Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Automating Open Educational Resource Assessments: A Machine Learning Generalization Study, Heather Leary, Mimi Recker, Andrew Walker, Philipp Wetzler, Tamara Sumner, James Martin

Heather Leary, Ph.D.

Assessing the quality of online educational resources in a cost effective manner is a critical issue for educational digital libraries. This study reports on the approach for extending the Open Educational Resource Assessments (OPERA) algorithm from assessing vetted to peer-produced content. This article reports details of changes to the algorithm, comparisons between human raters and the algorithm, and the extent the algorithm can automate the review process.

The Socially Responsible Existentialist : A Normative Emphasis For Journalists In A New Media Environment, Jane Singer

Jane B. Singer

No abstract provided.

Learning From Mistakes: Improving Initial Fingertip Force Scaling By Observing Lifting Errors, Gavin Buckingham, Minnie Tang, Paul Gribble, Melvyn Goodale

Gavin Buckingham

• When lifting objects that are lighter or heaver than we expect them to be, individuals typically misapply forces in a way that reflects their prior expectations of heaviness.

• Because we lift in this predictive way, large and small cubes elicit these characteristic errors even when they are adjusted to have equal mass. Lifters will apply too much force to a large cube and substantially less force to a small cube – errors that are rapidly corrected with repeated lifts (Flanagan & Beltzner, 2000).

• When watching others lift objects, an observer’s motor system automatically reacts in a way …

Benefits And Barriers: An Exploratory Study Of Nephrology Social Work Field Education, Teri Browne

Teri Browne

No abstract provided.

Beeconomy: What Women And Bees Can Teach Us About Local Trade And The Global Market, Tammy Horn

Tammy Horn

Queen bee. Worker bees. Busy as a bee. These phrases have shaped perceptions of women for centuries, but how did these stereotypes begin? Who are the women who keep bees and what can we learn from them? Beeconomy examines the fascinating evolution of the relationship between women and bees around the world. From Africa to Australia to Asia, women have participated in the pragmatic aspects of honey hunting and in the more advanced skills associated with beekeeping as hive technology has advanced through the centuries.

Synthesizing the various aspects of hive-related products, such as beewax and cosmetics, as well as …

Ethnic Stigma, Academic Anxiety, And Intrinsic Motivation In Middle Childhood, Cari Gillen-O'Neel, D. Rubie, A. Fuligni

Cari Gillen-O'Neel

No abstract provided.

Media Evolution And Public Understanding Of Climate Science, Ann Williams

Ann E Williams

This paper employs public opinion data from a nationally representative probability sample to examine how information encounters and exposure to different media sources relate to individuals' beliefs about global warming. The analyses indicate that media source exposure (i.e., exposure to news and information about science presented through different media outlets), intentional information exposure (i.e., deliberate exposure to global warming news coverage), and inadvertent information exposure (i.e., unplanned exposure to news and information about science that is encountered online while searching for other forms of information) relate to beliefs about global warming, in significant and meaningful ways. Namely, the findings show …

Water Allocation Between States In Inter-Basin Water Transfer In India, Anik Bhaduri, Edward Barbier

Edward B Barbier

No abstract provided.

The Eportfolio: Product And Process In Assessing Competencies For Social Work, Lisa Mcguire

Lisa E. McGuire

No abstract provided.

Editorial Introduction: Cultural Diplomacy In Action: U.S. Foreign Schools And Centers And The International Exchange Of Ideas, Morag Kersel, Christina Luke

Morag M. Kersel

No abstract provided.

Developing A Measure Of Same-Sex Sexual Orientation Identity Development (National Institute Of Child Health And Human Development/Adolescent Trials Network For Hiv/Aids Interventions), Co-Pi., Douglas Bruce

Douglas Bruce

No abstract provided.

