Contests versus Norms: Implications of Contest-Based and Norm-Based Intervention Techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergquist, Magnus; Nilsson, Andreas; Hansla, André

2017-01-01

Interventions using either contests or norms can promote environmental behavioral change. Yet research on the implications of contest-based and norm-based interventions is lacking. Based on Goal-framing theory, we suggest that a contest-based intervention frames a gain goal promoting intensive but instrumental behavioral engagement. In contrast, the norm-based intervention was expected to frame a normative goal activating normative obligations for targeted and non-targeted behavior and motivation to engage in pro-environmental behaviors in the future. In two studies participants ( n = 347) were randomly assigned to either a contest- or a norm-based intervention technique. Participants in the contest showed more intensive engagement in both studies. Participants in the norm-based intervention tended to report higher intentions for future energy conservation (Study 1) and higher personal norms for non-targeted pro-environmental behaviors (Study 2). These findings suggest that contest-based intervention technique frames a gain goal, while norm-based intervention frames a normative goal.

Contests versus Norms: Implications of Contest-Based and Norm-Based Intervention Techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magnus Bergquist

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Interventions using either contests or norms can promote environmental behavioral change. Yet research on the implications of contest-based and norm-based interventions is lacking. Based on Goal-framing theory, we suggest that a contest-based intervention frames a gain goal promoting intensive but instrumental behavioral engagement. In contrast, the norm-based intervention was expected to frame a normative goal activating normative obligations for targeted and non-targeted behavior and motivation to engage in pro-environmental behaviors in the future. In two studies participants (n = 347 were randomly assigned to either a contest- or a norm-based intervention technique. Participants in the contest showed more intensive engagement in both studies. Participants in the norm-based intervention tended to report higher intentions for future energy conservation (Study 1 and higher personal norms for non-targeted pro-environmental behaviors (Study 2. These findings suggest that contest-based intervention technique frames a gain goal, while norm-based intervention frames a normative goal.

ASEAN Enlargement and Norm Change – A Window of Opportunity for Democracy and Human Rights Entrepreneurs?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kerstin Radtke

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the accession of Myanmar to ASEAN and its effects on the emergence of fundamental political norms in ASEAN. The article first advances the theoretical idea of how accession demands towards Regional Organizations (ROs open windows of opportunity for norm entrepreneurs to act for norm change in a Regional Organization. Secondly, these ideas are empirically illustrated by a case study on ASEAN’s enlargement to include Myanmar. The tentative conclusion is that, being confronted with the accession of the highly stigmatised state of Myanmar, ASEAN was forced to position itself vis-à-vis this outcome, and to open itself up to discussions about fundamental norms and regional identity. This critical phase of transition mobilised norm entrepreneurs to push for norm change, and opened avenues for these entrepreneurs to contribute ideas regarding ASEAN’s regional identity. By subsequently framing the discourse on human rights and democracy in Southeast Asia, and by successfully gaining access to the official ASEAN agenda, these entrepreneurs pressured ASEAN to be more precise about its norms. The discussion about stigmatised Myanmar thus introduced new ideas into the regional forum, and in the longer term may have contributed to ASEAN’s identity-building and the concession of greater attention to democracy and human rights issues.

Changing Gender Norms and Reducing HIV and Violence Risk Among Workers and Students in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Pulerwitz, Julie; Hui, Wang; Arney, Jennifer; Scott, Lisa Mueller

2015-08-01

Global evidence demonstrates that inequitable gender norms negatively influence key health outcomes (e.g., violence, HIV/STI), and the importance of male involvement in prevention efforts. The China Family Planning Association and PATH partnered to develop and evaluate a gender-focused behavior change communication intervention for HIV and violence prevention. Eight participatory education sessions-adapted for the Chinese setting-were implemented in factories and schools. Baseline and endline surveys with participants (219 male factory workers and 496 male vocational students) were conducted. Support for (in)equitable norms was measured by the Gender Equitable Men Scale, as well as partner violence and communication. Focus groups with male and female workers/students, teachers, and factory managers were used to corroborate findings. At baseline, many workers and students supported inequitable gender norms, with workers generally being more inequitable. At endline, significant positive changes in gender-related views (e.g., reduction from 42% to 18% of workers agreeing that "a woman should tolerate violence in order to keep her family together") and behaviors (e.g., reduction from 15% to 7% of students reporting partner violence over the past 3 months) were reported. Results suggest that a relatively low intensity intervention can influence important gender norms and related behaviors.

$q$-norms are really norms

OpenAIRE

Belbachir, H.; Mirzavaziri, M.; Moslehian, M. S.

2005-01-01

Replacing the triangle inequality, in the definition of a norm, by $|x + y| ^{q}\\leq 2^{q-1}(|x| ^{q} + |y| ^{q}) $, we introduce the notion of a q-norm. We establish that every q-norm is a norm in the usual sense, and that the converse is true as well.

Changing Collective Social Norms in Favour of Reduced Harmful Use of Alcohol: A Review of Reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Peter; Jané-Llopis, Eva; Hasan, Omer Syed Muhammad; Rehm, Jürgen

2018-05-01

Public sector bodies have called for policies and programmes to shift collective social norms in disfavour of the harmful use of alcohol. This article aims to identify and summarize the evidence and propose how policies and programmes to shift social norms could be implemented and evaluated. Review of reviews for all years to July 2017. Searches on OVID Medline, Healthstar, Embase, PsycINFO, AMED, Social Work Abstracts, CAB Abstracts, Mental Measurements Yearbook, Joanna Briggs Institute EBP, Health and Psychosocial Instruments, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, International Political Science Abstracts, NASW Clinical Register and Epub Ahead of Print databases. All reviews, without language or date restrictions resulting from combining the terms ((review or literature review or review literature or data pooling or comparative study or systematic review or meta-analysis or pooled analysis) and (social norms or culture) and (alcohol drinking)). Two relevant reviews were identified. One review of community-based interventions found one study that demonstrated small changes in parental disapproval of under-age drinking. One review stressed that collective social norms about drinking are malleable and not uniform in any one country. Three factors are proposed to inform programmes: provide information about the consequences of the harmful use of alcohol, and their causes and distribution; act on groups, not individuals; and strengthen environmental laws, regulations and approaches. Purposeful policies and programmes could be implemented to change collective social norms in disfavour of the harmful use of alcohol; they should be evidence-based and fully evaluated for their impact.

A norming study and library of 203 dance movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Christensen, Julia F; Nadal, Marcos; Cela-Conde, Camilo José

2014-01-01

Dance stimuli have been used in experimental studies of (i) how movement is processed in the brain; (ii) how affect is perceived from bodily movement; and (iii) how dance can be a source of aesthetic experience. However, stimulus materials across--and even within--these three domains of research have varied considerably. Thus, integrative conclusions remain elusive. Moreover, concerns have been raised that the movements selected for such stimuli are qualitatively too different from the actual art form dance, potentially introducing noise in the data. We propose a library of dance stimuli which responds to the stimuli requirements and design criteria of these three areas of research, while at the same time respecting a dance art-historical perspective, offering greater ecological validity as compared with previous dance stimulus sets. The stimuli are 5-6 s long video clips, selected from genuine ballet performances. Following a number of coding experiments, the resulting stimulus library comprises 203 ballet dance stimuli coded in (i) 25 qualitative and quantitative movement variables; (ii) affective valence and arousal; and (iii) the aesthetic qualities beauty, liking, and interest. An Excel spreadsheet with these data points accompanies this manuscript, and the stimuli can be obtained from the authors upon request.

Exploring the potential for changing gender norms among cricket coaches and athletes in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Elizabeth; Das, Madhumita; Verma, Ravi; O'Connor, Brian; Ghosh, Sancheeta; Jaime, Maria Catrina D; McCauley, Heather L

2015-02-01

This study explored gender norms with cricket coaches and athletes in India to adapt a coach-delivered gender violence prevention program from the United States for the urban Indian context. Interviews and focus groups conducted among coaches and adolescent cricketers highlight the extent to which coaches and athletes articulate prevailing inequitable notions about gender and recognition of the power coaches wield. Adapting a violence prevention program that emphasizes gender norms change may be feasible with Indian cricket coaches but is likely to require attention to defining gender equity and challenging cultural assumptions with coaches prior to implementing the program with athletes. © The Author(s) 2014.

Promoting Behavior Change Using Social Norms: Applying a Community Based Social Marketing Tool to Extension Programming

Science.gov (United States)

Chaudhary, Anil Kumar; Warner, Laura A.

2015-01-01

Most educational programs are designed to produce lower level outcomes, and Extension educators are challenged to produce behavior change in target audiences. Social norms are a very powerful proven tool for encouraging sustainable behavior change among Extension's target audiences. Minor modifications to program content to demonstrate the…

INDONESIAN MUSLIM WOMEN AND THE GENDER EQUALITY MOVEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alimatul Qibtiyah

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Throughout the history of Indonesia, the concepts of gender and power-relations between men and women have been linked to a shifting and fluctuating idea of what constitutes good women, good men, and good gender relationships within the context of Indonesia and Islam. To analyse these changing attitudes to women’s issues in Indonesia, we need to pay attention to several points: the character of the women’s organizations, whether fully independent, semi autonomous, or subsidiaries of existing male organizations; the important issues rising within the movements, as well as the strategies to deal with them; and lastly the influential factor of government intervention in the women’s movement. This paper tries to explore the Muslim women’s movement and its strategy to accommodate or resist from the domination of Islam in terms of the nation state, the constitution and the dominant cultural norms in Indonesia.

Movement of the lacrimal canalicular wall under intracanalicular pressure changes observed with dacryoendoscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kakizaki, Hirohiko; Takahashi, Yasuhiro; Mito, Hidenori; Nakamura, Yasuhisa

2015-01-01

Movement of the lacrimal canalicular wall has been speculated to occur during blinking. Movement of the common internal ostium has been observed under nasal endoscopy, and pressure changes in the lacrimal canalicular cavity have been observed with a pressure sensor; however, lacrimal canalicular wall movement under pressure changes has not been observed. To examine movement of the lacrimal canalicular wall under intracanalicular pressure changes using dacryoendoscopy. The authors examined 20 obstruction-free lacrimal canaliculi in 10 patients. A dacryoendoscope was inserted, and water was poured into the intracanalicular cavity via the dacryoendoscope's water channel. The water was then poured or suctioned to cause positive or negative pressure changes in the intracanalicular cavity, and movement of the lacrimal canalicular wall was examined. The lacrimal canalicular wall moved flexibly with pressure changes. Under positive pressure, the intracanalicular cavity was dilated; however, it narrowed under negative pressure. The extent of movement was more dramatic in the common canalicular portion than the proximal canalicular portion. Intracanalicular pressure changes cause movement of the lacrimal canalicular wall. There was a consistent relationship between intracanalicular cavity changes and pressure changes, possibly contributing to lacrimal drainage of the canaliculus.

From Norm Adoption to Norm Internalization

Science.gov (United States)

Conte, Rosaria; Andrighetto, Giulia; Villatoro, Daniel

In this presentation, advances in modeling the mental dynamics of norms will be presented. In particular, the process from norm-adoption, possibly yielding new normative goals, to different forms of norm compliance will be focused upon, including norm internalization, which is at study in social-behavioral sciences and moral philosophy since long. Of late, the debate was revamped within the rationality approach pointing to the role of norm internalization as a less costly and more reliable enforcement system than social control. So far, poor attention was paid to the mental underpinnings of internalization. In this presentation, a rich cognitive model of different types, degrees and factors of internalization is shown. The initial implementation of this model on EMIL-A, a normative agent architecture developed and applied to the.

A Social Norms Approach to Changing School Children's Perceptions of Tobacco Usage

Science.gov (United States)

Sheikh, Afzal; Vadera, Sunil; Ravey, Michael; Lovatt, Gary; Kelly, Grace

2017-01-01

Purpose: Over 200,000 young people in the UK embark on a smoking career annually, thus continued effort is required to understand the types of interventions that are most effective in changing perceptions about smoking amongst teenagers. Several authors have proposed the use of social norms programmes, where correcting misconceptions of what is…

Amemiya norm equals Orlicz norm in general

OpenAIRE

Hudzik, Henryk; Maligranda, Lech

2000-01-01

The authors present a proof that in Orlicz spaces the Amemiya norm and the Orlicz norm coincide for any Orlicz function $\\varphi$. This gives the answer for an open problem. They also give a description of the Amemiya type for the Mazur-Orlicz $F$-norm.

Power and Vision: Group-Process Models Evolving from Social-Change Movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrow, Susan L.; Hawxhurst, Donna M.

1988-01-01

Explores evolution of group process in social change movements, including the evolution of the new left, the cooperative movement,and the women's liberation movement. Proposes a group-process model that encourages people to share power and live their visions. (Author/NB)

CHANGING UNIVERSITY STUDENT POLITICS IN SRI LANKA: FROM NORM ORIENTED TO VALUE ORIENTED STUDENT MOVEMENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gamini Samaranayake

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes the causes of student political activism in Sri Lankan universities by paying attention to the history of student politics starting from the 1960s when the first traces of such activism can be traced. Towards this end, it makes use of the analytical framework proposed by David Finlay that explains certain conditions under which students may be galvanized to engage in active politics. Analyzing different socio-political contexts that gave rise to these movements, and the responses of incumbent governments to such situations, it concludes that in order to mitigate the risk of youth getting involved in violent politics, it is necessary to address larger structural issues of inequality.

A norm knockout method on indirect reciprocity to reveal indispensable norms

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, Hitoshi; Okada, Isamu; Uchida, Satoshi; Sasaki, Tatsuya

2017-03-01

Although various norms for reciprocity-based cooperation have been suggested that are evolutionarily stable against invasion from free riders, the process of alternation of norms and the role of diversified norms remain unclear in the evolution of cooperation. We clarify the co-evolutionary dynamics of norms and cooperation in indirect reciprocity and also identify the indispensable norms for the evolution of cooperation. Inspired by the gene knockout method, a genetic engineering technique, we developed the norm knockout method and clarified the norms necessary for the establishment of cooperation. The results of numerical investigations revealed that the majority of norms gradually transitioned to tolerant norms after defectors are eliminated by strict norms. Furthermore, no cooperation emerges when specific norms that are intolerant to defectors are knocked out.

Changing Norms about Gender Inequality in Education : Evidence from Bangladesh

OpenAIRE

Blunch, Niels-Hugo; Das, Maitreyi Bordia

2007-01-01

Background: While norms are important for educational attainment, especially in the developing world, there are relatively few studies on this topic. This paper, which explores attitudes toward gender equality in education among Bangladeshis, should therefore be of interest to both academics and policymakers. Objective: In this paper, we seek to identify which factors affect the norms regarding the education of girls and boys, as well as of women and men, across two cohorts of married wome...

Economical modelling of social and moral norms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nyborg, Karine

2001-01-01

Social norms and moral motivations are often ignored in economic models. It is possible, however, to model social and moral norms within the framework of economical theory. This may be useful even if the exposition is necessarily simplified. The article gives some examples. An analysis shows how the ''No Smoking Act'' may have led to a change in social norms in Norway and indirectly changed the behaviour of smokers in places where this act does not apply. Behaviour with moral motivation may also be affected by changes in regulations, economic incentives or other external conditions. For example, a more efficient collection system for source-separated waste may induce people to sharpen the moral claim on their own efforts. Indeed, interviews show that imposing a fee upon people not volunteering in communal work may cause the attendance to drop further

Local descriptive body weight and dietary norms, food availability, and 10-year change in glycosylated haemoglobin in an Australian population-based biomedical cohort

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suzanne J. Carroll

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Individual-level health outcomes are shaped by environmental risk conditions. Norms figure prominently in socio-behavioural theories yet spatial variations in health-related norms have rarely been investigated as environmental risk conditions. This study assessed: 1 the contributions of local descriptive norms for overweight/obesity and dietary behaviour to 10-year change in glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c, accounting for food resource availability; and 2 whether associations between local descriptive norms and HbA1c were moderated by food resource availability. Methods HbA1c, representing cardiometabolic risk, was measured three times over 10 years for a population-based biomedical cohort of adults in Adelaide, South Australia. Residential environmental exposures were defined using 1600 m participant-centred road-network buffers. Local descriptive norms for overweight/obesity and insufficient fruit intake (proportion of residents with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 [n = 1890] or fruit intake of <2 serves/day [n = 1945], respectively were aggregated from responses to a separate geocoded population survey. Fast-food and healthful food resource availability (counts were extracted from a retail database. Separate sets of multilevel models included different predictors, one local descriptive norm and either fast-food or healthful food resource availability, with area-level education and individual-level covariates (age, sex, employment status, education, marital status, and smoking status. Interactions between local descriptive norms and food resource availability were tested. Results HbA1c concentration rose over time. Local descriptive norms for overweight/obesity and insufficient fruit intake predicted greater rates of increase in HbA1c. Neither fast-food nor healthful food resource availability were associated with change in HbA1c. Greater healthful food resource availability reduced the rate of increase in HbA1c

Part-Time Work and Work Norms in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wielers, Rudi; Raven, Dennis

We argue that in the Netherlands, due to the growth of part-time work, work norms have declined. The mechanism behind this norm change is in the changed organization of family life. The increased labour market participation of women has put the traditional organization of family life under pressure.

[Cleanliness Norms 1964-1975].

Science.gov (United States)

Noelle-Neumann, E

1976-01-01

In 1964 the Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach made a first survey taking stock of norms concerning cleanliness in the Federal Republic of Germany. At that time, 78% of respondents thought that the vogue among young people of cultivating an unkempt look was past or on the wane (Table 1.). Today we know that this fashion was an indicator of more serious desires for change in many different areas like politics, sexual morality, education and that its high point was still to come. In the fall of 1975 a second survey, modelled on the one of 1964, was conducted. Again, it concentrated on norms, not on behavior. As expected, norms have changed over this period but not in a one-directional or simple manner. In general, people are much more large-minded about children's looks: neat, clean school-dress, properly combed hair, clean shoes, all this and also holding their things in order has become less important in 1975 (Table 2). To carry a clean handkerchief is becoming oldfashioned (Table 3). On the other hand, principles of bringing-up children have not loosened concerning personal hygiene - brushing ones teeth, washing hands, feet, and neck, clean fingernails (Table 4). On one item related to protection of the environment, namely throwing around waste paper, standards have even become more strict (Table 5). With regard to school-leavers, norms of personal hygiene have generally become more strict (Table 6). As living standards have gone up and the number of full bathrooms has risen from 42% to 75% of households, norms of personal hygiene have also increased: one warm bath a week seemed enough to 56% of adults in 1964, but to only 32% in 1975 (Table 7). Also standards for changing underwear have changed a lot: in 1964 only 12% of respondents said "every day", in 1975 48% said so (Table 8). Even more stringent norms are applied to young women (Tables 9/10). For comparison: 1964 there were automatic washing machines in 16%, 1975 in 79% of households. Answers to questions

NORM - practical guide; NORM - guia pratico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reis, Rocio dos (ed.)

2016-07-01

The experience of the authors and a literature review on the evaluation of national and international regulatory guides are presented. The objective is to help understand the need to implement the best practices for NORM management in the industries that produce the NORM wastes. The book should act as a reference point, basic, friendly and useful to assist the reader in NORM management activities. The reader should be warned that management requires consultation and involvement of a significant number of stakeholders, in addition to the approval of competent authorities. A list and the technical biography of the authors are also described.

Reconstruction of conductivity changes and electrode movements based on EIT temporal sequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dai, Tao; Gómez-Laberge, Camille; Adler, Andy

2008-01-01

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) reconstructs a conductivity change image within a body from electrical measurements on the body surface; while it has relatively low spatial resolution, it has a high temporal resolution. One key difficulty with EIT measurements is due to the movement and position uncertainty of the electrodes, especially due to breathing and posture change. In this paper, we develop an approach to reconstruct both the conductivity change image and the electrode movements from the temporal sequence of EIT measurements. Since both the conductivity change and electrode movement are slow with respect to the data frame rate, there are significant temporal correlations which we formulate as priors for the regularized image reconstruction model. Image reconstruction is posed in terms of a regularization matrix and a Jacobian matrix which are augmented for the conductivity change and electrode movement, and then further augmented to concatenate the d previous and future frames. Results are shown for simulation, phantom and human data, and show that the proposed algorithm yields improved resolution and noise performance in comparison to a conventional one-step reconstruction method

Extending the Mertonian Norms: Scientists' Subscription to Norms of Research

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Melissa S.; Ronning, Emily A.; De Vries, Raymond; Martinson, Brian C.

2010-01-01

This analysis, based on focus groups and a national survey, assesses scientists' subscription to the Mertonian norms of science and associated counternorms. It also supports extension of these norms to governance (as opposed to administration), as a norm of decision-making, and quality (as opposed to quantity), as an evaluative norm. (Contains 1…

Competition and norms: A self-defeating combination?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alberts, Genevieve; Gurguc, Zeynep; Koutroumpis, Pantelis; Martin, Ralf; Muûls, Mirabelle; Napp, Tamaryn

2016-01-01

This paper investigates the effects of information feedback mechanisms on electricity and heating usage at a student hall of residence in London. In a randomised control trial, we formulate different treatments such as feedback information and norms, as well as prize competition among subjects. We show that information and norms lead to a sharp – more than 20% - reduction in overall energy consumption. Because participants do not pay for their energy consumption this response cannot be driven by cost saving incentives. Interestingly, when combining feedback and norms with a prize competition for achieving low energy consumption, the reduction effect – while present initially – disappears in the long run. This could suggest that external rewards reduce and even destroy intrinsic motivation to change behaviour. - Highlights: •We investigate the effect of information feedback on residential energy consumption. •A RCT tests whether norms affect the decisions of price-indifferent participants. •Feedback mechanisms and norms reduce energy consumption by 22% on average. •Introducing prize competition dissipates the impact of information feedback and norms.

Social Norms: Do We Love Norms Too Much?

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, David C; Cox, Mary L

2015-03-01

Social norms are often cited as the cause of many social phenomena, especially as an explanation for prosocial family and relationship behaviors. And yet maybe we love the idea of social norms too much, as suggested by our failure to subject them to rigorous test. Compared to the detail in social norms theoretical orientations, there is very little detail in tests of normative theories. To provide guidance to researchers who invoke social norms as explanations, we catalog normative orientations that have been proposed to account for consistent patterns of action. We call on researchers to conduct tests of normative theories and the processes such theories assert.

Attitude Ambivalence, Social Norms, and Behavioral Intentions: Developing Effective Antitobacco Persuasive Communications

Science.gov (United States)

Hohman, Zachary P.; Crano, William D.; Niedbala, Elizabeth M.

2018-01-01

This study assessed the moderating effects of attitude ambivalence on the relationship between social norms, attitudes, and behavioral intentions to use tobacco. It was predicted that people would use social norms to reduce attitude ambivalence, and that reduced ambivalence would lead to changes in attitudes and behavioral intentions. To test this hypothesis, participants (N =152) were exposed to persuasive communications designed to influence attitude ambivalence and perceived social norms regarding tobacco use. Analysis indicated that providing a social norm antagonistic to tobacco use significantly reduced ambivalence among participants reading the ambivalence message (p changes in tobacco attitudes from pre- to postpersuasive communications demonstrated a significant decrease in tobacco attitudes only for participants reading the ambivalence message who were provided with the antitobacco use norm (p changes in attitudes toward tobacco. These results point to the important role of social norms in mediating the effects of attitude ambivalence on subsequent behavior in preventative programs targeting tobacco use. PMID:26460476

The malleability of injunctive norms among college students.

Science.gov (United States)

Prince, Mark A; Carey, Kate B

2010-11-01

Alcohol use among college students has been associated with injunctive norms, which refer to the perceived acceptability of excessive drinking, and descriptive norms, which refer to perceptions of actual drinking. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a brief injunctive norms manipulation on both injunctive and descriptive norms about drinking alcohol and to explore differences in the malleability of norms across referent groups, sex, and gender role. Participants were 265 undergraduates (43% male, 70% freshmen) who completed a web-based survey for course credit. A randomly selected half was exposed to a page of information-based feedback about typical student injunctive norms. Relative to the control condition, the manipulation produced lower injunctive and descriptive norms related to typical students' drinking but no change in either type of norm related to close friends. Femininity was associated with less permissive normative beliefs about the acceptability of excessive drinking whereas masculinity was associated with elevated perceptions of peer drinking, but neither sex nor gender role moderated the manipulation effect. We conclude that perceptions of peer approval of drinking are malleable with a very brief information-based manipulation. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quotient normed cones

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

general setting of the space CL(X, Y ) of all continuous linear mappings from a normed cone (X, p) to a normed cone (Y, q), extending several well-known results related to open continuous linear mappings between normed linear spaces. Keywords. Normed cone; extended quasi-metric; continuous linear mapping; bicom-.

Manger hors norme, respecter les normes

OpenAIRE

Régnier, Faustine

2007-01-01

Fondée sur un corpus de près de 10 000 recettes de cuisine de la presse féminine française et allemande (1930‑2000), cette contribution met en évidence la façon dont l’exotisme permet de manger hors norme tout en restant dans les normes. Les pratiques culinaires étrangères ne peuvent être adoptées qu’au terme d’un travail de normalisation. Elles sont modifiées de manière à ce que soient respectées les normes du pays d’accueil, par là même mises en œuvre. Elles sont donc conçues comme un ensem...

Computer use changes generalization of movement learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Kunlin; Yan, Xiang; Kong, Gaiqing; Yin, Cong; Zhang, Fan; Wang, Qining; Kording, Konrad Paul

2014-01-06

Over the past few decades, one of the most salient lifestyle changes for us has been the use of computers. For many of us, manual interaction with a computer occupies a large portion of our working time. Through neural plasticity, this extensive movement training should change our representation of movements (e.g., [1-3]), just like search engines affect memory [4]. However, how computer use affects motor learning is largely understudied. Additionally, as virtually all participants in studies of perception and actions are computer users, a legitimate question is whether insights from these studies bear the signature of computer-use experience. We compared non-computer users with age- and education-matched computer users in standard motor learning experiments. We found that people learned equally fast but that non-computer users generalized significantly less across space, a difference negated by two weeks of intensive computer training. Our findings suggest that computer-use experience shaped our basic sensorimotor behaviors, and this influence should be considered whenever computer users are recruited as study participants. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The relationship between the changes in three-dimensional facial morphology and mandibular movement after orthognathic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Dae-Seung; Huh, Kyung-Hoe; Lee, Sam-Sun; Heo, Min-Suk; Choi, Soon-Chul; Hwang, Soon-Jung; Yi, Won-Jin

2013-10-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between changes in three-dimensional (3D) facial morphology and mandibular movement after orthognathic surgery. We hypothesized that facial morphology changes after orthognathic surgery exert effects on 3D mandibular movement. We conducted a prospective follow-up study of patients who had undergone orthognathic surgical procedures. Three-dimensional facial morphological values were measured from facial CT images before and three months after orthognathic surgery. Three-dimensional maximum mandibular opening (MMO) values of four points (bilateral condylions, infradentale, and pogonion) were also measured using a mandibular movement tracking and simulation system. The predictor variables were changes in morphological parameters divided into two groups (deviated side (DS) or contralateral side (CS) groups), and the outcome variables were changes in the MMO at four points. We evaluated 21 subjects who had undergone orthognathic surgical procedures. Alterations in the TFH (total facial height), LFH (lower facial height), CS MBL (mandibular body length), and DS RL (ramus length) were negatively correlated with changes in bilateral condylar movement. The UFH, DS MBL and CS ML (mandibular length) showed correlations with infradentale movement. The CS ML, DS ML, MBL, UFH, and SNB were correlated with pogonion movement. The height of the face is most likely to affect post-operative mandibular movement, and is negatively correlated with movement changes in the condyles, infradentale and pogonion. The changes in CS morphological parameters are more correlated with mandibular movement changes than the DS. The changes in CS MBL and bilateral RL were negatively correlated with condylar movement changes, while the bilateral MBL and CS ML were positively correlated with changes in infradentale and pogonion. Copyright © 2013 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights

Regulation of NORM industries and NORM residues in Belgium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Biermans, G.; Dehandschutter, B.; Pepin, S.; Sonck, M. [Federal Agency for Nuclear Control - FANC (Belgium)

2014-07-01

In the Belgian Royal Decree of 20 July 2001, which transposed the EU Directive 96/26/EURATOM (BSS) into national legislation regarding radiation protection regulations, a list of 'work activities involving natural radiation sources' (i.e. NORM industries) was defined based on the concept described in Article 40 of the Directive. These activities are subject to declaration to the Belgian radiation protection authority (Federal Agency for Nuclear Control - FANC). The initial list was subsequently modified by a FANC decree in 2012 to reflect the increased knowledge about NORM in other industrial sectors, most of which have also been added in the recently published New Basic Safety Standards (Directive 2013/53/EURATOM). In March 2013, an additional decree was published by FANC regulating the acceptance of NORM residues by non-radioactive waste treatment facilities. This regulation was fitted within the framework described above by introducing NORM residue treatment into the existing NORM industry list. It introduces generic exemption levels above which the processing or disposal of NORM residues will be considered as a 'work activity' and submitted to declaration according to the Belgian radiation protection regulations. On basis of this declaration, specific acceptance criteria are assigned to the disposal or processing facility. FANC has published technical and methodological guides for the operators of the concerned facilities and industries to facilitate the declaration process, and has recently organized a round-table gathering both NORM industries and waste processing industries to identify the needs, uncertainties and concerns regarding the regulatory control of NORM in Belgium. Document available in abstract form only. (authors)

Clinical ethics and values: how do norms evolve from practice?

Science.gov (United States)

Spranzi, Marta

2013-02-01

Bioethics laws in France have just undergone a revision process. The bioethics debate is often cast in terms of ethical principles and norms resisting emerging social and technological practices. This leads to the expression of confrontational attitudes based on widely differing interpretations of the same principles and values, and ultimately results in a deadlock. In this paper I would like to argue that focusing on values, as opposed to norms and principles, provides an interesting perspective on the evolution of norms. As Joseph Raz has convincingly argued, "life-building" values and practices are closely intertwined. Precisely because values have a more indeterminate meaning than norms, they can be cited as reasons for action by concerned stakeholders, and thus can help us understand how controversial practices, e.g. surrogate motherhood, can be justified. Finally, norms evolve when the interpretations of the relevant values shift and cause a change in the presumptions implicit in the norms. Thus, norms are not a prerequisite of the ethical solution of practical dilemmas, but rather the outcome of the decision-making process itself. Struggling to reach the right decision in controversial clinical ethics situations indirectly causes social and moral values to change and principles to be understood differently.

