Open-ended investigations: Performance and effects of pre-training

Students' performance and the effects of pre-training were studied for tasks rated high in ambiguity, in particular those where the solution to the tasks cannot be arrived at through predictable algorithms. A total of 277 thirteen-year-old students from two urban schools in Singapore were randomly assigned to two groups. One group was provided with instruction for dealing with such tasks in general before performing a series of tasks, while the other group performed the tasks without the instruction. How well the students coped with the ambiguities of the tasks with and without pretraining is reported in this paper.     

Acute modification in plasma lipid levels in ultramarathon runners

We aimed to evaluate the effects of a 24-h ultramarathon, an aerobic test of high physical load, on lipid profile and apolipoproteins B (ApoB) and A1 (ApoA1) levels, minimally modified low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and oxidised LDL. Prospective evaluation of 16 male athletes who participated in an ultramarathon run, where the objective was to run the greatest distance possible in 24 h. Fourteen participants completed the run. The mean distance achieved was 133.1 km (maximum of 169.6 km). There was a trend in reduction of triglycerides and total cholesterol (P = 0.06 and 0.05, respectively), without significant modifications in high-density lipoprotein, LDL and ApoA1 levels (P = 0.16; 0.55 and 0.67). There was a marked reduction in ApoB levels (P < 0.001), correlated directly to the distance covered (Pearson R = 0.68). Accordingly, an increase in the LDL/ApoB ratio was observed. The stress of this physical activity was not associated to an increase in minimally modified LDL or oxidised LDL. Lipid profile levels were not acutely altered by prolonged physical activity. Similarly, there was no evidence of greater oxidation of LDL over a 24-h period of physical activity. The reduction in ApoB was directly proportional to the distance covered, suggesting an acute positive change in phenotype of LDL molecules.     

The construct validity of the career decision-making system cross-culturally

These findings suggest that the cultures studied have present work models where-by crafts, scientific, artistic, social, business enterprise, and business detail interests can develop. If these six interest factors are valid within these cultures, it also suggests that vocational interests can be validly measured through Holland based scales and the Holland theory of vocational development can be a relevant cross-cultural theoretical orientation for career planning. The research supports the construct validity of the Career Decision-Making System.     

Machiavellians' Motives in Organizational Citizenship Behavior

This study investigated the relationship between Machiavellianism, a predisposition toward manipulative behavior, and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), defined by being helpful, cooperative, and conscientious. Given past findings that Machiavellians seek opportunities for impression management to obtain personal benefit, we hypothesized that the negative association between Machiavellianism and organizational citizenship behaviors toward the organization (OCBO) is stronger than the negative association between Machiavellianism and organizational citizenship behaviors toward individuals or groups (OCBI). Additionally, we hypothesized that Machiavellianism is associated with the OCB motive of impression management, but negatively associated with the OCB motives of organizational concern and prosocial values. Participants were 606 working adults (as well as their supervisors and co-workers) from various organizations in the U.S. South and West. Results generally confirmed the predicted relationships, which were consistent across supervisor and co-worker perceptions as well. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Hazard and Outrage: Developing a Psychometric Instrument in the Aftermath of Katrina

This article details the development of a psychometric instrument measuring the constructs of hazard and outrage in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The study focused on the interplay of perceived hazard and outrage in relation to evacuation from the New Orleans area, with specific attention to demographic differences. Perceptions of hazard and outrage during Katrina served to illustrate the utility of the scale in examining these responses across different demographic groups. Possible ways that this information can be used to design messages that alert audiences to hazards, yet successfully address the need for outrage, emerged from the study.     

Crisis Leadership and Hurricane Katrina: The Portrayal of Authority by the Media in Natural Disasters

This study used the perspectives of Kenneth Burke to reveal how the media characterized the crisis responses of legitimate authorities during the natural disaster that affected the residents of New Orleans and its surrounding area as a result of Hurricane Katrina. A textual analysis of 52 articles drawn from the New York Times and the Times-Picayune of New Orleans from August 29 to September 3, 2005, indicate that positive and negative terms clustered around the military, the Department of Homeland Security, President Bush, the federal government, and the local government. The findings suggest that the media stepped outside their role of objective observer and assumed a privileged position to point blame toward those with legitimate authority. This positioning implicitly empowered the media to evaluate crisis responses and create a view of reality reflecting their perspective. Understanding how the media create images and depictions can affect how authorities frame their initial crisis responses.     

Anticipatory socialization of graduate students

Most observers in higher education and most faculty agree that more student-oriented teachers are needed; but there is no consensus on how to get them. Options include finding new faculty and/or changing present faculty. The latter seems practically impossible, since most faculty are intransigent, and faculty development is addressed to too few. Graduate education, too, is unlikely to change, as present faculty guide its directions. The alternative is to find students with the proper dispositions on entrance to graduate schools. The question addressed herein is whether among current admittees to graduate schools there are sufficient numbers of persons with orientations significantly different from those of current faculty. The article reports on empirical assessments of preferences for 320 discrete tasks in the academic role by accepted graduate school applicants and younger and older faculty.This paper was presented at the 17th Annual Meeting of the Association for Institutional Research, Montreal, Canada, May 9, 1977. The research was supported by a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, Department of Health, Education and Welfare.