, drawing on research in Melanesia, including the author's fieldwork in Vanuatu. The article concludes that attention to multilocality as well as multivocality can empower place conceptually and encourage understanding of the complex social construction of spatial meaning.

Map-based cloning of a gene controlling omega-3 fatty acid desaturation in Arabidopsis

Abstract: A gene from the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana that encodes an omega-3 desaturase was cloned on the basis of the genetic map position of a mutation affecting membrane and storage lipid fatty acid composition. Yeast artificial chromosomes covering the genetic locus were identified and used to probe a seed complementary DNA library. A complementary DNA clone for the desaturase was identified and introduced into roots of both wild-type and mutant plants by Ti plasmid-mediated transformation. Transgenic tissues of both mutant and wild-type plants had significantly increased amounts of the fatty acid produced by this desaturase.

Adaptations in coactivation after isometric resistance training.

Abstract: Twenty sedentary male university students were randomly assigned to an experimental or a control group. The experimental group trained the knee extensors of one leg by producing 30 isometric extension maximal voluntary contractions (MVC) per day, three times per week for 8 wk. After 8 wk of training, extensor MVC in the trained leg increased 32.8% (P less than 0.05), but there was no change in vastus lateralis maximal integrated electromyographic activity (IEMGmax). The most important finding was that the degree of hamstring coactivation during extension MVC decreased by approximately 20% (P less than 0.05) after the 1st wk of training. Less pronounced adaptations occurred in the untrained leg: extension MVC force increased 16.2% (P less than 0.05), hamstring coactivity decreased 13% (P less than 0.05) after 2 wk of training, and vastus lateralis IEMGmax was unchanged. The same measures in legs of the control group were not changed during the study. There were no changes in flexion MVC, biceps femoris IEMGmax, or the degree of quadriceps coactivity during flexion MVC in either leg of the control or experimental group. A reduction in hamstring coactivity in the trained and untrained legs indicates that these muscles provide less opposing force to the contracting quadriceps. We conclude that this small but significant decrease in hamstring coactivation that occurs during the early stages of training is a nonhypertrophic adaptation of the neuromuscular system in response to static resistance training of this type.

Coping with coping assessment: A critical review:

Abstract: The recent literature on self-report measures of coping reactions and strategies is reviewed and critically evaluated. Most of the coping research has focused on assessing several basic coping behaviours or reactions. These include dimensions such as task-oriented coping, emotion-oriented coping, and avoidance-oriented coping. In general, most of the coping scales that have been developed have a variety of psychometric inadequacies. This state of affairs has created at least two major problems in the coping literature: (1) The proliferation of problematic coping scales, sometimes measuring different constructs, makes it difficult to generalize from one population and/or one health problem to another. (2) Since psychometrically sound instruments are a precondition for studying the relationships among coping, personality, and health, scales with psychometric problems preclude obtaining valid and generalizable information about coping behaviour. Methodological problems in the area have seriously restricted the development of a systematic body of theory and empirical knowledge about coping.

Presumed incompetent? Stigmatization and affirmative action efforts.

Abstract: Two studies investigated whether a stigma of incompetence marks those associated with affirmative action programs. In an experiment, 129 male and female undergraduates reviewed the application materials of someone said to be recently hired for one of two jobs. The hiree was either a man or a woman, and the woman either was or was not associated with an affirmative action program. The affirmative action label was found to negatively affect the perceived competence of women hirees regardless of the degree to which the job was male sex-typed. A field investigation in which 184 White men provided information about their co-workers supported these results. It additionally demonstrated that the relationship between perceived competence and presumed affirmative action status held not only when co-workers were White women but when they were Black men and Black women as well

The Perceived Stress Scale: Factor structure and relation to depression symptoms in a psychiatric sample

Abstract: The present study sought to examine the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) when administered to psychiatric patients. We also examined predictive validity of the PSS by assessing the association between the Perceived Stress Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory. A heterogeneous sample of 96 psychiatric patients (48 men, 48 women) completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Beck Depression Inventory. Factor analysis of the PSS established that the scale consisted of two factors. The first factor was comprised primarily of items reflecting adaptational symptoms. In contrast, the second factor consisted of items reflecting coping ability. Both factors had an adequate degree of internal consistency. Finally, a series of regression analyses predicting depression found that both factors accounted for unique variance in depression scores in women, but only the first factor accounted for unique variance in men. It is concluded that the PSS is a multidimensional and internally consistent measure of perceived stress.

Models of conflict, negotiation and third party intervention: A review and synthesis.