Challenging the norm? International election accompaniment in Nicaragua and Venezuela

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shelley MCCONNEL

2015-08-01

Full Text Available International election monitoring has been touted as a regional norm in the Western hemisphere, but recent reforms in Venezuela and Nicaragua substituted a diminished international role of electoral accompaniment. This article traces the initial acceptance and later limitation of international election monitoring in those countries to explore whether the change constitutes norm localization or norm defection. It concludes that the norm is not as well institutionalized in the hemisphere as conventionally thought, and that models need to assess together national and international monitoring capacities.

The specificity of memory for a highly trained finger movement sequence: Change the ending, change all.

Science.gov (United States)

Rozanov, Simon; Keren, Ofer; Karni, Avi

2010-05-17

How are highly trained movement sequences represented in long-term memory? Here we show that the gains attained in the performance of a well-trained sequence of finger movements can be expressed only when the order of the movements is exactly as practiced. Ten young adults were trained to perform a given 5-element sequence of finger-to-thumb opposition movements with their left hand. Movements were analyzed using video based tracking. Three weeks of training resulted, along with improved accuracy, in robustly shortened movement times as well as shorter finger-to-thumb touch times. However, there was little transfer of these gains in speed to the execution of the same component movements arranged in a new order. Moreover, even when the only change was the omission of the one before final movement of the trained sequence (Omit sequence), the initial movements of the sequence were significantly slowed down, although these movements were identical to the initial movements of the trained sequence. Our results support the notion that a well-trained sequence of finger movements can be represented, in the adult motor system, as a singular, co-articulated, unit of movement, in which even the initial component movements are contingent on the subsequent, anticipated, ones. Because of co-articulation related anticipatory effects, gains in fluency and accuracy acquired in training on a specific movement sequence cannot be expressed in full in the execution of the trained component movements or of a full segment of the trained sequence, if followed by a different ending segment. Copyright 2010. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Cellular and Molecular Changes in Orthodontic Tooth Movement

Science.gov (United States)

Zainal Ariffin, Shahrul Hisham; Yamamoto, Zulham; Zainol Abidin, lntan Zarina; Megat Abdul Wahab, Rohaya; Zainal Ariffin, Zaidah

2011-01-01

Tooth movement induced by orthodontic treatment can cause sequential reactions involving the periodontal tissue and alveolar bone, resulting in the release of numerous substances from the dental tissues and surrounding structures. To better understand the biological processes involved in orthodontic treatment, improve treatment, and reduce adverse side effects, several of these substances have been proposed as biomarkers. Potential biological markers can be collected from different tissue samples, and suitable sampling is important to accurately reflect biological processes. This paper covers the tissue changes that are involved during orthodontic tooth movement such as at compression region (involving osteoblasts), tension region (involving osteoclasts), dental root, and pulp tissues. Besides, the involvement of stem cells and their development towards osteoblasts and osteoclasts during orthodontic treatment have also been explained. Several possible biomarkers representing these biological changes during specific phenomenon, that is, bone remodelling (formation and resorption), inflammation, and root resorption have also been proposed. The knowledge of these biomarkers could be used in accelerating orthodontic treatment. PMID:22125437

Norm Change in Genetic Services. How the Discourse of Choice Replaced the Discourse of Prevention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diane B. Paul

Full Text Available Abstract In the 1960s and '70s, it was generally assumed that reproductive choices have social consequences and thus are a matter of social concern. Socially-responsible reproductive behavior, in turn, was assumed to entail minimizing the risk of transmitting grave genetic diseases. Over time, such a view came increasingly to be labelled "eugenics," a term that would in much of the world acquire strongly negative connotations. By the 1990s, the old view had been largely replaced in the West by the tenet that procreation is a private matter, and that there are no right or wrong reproductive decisions. The primary aim of this essay is to explain and interpret this transformation, which was largely a product of the 1980s. Drawing on social-norms theory, which assumes that norms are always to some degree contested, it asks how those with an interest in changing prevailing attitudes were able to achieve such apparent rapid success.

Computational substrates of norms and their violations during social exchange.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiang, Ting; Lohrenz, Terry; Montague, P Read

2013-01-16

Social norms in humans constrain individual behaviors to establish shared expectations within a social group. Previous work has probed social norm violations and the feelings that such violations engender; however, a computational rendering of the underlying neural and emotional responses has been lacking. We probed norm violations using a two-party, repeated fairness game (ultimatum game) where proposers offer a split of a monetary resource to a responder who either accepts or rejects the offer. Using a norm-training paradigm where subject groups are preadapted to either high or low offers, we demonstrate that unpredictable shifts in expected offers creates a difference in rejection rates exhibited by the two responder groups for otherwise identical offers. We constructed an ideal observer model that identified neural correlates of norm prediction errors in the ventral striatum and anterior insula, regions that also showed strong responses to variance-prediction errors generated by the same model. Subjective feelings about offers correlated with these norm prediction errors, and the two signals displayed overlapping, but not identical, neural correlates in striatum, insula, and medial orbitofrontal cortex. These results provide evidence for the hypothesis that responses in anterior insula can encode information about social norm violations that correlate with changes in overt behavior (changes in rejection rates). Together, these results demonstrate that the brain regions involved in reward prediction and risk prediction are also recruited in signaling social norm violations.

Changing Artificial Playback Speed and Real Movement Velocity Do Not Differentially Influence the Excitability of Primary Motor Cortex during Observation of a Repetitive Finger Movement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takefumi Moriuchi

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Action observation studies have investigated whether changing the speed of the observed movement affects the action observation network. There are two types of speed-changing conditions; one involves “changes in actual movement velocity,” and the other is “manipulation of video speed.” Previous studies have investigated the effects of these conditions separately, but to date, no study has directly investigated the differences between the effects of these conditions. In the “movement velocity condition,” increased velocity is associated with increased muscle activity; however, this change of muscle activities is not shown in the “video speed condition.” Therefore, a difference in the results obtained under these conditions could be considered to reflect a difference in muscle activity of actor in the video. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of different speed-changing conditions and spontaneous movement tempo (SMT on the excitability of primary motor cortex (M1 during action observation, as assessed by motor-evoked potentials (MEPs amplitudes induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS. A total of 29 healthy subjects observed a video clip of a repetitive index or little finger abduction movement under seven different speed conditions. The video clip in the movement velocity condition showed repetitive finger abduction movements made in time with an auditory metronome, at frequencies of 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 Hz. In the video speed condition, playback of the 1-Hz movement velocity condition video clip was modified to show movement frequencies of 0.5, 2, or 3 Hz (Hz-Fake. TMS was applied at the time of maximal abduction and MEPs were recorded from two right-hand muscles. There were no differences in M1 excitability between the movement velocity and video speed conditions. Moreover, M1 excitability did not vary across the speed conditions for either presentation condition. Our findings suggest that changing

Determinants of family planning acceptance and changing social norms among the tribes of Tamil Nadu – A qualitative exploration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niranjan Yadav

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Background: There are very few studies done among tribes that explore the contribution of changing social norms which influences the acceptance of family planning methods. Objective: To discover various changing traditional social norms that influence tribal people to accept contraceptive methods. Methodology: Ten in-depth interviews were conducted among Toda and Irula tribes of Nilagiri district, Tamil Nadu. Family planning acceptors were interviewed and sampling was purposive to get data richness. The interviewed were summarized and themes identified. The themes were used to construct a conceptual framework of social factors influencing family planning acceptance. Results: The important themes that emerged were: (1 Perceived need for development in terms of education and sufficient savings for future. (2 Improved perception on attaining gender equality by women. (3 Lack of bonding between parents and children due to poor attention and poor understanding in large families. (4 Learning from the bad experiences of others with large families was a major reason for adopting small families. Conclusion: The social norms which influenced acceptance of family planning methods seem to be related to perceived financial and economic development of families directly or indirectly. Therefore family planning education programs should emphasize on the financial and economic benefits of family planning.

Method of Menu Selection by Gaze Movement Using AC EOG Signals

Science.gov (United States)

Kanoh, Shin'ichiro; Futami, Ryoko; Yoshinobu, Tatsuo; Hoshimiya, Nozomu

A method to detect the direction and the distance of voluntary eye gaze movement from EOG (electrooculogram) signals was proposed and tested. In this method, AC-amplified vertical and horizontal transient EOG signals were classified into 8-class directions and 2-class distances of voluntary eye gaze movements. A horizontal and a vertical EOGs during eye gaze movement at each sampling time were treated as a two-dimensional vector, and the center of gravity of the sample vectors whose norms were more than 80% of the maximum norm was used as a feature vector to be classified. By the classification using the k-nearest neighbor algorithm, it was shown that the averaged correct detection rates on each subject were 98.9%, 98.7%, 94.4%, respectively. This method can avoid strict EOG-based eye tracking which requires DC amplification of very small signal. It would be useful to develop robust human interfacing systems based on menu selection for severely paralyzed patients.

Brief motivational intervention for college drinking: the synergistic impact of social anxiety and perceived drinking norms.

Science.gov (United States)

Terlecki, Meredith A; Buckner, Julia D; Larimer, Mary E; Copeland, Amy L

2012-12-01

Despite the efficacy of Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS), students with higher social anxiety appear vulnerable to poorer outcomes. A possible explanation for these outcomes is that corrective normative feedback (an active component of BASICS) may be less effective for socially anxious students if their beliefs about others' drinking are less malleable because of intense fear of negative evaluation for deviating from perceived drinking norms. This study evaluated whether socially anxious students demonstrated less change in perceived norms during BASICS. We also examined whether change in norm endorsement moderated the relation between social anxiety and BASICS outcomes. Undergraduates (n = 52) who underwent BASICS completed measures of drinking, social anxiety, and perceived norms at baseline and 4 weeks post-BASICS. Higher social anxiety was related to less change in norm endorsement after receiving BASICS. Change in perceived norms during treatment moderated the relation between social anxiety and follow-up drinking. Among students with smaller change in norm endorsement after BASICS, higher social anxiety was related to heavier follow-up drinking. Among students with greater changes to norm endorsement during BASICS, the effect of social anxiety was nonsignificant. Results suggest that corrective perceived norms interventions may be less effective among socially anxious students, contributing to continued heavy drinking. Development of social anxiety-specific BASICS components warrants attention. 2013 APA, all rights reserved

Gender norms among "Landless" youth: evidence for the social practice of nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Zanatta, Luiz Fabiano; Ruiz-Cantero, Maria Tereza; Chilet-Rossel, Elisa; Álvarez-Dardet, Carlos; Brêtas, José Roberto da Silva

2017-01-01

Objective Analyzing the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics of youth from the Landless Rural Workers' Movement in Brazil (MST) regarding the prevalence ratio being in accordance with gender norms. Method A cross-sectional study conducted during a Journey of Agroecology carried out in the State of Paraná with young people (15 to 29 years) of both genders. Data collection was conducted through questionnaires. Data analysis compared variables regarding gender norms with sociodemographic variables, and a Prevalence Ratio (PR) was calculated with a confidence interval (CI) set at 95% in order to determine this relationship. Results The study sample was comprised of 147 young people. A higher prevalence was found in accordance with gender norms (PR with CI at 95%) among women compared to men, and that sociodemographic characteristics (lower education level, those living in occupation camps, who do not have white skin and with religious belief) were social indicators for such positioning among both genders. Conclusion The byproduct of a patriarchal gender system has led more young girls to internalization and a reaffirmation of gender norms, highlighting an important field for social nursing practices in order to contribute to the transformation of this reality.

Challenging the Strength of the Anti-Mercenary Norm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Hin-Yan; Kinsey, Christopher

2018-01-01

capable of accounting for the same observations. From a theoretical perspective, more consideration needs to be given to international restrictions placed upon mercenaries that are the tangential expressions of more basic and pervasive international norms, namely those of state neutrality, the right...... of peoples to self-determination and freedom of movement. To buttress these contentions, we draw upon documentary evidence focussing on the immediate period after the Napoleonic Wars up to the end of the first Carlist War in 1840, the Crimean War, and conflicts of national liberation in the de...

REACTIVATING NIGERIAN NORMS AND VALUES THROUGH ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Dean SPGS NAU

Transformation. Transformation is a complete change in outward appearance of ... incestuous relationship are prohibited in Nigerian society. The .... society is maintained. ..... physical. Our societal norms and values constitute the frame works.

Norm-Aware Socio-Technical Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Savarimuthu, Bastin Tony Roy; Ghose, Aditya

The following sections are included: * Introduction * The Need for Norm-Aware Systems * Norms in human societies * Why should software systems be norm-aware? * Case Studies of Norm-Aware Socio-Technical Systems * Human-computer interactions * Virtual environments and multi-player online games * Extracting norms from big data and software repositories * Norms and Sustainability * Sustainability and green ICT * Norm awareness through software systems * Where To, From Here? * Conclusions

Social Norms of Cooperation in Small-Scale Societies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando P Santos

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Indirect reciprocity, besides providing a convenient framework to address the evolution of moral systems, offers a simple and plausible explanation for the prevalence of cooperation among unrelated individuals. By helping someone, an individual may increase her/his reputation, which may change the pre-disposition of others to help her/him in the future. This, however, depends on what is reckoned as a good or a bad action, i.e., on the adopted social norm responsible for raising or damaging a reputation. In particular, it remains an open question which social norms are able to foster cooperation in small-scale societies, while enduring the wide plethora of stochastic affects inherent to finite populations. Here we address this problem by studying the stochastic dynamics of cooperation under distinct social norms, showing that the leading norms capable of promoting cooperation depend on the community size. However, only a single norm systematically leads to the highest cooperative standards in small communities. That simple norm dictates that only whoever cooperates with good individuals, and defects against bad ones, deserves a good reputation, a pattern that proves robust to errors, mutations and variations in the intensity of selection.

Social Norms of Cooperation in Small-Scale Societies.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Fernando P; Santos, Francisco C; Pacheco, Jorge M

2016-01-01

Indirect reciprocity, besides providing a convenient framework to address the evolution of moral systems, offers a simple and plausible explanation for the prevalence of cooperation among unrelated individuals. By helping someone, an individual may increase her/his reputation, which may change the pre-disposition of others to help her/him in the future. This, however, depends on what is reckoned as a good or a bad action, i.e., on the adopted social norm responsible for raising or damaging a reputation. In particular, it remains an open question which social norms are able to foster cooperation in small-scale societies, while enduring the wide plethora of stochastic affects inherent to finite populations. Here we address this problem by studying the stochastic dynamics of cooperation under distinct social norms, showing that the leading norms capable of promoting cooperation depend on the community size. However, only a single norm systematically leads to the highest cooperative standards in small communities. That simple norm dictates that only whoever cooperates with good individuals, and defects against bad ones, deserves a good reputation, a pattern that proves robust to errors, mutations and variations in the intensity of selection.

Legitimization of regulatory norms: Waterfowl hunter acceptance of changing duck bag limits

Science.gov (United States)

Schroeder, Susan A.; Fulton, David C.; Lawrence, Jeffrey S.; Cordts, Steven D.

2014-01-01

Few studies have examined response to regulatory change over time, or addressed hunter attitudes about changes in hunting bag limits. This article explores Minnesota waterfowl hunters’ attitudes about duck bag limits, examining attitudes about two state duck bag limits that were initially more restrictive than the maximum set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), but then increased to match federal limits. Results are from four mail surveys that examined attitudes about bag limits over time. Following two bag limit increases, a greater proportion of hunters rated the new bag limit “too high” and a smaller proportion rated it “too low.” Several years following the first bag limit increase, the proportion of hunters who indicated that the limit was “too high” had declined, suggesting hunter acceptance of the new regulation. Results suggest that waterfowl bag limits may represent legal norms that influence hunter attitudes and gain legitimacy over time.

Longitudinal relationships between individual and class norms supporting dating violence and perpetration of dating violence.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Katherine A; Sullivan, Terri N; Farrell, Albert D

2015-03-01

Dating violence is commonly perpetrated in adolescence, making it imperative to understand risk factors in order to inform prevention efforts. Although individual norms supporting dating violence are strongly related to its perpetration, few studies have examined their longitudinal impact. Moreover, the influence of class norms (i.e., norms for students in the same grade, cohort, and school) supporting dating violence on perpetration has rarely been studied. The current study examined longitudinal relationships between individual and class norms supporting dating violence and perpetration of physical and psychological dating violence. Participants were two cohorts of sixth graders from 37 schools who were in dating relationships at Wave 1 and 6 months later at Wave 2 (N = 2,022; 43% female; 52% African American, 21% Latino/a, 20% White, and 7% other). The analyses used a multilevel approach, with students represented at Level 1 and classes (n = 74) at Level 2. The models tested direct effects of Wave 1 individual and class norms supporting dating violence on subsequent changes in perpetration of dating violence at Wave 2 and the extent to which gender moderated these relationships. The findings indicated that greater individual norms supporting male dating violence predicted greater change in perpetration of physical and psychological dating violence and greater individual norms supporting female dating violence predicted greater change in perpetration of psychological dating violence. Greater class norms supporting male dating violence predicted greater change in perpetration of physical dating violence; whereas greater class norms supporting female dating violence predicted less change in perpetration of physical dating violence. These findings highlight the need to address norms in early adolescence.

Main industries generating NORM; Principais industrias geradoras de NORM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lauria, Dejanira da Costa; Mazzilli, Barbara Paci; Feliciano, Vanusa Maria Delage; Borges, Flavia Luiza Soares; Cruz, Paulo Roberto; Matta, Luiz Ernesto Santos de Carvalho

2016-07-01

This chapter 5 the industrial activities related to NORM question is presented. Besides, some industries that in Brazil have higher probability of occurrence de NORM are covered. Economic activities related to mining and its processing are listed.

Waardes as norme en as meta-norme/beginsels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. J. Van Niekerk

1987-03-01

Full Text Available The fruitfulness and the necessity of the distinction between values and norms and as principles are investigated by way of the theory of political development, the legal philosophical issue surrounding natural law and positivism and the views of Habermas. In political developmental theory questions centring on value gained legitimate relevancy under the influ­ ence of the post-behaviorist approach. The quest for cultural universalia or values as principles became important in this sphere because it seems to be the only way to escape from the syndrome of modernity. Through the rejection of the oppositions and one-sidedness of legal positivism and natural law and with the aid of the distinction between values, norms and principles the productive contribution of this spurious dilemma is high­ lighted and a clearer delineation is given of the concepts legal develop­ ment and structural violence. In conclusion Habermas's distinction between norms and meta-norms is investigated critically and immanent contradictions in his views are pointed out. The central place which this issue has in his thought can be seen as a confirmation of the importance of this distinction. It is relevant for all the normative disciplines which - in contrast to the natural sciences - focus on the role of linguistic, social, ethical, legal and artistic norms valid for human societies.

Reliable Change Indices and Standardized Regression-Based Change Score Norms for Evaluating Neuropsychological Change in Children with Epilepsy

Science.gov (United States)

Busch, Robyn M.; Lineweaver, Tara T.; Ferguson, Lisa; Haut, Jennifer S.

2015-01-01

Reliable change index scores (RCIs) and standardized regression-based change score norms (SRBs) permit evaluation of meaningful changes in test scores following treatment interventions, like epilepsy surgery, while accounting for test-retest reliability, practice effects, score fluctuations due to error, and relevant clinical and demographic factors. Although these methods are frequently used to assess cognitive change after epilepsy surgery in adults, they have not been widely applied to examine cognitive change in children with epilepsy. The goal of the current study was to develop RCIs and SRBs for use in children with epilepsy. Sixty-three children with epilepsy (age range 6–16; M=10.19, SD=2.58) underwent comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations at two time points an average of 12 months apart. Practice adjusted RCIs and SRBs were calculated for all cognitive measures in the battery. Practice effects were quite variable across the neuropsychological measures, with the greatest differences observed among older children, particularly on the Children’s Memory Scale and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. There was also notable variability in test-retest reliabilities across measures in the battery, with coefficients ranging from 0.14 to 0.92. RCIs and SRBs for use in assessing meaningful cognitive change in children following epilepsy surgery are provided for measures with reliability coefficients above 0.50. This is the first study to provide RCIs and SRBs for a comprehensive neuropsychological battery based on a large sample of children with epilepsy. Tables to aid in evaluating cognitive changes in children who have undergone epilepsy surgery are provided for clinical use. An excel sheet to perform all relevant calculations is also available to interested clinicians or researchers. PMID:26043163

Adaptation and perceptual norms

Science.gov (United States)

Webster, Michael A.; Yasuda, Maiko; Haber, Sara; Leonard, Deanne; Ballardini, Nicole

2007-02-01

We used adaptation to examine the relationship between perceptual norms--the stimuli observers describe as psychologically neutral, and response norms--the stimulus levels that leave visual sensitivity in a neutral or balanced state. Adapting to stimuli on opposite sides of a neutral point (e.g. redder or greener than white) biases appearance in opposite ways. Thus the adapting stimulus can be titrated to find the unique adapting level that does not bias appearance. We compared these response norms to subjectively defined neutral points both within the same observer (at different retinal eccentricities) and between observers. These comparisons were made for visual judgments of color, image focus, and human faces, stimuli that are very different and may depend on very different levels of processing, yet which share the property that for each there is a well defined and perceptually salient norm. In each case the adaptation aftereffects were consistent with an underlying sensitivity basis for the perceptual norm. Specifically, response norms were similar to and thus covaried with the perceptual norm, and under common adaptation differences between subjectively defined norms were reduced. These results are consistent with models of norm-based codes and suggest that these codes underlie an important link between visual coding and visual experience.

Gender norms among “Landless” youth: evidence for the social practice of nursing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luiz Fabiano Zanatta

2018-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective Analyzing the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics of youth from the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement in Brazil (MST regarding the prevalence ratio being in accordance with gender norms. Method A cross-sectional study conducted during a Journey of Agroecology carried out in the State of Paraná with young people (15 to 29 years of both genders. Data collection was conducted through questionnaires. Data analysis compared variables regarding gender norms with sociodemographic variables, and a Prevalence Ratio (PR was calculated with a confidence interval (CI set at 95% in order to determine this relationship. Results The study sample was comprised of 147 young people. A higher prevalence was found in accordance with gender norms (PR with CI at 95% among women compared to men, and that sociodemographic characteristics (lower education level, those living in occupation camps, who do not have white skin and with religious belief were social indicators for such positioning among both genders. Conclusion The byproduct of a patriarchal gender system has led more young girls to internalization and a reaffirmation of gender norms, highlighting an important field for social nursing practices in order to contribute to the transformation of this reality.

Justice foundations for the Comprehensive Law Movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Dewhurst, Dale

2010-01-01

Authors examining the developing dispute resolution alternatives to the adversarial system have identified nine converging "vectors" or alternatives in what has been termed the Comprehensive Law Movement. These authors have sought to understand how the developing vectors can remain separate and vibrant movements while sharing common ground. Some analyze these developments as being within law and legal practice, others see them as alternative approaches to law, and still others take a combined approach. It will be impossible to understand how these vectors have meaningful differences from law and legal practice if the search is limited to looking within law and legal practice. It will be impossible to understand how these vectors have meaningful commonalities with law and legal practice if the search is limited to looking external to law and legal practice. Instead of comparing the vectors with the adversarial system, higher order criteria are required. What is needed is a comprehensive and internally consistent super-system of norms; one that can be used to evaluate the adversarial system and the evolving vectors on an equal footing. An Aristotelian natural law virtue theory of justice can: (a) provide a functional guiding definition of justice; (b) serve as a comprehensive and internally consistent super-system of norms; and (c) provide the theoretical and evaluative foundation required to clarify the relationships among the adversarial system and the developing vectors. Finally, it will become clear why the Comprehensive Law Movement might be more appropriately conceptualized as the Comprehensive Justice Movement. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Animal perception of seasonal thresholds: changes in elephant movement in relation to rainfall patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Birkett, Patricia J; Vanak, Abi T; Muggeo, Vito M R; Ferreira, Salamon M; Slotow, Rob

2012-01-01

The identification of temporal thresholds or shifts in animal movement informs ecologists of changes in an animal's behaviour, which contributes to an understanding of species' responses in different environments. In African savannas, rainfall, temperature and primary productivity influence the movements of large herbivores and drive changes at different scales. Here, we developed a novel approach to define seasonal shifts in movement behaviour by examining the movements of a highly mobile herbivore (elephant; Loxodonta africana), in relation to local and regional rainfall patterns. We used speed to determine movement changes of between 8 and 14 GPS-collared elephant cows, grouped into five spatial clusters, in Kruger National Park, South Africa. To detect broad-scale patterns of movement, we ran a three-year daily time-series model for each individual (2007-2009). Piecewise regression models provided the best fit for elephant movement, which exhibited a segmented, waveform pattern over time. Major breakpoints in speed occurred at the end of the dry and wet seasons of each year. During the dry season, female elephant are constrained by limited forage and thus the distances they cover are shorter and less variable. Despite the inter-annual variability of rainfall, speed breakpoints were strongly correlated with both local and regional rainfall breakpoints across all three years. Thus, at a multi-year scale, rainfall patterns significantly affect the movements of elephant. The variability of both speed and rainfall breakpoints across different years highlights the need for an objective definition of seasonal boundaries. By using objective criteria to determine behavioural shifts, we identified a biologically meaningful indicator of major changes in animal behaviour in different years. We recommend the use of such criteria, from an animal's perspective, for delineating seasons or other extrinsic shifts in ecological studies, rather than arbitrarily fixed definitions

Animal perception of seasonal thresholds: changes in elephant movement in relation to rainfall patterns.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricia J Birkett

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The identification of temporal thresholds or shifts in animal movement informs ecologists of changes in an animal's behaviour, which contributes to an understanding of species' responses in different environments. In African savannas, rainfall, temperature and primary productivity influence the movements of large herbivores and drive changes at different scales. Here, we developed a novel approach to define seasonal shifts in movement behaviour by examining the movements of a highly mobile herbivore (elephant; Loxodonta africana, in relation to local and regional rainfall patterns. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used speed to determine movement changes of between 8 and 14 GPS-collared elephant cows, grouped into five spatial clusters, in Kruger National Park, South Africa. To detect broad-scale patterns of movement, we ran a three-year daily time-series model for each individual (2007-2009. Piecewise regression models provided the best fit for elephant movement, which exhibited a segmented, waveform pattern over time. Major breakpoints in speed occurred at the end of the dry and wet seasons of each year. During the dry season, female elephant are constrained by limited forage and thus the distances they cover are shorter and less variable. Despite the inter-annual variability of rainfall, speed breakpoints were strongly correlated with both local and regional rainfall breakpoints across all three years. Thus, at a multi-year scale, rainfall patterns significantly affect the movements of elephant. The variability of both speed and rainfall breakpoints across different years highlights the need for an objective definition of seasonal boundaries. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: By using objective criteria to determine behavioural shifts, we identified a biologically meaningful indicator of major changes in animal behaviour in different years. We recommend the use of such criteria, from an animal's perspective, for delineating seasons or

Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC Norms: A “Growth Chart” for ATEC Score Changes as a Function of Age

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shreyas Mahapatra

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Most early-intervention Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD clinical trials are limited by the availability of psychometric technicians who assess each child’s abilities before and after therapeutic intervention. If parents could administer regular psychometric evaluations of their children, then the cost of clinical trials will be reduced, enabling longer clinical trials with the larger number of participants. The Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC was designed nearly two decades ago to provide such a tool, but the norms on the longitudinal changes in ATEC in the “treatment as usual” population were lacking. Here we report the norms of the observational cohort who voluntarily completed ATEC evaluations over the period of four years from 2013 to 2017.

Nonexplicit change detection in complex dynamic settings: what eye movements reveal.

Science.gov (United States)

Vachon, François; Vallières, Benoît R; Jones, Dylan M; Tremblay, Sébastien

2012-12-01

We employed a computer-controlled command-and-control (C2) simulation and recorded eye movements to examine the extent and nature of the inability to detect critical changes in dynamic displays when change detection is implicit (i.e., requires no explicit report) to the operator's task. Change blindness-the failure to notice significant changes to a visual scene-may have dire consequences on performance in C2 and surveillance operations. Participants performed a radar-based risk-assessment task involving multiple subtasks. Although participants were not required to explicitly report critical changes to the operational display, change detection was critical in informing decision making. Participants' eye movements were used as an index of visual attention across the display. Nonfixated (i.e., unattended) changes were more likely to be missed than were fixated (i.e., attended) changes, supporting the idea that focused attention is necessary for conscious change detection. The finding of significant pupil dilation for changes undetected but fixated suggests that attended changes can nonetheless be missed because of a failure of attentional processes. Change blindness in complex dynamic displays takes the form of failures in establishing task-appropriate patterns of attentional allocation. These findings have implications in the design of change-detection support tools for dynamic displays and work procedure in C2 and surveillance.

Norms as Group-Level Constructs: Investigating School-Level Teen Pregnancy Norms and Behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Mollborn, Stefanie; Domingue, Benjamin W; Boardman, Jason D

2014-09-01

Social norms are a group-level phenomenon, but past quantitative research has rarely measured them in the aggregate or considered their group-level properties. We used the school-based design of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to measure normative climates regarding teen pregnancy across 75 U.S. high schools. We distinguished between the strength of a school's norm against teen pregnancy and the consensus around that norm. School-level norm strength and dissensus were strongly (r = -0.65) and moderately (r = 0.34) associated with pregnancy prevalence within schools, respectively. Normative climate partially accounted for observed racial differences in school pregnancy prevalence, but norms were a stronger predictor than racial composition. As hypothesized, schools with both a stronger average norm against teen pregnancy and greater consensus around the norm had the lowest pregnancy prevalence. Results highlight the importance of group-level normative processes and of considering the local school environment when designing policies to reduce teen pregnancy.

Norms for environmentally responsible behaviour

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thøgersen, John

The currently used concept of personal or moral norms is ambiguous with regard to its motivational content. Therefore, a revision of the norm taxonomy is suggested, implying a distinction between three types of personal norms, called introjected, identified, and integrated norms. A preliminary as...... is also supported, with the reservation that the different behavioural references are more than just different methods of measuring the same latent construct(s). People evidently hold different norms for different environmentally responsible behaviours.......The currently used concept of personal or moral norms is ambiguous with regard to its motivational content. Therefore, a revision of the norm taxonomy is suggested, implying a distinction between three types of personal norms, called introjected, identified, and integrated norms. A preliminary...... assessment of the taxonomy is carried out based of a survey of a random sample of Danish residents 18 years or older. A range of norm constructs were measured with regard to four environmentally relevant behaviours: buying organic milk, buying energy saving light bulbs, source-separating compostable kitchen...

Quality of Life Outcomes in Community-based Mental Health Consumers: Comparisons with Population Norms and Changes over Time.

