Campus Cultural Climate: A Minority Perspective

A survey was administered to sixty-five students at The University of Akron, to assess their sentiments toward the cultural climate on their campus. It was hypothesized that minority students, specifically African-Americans, would report lower scores than White students, as previous research has shown that students of color do not perceive their campus cultural climate in as positive of a light as their Caucasian peers. Despite previous notions, students of color at The University of Akron reported a more positive view of campus cultural climate than did White students. A correlational analysis was then done, to see what factors could potentially contribute to one’s perception of overall climate. Interestingly, one’s experiences were significantly correlated to one’s perception of climate, although White students seemed to have a more positive view of their college experiences than did African American students. Given these contradictory findings, it is evident that further research should be done, in order to compare other factors such as living on or off campus

Perceived Masculinity/Femininity of Managers and the Feedback Environment

Past research suggests that the masculinity/femininity of a supervisor plays a role in the effectiveness of his/her leadership in organizations. This study looked into the relationship between the perceived masculinity and femininity of supervisors by employees and the feedback environment. The data for the research were collected from 66 men and 78 women in the United States who were working 20 or more hours per week using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk website. The survey was the combination of the supervisor subscale of the Feedback Environment Scale (FES) and a slightly modified version of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ). Each of the seven dimensions of the Feedback Environment Scale were correlated with the ratings on the Personal Attributes Questionnaire. The results identified a relationship between the perceived masculinity and femininity of supervisors and the feedback environment. It was also discovered that femininity significantly correlated more with the feedback environment than masculinity

Leader-member exchange, group- and individual-level procedural justice and reactions to performance appraisals

Previous research has established that relationships with authority figures and procedural justice perceptions are important in terms of the way in which employees react to organizational procedures that affect them. What is less clear are the reasons why exchange quality with authorities is related to perceptions of process fairness and the role of procedural justice climate in this process. Results indicate that individual-level perceptions of procedural justice, but not performance ratings, partially mediate the relationship between exchange quality and reactions to performance appraisals, and that procedural justice climate is positively related to perceptions of procedural justice and appraisal reactions. These results support a more relational than instrumental view of justice perceptions in organizational procedures bound by exchange quality with an authority figure. Our study suggests that it is essential for managers to actively monitor and manage employee perceptions of process fairness at the group and individual levels

The Blob Algebra and the Periodic Temperley-Lieb Algebra

We determine the structure of two variations on the Temperley-Lieb algebra, both used for dealing with special kinds of boundary conditions in statistical mechanics models. The first is a new algebra, the `blob' algebra (the reason for the name will become obvious shortly!). We determine both the generic and all the exceptional structures for this two parameter algebra. The second is the periodic Temperley-Lieb algebra. The generic structure and part of the exceptional structure of this algebra have already been studied. Here we complete the analysis, using results from the study of the blob algebra.Comment: 12 page

Magnitude and implications of spontaneous hemodynamic variability in primary pulmonary hypertension

The pulmonary artery (PA) pressure and pulmonary resistance at rest have been noted to vary spontaneously in patients with primary pulmonary hypertension. To evaluate this variation, in 12 patients (8 women, 4 men, aged 43 +/- 13 years), hourly measurements were made for 6 consecutive hours of heart rate, systemic and PA pressures, cardiac output, systemic and pulmonary resistance. After these baseline measurements the patients were tested with hydralazine and nifedipine therapy. Spontaneous variability in pulmonary pressures and resistances occurred in each patient, with the amount of variation (coefficient of variation) in PA pressure averaging 8% and in total pulmonary resistance 13% over the 6 hours. The patients with the most variability in mean PA pressure also had the most variability in cardiac output (r = 0.69, P = 0.02). Variability also correlated with the severity of the disease, as the patients with the highest total pulmonary resistances also had the most variation for that factor (r = 0.91, p < 0.01). The amount of variability did not correlate, however, with the acute response to either hydralazine or nifedipine administration. Based on the average coefficients of variation in these 12 patients, estimates were obtained of the percent change needed for an observed change to be attributed to a drug effect with 95% confidence. From these estimates, it was projected that for a single patient, a mean change in pulmonary resistance of 36% or a mean change in PA pressure of 22% would be required in order to attribute the changes to a drug effect. Thus, spontaneous hemodynamic variability is a common phenomenon in patients with primary pulmonary hypertension and may account for substantial changes in PA pressure and pulmonary resistance at rest.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25855/1/0000418.pd

Do acute elevations of serum creatinine in primary care engender an increased mortality risk?

