E-government research in the United States

The purpose of this exploratory study is to review scholarly publications and assess egovernment research efforts as a field of study specific to the United States e-government environment. Study results reveal that researchers who focus on the U.S. e-government environment assess specific e-government topics at the federal, state, and local levels; however, there are gaps in the research efforts by topic areas and across different levels of government, which indicate opportunities for future areas of research. Results also find that a multitude of methodology approaches are used to assess e-government. Issues, however, exist that include lack of or weak presentations of methodologies in publications, few studies include multi-method evaluation approaches for data collection and analysis efforts, and few studies take a theory-based approach to understanding the U.S. e-government environment.     

High-throughput particle separation and concentration using spiral inertial filtration

A spiral inertial filtration (SIFT) device that is capable of high-throughput (1 ml/min), high-purity particle separation while concentrating recovered target particles by more than an order of magnitude is reported. This device is able to remove large fractions of sample fluid from a microchannel without disruption of concentrated particle streams by taking advantage of particle focusing in inertial spiral microfluidics, which is achieved by balancing inertial lift forces and Dean drag forces. To enable the calculation of channel geometries in the SIFT microsystem for specific concentration factors, an equivalent circuit model was developed and experimentally validated. Large particle concentration factors were then achieved by maintaining either the average fluid velocity or the Dean number throughout the entire length of the channel during the incremental removal of sample fluid. The SIFT device was able to separate MCF7 cells spiked into whole blood from the non-target white blood cells (WBC) with a recovery of nearly 100% while removing 93% of the sample volume, which resulted in a concentration enhancement of the MCF7 cancer cells by a factor of 14.     

Foodborne microbial risks in the press: the framing of listeriosis in Canadian newspapers

Outbreaks of foodborne illness generally receive abundant print media coverage. However, the framing of outbreaks and representations of foodborne pathogens in the media discourse are not necessarily homogeneous. Drawing on previous research on media coverage of emerging diseases and on the conceptual tools of framing theory, this paper explores the diversity of frames and representations used in the media coverage of two listeriosis outbreaks that occurred in Canada in fall 2008. In the dominant war against microbes frame, microbes are portrayed as posing serious risks that call for stringent control measures. This frame coexists with other frames which rather emphasize economic, ecosystem or nutrition issues and which are supported by representations of microbial risks that either mitigate these risks, present them as inevitable or as less serious than others. The implications of these observations for the public understanding of foodborne microbial risks are discussed.     

Measuring the benefits of a psychology placement year

Placement programmes are considered to provide students with an induction into the work environment and a valuable learning experience. Aston University maintains one of the highest success rates of any UK university for graduate employment and it is thought that the placement year plays a large role in this success. However, the benefits of placements in theoretical subjects like Psychology are often less obvious than those for practical subjects like Optometry or Engineering. Here we compared Psychology students on the 3‐year vs. the 4‐year sandwich course on a number of attributes using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Final year students who had taken a placement year achieved significantly higher marks in their final year (F_1,407 = 31.52, p<0.001) and were rated more favourably by academic staff on a measure of transferable skills (F_1,43 = 11.08, p<0.005). In addition, post‐graduation, students who had taken a placement year reported a better idea of their career direction and could be argued to be further on in terms of their career progression and pay levels. Qualitatively, focus groups of placement and non‐placement students suggested a number of benefits of taking a placement year, including better time management, confidence and responsibility. Whether the benefits of a sandwich placement in a psychology degree outweigh the costs to students and their families, and the need for further research to identify the scope and longevity of possible early career benefits are discussed.     

The use of source-related strategies in evaluating multiple psychology texts: a student–scientist comparison

Multiple text comprehension can greatly benefit from paying attention to sources and from using this information for evaluating text information. Previous research based on texts from the domain of history suggests that source-related strategies are acquired as part of the discipline expertise as opposed to the spontaneous use of these strategies by students just entering a field. In the present study, we compared the performance of students and scientists in the domain of psychology with regard to (a) their knowledge of publication types, (b) relevant source characteristics, (c) their use of sources for evaluating the credibility of multiple texts, and (d) their ability to judge the plausibility of argumentative statements in psychological texts. Participants worked on a battery of newly developed computerised tests with a think-aloud instruction to uncover strategies that scientists and students used when reading a text. Results showed that scientists scored higher in all of the assessed abilities and that these abilities were positively correlated with each other. Importantly, the superior performance of scientists in evaluating the credibility of multiple texts was mediated by their use of source information. Implications are discussed in terms of discipline expertise.     

Anxiolytic-like effect of ejaculation upon frustration

In three experiments, we studied the consequences of ejaculation upon the frustrative or contrast response of male rats exposed to reward downshift situations (i.e., surprising changes from 32% to 4% sucrose solutions). Similar to what has been found after treatment with anxiolytic agents, consummatory suppression was partially reversed by previous ejaculations in a second postshift trial (Experiments 2 and 3), such a result not having been obtained in a first postshift trial (Experiment 1). Moreover, the effect of ejaculations upon males' behavior during a second postshift trial was transitory, disappearing when assessed during the third and fourth postshift trials (Experiment 3). These results are in accordance with both Amsel's (1958, 1992) frustration theory and Flaherty's (1996) multistage hypothesis of successive negative contrast; the diverse factors that are known to modulate contrast effects are considered, including an interpretation of the present data in terms of the anxiolytic-like effect of the ejaculation.     

Analysis and interpretation of twin studies including measures of the shared environment

Recent reports using a classical behavior genetic research design in which twin data are combined with a measured characteristic of their shared family environment have made striking claims about estimating environmental influences on behavior with genetic effects controlled. Such claims are overstated for two related reasons. First, when a variable is measured at the family level in a way that makes it necessarily equivalent for twins reared together, it is not possible to partition it into genetic and environmental components. Second, although structural equation modeling and DeFries-Fulker analysis are sound tools for the analysis of many types of twin data, they do not control for genetic or environmental confounds when estimating the effect of measured family-level variables.     

The Development of Hierarchical Representation of Two-Dimensional Space

Adults represent the location of a point in a 2-dimensional space using 2 independent dimensions. They encode location along these dimensions both at a fine-grained level and categorically. In reporting location, they combine and weight the fine-grained and categorical information. In Experiment 1, we found that children as young as 5 years use the same 2 independent dimensions in fine-grained spatial coding of location in a circle as are used by adults—radius and angle. However, categorical coding and hierarchical combination are seen only for radius, at both 5 and 7 years. The adult pattern, where angle as well as radius is coded hierarchically, emerges by 9 years. Experiment 2 shows that there is nothing intrinsically difficult about the categorical coding of angular information; when angle is the only dimension to be encoded, younger children use hierarchical coding. Changes in 2-dimensional hierarchical coding may be due to cognitive load factors and to changes in ability to assign frames of reference.     

Video gaming as digital media,play, and family routine: implications for understanding video gaming and learning in family contexts

While a number of studies have investigated learning associated with video gaming in out-of-school settings, only recently have researchers begun to explore gaming and learning in the contexts of home and family life. This paper discusses three different frameworks within which we can situate video games and learning at home: (a) video gaming as digital media, (b) video gaming as play, and (c) video gaming as family routine. Each framework brings different issues related to learning into focus, and contributes new insights into the role gaming plays in the lives of children, adults, and families as a whole.