How Fast are “Fast-Friends”? Do People Make Accurate Friendship-relevant Judgements of Strangers Within the First Minute of Interaction

Impression formation involves the use of swift, automatic judgements in combination with slower controlled processing of incoming information to adjust those judgements. “Thin-slice” literature has also shown us that humans are capable of surprisingly accurate interpersonal judgements from small snippets of expressive behavior. Although friendship does take time to develop, assessing others along dimensions that seem to be related to friendship development during the acquaintance process often involves interpersonal judgements. This researcher sought to determine whether interpersonal judgements made in the first minute of zero-acquaintance interaction (strangers meeting) are accurate and resilient enough to resist adjustments made after a subsequent longer introductory conversation. Findings did not support the original hypotheses. Results indicated that perceptions of personality were not very accurate after the first interaction, nor especially resilient to later updating over the second interaction. However, there were some differences in accuracy and resiliency depending on the personality domain assessed. Additionally, friendship-factors were not found to be resilient across interaction periods, although they were significantly related. Although the results were not what was predicted, they suggested the paradigm of the study has the potential to be useful in the fields of “thin-slices”, impression formation, and friendship/acquaintanceship processes. Suggestions for future research with this paradigm and the implications for these findings in the context of “thin-slice” and impression formation literature are discussed

Nebraska\u27s Economic Future

Nebraskans like where they live. Young and old, they like the “sense of place” they feel here. They like being part of the legendary work ethic. They like the fact that, for the most part, they feel safe here. They like the fact that Nebraska agriculture helps to feed and power the world. But when people from other states ask them where they’re from, they sound apologetic. The Strategic Discussions for Nebraska team heard variations on that theme everywhere we went. Caleb Pollard, Executive Director of the Ord Chamber of Commerce said it best: “we need for Nebraskans to be proud.” Nebraska is a conservative state, both politically and fiscally. It is constitutionally required to balance the state budget. It is also a state with only 1.7 million people, so there are few people to share the property tax burden. Additionally, Nebraska doesn’t have mineral resources that some states tax heavily, relieving the property tax burden on individuals. However, Nebraska’s sales and income taxes are about the same as its peer states, a fact that is often overlooked when people share concerns about taxes. One of the state’s main concerns is the declining work force, particularly in greater Nebraska. This magazine contains several stories that refer to the work force shortage and the challenges faced by communities that desperately need workers. Nebraska’s Strong Agricultural Base Agriculture has changed in the last century, but it’s a booming business and Nebraskans are knowledgeable about those changes. They know the state is well-suited to growing highquality crops and animals, and they know people in the rest of the world want to buy them. They know the University of Nebraska’s research has been important for Nebraska agriculture, and they support the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Nebraska Innovation Campus, which will be built in Lincoln on the site of the Nebraska State Fair when the fair moves to Grand Island in 2010. Nebraska exported nearly $5.5 billion dollars worth of agricultural and manufactured goods in 2008. That’s up from$3.6 billion in 2006 and $4.2 billion in 2007. According to Greg Ibach, Director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, exports bring the state a steady flow of domestic and international sales and allow the state to remain strong during financial cycles that affect the U.S. and other countries. Nebraska is fortunate to have not only the natural resources to produce some of the best agricultural products – and can source the needed parts and material for the manufactured products – but also has the people with the needed background, knowledge, experience and work ethic to produce the quality products, Ibach said. Importance of Education and Technology There are no greater proponents of education than people in greater Nebraska. The state’s education system is good and is one of the drawing cards for businesses interested in locating in the state. Nebraskans know that jobs today and in the future will require more knowledge of technology in all its forms. Whether people work in information technology in Omaha, farm near Cozad, ranch near Mullen, read x-rays in Ord, work on locomotives in Alliance or conduct research in one of dozens of locations in the state, they’ll have to know technology. Technology requires consistent broadband access and capacity that statewide, Nebraska just doesn’t have. A conversation participant who lives outside North Platte told us her satellite gives her access to the Internet “as long as it isn’t cloudy.” That isn’t good enough for the needs of rural health care, business development, education or for attracting young people to smaller communities. Infrastructure If a state doesn’t have good infrastructure, it closes doors to economic development and therefore, growth. Infrastructure necessary for every viable community includes water, sewer, electricity, roads and Internet access. Additional infrastructure needs are schools, health care facilities, power plants, transportation and communication. It’s expensive to build these things and expensive to maintain existing facilities. Dr. Doug Kristensen, Chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Kearney, told us many of the state’s school buildings were built about the same time – about 100 years ago – and are beginning to crumble, requiring extensive and costly repairs or replacement. Changing Nebraska’s Layout? The Strategic Discussions for Nebraska team interviewed a number of people who believe Nebraska should change its county structure. Ninety-three counties were needed when people had to use a horse and buggy to get to the county seat, but some say the state could save money if the counties were merged, creating about 15 larger counties. Others say there would be few dollars in savings and would widen the gap between greater Nebraska and eastern Nebraska in accessibility to services. Others suggest a “hub and spoke” regional layout, in which one town would be the hub and about 10 or 12 smaller communities would be the spokes. Trouble is, everybody wants to be the hub. What makes the most sense? Send your opinion to me at [email protected]. We’ll post the results on the Strategic Discussions for Nebraska website: www.unl.edu/sdn. Leadership and Cooperation People told us the state and communities need strong leaders who are willing to partner with other organizations, communities, states and countries for the good of Nebraska as a whole. It also needs leaders who will consider the needs of the entire state, regardless of money, power or special interests. In this magazine, you will find a variety of perspectives on Nebraska’s economy, including the opinions of state and community leaders, academics, business owners and government officials. Each opinion has value, based on the person’s experience, education, location and economic condition