Abstract: From the vast research literature on organizational conflict and conflict resolution, this review identifies 44 major models in the area of conflict, negotiation, and third party processes (e.g. mediation and arbitration). Each of the models is described, categorized as descriptive or normative, and evaluated with respect to empirical support. Discussion of these models surfaces a number of significant, but often implicit assumptions about conflict and its management; insufficient bridging between descriptive and normative endeavors; and an extreme emphasis on model creation over model testing.

Characterization of the physical demands of firefighting

Abstract: To characterize the physical demands associated with on-the-job use of current firefighting equipment and the performance of essential firefighting operations, an initial task analysis of all firefighting operations was followed by an in-depth physical and physiological characterization of those tasks deemed to be physically demanding. The most commonly encountered applications of strength and endurance were lifting and carrying objects (up to 80 lbs), pulling objects (up to 135 lbs), and working with objects in front of the body (up to 125 lbs). The most demanding firefighting operations required a mean VO2 of 41.5 ml/kg.min-1 with peak lactate concentrations of 6 to 13.2 mM. Ninety percent of the demanding firefighting operations that were studied required a mean VO2 of 23 ml/kg.min-1. These aerobic energy requirements corresponded to 85 and 50% VO2max, respectively. Therefore a minimum VO2max standard for firefighter applicants of 45 ml/kg.min-1 is recommended.

Components of perfectionism and procrastination in college students

Abstract: In the present research we examined the relationships between individual differences in perfectionism and procrastinatory behavior in college students. A sample of 131 students (56 males, 75 females) completed measures of self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism, as well as measures of academic procrastination and general procrastination. Participants also completed ratings of factors related to procrastination (i.e., fear of failure, task aversiveness). Correlational analyses revealed it was the socially prescribed perfectionism dimension that was most closely correlated with both generalized procrastination and academic procrastination, especially among males. There were few significant correlations involving self-oriented and other-oriented perfectionism. However, the fear of failure component of procrastination was associated broadly with all the perfectionism dimensions. Overall, the results suggest that procrastination stems, in part, from the anticipation of social disapproval from individuals with perfectionistic standards for others.

Arms and the state : patterns of military production and trade

Abstract: 1. Motive forces in the evolution of the arms transfer and production system 2. The emergence of a global arms transfer and production system 3. From the Military Revolution to the Industrial Revolution 4. An overview of the post-1945 global arms transfer system 5. The dominance of first-tier producers and suppliers 6. Second-tier producers and suppliers: the struggle to keep pace 7. Dependent production and exports in the third tier 8. The subordinate role of arms recipients.

Relative changes in maximal force, EMG, and muscle cross-sectional area after isometric training.

Abstract: The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether training-induced increases in maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) can be completely accounted for by increases in muscle cross-sectional area. Fifteen female university students were randomly divided into a control (N = 7) and an experimental (N = 8) group. The experimental group underwent 8 wk of isometric resistance training of the knee extensors of one leg; the other leg was the untrained control. Training consisted of 30 MVC.d-1 x 3 d.wk-1 x 8 wk. Extensor cross-sectional area (CSA), assessed by computerized tomographic (CT) scanning of a cross-sectional slice at mid-thigh, was used as a measure of muscle hypertrophy. After 8 wk of training, MVC increased by 28% (P < 0.05), CSA increased by 14.6% (P < 0.05), and the amplitude of the electromyogram at MVC (EMGmax) was unchanged in the trained leg of the experimental subjects. The same measures in the untrained legs of the experimental subjects and in both legs of the control subjects were not changed after training. Although there was an apparent discrepancy between the increase in MCV (28%) and CSA (14.6%), the ratio between the two, the specific tension (N.cm-2), was not significantly different after training. As a result of these findings, we conclude that in these subjects there is no evidence of nonhypertrophic adaptations to resistance training of this type and magnitude, and that the increase in force-generating capacity of the muscle is due to the synthesis of additional contractile proteins.

Perfectionism and suicide potential

Abstract: The present study employed a multidimensional approach to examine the association between perfectionism and suicide threat. The present study also examined whether perfectionism variables predicted variance in suicide threat and suicide intention that is not accounted for by other well-known predictors (i.e. depression and hopelessness). A sample of 87 psychiatric patients completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the MMPI Threat Suicide Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory. The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale assesses self-oriented perfectionism, other-oriented perfectionism, and socially prescribed perfectionism. The analyses revealed that socially prescribed perfectionism was the only perfectionism dimension correlated significantly with suicide threat and intent. Moreover, hierarchical regression analyses showed that socially prescribed perfectionism predicted variance in suicide scores that was not accounted for by depression or hopelessness. Overall, the findings suggest that suicide potential is associated with a dispositional tendency to perceive that other people are unrealistic in their expectations for the self. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for intervention.

