Anticipating self-stigma:The roles of values and perceptions of therapy clients

The present study examined how similarities and differences between participants’ prioritization of their own values and their perceptions of therapy clients’ values predicted anticipated self-stigma of seeking psychological help. Undergraduates (N = 231) sorted the importance of 10 personal values for themselves and an imagined therapy client before completing an assessment of anticipated self-stigma of seeking psychological help. Polynomial regression analyses examined interaction effects between participants’ own values and their perceptions of a hypothetical therapy client’s values on anticipated help-seeking self-stigma. Self-stigma was predicted by the interaction between a person’s own values of security and achievement and their perceptions of a therapy client’s values of security and achievement. First, self-stigma was higher for those who prioritize achievement but view typical therapy clients as people who do not. Second, self-stigma was higher for those who prioritize security and also view typical therapy clients as people who also do.</p

Anticipating self-stigma:The roles of values and perceptions of therapy clients

The present study examined how similarities and differences between participants’ prioritization of their own values and their perceptions of therapy clients’ values predicted anticipated self-stigma of seeking psychological help. Undergraduates (N = 231) sorted the importance of 10 personal values for themselves and an imagined therapy client before completing an assessment of anticipated self-stigma of seeking psychological help. Polynomial regression analyses examined interaction effects between participants’ own values and their perceptions of a hypothetical therapy client’s values on anticipated help-seeking self-stigma. Self-stigma was predicted by the interaction between a person’s own values of security and achievement and their perceptions of a therapy client’s values of security and achievement. First, self-stigma was higher for those who prioritize achievement but view typical therapy clients as people who do not. Second, self-stigma was higher for those who prioritize security and also view typical therapy clients as people who also do.</p

Why personal values matter:values, colorblindness, and social justice action orientation

The extent to which individuals prioritize different personal values may be conceptually linked to endorsement of racial colorblindness beliefs as well as orientation toward social justice. The present study examined how personal values predicted racial colorblindness and social justice action orientation in a sample of undergraduates (N = 325; Age, M = 20.38, SD = 2.78). Results supported the hypotheses: Self-transcendence and openness to change values predicted higher social justice action orientation, mediated by lower colorblindness beliefs, whereas self-enhancement and conservation values predicted lower social justice action orientation, mediated by higher colorblindness beliefs. Hence, motives that emphasize others’ well-being and openness to change may be linked to less racial colorblindness and a greater willingness to address social inequalities. To encourage social justice efforts, institutions and social networks may benefit from considering implicit and explicit messages that promote the well-being of others and the value of openness as opposed to values that prioritize individual status and prestige and maintaining the status quo.</p

Integrating Knowledge for Instruction: A Tale of Two Teachers

Teacher knowledge is a critical factor that influences pedagogical decisions. If we want teachers to make appropriate choices in the classroom we must know and understand the types of knowledge used during this decision-making process. To this end, we sought to understand how, and the extent to which, two 5th grade teachers drew upon and integrated their knowledge of mathematics, learners, and pedagogy while teaching. Stimulated recall interviews were analyzed to uncover the types of knowledge and interactions that occurred. Both teachers primarily used their knowledge of learners and pedagogy, with the knowledge of mathematics playing a supportive role. In addition, the teachers integrated their knowledge in one of two ways: a) one knowledge type was used to justify or explain a statement about a second knowledge type and b) a discussion of one knowledge type lead to an implication or reflection about a second knowledge type. These interactions allowed the teachers to use and build their connected knowledge. Understanding how teachers integrate and use their knowledge has implications for the structure of teacher professional development

How are personal values linked to help-seeking stigma?

