The Psychosocial Correlates of Cigarette Smoking Among Tertiary Students

The present study was undertaken to examine the relative contribution of psychosocial variables toward tertiary student smoking behaviour, and their ability to distinguish smokers from non-smokers, or smokers from ex-smokers, amongst this population. Given the higher prevalence of cigarette smoking amongst females of this age group, the psychosocial variables distinguishing female smokers from female non-smokers in the tertiary education system were also examined. It was hypothesised that smoking status of tertiary students would be associated more with their attitude toward smoking than environmental factors. Furthermore, it was hypothesised females would place less emphasis on participation in sporting activities than males, and their inability to recognise the detrimental effect of smoking on health/fitness would be a discriminating factor between female smokers and female non-smokers. The responses of two hundred and eighteen University students to a 57 -item questionnaire constructed for the present study were analysed by Discriminant Function Analyses. The results indicated that whilst factors such as an environment that is socially conducive to cigarette smoking, and exemplar influence, were found to be important variables discriminating between the groups, attitude toward smoking emerged as the strongest factor. The hypothesis that females would place less emphasis on participation in sporting activities than males, and that their inability to recognise the detrimental effect of smoking on health/fitness would be a discriminating factor between females smokers and non smokers, was only partially supported by the present study, group means indicating there were not any significant differences between female smokers and female non-smokers on all variables relating to sporting activities. By using a multivariate model of psychosocial correlates of cigarette smoking it was possible to identity the variables discriminating smokers from non-smokers, smokers from ex-smokers, female smokers from female non-smokers. Analyses yielded high group classifications of 88.6%, 79.7% and 95.0% respectively, which according to McInman and Grove ( 1991) are well in excess of Australian data not employing a multivariate method to classify adolescent cigarette smokers. While the results of the present study cannot be generalised to other adolescent populations, they have served to demonstrate the importance of identifying issues that arc pertinent to particular groups if smoking prevention/cessation programmes arc to be effective

Investigating the discrepancies between student perceptions and faculty expectations of graduate-level statistics preparation

This study investigated the discrepancies between students’ perceived preparation for graduate-level study in statistics and faculty expected levels of preparation for incoming graduate students. Two 25-item surveys on a 6 point Likert scale were developed and administered to a faculty sample and a student sample for comparison. Overall results showed that students’ perceived level of preparation were equal to faculty expected levels of preparation with respect to statistical knowledge. That is, both groups endorsed the middle of the scale indicating that students generally felt somewhat prepared for graduate-level statistics and faculty generally expected students to feel somewhat prepared for their statistics course. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are discussed

Factors that influence course difficulty

Throughout the academic community it is generally accepted that there are degrees of difficulty among college courses. The source of variability in course difficulty could be related to background knowledge of students, variability in instructional methods, and variability in the characteristics of the subject matter;Some courses may be more difficult than other courses because of the content of the courses. These are the courses that present students with abstract ideas and are based on the assumption that students have the ability to think in abstract terms. The vocabulary presented in many of these courses is often foreign to students, and the entire course may be perceived as being difficult because terms are difficult to define and place in one\u27s reality;The purpose of this study was to determine factors that influence course difficulty. Because factors which influence course difficulty were identified and understood, it is anticipated that methodology may now be developed to significantly reduce course difficulty;Very few studies have been conducted on course difficulty or factors that influence course difficulty. Teaching techniques, abstractness of concepts covered in classes, and anxiety are sited in the literature as some of the reasons some courses are perceived as being difficult (Horodezkey, 1983; Sworder, 1986; Tanner, 1986). The findings of this study support the literature. Students indicated that little or no experience in a particular area, abstractness of concepts, and anxiety in a particular area caused them to experience more difficulty in some classes;Subjects where the material was interesting or taught in an interesting manner were perceived as being less difficult. Instructors who related concepts to every day events were said to make the classes easier. The social science, arts and humanities areas were perceived as less difficult, because many of the concepts covered in the classes were familiar to students. Students felt that some of the science and math courses were difficult because they were not familiar with the concepts covered

Flesh Without Blood: (Re)locating Embodiment in Technology

The social/technology divide has eclipsed our understanding of the many ways in which the two are interconnected. In this thesis I examine the interplay of the social and technological through the lens of embodiment. In particular, I focus on the ways in which bodies become located, relocated and even dislocated, in interaction with technologies. My approach is an analytical synthesis informed by three examinations: The art of Mariko Mori; the ‘robot’ social media influencer @lilmiquela; and applications of artificial intelligence on the human body. These examinations can be thought of as thought experiments, case studies or musings to help explore the possibilities for bodies rendered through technologies. Through the complex interaction with technologies, embodiment is affected and the question of where bodies begin and end becomes a productive way to think about sociological processes of identity and power

Thinking Style as Input: Information Seeking and Processing

In this dissertation, I propose that thinking style and cognitive load are associated with information-processing. Analytic thinkers focus on focal objects, whereas holistic thinkers focus on the relation between focal objects and peripheral objects. In addition, cognitive load also increases people’s heuristic use in information-processing. Across two studies, I investigated the relationship between thinking style and information-processing, moderated by time pressure (Study 1) or accuracy motivation (Study 2). Results showed opposite patterns of what past literature has demonstrated. Relatively holistic thinkers were less likely to search for additional suspect cues with higher levels of confidence compared to relatively analytic thinkers. Cognitive load motivated information seeking but decreased levels of confidence. Together, these studies create a mixed relationship among thinking style, cognitive load, and information-processing, implying that individual and cultural differences in information-processing might depend on the type of decision-making

Feminine Development: The Relationship Between Identity Status, Personality and Social Influence Style

The purposes of the present research were to investigate the potential relationships between ego identity development, personality characteristics and social influence styles in college women. It was hypothesized that advanced identity development would be associated with more complex personality functioning and effective social influence behavior. Research subjects were classified according to identity status using The Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status. They responded to the Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Styleand engaged in a social influence task with a male or female confederate. The advanced statuses generally demonstrated more complex social-cognitive styles that allowed them to both process large amounts of stimulus information and maintain periods of private reflection of their thoughts and feelings. Conversely, the foreclosure women reported a cognitive style characterized by reduced attentional focus. In their social influence behavior, the advanced statuses employed more direct strategies and a wider repertoire of influence skills. When paired with a male confederate, the use of feminine sex-role stereotypic behavior, such as self-abasement, pleading and whining, increased with advanced identity status. The lower statuses utilized less desirable influence styles that were both placating and authoritarian. No relationship between personality characteristics and social influence style was observed in the present investigation. These findings provide tentative evidence for the relationship between advanced identity development and more complex cognitive and interpersonal styles. The potential effects of sex-role expectations in male-female influence situations were also explored