A Social Problem-Solving Model of Adherence to HIV Medications.

HIV medication adherence remains a challenge and limits the degree to which treatment benefit can be maximized. This study tested an explanatory model of HIV medication adherence using a social problem-solving (SPS) framework. Associations of SPS with adherence are hypothesized to be direct and/or indirect via psychological health. HIV+ adults were interviewed using validated measures of SPS, psychological health, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) medication adherence. Structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques were used to test hypothesized relationships and to evaluate overall fit of the model to the data. SEM supported an indirect association (but not direct) of SPS on adherence via psychological health among the 545 HIV+ adults included in the analyses. Overall, the findings resulted in a model of adherence that offered very good fit to the data and correctly classified 97% of the cases as adherent versus nonadherent. Results support the use of SPS as a conceptual framework for understanding adherence to ART. Findings offer rationale and direction for SPS interventions to enhance adherence by improving psychological health. Such approaches, if effective, have the potential to positively impact psychological well being and adherence, thereby maximizing clinical benefit from treatment, which is linked to lower mortality from AIDS.     

Generating Facial Expressions for Speech

This article reports results from a program that produces high-quality animation of facial expressions and head movements as automatically as possible in conjunction with meaning-based speech synthesis, including spoken intonation. The goal of the research is as much to test and define our theories of the formal semantics for such gestures, as to produce convincing animation. Towards this end, we have produced a high-level programming language for three-dimensional (3-D) animation of facial expressions. We have been concerned primarily with expressions conveying information correlated with the intonation of the voice: This includes the differences of timing, pitch, and emphasis that are related to such semantic distinctions of discourse as “focus,”“topic,” and “comment,”“theme” and “rheme,” or “given” and “new” information. We are also interested in the relation of affect or emotion to facial expression. Until now, systems have not embodied such rule-governed translation from spoken utterance meaning to facial expressions. Our system embodies rules that describe and coordinate these relations: intonation/information, intonation/affect, and facial expressions/affect. A meaning representation includes discourse information: What is contrastive/background information in the given context, and what is the “topic” or “theme” of the discourse? The system maps the meaning representation into how accents and their placement are chosen, how they are conveyed over facial expression, and how speech and facial expressions are coordinated. This determines a sequence of functional groups: lip shapes, conversational signals, punctuators, regulators, and manipulators. Our algorithms then impose synchrony, create coarticulation effects, and determine affectual signals, eye and head movements. The lowest level representation is the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), which makes the generation system portable to other facial models.     

Selecting Unskilled and Semi‐Skilled Blue‐Collar Workers: The criterion‐related validity of the PDI‐employment inventory1

Two concurrent criterion‐related validity studies were conducted with blue‐collar workers employed in Australia. The first sample consisted of 77 unskilled and semi‐skilled manufacturing employees. The second sample consisted of 243 stockpeople who worked in piggeries. A range of work‐related criteria was used, and this range differed across the two studies. The results showed that Employment Inventory–Performance was a reasonable predictor of some aspects of supervisor ratings of work performance but unrelated to other aspects. A similar pattern of findings emerged with self‐ratings of work performance. Employment Inventory–Tenure was weakly related to turnover intentions and actual turnover.     

The effects of cognitive load on attention control in subclinical anxiety and generalised anxiety disorder

Poor regulation of emotions may involve impaired attention control. In the current paper, we report the results of two studies examining the interaction of anxiety, attention control and cognitive load. In Study I, using a performance-based task to assess attention control, we examined whether anxiety is associated with impaired attention control, and whether these effects are influenced by working memory load. In Study II, we examined these effects in patients with a diagnosis of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) compared to non-anxious control (NAC) participants. Results of Study I showed that high anxiety was associated with increased attention control, that is decreased interference from distractors, but only under high cognitive load. These results were replicated in Study II such that individuals with GAD showed increased attention control relative to NACs, but only under high cognitive load. These results help clarify previous predictions regarding the effect of anxiety on attention control.     

Spousal caregiver confidence and recovery from ambulatory activity limitations in stroke survivors.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether spousal confidence in care-recipient recovery can predict recovery from activity limitations following stroke and how spousal confidence relates to stroke survivor self-efficacy for recovery. DESIGN: A prospective design was used. Measures were gathered from stroke survivor/spouse dyads at two time points, both postdischarge from the hospital following stroke (N=109). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The dependent variable was recovery from ambulatory activity limitations over 6 weeks, as measured by the Functional Limitations Profile. A single spousal confidence item was tailored to an ambulatory behavior that the stroke survivors could not perform at Time 1. RESULTS: Spousal confidence was correlated with ambulation recovery (r=-0.23, p<.05) and stroke survivor self-efficacy for recovery (r=.25, p<.05). Higher spousal confidence was associated with a better recovery and greater stroke survivor self-efficacy for recovery, but not with initial health status or practical support received. CONCLUSION: The relationship between caregiver confidence, care-recipient self-efficacy for recovery, and recovery outcomes needs further elucidation.     

2004 DIVISION 35 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: GENDER AND LEADERSHIP IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Literature on gender, higher education administration, and leadership is reviewed using the framework of five principles derived from feminist psychology ( Worell & Johnson, 1997 ): (a) sociocultural context influences leadership situations, (b) power dynamics impact sociocultural structures, (c) people are active agents of coping and environmental change, (d) multiple perspectives are useful, and (e) collaboration is an important technique for changing organizations. Within this framework are discussions of the effects of historical context, gender discrimination and stereotyping, hierarchical organization, masculinized context, the interconnection between gender and status, and leadership as empowerment. Examples of administrative strategies that may promote feminist leadership behavior by college administrators are given, such as understanding behavior in context, promoting structural change, using active survival strategies, changing behavioral incentives, striving for activism and social justice, fostering interdisciplinary perspectives, and encouraging collaboration. Difficulties encountered by women attempting to change the higher education context and assume feminist leadership styles are discussed.