Personality and the predisposition to engage in risky or problem behaviors during adolescence.

Longitudinal data from a representative sample of 1,978 Black and White adolescents were used to examine the role of personality in multiple risk or problem behaviors. Results indicate that covariation among diverse behaviors (educational underachievement, delinquent behavior, substance use, sexual behavior) can be adequately modeled by a single higher order factor, and that impulsivity and avoidance coping serve as generalized risk factors for involvement in these behaviors. Whereas none of the personality variables examined explained change in problem behaviors once established, avoidance coping prospectively predicted involvement among a subgroup of adolescents with little or no prior involvement. Results suggest that dysfunctional styles of regulating emotions and emotionally driven behaviors are core features of risky or problem behaviors during adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The achievement test desk reference: A guide to learning disability identification, second edition.

Reviews the book, The achievement test desk reference: A guide to learning disability identification, second edition by Dawn P. Flanagan, Samuel O. Ortiz, Vincent C. Alfonso, and Jennifer T. Mascolo (2006). The Second Edition of the Achievement test desk reference comes only four years after its first edition. Its content echoes the first edition, with the chapters now re-organized and updated. However, this edition is also timely; its significant contributions are its theoretical and practical model for defining and assessing learning disabilities (LD) and its update of practical information for interpreting many of the new standardized achievement tests. The goal for this edition was to provide an integrated and systematic framework for achievement testing within the framework of the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of human cognitive abilities and the Response to Intervention (RTI) movement. Part 1 of provides an update of the theories, definitions, assessment, interpretation, and identification of LD. Part 2 describes and reviews the psychometric, theoretical, and qualitative features of achievement tests published between 1996 and 2006 and normed on people from the United States. Part 3 provides a comprehensive, step-by-step process for assessing learning disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004). This volume guides practitioners to choose the best achievement tests to use. It shows how to get the most efficient and effective evaluations of students' academic skills that could account for their difficulties and possible learning disabilities. This book will be essential reference material for effective LD assessments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Juror competence in civil trials: Effects of preinstruction and evidence technicality.

48 jury-eligible adults heard 1 of 4 versions of a tort trial. The design combined high and moderate levels of evidence technicality and the placement of substantive judicial instructions either before or after evidence presentation. Jurors given instructions before hearing the evidence for liability and before the evidence for compensation made clear distinctions among 4 differentially worthy plaintiffs, whereas jurors instructed after evidence presentation were not able to distinguish among the plaintiffs. Preinstructions enabled jurors to devise a causal model, as measured by both verbal representation of the evidence and recognition tests, that contained more probative evidence and less nonprobative and evaluative information than the models constructed by jurors who were postinstructed. Preinstructed jurors were better able than postinstructed jurors to correctly reject recognition items not part of the trial text and to correctly identify items from the trial. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents and outcomes of work-family conflict: Testing a model of the work-family interface.

A comprehensive model of the work–family interface was developed and tested. The proposed model extended prior research by explicitly distinguishing between work interfering with family and family interfering with work. This distinction allowed testing of hypotheses concerning the unique antecedents and outcomes of both forms of work–family conflict and a reciprocal relationship between them. The influence of gender, race, and job type on the generalizability of the model was also examined. Data were obtained through household interviews with a random sample of 631 individuals. The model was tested with structural equation modeling techniques. Results were strongly supportive. In addition, although the model was invariant across gender and race, there were differences across blue- and white-collar workers. Implications for future research on the work–family interface are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The photopolymerisation of methacrylic acid by colloidal semiconductors

Summary Methacrylic acid was photopolymerised using CdS and composite, CdS/HgS and CdS/TiO₂, colloidal semiconductor particles as initiators. The previously proposed photoinitiation mechanism involving the photogenerated positive hole in the valence band of the CdS colloid was confirmed by the electron scavenging action of TiO₂. The effect of pH on the course of the polymerisation was investigated and is discussed.     

Protein design to understand peptide ligand recognition by tetratricopeptide repeat proteins

Protein design aims to understand the fundamentals of protein structure by creating novel proteins with pre-specified folds. An equally important goal is to understand protein function by creating novel proteins with pre-specified activities. Here we describe the design and characterization of a tetratricopeptide (TPR) protein, which binds to the C-terminal peptide of the eukaryotic chaperone Hsp90. The design emphasizes the importance of both direct, short-range protein-peptide interactions and of long-range electrostatic optimization. We demonstrate that the designed protein binds specifically to the desired peptide and discriminates between it and the similar C-terminal peptide of Hsp70.     

Foresight for a responsible future with ICT

The ACM Code of Ethics asserts that computing professionals have an ethical responsibility to minimize the negative consequences of information and communication technologies (ICT). Negative consequences are rarely intended, but they can often be foreseen with careful sociotechnical analysis in advance of system building. Motivated by an interest in extremely complex sociotechnical contexts (e.g., mortgage lending and automated trading) where ICT appears to be having negative consequences in addition to many benefits, this paper identifies and evaluates future-oriented problem analysis and solution design tools in three potentially relevant literatures: 1) ICT ethics, 2) environmental sustainability, and 3) technology hazards. Several promising future-oriented technology analysis techniques (e.g., anticipatory technology ethics, technology roadmapping, morphological analysis, and control structure analysis) were found and are discussed in this paper, but much work remains to be done to customize them, integrate them, and codify them for use in education and high-quality IS research on very complex sociotechnical contexts like the global financial network.     

Exploring the relationship between impulsivity and decision-making on mobile devices

Mobile devices offer a common platform for both leisure and work-related tasks, but this has resulted in a blurred boundary between home and work. In this paper, we explore the security implications of this blurred boundary, both for the worker and the employer. Mobile workers may not always make optimal security-related choices when “on the go” and more impulsive individuals may be particularly affected as they are considered more vulnerable to distraction. In this study, we used a task scenario, in which 104 users were asked to choose a wireless network when responding to work demands while out of the office. Eye-tracking data was obtained from a subsample of 40 of these participants in order to explore the effects of impulsivity on attention. Our results suggest that impulsive people are more frequent users of public devices and networks in their day-to-day interactions and are more likely to access their social networks on a regular basis. However, they are also likely to make risky decisions when working on-the-go, processing fewer features before making those decisions. These results suggest that those with high impulsivity may make more use of the mobile Internet options for both work and private purposes, but they also show attentional behavior patterns that suggest they make less considered security-sensitive decisions. The findings are discussed in terms of designs that might support enhanced deliberation, both in the moment and also in relation to longer term behaviors that would contribute to a better work–life balance.