Adult Judgments and Fine-Grained Analysis of Infant Facial Expressions: Testing the Validity of A Priori Coding Formulas.

Abstract: Three studies tested whether infant facial expressions selected to fit Max formulas (Izard, 1983) for discrete emotions are recognizable signals of those emotions. Forced-choice emotion judgments (Study 1) and emotion ratings (Study 2) by naive Ss fit Max predictions for slides of infant joy, interest, surprise, and distress. But Max fear, anger, sadness, and disgust expressions in infants were judged as distress or as emotion blends in both studies. Ratings of adult facial expressions (Study 2 only) fit a priori classifications. In Study 3, we coded the facial muscle components of faces shown in Studies 1 and 2 with the Facial Action Coding System (FACS; Ekman & Friesen, 1978) and Baby FACS (Oster & Rosenstein, in press). Only 3 of the 19 Max-specified expressions of discrete negative emotions in infants fit adult prototypes

The role of massage in preparation for and recovery from exercise. An overview.

Abstract: The use of massage both as an aid to physical performance and as a modality for facilitating recovery from the effects of vigorous exercise has survived from antiquity (Harris 1964).Despite this long history of practical application, very few rigorously obtained scientific data are available in the literature that would substantiate the widely held belief in its effectiveness. This review is not exhaustive. We retrieved only those articles that had to do with massage and physiological and psychological responses to exercise and recovery. References to massage as a therapeutic modality, used in rehabilitation medicine, were not considered. Our examination of the literature was confined to those entries that appeared after 1948.This decision to limit our review to the last 40 years was prompted by the relative scarcity of relevant papers in the years preceding and because 2 short but comprehensive reviews are included in the papers of Wakim et al. (1949) and Ebel and Wisham (1951).

Interactionism revisited: Reflections on the continuing crisis in the personality area

Abstract: The current status of the personality area is critically examined with the view that problems in the discipline voiced two decades ago are still prevalent. Recurring problems in the personality area have important ramifications for much of contemporary theoretical and applied psychology. The interactional approach to personality came to the fore in the 1970s and early 1980s as an explicit attempt to resolve a number of perceived weaknesses in the personality area. While it has become common for researchers to publicly advocate an interactional position, in practice little interactional research has been conducted recently. The historical developments of the trait and situationism models of personality research and relevant assessment issues are outlined. This history is of interest because it helps to illuminate why and how many current personality researchers continue to perpetuate problems in the personality area. The interactional model of personality is also examined. Finally, the development of an interactional model for the study of anxiety is examined as a specific example of the theoretical, research, and practical benefits of this approach.

From then to now: The development of industrial-organizational psychology in the United States.

Abstract: This article reviews the development of industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology in the United States since its beginnings at about the turn of the century. The history is divided into periods, within which are described topics, roles, and forces, with the goal of explaining as well as describing developments. Among the conclusions are that I-O psychology is a dynamic field that has been making contributions both to the science of behavior and to industrial society and that those contributions have been underestimated by some and possibly overestimated by others. Among the problems still facing the field is the disjunction between science and practice

The Galileo Solid-State Imaging Experiment

Abstract: The Solid State Imaging (SSI) experiment on the Galileo Orbiter spacecraft utilizes a high-resolution (1500 mm focal length) television camera with an 800 × 800 pixel virtual-phase, charge-coupled detector It is designed to return images of Jupiter and its satellites that are characterized by a combination of sensitivity levels, spatial resolution, geometric fiedelity, and spectral range unmatched by imaging data obtained previously The spectral range extends from approximately 375 to 1100 nm and only in the near ultra-violet region (~350nm) is the spectral coverage reduced from previous missions The camera is approximately 100 times more sensitive than those used in the Voyager mission, and, because of the nature of the satellite encounters, will produce images with approximately 100 times the ground resolution (ie, ~50mlp−1) on the Galilean satellites We describe aspects of the detector including its sensitivity to energetic particle radiation and how the requirements for a large full-well capacity and long-term stability in operating voltages led to the choice of the virtual phase chip The F/85 camera system can reach point sources of F(mag) ~ 11 with S/N ~ 10 and extended sources with surface brightness as low as 20 kR in its highest gain state and longest exposure mode We describe the performance of the system as determined by ground calibration and the improvements that have been made to the telescope (same basic catadioptric design that was used in Mariner 10 and the Voyager high-resolution cameras) to reduce the scattered light reaching the detector The images are linearly digitized 8-bits deep and, after flat-fielding, are cosmetically clean Information ‘preserving’ and ‘non-preserving’ on-board data compression capabilities are outlined A special “summation” mode, designed for use deep in the Jovian radiation belts, near Io, is also described The detector is ‘preflashed’ before each exposure to ensure the photometric linearity The dynamic range is spread over 3 gain states and an exposure range from 417 ms to 512 s A low-level of radial, third-order, geometric distortion has been measured in the raw images that is entirely due to the optical design The distortion is of the pincushion type and amounts to about 12 pixels in the corners of the images It is expected to be very stable

