Self-efficacy, religiosity, and crime: profiles of African American youth in urban housing communities

Youth reporting independently elevated levels of religiosity and self-efficacy tend to abstain from externalizing behavior. However, little is known about the ways in which religiosity and self-efficacy interrelate to impact youth externalizing. Drawing from a sample of African American youth from public housing communities (N = 236), we use latent profile analysis to identify subtypes of youth based on self-reported religiosity and self-efficacy and, in turn, examine links with crime. Compared to youth in other subgroups, those classified as both highly religious and highly self-efficacious reported less involvement in minor and severe delinquency, but not violence.R25 DA030310 - National Institute on Drug Abuse; R25 DA030310 - National Institutes of Healt

Developing an Optimal Repair-Replacement Strategy for Pallets

The problem of determining when to repair and when to replace failing equipment is a concern of management of productive resources. Inefficient management due to the use of non-optimal repair-replacement policies can have significant financial implications. The purpose of this paper is to describe the problem, analysis and results of a study which is concerned with determining the optimal repair-replacement strategy for an organization managing a large number of wooden pallets.Supported in part by the U.S. Army Research Office (Durham) under Contract No. DAHC04-73-C-0032

Humanistinen psykologia ja kokemuksellinen oppiminen

The article describes the development and central tenets of humanistic psychology, and “experiential leaming” as a method derived from these tenets and used mainly in the field of adult education. The method has been associated with an emphasis on personal growth and the development of the individual’s self. Partly similar methods of experiential learning, stressing the importance of reflective processes, have also been developed on the basis of constructivistic views of learning. In this case, however, the methods are independent of the commitments of humanistic psychology: the goals of the leaming/teaching process have to be constructed, too, and the process is steered by these goals.Artikkelissa kuvataan humanistisen psykologian kehitystä ja keskeisiä aatteita sekä aikuiskasvatuksessa suosittua ns. kokemuksellista oppimista niihin perustuvana menetelmänä. Humanistisessa psykologiassa korostetaan yksilön henkistä kasvua, hänen minänsä (self) kehittymistä ja ”itsensä toteuttamista”, joita kokemuksellisen oppimisen nähdään edistävän. Osittain samanlaisiin, reflektiivisten prosessien merkitystä tähdentäviin kokemuksellisen oppimisen menetelmiin on toisaalta päädytty myös konstruktivistisen oppimiskäsityksen pohjalta. Tällöin ko. menetelmien ei kuitenkaan katsota ”sinänsä” edistävän mitään erityistä tavoitetta: kulloinkin omaksutut tavoitteet ja menetelmien käyttötavat säätelevät oppimisprosessin muotoutumista

Oppiminen ja koulutus: huomautuksia ja keskustelun aiheita

Artikkeli on vastine Aikuiskasvatus-lehden numerossa 4/95 julkaistuihin arviointeihin kirjoittajien Oppiminen ja koulutus -teoksest

Improving Transit Predictions of Known Exoplanets with TERMS

Transiting planet discoveries have largely been restricted to the short-period or low-periastron distance regimes due to the bias inherent in the geometric transit probability. Through the refinement of planetary orbital parameters, and hence reducing the size of transit windows, long-period planets become feasible targets for photometric follow-up. Here we describe the TERMS project that is monitoring these host stars at predicted transit times.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, to be published in ASP Conf. Proceedings: "Detection and dynamics of transiting exoplanets" 2010, OHP, France (eds.: F. Bouchy, R.F. D{\i}az, C. Moutou

The 55 Cancri Planetary System: Fully Self-Consistent N-body Constraints and a Dynamical Analysis