Background: The significant impact Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) has on patient morbidity and mortality emphasizes the need for early recognition and effective treatment. AKI presenting to or occurring during hospitalisation has been widely studied but little is known about the incidence and outcomes of patients experiencing acute elevations in serum creatinine in the primary care setting where people are not subsequently admitted to hospital. The aim of this study was to define this incidence and explore its impact on mortality. Methods: The study cohort was identified by using hospital data bases over a six month period. Inclusion criteria: People with a serum creatinine request during the study period, 18 or over and not on renal replacement therapy. The patients were stratified by a rise in serum creatinine corresponding to the Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) criteria for comparison purposes. Descriptive and survival data were then analysed. Ethical approval was granted from National Research Ethics Service (NRES) Committee South East Coast and from the National Information Governance Board. Results: The total study population was 61,432. 57,300 subjects with ‘no AKI’, mean age 64.The number (mean age) of acute serum creatinine rises overall were, ‘AKI 1’ 3,798 (72), ‘AKI 2’ 232 (73), and ‘AKI 3’ 102 (68) which equates to an overall incidence of 14,192 pmp/year (adult). Unadjusted 30 day survival was 99.9% in subjects with ‘no AKI’, compared to 98.6%, 90.1% and 82.3% in those with ‘AKI 1’, ‘AKI 2’ and ‘AKI 3’ respectively. After multivariable analysis adjusting for age, gender, baseline kidney function and co-morbidity the odds ratio of 30 day mortality was 5.3 (95% CI 3.6, 7.7), 36.8 (95% CI 21.6, 62.7) and 123 (95% CI 64.8, 235) respectively, compared to those without acute serum creatinine rises as defined. Conclusions: People who develop acute elevations of serum creatinine in primary care without being admitted to hospital have significantly worse outcomes than those with stable kidney function

Ballistic electron transport through magnetic domain walls

Electron transport limited by the rotating exchange-potential of domain walls is calculated in the ballistic limit for the itinerant ferromagnets Fe, Co, and Ni. When realistic band structures are used, the domain wall magnetoresistance is enhanced by orders of magnitude compared to the results for previously studied two-band models. Increasing the pitch of a domain wall by confinement in a nano-structured point contact is predicted to give rise to a strongly enhanced magnetoresistance.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; to appear in PRB as a brief repor

Insiders, Outsiders, and the Struggle for Consecration in Cultural Fields: A Core-Periphery Perspective

Building on recent research emphasizing how legitimacy depends on consensus among audiences about candidates’ characteristics and activities, we examine the relationship between cultural producers’ (candidates) position in the social structure and the consecration of their creative work by relevant audiences. We argue that the outcome of this process of evaluation in any cultural field, whether in art or science, is a function of (1) candidates’ embeddedness within the field, and (2) the type of audience—that is, peers versus critics—evaluating candidates’ work. Specifically, we hypothesize that peers are more likely to favor candidates who are highly embedded in the field, whereas critics will not show such favoritism. We find support for these hypotheses in the context of the Hollywood motion picture industry

On quantum group symmetry and Bethe ansatz for the asymmetric twin spin chain with integrable boundary

Motivated by a study of the crossing symmetry of the `gemini' representation of the affine Hecke algebra we give a construction for crossing tensor space representations of ordinary Hecke algebras. These representations build solutions to the Yang--Baxter equation satisfying the crossing condition (that is, integrable quantum spin chains). We show that every crossing representation of the Temperley--Lieb algebra appears in this construction, and in particular that this construction builds new representations. We extend these to new representations of the blob algebra, which build new solutions to the Boundary Yang--Baxter equation (i.e. open spin chains with integrable boundary conditions). We prove that the open spin chain Hamiltonian derived from Sklyanin's commuting transfer matrix using such a solution can always be expressed as the representation of an element of the blob algebra, and determine this element. We determine the representation theory (irreducible content) of the new representations and hence show that all such Hamiltonians have the same spectrum up to multiplicity, for any given value of the algebraic boundary parameter. (A corollary is that our models have the same spectrum as the open XXZ chain with nondiagonal boundary -- despite differing from this model in having reference states.) Using this multiplicity data, and other ideas, we investigate the underlying quantum group symmetry of the new Hamiltonians. We derive the form of the spectrum and the Bethe ansatz equations.Comment: 43 pages, multiple figure

Evaluating 'Prefer not to say' Around Sensitive Disclosures

As people's offline and online lives become increasingly entwined, the sensitivity of personal information disclosed online is increasing. Disclosures often occur through structured disclosure fields (e.g., drop-down lists). Prior research suggests these fields may limit privacy, with non-disclosing users being presumed to be hiding undesirable information. We investigated this around HIV status disclosure in online dating apps used by men who have sex with men. Our online study asked participants (N=183) to rate profiles where HIV status was either disclosed or undisclosed. We tested three designs for displaying undisclosed fields. Visibility of undisclosed fields had a significant effect on the way profiles were rated, and other profile information (e.g., ethnicity) could affect inferences that develop around undisclosed information. Our research highlights complexities around designing for non-disclosure and questions the voluntary nature of these fields. Further work is outlined to ensure disclosure control is appropriately implemented around online sensitive information disclosures