Activation of stylolites as conduits for overpressured fluid flow in dolomitized platform carbonates

This study investigates the Late Aptian-earliest Albian platform carbonates of the Benicàssim area (Maestrat Basin, Spain) in order to assess the relationship between bed-parallel stylolites and the flow of diagenetic fluids during dolomitization and subsequent hydrothermal alteration. Dolostones and burial dolomite and calcite cements were studied by a combination of field geology and standard petrographic and isotope analysis. Field data indicate that dolostones are closely associated with seismic-scale synsedimentary faults, preferentially replace grain-dominated facies and typically show wavy dolomitizing fronts that mostly correspond to bed-parallel stylolites. The dolostones are corroded and contain bed-parallel pores that are filled with hydrothermal saddle dolomite and blocky calcite cements. This late calcite cement frequently engulfs clasts of the host dolostones, suggesting that hydraulic brecciation likely associated with overpressured fluid occurred. Results indicate that stylolites play a key role in the distribution of dolostones and subsequent hydrothermal mineralization. During the replacement stage, stylolites acted as baffles for the dolomitzing fluids controlling lateral fluid flow and resulting in the stratabound dolostone distribution. During the post-dolomitization stage, stylolites became preferred pathways for overpressured hydrothermal corrosive and mineralizing fluids that likely came from the underlying basement, and increased bed-parallel stylolitic porosity and probably also permeability

Prospectus, October 5, 1990

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1990/1023/thumbnail.jp

Edinburgh System Description for the 2005 IWSLT Speech Translation Evaluation

Our participation in the IWSLT 2005 speech translation task is our first effort to work on limited domain speech data. We adapted our statistical machine translation system that performed successfully in previous DARPA competitions on open domain text translations. We participated in the supplied corpora transcription track. We achieved the highest BLEU score in 2 out of 5 language pairs and had competitive results for the other language pairs.

Exploring the interactions underlying flow states: A connecting analysis of flow occurrence in European Tour golfers

Objectives: Research to date has identified a range of factors suggested to facilitate flow states in sport. However, less attention has focused on how exactly those facilitating factors influence the occurrence of flow. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the specific ways in which such facilitators influenced flow occurrence in European Tour golfers. Design: Qualitative design. Method: Ten full-time golfers from the European Tour (M age=37; SD=13.08) participated in semi-structured interviews investigating the occurrence of their flow states. Data were interpreted using an iterative process of thematic and connecting analyses. Results: Ten facilitators of flow were identified, of which commitment and the caddie have not been reported previously. Twenty four connecting links were identified in the data, through which the caddie, effective preparation, and high-quality performance appeared to be most influential for flow occurrence. Confidence and concentration also emerged as key constructs underlying the flow experience in this setting. Conclusion: A central contribution of this study is the identification of ways in which facilitating factors could influence flow occurrence in elite golf. This process adds detail to understanding of flow occurrence, and moves beyond simply identifying factors which are associated with the experience. As such, connecting analysis is proposed as an additional strategy for qualitatively investigating flow occurrence in sport. Results are discussed in relation to previous literature, and recommendations are identified for researchers, athletes, coaches and practitioners

Psychological states underlying excellent performance in professional golfers: "Letting it happen" vs. "making it happen"

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Objectives: In this study we aimed to better understand the occurrence and experience of flow in elite golf. As flow is more likely to occur during peak performances, and for elite athletes, our objectives were to: (i) identify golfers who achieved exceptional performances (e.g., winning a professional tournament), and (ii) explore if and how they experienced flow within that performance. Design: Mixed-method multiple case study. Method: Participants were 10 professional golfers (M age = 30; SD = 9.9). Performance data and participant observations informed semi-structured interviews which took place as soon as possible after an excellent performance (M = 4 days). Data were interpreted using within-case then cross-case thematic analysis. Results: These golfers reported that they experienced two different psychological states during their excellent performances. These states were described as: (i) "letting it happen" which corresponded with the definition and description of flow; and (ii) "making it happen" which was more effortful and intense, involved a heightened awareness of the situation, and therefore differed to flow. Both states occurred through different processes, and "letting it happen" was a relatively gradual build-up of confidence, whereas "making it happen" was a more sudden stepping-up of concentration and effort. Conclusion: These findings are discussed in relation to existing literature on flow and related optimal psychological states in sport. Recommendations are then made for future research into the experience and occurrence of both states reported in this study