We present an updated study of the planets known to orbit 55 Cancri A using 1,418 high-precision radial velocity observations from four observatories (Lick, Keck, Hobby-Eberly Telescope, Harlan J. Smith Telescope) and transit time/durations for the inner-most planet, 55 Cancri "e" (Winn et al. 2011). We provide the first posterior sample for the masses and orbital parameters based on self-consistent n-body orbital solutions for the 55 Cancri planets, all of which are dynamically stable (for at least $10^8$ years). We apply a GPU version of Radial velocity Using N-body Differential evolution Markov Chain Monte Carlo (RUN DMC; B. Nelson et al. 2014) to perform a Bayesian analysis of the radial velocity and transit observations. Each of the planets in this remarkable system has unique characteristics. Our investigation of high-cadence radial velocities and priors based on space-based photometry yields an updated mass estimate for planet "e" ($8.09\pm0.26$ M$_\oplus$), which affects its density ($5.51\pm^{1.32}_{1.00}$ g cm$^{-3}$) and inferred bulk composition. Dynamical stability dictates that the orbital plane of planet "e" must be aligned to within $60^o$ of the orbital plane of the outer planets (which we assume to be coplanar). The mutual interactions between the planets "b" and "c" may develop an apsidal lock about $180^o$. We find 36-45% of all our model systems librate about the anti-aligned configuration with an amplitude of $51^o\pm^{6^o}_{10^o}$. Other cases showed short-term perturbations in the libration of $\varpi_b-\varpi_c$, circulation, and nodding, but we find the planets are not in a 3:1 mean-motion resonance. A revised orbital period and eccentricity for planet "d" pushes it further toward the closest known Jupiter analog in the exoplanet population.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, accepted to MNRAS. Figure 2 (left) is updated from published version. Posterior samples available at http://www.personal.psu.edu/ben125/Downloads.htm

An der Schnittstelle von Wissenschaft und Praxis: Dokumentation einer Tagung zu partizipativer Forschung in Public Health

Die Zusammenarbeit von Wissenschaft und Praxis birgt viele Potentiale in Public Health, insbesondere im Hinblick auf Forschung und Qualitätsentwicklung in der Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention mit sozial Benachteiligten. Partizipative Ansätze, die in der Tradition der Aktionsforschung stehen, werden international mit Begriffen wie participatory action research (PAR) und community-based participatory research (CBPR) vielfältig angewendet und weiterentwickelt, auch in den Gesundheitswissenschaften. Forschung an der Schnittstelle von Wissenschaft und Praxis stand daher im Mittelpunkt der hier dokumentierten Tagung am Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB), 4.-6.10.2007. Die Tagung diente dem internationalen, interdisziplinären Austausch zu methodologischen Fragen partizipativer Forschung im Gesundheitsbereich. Dokumentiert sind die Beiträge der Referent/innen aus Deutschland, Österreich, der Schweiz und Kanada, sowie die Ergebnisse der Diskussion unter den Teilnehmenden und erste Ideen für die Entwicklung eines Netzwerks für partizipative Gesundheitsforschung in Deutschland. -- The cooperation of scientists, service providers and communities holds promise for public health - in particular with respect to research and quality assurance in health promotion and disease prevention with socially disadvantaged groups. Participatory approaches following the tradition of action research, such as participatory action research (PAR) and communitybased participatory research (CBPR), are applied and developed internationally, also in the health sciences. Research at the interface of science, service provision and communities was thus the focus of a conference at the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB), 4.-6.10.2007. The conference was dedicated to an international and interdisciplinary exchange about methodological questions in participatory health research. The presentations of speakers from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Canada are documented, as well as results of the discussions among the conference participants including initial ideas regarding the development of a network for participatory health research in Germany.Partizipative Forschung,Aktionsforschung,Public Health,Community-based participatory research,action research,Public Health

Aktionsforschung im deutschsprachigen Raum: Zur Geschichte und Aktualität eines kontroversen Ansatzes aus Public Health Sicht

