Compensatory neoplasia: Chronic erythrocytosis and neuroblastic tumors

There are a large number of exogenous biological and chemical substances with known neoplastic or carcinogenic potential. However, it has also been postulated that external stimuli can influence the body's internal milieu, and thereby induce compensatory excessive growth of cells in the form of hyperplasia or neoplasia. In a recent study, we observed a strong association between chronic hypoxic states and the occurrence of peripheral neuroblastic tumors, a relatively uncommon group of neural neoplasms. In this report we review those findings and formulate an hypothesis to explain why conditions which lead to chronic erythrocytosis may also cause compensatory neoplasia of neural tissues.     

The cataphoric use of the indefinite this in spoken narratives

Are concepts that were introduced with the unstressed, indefinite articlethis, as opposed to the indefinitea/an, more accessible from listeners’ mental representations? Subjects heard and then verbally continued each of a series of informal narratives. The last clause of each narrative introduced a new noun phrase that began with either the indefinitethis or the indefinitea/an (e.g.,this egg oran egg). When the concepts were introduced with the indefinitethis, the subjects referred to them more frequently, often within the first clauses that they produced, and typically via pronouns. In contrast, when the concepts were introduced witha/an, the subjects referred to them less frequently and typically via full noun phrases. Thus, concepts introduced with the indefinitethis were more accessible; therefore, the indefinitethis appears to operate cataphorically to improve referential access.     

Plans for balancing work and family life: Do women pursuing nontraditional and traditional occupations differ?

Work-involvement plans of women pursuing training in three fields are compared. Three approaches to the connection between gender and work are reviewed: an occupational, a differential gender socialization, and a role conflict approach. Data from 173 female students in traditional (nursing) and nontraditional (engineering and veterinary medicine) fields are used. The work plans of women pursuing these traditional and nontraditional occupations were similar. A minority in each field expected to work full time when their children were of preschool age. We obtained modest support for the structural and differential gender socialization approaches, and substantial support for the role conflict approach. Plans to pursue nontraditional professions do not appear associated with plans for nontraditional family life.     

Introversion-Extraversion, Self-Monitoring, and Applicant Performance in a Situational Panel Interview: A Field Study

This study investigated relationships between applicant introversion-extraversion, self-monitoring, and performance in a situational panel interview. Police officers applying for promotion to the rank of sergeant in a metropolitan police department participated in a selection interview and completed a personality questionnaire. Results showed self-monitoring moderated the relation between introversion-extraversion and interview performance. As predicted, the relationship was stronger for low self-monitors than for high self-monitors. Extraverted, high self-monitoring and introverted, low self-monitoring promotion candidates were rated highest by selection interview panelists.     

Implementation of nonparametric multivariate statistics with S

Multivariate nonparametric statistical methods have not been widely used by psychologists. One reason for this may have been that the usual general-purpose packages do not provide easy implementation of these methods. In this article, we briefly describe the multivariate extensions of the sign, signed-rank, and rank-sum tests and use S, a programming environment for data analysis, to implement these statistical procedures. Three numerical examples are used to illustrate the flexibility and efficiency of these computations in S.     

Identifying the ideal mate: More evidence for male-female convergence

Male and female students participated in an experiment designed to test specific hypotheses fromsexual strategies theory (Buss & Schmitt, 1993) regarding their preferences for certain personal and physical traits in a potential mate. Participants distributed 50 points among a number of trait-pairs. The items consisted of a consensually valued trait-pair, “biologically relevant” trait-pairs, and a reference to ethnic and cultural similarity. In Condition 1 participants distributed the points among the trait-pairs without any additional information about the potential mate; Condition 2 participants distributed the points after being asked to assume the potential mate possessed some biologically relevant traits. Males, compared to females, assigned more points to trait-pairs signalling highreproductive value, and females, compared to males, assigned more points to trait-pairs signalling highresource potential. Male and female participants in Condition 2, compared to control participants, distributed more points among the opposite genders’ preferred traits. Discussion focused on speculation that assuming a potential mate possessed biologically relevant traits increases the desirability of other traits related to the solution of common and genderspecific long-term mating problems.     

Analysis of pairwise preference data using integrated B-splines

Pairwise preference data are represented as a monotone integral transformation of difference on the underlying stimulus-object or utility scale. The class of monotone transformations considered is that in which the kernel of the integral is a linear combination of B-splines. Two types of data are analyzed: binary and continuous. The parameters of the transformation and the underlying scale values or utilities are estimated by maximum likelihood with inequality constraints on the transformation parameters. Various hypothesis tests and interval estimates are developed. Examples of artificial and real data are presented.This investigation was supported in part by a research grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Canada.     

Intergroup relations and nursing

The applicability of Tajfel's social identity theory of intergroup relations was tested within a field situation of nursing, where high and low status trainee nursing groups are undergoing social change in status relations through a merger. The status relations of the two groups were assessed by examining advantages, disadvantages and subjective characteristics attributed to the groups. Close contact between groups may account for the unexpected reduction in intergroup differentiation when explict comparisons were made. No greater illegitimacy in perceived status relations was reported by the low status group, although more dissatisfactions were evidenced in terms of attributed disadvantages, a less positive ingroup identification, and a high proportion of the low status group who want change either through movement into the superior group, or by dissolving status relations through the merging of the two groups. Attempts to merge are geared towards increasing similarity between groups by gaining recognition for those high status characteristics the group believes it has acquired. With a view to social change, the non-mobile low status subgroup are evolving a new and positive social identity for the group, perceiving little difference between groups. Strong intergroup differentiation by the high status group reflects the perceived threat of social change to the high status group.