Collaborative Marketing For Electronic Resources, Marie Kennedy

Marie R. Kennedy

Connecting patrons to appropriate resources is a concern for libraries as more collections are removed from traditional shelves and placed in virtual spaces. The traditional marketing techniques of placing a new-books shelf near the front door or the positioning of ready reference volumes in a study area of a library does not apply to the electronic resource world because there are no physical volumes to view. It is vital to understand library efficacy in marketing electronic resources in order to connect a patron with the appropriate resource. Based on two recent analyses of articles published by libraries about their marketing …

The Determinants Of Interdistrict Open Enrollment Flows: Evidence From Two States', Deven Carlson, Lesley Lavery, John White

Lesley Lavery

No abstract provided.

Use Of Unnamed Sources Drops From Peaks In 1960s And 1970s, Ann Williams

Ann E Williams

This content analysis of The Washington Post and The New York Times finds that the use of anonymous sources peaked in the 1960s and 1970s. The analysis also finds that contemporary journalists are more likely to explain the reason for anonymity.

Helping Kids Cope With Change, Peta Stapleton, Terri Sheldon

Peta B. Stapleton

No abstract provided.

A Dimensional Analysis Of Caregiver Burden Among Spouses And Adult-Children, Marie Savundranayagam, R. Montgomery, K. Kosloski

Marie Y Savundranayagam

Purpose of the study: Caregiver burden is a multidimensional construct, addressing tension and anxiety (stress burden), changes in dyadic relationships (relationship burden), and time infringements (objective burden) resulting from caregiving. The study aims were to assess (a) whether the dimensions of burden were the same for caregiving spouses and adult children, (b) the role of assisting with problem behaviors (PBs) and activities of daily living (ADLs) on each dimension of burden, and (c) the role of each dimension of burden on self-rated health and intention to institutionalize the care receiver. Design and Methods: This study included 280 spouse/partner and 243 …

Berliners’ Models Of Heart Disease Causation, Mary Fechner

Mary Fechner

Following the collapse of socialism and subsequent German reunification, cardiac mortality rose unexpectedly in the former East Germany; although rates improved by mid-decade, a West/East health gradient persisted. Psychosocial stress from regime change, postsocialism, was one hypothesis proposed to explain the health transition. Absent from the scholarly conversation were individuals’ own assessments of their illness experiences in this time of social upheaval. I hypothesized that such data might illuminate processes linking illness and social change. I analyzed illness narratives of East and West Berliners with heart disease, attending to subjective notions of causation. Both groups cited nonmodifiable and modifiable risk …

Modulation Of Methylphenidate Effects On Wheel Running And Acoustic Startle By Acute Food Deprivation In Commercially And Selectively Bred Rats., Clinton Chapman, Nancy Dess, Ian Mclaughlin

Clinton D Chapman

Behavioral effects of the same dose of the same drug can vary in degree and direction between and within individuals. The present study examines behavioral base rates, feeding status, and dispositional differences as sources of inter- and intra-individual heterogeneity in drug response. Modulation of the effects of methylphenidate (MPD) on wheel running and acoustic startle by food deprivation was examined in three experiments. Freely fed or food deprived Harlan Sprague–Dawley rats (running study) or rats selectively bred for low (LoS) and high (HiS) saccharin intake (running and startle studies) were given MPD (10 mg/kg) or saline before testing. Overall drug …

Great Plains Region, Robert Stoddard

Robert Stoddard

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More Than Half Of College Students 'Sexted'

Tiffani S. Kisler

More than half of all college students have received sexually suggestive images via text messaging and nearly 80 percent have received suggestive messages, according to research by URI faculty in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. Assistant professors Sue K. Adams and Tiffani S. Kisler head a team on two ongoing studies that examine the impact of technology use on physical and mental health, as well as interpersonal relationships in college students. In a survey of 204 college students, the team found that 56 percent had received sexually suggestive images, and 78 percent had received sexually suggestive messages. …

The Secondhand Effects Of College Drinking: The Need For Media Relations, Michelle Campo, Natoshia Askelson, Teresa Mastin