Die deutschsprachige Debatte um den Ansatz der Aktionsforschung unterscheidet sich wesentlich von der angloamerikanischen Debatte. Dort wurde der action research Ansatz in den 1940er Jahren von dem Sozialpsychologen Kurt Lewin entwickelt und erfreut sich als Forschungsstrategie auch heute noch relativ großer Beliebtheit in verschiedenen Disziplinen. In Deutschland wurde die Aktionsforschung in den 1970er Jahren im Zuge einer grundsätzlichen, gesellschafts-, wissenschafts- und methodenkritischen Debatte intensiv diskutiert, verschwand aber nach einer vergleichsweise kurzen Zeit wieder fast vollständig aus dem sozialwissenschaftlichen Diskurs. Dieses Discussion Paper beleuchtet die Geschichte der Aktionsforschung im deutschsprachigen Raum und zeigt auf, dass einige zentrale Begriffe und Anliegen der Aktionsforschung seit den 1970er Jahren weiter entwickelt wurden, unter anderem in der qualitativen Sozialforschung, der Praxisforschung und dem Ansatz der Selbstevaluation. Als Forschungsstrategie sieht die Aktionsforschung eine enge Zusammenarbeit von Wissenschaftler/innen und Praktiker/innen unter der Zielsetzung der gemeinsamen Erforschung und Beeinflussung eines bestimmten sozialen Handlungsfeldes und der darin verorteten, professionellen Praxis vor. Die Autor/inn/en argumentieren, dass ein solches Vorgehen im Kontext der aktuellen gesundheitswissenschaftlichen Debatte um Evidenzbasierung sehr relevant ist. In Anlehnung an die Aktionsforschung und andere Quellen haben sie den Ansatz der Partizipativen Qualitätsentwicklung für Public Health entwickelt, der sich insbesondere für Maßnahmen der lebensweltorientierten Primärprävention und Gesundheitsförderung mit sozial benachteiligten Gruppen eignet. Dieser Ansatz wirft jedoch auch methodische und methodologische Fragen auf, die zum Teil in der Tradition der Aktionsforschung stehen, und für deren Diskussion die Konfliktlinien, Erfahrungen und Einsichten der kritischen deutschsprachigen Debatte der Aktionsforschung seit den 1970er Jahren aufschlussreich sind. Das Discussion Paper bespricht ausgewählte Aspekte dieser Geschichte, um die aktuelle Methoden-Debatte in Public Health zu bereichern. -- The German-speaking discourse on action research differs profoundly from the Anglo- American discourse where action research was first developed by social psychologist Kurt Lewin and where it is still a widely used research strategy across disciplines. In the Germanspeaking discourse, on the other hand, action research was only introduced in the early 1970s when it became vastly popular in the context of a larger critical debate in the social sciences, before it disappeared again from the scientific discourse a decade later. This discussion paper traces the history of action research in the German-speaking discourse highlighting its developments and continuities. As a research strategy, action research involves the close collaboration of researchers and practitioners with the aim of investigating and influencing the professional practice in a chosen field. This approach is currently highly relevant in the context of the public health debate on evidence based practice. Inspired by the original ideas of action research and other sources, the authors developed participatory quality development as a new approach for community-based health promotion and primary prevention, in particular those tailored to socially disadvantaged groups. The approach has clear strengths, but also raises methodological questions some of which are rooted in the tradition of action research. These challenges can be addressed with reference to the experiences and insights gained in the critical, German-speaking debate of action research. This discussion paper discusses selected aspects of this historical debate in order to enrich the current methodological debate in public health.Aktionsforschung,Praxisforschung,Selbstevaluation,partizipative Methoden,Evidenzbasierung,Qualitätssicherung,Public Health,Action research,participatory evaluation,participatory methods,evidence based practice,quality assurance,public health

A comparative study of experimental configurations in synchrotron pair distribution function

The identification and quantification of amorphous components and nanocrystalline phases with very small crystal sizes, smaller than ~3 nm, within samples containing crystalline phases is very challenging. However, this is important as there are several types of systems that contain these matrices: building materials, glass-ceramics, some alloys, etc. The total scattering synchrotron pair distribution function (PDF) can be used to characterize the local atomic order of the nanocrystalline components and to carry out quantitative analyses in complex mixtures. Although the resolution in momentum transfer space has been widely discussed, the resolution in the interatomic distance space has not been discussed to the best of our knowledge. Here, we report synchrotron PDF data collected at three beamlines in different experimental configurations and X-ray detectors. We not only discuss the effect of the resolution in Q-space, Qmax ins of the recorded data and Qmax of the processed data, but we also discuss the resolution in the interatomic distance (real) space. A thorough study of single-phase crystalline nickel used as standard was carried out. Then, selected cement-related samples including anhydrous tricalcium and dicalcium silicates, and pastes derived from the hydration of tricalcium silicate and ye’elimite with bassanite were analyzed.This work is part of the PhD of Mr. Jesus D. Zea-Garcia. This work was supported by Spanish MINECO and FEDER [BIA2017-82391-R research project and I3 [IEDI-2016-0079] program]