Gender and computer-mediated communication

A case study analyzed employees' attitudes toward, and experiences with, an intraorganizational electronic mail system. Results revealed that females perceived e-mail to be easier to use, more efficient, and more effective than males. They also gave higher ratings of appropriateness for using e-mail to transmit certain types of messages. Females (particularly managers) were more likely than their male counterparts to rely on co-workers to learn how to use e-mail. More females used the computer system for word processing, while more males and whites (who comprised 82.2% of the sample) had off-site connections to the computer system. No other distinctions were found regarding race—ethnicity. Implications for future research are discussed.The author is grateful to Karen Tracy, Robert Craig, and anonymous reviewers for their insights and suggestions.     

Vibrotactile pattern discrimination and communality at several body sites

In a series of experiments, the effects of spatial layout on vibrotactile pattern perception were explored by testing the ability to discriminate between two sequentially presented patterns that share active elements in the same spatial locations. Two-dimensional displays were used in order to examine the functional relationship between discrimination performance and patterncommunality, defined as the sharing elements, on different body sites. Accuracy of discrimination judgments was inversely proportional to communality, regardless of the number of pattern elements. For compact arrays fitted to the finger, palm, and thigh, the effects of communality appeared equivalent. The similarity between finger and thigh functions is remarkable, considering the dramatic differences between these sites in receptor components and structure. When these data were compared with those from arrays with distributed contactors, performance was substantially better with well-separated pattern elements. Such findings help to explicate how information from apposed patterns can best be delivered to the skin through tactile communication systems.     

Social integration and social support in a life crisis: Effects of macrosocial change in east Germany

This process evaluation study examined what variables moderate and mediate treatment effects on days in stable housing and client satisfaction for homeless mentally ill clients. In general, demographic characteristics did not moderate either outcome variable. Housing contacts, entitlement contacts, mental health contacts, and supportive services were significant mediators of the treatment effect on days in stable housing. Program contacts, mental health contacts, and supportive services were significant mediators of client satisfaction. The authors thank the National Institute of Mental Health for their financial support (MH43248, MH42357) for this project, Dorothy Gano for word processing and editorial assistance, and Gitry Heydebrand, Melissa Dannelet, Betty Tempelhoff, Ruth Smith, and Laeeq Ahmad for assisting in the interviews of clients. We are also appreciative of the cooperation given to us by the staffs of Malcolm Bliss Mental Health Center, St. Patrick's Center, the Community Advocacy and Support Alliance Program, and the St. Louisemergency shelters. Finally, we thank all of the participants in this study; we hope that their homelessness has now ended. (The conclusions presented in this paper are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect official National Institute for Mental Health policy.)     

My place,your place,and no place: Behavior settings as a risk factor for HIV-related injection practices of drug users in Baltimore,Maryland

Information is sparse on the social context of illicit drug injection behaviors and their relationship to HIV infection. This study examined relationships between injection settings, injecting with others, and HIV risk behaviors of sharing needles and not cleaning contaminated needles in a sample of 630 inner-city injecting drug users in Baltimore, MD. Through open-ended interviews, five primary settings of injection behavior were identified. These settings included one's own, friends' and mother's residence, shooting galleries, and semipublic areas. Most participants reported injecting in their own residence (92%) and friends' residence (86%) in the prior 6 months. In a multiple regression analysis, injecting at friends' residence, in shooting galleries, and in semipublic areas and frequency of injecting with others were significantly associated with frequency of sharing uncleaned needles, “slipping” (i.e., failure to disinfect shared needles), and not always cleaning used needles before injecting. Results suggest that interventions may benefit from targeting settings as well as behaviors to reduce the spread of HIV. This research was supported by grants DA04334, DA05911, DA06313, and DA08985 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.     

“Subordination” and sensitivity to nonverbal cues: A study of married working women

Sex Roles - Women's superiority in decoding nonverbal cues of emotion has often been discussed as an adaptation to low status. To examine the relation of status to nonverbal sensitivity,...     

Interpersonal Correlates of Narcissism in Adolescents

Researchers investigated the relationship between measures of interpersonal behavior and narcissism. Eight octant measures of interpersonal behavior were constructed, and validity and reliability estimates were obtained. High school and junior high school students (N = 333) completed five measures of narcissistic vulnerability, eight octant measures of interpersonal behavior, and a measure of social desirability. Canonical correlational analysis indicated a specific pattern of interpersonal behaviors for individuals with differing levels and types of narcissistic vulnerability. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated that scores on several of the scales were found to differ significantly by sex and by treatment for emotional, behavioral, or educational difficulties. Implications for counseling are considered.     

Monitoring running-wheel movement using a serial mouse and an IBM-compatible system

A running-wheel-movement-detection system is described for use with an IBM-compatible system and a serial mouse. It is an adaptation of a system developed for use on a Commodore 64. The IBM-compatible system provides obvious advantages in speed, memory, data storage, and programming ease over the earlier Commodore 64 system.