Self-disclosure in a simulated psychiatric interview.

Describes 2 experiments in which a total of 192 undergraduates received 49 items of personal information previously scaled in terms of their intimacy and presented according to the method of constant stimuli. For each item, Ss indicated whether they believed they would have withheld or revealed that information under actual psychiatric interview conditions. Exp. I manipulated the professional role of the interviewer, confidentiality of obtained information, and sex of the interviewee in a 4 * 3 * 2 design. Results indicate that (a) Ss avowedly revealed more personal information to mental health professionals than they would in a control employment interview situation, with no differences between the mental health professionals; (b) informing Ss that the interview was not confidential produced significant information loss from female but not male Ss; and (c) Ss who received no information regarding confidentiality behaved like Ss who were told the information was confidential. In Exp. II, Ss were asked to assume the motivational-attitudinal state of persons either coerced or voluntarily seeking a psychiatric interview because they had violated interpersonal norms. Significant information loss occurred in coerced Ss while confidentiality had no effect on self-disclosure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Connotation of transition spaces outside the dwelling

A study of the ways in which residents of two different UK Local Authority house types have appropriated space in front of their dwellings suggest that this practice is related to the meaning of the transition zone between the public and private realms of the house. It has become apparent that spatial boundaries around the dwelling unit serve either as borders representing the synbolic and judicial differentiation of space, or as physical barriers which regulate visibility and permeability. Thus, the relationship between the dwelling and its immediate surroundings is more complex than traditional design criteria (such as setbacks from the street, plot ratios and site density) suggest. In this study, the meaning and the use of the space around the dwelling is considered from a sociological and a psychological perspective. This is a different approach to that adopted by the UK Department of the Environment for example, and suggests that the findings of this well known study are limited. A diversification of the concept of site layout for houses is presented, which has implications for architects and planners involved in the design of residential areas.     

Alienation and drinking motivations among adolescent females.

188 female and 140 male 9th–12th graders in a small Wyoming community completed measures of alienation, drinking motivations, and positive social and personal psychological functions of drinking. Among females, problem-related drinking motivations correlated positively with alienation, whereas social-convivial motivations correlated negatively with this attribute. No comparable correlations were found among the males. It is concluded that important sex differences in the dynamics of problem drinking are worthy of additional study. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adaptive pull-type production control using Kalman Filters

The purpose of this research was to design a closed-loop process control methodology for a pull-type assembly line. It will aid in meeting the required production quota and in minimizing shipping and work-in-process inventory, particularly in environments with high levels of absenteeism and turnover that directly affect work station yield rates. The adaptive pull-type process control system (APPCS) allows pull-type production, with its associated benefits, to be successfully implemented in environments with low and variable yield rates. This is accomplished by dynamically feeding back production information to adjust the number of parts that should be included in a production container. The production control methodology uses a Kalman filter that predicts the amount of pieces the first workstation must place in a production tote in order to meet the target production quota. The key to the algorithm is the weighting function, which statistically dampens the effects of going beyond or below the target production quota. The APPCS was simulated on a pull-type production line with high levels of turnover, absenteeism, and poor yield rates. The results, compared to historical data, were encouraging with future work needed on the development of a forcing function and a covariance matrix for inspection error.     

Deriving consistent long-term vegetation information from AVHRR reflectance data using a cover-triangle-based framework

Long-term vegetation dynamics associated with climatic changes can be assessed using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) red and near-infrared reflectance data provided that the data have been processed to remove the effects of non-target signal variability, such as atmospheric and sensor calibration effects. Here we present a new method that performs a relative calibration of reflectance data to produce consistent long-term vegetation information. It is based on a simple biological framework that assumes that the position of the vegetation cover triangle is invariant in reflectance space. This assumption is in fact an intrinsic assumption behind the commonly used Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and is violated when the NDVI is calculated from inadequately corrected reflectance data. In this new method, any temporal variability in the position of the cover triangle is removed by geometrically transforming the observed reflectance data such that two features of the triangle—the soil line and the dark point—are stationary in reflectance space. The fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation absorbed by vegetation (fPAR; 0.0-0.95) is then calculated, via the NDVI, from calibrated reflectances. This method was tested using two distinct, monthly AVHRR products for Australia: (i) the coarse-resolution, fully calibrated, partially atmospherically corrected PAL data (1981-1994); and (ii) the fine-resolution, fully calibrated, non-atmospherically corrected HRPT data (1992-2004). Results show that, in the 20-month period when the two datasets overlap (1992-1994), the Australia-wide, root mean square difference between the two datasets improved from 0.098 to 0.027 fPAR units. The calibrations have produced two approximately equivalent datasets that can be combined as a single input into time-series analyses. The application of this method is limited to areas that have a wide-enough variety of land-cover types so that the soil line and dark point are evident in the cover triangle in every image of the time-series. Another limitation is that the methodology performs only bulk, relative calibrations and does not remove the absolute effects of observation uncertainties. The simplicity of the method means that the calibration procedure can be easily incorporated into near-real-time operational remote-sensing environments. Vegetation information produced using this invariant-cover-triangle method is expected to be well suited to the analysis of long-term vegetation dynamics and change.     

