New Media and Event: A Case Study on the Power of the Internet

With the rapid growth of the number of netizens in China, the Internet has become one of the most important parts in the lives of people who not only can get more information on the Internet, but can also express their own views. In other words, the Internet has also become a part of real-world events. Drawing on a case study about ‘The Boycott of Carrefour’ in China during the spring of 2008, the paper first discusses the role and functions of new media during the incident. Through analyses of a story about the culture of labeling others and a conflict between burning a wrong flag in this case, the paper then explores the capriciousness of Chinese cyberspace. The author proposes an explanation on how the illusion of truth is generated on the Internet and then influences the events in the real world. The paper concludes that the Internet is not just a simple technological tool, but it is intertwined with the sociocultural contexts in which it is rooted.

On the self-regulation of implicit and explicit prejudice: a self -determination theory perspective

The present study identifies a broad taxonomy of motives underlying the desire to regulate prejudice and assess the impact of motivation to regulate prejudice on levels of explicit and implicit prejudice. Using self-determination theory as the foundation, six forms of motivation to regulate prejudice are proposed. In Study 1 (N = 257), an exploratory factor analysis reveals evidence for the six proposed dimensions. In Study 2 (N = 198), the six-factor taxonomy of motivation to regulate prejudice is further validated using a confirmatory factor analysis, and construct validity is obtained. In Study 3 (N = 62), motivation to regulate prejudice is manipulated before participants complete the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and explicit measures of prejudice. Results reveal that those with highly self-determined regulation of prejudice demonstrate lower implicit and explicit prejudice than their less self-determined counterparts. Results are discussed in terms of an increased understanding of the motivation to control prejudice.     

Decision-Making About Reproductive Choices Among Individuals At-Risk for Huntington's Disease

We explored how individuals at-risk for HD who have or have not been tested make reproductive decisions and what factors are involved. We interviewed 21 individuals (8 with and 4 without the mutation, and 9 un-tested) in-depth for 2 hours each. At-risk individuals faced a difficult series of dilemmas of whether to: get pregnant and deliver, have fetal testing, have pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, adopt, or have no children. These individuals weighed competing desires and concerns: their own desires vs. those of spouses vs. broader moral concerns (e.g., to end the disease; and/or follow dictates against abortion) vs. perceptions of the interests of current or future offspring. Quandaries arose of how much and to whom to feel responsible. Some changed their perspectives over time (e.g., first “gambling,” then being more cautious). These data have critical implications for genetic counselors and other health care workers and future research, particularly as more genetic tests become available.     

The effects of Web site structure: the role of personal difference.

This study examined the effects of Web site structures in terms of advertising effectiveness- memory, attitude, and behavioral intentions. The primary research question for this study is, What type of Web site (Web ad) structure is most effective? In the pilot study, we tested the difference between two Web site structures, linear and interactive, in terms of traditional advertising effectiveness. Results from the pilot study did not support our research expectations. However, differences in terms of memory were noted between the two structures. After re-creating the Web site based on subjects' comments, in the final experiment, we examined the differences between the two structures and the moderating role of personality difference on the effects of Web site structure. The results confirm that participants' attitude, memory, and behavioral intentions were affected differently by the different Web site structures. However, some research hypotheses were not supported by the current data.     

Housing and Child Welfare: Emerging Evidence and Implications for Scaling up Services

Inadequate housing threatens family stability in communities across the United States. This study reviews emerging evidence on housing interventions in the context of scale‐up for the child welfare system. In child welfare, scale‐up refers to the extent to which fully implemented interventions sustainably alleviate family separations associated with housing instability. It incorporates multiple aspects beyond traditional measures of effectiveness including costs, potential reach, local capacities for implementation, and fit within broader social services. The framework further encompasses everyday circumstances faced by service providers, program administrators, and policymakers who allocate resources under conditions of scarcity and uncertainty. The review of current housing interventions reveals a number of systemic constraints for scale‐up in child welfare. Reliance on rental assistance programs limits capacity to address demand, while current practices that target the most vulnerable families may inadvertently diminish effectiveness of the intervention and increase overall demand. Alternative approaches that focus on homelessness prevention and early intervention must be tested in conjunction with community initiatives to increase accessibility of affordable housing. By examining system performance over time, the scalability framework provides an opportunity for more efficient coordination of housing services within and outside of the child welfare system.     

The effect of highly concentrated oxygen administration on cerebral activation levels and lateralization in visuospatial tasks

This study investigated what effect a 30% oxygen administration had on visuospatial cognitive performance and cerebral activation and lateralization using fMRI. Eight college students were selected as the subjects for this study. An oxygen dispenser that provided 21% and 30% oxygen at a constant rate of 8L/min was developed. In order to measure the performance level of visuospatial cognition, two psychological tests were also developed. The experiment consisted of two runs, one for a visuospatial cognition task with normal air (21% oxygen) and the other for a visuospatial cognition task with hyperoxic air (30% oxygen). Functional brain images were taken with a 3T MRI using the single-shot EPI method. The results of the visuospatial behavioral analysis reveal that accuracy rates were enhanced with 30% oxygen administration when compared to 21% oxygen. There were more activations observed at the bilateral occipital, parietal, and frontal lobes with 30% oxygen administration. However, decreased cerebrum lateralization was observed with 30% oxygen administration in the same regions compared with 21% oxygen administration. Thus, it is concluded that the positive effect on the visuospatial cognitive performance level by the highly concentrated oxygen administration resulted from an increase of cerebrum activation and a decrease of cerebrum lateralization.     

Work organization, economic inequality, and depression among nursing assistants: a multilevel modeling approach

To investigate the relationships among the nursing home work environment, emotional strain, and depression in Nursing Assistants in Ohio and West Virginia, this cross-sectional study was conducted with 395 Nurse Assistants in 49 nursing homes in Ohio and West Virginia. Organizational attributes were measured independently at the individual and organizational levels. Multilevel modeling techniques were used to analyze the data. Our methods examined nursing home organizational structure (ownership type, managerial style), and work organization (emotional strain) was examined in relation to the prevalence of depression among nursing assistants. Our findings suggest workplace emotional strain and age are associated with increased odds of depression. Implications of our work include that work in nursing homes for the environment it fosters has a strong effect on emotional strain and depression among Nursing Assistants.     

Persistence of stereotypic behavior: examining the effects of external reinforcers

Basic research has shown that behavioral persistence is often positively related to rate of reinforcement. This relation, expressed in the metaphor of behavioral momentum, has potentially important implications for clinical application. The current study examined one prediction of the momentum metaphor for automatically reinforced behavior. Participants were 3 children who had been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder and who engaged in stereotypic behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement. Results suggested that stereotypic behavior was more resistant to disruption following periods of access to preferred stimuli delivered on a variable-time schedule than following periods without access to preferred stimuli. The implications of these findings for the treatment of automatically reinforced behavior are discussed.     

Relationship of recalled parenting style to self-perception in Korean American college students

The authors examined the relationship of authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive parenting styles and the number of years in the United States with self-perception (academic competence, morality, and self-reliance) as recalled by Korean American college students (N = 144). Authoritative parenting behaviors were most common in Korean American families, followed by authoritarian behaviors, with permissive behaviors a distant 3rd. Authoritative parenting styles and the number of years lived in the United States were predictive of higher academic competence. Authoritarian and permissive parenting styles were predictive of lower self-reliance, whereas number of years lived in the United States was related to higher self-reliance. Those findings provide partial support for generalizing D. Baumrind's (1971) model of parenting styles to Korean American families, and the findings demonstrate the importance of considering acculturation issues in parenting studies.