Science.gov (United States)

Happell, Brenda; Stanton, Robert; Hodgetts, Danya; Scott, David

2016-01-01

Quality of life is shown to be lower in people diagnosed with mental illness in comparison to the general population. The aim of this study is to examine the Quality of life in a subset of people accessing mental health services in a regional Queensland Centre. Thirty-seven people accessing mental health services completed the SF36 Health Survey on three occasions. Differences and relationships between Physical Composite Scores and Mental Composite Scores, comparisons with Australian population norms, and temporal change in Quality of Life were examined. Physical Composite Scores were significantly different to, but significantly correlated with, Mental Composite Scores on each occasion. Physical Composite Scores and Mental Composite Scores were significantly different to population norms, and did not vary significantly across time. The poor Quality of life of people with mental illness remains a significant challenge for the mental health workforce.

Radiation protection and the naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paschoa, A.S.; MacDowell, P.

1996-01-01

There are many industries dealing with naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM), some of them without knowing that their industrial processes and/or their regular wastes involve radioactivity. However, an increasing number of industries that produce NORM wastes are being sued, wherever there is a legal framework to do so. In particular, NORM wastes produced for a long time by the oil industry became foci of legal battles in the United States and elsewhere. The ripple effect of these judicial battles will influence the decision making processes of NORM wastes producing industries, mostly because of the costs incurred by remedial and preventive actions concerning NORM contamination. The regulation of NORM will occur sooner or later, and such actions may become mandatory. A foreseeable consequence of such regulation is a change in attitude concerning the sources and materials associated with NORM. Among those industries likely to be affected one can mention: niobium; rare earth processing; oil production; phosphate; uranium mining and milling; zircon; water treatment; and waste water treatment. The paper will briefly review data on exempt concentration activities, as suggested by the basic safety standards based on realistic environmental and dosimetric models. These activity concentrations are compared with those found in a number of extractive industries, and may be used to establish derived limits from a pre-established dose limit. (author)

Reprogramming movements: Extraction of motor intentions from cortical ensemble activity when movement goals change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter James Ifft

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The ability to inhibit unwanted movements and change motor plans is essential for behaviors of advanced organisms. The neural mechanisms by which the primate motor system rejects undesired actions have received much attention during the last decade, but it is not well understood how this neural function could be utilized to improve the efficiency of brain-machine interfaces (BMIs. Here we employed linear discriminant analysis (LDA and a Wiener filter to extract motor plan transitions from the activity of ensembles of sensorimotor cortex neurons. Two rhesus monkeys, chronically implanted with multielectrode arrays in primary motor (M1 and primary sensory (S1 cortices, were overtrained to produce reaching movements with a joystick towards visual targets upon their presentation. Then, the behavioral task was modified to include a distracting target that flashed for 50, 150 or 250 ms (25% of trials each followed by the true target that appeared at a different screen location. In the remaining 25% of trials, the initial target stayed on the screen and was the target to be approached. M1 and S1 neuronal activity represented both the true and distracting targets, even for the shortest duration of the distracting event. This dual representation persisted both when the monkey initiated movements towards the distracting target and then made corrections and when they moved directly towards the second, true target. The Wiener filter effectively decoded the location of the true target, whereas the LDA classifier extracted the location of both targets from ensembles of 50-250 neurons. Based on these results, we suggest developing real-time BMIs that inhibit unwanted movements represented by brain activity while enacting the desired motor outcome concomitantly.

Overview of NORM and activities by a NORM licensed permanent decontamination and waste processing facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mirro, G.A. [Growth Resources, Inc., Lafayette, LA (United States)

1997-02-01

This paper presents an overview of issues related to handling NORM materials, and provides a description of a facility designed for the processing of NORM contaminated equipment. With regard to handling NORM materials the author discusses sources of NORM, problems, regulations and disposal options, potential hazards, safety equipment, and issues related to personnel protection. For the facility, the author discusses: description of the permanent facility; the operations of the facility; the license it has for handling specific radioactive material; operating and safety procedures; decontamination facilities on site; NORM waste processing capabilities; and offsite NORM services which are available.

Changing Gender Norms and Reducing Intimate Partner Violence: Results From a Quasi-Experimental Intervention Study With Young Men in Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Pulerwitz, Julie; Hughes, Lindsay; Mehta, Manisha; Kidanu, Aklilu; Verani, Fabio; Tewolde, Samuel

2015-01-01

Objectives. We assessed the effects of a community-based project in Ethiopia that worked with young men to promote gender-equitable norms and reductions in intimate partner violence (IPV). Methods. A quasi-experimental design was used to assign young Ethiopian men 15 to 24 years of age (809 participants were surveyed at baseline in 2008) to an intervention involving community engagement (CE) activities in combination with interactive group education (GE) sessions promoting gender-equitable norms and violence prevention, an intervention involving CE activities alone, or a comparison group. Results. Participants in the GE + CE intervention were twice as likely (P gender-equitable norms between the baseline and end-line points. Also, the percentage of GE + CE participants who reported IPV toward their partner in the preceding 6 months decreased from 53% to 38% between baseline and end line, and the percentage in the CE-only group decreased from 60% to 37%; changes were negligible in the comparison group. Conclusions. Promoting gender equity is an important strategy to reduce IPV.

Italian Word Association Norms.

Science.gov (United States)

1966-07-01

and Russell, VI.A. Systematic changes in word association norms: 1910-1952. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 19C0, 60, 293-303. lilb Kurez, I...Acsorbento, Cartone, Celluloee, Compiti, Disegno, !)o- cuwe-m~to, Gnibinetto, Gihills, Goinma, Lete, Licer~ .a, l!ateri.Ble, Notp, Penna, Problema ...Ostiflato, flifatto, Ruvido, Seno, Somaro, Studio, Tavolo FACILITA’( 42,31) 36 Difficolth 7 Difficile, Semplicit~. 5 Problema 2 Grande, Impossibile

Drinking norms, readiness to change, and gender as moderators of a combined alcohol intervention for first-year college students.

Science.gov (United States)

Grossbard, Joel R; Mastroleo, Nadine R; Geisner, Irene Markman; Atkins, David; Ray, Anne E; Kilmer, Jason R; Mallett, Kimberly; Larimer, Mary E; Turrisi, Rob

2016-01-01

Alcohol interventions targeting college students and their parents have been shown to be efficacious. Little research has examined moderators of intervention efficacy to help tailor interventions for subgroups of students. This study is a secondary data analysis of readiness to change, drinking norms, and gender as moderators of an efficacious peer- and parent-based intervention (Turrisi et al., 2009). Students (n=680) were randomized to the combined peer and parent intervention (n=342) or assessment-only control (n=338). The combined intervention reduced peak blood alcohol content (BAC) compared to control. Gender and norms did not moderate the relationship between the intervention and drinking. Significant interactions were found between gender, precontemplation, and intervention. Students in the combined condition with higher precontemplation had lower weekly drinking compared to those with lower precontemplation. This pattern was also found among men for peak BAC and alcohol-related consequences but not among women, indicating a three-way interaction. Interventions may need to consider readiness to change and gender to optimize effectiveness. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Perceived peer drinking norms and responsible drinking in UK university settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Eric; Jones, Andrew; Christiansen, Paul; Field, Matt

2014-09-01

Heavy drinking is common among students at UK universities. US students overestimate how much their peers drink and correcting this through the use of social norm messages may promote responsible drinking. We tested whether there is an association between perceived campus drinking norms and usual drinking behavior in UK university students and whether norm messages about responsible drinking correct normative misperceptions and increase students' intentions to drink responsibly. 1,020 UK university students took part in an online study. Participants were exposed to one of five message types: a descriptive norm, an injunctive norm, a descriptive and injunctive norm, or one of two control messages. Message credibility was assessed. Afterwards participants completed measures of intentions to drink responsibly and we measured usual drinking habits and perceptions of peer drinking. Perceptions of peer drinking were associated modestly with usual drinking behavior, whereby participants who believed other students drank responsibly also drank responsibly. Norm messages changed normative perceptions, but not in the target population of participants who underestimated responsible drinking in their peers at baseline. Norm messages did not increase intentions to drink responsibly and although based on accurate data, norm messages were not seen as credible. In this UK based study, although perceived social norms about peer drinking were associated with individual differences in drinking habits, campus wide norm messages about responsible drinking did not affect students' intentions to drink more responsibly. More research is required to determine if this approach can be applied to UK settings.

Community Gender Norms Change as a Part of a Multilevel Approach to Sexual Health Among Married Women in Mumbai, India

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Rajendra; Schensul, Jean J.; Verma, Ravi K.; Burleson, Joseph A.; Nastasi, Bonnie K.

2015-01-01

Inequitable gender norms in societies and communities negatively contribute to women’s sexual and reproductive health. While the need for change in gender norms is well recognized, the task is highly challenging in terms of intervention design, implementation and assessment of impact. This paper describes a methodology for identification of gender norms, the design of community level intervention, community participation and the assessment of intervention impact in a low income, predominately Muslim community of 600,000 people in Mumbai, India. Formative research focused on in-depth interviews with women, men and couples yielding gender normative statements and assessment of community resources to facilitate change. A Gender Equity Scale (GES) based on this formative research was developed and administered annually for a three-year period to random, cross-sectional samples in the intervention and control communities, and to community based, non-governmental organizations (NGO) staff and Imams (religious leaders) in the intervention community. NGO staff disseminated gender oriented messages to their female constituency through their regular outreach activities and through special events and festivals in the community. Imams disseminated gender messages through lectures on social issues for men attending Friday prayers. The results showed that the NGO staff and Imams, assumed more gender equitable attitudes across time. The intervention was associated with a significant improvement in attitudes towards gender equity in the intervention relative to the control community. Men showed a dramatic change in more positive gender attitudes, while women lagged behind in their GES scores. The meaning of these results are explored and the implications assessed for the generalizability of the methodology for other countries, cultures and communities. PMID:26136202

Connecting today's climates to future climate analogs to facilitate movement of species under climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Littlefield, Caitlin E; McRae, Brad H; Michalak, Julia L; Lawler, Joshua J; Carroll, Carlos

2017-12-01

Increasing connectivity is an important strategy for facilitating species range shifts and maintaining biodiversity in the face of climate change. To date, however, few researchers have included future climate projections in efforts to prioritize areas for increasing connectivity. We identified key areas likely to facilitate climate-induced species' movement across western North America. Using historical climate data sets and future climate projections, we mapped potential species' movement routes that link current climate conditions to analogous climate conditions in the future (i.e., future climate analogs) with a novel moving-window analysis based on electrical circuit theory. In addition to tracing shifting climates, the approach accounted for landscape permeability and empirically derived species' dispersal capabilities. We compared connectivity maps generated with our climate-change-informed approach with maps of connectivity based solely on the degree of human modification of the landscape. Including future climate projections in connectivity models substantially shifted and constrained priority areas for movement to a smaller proportion of the landscape than when climate projections were not considered. Potential movement, measured as current flow, decreased in all ecoregions when climate projections were included, particularly when dispersal was limited, which made climate analogs inaccessible. Many areas emerged as important for connectivity only when climate change was modeled in 2 time steps rather than in a single time step. Our results illustrate that movement routes needed to track changing climatic conditions may differ from those that connect present-day landscapes. Incorporating future climate projections into connectivity modeling is an important step toward facilitating successful species movement and population persistence in a changing climate. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

You can't burn the house down because of one bedbug: a qualitative study of changing gender norms in the prevention of violence against women and girls in an urban informal settlement in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Daruwalla, Nayreen; Hate, Ketaki; Pinto, Preethi; Ambavkar, Gauri; Kakad, Bhaskar; Osrin, David

2017-01-01

Background : The contribution of structural inequalities and societal legitimisation to violence against women, which 30% of women in India survive each year, is widely accepted. There is a consensus that interventions should aim to change gender norms, particularly through community mobilisation. How this should be done is less clear. Methods : We did a qualitative study in a large informal settlement in Mumbai, an environment that characterises 41% of households. After reviewing the anonymised records of consultations with 1653 survivors of violence, we conducted 5 focus group discussions and 13 individual interviews with 71 women and men representing a range of age groups and communities. We based the interviews on fictitious biographical vignettes to elicit responses and develop an understanding of social norms. We wondered whether, in trying to change norms, we might exploit the disjunction between descriptive norms (beliefs about what others actually do) and injunctive norms (beliefs about what others think one ought to do), focusing program activities on evidence that descriptive norms are changing. Results : We found that descriptive and injunctive norms were relatively similar with regard to femininity, masculinity, the need for marriage and childbearing, resistance to separation and divorce, and disapproval of friendships between women and men. Some constraints on women's dress and mobility were relaxing, but there were more substantial differences between descriptive and injunctive norms around women's education, control of income and finances, and premarital sexual relationships. Conclusions : Programmatically, we hope to exploit these areas of mismatch in the context of injunctive norms generally inimical to violence against women. We propose that an under-appreciated strategy is expansion of the reference group: induction of relatively isolated women and men into broader social groups whose descriptive and injunctive norms do not tolerate violence.

Contradictory sexual norms and expectations for young people in rural Northern Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Wight, Daniel; Plummer, Mary L; Mshana, Gerry; Wamoyi, Joyce; Shigongo, Zachayo S; Ross, David A

2006-02-01

There has been a long-running debate as to whether sexual cultures in sub-Saharan Africa are permissive or characterised by restrictive rules, rituals and self-restraint. This paper, based on participant observation data, outlines the main features of sexual culture in rural northern Tanzania and highlights both permissive and restrictive norms and expectations for young people. It also illustrates how sexual beliefs are socially constructed and subject to social change. Sexual activity is constrained by clear norms of school pupil abstinence, female sexual respectability and taboos around the discussion of sex. However, these norms are incompatible with several widely held expectations: that sexual activity is inevitable unless prevented, sex is a female resource to be exploited, restrictions on sexual activity are relaxed at festivals, and masculine esteem is boosted through sexual experience. Differential commitment to these norms and expectations reflects conflicts between generations and genders. Young people appear to manage the contradictions in these norms by concealing their sexual relationships. This almost certainly contributes to their short duration and the high levels of partner change, since relationships are not reinforced through social recognition and there is little scope to develop intimacy through non-sexual contacts.

Chinese Tourists’ Perceptions of Climate Change and Mitigation Behavior: An Application of Norm Activation Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guiqiang Qiao

2017-07-01

Full Text Available It is well recognized that tourism development is a prominent contributor to climate change, but is also a “victim” of climate change. Therefore, to mitigate climate change is of great importance for the sustainability of tourism. Yet extant studies regarding tourism and climate change tend to be dominated by a supply-side stance, albeit the core role of the tourist in the tourism industry. While researchers are increasingly adopting a tourist perspective, few seek to understand the linkage between climate change and tourists’ specific mitigation behaviors in a tourism context; this is especially so in China. This study investigates the impact of Chinese tourists’ perceptions of climate change on their mitigation behaviors based on norm activation theory. Drawing on 557 self-administrated questionnaires collected in China, it finds that tourists’ perceptions of climate change and perceived contribution of tourism to climate change both positively affect energy saving and carbon reduction behavior in tourism. Yet, compared with perceived contribution of tourism to climate change, tourists’ perceptions of climate change are found to be a much stronger predictor for energy saving and carbon reduction behavior. Therefore, it suggests that tourists’ perceptions of climate change in a general context is more strongly related to climate change mitigation behavior in tourism, calling for attention to go beyond the tourism context to alleviate the negative impacts of tourism on climate change.

The personal norm of reciprocity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Perugini, M.; Gallucci, M.; Presaghi, F.; Ercolani, A.P.

2002-01-01

Reciprocity is here considered as an internalized social norm, and a questionnaire to measure individual differences in the internalized norm of reciprocity is presented. The questionnaire, Personal Norm of Reciprocity (PNR), measures three aspects of reciprocity: positive reciprocity, negative

Social norms and rank-based nudging: Changing willingness to pay for healthy food.

Science.gov (United States)

Aldrovandi, Silvio; Brown, Gordon D A; Wood, Alex M

2015-09-01

People's evaluations in the domain of healthy eating are at least partly determined by the choice context. We systematically test reference level and rank-based models of relative comparisons against each other and explore their application to social norms nudging, an intervention that aims at influencing consumers' behavior by addressing their inaccurate beliefs about their consumption relative to the consumption of others. Study 1 finds that the rank of a product or behavior among others in the immediate comparison context, rather than its objective attributes, influences its evaluation. Study 2 finds that when a comparator is presented in isolation the same rank-based process occurs based on information retrieved from memory. Study 3 finds that telling people how their consumption ranks within a normative comparison sample increases willingness to pay for a healthy food by over 30% relative to the normal social norms intervention that tells them how they compare to the average. We conclude that social norms interventions should present rank information (e.g., "you are in the most unhealthy 10% of eaters") rather than information relative to the average (e.g., "you consume 500 calories more than the average person"). (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Mo(ve)ment methodology – Researching conflictual meanings, double-binds and change in extreme life situations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mørck, Line Lerche

2015-01-01

and change in conduct of life. This moment-movement methodology is developed in close collaboration with a former biker-gang member - involved as a research apprentice. Together we are developing the methodology, while researching concrete processes of change from biker gang member towards becoming......The social practice theoretical moment-movement methodology explores significant moments in depth, such as moments of frustration, anger, engagement and (be)longing. The moments are conceptualized as part of broader conflictual struggles and processes (movements), which include both continuity...... are reflected when methodological aspects from Collective Biography Work is integrated with a social phenomenological concept of double bind situations (R.D. Laing) into a social practice theoretical moment-movement ethnography....

Attitude ambivalence, social norms, and behavioral intentions: Developing effective antitobacco persuasive communications.

Science.gov (United States)

Hohman, Zachary P; Crano, William D; Niedbala, Elizabeth M

2016-03-01

This study assessed the moderating effects of attitude ambivalence on the relationship between social norms, attitudes, and behavioral intentions to use tobacco. It was predicted that people would use social norms to reduce attitude ambivalence, and that reduced ambivalence would lead to changes in attitudes and behavioral intentions. To test this hypothesis, participants (N = 152) were exposed to persuasive communications designed to influence attitude ambivalence and perceived social norms regarding tobacco use. Analysis indicated that providing a social norm antagonistic to tobacco use significantly reduced ambivalence among participants reading the ambivalence message (p attitudes from pre- to postpersuasive communications demonstrated a significant decrease in tobacco attitudes only for participants reading the ambivalence message who were provided with the antitobacco use norm (p attitudes toward tobacco. These results point to the important role of social norms in mediating the effects of attitude ambivalence on subsequent behavior in preventative programs targeting tobacco use. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Dutch taboo norms.

Science.gov (United States)

Roest, Sander A; Visser, Tessa A; Zeelenberg, René

2018-04-01

This article provides norms for general taboo, personal taboo, insult, valence, and arousal for 672 Dutch words, including 202 taboo words. Norms were collected using a 7-point Likert scale and based on ratings by psychology students from the Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Netherlands. The sample consisted of 87 psychology students (58 females, 29 males). We obtained high reliability based on split-half analyses. Our norms show high correlations with arousal and valence ratings collected by another Dutch word-norms study (Moors et al.,, Behavior Research Methods, 45, 169-177, 2013). Our results show that the previously found quadratic relation (i.e., U-shaped pattern) between valence and arousal also holds when only taboo words are considered. Additionally, words rated high on taboo tended to be rated low on valence, but some words related to sex rated high on both taboo and valence. Words that rated high on taboo rated high on insult, again with the exception of words related to sex many of which rated low on insult. Finally, words rated high on taboo and insult rated high on arousal. The Dutch Taboo Norms (DTN) database is a useful tool for researchers interested in the effects of taboo words on cognitive processing. The data associated with this paper can be accessed via the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/vk782/ ).

Development of a detection system for head movement robust to illumination change at radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamakawa, Takuya; Ogawa, Koichi; Iyatomi, Hitoshi; Kunieda, Etsuo

2010-01-01

This study reports the development of a detection system for head movement at stereotactic radio-therapy of head tumors. In the system, the pattern matching algorithm is applied as follows. Regions of interest like the nose and right/ left ears, the objects of movement to be traced, are selected by GUI (graphical user interface) from pictures taken by 3 USB cameras (DC-NCR20U, Hanwha, Japan) set around the head on the supportive arms to make the template of standard position; the frame pictures (5 fps) inputted as the real-time monitor are matched to the template so that the actual movement can be detected by the distance between the template and collation points; and precision is improved by calculating mean square errors. Alarming is set when the movement exceeds the permissible range. At the actual clinical site, as the wrong detection of the movement occurs by illumination change caused by the gantry migration, infrared pictures are taken in place of the ordinary room light condition. This results in reduction of position errors from 16.7, 9.5 and 8.1 mm (the latter light condition) to 0.6, 0.3 and 0.2 mm (infrared), of the nose, right and left ears, respectively. Thus a detection system for head movement robust (error <1 mm) to illumination change at radio-therapy is established. (T.T.)

How norm violations shape social hierarchies : Those who stand on top block norm violators from rising up

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stamkou, E.; van Kleef, G.A.; Homan, A.C.; Galinsky, A.D.

2016-01-01

Norm violations engender both negative reactions and perceptions of power from observers. We addressed this paradox by examining whether observers’ tendency to grant power to norm followers versus norm violators is moderated by the observer’s position in the hierarchy. Because norm violations

Combining norms to prove termination

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Genaim, S.; Codish, M.; Gallagher, John Patrick

2002-01-01

Automatic termination analysers typically measure the size of terms applying norms which are mappings from terms to the natural numbers. This paper illustrates howt o enable the use of size functions defined as tuples of these simpler norm functions. This approach enables us to simplify the probl...... of the recursive data-types in the program, is often a suitable choice. We first demonstrate the power of combining norm functions and then the adequacy of combining norms based on regular types....

Understanding multiple levels of norms about teen pregnancy and their relationships to teens’ sexual behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Mollborn, Stefanie; Domingue, Benjamin W.; Boardman, Jason D.

2014-01-01

Researchers seeking to understand teen sexual behaviors often turn to age norms, but they are difficult to measure quantitatively. Previous work has usually inferred norms from behavioral patterns or measured group-level norms at the individual level, ignoring multiple reference groups. Capitalizing on the multilevel design of the Add Health survey, we measure teen pregnancy norms perceived by teenagers, as well as average norms at the school and peer network levels. School norms predict boys’ perceived norms, while peer network norms predict girls’ perceived norms. Peer network and individually perceived norms against teen pregnancy independently and negatively predict teens’ likelihood of sexual intercourse. Perceived norms against pregnancy predict increased likelihood of contraception among sexually experienced girls, but sexually experienced boys’ contraceptive behavior is more complicated: When both the boy and his peers or school have stronger norms against teen pregnancy he is more likely to contracept, and in the absence of school or peer norms against pregnancy, boys who are embarrassed are less likely to contracept. We conclude that: (1) patterns of behavior cannot adequately operationalize teen pregnancy norms, (2) norms are not simply linked to behaviors through individual perceptions, and (3) norms at different levels can operate independently of each other, interactively, or in opposition. This evidence creates space for conceptualizations of agency, conflict, and change that can lead to progress in understanding age norms and sexual behaviors. PMID:25104920

Understanding multiple levels of norms about teen pregnancy and their relationships to teens' sexual behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Mollborn, Stefanie; Domingue, Benjamin W; Boardman, Jason D

2014-06-01

Researchers seeking to understand teen sexual behaviors often turn to age norms, but they are difficult to measure quantitatively. Previous work has usually inferred norms from behavioral patterns or measured group-level norms at the individual level, ignoring multiple reference groups. Capitalizing on the multilevel design of the Add Health survey, we measure teen pregnancy norms perceived by teenagers, as well as average norms at the school and peer network levels. School norms predict boys' perceived norms, while peer network norms predict girls' perceived norms. Peer network and individually perceived norms against teen pregnancy independently and negatively predict teens' likelihood of sexual intercourse. Perceived norms against pregnancy predict increased likelihood of contraception among sexually experienced girls, but sexually experienced boys' contraceptive behavior is more complicated: When both the boy and his peers or school have stronger norms against teen pregnancy he is more likely to contracept, and in the absence of school or peer norms against pregnancy, boys who are embarrassed are less likely to contracept. We conclude that: (1) patterns of behavior cannot adequately operationalize teen pregnancy norms, (2) norms are not simply linked to behaviors through individual perceptions, and (3) norms at different levels can operate independently of each other, interactively, or in opposition. This evidence creates space for conceptualizations of agency, conflict, and change that can lead to progress in understanding age norms and sexual behaviors.

The Nursing Home Culture-Change Movement: Recent Past, Present, and Future Directions for Research

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, Anna N.; Schnelle, John F.

2008-01-01

This article uses a retrospective approach to critique the research base underlying the nursing home culture-change movement--an effort to radically transform the nation's nursing homes by delivering resident-directed care and empowering staff. The article traces the development of the movement from its inception 10 years ago to 2005, when the…

Radioactive waste management / NORM wastes; Gerenciamento de residuos / rejeitos NORM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schenato, Flavia; Ruperti Junior, Nerbe Jose Ruperti

2016-07-01

The chapter 8 presents the waste management of the mineral industries as the main problem pointed out by the inspections, due to the the inadequate deposition with consequences to the human populations and the environment. The concepts about the criteria of exemption and the related legislation are also presented. Several different technical solutions for de NORM waste deposition are mentioned. Finally, the reutilization and recycling of NORM are covered.

Comparison between Brazilian radiation protection norm and ICRP recommendations published in 2007

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pereira, Wagner de S.; Py Junior, Delcy de A., E-mail: pereiraws@gmail.com [Industrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB), Pocos de Caldas, MG (Brazil). Unidade de Tratamento de Minerio. Servico de Radioprotecao. Grupo Multidisciplinar de Radioprotecao; Pereira, Juliana R. de S., E-mail: pereirarsj@gmail.com [Universidade Federal de Alfenas, Pocos de Caldas, MG (Brazil). Campus Pocos de Caldas; Kelecom, Alphonse, E-mail: akelecom@id.uff.br [Universidade Federal Fluminense (GETA/LARARA-PLS/UFF), Niteroi, RJ (Brazil). Laboratorio de Radiobiologia e Radiometria Pedro Lopes dos Santos. Grupo de Estudos em Temas Ambientais; Mortagua, Valter, E-mail: Valter@inb.gov.br [Usina de lnterlagos (USIN), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil). Coordenacao

2013-07-01

In the year 2007, ICRP published a set of recommendations (The 2007 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection, Publication 103), which changed some important concepts. This work aims to compare the Brazilian radiation protection basic norm with the new ICRP recommendations, by checking the existing differences. The main difference between ICRP publication 60 and ICRP publication 103 is the changing of the concept of protection based on process, by using the concepts of practice and intervention, to the protection based in the exposition situation, by using the concepts of planned exposure, emergency and existing situation. Other important difference lies in the values of the radiation and tissue weighting factors, in the quantities equivalent and effective dose, and updating the radiation detriment based on the latest available scientific information of the biology and physics of radiation exposure. At last, the demonstration of the environment radiation protection must be clear, and this concept is not found in Brazilian nuclear legislation. Also some similarities were found. The fundamental principles of the Brazilian norms are the same as that of ICRP 103, which are the justification principle, the optimization principle and the application of dose limits. The individual effective dose limit of Brazilian norm is the same of the ICRP 103, established as 20 mSv per year. In order to adequate the Brazilian norm it is necessary to change its concept of protection and the values of radiation and tissue weighting, and updating the radiation detriment, besides making clear the concept of protection of the environment. It is important to notice that although the Brazilian norm is not in complete agreement with all international recommendations, it must be completely followed as the norm which is in use in the country. (author)

Children are sensitive to norms of giving.

Science.gov (United States)

McAuliffe, Katherine; Raihani, Nichola J; Dunham, Yarrow

2017-10-01

People across societies engage in costly sharing, but the extent of such sharing shows striking cultural variation, highlighting the importance of local norms in shaping generosity. Despite this acknowledged role for norms, it is unclear when they begin to exert their influence in development. Here we use a Dictator Game to investigate the extent to which 4- to 9-year-old children are sensitive to selfish (give 20%) and generous (give 80%) norms. Additionally, we varied whether children were told how much other children give (descriptive norm) or what they should give according to an adult (injunctive norm). Results showed that children generally gave more when they were exposed to a generous norm. However, patterns of compliance varied with age. Younger children were more likely to comply with the selfish norm, suggesting a licensing effect. By contrast, older children were more influenced by the generous norm, yet capped their donations at 50%, perhaps adhering to a pre-existing norm of equality. Children were not differentially influenced by descriptive or injunctive norms, suggesting a primacy of norm content over norm format. Together, our findings indicate that while generosity is malleable in children, normative information does not completely override pre-existing biases. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A change in temporal organization of fidgety movements during the fidgety movement period is common among high risk infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Sæther, Rannei; Støen, Ragnhild; Vik, Torstein; Fjørtoft, Toril; Vågen, Randi Tynes; Silberg, Inger Elisabeth; Loennecken, Marianne; Møinichen, Unn Inger; Lydersen, Stian; Adde, Lars

2016-07-01

General movement assessment (GMA) at 9-20 weeks post-term, can effectively predict cerebral palsy. Our aim was to evaluate intra-individual variability of the temporal organization of fidgety movements (FMs) in high risk infants. 104 High risk infants (66 males) with at least two video recordings from the FMs period participated. 45 of the infants had GA <28 weeks and/or BW ≤800 g. Mean post-term age at first and second assessments was 11.0 (8-16) and 14.0 (11-17) weeks, respectively, and median time-difference between the assessments was 2.0 (range: three days to six weeks) weeks. Video recordings were analyzed according to Prechtl's GMA. 33 (32%) Infants were classified differently at first and second assessments. Six infants (6%) changed from normal to abnormal, and 10 (10%) changed from abnormal to normal FMs. Seven of the ten who changed classification from abnormal to normal were born before GA 26 weeks. A change between intermittent and continual, which are both considered normal, was observed in 17 (16%) infants. A change in temporal organization of FMs is common in high risk infants. Especially in extremely preterm infants with abnormal FMs, more than one assessment should be performed before long-term prognosis is considered. Copyright © 2016 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Constructive, Destructive, and Reconstructive Power of Social Norms: Reprise.

Science.gov (United States)

Schultz, P Wesley; Nolan, Jessica M; Cialdini, Robert B; Goldstein, Noah J; Griskevicius, Vladas

2018-03-01

The influence of social norms on behavior has been a longstanding storyline within social psychology. Our 2007 Psychological Science publication presented a new rendition of this classic telling. The reported field experiment showed that social norms could be leveraged to promote residential energy conservation, but importantly, the descriptive norm was shown to increase consumption for low-consuming households. This potential destructive effect of social norms was eliminated with the addition of an injunctive message of social approval for using less energy. The article is among the 30 most-cited articles across all APS publications, which we attribute to our methodology, which measured real behavior in a large-scale field experiment and to several circumstances associated with the timing of the work. The article coincided with the explosion of social media, the emergence of behavioral economics, and a heightened level of concern about climate change. These contemporaneous activities set the stage for our work and for its high degree of citation.

