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Main Study (main + study)
Selected AbstractsInfluence of smoking cues in movies on craving among smokersADDICTION, Issue 12 2009Kirsten Lochbuehler ABSTRACT Aims Research has shown that smoking-related cues are important triggers for craving. The objective of the present study was to test whether smoking cues in movies also function as triggers to evoke craving. To accomplish this, we conducted a pilot study in which we examined smokers' reactivity to smoking cues from a particular movie in a common cue,reactivity paradigm using pictures. In the main study, we tested whether smokers who are confronted with smoking characters in a movie segment have a greater desire to smoke than smokers confronted with non-smoking characters. Design Using an experimental design, participants were assigned randomly to one of two movie conditions (smoking versus non-smoking characters). Setting In a laboratory, that reflected a naturalistic setting, participants watched a 41-minute movie segment. Participants A total of 65 young adults who smoked on a daily basis participated in the experiment. Measurements Craving was assessed before and after watching the movie. Findings The pilot study revealed that pictures of smoking characters had strong effects on craving. However, when smokers actually watched a movie segment, no differences in craving were found between those who watched smoking characters and those who watched non-smoking characters. This finding was not affected by baseline craving, the time of the last cigarette smoked and daily smoking habits. Conclusions No effect of smoking cues in movies on craving was found, in contrast with research supporting the cue-craving link. Thus, if replicated, this might indicate that smoking cues in such contexts do not affect smokers' desire to smoke as expected. [source] Behavioral relevance of gamma-band activity for short-term memory-based auditory decision-makingEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 12 2008Jochen Kaiser Abstract Oscillatory activity in the gamma-band range has been established as a correlate of cognitive processes, including perception, attention and memory. Only a few studies, however, have provided evidence for an association between gamma-band activity (GBA) and measures of behavioral performance. Here we focused on the comparison between sample and test stimuli S1 and S2 during an auditory spatial short-term memory task. Applying statistical probability mapping to magnetoencephalographic recordings from 28 human subjects, we identified GBA components distinguishing nonidentical from identical S1,S2 pairs. This activity was found at frequencies between 65 and 90 Hz and was localized over posterior cortical regions contralateral to the hemifield in which the stimuli were presented. The 10 best task performers showed higher amplitudes of this GBA component than the 10 worst performers. This group difference was most pronounced between about 150 and 300 ms after stimulus onset. Apparently the decision about whether test stimuli matched the stored representation of previously presented sample sounds relied partly on the oscillatory activation of networks representing differences between both stimuli. This result could be replicated by reanalyzing the combined data from two previous studies assessing short-term memory for sound duration and sound lateralization, respectively. Similarly to our main study, GBA amplitudes to nonmatching vs. matching S1,S2 pairs were higher in good performers than poor performers. The present findings demonstrate the behavioral relevance of GBA. [source] How malleable is comparative self-positivity?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2007The effects of manipulating judgemental focus, accessibility The present research investigated accessibility effects on comparative self-positivity in the environmental domain. In a pretest we established comparative self-positivity and a focus effect for environmental awareness. In the main study we aimed at shifting these effects by manipulating the accessibility of harmful behaviours of either the self or the typical student before obtaining comparative judgements. Specifically, we used two types of accessibility manipulations: anchoring and ease of retrieval. We predicted that judgements would be affected by content in the anchoring paradigm but by subjective ease in the ease of retrieval paradigm. We found the predicted pattern of effects, but it was strongest when participants focused on the typical student. The findings contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying comparative biases and may have applied implications. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A comparative study of transformational leadership in nursing development units and conventional clinical settingsJOURNAL OF NURSING MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2000A. Bowles RMN Aims This is a comparative study of the leadership provided by nurse managers and leaders in Nursing Development Units and conventional clinical settings in England. Background Nursing development units (NDUs) were originally conceived as centres of nursing excellence, innovation and leadership development. This article describes the first published use of a leadership practices inventory (LPI) explicitly based upon a model of transformational leadership. This style of leadership has been commended as highly effective and suitable for nursing. Methods The use of the LPI was piloted as a postal questionnaire and as a schedule for telephone interviewing, these pilots supported the use of telephone interviewing in the main study. Two matched samples of 70 nurses in total were recruited from across England, comprising 14 nurse leaders and 56 of their day to day colleagues. Data was collected by telephone interviewing over a 6-week period between February and April 1998. Six null hypotheses were developed to identify significant inter-group differences in leadership behaviour. Descriptive and inferential data analysis techniques were employed using SPSS for Windows. Findings The leadership provided by NDU leaders was evaluated more highly than non-NDU leaders. A higher level of congruence between self and observer evaluations was shown by NDU leaders. Statistically significant inter-group differences were apparent in three of the five practices of exemplary leadership and in the overall leadership behaviour. NDU leaders show greater self awareness and are more transformational than their non-NDU counterparts. The limitations of the study design are discussed. Conclusions NDU leaders provide leadership