Human Adaptation to Isolated and Confined Environments

A study was conducted over seven months in a winter Antarctic isolated and confined environment (ICE). Physiological and psychological data was collected several times a week. Information was collected on a monthly basis on behavior and the use of physical facilities. Adaptation and information indicated that there was a significant decrease in epinephrine and norepinephrine during the middle trimester of the winter. No vital changes were found for blood pressure. Self reports of hostility and anxiety show a linear increase. There were no significant changes in depression during ICE. The physiological and psychological data do not move in a synchronous fashion over time. The data also suggest that both ambient qualities of an ICE and discrete social environmental events, such as the arrival of the summer crew, have an impact on the outcome measures used. It may be most appropiate to develop a model for ICE's that incorporates not only global chronic stressors common to all ICE's but also the role of discrete environmental effects which can minimize or enhance the influence of more chronic stressors. Behavioral adjustment information highlight the importance of developing schedules which balance work and recreational activities

An examination of the perceptual aspects of personal space.

There has been a growing interest in the behavioral aspects of physical space vrfiich has generally been considered as an important part of the man-environment interphase (Craik, 1970; Esser, 1971; Hall, 1966; Pastalan & Carson, 1970; Proshansky, Ittleson & Rivlin, I97O; Sommer, 1969; Wholwill & Carson, 1972). One aspect of physical space vdiich has received increasing attention is personal space (PS), PS can be defined as the area surrounding a person^s body into v^ich intruders may not come (Sommer, 1969). This paper which is comprised of three major sections; the intro duction, description of the experiments and discussion, presents a thorough review of the literature and includes a discussion of methodological difficulties in PS research. In addition, a brief overview of theoretical work in the area is discussed. Following this, each experiment is presented including methods and results. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of the results and exposition of a theoretical model of PS

Task Persistence: A Potential Mediator of the Income-Achievement Gap

Background: The pervasive gap in achievement among impoverished children has been investigated primarily in terms of parental investments, specifically parent to child speech and other forms of cognitive stimulation (e.g., toys, print materials). This research extends that literature by considering the role of a non-cognitive factor, namely task persistence, in the income-achievement gap. Using task persistence as the hypothesized mediator, duration of childhood in poverty is used to predict two educational variables - perceived academic competence and educational attainment. Although bivariate relationships between each of the variables have been demonstrated in past research, a full model linking task persistence with the income-achievement gap has not been investigated thus far. Methods: Using multiple waves of longitudinal data, duration of childhood poverty (ages 0-9) is used to predict both perceived academic competence (age 17) and educational attainment (age 23) with task persistence (average of ages 9, 13, 17) as a mediator. Results: With task persistence included in each model, the relationships between duration of childhood in poverty and both perceived academic competence and educational attainment are significantly reduced, confirming a mediational influence of task persistence. Conclusions: As hypothesized, task persistence statistically mediates the relationship between duration of childhood in poverty and educational outcomes. The implications of these findings on school success and intergenerational poverty are addressed, as well as suggestions for future research

Stressing out the poor: chronic physiological stress and the income-achievement gap

This article explores the link between childhood poverty and the negative effects of prolonged exposure to stressful environments.Income distribution

Diode laser array

A diode laser array comprises a substrate of a semiconductor material having first and second opposed surfaces. On the first surface is a plurality of spaced gain sections and a separate distributed Bragg reflector passive waveguide at each end of each gain section and optically connecting the gain sections. Each gain section includes a cavity therein wherein charge carriers are generated and recombine to generate light which is confined in the cavity. Also, the cavity, which is preferably a quantum well cavity, provides both a high differential gain and potentially large depth of loss modulation. Each waveguide has a wavelength which is preferably formed by an extension of the cavity of the gain sections and a grating. The grating has a period which provides a selective feedback of light into the gain sections to supporting lasing, which allows some of the light to be emitted from the waveguide normal to the surface of the substrate and which allows optical coupling of the gain sections. Also, the grating period provides an operating wavelength which is on the short wavelength side of the gain period of the gain sections required for laser oscillation. An RF pulse is applied so as to maximize the magnitude of the loss modulation and the differential gain in the gain sections. The array is operated by applying a DC bias to all the gain sections at a level just below the threshold of the gain sections to only one of the gain sections which raises the bias in all of the gain sections to a level that causes all of the gain sections to oscillate. Thus, a small bias can turn the array on and off

Versión española de la escala de Comportamiento Ecológico para Niños (CEN)

Children’s pro-ecological behaviors are usually registered using scales based on the idea of a simple connection between attitudes and behaviors. However, this relationship seems to be more complicated. The Children’s Ecological Behavior (CEB) Scale has been proposed as an alternative. Based on the Rasch model, it considers the different efforts needed to conduct a series of behaviors. This paper presents an improved adaptation of the CEB to Spanish population. Method: We back-translated the CEB into Spanish, increased the number of behaviors and collected data from 6- to 12-year-olds, using a game format procedure. Results: The scale can detect differences in the effort needed to perform various behaviors. Children’s pro-ecological attitudes and behaviors are positively related. No relationship was found between parents’ and children’s proecological attitudes and behaviors. Conclusions: The Spanish version of the CEB scale emerges as a reliable tool to measure children’s proecological behaviorsEl comportamiento pro-ecológico infantil suele registrarse con escalas basadas en la existencia de una conexión simple entre actitud y comportamiento. Sin embargo, esta relación parece ser más compleja. La escala de Comportamiento Ecológico para Niños (CEN) ha sido propuesta como una alternativa. Basándose en el modelo del Rasch, esta considera que distintas conductas requirieren distinto grado de esfuerzo. Se presenta una adaptación mejorada de la CEN a la población española. Método: se realizó una traducción inversa de la CEN, se amplió el número de conductas registradas y se recogieron datos con niños (6-12 años), usando un procedimiento de juegos. Resultados: la escala diferencia entre comportamientos que requieren distinto grado de esfuerzo. Existe una relación positiva entre las actitudes y el comportamiento pro-ecológico de los niños. No se encontró relación entre las actitudes y comportamiento pro-ecológico de padres e hijos. Conclusiones: la versión española de la escala CEN es un instrumento fiable para registrar conductas pro-ecológicas infantilesFinancial support came from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (PSI-2013-44939