OPERATOR NORM INEQUALITIES BETWEEN TENSOR UNFOLDINGS ON THE PARTITION LATTICE.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Miaoyan; Duc, Khanh Dao; Fischer, Jonathan; Song, Yun S

2017-05-01

Interest in higher-order tensors has recently surged in data-intensive fields, with a wide range of applications including image processing, blind source separation, community detection, and feature extraction. A common paradigm in tensor-related algorithms advocates unfolding (or flattening) the tensor into a matrix and applying classical methods developed for matrices. Despite the popularity of such techniques, how the functional properties of a tensor changes upon unfolding is currently not well understood. In contrast to the body of existing work which has focused almost exclusively on matricizations, we here consider all possible unfoldings of an order- k tensor, which are in one-to-one correspondence with the set of partitions of {1, …, k }. We derive general inequalities between the l p -norms of arbitrary unfoldings defined on the partition lattice. In particular, we demonstrate how the spectral norm ( p = 2) of a tensor is bounded by that of its unfoldings, and obtain an improved upper bound on the ratio of the Frobenius norm to the spectral norm of an arbitrary tensor. For specially-structured tensors satisfying a generalized definition of orthogonal decomposability, we prove that the spectral norm remains invariant under specific subsets of unfolding operations.

"Girls Have More Challenges; They Need to Be Locked Up": A Qualitative Study of Gender Norms and the Sexuality of Young Adolescents in Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Ninsiima, Anna B; Leye, Els; Michielsen, Kristien; Kemigisha, Elizabeth; Nyakato, Viola N; Coene, Gily

2018-01-24

Unequal power and gender norms expose adolescent girls to higher risks of HIV, early marriages, pregnancies and coerced sex. In Uganda, almost half of the girls below the age of 18 are already married or pregnant, which poses a danger to the lives of young girls. This study explores the social construction of gender norms from early childhood, and how it influences adolescents' agency. Contrary to the mainstream theory of agency, which focuses on the ability to make informed choices, adolescents' agency appears constrained by context-specific obstacles. This study adopted qualitative research approaches involving 132 participants. Of these, 44 were in-depth interviews and 11 were focus group discussions, parcelled out into separate groups of adolescents (12-14 years), teachers, and parents ( n = 88), in Western Uganda. Data were analysed manually using open and axial codes, and conclusions were inductive. Results show that gender norms are established early in life, and have a very substantial impact on the agency of young adolescents. There were stereotypical gender norms depicting boys as sexually active and girls as restrained; girls' movements were restricted; their sexual agency constrained; and prevention of pregnancy was perceived as a girl's responsibility. Programs targeting behavioural change need to begin early in the lives of young children. They should target teachers and parents about the values of gender equality and strengthen the legal system to create an enabling environment to address the health and wellbeing of adolescents.

Discriminating patterns and drivers of multiscale movement in herpetofauna: The dynamic and changing environment of the Mojave desert tortoise.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadoti, Giancarlo; Gray, Miranda E; Farnsworth, Matthew L; Dickson, Brett G

2017-09-01

Changes to animal movement in response to human-induced changes to the environment are of growing concern in conservation. Most research on this problem has focused on terrestrial endotherms, but changes to herpetofaunal movement are also of concern given their limited dispersal abilities and specialized thermophysiological requirements. Animals in the desert region of the southwestern United States are faced with environmental alterations driven by development (e.g., solar energy facilities) and climate change. Here, we study the movement ecology of a desert species of conservation concern, the Mojave desert tortoise ( Gopherus agassizii ). We collected weekly encounter locations of marked desert tortoises during the active (nonhibernation) seasons in 2013-2015, and used those data to discriminate movements among activity centers from those within them. We then modeled the probability of movement among activity centers using a suite of covariates describing characteristics of tortoises, natural and anthropogenic landscape features, vegetation, and weather. Multimodel inference indicated greatest support for a model that included individual tortoise characteristics, landscape features, and weather. After controlling for season, date, age, and sex, we found that desert tortoises were more likely to move among activity centers when they were further from minor roads and in the vicinity of barrier fencing; we also found that movement between activity centers was more common during periods of greater rainfall and during periods where cooler temperatures coincided with lower rainfall. Our findings indicate that landscape alterations and climate change both have the potential to impact movements by desert tortoises during the active season. This study provides an important baseline against which we can detect future changes in tortoise movement behavior.

Norm waste management in Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muhamat Omar

2000-01-01

There are a number of industries generating NORM wastes in Malaysia. These include oil and gas and minerals/ores processing industries. A safe management of radioactive wastes is required. The existing guidelines are insufficient to help the management of oil and gas wastes. More guidelines are required to deal with NORM wastes from minerals/ores processing industries. To ensure that radioactive wastes are safely managed and disposed of, a National Policy on the Safe Management of Radioactive Waste is being developed which also include NORM waste. This paper describes the current status of NORM waste management in Malaysia. (author)

The salience of social referents: a field experiment on collective norms and harassment behavior in a school social network.

Science.gov (United States)

Paluck, Elizabeth Levy; Shepherd, Hana

2012-12-01

Persistent, widespread harassment in schools can be understood as a product of collective school norms that deem harassment, and behavior allowing harassment to escalate, as typical and even desirable. Thus, one approach to reducing harassment is to change students' perceptions of these collective norms. Theory suggests that the public behavior of highly connected and chronically salient actors in a group, called social referents, may provide influential cues for individuals' perception of collective norms. Using repeated, complete social network surveys of a public high school, we demonstrate that changing the public behavior of a randomly assigned subset of student social referents changes their peers' perceptions of school collective norms and their harassment behavior. Social referents exert their influence over peers' perceptions of collective norms through the mechanism of everyday social interaction, particularly interaction that is frequent and personally motivated, in contrast to interaction shaped by institutional channels like shared classes. These findings clarify the development of collective social norms: They depend on certain patterns of and motivations for social interactions within groups across time, and are not static but constantly reshaped and reproduced through these interactions. Understanding this process creates opportunities for changing collective norms and behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

A Somatic Movement Approach to Fostering Emotional Resiliency through Laban Movement Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachelle P. Tsachor

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Although movement has long been recognized as expressing emotion and as an agent of change for emotional state, there was a dearth of scientific evidence specifying which aspects of movement influence specific emotions. The recent identification of clusters of Laban movement components which elicit and enhance the basic emotions of anger, fear, sadness and happiness indicates which types of movements can affect these emotions (Shafir et al., 2016, but not how best to apply this knowledge. This perspective paper lays out a conceptual groundwork for how to effectively use these new findings to support emotional resiliency through voluntary choice of one's posture and movements. We suggest that three theoretical principles from Laban Movement Analysis (LMA can guide the gradual change in movement components in one's daily movements to somatically support shift in affective state: (A Introduce new movement components in developmental order; (B Use LMA affinities-among-components to guide the expansion of expressive movement range and (C Sequence change among components based on Laban's Space Harmony theory to support the gradual integration of that new range. The methods postulated in this article have potential to foster resiliency and provide resources for self-efficacy by expanding our capacity to adapt emotionally to challenges through modulating our movement responses.

Social norms and prejudice against homosexuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Annelyse; Monteiro, Maria Benedicta; Camino, Leoncio

2009-11-01

Different studies regarding the role of norms on the expression of prejudice have shown that the anti-prejudice norm influences people to inhibit prejudice expressions. However, if norm pressure has led to a substantial decrease in the public expression of prejudice against certain targets (e.g., blacks, women, blind people), little theoretical and empirical attention has been paid to the role of this general norm regarding sexual minorities (e.g., prostitutes, lesbians and gays). In this sense, the issue we want to address is whether general anti-prejudice norms can reduce the expression of prejudice against homosexual individuals. In this research we investigate the effect of activating an anti-prejudice norm against homosexuals on blatant and subtle expressions of prejudice. The anti-prejudice norm was experimentally manipulated and its effects were observed on rejection to intimacy (blatant prejudice) and on positive-negative emotions (subtle prejudice) regarding homosexuals. 136 university students were randomly allocated to activated-norm and control conditions and completed a questionnaire that included norm manipulation and the dependent variables. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) as well as subsequent ANOVAS showed that only in the high normative pressure condition participants expressed less rejection to intimacy and less negative emotions against homosexuals, when compared to the simple norm-activation and the control conditions. Positive emotions, however, were similar both in the high normative pressure and the control conditions. We concluded that a high anti-prejudice pressure regarding homosexuals could reduce blatant prejudice but not subtle prejudice, considering that the expression of negative emotions decreased while the expression of positive emotions remained stable.

The dominance of norm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edward L. Rubin

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Objective to revisit the debate about rational choice theory from the legal cultural and historical perspectives. Methods dialectic approach to the cognition of social phenomena allowing to analyze them in their historical development and functioning in the context of the integrity of subjective and objective factors this determines the choice of the research methods systemicstructural formallegal and comparative. Results The first part of this chapter will explain the way in which people in societies different from our own were subject to other motivations in situations where selfinterest would tend to dominate in our society. The reasoning is based on three examples one drawn from the history of Ancient Rome one from the High Middle Ages of the European society and one from a contemporary nonWestern culture. The second part of the chapter analyzes the reason why material selfinterest maximizing became a dominant motivation in the modern Western society. The works on historical sociology attribute this development to Calvinism but this hypothesis suffers from some serious defects. In the article we prove that the modern sensibility resulted from much longeracting trends specifically secularization urbanization and commercialization. The final section of the chapter explores the relationship between the Westrsquos prevailing norm of selfinterest maximization and the particular norms that have been discussed in microeconomic theory. It argues that some of these norms are internal to the prevailing one and are thus explicable in terms of material selfinterest but that others reflect additional norms in the general society that exist alongside and sometimes in competition with the prevailing norm of selfinterest maximization. The historicallybased view that selfinterest maximizing is a prevailing norm rather than a human universal allows these other norms to be acknowledged in a plausible and realistic manner rather than being explained away by a

Tensor norms and operator ideals

CERN Document Server

Defant, A; Floret, K

1992-01-01

The three chapters of this book are entitled Basic Concepts, Tensor Norms, and Special Topics. The first may serve as part of an introductory course in Functional Analysis since it shows the powerful use of the projective and injective tensor norms, as well as the basics of the theory of operator ideals. The second chapter is the main part of the book: it presents the theory of tensor norms as designed by Grothendieck in the Resumé and deals with the relation between tensor norms and operator ideals. The last chapter deals with special questions. Each section is accompanied by a series of exer

Convex sets in probabilistic normed spaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aghajani, Asadollah; Nourouzi, Kourosh

2008-01-01

In this paper we obtain some results on convexity in a probabilistic normed space. We also investigate the concept of CSN-closedness and CSN-compactness in a probabilistic normed space and generalize the corresponding results of normed spaces

Dissemination of Cultural Norms and Values: Agent-Based Modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denis Andreevich Degterev

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This article shows how agent-based modeling allows us to explore the mechanisms of the dissemination of cultural norms and values both within one country and in the whole world. In recent years, this type of simulation is particularly prevalent in the analysis of international relations, becoming more popular than the system dynamics and discrete event simulation. The use of agent-based modeling in the analysis of international relations is connected with the agent-structure problem in international relations. Structure and agents act as interdependent and dynamically changing in the process of interaction between entities. Agent-structure interaction could be modeled by means of the theory of complex adaptive systems with the use of agent-based modeling techniques. One of the first examples of the use of agent-based modeling in political science is a model of racial segregation T. Shellinga. On the basis of this model, the author shows how the change in behavioral patterns at micro-level impacts on the macro-level. Patterns are changing due to the dynamics of cultural norms and values, formed by mass-media and other social institutes. The author shows the main areas of modern application of agent-based modeling in international studies including the analysis of ethnic conflicts, the formation of international coalitions. Particular attention is paid to Robert Axelrod approach based on the use of genetic algorithms to the spread of cultural norms and values. Agent-based modeling shows how to how to create such conditions that the norms that originally are not shared by a significant part of the population, eventually spread everywhere. Practical application of these algorithms is shown by the author of the article on the example of the situation in Ukraine in 2015-2016. The article also reveals the mechanisms of international spread of cultural norms and values. The main think-tanks using agent-based modeling in international studies are

“Girls Have More Challenges; They Need to Be Locked Up”: A Qualitative Study of Gender Norms and the Sexuality of Young Adolescents in Uganda

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna B. Ninsiima

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Unequal power and gender norms expose adolescent girls to higher risks of HIV, early marriages, pregnancies and coerced sex. In Uganda, almost half of the girls below the age of 18 are already married or pregnant, which poses a danger to the lives of young girls. This study explores the social construction of gender norms from early childhood, and how it influences adolescents’ agency. Contrary to the mainstream theory of agency, which focuses on the ability to make informed choices, adolescents’ agency appears constrained by context-specific obstacles. This study adopted qualitative research approaches involving 132 participants. Of these, 44 were in-depth interviews and 11 were focus group discussions, parcelled out into separate groups of adolescents (12–14 years, teachers, and parents (n = 88, in Western Uganda. Data were analysed manually using open and axial codes, and conclusions were inductive. Results show that gender norms are established early in life, and have a very substantial impact on the agency of young adolescents. There were stereotypical gender norms depicting boys as sexually active and girls as restrained; girls’ movements were restricted; their sexual agency constrained; and prevention of pregnancy was perceived as a girl’s responsibility. Programs targeting behavioural change need to begin early in the lives of young children. They should target teachers and parents about the values of gender equality and strengthen the legal system to create an enabling environment to address the health and wellbeing of adolescents.

“Girls Have More Challenges; They Need to Be Locked Up”: A Qualitative Study of Gender Norms and the Sexuality of Young Adolescents in Uganda

Science.gov (United States)

Ninsiima, Anna B.; Leye, Els; Michielsen, Kristien; Kemigisha, Elizabeth; Nyakato, Viola N.; Coene, Gily

2018-01-01

Unequal power and gender norms expose adolescent girls to higher risks of HIV, early marriages, pregnancies and coerced sex. In Uganda, almost half of the girls below the age of 18 are already married or pregnant, which poses a danger to the lives of young girls. This study explores the social construction of gender norms from early childhood, and how it influences adolescents’ agency. Contrary to the mainstream theory of agency, which focuses on the ability to make informed choices, adolescents’ agency appears constrained by context-specific obstacles. This study adopted qualitative research approaches involving 132 participants. Of these, 44 were in-depth interviews and 11 were focus group discussions, parcelled out into separate groups of adolescents (12–14 years), teachers, and parents (n = 88), in Western Uganda. Data were analysed manually using open and axial codes, and conclusions were inductive. Results show that gender norms are established early in life, and have a very substantial impact on the agency of young adolescents. There were stereotypical gender norms depicting boys as sexually active and girls as restrained; girls’ movements were restricted; their sexual agency constrained; and prevention of pregnancy was perceived as a girl’s responsibility. Programs targeting behavioural change need to begin early in the lives of young children. They should target teachers and parents about the values of gender equality and strengthen the legal system to create an enabling environment to address the health and wellbeing of adolescents. PMID:29364192

Social Norms and Adolescents' Sexual Health: An Introduction for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

USER

However, social norms theory is multifaceted, and its application in field interventions is complex. ... behaviour, and how they can be changed. Most theoretical studies that ..... The theory of planned behaviour: self-identity, social identity and.

Social norms and efficacy beliefs drive the Alarmed segment’s public-sphere climate actions

Science.gov (United States)

Doherty, Kathryn L.; Webler, Thomas N.

2016-09-01

Surprisingly few individuals who are highly concerned about climate change take action to influence public policies. To assess social-psychological and cognitive drivers of public-sphere climate actions of Global Warming’s Six Americas `Alarmed’ segment, we developed a behaviour model and tested it using structural equation modelling of survey data from Vermont, USA (N = 702). Our model, which integrates social cognitive theory, social norms research, and value belief norm theory, explains 36-64% of the variance in five behaviours. Here we show descriptive social norms, self-efficacy, personal response efficacy, and collective response efficacy as strong driving forces of: voting, donating, volunteering, contacting government officials, and protesting about climate change. The belief that similar others took action increased behaviour and strengthened efficacy beliefs, which also led to greater action. Our results imply that communication efforts targeting Alarmed individuals and their public actions should include strategies that foster beliefs about positive descriptive social norms and efficacy.

All-Norm Approximation Algorithms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Azar, Yossi; Epstein, Leah; Richter, Yossi; Woeginger, Gerhard J.; Penttonen, Martti; Meineche Schmidt, Erik

2002-01-01

A major drawback in optimization problems and in particular in scheduling problems is that for every measure there may be a different optimal solution. In many cases the various measures are different ℓ p norms. We address this problem by introducing the concept of an All-norm ρ-approximation

You can’t burn the house down because of one bedbug: a qualitative study of changing gender norms in the prevention of violence against women and girls in an urban informal settlement in India [version 2; referees: 2 approved

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nayreen Daruwalla

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Background: The contribution of structural inequalities and societal legitimisation to violence against women, which 30% of women in India survive each year, is widely accepted. There is a consensus that interventions should aim to change gender norms, particularly through community mobilisation. How this should be done is less clear. Methods: We did a qualitative study in a large informal settlement in Mumbai, an environment that characterises 41% of households. After reviewing the anonymised records of consultations with 1653 survivors of violence, we conducted 5 focus group discussions and 13 individual interviews with 71 women and men representing a range of age groups and communities. We based the interviews on fictitious biographical vignettes to elicit responses and develop an understanding of social norms. We wondered whether, in trying to change norms, we might exploit the disjunction between descriptive norms (beliefs about what others actually do and injunctive norms (beliefs about what others think one ought to do, focusing program activities on evidence that descriptive norms are changing. Results: We found that descriptive and injunctive norms were relatively similar with regard to femininity, masculinity, the need for marriage and childbearing, resistance to separation and divorce, and disapproval of friendships between women and men. Some constraints on women’s dress and mobility were relaxing, but there were more substantial differences between descriptive and injunctive norms around women’s education, control of income and finances, and premarital sexual relationships. Conclusions: Programmatically, we hope to exploit these areas of mismatch in the context of injunctive norms generally inimical to violence against women. We propose that an under-appreciated strategy is expansion of the reference group: induction of relatively isolated women and men into broader social groups whose descriptive and injunctive norms do not

Challenging dominant norms of masculinity for HIV prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

MacPhail, Catherine

2003-01-01

Within South Africa there is a growing HIV epidemic, particularly among young heterosexual people. A recent report (NMF/HSRC, 2002) indicates that levels of HIV infection among young people aged 15-24 years are 9.3% although other studies in more specific locations have shown levels to be higher than this. One of the best means of developing successful and innovative HIV prevention programmes for young people is to enhance our understandings of youth sexuality and the manner in which dominant norms contribute to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Social norms of masculinity are particularly important in this regard, as the manner in which 'normal' men are defined such as through acquisition of multiple partners, power over women and negative attitudes towards condoms, are often in conflict with the true emotional vulnerabilities of young men. Given the strong influence of peer groups on young people and the belief that one of the solutions to behaviour change lies in peer renegotiation of dominant norms, there is the need to begin to investigate young men who challenge dominant norms of masculinity. It is in investigating their points of view that a platform for the deconstruction of stereotypical masculinities and the reconstruction of new norms can be formed. The paper begins to consider these counter normative ideas through highlighting the discussions of young South African men aged 13-25 years in focus groups and in-depth individual interviews conducted in Gauteng Province. It is apparent that among this group there are young men challenging normative views of masculinity in a manner that could be harnessed within HIV prevention initiatives.

NORM regulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gray, P. [ed.

1997-02-01

The author reviews the question of regulation for naturally occuring radioactive material (NORM), and the factors that have made this a more prominent concern today. Past practices have been very relaxed, and have often involved very poor records, the involvment of contractors, and the disposition of contaminated equipment back into commercial service. The rationale behind the establishment of regulations is to provide worker protection, to exempt low risk materials, to aid in scrap recycling, to provide direction for remediation and to examine disposal options. The author reviews existing regulations at federal and state levels, impending legislation, and touches on the issue of site remediation and potential liabilities affecting the release of sites contaminated by NORM.

Economic impact of potential NORM regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, G.E.; Fitzgibbon, T.; Karp, S.

1995-01-01

Oil and gas field wastes and sites contaminated with naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) have quickly become a focus of substantial attention by regulators both at the state and federal level. Although currently regulated in a number of states, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has indicated a desire to develop federal regulations to address management and disposal of NORM-contaminated wastes. This paper provides a brief overview of current state NORM regulations, currently available technologies for managing and disposing NORM wastes, and the cost of employing these techniques. Based on these characterizations and alternative assumptions about the volume of NORM wastes, four alternative scenarios have been developed to bracket potential future NORM requirements. These scenarios have been used is the basis for an analysis of the potential economic and supply impacts of NORM requirements on the U.S. oil and gas industry. The results illustrate that a reasonable approach to regulation that focuses only on those NORM wastes that pose a risk and allows producers to use safe, low cost disposal methods (downhole or other) would have minimal economic impacts on the oil and gas industry. A very stringent regulatory approach that covered large volumes of wastes, required the use of higher cost disposal techniques, and required extensive site clean-up activities could have a substantial economic impact, resulting in a loss of up to 20 percent of U.S. oil production and 8 percent of U.S. gas production by 2000. The costs of compliance with these alternative approaches could range from $71 million to over $14 billion annually. Between these two cases lies the opportunity for regulators to develop requirements for management and disposal of NORM wastes that will address any environmental and human health risks posed at industry sites without imposing unnecessarily costly regulations on the U.S. oil and gas E ampersand P industry

The Effect of Media on Domestic Violence Norms: Evidence from India

OpenAIRE

Kuhuk Bhushan; Prakarsh Singh

2014-01-01

Greater access to media may influence norms about domestic violence. It may lead to greater acceptance of violence due to an increase in the incidence of violence or to lower acceptance due to a change in gender norms. Applying a difference-in-differences methodology to the National Family Health Survey, India (1998-99 and 2005-06), we find evidence that regularly accessing television and radio leads to a small but statistically significant reduction in the probability of women accepting dome...

Gender and (UnSustainability—Can Communication Solve a Conflict of Norms?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela Franz-Balsen

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In theory, and even more in the practice of sustainability communications, the gender dimension of sustainability has been neglected relative to other fields of the science. The aim of this paper is to show the relevance of gender as an analytical category for research and the importance of gender competence as an indispensable skill for professional sustainability communicators. Understanding how gender norms have contributed to inhibiting sustainable development is key to well-targeted means to communicate visions of sustainable ways of life. Traditional norms of masculinity are clearly in tension with the ethical, ecological and social implications of Sustainable Development, whereas the norms of femininity work against empowerment and participation of women. Current changes in gender relations and gender identities in the western world do not automatically solve this conflict of norms. Therefore, sustainability communication must and can contribute to shaping the social construction of gender towards new “sustainable” norms and ideals for the various gender identities in western societies. In order to achieve this, gender mainstreaming (GM needs to be implemented in the field of sustainability communication, from capacity building for communicators to project design and research. Gender and diversity competence is to become a professional requirement, assuring that traditional “doing gender” is avoided, cultural diversity respected and structural inequalities are made visible. Visions of sustainable societies should include changes in gender relations. The argument is based on sociological studies, gender theories, gender policies, and environmental and sustainability communication studies, empirically supported by biographical studies and media analyses over the last twenty years in Western Europe, mainly Germany.

The Evolution of Wikipedia’s Norm Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bradi Heaberlin

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Social norms have traditionally been difficult to quantify. In any particular society, their sheer number and complex interdependencies often limit a system-level analysis. One exception is that of the network of norms that sustain the online Wikipedia community. We study the fifteen-year evolution of this network using the interconnected set of pages that establish, describe, and interpret the community’s norms. Despite Wikipedia’s reputation for ad hoc governance, we find that its normative evolution is highly conservative. The earliest users create norms that both dominate the network and persist over time. These core norms govern both content and interpersonal interactions using abstract principles such as neutrality, verifiability, and assume good faith. As the network grows, norm neighborhoods decouple topologically from each other, while increasing in semantic coherence. Taken together, these results suggest that the evolution of Wikipedia’s norm network is akin to bureaucratic systems that predate the information age.

Norms for environmentally responsible behaviour: An extended taxonomy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thøgersen, John

2006-01-01

and shopping. Also the frequency of the four behaviours was measured. The revised taxonomy has content, discriminant, predictive, and nomological validity and satisfactory test-retest reliability. The most internalized of the new norm constructs, integrated norms, is most strongly correlated with conventional...... measures of personal and moral norms. However, other constructs in the proposed taxonomy still contribute significantly to predicting conventional norm measures after controlling for integrated norms. This documents the motivational ambiguity of the conventional personal norm construct. The patterns...

Energizing and de-motivating effects of norm-conflict.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Rachel I; Fielding, Kelly S; Louis, Winnifred R

2013-01-01

Norms have a pervasive influence on behavior, yet previous research has not addressed that people often face conflicting norms from multiple ingroups. The current research addresses this gap in the context of proenvironmental behavior and demonstrates two effects predicted by the novel theoretical position we offer: People can be de-motivated by norm-conflict, or conversely, norm-conflict can encourage people to take action. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that norm-conflict is associated with increased perceived effectiveness for those with positive attitudes to the issue and reduced perceived effectiveness for those with moderate attitudes, and effectiveness perceptions mediated an indirect effect on behavioral intentions. Study 3 found that perceived effectiveness also moderates the effects of norm-conflict such that norm-conflict only influences intentions when perceived effectiveness is high. Norm-conflict is both positively and negatively related to behavioral decision making, suggesting additional considerations in the design of social norms-based interventions.

NORM management in the oil and gas industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cowie, Michael; Mously, Khalid; Fageeha, Osama; Nassar, Rafat

2008-01-01

It has been established that Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) may accumulate at various locations along the oil/gas production process. Components such as wellheads, separation vessels, pumps, and other processing equipment can become NORM contaminated, and NORM can accumulate in the form of sludge, scale, scrapings and other waste media. This can create a potential radiation hazard to workers, general public and the environment if certain controls are not established. Saudi Aramco has developed NORM management guidelines and is implementing a comprehensive strategy to address all aspects of NORM management which aim towards enhancing: NORM monitoring; Control of NORM contaminated equipment; Control over NORM waste handling and disposal; Workers protection, awareness, and training. The benefits of shared knowledge, best practice and, experience across the oil and gas industry are seen as key to the establishment of common guidance. This paper outlines Saudi Aramco's experience in the development of a NORM management strategy and its goals of establishing common guidance throughout the oil and gas industry. (author)

An experimental study on the effects of peer drinking norms on adolescents’ drinker prototypes

Science.gov (United States)

Teunissen, Hanneke A.; Spijkerman, Renske; Cohen, Geoffrey L.; Prinstein, Mitchell J.; Engels, Rutger C.M.E.; Scholte, Ron H.J.

2015-01-01

Background Adolescents form impressions about the type of peers who drink (i.e., drinker prototypes). The evaluation of, and perceived similarity to these prototypes are related to adolescents’ drinking. Peer drinking norms play an important role in the formation of prototypes. We experimentally examined whether manipulation of peer norms changed the evaluation of and perceived similarity to drinker prototypes and whether these changes were moderated by peers’ popularity. Methods In a pre-test, we assessed heavy drinker, moderate drinker and abstainer prototypes, drinking behaviors and peer-perceived popularity among 599 adolescents. Additionally, 88 boys from this sample participated in a simulated chat room, in which they interacted with peers from school. These peers were in fact pre-programmed e-confederates, who were either popular or unpopular and who communicated either pro-alcohol or anti-alcohol norms. After the chat room interaction we assessed participants’ drinker prototypes. Results Participants exposed to anti-alcohol norms were more negative about, and perceived themselves as less similar to heavy drinker prototypes, than participants exposed to pro-alcohol norms. We found no effects of peer norms on moderate drinker and abstainer prototypes. Effects were not moderated by peers’ popularity. We did find a main effect of popularity on perceived similarity to all prototypes. This indicated that participants rated themselves as more similar to heavy and moderate drinker prototypes and less similar to abstainer prototypes when they interacted with unpopular peers than with popular peers. Conclusions Exposure to anti-alcohol norms of peers leads adolescents to form more negative prototypes of the heavy drinker. This could be an important finding for prevention and intervention programs aimed to reduce alcohol consumption among adolescents. PMID:24104050

The Effect of Translations on Cultural Change from The Ottomans to The Turkish Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatih ŞİMŞEK

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The innovation movement in the Ottoman Empire, which lasted more than a hundred years, involved an intense translation activity in nearly every field. These translation activities eventually led to the creation of cultural, literary and political works in the Western model. The ideas and thoughts which changed the Ottoman Empire into a democratic republic arose from these westernization movements. During the early years of the Turkish Republic, culture, literature, politics and law were all guided by translations from the Western world. This paper seeks to examine how government-led innovation movements took place in fields such as the military, law, literature and culture during the transition period between the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic, and describe the translation methods which were at the centre of these movements. It will discuss how these translation-oriented innovations shaped the target society in the defined period, the way the target culture was directed and how the government-led cultural change, which did not take into account the cultural norms of the target society and traditions, affected the society.

Modeling exogenous moral norms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ross A. Tippit

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This paper considers the possibility of a robust and general formulation of a model of choice for the representation of a variety of moral norms. It starts by reviewing several recent models of deontological (or rule-based norms that retain the basic elements of the economic model of choice. It briefly examines the achievements and drawbacks of each model, and while no model is identified as the most accurate or robust, the most appealing aspects of each model contribute to the construction of a tout-ensemble utility function proposed in the final section. This representation of preferences aims to incorporate the most common qualities of both consequentialist and deontological moral norms in order to represent decision making under their influence.

Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gray, P.

1997-01-01

This paper discusses the broad problems presented by Naturally Occuring Radioactive Materials (NORM). Technologically Enhanced naturally occuring radioactive material includes any radionuclides whose physical, chemical, radiological properties or radionuclide concentration have been altered from their natural state. With regard to NORM in particular, radioactive contamination is radioactive material in an undesired location. This is a concern in a range of industries: petroleum; uranium mining; phosphorus and phosphates; fertilizers; fossil fuels; forestry products; water treatment; metal mining and processing; geothermal energy. The author discusses in more detail the problem in the petroleum industry, including the isotopes of concern, the hazards they present, the contamination which they cause, ways to dispose of contaminated materials, and regulatory issues. He points out there are three key programs to reduce legal exposure and problems due to these contaminants: waste minimization; NORM assesment (surveys); NORM compliance (training)

Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gray, P. [ed.

