Bibliographic control of medical illustrations--a case study in the development of a library subsystem: II. Project implementation

This second part of a two-part paper describes how the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Library implemented a bibliographic control system for a medical illustrations collection. Discussed are the staffing of the project, the design of formats and computer programs, further design changes, the input process, quality evaluation of the illustrations, and production and distribution of the control products (printed indexes and microfiche replicas). The report ends with a note on the applicability of the UCSF system to other libraries, and some benefits of the project.     

Engineering perceptions of female and male K-12 students: effects of a multimedia overview on elementary,middle-, and high-school students

Computer-based multimedia presentations employing animated agents (avatars) can positively impact perceptions about engineering; the current research advances our understanding of this effect to pre-college populations, the main target for engineering outreach. The study examines the effectiveness of a brief computer-based intervention with animated agents in improving perceptions about engineering. Five hundred sixty-five elementary, middle-, and high-school students in the southwestern USA viewed a short computer-based multimedia overview of four engineering disciplines (electrical, chemical, biomedical, and environmental) with embedded animated agents. Students completed identical surveys measuring five subscales of engineering perceptions immediately before and after the intervention. Analyses of pre- and post-surveys demonstrated that the computer presentation significantly improved perceptions for each student group, and that effects were stronger for elementary school students, compared to middle- and high-school students.     

But Does It Work?: The Influence of Presumed Goal Attainment Effectiveness on Willingness to Use Legalistic and Restorative Responses to Offensive Behavior

Although victim-offender conferences (VOCs) ostensibly enable victims to pursue justice goals not achieved through conventional trials, not all victims wish to participate in them. The purpose of this study was to examine how victims’ presumptions regarding the effectiveness of VOCs and trials in accomplishing justice goals influence their willingness to participate in a VOC and their preference for a case to be managed solely by the courts. Study results indicated that participants believed VOCs and trials to be effective at accomplishing different goals and that such influenced how they wanted cases to be managed. This influence was moderated by desires for particular justice goals. These findings have implications for restorative justice researchers and practitioners interested in victims’ motivations to participate in a VOC.     

A Longitudinal Analysis of Foreign Program Imports on South Korean Television, 1978–2002: A Case of Rising Indigenous Capacity in Program Supply

A time-series analysis using the 25-year longitudinal data shows that the proportion of foreign imports aired on the Korean terrestrial broadcasters decreased between 1978 and 2002. The findings indicate that Korea's competitiveness in producing television content has risen over the period, as Korea's economy and television advertising market grew consistently and rapidly in spite of the short-term drop in the late 1990s. The rise of domestic television programming output was particularly evident in drama series. The Korean case defies the crude form of Americanization of television in developing countries. However, it also shows that it will take time and resources for a country to enter into the phase of increasing indigenous television content.     

In Defense of “Mass Communication” and Other Stuff

A consistent news frame that deligitmizes and depicts most social protests as "police vs. protesters" has been identified in studies of news coverage of social movements. This study used an experimental design to examine the extent to which photographs and prior attitudes toward protests and protesters in general contribute to previously identified framing effects of protest news. Results indicated that for the protest issue of interest evaluations of the protest and protesters were more negative when photos depicting higher levels of conflict were shown. The amount of conflict shown in the photos did not affect evaluations of the protest and protesters when the issue was of less interest to participants. Additionally, participants who had more positive prior attitudes toward protesting in general were more likely to identify with the protesters in the stimulus story and to perceive that the protest was more effective than were those with more negative prior attitudes. Findings suggest the need to address possible nuances associated with the visuals alone and to incorporate prior attitudes when examining effects of news coverage of protests.     

Activity differences of individually and group-housed male and female rats

Previous comparisons of the activity differences of individually and group-housed rats have produced inconsistent findings; therefore, we examined activity using three measures: open-field ambulation, nonspecific circadian activity, and rearing behavior. Open-field ambulation in two 5-day tests confirmed our prediction that isolates would be initially less active but later more active than group-housed rats. Isolates habituated more slowly to the activity monitor and tended to be more active during the light half of the 24-h cycle. In the rearing test, isolates showed elevated and more persistent activity than group-housed rats. All these activity differences were prevalent in both male and female rats. The results are interpreted in terms of the influence of differential housing on “fear responses,” exploration of a novel environment, and differences in habituation/adaptation processes.     

Nouns Mark Category Relations: Toddlers'' and Preschoolers'' Word-Learning Biases

Recent research suggests that preschool children approach the task of word learning equipped with implicit biases that lead them to prefer some possible meanings over others. The noun-category bias proposes that children favor category relations when interpreting the meaning of novel nouns. In the series of experiments reported here, we develop a stringent test of the noun-category bias and reveal that it is present in children as young as 2 years of age. In each experiment, children participated in a 5-item match-to-sample task. Children were presented with a target item (e.g., a cow) and 4 choices, 2 of which belonged to the same superordinate category as the target (e.g., a fox and a zebra) and 2 of which were thematically related to the target (e.g., milk and a barn). In Experiment 1 we demonstrate that novel nouns prompt preschool children to attend to superordinate-level category relations, even in the presence of multiple thematic alternatives. In Experiment 2, we ascertain that the bias is specific to nouns; novel adjectives do not highlight superordinate category relations. In Experiment 3, we demonstrate the noun-category bias in 2-year-olds. The nature and utility of the noun-category bias are discussed.     

Historical notes on the determination of distance by timed radio waves

The foregoing notes trace the history of the measurement of the propagation times of radio waves as a means for determining distance. While the reader may feel that undue emphasis has been placed upon the KHL height measurements, a survey of the literature will show that only a small proportion of the reported observations have been cited here. Out of the hundreds of published articles on KHL height measurements, the writer has endeavored to select those which present the step-by-step improvements in the methods and apparatus. In the period just prior to the War, the United States Patents offered the principal means for tracing the development of the art. In the war period the notes are necessarily incomplete because of the scarcity of publications; this is no doubt due to secrecy conditions.     

Engaging the Female Audience: An Evolutionary Psychology Perspective on Gendered Responses to News Valence Frames

This experimental study presents an evolutionary psychology explanation for gender differences in responding to television news. It tests the idea that women are drawn to stimuli that are moderately arousing when they are framed positively and avoid negative ones, while men approach negatively framed stimuli more than positive ones. Men and women's affective and cognitive judgments of news messages in different valence frames (positive, negative, and ambiguous) were measured. The 2 groups exhibited different patterns in their reaction to the news message conditions in line with this hypothesis.     

Reconceptualizing and Reexamining Suspense as a Predictor of Mediated Sports Enjoyment

Suspense is a driving force behind media entertainment consumption. However, previous explorations of the role of suspense in the enjoyment of mediated sports have not fully relied upon the richness of research from other genres. The current study seeks to correct this oversight by using the lens of fictional drama to reconceptualize and reexamine suspense as a factor in the enjoyment of sports programming. A total of 161 participants viewed and rated 1 of 7 men's basketball games. The results suggest that a measure of the unfolding nature of suspense is a stronger predictor of mediated sports enjoyment than those used previously.