of a more transformational nature than their counterparts working in conventional settings. This finding suggests that NDU leaders have enhanced leadership potential and that formalizing nursing development within NDUs may promote the emergence of transformational leadership and provide a microculture in which it might flourish. The LPI is regarded as a useful, adaptable tool suitable for use in UK nursing applications including research, leadership development and education. [source] A framework for teaching scientific inquiry in upper secondary school chemistryJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 7 2010Lisette van Rens Abstract A framework for teaching scientific inquiry in upper secondary chemistry education was constructed in a design research consisting of two research cycles. First, in a pilot study a hypothetical framework was enriched in collaboration with five chemistry teachers. Second, a main study in this community of teachers and researchers was conducted on the process of designing teaching scientific inquiry based on the enriched framework. Also, the enactment by five teachers and 80 students (age 17) of a designed inquiry module on "Diffusion: moving particles" was studied. This resulted in a theoretically and practically founded framework for teaching scientific inquiry, in which an iterative cycle of inquiry for students and a student inquiry community are essential. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47:788,806, 2010 [source] Maximum likelihood inference on a mixed conditionally and marginally specified regression model for genetic epidemiologic studies with two-phase samplingJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES B (STATISTICAL METHODOLOGY), Issue 2 2007Nilanjan Chatterjee Summary., Two-phase stratified sampling designs can reduce the cost of genetic epidemiologic studies by limiting expensive ascertainments of genetic and environmental exposure to an efficiently selected subsample (phase II) of the main study (phase I). Family history and some covariate information, which may be cheaply gathered for all subjects at phase I, can be used for sampling of informative subjects at phase II. We develop alternative maximum likelihood methods for analysis of data from such studies by using a novel regression model that permits the estimation of ,marginal' risk parameters that are associated with the genetic and environmental covariates of interest, while simultaneously characterizing the ,conditional' risk of the disease associated with family history after adjusting for the other covariates. The methods and appropriate asymptotic theories are developed with and without an assumption of gene,environment independence, allowing the distribution of the environmental factors to remain non-parametric. The performance of the alternative methods and of sampling strategies is studied by using simulated data involving rare and common genetic variants. An application of the methods proposed is illustrated by using a case,control study of colorectal adenoma embedded within the prostate, lung, colorectal and ovarian cancer screening trial. [source] The acceptability of variations in smile arc and buccal corridor spaceORTHODONTICS & CRANIOFACIAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2007S Parekh Structured Abstract Authors ,, Parekh S, Fields HW, Beck FM, Rosenstiel SF Objectives ,, To evaluate the esthetic acceptability range of computer-generated variations in smile arc and buccal corridor. Design ,, Web-based descriptive study using available subjects. Setting and Sample Population ,, The World Wide Web. Subjects for the main study included 115 lay and 131 orthodontist raters. Experimental Variables ,, Buccal corridors and smile arcs, each presented for a female and a male image. Buccal corridors were presented as none, ideal and excessive. The smile arc was presented as flat, ideal and excessive. The nine male and female variations, as combinations of the above variables, were each presented twice to evaluate reliability. Outcome Measure ,, Acceptability of buccal corridors and smile arcs using the web-based instrument. An arbitrary super majority threshold of acceptability was set at 67% approval. Results ,, Both laypersons and orthodontists showed good reliability (k , 0.70). There was a broad range of acceptability, but laypersons and orthodontists showed no significant differences on the two variables tested. While orthodontists and laypersons both found smiles with excessive buccal corridors to be significantly less acceptable than those with ideal or absent buccal corridors, they were still acceptable over 70% of the time. Flat smile arcs were only acceptable 50,60% of the time, while smiles with ideal and excessive smile arcs were significantly more acceptable 84,95% of the time. When examining buccal corridors and smile arcs together, excessive buccal corridors were significantly less acceptable than ideal or absent buccal corridors regardless of the smile arc. A flat smile arc significantly reduced the acceptability of any buccal corridor to below the threshold of acceptability. Conclusions ,, Laypersons and orthodontists have similar preferences when acceptability of buccal corridors and smile arcs are considered. Flat smile arcs are more detrimental to smile esthetics than variations in buccal corridors. Clinicians must realize that although attractiveness may be reduced by variations in buccal corridors and smile arcs, the result may still be acceptable to a majority of people. [source] On-line waiting: The role of download time and other important predictors on attitude toward e-retailersPSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 2 2005Gregory M. Rose Across both marketing and management-information-system disciplines, download time has been identified as an important factor for on-line business success. This research is intended to clarify counterintuitive findings generated from previous research and Web-based experimentation. Here the roles of several factors, including download time, on the overall evaluation of an e-retailer are explored. With an experimental design, the article explores the impact of 5-, 30-, and 45-second download delays on attitude toward an e-retailer. Consistent with prior works, findings from both a main study and replication study indicate that objective download delay is not a critical determinant of attitude toward an e-retailer. However, findings show there are other direct and indirect delay effects, including those resulting from perceived retailer control of delay, that impact Web-system success. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||