THE MULTIFACETED NATURE OF IMPULSIVE SENSATION-SEEKING: DIFFERENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH PERSONALITY, DEVIANCE, AND LABORATORY TASKS

The current study examined divergences among impulsivity and sensation seeking items from the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire Impulsive Sensation Seeking scale in terms of their relations to other personality models, deviance, and laboratory task outcomes. A sample of 654 undergraduates was gathered across two studies and given a Five Factor Model of personality measure (e.g. NEO Five Factor Inventory, NEO Five Factor Report Form), deviance measures (e.g. Antisocial Behavior Inventory, Explicit Attitudes Towards Marijuana Questionnaire), and three laboratory tasks (e.g. Balloon Analogue Risk Task, Newmans Card-Playing Task). Results demonstrated the hypothesized divergences among impulsivity and sensation seeking items on measures of personality and deviance as well as laboratory tasks. We conclude that Impulsive Sensation Seeking is multidimensional and would be more useful if employed as two independent constructs: (Lack of) Premeditation and Sensation Seeking

Consumer Complaints and Public Policy: Validating the Tip-of-the-Iceberg Theory

This article examines data from a statewide study to test whether organizational aberration theory or systemic pattern theory is supported by data on complaining. The article concludes that citizen and consumer complaints can serve both as early-warning and fail-safe functions leading to increased accountability and safer, more effective, high quality processes, products, and services

Identification of expressed HSP`s in blacklip abalone (Haliotis rubra Leach) during heat and salinity stresses

Both prokaryotes and eukaryotes express a set of highly conserved proteins in response to external and internal stress. The stressors include tissue trauma,anoxia, heavy metal toxicity, infection, changed salinity, and the mmost characterized, heat shock. The result is an expression of stress proteins or heat shock proteins (HSP\u27s) which lead to protection of protein integrity, and also to tolerance under continued heat stress conditions. The Australian backflip abalone (Haliotis rubra) is found principally in southern coastal water and also in estuarine/bay environments. Esturaine/bay environments have greater fluctuations in environmental conditions, especially those of salinity and water temperature, than they are found along oceanic coasts. Abalone from esturaine/bay and oceanic coastal environments were subjected to either increased temperature (2&deg; C/day for a total of 10&deg;C) or hyposalinity (80% seawater). Esturaine/bay abolone were less affectes than the oceanic animals by temperature increase and also demonstrated the ability to volume regualte 3 h after the initial salinity shock. SDS-PAGE and Western blotting techniques, together with dot blots of total protein, using HSP70 specific antibodies, were used to detect HSP70s in the foot muscle of the animals and indicated an expression of HSP70 in response to heat shock in abalone, but not following hyposalinity shock. RT-PCR yeilded a partial cDNA clone of HSP70 from the foot muscle.<br /

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Using Peer-Dialogue Assessment (PDA) for Improving Pre-Service Teachers\u27 Perceived Confidence and Competence to Teach Physical Education

Developing effective methods for improving student learning in higher education is a priority. Recent findings have shown that feedback on student work can effectively facilitate learning if students are engaged as active participants in the feedback cycle; where they seek, generate and use feedback in the form of dialogue. This novel study investigates the use of peer dialogue assessment as an assessment for learning tool used in an existing undergraduate physical education course. Our findings demonstrate that when thirty six undergraduate physical education students were provided with instruction and practice using peer dialogue assessment after consecutive teaching performances, they exhibit significant improvements in perceived teaching confidence and competence, and teaching self-efficacy. Process evaluation results implying thatembedding peer dialogue assessment in higher education courses may be a feasible approach for facilitating learning, and that students were satisfied with using peer dialogue as a feedback method for improving teaching practices

Offering patients choices: A pilot study of interactions in the seizure clinic

Using conversation analysis (CA), we studied conversations between one United Kingdom-based epilepsy specialist and 13 patients with seizures in whom there was uncertainty about the diagnosis and for whom different treatment and investigational options were being considered. In line with recent communication guidance, the specialist offered some form of choice to all patients: in eight cases, a course of action was proposed, to be accepted or rejected, and in the remaining five, a "menu" of options was offered. Even when presenting a menu, the specialist sometimes conveyed his own preferences in how he described the options, and in some cases the menu was used for reasons other than offering choice (e.g., to address patient resistance). Close linguistic and, interactional analysis of clinical encounters can show why doctors may feel they are offering choices when patients report that the decision was clinician dominated. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

A Survey of Public Perception and Attitudes about Water Resources in Texas

This study examines the results of a random sample survey of Texans to evaluate citizen awareness, attitudes and willingness to act on water issues. This study investigates changes in public attitudes following one of the most intense one-year droughts in Texas by evaluating public perception of water availability, assessing Texans’ attitudes and perceptions regarding drought conditions, and comparing the number of Texans adopting practices to conserve water before and after the drought of 2011. Almost 70% felt that the likelihood of their area suffering from a prolonged drought was increasing. More than 61% of respondents have changed the way their yard is landscaped and 62% have also adopted new technologies in an effort to conserve water. Overall, responses indicate that Texans are concerned with water availability after experiencing in 2011 the worst one-year drought on record and that the majority of respondents are taking personal action in an effort to conserve water for the future. Furthermore, the study assesses outreach effectiveness for particular populations and audiences’ media preferences for learning about water issues and examines preferences for additional information on particular water resource topics, including possible trends in information sources related to socio-demographic changes from 2008 to 2014. City and municipal water districts reached the greatest number of people with 68.2% of the total population and 73.9% of respondents living within city limits (p <.0001) receiving water information from these sources. Protecting drinking water supplies (57.4%) and water management for home and garden landscaping (55.8%) were the water resource topics of greatest interests to respondents. Finally, this study evaluates Texans’ perceptions of drinking water quality as related to their drinking water source. Overall, almost a quarter of the respondents (23.5%) indicated that bottled water is their primary drinking water source. A large majority (81.3%) of those primarily receiving their drinking water from private supplies believed groundwater in their area to be of good or excellent quality and only 3.1% did not know or did not have an opinion regarding local groundwater quality