1997-02-01

This paper discusses the broad problems presented by Naturally Occuring Radioactive Materials (NORM). Technologically Enhanced naturally occuring radioactive material includes any radionuclides whose physical, chemical, radiological properties or radionuclide concentration have been altered from their natural state. With regard to NORM in particular, radioactive contamination is radioactive material in an undesired location. This is a concern in a range of industries: petroleum; uranium mining; phosphorus and phosphates; fertilizers; fossil fuels; forestry products; water treatment; metal mining and processing; geothermal energy. The author discusses in more detail the problem in the petroleum industry, including the isotopes of concern, the hazards they present, the contamination which they cause, ways to dispose of contaminated materials, and regulatory issues. He points out there are three key programs to reduce legal exposure and problems due to these contaminants: waste minimization; NORM assesment (surveys); NORM compliance (training).

Impact of Norm Perceptions and Guilt on Audience Response to Anti-Smoking Norm PSAs: The Case of Korean Male Smokers

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hyegyu; Paek, Hye-Jin

2013-01-01

Objective: To examine how norm appeals and guilt influence smokers' behavioural intention. Design: Quasi-experimental design. Setting: South Korea. Method: Two hundred and fifty-five male smokers were randomly assigned to descriptive, injunctive, or subjective anti-smoking norm messages. After they viewed the norm messages, their norm perceptions,…

Norm in Some Industries and Its Measurement Method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Syarbaini; Wahyudi

2001-01-01

NORM as a by product of some industries activity must be monitored and handled in such a way because this product is radioactive material. By using nuclear technology and instrumentation, NORM can be monitored and analyzed its radionuclides content qualitatively and/or quantitatively. This paper describe the measurement method and analysis used for radionuclides in NORM or in the environmental component contaminated by NORM. By monitoring and handling NORM in industries, the radiology impact of NORM to the industrial workers, the member of the public and the surrounding environment could be controlled. (author)

“Learning it the Hard Way”: Social safeguards norms in Chinese-led dam projects in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirchherr, Julian; Matthews, Nathanial; Charles, Katrina J.; Walton, Matthew J.

2017-01-01

Chinese dam developers claim to construct at least every second dam worldwide. However, scholarly literature comprehensively investigating the social safeguard norms in these projects is rare. This paper analyses social safeguard norms in Chinese-led dam projects in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, hotspots of Chinese-led dam construction. We find that social safeguard norms adopted have significantly changed in the past 15 years. While Chinese dam developers claimed to adopt standards of the host countries upon the launch of China's Going Out Policy in 2001, with occasional adoption of more demanding Chinese standards, they did not adopt international norms. In recent years, however, they increasingly take into account international norms. We argue that the root cause for this change is social mobilization, with the suspension of the Myitsone Dam in 2011 as a particular game changer. Enhanced social safeguard legislation in host countries and China, stricter rules of Chinese funders and cooperation of Chinese dam developers with international players have also facilitated this change. - Highlights: • Very first regional case study on social safeguard norms in Chinese-led dam projects in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. • Found that Chinese dam developers increasingly take into account international social safeguards norms. • Root cause is social mobilization, with the suspension of the Myitsone Dam in 2011 as a particular game changer.

Effectiveness of social norms media marketing in reducing drinking and driving: A statewide campaign.

Science.gov (United States)

Perkins, H Wesley; Linkenbach, Jeffrey W; Lewis, Melissa A; Neighbors, Clayton

2010-10-01

This research evaluated the efficacy of a high-intensity social norms media marketing campaign aimed at correcting normative misperceptions and reducing the prevalence of drinking and driving among 21-to-34-year-olds in Montana. A quasi-experimental design was used, such that regions of Montana were assigned to one of three experimental groups: social norms media marketing campaign, buffer, and control. Four random samples of Montanans between the ages of 21 and 34 were assessed at four time points over 18 months via phone surveys. Findings suggest that the social norms media campaign was successful at exposing the targeted population to social norms messages in the counties within the intervention region. Moreover, results demonstrate the campaign reduced normative misperceptions, increased use of designated drivers, and decreased drinking and driving among those young adults in counties within the intervention region. Social norms media marketing can be effective at changing drinking-related behaviors at the population level. This research provides a model for utilizing social norms media marketing to address other behaviors related to public health. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness of social norms media marketing in reducing drinking and driving: A statewide campaign

Science.gov (United States)

Linkenbach, Jeffrey W.; Lewis, Melissa A.; Neighbors, Clayton

2016-01-01

This research evaluated the efficacy of a high-intensity social norms media marketing campaign aimed at correcting normative misperceptions and reducing the prevalence of drinking and driving among 21-to-34-year-olds in Montana. A quasi-experimental design was used, such that regions of Montana were assigned to one of three experimental groups: social norms media marketing campaign, buffer, and control. Four random samples of Montanans between the ages of 21 and 34 were assessed at four time points over 18 months via phone surveys. Findings suggest that the social norms media campaign was successful at exposing the targeted population to social norms messages in the counties within the intervention region. Moreover, results demonstrate the campaign reduced normative misperceptions, increased use of designated drivers, and decreased drinking and driving among those young adults in counties within the intervention region. Social norms media marketing can be effective at changing drinking-related behaviors at the population level. This research provides a model for utilizing social norms media marketing to address other behaviors related to public health. PMID:20619177

Social norm complexity and past reputations in the evolution of cooperation.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Fernando P; Santos, Francisco C; Pacheco, Jorge M

2018-03-07

Indirect reciprocity is the most elaborate and cognitively demanding of all known cooperation mechanisms, and is the most specifically human because it involves reputation and status. By helping someone, individuals may increase their reputation, which may change the predisposition of others to help them in future. The revision of an individual's reputation depends on the social norms that establish what characterizes a good or bad action and thus provide a basis for morality. Norms based on indirect reciprocity are often sufficiently complex that an individual's ability to follow subjective rules becomes important, even in models that disregard the past reputations of individuals, and reduce reputations to either 'good' or 'bad' and actions to binary decisions. Here we include past reputations in such a model and identify the key pattern in the associated norms that promotes cooperation. Of the norms that comply with this pattern, the one that leads to maximal cooperation (greater than 90 per cent) with minimum complexity does not discriminate on the basis of past reputation; the relative performance of this norm is particularly evident when we consider a 'complexity cost' in the decision process. This combination of high cooperation and low complexity suggests that simple moral principles can elicit cooperation even in complex environments.

Distributed Controllers for Norm Enforcement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Testerink, B.J.G.; Dastani, M.M.; Bulling, Nils

2016-01-01

This paper focuses on computational mechanisms that control the behavior of autonomous systems at runtime without necessarily restricting their autonomy. We build on existing approaches from runtime verification, control automata, and norm-based systems, and define norm-based controllers that

Masculinity and HIV: Dimensions of Masculine Norms that Contribute to Men's HIV-Related Sexual Behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, Paul J; DiClemente, Ralph J; Barrington, Clare

2016-04-01

Numerous studies have documented a relationship between masculine norms and men's HIV-related sexual behaviors, but intervening upon this relationship requires a nuanced understanding of the specific aspects of masculine norms that shape men's sexual behaviors. We integrate theories on masculinities with empirical HIV research to identify specific dimensions of masculine norms that influence men's HIV-related sexual behaviors. We identify three major dimensions of masculine norms that shape men's sexual behavior: (1) uncontrollable male sex drive, (2) capacity to perform sexually, and (3) power over others. While the existing literature does help explain the relationship between masculine norms and men's sexual behaviors several gaps remain including: a recognition of context-specific masculinities, an interrogation of the positive influences of masculinity, adoption of an intersectional approach, assessment of changes in norms and behaviors over time, and rigorous evaluations of gender-transformative approaches. Addressing these gaps in future research may optimize prevention efforts.

Thermal reaction norms and the scale of temperature variation: latitudinal vulnerability of intertidal nacellid limpets to climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Morley, Simon A; Martin, Stephanie M; Day, Robert W; Ericson, Jess; Lai, Chien-Houng; Lamare, Miles; Tan, Koh-Siang; Thorne, Michael A S; Peck, Lloyd S

2012-01-01

The thermal reaction norms of 4 closely related intertidal Nacellid limpets, Antarctic (Nacella concinna), New Zealand (Cellana ornata), Australia (C. tramoserica) and Singapore (C. radiata), were compared across environments with different temperature magnitude, variability and predictability, to test their relative vulnerability to different scales of climate warming. Lethal limits were measured alongside a newly developed metric of "duration tenacity", which was tested at different temperatures to calculate the thermal reaction norm of limpet adductor muscle fatigue. Except in C. tramoserica which had a wide optimum range with two break points, duration tenacity did not follow a typical aerobic capacity curve but was best described by a single break point at an optimum temperature. Thermal reaction norms were shifted to warmer temperatures in warmer environments; the optimum temperature for tenacity (T(opt)) increased from 1.0°C (N. concinna) to 14.3°C (C. ornata) to 18.0°C (an average for the optimum range of C. tramoserica) to 27.6°C (C. radiata). The temperature limits for duration tenacity of the 4 species were most consistently correlated with both maximum sea surface temperature and summer maximum in situ habitat logger temperature. Tropical C. radiata, which lives in the least variable and most predictable environment, generally had the lowest warming tolerance and thermal safety margin (WT and TSM; respectively the thermal buffer of CT(max) and T(opt) over habitat temperature). However, the two temperate species, C. ornata and C. tramoserica, which live in a variable and seasonally unpredictable microhabitat, had the lowest TSM relative to in situ logger temperature. N. concinna which lives in the most variable, but seasonally predictable microhabitat, generally had the highest TSMs. Intertidal animals live at the highly variable interface between terrestrial and marine biomes and even small changes in the magnitude and predictability of their

Intervention induced changes on parenting practices, youth self-pride and sexual norms to reduce HIV-related behaviors among rural African American youths.

Science.gov (United States)

Murry, Velma McBride; Berkel, Cady; Chen, Yi-Fu; Brody, Gene H; Gibbons, Frederick X; Gerrard, Meg

2011-09-01

AIDS is the leading killer of African Americans between the ages of 25 and 44, many of whom became infected when they were teenagers or young adults. The disparity in HIV infection rate among African Americans youth residing in rural Southern regions of the United States suggests that there is an urgent need to identify ways to promote early preventive intervention to reduce HIV-related risk behavior. The Strong African American Families (SAAF) program, a preventive intervention for rural African American parents and their 11-year-olds, was specially designed to deter early sexual onset and the initiation and escalation of alcohol and drug use among rural African American preadolescents. A clustered-randomized prevention trial was conducted, contrasting families who took part in SAAF with control families. The trial, which included 332 families, indicated that intervention-induced changes occurred in intervention-targeted parenting, which in turn facilitated changes in youths' internal protective processes and positive sexual norms. Long-term follow up assessments when youth were 17 years old revealed that intervention-induced changes in parenting practices mediated the effect of intervention-group influences on changes in the onset and escalation of risky sexual behaviors over 65 months through its positive influence on adolescents' self-pride and their sexual norms. The findings underscore the powerful effects of parenting practices among rural African American families that over time serve a protective role in reducing youth's risk behavior, including HIV vulnerable behaviors.

Changes in inferior vena cava blood flow velocity and diameter during breathing movements in the human fetus

NARCIS (Netherlands)

T. Huisman (T.); S. van den Eijnde (Stefan); P.A. Stewart (Patricia); J.W. Wladimiroff (Juriy)

1993-01-01

textabstractBreathing movements in the human fetus cause distinct changes in Doppler flow velocity measurements at arterial, venous and cardiac levels. In adults, breathing movements result in a momentary inspiratory collapse of the inferior vena cava vessel wall. The study objective was to quantify

Brain regions involved in voluntary movements as revealed by radioisotopic mapping of CBF or CMR-glucose changes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lassen, N A; Ingvar, D H

1990-01-01

Mapping of cortical and subcortical grey matter active during voluntary movements by means of measurements of local increases of CBF or CMR-Glucose is reviewed. Most of the studies concern observations in man during hand movements using the intracarotid Xenon-133 injection technique, an approach...... that only allows to image the cortex of the hemisphere on one side (the injected side) of the brain. The results show that simple static or repetitive movements mainly activate the contralateral primary hand area (MI and SI); complex preprogrammed or spontaneous purposeful movements the supplementary motor...... area SMA on both sides increase in CBF/CMR-glucose and even internally ("mentally") going through the trained movements, causes such changes; complex purposeful movements also activate the premotor cortex, a response that is bilateral with greatest response contralaterally. Studies in patients...

Relationship between Norm-internalization and Cooperation in N-person Prisoners' Dilemma Games

Science.gov (United States)

Matsumoto, Mitsutaka

In this paper, I discuss the problems of ``order in social situations'' using a computer simulation of iterated N-person prisoners' dilemma game. It has been claimed that, in the case of the 2-person prisoners' dilemma, repetition of games and the reciprocal use of the ``tit-for-tat'' strategy promote the possibility of cooperation. However, in cases of N-person prisoners' dilemma where N is greater than 2, the logic does not work effectively. The most essential problem is so called ``sanctioning problems''. In this paper, firstly, I discuss the ``sanctioning problems'' which were introduced by Axelrod and Keohane in 1986. Based on the model formalized by Axelrod, I propose a new model, in which I added a mechanism of players' payoff changes in the Axelrod's model. I call this mechanism norm-internalization and call our model ``norm-internalization game''. Second, by using the model, I investigated the relationship between agents' norm-internalization (payoff-alternation) and the possibilities of cooperation. The results of computer simulation indicated that unequal distribution of cooperating norm and uniform distribution of sanctioning norm are more effective in establishing cooperation. I discuss the mathematical features and the implications of the results on social science.

Age-related changes of dental pulp tissue after experimental tooth movement in rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina Von Böhl

2016-01-01

Full Text Available It is generally accepted that the effect of orthodontic tooth movement on the dental pulp in adolescents is reversible and that it has no long-lasting effect on pulpal physiology. However, it is not clear yet if the same conclusion is also valid for adult subjects. Thus, in two groups of rats, aged 6 and 40 weeks respectively, 3 molars at one side of the maxilla were moved together in a mesial direction with a standardized orthodontic appliance delivering a force of 10 cN. The contralateral side served as a control. Parasagittal histological sections were prepared after tooth movement for 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks. The pulp tissue was characterized for the different groups, with special emphasis on cell density, inflammatory cells, vascularity, and odontoblasts. Dimensions of dentin and the pulpal horns was determined and related with the duration of orthodontic force application and age ware evaluated. We found that neither in young nor in adult rats, force application led to long-lasting or irreversible changes in pulpal tissues. Dimensional variables showed significant age-related changes. In conclusion, orthodontic tooth movement per se has no long-lasting or irreversible effect on pulpal tissues, neither in the young nor in the adult animals.

NORM and radon in Austria. Status and strategy; Norm und Radon in Oesterreich. Status und Strategie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maringer, F.J. [Bundesamt fuer Eich- und Vermessungswesen, Wien (Austria)

2013-07-01

The author reviews the actual radiation protection practice in Austria for NORM and radon, including possible strategies and developments. Specific topics are radiation protection technologies, metrological resources for NORM in Austria, civil engineering standards (OeNORM) for radon measurement, radon prevention for new buildings and radon cleansing for existing buildings, future assessment and legal regulation of radioactivity in construction materials. The strategic development in Austria considers the current European standard projects (EU standards) and European and international research programs.

Situation-specific social norms as mediators of social influence on snacking.

Science.gov (United States)

Schüz, Benjamin; Papadakis, Thalia; Ferguson, Stuart G

2018-02-01

Social factors are among the most powerful and pervasive influences on eating behavior, snacking in particular. Previous research has shown that being in the presence of people who are eating significantly increases the likelihood of eating and affects the types as well as the amount of food consumed. Much less is known about the processes underlying social influence, but previous research has suggested social norms as mediators. In this study, we extended this perspective to everyday settings and examined whether the presence of other people eating leads to a change in perceived momentary norms, and whether this change predicts snack consumption in real life. We applied ecological momentary assessment to study 61 individuals in the normal-obese weight range (M BMI = 24.97 kg/m²; SD = 4.07) over a 14-day monitoring period. We used a combination of event-based snacking reports and randomly timed assessments. The presence of others eating and momentary perceptions of injunctive norms (facets of perceived appropriateness and encouragement) were measured for both assessment types. Mediated, multilevel logistic regression showed that social cues predict snacking (OR = 3.06), and that momentary perceptions of appropriateness (a*b = 0.14) and encouragement (a*b = 0.18) partially mediated these effects. Perceptions of momentary norms mediated the effects of social influence on everyday snacking, which highlights the importance of the social environment for understanding eating behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

A Review of Norms and Normative Multiagent Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Mahmoud, Moamin A.; Ahmad, Mohd Sharifuddin; Mustapha, Aida

2014-01-01

Norms and normative multiagent systems have become the subjects of interest for many researchers. Such interest is caused by the need for agents to exploit the norms in enhancing their performance in a community. The term norm is used to characterize the behaviours of community members. The concept of normative multiagent systems is used to facilitate collaboration and coordination among social groups of agents. Many researches have been conducted on norms that investigate the fundamental concepts, definitions, classification, and types of norms and normative multiagent systems including normative architectures and normative processes. However, very few researches have been found to comprehensively study and analyze the literature in advancing the current state of norms and normative multiagent systems. Consequently, this paper attempts to present the current state of research on norms and normative multiagent systems and propose a norm's life cycle model based on the review of the literature. Subsequently, this paper highlights the significant areas for future work. PMID:25110739

A review of norms and normative multiagent systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahmoud, Moamin A; Ahmad, Mohd Sharifuddin; Yusoff, Mohd Zaliman Mohd; Mustapha, Aida

2014-01-01

Norms and normative multiagent systems have become the subjects of interest for many researchers. Such interest is caused by the need for agents to exploit the norms in enhancing their performance in a community. The term norm is used to characterize the behaviours of community members. The concept of normative multiagent systems is used to facilitate collaboration and coordination among social groups of agents. Many researches have been conducted on norms that investigate the fundamental concepts, definitions, classification, and types of norms and normative multiagent systems including normative architectures and normative processes. However, very few researches have been found to comprehensively study and analyze the literature in advancing the current state of norms and normative multiagent systems. Consequently, this paper attempts to present the current state of research on norms and normative multiagent systems and propose a norm's life cycle model based on the review of the literature. Subsequently, this paper highlights the significant areas for future work.

RxNorm

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — RxNorm provides normalized names for clinical drugs and links its names to many of the drug vocabularies commonly used in pharmacy management and drug interaction...

Quality of decision making and group norms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Postmes, T; Spears, R; Cihangir, S

Two studies investigated the impact of group norms for maintaining consensus versus norms for critical thought on group decisions in a modification of the biased sampling paradigm (G. Stasser & W. Titus, 1985). Both studies showed that critical norms improved the quality of decisions, whereas

Quality of decision making and group norms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Postmes, T.; Spears, R.; Cihangir, S.

2001-01-01

Two studies investigated the impact of group norms for maintaining consensus versus norms for critical thought on group decisions in a modification of the biased sampling paradigm (G. Stasser & W. Titus, 1985). Both studies showed that critical norms improved the quality of decisions, whereas

Human health and stoic moral norms.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Lawrence C

2003-04-01

For the philosophy of medicine, there are two things of interest about the stoic account of moral norms, quite apart from whether the rest of stoic ethical theory is compelling. One is the stoic version of naturalism: its account of practical reasoning, its solution to the is/ought problem, and its contention that norms for creating, sustaining, or restoring human health are tantamount to moral norms. The other is the stoic account of human agency: its description of the intimate connections between human health, rational agency, and moral norms. There is practical guidance to be gained from exploring those connections, whether or not one is ready to follow stoic moral theory all the way to its austere end.

Spatial Changes and Population Movements on the Albanian Coastline

Science.gov (United States)

Kanjir, U.; Gregorič Bon, N.

2016-06-01

The last decade has seen a large increase in construction along the southern Albanian coastline, mainly in the rise of large tourist complexes comprising hotels, apartment houses, touristic villages, and so on. These constructions rarely follow urban planning and not only change its landscape but also often threaten the ecological value of the coastal zone. The uncontrolled and devastating construction along the coast has been accompanied by coastal erosion caused by the sea with the intensity up to 50 cm/year. This paper investigates the environmental change monitoring on the Albanian Riviera by analysing optical remote sensing data (Landsat 5 and 8) in the period between 1984 and 2015. The image analysis results grounded on the change vector analysis indicate coastal morphology changes and land cover changes in the coastal environment, which appear mostly due to erosion in river delta and urban growth. Apart from identifying both phenomena through time, the objective of this study is to show that these landscape changes in fact correlate with the population migration as well as to explain why and the extent to which Albania is one of the most migratory countries in Europe. Based on the multidisciplinary research, which combines anthropological method with spatial analysis, this presentation anticipates future changes in this area. It argues that movements of both people and in landscape formations strongly influence each other, constituting a closely corresponding relationship.

Smoothing-Norm Preconditioning for Regularizing Minimum-Residual Methods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Per Christian; Jensen, Toke Koldborg

2006-01-01

take into account a smoothing norm for the solution. This technique is well established for CGLS, but it does not immediately carry over to minimum-residual methods when the smoothing norm is a seminorm or a Sobolev norm. We develop a new technique which works for any smoothing norm of the form $\\|L...

Characterisation of NORM Contaminated Objects: Reliable and Efficient

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Breddam, Kresten; Hou, Xiaolin; Koufakis, Markos

The predominant contributors to the production of Technologically En-hanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (TENORM) and NORM-waste in the Nordic countries are the on- and offshore oil and gas produc-ers. In oil and gas production processes, host rock formation water con-taining low...... concentrations of NORM is mixed with seawater containing high concentrations of sulphate. This leads to precipitation of NORM (Ra, Pb, Po)SO4, which is deposited as either scale or sludge in the production equipment. NORM contaminated pipes, tubes, pumps and tanks, etc. are therefore subject to radiological...... characterization in order to ensure safe reuse or recycling as well as safe NORM waste handling.The procedures and measurement techniques may significantly affect the amount of mate-rial that is categorized as NORM contaminated equipment and NORM waste. At present, different procedures are used for categorization...

Management of NORM Residues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-06-01

The IAEA attaches great importance to the dissemination of information that can assist Member States in the development, implementation, maintenance and continuous improvement of systems, programmes and activities that support the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear applications, and that address the legacy of past practices and accidents. However, radioactive residues are found not only in nuclear fuel cycle activities, but also in a range of other industrial activities, including: - Mining and milling of metalliferous and non-metallic ores; - Production of non-nuclear fuels, including coal, oil and gas; - Extraction and purification of water (e.g. in the generation of geothermal energy, as drinking and industrial process water; in paper and pulp manufacturing processes); - Production of industrial minerals, including phosphate, clay and building materials; - Use of radionuclides, such as thorium, for properties other than their radioactivity. Naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) may lead to exposures at some stage of these processes and in the use or reuse of products, residues or wastes. Several IAEA publications address NORM issues with a special focus on some of the more relevant industrial operations. This publication attempts to provide guidance on managing residues arising from different NORM type industries, and on pertinent residue management strategies and technologies, to help Member States gain perspectives on the management of NORM residues

Recent crustal movements

Science.gov (United States)

Maelzer, H.

Calculation of temporal height changes for the determination of recent vertical crustal movements in northern, western, and southern Germany is described. Precise geodetic measurements and their analysis for the determination of recent crustal movements in north-eastern Iceland, western Venezuela, and central Peru are described. Determination of recent vertical crustal movements by leveling and gravity data; geodetic modeling of deformations and recent crustal movements; geodetic modeling of plate motions; and instrumental developments in geodetic measuring are discussed.

Organisational dynamics, social norms and information systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stamper, R.K.; Liu, Kecheng; Liu, Kecheng; Nunamaker, Jay F.; Sprague, Ralph H.

1994-01-01

An organisation is defined as a system of social norms. The concept of a norm is the social analogue of the concept of an affordance which Gibson (1968) introduced to account for perception of the physical world. Their conjunction is a logic of Norms and Affordances, Norma, which serves as a

Can social norms overcome a public good dilemma? The case of organ procurement

OpenAIRE

Höglinger, Marc

2016-01-01

Normative influence and, more specifically, descriptive norms (Bicchieri 2006, Cialdini 1998) are powerful forces in shaping individual’s behavior in situations where private and collective interest clash. Various experimental studies have shown that individuals can be made to act more or less prosocial by changing their expectations about what other people do in the same situation (e.g. Schultz et al. 2007, Diekmann, Przepiorka and Rauhut 2015). I apply the so-called descriptive norms messag...

Masculinity and HIV: Dimensions of masculine norms that contribute to men’s HIV-related sexual behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, Paul J.; DiClemente, Ralph J.; Barrington, Clare

2016-01-01

Numerous studies have documented a relationship between masculine norms and men’s HIV-related sexual behaviors, but intervening upon this relationship requires a nuanced understanding of the specific aspects of masculine norms that shape men’s sexual behaviors. We integrate theories on masculinities with empirical HIV research to identify specific dimensions of masculine norms that influence men’s HIV-related sexual behaviors. We identify three major dimensions of masculine norms that shape men’s sexual behavior: 1) uncontrollable male sex drive, 2) capacity to perform sexually, and 3) power over others. While the existing literature does help explain the relationship between masculine norms and men’s sexual behaviors several gaps remain including: a recognition of context-specific masculinities, an interrogation of the positive influences of masculinity, adoption of an intersectional approach, assessment of changes in norms and behaviors over time, and rigorous evaluations of gender-transformative approaches. Addressing these gaps in future research may optimize prevention efforts. PMID:26696261

Changing beliefs for changing movement and pain: Classification-based cognitive functional therapy (CB-CFT) for chronic non-specific low back pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Meziat Filho, N

2016-02-01

This case report presents the effect of classification-based cognitive functional therapy in a patient with chronic disabling low back pain. The patient was assessed using a multidimensional biopsychosocial classification system and was classified as having flexion pattern of movement impairment disorder. Management of this patient was to change her belief that bending over and sitting would cause damage to her disc, combined with active exercises for graded exposure to lumbar flexion to restore normal movement. Three months after the first appointment, the treatment resulted in reduced pain, the mitigation of fear avoidance beliefs and the remediation of functional disability. The patient returned to work and was walking for one hour a day on a treadmill. The cognitive intervention to change the patient's negative beliefs related to the biomedical model was important to make the graded exercises and the lifestyle changes possible. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Die vraag na norme vir moraliteit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. A. Heyns

1989-08-01

Full Text Available The demand for norms for morality This article is a short investigation of the existence and the character of norms for morality. Owing to the secularized society in which we live today the well known Martin Buber once spoke of the eclipse of the light of heaven as an eclipse of God and, we may add, an eclipse also of moral norms. A theocentric basis for moral norms should be accepted as well as the fact that the whole of creation is subject unconditionally to his cosmonomic order. Consequently there is a concrete demand or claim on man in the situation he confronts, which cannot be reduced to an application of general moral norms to the situation concerned. God does speak to us through historical situations as well. We shall have to judge the concrete historical situation in its immediate hic et nunc call on us in the light of the will and law of God, as they are revealed to us in his Word.

Norm Theory: Comparing Reality to Its Alternatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Kahneman, Daniel; Miller, Dale T.

1986-01-01

A theory of norms and normality is applied to some phenomena of emotional responses, social judgment, and conversations about causes. Norm theory is applied in analyses of enhanced emotional response to events that have abnormal causes, of generation of prediction from observations of behavior, and of the role of norms. (Author/LMO)

The motivational roots of norms for environmentally responsible behaviour

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thøgersen, John

This paper investigates whether norms guiding environmentally desirable behaviour are genuinely internalized and integrated into the person's cognitive and goal structures or just shallowly "introjected" social norms. Internet-based questionnaires were administered to a stratified sample of Danish...... to the studied behaviour differ significantly depending on the strength of their norms and the two types of norms differ in their embeddedness in the person's cognitive structures. The behavioural influence of subjective social norms and expressed reasons and motives is mediated through personal norms...

Social Norms and Adolescents' Sexual Health: An Introduction for Practitioners Working in Low and Mid-income African countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Cislaghi, Beniamino; Shakya, Holly

2018-03-01

Donors, practitioners and scholars are increasingly interested in harnessing the potential of social norms theory to improve adolescents' sexual and reproductive health outcomes. However, social norms theory is multifaceted, and its application in field interventions is complex. An introduction to social norms that will be beneficial for those who intend to integrate a social norms perspective in their work to improve adolescents' sexual health in Africa is presented. First three main schools of thought on social norms, looking at the theoretical standpoint of each, are discussed. Next, the difference between two important types of social norms (descriptive and injunctive) is explained and then the concept of a -reference group‖ is examined. The difference between social and gender norms are then considered, highlighting how this difference is motivated by existing yet contrasting approaches to norms (in social psychology and gender theory). In the last section, existing evidence on the role that social norms play in influencing adolescents' sexual and reproductive health are reviewed. Conclusions call for further research and action to understand how norms affecting adolescents' sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) can be changed in sub-Saharan Africa.

Vitrification of NORM wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapman, C.

1994-05-01

Vitrification of wastes is a relatively new application of none of man's oldest manufacturing processes. During the past 25 years it has been developed and accepted internationally for immobilizing the most highly radioactive wastes from spent nuclear fuel. By the year 2005, there will be nine operating high-level radioactive vitrification plants. Many of the technical ''lessons learned'' from this international program can be applied to much less hazardous materials such as naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). With the deployment of low capital and operating cost systems, vitrification should become a broadly applied process for treating a large variety of wastes. In many situations, the wastes can be transformed into marketable products. This paper will present a general description of waste vitrification, summarize some of its key advantages, provide some test data for a small sample of one NORM, and suggest how this process may be applied to NORM

Bundles of Norms About Teen Sex and Pregnancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Mollborn, Stefanie; Sennott, Christie

2015-09-01

Teen pregnancy is a cultural battleground in struggles over morality, education, and family. At its heart are norms about teen sex, contraception, pregnancy, and abortion. Analyzing 57 interviews with college students, we found that "bundles" of related norms shaped the messages teens hear. Teens did not think their communities encouraged teen sex or pregnancy, but normative messages differed greatly, with either moral or practical rationalizations. Teens readily identified multiple norms intended to regulate teen sex, contraception, abortion, childbearing, and the sanctioning of teen parents. Beyond influencing teens' behavior, norms shaped teenagers' public portrayals and post hoc justifications of their behavior. Although norm bundles are complex to measure, participants could summarize them succinctly. These bundles and their conflicting behavioral prescriptions create space for human agency in negotiating normative pressures. The norm bundles concept has implications for teen pregnancy prevention policies and can help revitalize social norms for understanding health behaviors. © The Author(s) 2014.