Occupational demands, psychological burnout and anxiety among hospital personnel in norway

Abstract: The present study reports the results of a questionnaire survey among 212 health care workers at a hospital in Northern Norway. Measures included burnout, trait anxiety, various job demands and supports, and work attitudes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment). Results provided support for Maslach's conceptualization of the burnout syndrome cross-culturally. Correlations among the three burnout subscales, as well as organizational correlates of burnout were generally consistent with earlier findings. The burnout scores of hospital workers were higher than North American norms, and some occupational differencs among subscales were found. A model of individual characteristics, job demands, burnout, and work attitudes was tested through a series of multiple regressions. Trait anxiety as well as job demands contributed to burnout. The influence of trait anxiety on work attitudes was mediated through emotional exhaustion. However, in addition to emotional exhaustion, both job demands and or...

Future-Event Schemas and Certainty About the Future: Automaticity in Depressives' Future-Event Predictions

Abstract: The proposition was tested that depressives make predictions about the future based on a pessimistic future-event schema. Participants varying in depression predicted whether positive and negative events would happen to them (or to an average person) in the future by pressing yes or no at a computer terminal as quickly as possible, either under a concurrent attentional load or under no such load. As hypothesized, depressives predicted more negative events and fewer positive events than did mild depressives or nondepressives and showed greater automaticity in their predictions. That is, the attentional load did not increase depressives' response latencies for either negative or positive events, even though it did so reliably for both mildly depressed and nondepressed individuals. Depressives may thus possess a highly developed future-event schema that operates efficiently in enabling future-event predictions.

Cathodic reduction of oxygen and hydrogen peroxide at cobalt and iron crowned phthalocyanines adsorbed on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite electrodes

Abstract: The surface electrochemistry of iron and cobalt crowned phthalocyanine (Fe[sup II]CRPc(-2) and Co[sup II]CRPc(-2)) adsorbed on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) electrode has been explored under an argon atmosphere. The redox processes of surface bound Co[sup II]CRPc(-2)/[Co[sup I]CRPc(-2)][sup [minus]], [Fe[sup III]CRPc(-2)][sup +]/Fe[sup II]CRPc(-2), and Fe[sup II]- CRPc(-2)/[Fe[sup I]CRPc(-2)][sup [minus]] couples were identified and their pH dependence reported in the range 1-13. Under an oxygen atmosphere at the Co[sup II]CRPc(-2)/HOPG electrode, two reduction processes, oxygen to hydrogen peroxide and hydrogen peroxide to water, were clearly delineated and their pH dependences explored. Surface bound Fe[sup II]-CRPc(-2) catalyzes the four-electron reduction of oxygen in alkaline medium. The Co[sup II]CRPc(-2)/HOPG electrode is very stable both in the presence and absence of oxygen, but the Fe[sup II]CRPc(-2)/HOPG electrode is much less stable when electrocatalytic oxygen reduction takes place on its surface.

Azithromycin: The First Azalide Antibiotic:

Abstract: OBJECTIVE:To discuss the chemistry, mechanism of action, spectrum of activity, pharmacokinetics, clinical trials, adverse-effect profile, drug interactions, and dosage guidelines of azithromycin, the first azalide antibiotic.DATA SOURCES:Pertinent literature published between 1988 and the present was identified via a MEDLINE search. Of 77 articles retrieved, 37 have been referenced.STUDY SELECTION:Azithromycin is a new agent, and as such, limited data regarding this drug are available in the literature. We evaluated all pharmacokinetic, microbiologic, and basic science articles pertaining to azithromycin, and reviewed the clinical efficacy trials that we believed were of good quality for each indication for which azithromycin has received approval to date. Comparative clinical trials involving large numbers of patients, clinical outcome assessments, and recommendations for azithromycin use are included.DATA SYNTHESIS:Azithromycin is a macrolide derivative and the first of the 15-membered ring azalide clas...