Architecture of the city reinterpreted: a critical review

When Aldo Rossi first published his monograph L'architettura della città in 1966, he probably did not imagine that in 1982 it would not only have been republished three times in Italian, but also translated and published in Spanish (in 1971, with four subsequent republications), German (in 1973), Portugese (in 1977), French (in 1981) and in English.The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts (Chicago) and the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies (New York) were jointly responsible for the English edition of Rossi's monograph, published by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press in 1982¹. While the prolific translation and publication of any book is no guarantee of its academic worth, nor its internal coherence, it is rare for a contemporary architectural monograph to generate such wide appeal. Therefore it is interesting and perhaps instructive to analyse Rossi's contribution to current architectural theory, to highlight the merits and shortcomings of his monograph, and to relate his approach to other contemporary contributions, particularly those which explore the mediations between the spatial and the behavioural features of the built environment. This is the purpose of this review paper.     

On the detection and selective separation of inclusions in liquid metal cleanliness analyzer (LiMCA) systems

A new design of electric sensing zone (ESZ) probe for the liquid metal cleanliness analyzer (LiMCA) system is proposed, which comprises a contoured orifice and a co-axially built cylindrical extension. This extension is used to collect larger particles whose sizes are larger than the diameter of sensing zone orifice, resolving the orifice blocking problem. A generalized mathematical model was developed for the motion of particles entrained in liquid metals flowing into this newly designed probe. The results showed that the separation of larger from smaller particles is affected by the applied electric current, orifice size, orifice length, orifice shape, extension length, and radius, as well as mean fluid velocity through the orifice. Increasing the electric current, or decreasing the orifice size, is predicted to lower the pass-through fraction of particles of all sizes, but the effects are much greater for larger particles. A longer orifice length gives rise to a lower pass-through fraction, the effect diminishing as the ESZ length increases up to 0.5 mm. The shape of the orifice has little effect on the pass-through fraction of the particles, but it is critical that the entrance to the orifice be smooth in order to prevent the generation of recirculation zone inside the orifice. Increasing the radius of the extension piece increases pass-through fraction of small particles, but decreases that of larger ones. Moreover, the fractional pass-through of inclusions also increases with the decrease of extension length and increase in mean fluid velocity through the orifice. The separation of particles of different density with this newly designed probe can only be achieved when the difference in density is dramatic. Design of probes for magnesium and steel LiMCA is proposed for detecting particles below the detection limit of conventional probes.     

Choosing a multivariate model: Noncentrality and goodness of fit.

Anumber of goodness-of-fit indices for the evaluation of multivariate structural models are expressed as functions of the noncentrality parameter in order to elucidate their mathematical properties and, in particular, to explain previous numerical findings. Most of the indices considered are shown to vary systematically with sample size. It is suggested that H. Akaike's (1974; see record 1989-17660-001) information criterion cannot be used for model selection in real applications and that there are problems attending the definition of parsimonious fit indices. A normed function of the noncentrality parameter is recommended as an unbiased absolute goodness-of-fit index, and the Tucker–Lewis (see record 1973-30255-001) index and a new unbiased counterpart of the Bentler–Bonett (see record 1981-06898-001) index are recommended for those investigators who might wish to evaluate fit relative to a null model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spirometry as a motivational tool to improve smoking cessation rates: a systematic review of the literature.

Obtaining spirometric testing and providing those results to individuals who smoke has been advocated as a motivational tool to improve smoking cessation. However, its effectiveness is not known. We conducted a systematic review to determine if this approach improves rates of smoking cessation. Data sources included MEDLINE (1966 to October 2005), the Cochrane Library, and experts in the field. Eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) enrolled at least 25 smokers per arm, evaluated spirometry with associated counseling or in combination with other treatments, followed subjects at least 6 months, and provided smoking abstinence rates. Results from nonrandomized studies also were summarized. The primary outcome was patient-reported long-term (at least 6 months) sustained abstinence with biological validation. Additional outcomes included self-reported abstinence and point-prevalence abstinence. Seven RCTs (N = 6,052 subjects) met eligibility criteria. Follow-up duration ranged from 9 to 36 months. In six trials, the intervention group received concomitant treatments previously demonstrated to increase cessation independently. The range of abstinence was 3%-14% for control subjects and 7%-39% among intervention groups, statistically significantly in favor of intervention in four studies. The only RCT that assessed the independent contribution of spirometry in combination with counseling demonstrated a nonsignificant 1% improvement in patient-reported point-prevalence abstinence at 12 months in the group that received spirometry plus counseling versus counseling alone (6.5% versus 5.5%). Findings from observational studies were mixed, and the lack of controls makes interpretation problematic. Available evidence is insufficient to determine whether obtaining spirometric values and providing that information to patients improves smoking cessation compared with other smoking cessation methods. Spirometric values are of limited benefit as a predictor of smoking cessation or as a tool to "customize" smoking cessation strategies.