NEIGHBORHOOD NORMS AND SUBSTANCE USE AMONG TEENS

Science.gov (United States)

Musick, Kelly; Seltzer, Judith A.; Schwartz, Christine R.

2008-01-01

This paper uses new data from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A. FANS) to examine how neighborhood norms shape teenagers’ substance use. Specifically, it takes advantage of clustered data at the neighborhood level to relate adult neighbors’ attitudes and behavior with respect to smoking, drinking, and drugs, which we treat as norms, to teenagers’ own smoking, drinking, and drug use. We use hierarchical linear models to account for parents’ attitudes and behavior and other characteristics of individuals and families. We also investigate how the association between neighborhood norms and teen behavior depends on: (1) the strength of norms, as measured by consensus in neighbors’ attitudes and conformity in their behavior; (2) the willingness and ability of neighbors to enforce norms, for instance, by monitoring teens’ activities; and (3) the degree to which teens are exposed to their neighbors. We find little association between neighborhood norms and teen substance use, regardless of how we condition the relationship. We discuss possible theoretical and methodological explanations for this finding. PMID:18496598

Using multiscale norms to quantify mixing and transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thiffeault, Jean-Luc

2012-01-01

Mixing is relevant to many areas of science and engineering, including the pharmaceutical and food industries, oceanography, atmospheric sciences and civil engineering. In all these situations one goal is to quantify and often then to improve the degree of homogenization of a substance being stirred, referred to as a passive scalar or tracer. A classical measure of mixing is the variance of the concentration of the scalar, which is the L 2 norm of a mean-zero concentration field. Recently, other norms have been used to quantify mixing, in particular the mix-norm as well as negative Sobolev norms. These norms have the advantage that unlike variance they decay even in the absence of diffusion, and their decay corresponds to the flow being mixing in the sense of ergodic theory. General Sobolev norms weigh scalar gradients differently, and are known as multiscale norms for mixing. We review the applications of such norms to mixing and transport, and show how they can be used to optimize the stirring and mixing of a decaying passive scalar. We then review recent work on the less-studied case of a continuously replenished scalar field—the source–sink problem. In that case the flows that optimally reduce the norms are associated with transport rather than mixing: they push sources onto sinks, and vice versa. (invited article)

The consequences of the heterosexual norm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Johansson

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Librarians may exclude people accidentally. This is so because there is a widespread use of classifications and subject headings reflecting the heterosexual norm. Critical classification theory tackles this norm for the reason that it affects the retrieval of gay literature. In order to allow a reconsideration of this exclusive practice in the LIS community I challenge two main questions: Firstly, how does the heterosexual norm appear in classification systems and subject headings lists? And secondly, what are the consequences of that practice for the retrieval of gay literature?This paper focuses on the professional practise in Swedish public libraries. If subject cataloguing prevents Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender (LGBT finding their literatures, then Swedish public libraries are upholders of the exclusive heterosexual norm in society.

Consumer Preferences for Local Food: Testing an Extended Norm Taxonomy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julius Wenzig

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Consumer attitudes toward consuming and buying locally produced food are well studied. By contrast, the topic of consumer preferences for local food, with a special emphasis on the role of norms, still lacks empirical evidence. To study the influence of norms and morals on the intention to buy local food products, a quantitative study (N = 327 focusing on external social and internalized moral norms was conducted using the constructs of the theory of planned behavior in combination with an extended norm taxonomy and the perceived consumer effectiveness measure. The norm constructs consisted of two different personal norms, integrated and introjected, and two social norms, descriptive and injunctive. In a factor analysis, two factors for social norms but only one for personal norms were obtained. Multiple regressions explained 50 percent of the variance in intentions and 29 percent of the variance in past behavior. Norm constructs were proven important in the model, as personal norms had the largest effect among all constructs on intentions, and descriptive norms strongly influenced past behavior. An additional mediation analysis showed that personal norms were internalized social injunctive norms and that intentions mediated the relationship between all constructs. The implications of the findings and recommendations for future research are given accordingly.

Norm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loria Meneses, Luis Guillermo

2012-01-01

Related studies with the presence of NORMs in Costa Rica were developed. CICANUM has had equipment and personnel to perform analysis using gamma spectroscopy (for solid and liquid samples), beta spectroscopy (for liquid milk samples and water), alpha spectroscopy (water samples). These techniques are frequently used in the analysis for food purchased from stores, monitoring, export (safety certicates), directly from the farm (research and projects ARCAL), several matrices (meristems, iron, etc..). The CICANUM supported by the Universidad de Costa Rica and the Laboratorio de Espectroscopia Gamma has participated in various projects by the IAEA, in research on food, marine species, quality assurance, development of reference material. The term NORMs is used to distinguish natural radioactive elements of radioactive elements of anthropogenic origin, among which are those produced by: terrestrial, mediums cosmogenic and industrial. One conclusion is that human activity has been responsible for increasing exposure of people to ionizing radiation. This increase has resulted of the production of coal, natural gas, mining and fossil fuels, and the use of fertilizers. Radon trapped in the rocks is released when performing scans or during extraction. (author) [es

Correcting slightly less simple movements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.P. Aivar

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Many studies have analysed how goal directed movements are corrected in response to changes in the properties of the target. However, only simple movements to single targets have been used in those studies, so little is known about movement corrections under more complex situations. Evidence from studies that ask for movements to several targets in sequence suggests that whole sequences of movements are planned together. Planning related segments of a movement together makes it possible to optimise the whole sequence, but it means that some parts are planned quite long in advance, so that it is likely that they will have to be modified. In the present study we examined how people respond to changes that occur while they are moving to the first target of a sequence. Subjects moved a stylus across a digitising tablet. They moved from a specified starting point to two targets in succession. The first of these targets was always at the same position but it could have one of two sizes. The second target could be in one of two different positions and its size was different in each case. On some trials the first target changed size, and on some others the second target changed size and position, as soon as the subject started to move. When the size of the first target changed the subjects slowed down the first segment of their movements. Even the peak velocity, which was only about 150 ms after the change in size, was lower. Beside this fast response to the change itself, the dwell time at the first target was also affected: its duration increased after the change. Changing the size and position of the second target did not influence the first segment of the movement, but also increased the dwell time. The dwell time was much longer for a small target, irrespective of its initial size. If subjects knew in advance which target could change, they moved faster than if they did not know which could change. Taken together, these

Social movements and science

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jamison, Andrew

2006-01-01

The article examines the role of social movements in the development of scientific knowledge. Interactions between social movements and science in broad, historical terms are discussed. The relations between the new social movements of the 1960s and 1970s and changes in the contemporary scientific...

Norms for environmentally responsible behaviour: An extended taxonomy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thøgersen, John

2006-01-01

is carried out based on a survey of residents of Denmark. A range of norm constructs were measured with regard to four environmentally responsible behaviours: buying organic milk, buying energy saving light bulbs, source separating compostable kitchen waste, and using public transportation for work...... of correlation between norm constructs and between norms and behaviour vary between behaviours. Hence, respondents seem to apply different norms for different environmentally responsible behaviours....

Anatomy of zero-norm states in string theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chan, C.-T.; Lee, J.-C.; Yi Yang

2005-01-01

We calculate and identify the counterparts of zero-norm states in the old covariant first quantized (OCFQ) spectrum of open bosonic string in two other quantization schemes of string theory, namely, the light-cone Del Giudice-Di Vecchia-Fubine zero-norm states and the off-shell Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) zero-norm states (with ghost) in the Witten string field theory (WSFT). In particular, special attention is paid to the interparticle zero-norm states in all quantization schemes. For the case of the off-shell BRST zero-norm states, we impose the no-ghost conditions and recover exactly two types of on-shell zero-norm states in the OCFQ string spectrum for the first few low-lying mass levels. We then show that off-shell gauge transformations of WSFT are identical to the on-shell stringy gauge symmetries generated by two types of zero-norm states in the generalized massive σ-model approach of string theory. The high-energy limit of these stringy gauge symmetries was recently used to calculate the proportionality constants, conjectured by Gross, among high-energy scattering amplitudes of different string states. Based on these zero-norm state calculations, we have thus related gauge symmetry of WSFT to the high-energy stringy symmetry of Gross

Thermal reaction norms and the scale of temperature variation: latitudinal vulnerability of intertidal nacellid limpets to climate change.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon A Morley

Full Text Available The thermal reaction norms of 4 closely related intertidal Nacellid limpets, Antarctic (Nacella concinna, New Zealand (Cellana ornata, Australia (C. tramoserica and Singapore (C. radiata, were compared across environments with different temperature magnitude, variability and predictability, to test their relative vulnerability to different scales of climate warming. Lethal limits were measured alongside a newly developed metric of "duration tenacity", which was tested at different temperatures to calculate the thermal reaction norm of limpet adductor muscle fatigue. Except in C. tramoserica which had a wide optimum range with two break points, duration tenacity did not follow a typical aerobic capacity curve but was best described by a single break point at an optimum temperature. Thermal reaction norms were shifted to warmer temperatures in warmer environments; the optimum temperature for tenacity (T(opt increased from 1.0°C (N. concinna to 14.3°C (C. ornata to 18.0°C (an average for the optimum range of C. tramoserica to 27.6°C (C. radiata. The temperature limits for duration tenacity of the 4 species were most consistently correlated with both maximum sea surface temperature and summer maximum in situ habitat logger temperature. Tropical C. radiata, which lives in the least variable and most predictable environment, generally had the lowest warming tolerance and thermal safety margin (WT and TSM; respectively the thermal buffer of CT(max and T(opt over habitat temperature. However, the two temperate species, C. ornata and C. tramoserica, which live in a variable and seasonally unpredictable microhabitat, had the lowest TSM relative to in situ logger temperature. N. concinna which lives in the most variable, but seasonally predictable microhabitat, generally had the highest TSMs. Intertidal animals live at the highly variable interface between terrestrial and marine biomes and even small changes in the magnitude and predictability of their

Deriving Animal Movement Behaviors Using Movement Parameters Extracted from Location Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maryam Teimouri

2018-02-01

Full Text Available We present a methodology for distinguishing between three types of animal movement behavior (foraging, resting, and walking based on high-frequency tracking data. For each animal we quantify an individual movement path. A movement path is a temporal sequence consisting of the steps through space taken by an animal. By selecting a set of appropriate movement parameters, we develop a method to assess movement behavioral states, reflected by changes in the movement parameters. The two fundamental tasks of our study are segmentation and clustering. By segmentation, we mean the partitioning of the trajectory into segments, which are homogeneous in terms of their movement parameters. By clustering, we mean grouping similar segments together according to their estimated movement parameters. The proposed method is evaluated using field observations (done by humans of movement behavior. We found that on average, our method agreed with the observational data (ground truth at a level of 80.75% ± 5.9% (SE.

Quantifying social norms: by coupling the ecosystem management concept and semi-quantitative sociological methods

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, D.; Xu, H.

2012-12-01

Over recent decades, human-induced environmental changes have steadily and rapidly grown in intensity and impact to where they now often exceed natural impacts. As one of important components of human activities, social norms play key roles in environmental and natural resources management. But the lack of relevant quantitative data about social norms greatly limits our scientific understanding of the complex linkages between humans and nature, and hampers our solving of pressing environmental and social problems. In this study, we built a quantified method by coupling the ecosystem management concept, semi-quantitative sociological methods and mathematical statistics. We got the quantified value of social norms from two parts, whether the content of social norms coincide with the concept of ecosystem management (content value) and how about the performance after social norms were put into implementation (implementation value) . First, we separately identified 12 core elements of ecosystem management and 16 indexes of social norms, and then matched them one by one. According to their matched degree, we got the content value of social norms. Second, we selected 8 key factors that can represent the performance of social norms after they were put into implementation, and then we got the implementation value by Delph method. Adding these two parts values, we got the final value of each social norms. Third, we conducted a case study in Heihe river basin, the second largest inland river in China, by selecting 12 official edicts related to the river basin ecosystem management of Heihe River Basin. By doing so, we first got the qualified data of social norms which can be directly applied to the research that involved observational or experimental data collection of natural processes. Second, each value was supported by specific contents, so it can assist creating a clear road map for building or revising management and policy guidelines. For example, in this case study

Friends' drinking norms and male adolescents' alcohol consumption: The moderating role of performance-based peer influence susceptibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Teunissen, Hanneke A; Kuntsche, Emmanuel; Scholte, Ron H J; Spijkerman, Renske; Prinstein, Mitchell J; Engels, Rutger C M E

2016-12-01

This study examined whether the relationship between friends' drinking norms and male adolescents' alcohol use is moderated by performance-based peer influence susceptibility. Seventy-three male adolescents (M = 17 years) from three schools in the Netherlands were exposed to the drinking norms of "peers" (electronic confederates) in a chat room experiment. These peers were either popular or unpopular, and conveyed pro- or anti-alcohol norms. Peer influence susceptibility was defined as the change in adolescents' answers before and after exposure to the peer norms. Multilevel regression analyses indicated that the relationship between friends' drinking norms and adolescents' alcohol use (assessed during eight weekends) was moderated by susceptibility to the pro-alcohol norms of popular peers. This relationship was stronger for adolescents who were highly susceptible. These findings suggest that a behavioral measure of peer influence susceptibility could be useful in alcohol prevention programs to select adolescents at risk for negative peer socialization. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. All rights reserved.

Long-stay psychiatric patients: a prospective study revealing persistent antipsychotic-induced movement disorder.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P Roberto Bakker

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of persistent drug-induced movement disorders namely, tardive dyskinesia (TD, parkinsonism, akathisia and tardive dystonia in a representative sample of long-stay patients with chronic severe mental illness. METHOD: Naturalistic study of 209, mainly white, antipsychotic-treated patients, mostly diagnosed with psychotic disorder. Of this group, the same rater examined 194 patients at least two times over a 4-year period, with a mean follow-up time of 1.1 years, with validated scales for TD, parkinsonism, akathisia, and tardive dystonia. RESULTS: The frequencies of persistent movement disorders in the sample were 28.4% for TD, 56.2% for parkinsonism, 4.6% for akathisia and 5.7% for tardive dystonia. Two-thirds of the participants displayed at least one type of persistent movement disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Persistent movement disorder continues to be the norm for long-stay patients with chronic mental illness and long-term antipsychotic treatment. Measures are required to remedy this situation.

Management of NORM/TENORM Waste from Non Nuclear Industries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Djarot S Wisnubroto

2003-01-01

Management of NORM/TENORM waste is now to be an issue and discussed in many international conferences and seminars. This paper describes the status of the management of NORM/TENORM waste including the origin of the waste, regulations and assessment of waste disposal. Several countries have established the regulation for NORM/TENORM waste; however the IAEA has not yet published guideline for management of NORM/TENORM. There are many options for disposal of NORM/TENORM waste based on standard of the radioactive waste disposal. The decision and policy on management of NORM/TENORM waste must be conducted carefully due to the social and economical impacts. (author)

A note on 'Some results on the IF-normed spaces'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saadati, Reza

2009-01-01

Recently, Lael and Nourouzi [Some results on the IF-normed spaces. Chaos, Solitons and Fractals 2006; doi:10.1016/j.chaos.2006.10.019] introduced and studied a new notation of IF-normed spaces by using the idea of intuitionistic fuzzy normed spaces due to Saadati and Park [On the intuitionistic fuzzy topological spaces. Chaos, Solitons and Fractals 2006;27:331-44], a special continuous t-norm i.e. min and a special continuous s-norm i.e. max. In this note, we consider the modified definition of IF-normed space i.e. LF-normed spaces and prove the open mapping and closed graph theorems for this space using arbitrary continuous t-norm.

Silence and table manners: when environments activate norms.

Science.gov (United States)

Joly, Janneke F; Stapel, Diederik A; Lindenberg, Siegwart M

2008-08-01

Two studies tested the conditions under which an environment (e.g., library, restaurant) raises the relevance of environment-specific social norms (e.g., being quiet, using table manners). As hypothesized, the relevance of such norms is raised when environments are goal relevant ("I am going there later") and when they are humanized with people or the remnants of their presence (e.g., a glass of wine on a table). Two studies show that goal-relevant environments and humanized environments raise the perceived importance of norms (Study 1) and the intention to conform to norms (Study 2). Interestingly, in both studies, these effects reach beyond norms related to the environments used in the studies.

Growth, financial development, societal norms and legal institutions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Garretsen, Harry; Lensink, Robert; Sterken, Elmer

2002-01-01

This paper analyses whether societal norms help to explain cross-country differences in financial development. We analyze whether societal norms in addition to legal institutions have an impact on financial development. We address the implications of the inclusion of societal norms for the analysis

A New Replication Norm for Psychology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Etienne P LeBel

2015-10-01

Full Text Available In recent years, there has been a growing concern regarding the replicability of findings in psychology, including a mounting number of prominent findings that have failed to replicate via high-powered independent replication attempts. In the face of this replicability “crisis of confidence”, several initiatives have been implemented to increase the reliability of empirical findings. In the current article, I propose a new replication norm that aims to further boost the dependability of findings in psychology. Paralleling the extant social norm that researchers should peer review about three times as many articles that they themselves publish per year, the new replication norm states that researchers should aim to independently replicate important findings in their own research areas in proportion to the number of original studies they themselves publish per year (e.g., a 4:1 original-to-replication studies ratio. I argue this simple approach could significantly advance our science by increasing the reliability and cumulative nature of our empirical knowledge base, accelerating our theoretical understanding of psychological phenomena, instilling a focus on quality rather than quantity, and by facilitating our transformation toward a research culture where executing and reporting independent direct replications is viewed as an ordinary part of the research process. To help promote the new norm, I delineate (1 how each of the major constituencies of the research process (i.e., funders, journals, professional societies, departments, and individual researchers can incentivize replications and promote the new norm and (2 any obstacles each constituency faces in supporting the new norm.

Solving of L0 norm constrained EEG inverse problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Peng; Lei, Xu; Hu, Xiao; Yao, Dezhong

2009-01-01

l(0) norm is an effective constraint used to solve EEG inverse problem for a sparse solution. However, due to the discontinuous and un-differentiable properties, it is an open issue to solve the l(0) norm constrained problem, which is usually instead solved by using some alternative functions like l(1) norm to approximate l(0) norm. In this paper, a continuous and differentiable function having the same form as the transfer function of Butterworth low-pass filter is introduced to approximate l(0) norm constraint involved in EEG inverse problem. The new approximation based approach was compared with l(1) norm and LORETA solutions on a realistic head model using simulated sources. The preliminary results show that this alternative approximation to l(0) norm is promising for the estimation of EEG sources with sparse distribution.

Regulation of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) with emphasis on NORM disposal options

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gray, P.

1995-01-01

Regulation of radioactive material can occur at the Federal, State, and sometimes local level. In addition to regulations at the federal and state level, there are guidelines and standards that do not carry the weight of law, yet are often referenced. Neither the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) or Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) categorically regulates NORM at this time. However, many of the existing regulations and guidelines for licensed radioactive material can be applied by states and other regulatory agencies to NORM. The primary regulations covering radioactive materials and exposures were promulgated under the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) or 1954, as amended. NRC licenses and regulates civilian use of nuclear materials to protect public health and safety and the environment. NRC makes rules and sets standards for licensees and inspects the activities of licensees to insure that they do not violate safety rules. OSHA regulations for worker protection from exposures to radioactivity are contained in 29CFR1910.96. These standards are designed to protect workers from exposure to radiation in programs other than those regulated by OSHA. The Uranium Mill Tailings Control Act, with implementing regulations found in 40CFR192 were promulgated by the EPA for cleanup of uranium mill tailings. These standards are often used by states and other agencies in regulating cleanup of NORM. EPA is currently considering regulation of NORM on NRC and DOE facilities under 40CFR195

EQ-5D Portuguese population norms.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, Lara Noronha; Ferreira, Pedro L; Pereira, Luis N; Oppe, Mark

2014-03-01

The EQ-5D is a widely used preference-based measure. Normative data can be used as references to analyze the effects of healthcare, determine the burden of disease and enable regional or country comparisons. Population norms for the EQ-5D exist for other countries but have not been previously published for Portugal. The purpose of this study was to derive EQ-5D Portuguese population norms. The EQ-5D was applied by phone interview to a random sample of the Portuguese general population (n = 1,500) stratified by age, gender and region. The Portuguese value set was used to derive the EQ-5D index. Mean values were computed by gender and age groups, marital status, educational attainment, region and other variables to obtain the EQ-5D Portuguese norms. Health status declines with advancing age, and women reported worse health status than men. These results are similar to other EQ-5D population health studies. This study provides Portuguese population health-related quality of life data measured by the EQ-5D that can be used as population norms. These norms can be used to inform Portuguese policy makers, health care professionals and researchers in issues related to health care policy and planning and quantification of treatment effects on health status.

Effect of Visual Angle on the Head Movement Caused by Changing Binocular Disparity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Toru Maekawa

2011-10-01

Full Text Available It has been shown that vertical binocular disparity has no or little effect on the perception of visual direction (Banks et al., 2002. On the other hand, our previous study has reported that a continuous change of vertical disparity causes an involuntary sway of the head (Maekawa et al., 2009. We predict that the difference between those results attributes to the dissociation between the processes for perception and action in the brain. The aim of this study is to investigate in more details the condition that influences the process of disparity information. The present experiment particularly varied the visual angle of stimulus presentation and measured the head movement and body sway caused by changing vertical disparity. Results showed that the head movement was greater as the visual angle of the stimulus was smaller. It has been reported that stimulus of only small visual angle affect depth perception (Erklens et al., 1995. Thus, our result suggests that perception and action produced by vertical disparity are consistent as far as the effect of the stimulus size is concerned.

Model Selection in Continuous Test Norming With GAMLSS.

Science.gov (United States)

Voncken, Lieke; Albers, Casper J; Timmerman, Marieke E

2017-06-01

To compute norms from reference group test scores, continuous norming is preferred over traditional norming. A suitable continuous norming approach for continuous data is the use of the Box-Cox Power Exponential model, which is found in the generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape. Applying the Box-Cox Power Exponential model for test norming requires model selection, but it is unknown how well this can be done with an automatic selection procedure. In a simulation study, we compared the performance of two stepwise model selection procedures combined with four model-fit criteria (Akaike information criterion, Bayesian information criterion, generalized Akaike information criterion (3), cross-validation), varying data complexity, sampling design, and sample size in a fully crossed design. The new procedure combined with one of the generalized Akaike information criterion was the most efficient model selection procedure (i.e., required the smallest sample size). The advocated model selection procedure is illustrated with norming data of an intelligence test.

WORKING-CLASS HIGH SCHOOL LEARNERS’ CHALLENGE TO CHANGE: INSIGHTS FROM THE EQUAL EDUCATION MOVEMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven Lance Robins

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Hargreaves (2002 suggested that vigorous social movements have the potential to improve the quality of (and increase the equity in public education. This paper explores the role of Equal Education, an education social movement in South Africa led by university students and secondary school learners, in the process of educational change. Drawing on interviews with the organisation’s founding members, organisers and secondary school learners, the paper examines how the organisation/social movement embodies what Oakes and Rogers (2007 describe as ‘learning power’ and in the process contribute to improvement in public education.

The motivational roots of norms for environmentally responsible behaviour

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thøgersen, John

2007-01-01

to the studied behaviour differ significantly depending on the strength of their norms and the two types of norms differ in their embeddedness in the person's cognitive structures. The behavioural influence of subjective social norms and expressed reasons and motives is mediated through personal norms...... consumers (N = 206). Each questionnaire contained standard items measuring subjective social and personal norms for the purchase of organic food, self-reported buying behaviour, and a "hard laddering" instrument probing reasons and motives for doing so. As expected, participants' means-end associations...

Frontal alpha asymmetry and aerobic exercise: are changes due to cardiovascular demand or bilateral rhythmic movement?

Science.gov (United States)

Hicks, Robert A; Hall, Peter A; Staines, William R; McIlroy, William E

2018-02-01

The left and right prefrontal cortices are linked to networks that control approach and withdrawal motivation, respectively. The relationship between activity in the left and right prefrontal activity is used to assess brain states and specifically their link to motivational behaviours and tendencies. The most common measure used in this context is called the frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA), which compares alpha (8-13Hz) power at each region. Interestingly, research shows that FAA is influenced by aerobic exercise by increasing relative left prefrontal cortex activity. In turn this effect may be beneficial for individuals with mood disorders that are associated with abnormal motivational tendencies. However, it is unknown whether changes in FAA after exercise are due to cardiovascular demands of activity or simply the movement required for the exercise. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influence of aerobic exercise and 'no intensity' bilateral movement cycling on FAA in young healthy adults. Results showed aerobic exercise caused a significant increase in FAA scores 22-38min after exercise. However, movement did not lead to a significant change in FAA. This suggests there is an intensity required for physical activity to evoke a change in FAA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Statistical convergence on intuitionistic fuzzy normed spaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karakus, S.; Demirci, K.; Duman, O.

2008-01-01

Saadati and Park [Saadati R, Park JH, Chaos, Solitons and Fractals 2006;27:331-44] has recently introduced the notion of intuitionistic fuzzy normed space. In this paper, we study the concept of statistical convergence on intuitionistic fuzzy normed spaces. Then we give a useful characterization for statistically convergent sequences. Furthermore, we display an example such that our method of convergence is stronger than the usual convergence on intuitionistic fuzzy normed spaces

Social Norms in the Ancient Athenian Courts

OpenAIRE

Lanni, Adriaan M.

2013-01-01

Ancient Athens was a remarkably peaceful and well-ordered society by both ancient and contemporary standards. Scholars typically attribute Athens’ success to internalized norms and purely informal enforcement mechanisms. This article argues that the formal Athenian court system played a vital role in maintaining order by enforcing informal norms. This peculiar approach to norm enforcement compensated for apparent weaknesses in the state system of coercion. It mitigated the effects of under-e...

Civilsamfundets ABC: N for Norm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Anker Brink; Meyer, Gitte

2016-01-01

Bogstaveligt talt: Hvad er civilsamfundet? Anker Brink Lund og Gitte Meyer fra CBS Center for Civil Society Studies gennemgår civilsamfundet bogstav for bogstav. Vi er nået til N for Norm.......Bogstaveligt talt: Hvad er civilsamfundet? Anker Brink Lund og Gitte Meyer fra CBS Center for Civil Society Studies gennemgår civilsamfundet bogstav for bogstav. Vi er nået til N for Norm....

Politics and the Practice of School Change: The Hyukshin School Movement in South Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Sung, Youl-Kwan; Lee, Yoonmi

2018-01-01

In this article, we examine the characteristics of a progressive school-change project in South Korea called the "Hyukshin" School (HS) movement. HSs are public schools that are intended to disseminate progressive and democratic practices. We obtained data from interviews with participating teachers, official documents, reports, and…

An Under-the-Table Leg-Movement Apparatus and Changes in Energy Expenditure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel A. Koepp

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Deskwork contributes substantially to sedentariness. Here, we evaluated an under-the-table apparatus that was designed to promote leg movement (fidgeting while seated. Our hypothesis was that the under-the-table apparatus would increase energy expenditure.Methods: We measured energy expenditure and heart rate in 26 people while they sat and worked using a standard chair, walked on a treadmill, and sat and worked using an under-the-desk apparatus that encouraged leg movement.Results: Energy expenditure increased significantly while using the under-the-table apparatus when compared to the standard office chair (standard chair, 81 ± 18 kcal/h; under-the-table apparatus, 96 ± 23 kcal/h (P < 0.001; representing an 18 ± 16% increase. The changes in energy expenditure were not as great as walking (1 mph, 168 ± 46 kcal/h, P < 0.001; 2 mph, 205 ± 51 kcal/, P < 0.001, representing 107 ± 37% and 155 ± 48% increases over baseline, respectively.Conclusions: An under-the-table apparatus that promotes leg movement can increase energy expenditure by approximately 20%. Dynamic sitting is promoted by this apparatus and may be among a lexicon of options to help people move more while seated at work.

Norm based design of fault detectors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rank, Mike Lind; Niemann, Hans Henrik

1999-01-01

The design of fault detectors for fault detection and isolation (FDI) in dynamic systems is considered in this paper from a norm based point of view. An analysis of norm based threshold selection is given based on different formulations of FDI problems. Both the nominal FDI problem as well...

Norms and customs: causally important or causally impotent?

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Todd

2010-01-01

In this article, I argue that norms and customs, despite frequently being described as being causes of behavior in the social sciences and ordinary conversation, cannot really cause behavior. Terms like "norms" and the like seem to refer to philosophically disreputable disjunctive properties. More problematically, even if they do not, or even if there can be disjunctive properties after all, I argue that norms and customs still cannot cause behavior. The social sciences would be better off without referring to properties like norms and customs as if they could be causal.

Practical Run-Time Norm Enforcement with Bounded Lookahead

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alechina, Natasha; Bulling, Nils; Dastani, Mehdi; Logan, Brian

2015-01-01

Norms have been widely proposed as a means of coordinating and controlling the behaviour of agents in a multi-agent system. A key challenge in normative MAS is norm enforcement: how and when to restrict the agents’ behaviour in order to obtain a desirable outcome? Even if a norm can be enforced

Evolution of generous cooperative norms by cultural group selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheuring, István

2009-04-07

Evolution of cooperative norms is studied in a population where individual- and group-level selection are both in operation. Individuals play indirect reciprocity game within their group. Individuals are well informed about the previous actions and reputations, and follow second-order norms. Individuals are norm-followers, and imitate their successful group mates. In contrast to previous models where norms classify actions deterministically, we assume that norms determine only the probabilities of actions, and mutants can differ in these probabilities. The central question is how a selective cooperative norm can emerge in a population where initially only non-cooperative norms were present. It is shown that evolution leads to a cooperative state if generous cooperative strategies are dominant, although the "always defecting" and the "always cooperating"-like strategies remain stably present. The characteristics of these generous cooperative strategies and the presence of always defecting and always cooperating strategies are in concordance with experimental observations.

Children are sensitive to norms of giving

OpenAIRE

McAuliffe, K.; Raihani, N. J.; Dunham, Y.

2017-01-01

People across societies engage in costly sharing, but the extent of such sharing shows striking cultural variation, highlighting the importance of local norms in shaping generosity. Despite this acknowledged role for norms, it is unclear when they begin to exert their influence in development. Here we use a Dictator Game to investigate the extent to which 4- to 9-year-old children are sensitive to selfish (give 20%) and generous (give 80%) norms. Additionally, we varied whether children were ...

The dynamic interaction of personal norms and environment-friendly buying behavior: A panel study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thøgersen, John; Ølander, Folke

2006-01-01

A deeper understanding of the attitude-norm-behavior relationship in the environmental field can be obtained by analyzing the dynamic interaction over time between relevant attitudinal variables and specific behaviors of interest. This article is based on a panel survey with a random sample...... of about 1,500 Danes interviewed up to 3 times in 1998 to 2000, regarding their purchase of organic food products. The panel analysis reveals that the stronger are consumers' personal norms about buying organic food products and the less they perceive organic products as expensive, the greater...... the likelihood that they change their purchase patterns in favor of organic products. Furthermore, one can observe significant cross-lagged paths from past behavior to belief and norm variables....