Michelle L. Campo

Heavy episodic drinking can lead to significant harmful effects for the drinker and others. Rates of heavy alcohol use on college campuses have remained high, despite increased educational interventions. This study examines the coverage of the negative consequences of drinking among college students. This content analysis looks at coverage from1996-2006 in 32 major US newspapers. Of the total 255 articles, 209 covered at least one negative consequence of college drinking. Consequences were framed as individual in nature and did not acknowledge the impact on other individuals and institutions. Those related to damage to self were covered most often in newspapers …

Communication In Health Organizations, Julie Apker

Julie A Apker

Communication in Health Organizations explores the communication processes, issues, and concepts that comprise the organization of health care, focusing on the interactions that influence the lives of patients, health professionals, and other members of health institutions. This book integrates scholarship from communication, medicine, nursing, public health, and allied health, to provide a comprehensive review of the research literature. The author explains the complexities and contingencies of communication in health settings using systems theory, an approach that enhances reader understanding of health organizing. The reader will gain greater familiarity with how health institutions function communicatively, and why the people who work …

Probable Futures, Mindy Peden

Mindy Peden

This essay examines the status of "the future" in political theory and asks how views about the future contribute to, undermine, or otherwise interact with normative approaches in general.

Selling Sex, Lisa Wade, Gwen Sharp

Lisa Wade

No abstract provided.

Political Decision-Making And The Local Provision Of Public Goods: The Case Of Municipal Climate Protection, Rachel Krause

Rachel M. Krause

The municipal political decision-making dynamic has typically been studied in regard to the provision of locally public goods and services whose benefits, while diffuse, are tied to a particular geography. This research extends current knowledge by empirically examining the local production of a globally public good: climate protection. It utilizes an original nation-wide dataset on the greenhouse gas-reducing activities that have been implemented by city governments in the United States. This data enables the development of a more comprehensive measure of local climate protection than has been used in previous quantitative research. Several theories of local political decision-making are tested …

Chapter 4: Growth In The Rice And Garments Sectors, Sophal Ear

Sophal Ear

No abstract provided.

Tobacco Companies Influence On Youth Smoking Prevalence In Spain (La Influencia De Las Tabaqueras En La Prevalencia De Tabaquismo Entre Los Jóvenes Españoles), Francisco Soto Mas

Francisco Soto Mas

Background: Tobacco companies’ strategies to promote tobacco use and undermine tobacco control policy are key in tobacco use among young people. The analysis of tobacco companies’ internal documents can be instrumental in identifying those strategies, improving social support for tobacco control policy, and planning public health interventions. The goal of this study was to identify and analyze internal documents related to the activities of tobacco companies during the 1980s and 90s aimed at promoting smoking in young Spaniards. Methods: Electronic search by key word of tobacco industry documents held at the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library. Results: More than 1,000 documents …

Undergraduate Labor Economics (Ilrle 2400), Matthew Freedman

Matthew Freedman

In this course, students will be expected to think critically about labor economics and to apply theoretical concepts related to wage and employment determination to real-world policy and workplace issues. Students will demonstrate their mastery of the subject through class participation as well as in exams, problem sets, and a writing assignment. Learning how to analyze and draw inferences from labor market data represents a key component of the class. Topics covered include, but are not limited to, labor supply and demand, human capital investment, firm compensation policy and performance incentives, unemployment, unions, discrimination, and wage inequality.

Course materials are …

Searching For Contracting Patterns Over Time: Do Prime Contractor And Subcontractor Relations Follow Similar Patterns For Professional Services Provision?, Branco Ponomariov, Gordon Kingsley, Craig Boardman

Craig Boardman

This paper compares over a 12-year period (1) patterns of contracting between a state transportation agency and its prime contractors providing engineering design services with (2) patterns between these prime contractors and their subcontractors. We find evidence of different contracting patterns at each level that emerge over time and coexist in the same contracting context. While patterns at the agency–prime level are characterized by repeated contracts, patterns at the prime–sub level indicate fewer repeats and more contractor turnover. Implications for outsourcing practice and theory are discussed.

Differentiable Cortical Networks For Inferences Concerning People’S Intentions Versus Physical Causality, Robert Mason, Marcel Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.