The extent to which individuals prioritize different personal values may be conceptually linked to the perceptions of societal stigma associated with seeking psychological help (public stigma), as well as the extent to which they apply that stigma to themselves (self-stigma). We examined how personal values predicted public stigma and self-stigma of seeking psychological help. Undergraduates (N = 342) from two universities, one historically Black college/university and one predominantly White institution, completed questionnaires assessing personal values and public stigma and self-stigma of seeking psychological help. Self-transcendence values predicted lower self-stigma directly and indirectly via public stigma. Though there were no structural differences between the modeled relationships of values, public stigma, and self-stigma between Black/African American and White/European American undergraduates, the groups differed in their prioritization of self-transcendence, openness to change, and conservation values. Results suggest that understanding how individuals prioritize certain values over others may help explain group-differences in help-seeking stigmas.<br/

How are personal values linked to help-seeking stigma?

The extent to which individuals prioritize different personal values may be conceptually linked to the perceptions of societal stigma associated with seeking psychological help (public stigma), as well as the extent to which they apply that stigma to themselves (self-stigma). We examined how personal values predicted public stigma and self-stigma of seeking psychological help. Undergraduates (N = 342) from two universities, one historically Black college/university and one predominantly White institution, completed questionnaires assessing personal values and public stigma and self-stigma of seeking psychological help. Self-transcendence values predicted lower self-stigma directly and indirectly via public stigma. Though there were no structural differences between the modeled relationships of values, public stigma, and self-stigma between Black/African American and White/European American undergraduates, the groups differed in their prioritization of self-transcendence, openness to change, and conservation values. Results suggest that understanding how individuals prioritize certain values over others may help explain group-differences in help-seeking stigmas.<br/

Topology of amorphous tetrahedral semiconductors on intermediate lengthscales

Using the recently-proposed ``activation-relaxation technique'' for optimizing complex structures, we develop a structural model appropriate to a-GaAs which is almost free of odd-membered rings, i.e., wrong bonds, and possesses an almost perfect coordination of four. The model is found to be superior to structures obtained from much more computer-intensive tight-binding or quantum molecular-dynamics simulations. For the elemental system a-Si, where wrong bonds do not exist, the cost in elastic energy for removing odd-membered rings is such that the traditional continuous-random network is appropriate. Our study thus provides, for the first time, direct information on the nature of intermediate-range topology in amorphous tetrahedral semiconductors.Comment: 4 pages, Latex and 2 postscript figure

Sagittal Bone Saw With Orbital Blade Motion for Improved Cutting Efficiency

Sagittal bone saws are used by orthopedic surgeons for resection of bone; for example in total joint arthroplasty of the hip and knee. In order to prevent damage to surrounding tissue, sagittal saw blades typically oscillate through a small angle, resulting in reduced cutting rates due to short stroke lengths. To improve bone cutting efficiency, sagittal saws oscillate at high speeds, but this creates frictional heating that can harm bone cells. The focus of this research was to design a new sagittal sawing device for improved cutting efficiency. It was hypothesized that the addition of an impulsive thrust force during the cutting stroke would increase cutting rates in cortical bone. A cam-driven device was developed and tested in bovine cortical bone. The impulsive thrust force was achieved by creating a component of blade motion perpendicular to the cutting direction, i.e., orbital blade motion. At the start of each cutting stroke, the mechanism drove the saw blade into the surface of the bone, increasing the thrust force with the intention of increasing the depth of cut per tooth. As each cutting stroke was completed, the blade was retracted from the surface for the purpose of clearing bone chips. The design parameters investigated were cutting stroke length, thrust stroke length, and blade oscillation frequency. A three-factor, two-level design of experiments approach was used to simultaneously test for the effect of design parameters and their interactions on volumetric cutting rate (n ¼ 32). The addition of orbital blade motion to the sagittal saw improved bone cutting rates over traditional oscillatory motion, especially at lower cutting stroke lengths and higher oscillation frequencies (p &lt; 0.05). However, the magnitude of orbital blade motion based on thrust stroke length was limited by a threshold value of approximately 0.10 mm that when exceeded caused the sagittal saw to rebound from the surface of the bone causing erratic cutting conditions. The factor with the greatest positive effect on cutting rate was oscillation frequency. Cutting rates in cortical bone can be improved with the proposed orbital action sagittal saw