Online manual movement adjustments in response to target position changes and apparent target motion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oostwoud Wijdenes, L.; Brenner, E.; Smeets, J.B.J.

2014-01-01

This study set out to determine whether the fastest online hand movement corrections are only responses to changing judgments of the targets' position or whether they are also influenced by the apparent target motion. Introducing a gap between when a target disappears and when it reappears at a new

Frontcountry encounter norms among three cultures

Science.gov (United States)

Jerry J. Vaske; Maureen P. Donnelly; Robert M. Doctor; James P. Petruzzi

1995-01-01

Existing normative studies have focused on backcountry encounter norms reported by North Americans. This study extends previous research by comparing encounter norms reported by three different cultures - North Americans, Europeans, and Japanese - in a frontcountry day use recreation area. Data were obtained from on-site surveys distributed at the Columbia Icefield in...

Grip and Pinch Strength Norms for Michigan Workers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joel M. Phillips M.S., OTRL

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to create a norm reference of current grip and pinch strength norms for working-age Michigan adults. This normative study included a convenience sample of 179 volunteers who were employees at car plants in South East Michigan or hospital sites in West Michigan. Participants’ ages ranged from between 20 and 62 years of age with a mean age of 49.15 years. There were 78 females (44% and 101 males (56%. Subjects were classified by gender and in the age categories of ages 20 to 49 years and ages 50-62 years. Grip and pinch strength norms were collected following the American Society of Hand Therapy protocol. The norms from these working adults were calculated with descriptive statistics for males and females in two age classifications: ages 20 to 49 and ages 50 to 62 years. Standard Errors (SE are better than the 1985 norms for both males and females ages 20 to 49 years. SEs are higher than the ages 20 to 49 years’ norms for the ages 50 to 62 years age categories in both males and females. These norms offer a point of comparison for clinicians to use for clients in Michigan who are ages 20 to 62 years and who have a goal to improve their grip strength. Clients’ grip and pinch strength could be compared to their age level or gender norms using the comparison for one standard deviation above, below, or at the means.

Colour change of twig-mimicking peppered moth larvae is a continuous reaction norm that increases camouflage against avian predators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amy Eacock

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Camouflage, and in particular background-matching, is one of the most common anti-predator strategies observed in nature. Animals can improve their match to the colour/pattern of their surroundings through background selection, and/or by plastic colour change. Colour change can occur rapidly (a few seconds, or it may be slow, taking hours to days. Many studies have explored the cues and mechanisms behind rapid colour change, but there is a considerable lack of information about slow colour change in the context of predation: the cues that initiate it, and the range of phenotypes that are produced. Here we show that peppered moth (Biston betularia larvae respond to colour and luminance of the twigs they rest on, and exhibit a continuous reaction norm of phenotypes. When presented with a heterogeneous environment of mixed twig colours, individual larvae specialise crypsis towards one colour rather than developing an intermediate colour. Flexible colour change in this species has likely evolved in association with wind dispersal and polyphagy, which result in caterpillars settling and feeding in a diverse range of visual environments. This is the first example of visually induced slow colour change in Lepidoptera that has been objectively quantified and measured from the visual perspective of natural predators.

Colour change of twig-mimicking peppered moth larvae is a continuous reaction norm that increases camouflage against avian predators.

Science.gov (United States)

Eacock, Amy; Rowland, Hannah M; Edmonds, Nicola; Saccheri, Ilik J

2017-01-01

Camouflage, and in particular background-matching, is one of the most common anti-predator strategies observed in nature. Animals can improve their match to the colour/pattern of their surroundings through background selection, and/or by plastic colour change. Colour change can occur rapidly (a few seconds), or it may be slow, taking hours to days. Many studies have explored the cues and mechanisms behind rapid colour change, but there is a considerable lack of information about slow colour change in the context of predation: the cues that initiate it, and the range of phenotypes that are produced. Here we show that peppered moth ( Biston betularia ) larvae respond to colour and luminance of the twigs they rest on, and exhibit a continuous reaction norm of phenotypes. When presented with a heterogeneous environment of mixed twig colours, individual larvae specialise crypsis towards one colour rather than developing an intermediate colour. Flexible colour change in this species has likely evolved in association with wind dispersal and polyphagy, which result in caterpillars settling and feeding in a diverse range of visual environments. This is the first example of visually induced slow colour change in Lepidoptera that has been objectively quantified and measured from the visual perspective of natural predators.

Preparing to Understand Feminism in the Twenty-First Century: Global Social Change, Women's Work, and Women's Movements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Torry Dickinson

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The history of women's non-wage work, women's wage labor, and contemporary women's movements can be understood with greater clarity if studies of "globalization", feminism, and the capitalist world-economy are examined in relationship to each other. Today many women's movements clearly reflect, respond to, and attempt to shape changes in wage (employer-organized and non-wage (labor-organized work relations. This paper is a conceptual, theoretical and historical exploration of how scholars, who study inter-related global areas, can prepare to do research on women's work and women's movements that will contribute to the development of "globalization", feminist, and world-economy scholarship.

European Top Managers' Age-Related Workplace Norms and Their Organizations' Recruitment and Retention Practices Regarding Older Workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Oude Mulders, Jaap; Henkens, Kène; Schippers, Joop

2017-10-01

Top managers guide organizational strategy and practices, but their role in the employment of older workers is understudied. We study the effects that age-related workplace norms of top managers have on organizations' recruitment and retention practices regarding older workers. We investigate two types of age-related workplace norms, namely age equality norms (whether younger and older workers should be treated equally) and retirement age norms (when older workers are expected to retire) while controlling for organizational and national contexts. Data collected among top managers of 1,088 organizations from six European countries were used for the study. Logistic regression models were run to estimate the effects of age-related workplace norms on four different organizational outcomes: (a) recruiting older workers, (b) encouraging working until normal retirement age, (c) encouraging working beyond normal retirement age, and (d) rehiring retired former employees. Age-related workplace norms of top managers affect their organizations' practices, but in different ways. Age equality norms positively affect practices before the boundary of normal retirement age (Outcomes a and b), whereas retirement age norms positively affect practices after the boundary of normal retirement age (Outcomes c and d). Changing age-related workplace norms of important actors in organizations may be conducive to better employment opportunities and a higher level of employment participation of older workers. However, care should be taken to target the right types of norms, since targeting different norms may yield different outcomes. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Practice changes beta power at rest and its modulation during movement in healthy subjects but not in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Moisello, Clara; Blanco, Daniella; Lin, Jing; Panday, Priya; Kelly, Simon P; Quartarone, Angelo; Di Rocco, Alessandro; Cirelli, Chiara; Tononi, Giulio; Ghilardi, M Felice

2015-10-01

PD (Parkinson's disease) is characterized by impairments in cortical plasticity, in beta frequency at rest and in beta power modulation during movement (i.e., event-related ERS [synchronization] and ERD [desynchronization]). Recent results with experimental protocols inducing long-term potentiation in healthy subjects suggest that cortical plasticity phenomena might be reflected by changes of beta power recorded with EEG during rest. Here, we determined whether motor practice produces changes in beta power at rest and during movements in both healthy subjects and patients with PD. We hypothesized that such changes would be reduced in PD. We thus recorded EEG in patients with PD and age-matched controls before, during and after a 40-minute reaching task. We determined posttask changes of beta power at rest and assessed the progressive changes of beta ERD and ERS during the task over frontal and sensorimotor regions. We found that beta ERS and ERD changed significantly with practice in controls but not in PD. In PD compared to controls, beta power at rest was greater over frontal sensors but posttask changes, like those during movements, were far less evident. In both groups, kinematic characteristics improved with practice; however, there was no correlation between such improvements and the changes in beta power. We conclude that prolonged practice in a motor task produces use-dependent modifications that are reflected in changes of beta power at rest and during movement. In PD, such changes are significantly reduced; such a reduction might represent, at least partially, impairment of cortical plasticity.

Human rights – local value or universal norm?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grigory Gutner

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The article argues for the universal character of human rights. It is demonstrated that they are not of specific value of Western culture but are a universal norm. This norm is valid not only for political practices but, first of all, for the morality and practice of argumentation. Human rights are strictly correlated with Kantian Categorical Imperative and can be substantiated by means of transcendental­pragmatic argument (K.­O. Apel. The difference between values and norms are also considered. It is demonstrated that values are always subjective and arbitrary meanwhile final justification is possible for norms.  

Effectiveness of Community Dialogue in Changing Gender and Sexual Norms for HIV Prevention: Evaluation of the Tchova Tchova Program in Mozambique.

Science.gov (United States)

Figueroa, Maria Elena; Poppe, Patricia; Carrasco, Maria; Pinho, Maria Dirce; Massingue, Felisberto; Tanque, Maria; Kwizera, Amata

2016-05-01

Structural HIV prevention interventions have gained prominence as ways to address underlying social and cultural factors that fuel the HIV epidemic. Identifying theories that explain how structural interventions are expected to change such factors can substantially increase their success. The Tchova Tchova community dialogue program, a theory-based intervention implemented in 2009-2010 in the provinces of Zambezia and Sofala, Mozambique, aimed to change gender and sexual norms for HIV prevention. Through facilitated sessions, the program sparked critical thinking and open dialogue among participants. This article measures the program's effectiveness based on a sample of 462 participants and 453 nonparticipants. The results show that the program was successful in producing changes in three of the underlying structural factors of HIV: gender attitudes, gender roles, and HIV stigma. The program was also successful in changing other factors associated with HIV infection, including HIV prevention knowledge, discussion of HIV between sex partners, and having multiple sex partners.

Change in Counter movement Jump Strategy by Varying Jump Height Based on Simplified Framework for Center of Mass Mechanics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Seyoung

2017-01-01

In this study, we investigated how a jumping strategy changes with an increase in the vertical jump height for a resultant ground reaction force (GRF) vector. We expected that the resultant force vector between two sequential motion phases (i.e., countermovement and push-off) of the counter movement jump would significantly change with the vertical jump height to take advantage of the resulting supportive force (i.e., an initial push-off force larger than the body weight) through the counter movement phase. Nine healthy young subjects were instructed to jump straight up to five different height levels ranging from 191 cm to 221 cm, and the kinematic and kinetic data were obtained in regular trials. The results showed that a lower center of mass position and larger resultant force vector were clearly observed in a higher jump, implying that the counter movement strategy changed with the vertical jump height to prepare for sufficient joint deviation and obtain a force advantage for larger push-off work.

Change in Counter movement Jump Strategy by Varying Jump Height Based on Simplified Framework for Center of Mass Mechanics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Seyoung [Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials(KIMM), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2017-04-15

In this study, we investigated how a jumping strategy changes with an increase in the vertical jump height for a resultant ground reaction force (GRF) vector. We expected that the resultant force vector between two sequential motion phases (i.e., countermovement and push-off) of the counter movement jump would significantly change with the vertical jump height to take advantage of the resulting supportive force (i.e., an initial push-off force larger than the body weight) through the counter movement phase. Nine healthy young subjects were instructed to jump straight up to five different height levels ranging from 191 cm to 221 cm, and the kinematic and kinetic data were obtained in regular trials. The results showed that a lower center of mass position and larger resultant force vector were clearly observed in a higher jump, implying that the counter movement strategy changed with the vertical jump height to prepare for sufficient joint deviation and obtain a force advantage for larger push-off work.

Feasibility of re-melting NORM-contaminated scrap metal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Winters, S. J.; Smith, K. P.

1999-10-26

Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) sometimes accumulate inside pieces of equipment associated with oil and gas production and processing activities. Typically, the NORM accumulates when radium that is present in solution in produced water precipitates out in scale and sludge deposits. Scrap equipment containing residual quantities of these NORM-bearing scales and sludges can present a waste management problem if the radium concentrations exceed regulatory limits or activate the alarms on radiation screening devices installed at most scrap metal recycling facilities. Although NORM-contaminated scrap metal currently is not disposed of by re-melting, this form of recycling could present a viable disposition option for this waste stream. Studies indicate that re-melting NORM-contaminated scrap metal is a viable recycling option from a risk-based perspective. However, a myriad of economic, regulatory, and policy issues have caused the recyclers to turn away virtually all radioactive scrap metal. Until these issues can be resolved, re-melting of the petroleum industry's NORM-impacted scrap metal is unlikely to be a widespread practice. This paper summarizes the issues associated with re-melting radioactive scrap so that the petroleum industry and its regulators will understand the obstacles. This paper was prepared as part of a report being prepared by the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission's NORM Subcommittee.

Branching geodesics in normed spaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ivanov, A O; Tuzhilin, A A

2002-01-01

We study branching extremals of length functionals on normed spaces. This is a natural generalization of the Steiner problem in normed spaces. We obtain criteria for a network to be extremal under deformations that preserve the topology of networks as well as under deformations with splitting. We discuss the connection between locally shortest networks and extremal networks. In the important particular case of the Manhattan plane, we get a criterion for a locally shortest network to be extremal

Social Norms and Moral Hazard

OpenAIRE

Dufwenberg, Martin; Lundholm, Michael

1997-01-01

The probability of income loss depends on talent and effort. Effort has positive externalities and therefore individuals are proportion to their perceived diligence. The social norm requires more effort from individuals perceived as more talented, but talent is private information and individuals cunningly choose effort so as to manipulate the public perception of their talent. We analyze the workings of a social insurance system in this setting. It turns out that social norms may mitigate mo...

Variation in reaction norms: Statistical considerations and biological interpretation.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrissey, Michael B; Liefting, Maartje

2016-09-01

Analysis of reaction norms, the functions by which the phenotype produced by a given genotype depends on the environment, is critical to studying many aspects of phenotypic evolution. Different techniques are available for quantifying different aspects of reaction norm variation. We examine what biological inferences can be drawn from some of the more readily applicable analyses for studying reaction norms. We adopt a strongly biologically motivated view, but draw on statistical theory to highlight strengths and drawbacks of different techniques. In particular, consideration of some formal statistical theory leads to revision of some recently, and forcefully, advocated opinions on reaction norm analysis. We clarify what simple analysis of the slope between mean phenotype in two environments can tell us about reaction norms, explore the conditions under which polynomial regression can provide robust inferences about reaction norm shape, and explore how different existing approaches may be used to draw inferences about variation in reaction norm shape. We show how mixed model-based approaches can provide more robust inferences than more commonly used multistep statistical approaches, and derive new metrics of the relative importance of variation in reaction norm intercepts, slopes, and curvatures. © 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Regulatory and management approaches to NORM residues in Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Omar, M.; Teng, I.L.

2006-01-01

Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) processing industries in Malaysia include oil and gas production and mineral processing plants. These industries are controlled by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board of Malaysia (AELB) through the enforcement of the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 (Act 304). Related regulations have been developed in order to ensure the safety of workers and members of the public. However, more regulations are necessary for the safe handling of NORM. NORM processing generates various types of NORM residues that require proper management. As for low-level NORM residues, landfill disposal can be exempted from regulatory control if the Radiological Impact Assessment (RIA) shows that the additional dose to the members of the public is below the limit set by the authority. This paper outlines the regulatory and management approaches to NORM residues in Malaysia. (author)

Norm based Threshold Selection for Fault Detectors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rank, Mike Lind; Niemann, Henrik

1998-01-01

The design of fault detectors for fault detection and isolation (FDI) in dynamic systems is considered from a norm based point of view. An analysis of norm based threshold selection is given based on different formulations of FDI problems. Both the nominal FDI problem as well as the uncertain FDI...... problem are considered. Based on this analysis, a performance index based on norms of the involved transfer functions is given. The performance index allows us also to optimize the structure of the fault detection filter directly...

College Student Alcohol Use and Abuse: Social Norms, Health Beliefs, and Selected Socio-Demographic Variables as Explanatory Factors

Science.gov (United States)

Champion, Denisha A.; Lewis, Todd F.; Myers, Jane E.

2015-01-01

The U.S. Surgeon General described college alcohol abuse as the most significant public health concern on university campuses (DHHS, 2007). Social norms have been identified as a strong predictor of college drinking and yet programs based on norms have had limited effectiveness in changing drinking behavior. Other theoretical explanations, such as…

A discussion on NORM guidelines: proposed revisions needed for practical use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Jing

2015-01-01

International awareness of NORM as a potential source of radiation risk to workers, members of the public and the environment has increased significantly in recent years. NORM guidelines were originally developed for radiation management in NORM industries. However, the guidelines have been often consulted by many other industries not commonly considered as an NORM industry. In addition, with the increased awareness of NORM issues, more and more people have tried to apply NORM guidelines in many other situations related to NORM in the environment. The broad use of NORM guidelines out of the original scope has demonstrated the needs to revise the guidelines for practical use. These needs are discussed in the article. (authors)

Social Movements and Interrelated Effects: The Process of Social Change in the Post-Movement Lives of Provisional IRA Volunteers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bosi, Lorenzo

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This article systematizes a research perspective that assesses how different types of social movement outcomes mutually influence one another over time. This should offer a different perspective on the consequences of social movements by shifting the focus from single outcomes to processes of social change that are generated by the interaction between different types of effects. The variety of ways in which movement outcomes potentially influence each other in the short-term, or over an extended period of time, will be broken down into six hypothetical processes. Empirically, through a process-tracing approach, in this article I investigate how the British state’s responses at policy level toward the disruptive mobilization of the Catholic community in Northern Ireland and to the armed campaign of the PIRA have shaped the post-movement lives of PIRA volunteers.Este artículo sistematiza una perspectiva de investigación que evalúa cómo los diferentes tipos de resultados de los movimientos sociales se influyen mutuamente en el tiempo. Esto debería ofrecer una perspectiva diferente sobre las consecuencias de los movimientos sociales, cambiando el foco de atención desde los resultados individuales a procesos de cambio social generados a partir de la interacción entre diferentes tipos de efectos. La variedad de formas en las que los resultados de los movimientos se influyen potencialmente entre sí en el corto plazo, o durante un período prolongado de tiempo, se dividen en seis procesos hipotéticos. Empíricamente, a través de un enfoque centrado en los procesos, este artículo investiga cómo las respuestas políticas ofrecidas del Estado británico a la movilización disruptiva de la comunidad católica de Irlanda del Norte y la lucha armada del PIRA han dado forma a la vida post-movimiento de los voluntarios del PIRA.

CLEX: A cross-linguistic lexical norms database

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Rune Nørgaard; Dale, Philip; Bleses, Dorthe

2009-01-01

Parent report has proven a valid and cost-effective means of evaluating early child language. Norming datasets for these instruments, which provide the basis for standardized comparisons of individual children to a population, can also be used to derive norms for the acquisition of individual words...... in production and comprehension and also early gestures and symbolic actions. These lexical norms have a wide range of uses in basic research, assessment and intervention. In addition, crosslinguistic comparisons of lexical development are greatly facilitated by the availability of norms from diverse languages....... This report describes the development of CLEX, a new web-based cross-linguistic database for lexical data from adaptations of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories. CLEX provides tools for a range of analyses within and across languages. It is designed to incorporate additional language...

How preschoolers react to norm violations is associated with culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Gampe, Anja; Daum, Moritz M

2018-01-01

Children from the age of 3years understand social norms as such and enforce these norms in interactions with others. Differences in parental and institutional education across cultures make it likely that children receive divergent information about how to act in cases of norm violations. In the current study, we investigated whether cultural values are associated with the ways in which children react to norm violations. We tested 80 bicultural 3-year-olds with a norm enforcement paradigm and analyzed their reactions to norm violations. The reactions were correlated to the children's parental cultural values using the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) scales, and these results show that parental culture was associated with children's reactions to norm violations. The three strongest correlations were found for institutional collectivism, performance orientation, and assertiveness. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development and testing of the Youth Alcohol Norms Survey (YANS) instrument to measure youth alcohol norms and psychosocial influences.

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Sharyn K; Maycock, Bruce; Hildebrand, Janina; Zhao, Yun; Allsop, Steve; Lobo, Roanna; Howat, Peter

2018-05-14

This study aimed to develop and validate an online instrument to: (1) identify common alcohol-related social influences, norms and beliefs among adolescents; (2) clarify the process and pathways through which proalcohol norms are transmitted to adolescents; (3) describe the characteristics of social connections that contribute to the transmission of alcohol norms; and (4) identify the influence of alcohol marketing on adolescent norm development. The online Youth Alcohol Norms Survey (YANS) was administered in secondary schools in Western Australia PARTICIPANTS: Using a 2-week test-retest format, the YANS was administered to secondary school students (n=481, age=13-17 years, female 309, 64.2%). The development of the YANS was guided by social cognitive theory and comprised a systematic multistage process including evaluation of content and face validity. A 2-week test-retest format was employed. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to determine the underlying factor structure of the instrument. Test-retest reliability was examined using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cohen's kappa. A five-factor structure with meaningful components and robust factorial loads was identified, and the five factors were labelled as 'individual attitudes and beliefs', 'peer and community identity', 'sibling influences', 'school and community connectedness' and 'injunctive norms', respectively. The instrument demonstrated stability across the test-retest procedure (ICC=0.68-0.88, Cohen's kappa coefficient=0.69) for most variables. The results support the reliability and factorial validity of this instrument. The YANS presents a promising tool, which enables comprehensive assessment of reciprocal individual, behavioural and environmental factors that influence alcohol-related norms among adolescents. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise

The enhancement of social norm compliance: Prospects and caveats

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Civai, C.; Ma, I.

2017-01-01

Societies are characterized by a shared system of social norms, which promotes cooperation among people. However, following social norms often means going against self-interest - imagine, for example, being required to choose whether or not to get richer from an unfair deal; ignoring social norms,

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF INFORMAL NORMS OF URBAN COLORISTICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yulia Alexandrowna Griber

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The objective of the study was informal social norms of urban culture. The paper contains the detailed description of the experimental situation and the main steps of the field research, focused on the observance of informal social norms in the sphere of urban coloristics. The experiment was conducted in three districts of Smolensk (Russia – Leninskiy, Zadneprovskiy and Promyshlennyy. Particular attention was paid to the analysis of the results of the field research, including evaluation of reaction of participants (residents of multi-storied houses, breakers of informal norms of urban coloristics (experimenters and casual experiment witnesses (neighbors and passersby. In addition, the accuracy of results “forecasting”, done before the beginning of the experiment, is analyzed. The research was conducted using the methodology of breaking experiment that is one of the most provocative ways of studying informal norms in sociology and social psychology. The experiment allowed to draw a number of important conclusions. It showed that urban coloristics is regulated by strict informal norms, that are not noticed by citizens until a violation occurs. The power of informal norms is significantly underestimated by citizens, and their break causes a negative reaction and protest. The most important contribution to the study of informal norms of urban culture was the comparison of the reaction degree by men and women, by the residents of different districts (central, residential or blue-collar neighborhoods, by different age groups.

Norm in the matter of safeguards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saavedra, Analia; Maceiras, Elena; Valentino, Lucia; Chiliutti, Mauro

2001-01-01

The Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA), through its norm, establishes requirements in the matter of safeguards that allow him to control the fulfillment of the objectives established at national level and the international commitments that the Argentine Republic has assumed in the scope of Nuclear Non-proliferation. The measures of fortification of the safeguards proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will imply new obligations for the country and consequently it will require the update of the effective norm in the matter. The objective of this work is to describe the reach of the update of the norm in the matter of safeguards and their relation with some procedures of application in the scope of the radiological protection and the nuclear security

Followership in Ecology/Environment Social Movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Clavner, Jerry B.; Sumodi, Veronica R.

The paper analyzes the failure of the ecology/environmental movement to develop into a social movement and to generate a mass following. The movement has had difficulty not only in organizing collective behavior but also in maintaining the necessary momentum to change into a full-fledged social movement. Obvious reasons are that ecologists…

Fourier Multipliers on Anisotropic Mixed-Norm Spaces of Distributions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cleanthous, Galatia; Georgiadis, Athanasios; Nielsen, Morten

2018-01-01

A new general Hormander type condition involving anisotropies and mixed norms is introduced, and boundedness results for Fourier multi- pliers on anisotropic Besov and Triebel-Lizorkin spaces of distributions with mixed Lebesgue norms are obtained. As an application, the continuity of such operat......A new general Hormander type condition involving anisotropies and mixed norms is introduced, and boundedness results for Fourier multi- pliers on anisotropic Besov and Triebel-Lizorkin spaces of distributions with mixed Lebesgue norms are obtained. As an application, the continuity...

'My wife, you are supposed to have a rest now': an analysis of norms influencing men's role in prenatal care in south-eastern Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Gross, Karin; Mayumana, Iddy; Obrist, Brigit

2013-04-01

Men as sexual partners, fathers and household heads have a direct bearing on women's reproductive health. However, little is known about the influence of changing norms and values on men's role in ensuring women's health during pregnancy and childbirth. This study from rural south-eastern Tanzania explores men's and women's discussions on men's roles and responsibilities in prenatal care and links them to an analysis of norms and values at the household level and beyond. Data from eight focus group discussions with men and women were consensually coded and analysed using a qualitative content analysis. Four dimensions of norms and values, which emerged from analysis, bear upon men's support towards pregnant women: changing gender identities; changing family and marriage structures; biomedical values disseminated in health education; and government regulations. The findings suggest that Tanzanian men are exposed to a contradictory and changing landscape of norms and values in relation to maternal health.

Responsible Communication between the Judicial and Deontological Norm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Aurelia Popa

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Confronting with numerous problems related to moral judgment, the responsibility and irresponsibility in what concerns the vast domain of communication, we are interested in forming a correct and complete vision that crosses the judicial and deontological domain of the profession. The deontological norms are meant to guarantee, by their freely consented acceptance, the good fulfillment of the mission of the journalists, recognized as being indispensable for the god functioning of any human society. The laws do not expressly refer to the deontological norms, but these norms exist according to the law order and are necessary for its guarantee in this social context, which is chaotic from the point of view of the legislation in communication. The aspects analyzed here aremeant to indicate the manner in which passing from deontological norm to the judicial norm creates an external constraint for the communicator which brings more responsibility in view of avoiding the journalistic conflicts.

Operator’s Fuzzy Norm and Some Properties

OpenAIRE

Bag, T.; Samanta, S.K.

2015-01-01

In this paper, a concept of operator’s fuzzy norm is introduced for the first time in general t-norm setting. Ideas of fuzzy continuous operators, fuzzy bounded linear operators are given with some properties of such operators studied in this general setting.

Combining Gender, Work, and Family Identities: The Cross-Over and Spill-Over of Gender Norms into Young Adults' Work and Family Aspirations.

Science.gov (United States)

Meeussen, Loes; Veldman, Jenny; Van Laar, Colette

2016-01-01

The current study investigates how descriptive and prescriptive gender norms that communicate work and family identities to be (in)compatible with gender identities limit or enhance young men and women's family and career aspirations. Results show that young adults ( N = 445) perceived gender norms to assign greater compatibility between female and family identities and male and work identities than vice versa, and that young men and women mirror their aspirations to this traditional division of tasks. Spill-over effects of norms across life domains and cross-over effects of norms across gender-groups indicated that young women, more than young men, aimed to 'have it all': mirroring their career ambitions to a male career model, while keeping their family aspirations high. Moreover, young women opposed traditional role divisions in the family domain by decreasing their family aspirations in face of norms of lower family involvement or higher career involvement of men. Conversely, in line with traditional gender roles, young men showed lower family aspirations in the face of strong male career norms; and showed increases in their career aspirations when perceiving women to take up more family roles. Young men's family aspirations were, however, more influenced by new norms prescribing men to invest more in their family, suggesting opportunities for change. Together, these findings show that through social norms, young adults' gender identity affects aspirations for how to manage the co-presence of their work and family identities. Altering these norms may provide leverage for change to allow both men and women to combine their multiple identities in an enriching way.

Professional norms, public service motivation and economic incentives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Lotte Bøgh

2007-01-01

The theories of professions, public service motivation, and economic incentives explain the behaviour of the producers of publicly financed services differently. They emphasize professional norms, sector, and economic incentives, respectively. The few existing attempts to integrate these theories...... have, however, indicated that these factors interact. Using interviews, surveys and registers, the paper investigated how professional norms, economic incentives and sector affected the behaviour of Danish dentists and physicians. It was found that when strong professional norms existed, economic...... incentives were unimportant for both public and private employees. In contrast, when no firm professional norm applied, economic incentives affected behaviour. Controlling for different economic incentives, sector does not seem to affect the behaviour much. The results imply that the economic...

Peer punishment promotes enforcement of bad social norms.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbink, Klaus; Gangadharan, Lata; Handfield, Toby; Thrasher, John

2017-09-20

Social norms are an important element in explaining how humans achieve very high levels of cooperative activity. It is widely observed that, when norms can be enforced by peer punishment, groups are able to resolve social dilemmas in prosocial, cooperative ways. Here we show that punishment can also encourage participation in destructive behaviours that are harmful to group welfare, and that this phenomenon is mediated by a social norm. In a variation of a public goods game, in which the return to investment is negative for both group and individual, we find that the opportunity to punish led to higher levels of contribution, thereby harming collective payoffs. A second experiment confirmed that, independently of whether punishment is available, a majority of subjects regard the efficient behaviour of non-contribution as socially inappropriate. The results show that simply providing a punishment opportunity does not guarantee that punishment will be used for socially beneficial ends, because the social norms that influence punishment behaviour may themselves be destructive.Punishment by peers can enforce social norms, such as contributing to a public good. Here, Abbink and colleagues show that individuals will enforce norms even when contributions reduce the net benefit of the group, resulting in the maintenance of wasteful contributions.

STRICT CONVEXITY THROUGH EQUIVALENT NORMS IN SEPARABLES BANACH SPACES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Willy Zubiaga Vera

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Let E be a separable Banach space with norm || . ||. In the present work, the objective is to construct a norm || . ||1 that is equivalent to || . || in E, such that || . ||1 is strictly convex. In addition it is shown that its dual conjugate norm is also strictly convex.

Full waveform inversion using envelope-based global correlation norm

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Ju-Won; Alkhalifah, Tariq

2018-05-01

To increase the feasibility of full waveform inversion on real data, we suggest a new objective function, which is defined as the global correlation of the envelopes of modelled and observed data. The envelope-based global correlation norm has the advantage of the envelope inversion that generates artificial low-frequency information, which provides the possibility to recover long-wavelength structure in an early stage. In addition, the envelope-based global correlation norm maintains the advantage of the global correlation norm, which reduces the sensitivity of the misfit to amplitude errors so that the performance of inversion on real data can be enhanced when the exact source wavelet is not available and more complex physics are ignored. Through the synthetic example for 2-D SEG/EAGE overthrust model with inaccurate source wavelet, we compare the performance of four different approaches, which are the least-squares waveform inversion, least-squares envelope inversion, global correlation norm and envelope-based global correlation norm. Finally, we apply the envelope-based global correlation norm on the 3-D Ocean Bottom Cable (OBC) data from the North Sea. The envelope-based global correlation norm captures the strong reflections from the high-velocity caprock and generates artificial low-frequency reflection energy that helps us recover long-wavelength structure of the model domain in the early stages. From this long-wavelength model, the conventional global correlation norm is sequentially applied to invert for higher-resolution features of the model.

Assertiveness Skills Training Efficiency on College Students’ Persuasive Subjective Norms against Substance Abuse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Barati

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction & Objective: The prevalence of substance abuse among college students is increasing drastically and requires immediate skill-based substance abuse intervention such as assertive skills. The purpose of this study was to develope the healthy behavior to change the subjective norms of students in order to decrease their tendency towards substance abuse. Materials & Methods: A pre and post nonequivalent control group design study carried out on college students. A total number of 140 students were selected through randomized cluster sampling and randomly assigned to the intervention (n=70 and the control (n=70 groups. The data-gathering tool consisted of a self-report questionnaire assessing the variables of moral , descriptive , and injunctive norms. After the diagnostic evaluation, assertive skills promoting program was applied to persuade the participants against substances abuse. Respondents in the control and experimental groups completed questionnaires at baseline and 2 months after the intervention. Results: The result showed that educational manipulation had significant effect on intervention group’s average response for moral norms (t= -3.36, P<0.001, descriptive norms (t= -3.07, P<0.003, and injunctive norms for persuading substance abuse (t=-3.79, P<0.000.Conclusion: These findings suggest that assertive skills training would be an efficient tool in drug abuse prevention programs among adolescents that should also be included in the comprehensive school health programs. (Sci J Hamadan Univ Med Sci 2011;18(3:40-49

Do social norms affect intended food choice?

Science.gov (United States)

Croker, H; Whitaker, K L; Cooke, L; Wardle, J

2009-01-01

To evaluate the effect of social norms on intended fruit and vegetable intake. A two-stage design to i) compare the perceived importance of normative influences vs cost and health on dietary choices, and ii) test the prediction that providing information on social norms will increase intended fruit and vegetable consumption in an experimental study. Home-based interviews (N=1083; 46% men, 54% women) were carried out as part of the Office for National Statistics Omnibus Survey in November 2008. The public's perception of the importance of social norms was lower (M=2.1) than the perceived importance of cost (M=2.7) or health (M=3.4) (all p'scost information; none of the interventions affected women's intentions. People have little awareness of the influence of social norms but normative information can have a demonstrable impact on dietary intentions. Health promotion might profit from emphasising how many people are attempting to adopt healthy lifestyles rather than how many have poor diets.

Forest thinning changes movement patterns and habitat use by Pacific marten

Science.gov (United States)

Katie M. Moriarty; Clinton W. Epps; William J. Zielinski

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Simplifying stand structure to reduce fuel density is a high priority for forest managers; however, affects to Pacific marten (Martes caurina) movement and connectivity are unknown. We evaluated whether thinning forests to reduce fuels influenced movements of Pacific marten. We collected movement paths from 22 martens using global positioning system telemetry...

Mathematical methods linear algebra normed spaces distributions integration

CERN Document Server

Korevaar, Jacob

1968-01-01

Mathematical Methods, Volume I: Linear Algebra, Normed Spaces, Distributions, Integration focuses on advanced mathematical tools used in applications and the basic concepts of algebra, normed spaces, integration, and distributions.The publication first offers information on algebraic theory of vector spaces and introduction to functional analysis. Discussions focus on linear transformations and functionals, rectangular matrices, systems of linear equations, eigenvalue problems, use of eigenvectors and generalized eigenvectors in the representation of linear operators, metric and normed vector

Tutorial: Calculating Percentile Rank and Percentile Norms Using SPSS

Science.gov (United States)

Baumgartner, Ted A.

2009-01-01

Practitioners can benefit from using norms, but they often have to develop their own percentile rank and percentile norms. This article is a tutorial on how to quickly and easily calculate percentile rank and percentile norms using SPSS, and this information is presented for a data set. Some issues in calculating percentile rank and percentile…

When three traits make a line: evolution of phenotypic plasticity and genetic assimilation through linear reaction norms in stochastic environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Ergon, T; Ergon, R

2017-03-01

Genetic assimilation emerges from selection on phenotypic plasticity. Yet, commonly used quantitative genetics models of linear reaction norms considering intercept and slope as traits do not mimic the full process of genetic assimilation. We argue that intercept-slope reaction norm models are insufficient representations of genetic effects on linear reaction norms and that considering reaction norm intercept as a trait is unfortunate because the definition of this trait relates to a specific environmental value (zero) and confounds genetic effects on reaction norm elevation with genetic effects on environmental perception. Instead, we suggest a model with three traits representing genetic effects that, respectively, (i) are independent of the environment, (ii) alter the sensitivity of the phenotype to the environment and (iii) determine how the organism perceives the environment. The model predicts that, given sufficient additive genetic variation in environmental perception, the environmental value at which reaction norms tend to cross will respond rapidly to selection after an abrupt environmental change, and eventually becomes equal to the new mean environment. This readjustment of the zone of canalization becomes completed without changes in genetic correlations, genetic drift or imposing any fitness costs of maintaining plasticity. The asymptotic evolutionary outcome of this three-trait linear reaction norm generally entails a lower degree of phenotypic plasticity than the two-trait model, and maximum expected fitness does not occur at the mean trait values in the population. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society for Evolutionary Biology.

Combining gender, work, and family identities: The cross-over and spill-over of gender norms into young adults’ work and family aspirations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Loes Meeussen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The current study investigates how descriptive and prescriptive gender norms that communicate work and family identities to be (incompatible with gender identities limit or enhance young men and women’s family and career aspirations. Results show that young adults (N=445 perceived gender norms to assign greater compatibility between female and family identities and male and work identities than vice versa, and that young men and women mirror their aspirations to this traditional division of tasks. Spill-over effects of norms across life domains and cross-over effects of norms across gender-groups indicated that young women, more than young men, aimed to ‘have it all’: mirroring their career ambitions to a male career model, while keeping their family aspirations high. Moreover, young women opposed traditional role divisions in the family domain by decreasing their family aspirations in face of norms of lower family involvement or higher career involvement of men. Conversely, in line with traditional gender roles, young men showed lower family aspirations in the face of strong male career norms; and showed increases in their career aspirations when perceiving women to take up more family roles. Young men’s family aspirations were, however, more influenced by new norms prescribing men to invest more in their family, suggesting opportunities for change. Together, these findings show that through social norms, young adults’ gender identity affects aspirations for how to manage the co-presence of their work and family identities. Altering these norms may provide leverage for change to allow both men and women to combine their multiple identities in an enriching way.

Combining Gender, Work, and Family Identities: The Cross-Over and Spill-Over of Gender Norms into Young Adults’ Work and Family Aspirations

Science.gov (United States)

Meeussen, Loes; Veldman, Jenny; Van Laar, Colette

2016-01-01

The current study investigates how descriptive and prescriptive gender norms that communicate work and family identities to be (in)compatible with gender identities limit or enhance young men and women’s family and career aspirations. Results show that young adults (N = 445) perceived gender norms to assign greater compatibility between female and family identities and male and work identities than vice versa, and that young men and women mirror their aspirations to this traditional division of tasks. Spill-over effects of norms across life domains and cross-over effects of norms across gender-groups indicated that young women, more than young men, aimed to ‘have it all’: mirroring their career ambitions to a male career model, while keeping their family aspirations high. Moreover, young women opposed traditional role divisions in the family domain by decreasing their family aspirations in face of norms of lower family involvement or higher career involvement of men. Conversely, in line with traditional gender roles, young men showed lower family aspirations in the face of strong male career norms; and showed increases in their career aspirations when perceiving women to take up more family roles. Young men’s family aspirations were, however, more influenced by new norms prescribing men to invest more in their family, suggesting opportunities for change. Together, these findings show that through social norms, young adults’ gender identity affects aspirations for how to manage the co-presence of their work and family identities. Altering these norms may provide leverage for change to allow both men and women to combine their multiple identities in an enriching way. PMID:27909416

Forging New Norms in New Orleans: From Emotional to Ecological Intelligence

Science.gov (United States)

Goleman, Daniel; Barlow, Zenobia; Bennett, Lisa

2010-01-01

At points of instability in a system--whether a school, community, or any other social system--there is the opportunity for breakdown or breakthrough. In that moment of opportunity arises the possibility for significant change through the emergence of new norms or standards of behavior that reflect the evolving values of the larger group. What…

Separating movement and gravity components in an acceleration signal and implications for the assessment of human daily physical activity.

Science.gov (United States)

van Hees, Vincent T; Gorzelniak, Lukas; Dean León, Emmanuel Carlos; Eder, Martin; Pias, Marcelo; Taherian, Salman; Ekelund, Ulf; Renström, Frida; Franks, Paul W; Horsch, Alexander; Brage, Søren

2013-01-01

Human body acceleration is often used as an indicator of daily physical activity in epidemiological research. Raw acceleration signals contain three basic components: movement, gravity, and noise. Separation of these becomes increasingly difficult during rotational movements. We aimed to evaluate five different methods (metrics) of processing acceleration signals on their ability to remove the gravitational component of acceleration during standardised mechanical movements and the implications for human daily physical activity assessment. An industrial robot rotated accelerometers in the vertical plane. Radius, frequency, and angular range of motion were systematically varied. Three metrics (Euclidian norm minus one [ENMO], Euclidian norm of the high-pass filtered signals [HFEN], and HFEN plus Euclidean norm of low-pass filtered signals minus 1 g [HFEN+]) were derived for each experimental condition and compared against the reference acceleration (forward kinematics) of the robot arm. We then compared metrics derived from human acceleration signals from the wrist and hip in 97 adults (22-65 yr), and wrist in 63 women (20-35 yr) in whom daily activity-related energy expenditure (PAEE) was available. In the robot experiment, HFEN+ had lowest error during (vertical plane) rotations at an oscillating frequency higher than the filter cut-off frequency while for lower frequencies ENMO performed better. In the human experiments, metrics HFEN and ENMO on hip were most discrepant (within- and between-individual explained variance of 0.90 and 0.46, respectively). ENMO, HFEN and HFEN+ explained 34%, 30% and 36% of the variance in daily PAEE, respectively, compared to 26% for a metric which did not attempt to remove the gravitational component (metric EN). In conclusion, none of the metrics as evaluated systematically outperformed all other metrics across a wide range of standardised kinematic conditions. However, choice of metric explains different degrees of variance in

Separating movement and gravity components in an acceleration signal and implications for the assessment of human daily physical activity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vincent T van Hees

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Human body acceleration is often used as an indicator of daily physical activity in epidemiological research. Raw acceleration signals contain three basic components: movement, gravity, and noise. Separation of these becomes increasingly difficult during rotational movements. We aimed to evaluate five different methods (metrics of processing acceleration signals on their ability to remove the gravitational component of acceleration during standardised mechanical movements and the implications for human daily physical activity assessment. METHODS: An industrial robot rotated accelerometers in the vertical plane. Radius, frequency, and angular range of motion were systematically varied. Three metrics (Euclidian norm minus one [ENMO], Euclidian norm of the high-pass filtered signals [HFEN], and HFEN plus Euclidean norm of low-pass filtered signals minus 1 g [HFEN+] were derived for each experimental condition and compared against the reference acceleration (forward kinematics of the robot arm. We then compared metrics derived from human acceleration signals from the wrist and hip in 97 adults (22-65 yr, and wrist in 63 women (20-35 yr in whom daily activity-related energy expenditure (PAEE was available. RESULTS: In the robot experiment, HFEN+ had lowest error during (vertical plane rotations at an oscillating frequency higher than the filter cut-off frequency while for lower frequencies ENMO performed better. In the human experiments, metrics HFEN and ENMO on hip were most discrepant (within- and between-individual explained variance of 0.90 and 0.46, respectively. ENMO, HFEN and HFEN+ explained 34%, 30% and 36% of the variance in daily PAEE, respectively, compared to 26% for a metric which did not attempt to remove the gravitational component (metric EN. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, none of the metrics as evaluated systematically outperformed all other metrics across a wide range of standardised kinematic conditions. However, choice

Four year-olds use norm-based coding for face identity.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeffery, Linda; Read, Ainsley; Rhodes, Gillian

2013-05-01

Norm-based coding, in which faces are coded as deviations from an average face, is an efficient way of coding visual patterns that share a common structure and must be distinguished by subtle variations that define individuals. Adults and school-aged children use norm-based coding for face identity but it is not yet known if pre-school aged children also use norm-based coding. We reasoned that the transition to school could be critical in developing a norm-based system because school places new demands on children's face identification skills and substantially increases experience with faces. Consistent with this view, face identification performance improves steeply between ages 4 and 7. We used face identity aftereffects to test whether norm-based coding emerges between these ages. We found that 4 year-old children, like adults, showed larger face identity aftereffects for adaptors far from the average than for adaptors closer to the average, consistent with use of norm-based coding. We conclude that experience prior to age 4 is sufficient to develop a norm-based face-space and that failure to use norm-based coding cannot explain 4 year-old children's poor face identification skills. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Geochemical signature of radioactive waste: oil NORM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Gilberto T. de Paula; Costa-de-Moura, Jorge; Gomes, Carlos de Almeida; Sampaio, Emidio A. Lopes

2017-01-01

The Brazilian Nuclear Agency (CNEN) rules all nuclear activity in Brazil as demanded by the Federal Constitution, articles 21, XXIII, and 177, V, and by the Federal Acts 4.118/62 and 10.308/2001. Therefore, the CNEN is responsible for any radioactive waste disposal in the country. Oil Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (Oil NORM) in this paper refers to waste coming from oil exploration. Oil NORM has called much attention during the last decades, mostly because it is not possible to determine its primary source due to the actual absence of regulatory control mechanism. There is no efficient regulatory tool which allows determining the origin of such NORM wastes even among those facilities under regulatory control. This fact may encourage non-authorized radioactive material transportation, smuggling and terrorism. The aim of this project is to provide a geochemical signature for each oil NORM waste using its naturally occurring isotopic composition to identify its origin. The here proposed method is a specific geochemical modeling of oil sludge NORM samples which are analyzed for radioisotopes normally present in oil pipes, such as 228 Ac, 214 Bi and 214 Pb. The activity ratios are plotted in scatter diagrams. This method was successfully tested with data of different sources obtained from analysis reports from the Campos Basin/Brazil and from literature. (author)

Geochemical signature of radioactive waste: oil NORM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, Gilberto T. de Paula; Costa-de-Moura, Jorge; Gomes, Carlos de Almeida; Sampaio, Emidio A. Lopes, E-mail: gilberto.costa@cnen.gov.br, E-mail: jcmoura@cnen.gov.br, E-mail: cgomes@cnen.gov.br [Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Div. de Controle de Rejeitos e Transporte de Materiais Radioativos

2017-07-01

The Brazilian Nuclear Agency (CNEN) rules all nuclear activity in Brazil as demanded by the Federal Constitution, articles 21, XXIII, and 177, V, and by the Federal Acts 4.118/62 and 10.308/2001. Therefore, the CNEN is responsible for any radioactive waste disposal in the country. Oil Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (Oil NORM) in this paper refers to waste coming from oil exploration. Oil NORM has called much attention during the last decades, mostly because it is not possible to determine its primary source due to the actual absence of regulatory control mechanism. There is no efficient regulatory tool which allows determining the origin of such NORM wastes even among those facilities under regulatory control. This fact may encourage non-authorized radioactive material transportation, smuggling and terrorism. The aim of this project is to provide a geochemical signature for each oil NORM waste using its naturally occurring isotopic composition to identify its origin. The here proposed method is a specific geochemical modeling of oil sludge NORM samples which are analyzed for radioisotopes normally present in oil pipes, such as {sup 228}Ac, {sup 214}Bi and {sup 214}Pb. The activity ratios are plotted in scatter diagrams. This method was successfully tested with data of different sources obtained from analysis reports from the Campos Basin/Brazil and from literature. (author)

Mortality salience increases personal relevance of the norm of reciprocity.

Science.gov (United States)

Schindler, Simon; Reinhard, Marc-André; Stahlberg, Dagmar

2012-10-01

Research on terror management theory found evidence that people under mortality salience strive to live up to salient cultural norms and values, like egalitarianism, pacifism, or helpfulness. A basic, strongly internalized norm in most human societies is the norm of reciprocity: people should support those who supported them (i.e., positive reciprocity), and people should injure those who injured them (i.e., negative reciprocity), respectively. In an experiment (N = 98; 47 women, 51 men), mortality salience overall significantly increased personal relevance of the norm of reciprocity (M = 4.45, SD = 0.65) compared to a control condition (M = 4.19, SD = 0.59). Specifically, under mortality salience there was higher motivation to punish those who treated them unfavourably (negative norm of reciprocity). Unexpectedly, relevance of the norm of positive reciprocity remained unaffected by mortality salience. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Interethnic Interaction, Strategic Bargaining Power, and the Dynamics of Cultural Norms : A Field Study in an Amazonian Population.

Science.gov (United States)

Bunce, John Andrew; McElreath, Richard

2017-12-01

Ethnic groups are universal and unique to human societies. Such groups sometimes have norms of behavior that are adaptively linked to their social and ecological circumstances, and ethnic boundaries may function to protect that variation from erosion by interethnic interaction. However, such interaction is often frequent and voluntary, suggesting that individuals may be able to strategically reduce its costs, allowing adaptive cultural variation to persist in spite of interaction with out-groups with different norms. We examine five mechanisms influencing the dynamics of ethnically distinct cultural norms, each focused on strategic individual-level choices in interethnic interaction: bargaining, interaction-frequency-biased norm adoption, assortment on norms, success-biased interethnic social learning, and childhood socialization. We use Bayesian item response models to analyze patterns of norm variation and interethnic interaction in an ethnically structured Amazonian population. We show that, among indigenous Matsigenka, interethnic education with colonial Mestizos is more strongly associated with Mestizo-typical norms than even extensive interethnic experience in commerce and wage labor is. Using ethnographic observations, we show that all five of the proposed mechanisms of norm adoption may contribute to this effect. However, of these mechanisms, we argue that changes in relative bargaining power are particularly important for ethnic minorities wishing to preserve distinctive norms while engaging in interethnic interaction in domains such as education. If this mechanism proves applicable in a range of other ethnographic contexts, it would constitute one cogent explanation for when and why ethnically structured cultural variation can either persist or erode given frequent, and often mutually beneficial, interethnic interaction.

Encouraging children to eat more fruit and vegetables: Health vs. descriptive social norm-based messages.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharps, Maxine; Robinson, Eric

2016-05-01

Traditional intervention approaches to promote fruit and vegetable consumption outline the health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables. More recently, social norm-based messages describing the healthy eating habits of others have been shown to increase fruit and vegetable intake in adults. Here we report two experimental studies which investigated whether exposure to descriptive social norm-based messages about the behaviour of other children and health-based messages increased fruit and vegetable intake in young children. In both studies children were exposed to messages whilst playing a board-game. After exposure to the messages, children were able to consume fruit and vegetables, as well as high calorie snack foods. Although findings were inconsistent across the two individual studies, in a pooled analysis we found evidence that both health messages and descriptive social norm-based messages increased children's fruit and vegetable intake, relative to control condition messages (p norm-based messages can be used to promote meaningful changes to children's dietary behaviour warrants further study. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Globalization and eating disorder risk: peer influence, perceived social norms, and adolescent disordered eating in Fiji.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerbasi, Margaret E; Richards, Lauren K; Thomas, Jennifer J; Agnew-Blais, Jessica C; Thompson-Brenner, Heather; Gilman, Stephen E; Becker, Anne E

2014-11-01

The increasing global health burden imposed by eating disorders warrants close examination of social exposures associated with globalization that potentially elevate risk during the critical developmental period of adolescence in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The study aim was to investigate the association of peer influence and perceived social norms with adolescent eating pathology in Fiji, a LMIC undergoing rapid social change. We measured peer influence on eating concerns (with the Inventory of Peer Influence on Eating Concerns; IPIEC), perceived peer norms associated with disordered eating and body concerns, perceived community cultural norms, and individual cultural orientations in a representative sample of school-going ethnic Fijian adolescent girls (n = 523). We then developed a multivariable linear regression model to examine their relation to eating pathology (measured by the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire; EDE-Q). We found independent and statistically significant associations between both IPIEC scores and our proxy for perceived social norms specific to disordered eating (both p peer influence as well as perceived social norms relevant to disordered eating may elevate risk for disordered eating in Fiji, during the critical developmental period of adolescence. Replication and extension of these research findings in other populations undergoing rapid social transition--and where globalization is also influencing local social norms--may enrich etiologic models and inform strategies to mitigate risk. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Not just the norm: exemplar-based models also predict face aftereffects.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, David A; Deroche, Mickael; Palmeri, Thomas J

2014-02-01

The face recognition literature has considered two competing accounts of how faces are represented within the visual system: Exemplar-based models assume that faces are represented via their similarity to exemplars of previously experienced faces, while norm-based models assume that faces are represented with respect to their deviation from an average face, or norm. Face identity aftereffects have been taken as compelling evidence in favor of a norm-based account over an exemplar-based account. After a relatively brief period of adaptation to an adaptor face, the perceived identity of a test face is shifted toward a face with attributes opposite to those of the adaptor, suggesting an explicit psychological representation of the norm. Surprisingly, despite near universal recognition that face identity aftereffects imply norm-based coding, there have been no published attempts to simulate the predictions of norm- and exemplar-based models in face adaptation paradigms. Here, we implemented and tested variations of norm and exemplar models. Contrary to common claims, our simulations revealed that both an exemplar-based model and a version of a two-pool norm-based model, but not a traditional norm-based model, predict face identity aftereffects following face adaptation.

Prosocial norms as a positive youth development construct: a conceptual review.

Science.gov (United States)

Siu, Andrew M H; Shek, Daniel T L; Law, Ben

2012-01-01

Prosocial norms like reciprocity, social responsibility, altruism, and volunteerism are ethical standards and beliefs that youth development programs often want to promote. This paper reviews evolutionary, social-cognitive, and developmental theories of prosocial development and analyzes how young people learn and adopt prosocial norms. The paper showed that very few current theories explicitly address the issue of how prosocial norms, in form of feelings of moral obligations, may be challenged by a norm of self-interest and social circumstances when prosocial acts are needed. It is necessary to develop theories which put prosocial norms as a central construct, and a new social cognitive theory of norm activation has the potential to help us understand how prosocial norms may be applied. This paper also highlights how little we know about young people perceiving and receiving prosocial norms and how influential of school policies and peer influence on the prosocial development. Lastly, while training of interpersonal competence (e.g., empathy, moral reasoning, etc.) was commonly used in the youth development, their effectiveness was not systematically evaluated. It will also be interesting to examine how computer and information technology or video games may be used in e-learning of prosocial norms.

Relative ordering of square-norm distance correlations in open quantum systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Tao; Song Xue-Ke; Ye Liu

2014-01-01

We investigate the square-norm distance correlation dynamics of the Bell-diagonal states under different local decoherence channels, including phase flip, bit flip, and bit-phase flip channels by employing the geometric discord (GD) and its modified geometric discord (MGD), as the measures of the square-norm distance correlations. Moreover, an explicit comparison between them is made in detail. The results show that there is no distinct dominant relative ordering between them. Furthermore, we obtain that the GD just gradually deceases to zero, while MGD initially has a large freezing interval, and then suddenly changes in evolution. The longer the freezing interval, the less the MGD is. Interestingly, it is shown that the dynamic behaviors of the two geometric discords under the three noisy environments for the Werner-type initial states are the same. (general)

Students Negotiating and Designing Their Collaborative Learning Norms: A Group Developmental Perspective in Learning Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Hod, Yotam; Ben-Zvi, Dani

2015-01-01

This research shows how participants in classroom learning communities (LCs) come to take responsibility over designing their collaborative learning norms. Taking a micro-developmental perspective within a graduate-level course, we examined fine-grained changes in group discourse during a period of rapid change where this responsibility taking…

The Explanatory Range of Movement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thrane, Torben

2005-01-01

Drawing a distinction between systemic and functional explanations of movement in general, I shall argue that the Chomskyan view of movement in language is originally functional. With the advent of the Minimimalist Program, however, it has become systemic, but no argument for this change has been...... forthcoming. I'll then present data (from Danish) to sustain the view that only functional type explanations of movement can be empirically motivated, and these only if movement is reinterpreted as transition states between representations of different kinds....

Norms for environmentally responsible behaviour: An extended taxonomy and a preliminary assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thøgersen, John

The currently used concept of personal or moral norms is ambiguous with regard to its motivational content. Therefore, a revision of the norm taxonomy is suggested, implying a distinction between three types of personal norms, called introjected, identified, and integrated norms. A preliminary as...... is also supported, with the reservation that the different behavioural references are more than just different methods of measuring the same latent construct(s). People evidently hold different norms for different environmentally responsible behaviours.......The currently used concept of personal or moral norms is ambiguous with regard to its motivational content. Therefore, a revision of the norm taxonomy is suggested, implying a distinction between three types of personal norms, called introjected, identified, and integrated norms. A preliminary...... assessment of the taxonomy is carried out based of a survey of a random sample of Danish residents 18 years or older. A range of norm constructs were measured with regard to four environmentally relevant behaviours: buying organic milk, buying energy saving light bulbs, source-separating compostable kitchen...

Normed algebras and the geometric series test

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Kantrowitz

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to survey a class of normed algebras that share many central features of Banach algebras, save for completeness. The likeness of these algebras to Banach algebras derives from the fact that the geometric series test is valid, whereas the lack of completeness points to the failure of the absolute convergence test for series in the algebra. Our main result is a compendium of conditions that are all equivalent to the validity of the geometric series test for commutative unital normed algebras. Several examples in the final section showcase some incomplete normed algebras for which the geometric series test is valid, and still others for which it is not.

Athletic groin pain (part 2): a prospective cohort study on the biomechanical evaluation of change of direction identifies three clusters of movement patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Franklyn-Miller, A; Richter, C; King, E; Gore, S; Moran, K; Strike, S; Falvey, E C

2017-01-01

Background Athletic groin pain (AGP) is prevalent in sports involving repeated accelerations, decelerations, kicking and change-of-direction movements. Clinical and radiological examinations lack the ability to assess pathomechanics of AGP, but three-dimensional biomechanical movement analysis may be an important innovation. Aim The primary aim was to describe and analyse movements used by patients with AGP during a maximum effort change-of-direction task. The secondary aim was to determine if specific anatomical diagnoses were related to a distinct movement strategy. Methods 322 athletes with a current symptom of chronic AGP participated. Structured and standardised clinical assessments and radiological examinations were performed on all participants. Additionally, each participant performed multiple repetitions of a planned maximum effort change-of-direction task during which whole body kinematics were recorded. Kinematic and kinetic data were examined using continuous waveform analysis techniques in combination with a subgroup design that used gap statistic and hierarchical clustering. Results Three subgroups (clusters) were identified. Kinematic and kinetic measures of the clusters differed strongly in patterns observed in thorax, pelvis, hip, knee and ankle. Cluster 1 (40%) was characterised by increased ankle eversion, external rotation and knee internal rotation and greater knee work. Cluster 2 (15%) was characterised by increased hip flexion, pelvis contralateral drop, thorax tilt and increased hip work. Cluster 3 (45%) was characterised by high ankle dorsiflexion, thorax contralateral drop, ankle work and prolonged ground contact time. No correlation was observed between movement clusters and clinically palpated location of the participant's pain. Conclusions We identified three distinct movement strategies among athletes with long-standing groin pain during a maximum effort change-of-direction task These movement strategies were not related to clinical

The uses of norms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Singh, M.P.; Arrott, M.; Balke, T.; Chopra, A.; Christiaanse, R.M.J.; Cranefield, S.; Dignum, F.; Eynard, D.; Farcas, E.; Fornare, N.; Gandon, F.; Governatori, G.; Dam, H.K.; Hulstijn, J.; Krueger, I.; Lam, H.P.; Meisinger, M.; Noriega, P.; Tony, B.; Savarimuthu, R.; Tadanki, K.; Verhagen, H.; Villata, S.

2013-01-01

This chapter presents a variety of applications of norms. These applications include governance in sociotechnical systems, data licensing and data collection, understanding software development teams, requirements engineering, assurance, natural resource allocation, wireless grids, autonomous

Network structure and influence of the climate change counter-movement

Science.gov (United States)

Farrell, Justin

2016-04-01

Anthropogenic climate change represents a global threat to human well-being and ecosystem functioning. Yet despite its importance for science and policy, our understanding of the causes of widespread uncertainty and doubt found among the general public remains limited. The political and social processes driving such doubt and uncertainty are difficult to rigorously analyse, and research has tended to focus on the individual-level, rather than the larger institutions and social networks that produce and disseminate contrarian information. This study presents a new approach by using network science to uncover the institutional and corporate structure of the climate change counter-movement, and machine-learning text analysis to show its influence in the news media and bureaucratic politics. The data include a new social network of all known organizations and individuals promoting contrarian viewpoints, as well as the entirety of all written and verbal texts about climate change from 1993-2013 from every organization, three major news outlets, all US presidents, and every occurrence on the floor of the US Congress. Using network and computational text analysis, I find that the organizational power within the contrarian network, and the magnitude of semantic similarity, are both predicted by ties to elite corporate benefactors.

A dynamic Brownian bridge movement model to estimate utilization distributions for heterogeneous animal movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Kranstauber, Bart; Kays, Roland; Lapoint, Scott D; Wikelski, Martin; Safi, Kamran

2012-07-01

1. The recently developed Brownian bridge movement model (BBMM) has advantages over traditional methods because it quantifies the utilization distribution of an animal based on its movement path rather than individual points and accounts for temporal autocorrelation and high data volumes. However, the BBMM assumes unrealistic homogeneous movement behaviour across all data. 2. Accurate quantification of the utilization distribution is important for identifying the way animals use the landscape. 3. We improve the BBMM by allowing for changes in behaviour, using likelihood statistics to determine change points along the animal's movement path. 4. This novel extension, outperforms the current BBMM as indicated by simulations and examples of a territorial mammal and a migratory bird. The unique ability of our model to work with tracks that are not sampled regularly is especially important for GPS tags that have frequent failed fixes or dynamic sampling schedules. Moreover, our model extension provides a useful one-dimensional measure of behavioural change along animal tracks. 5. This new method provides a more accurate utilization distribution that better describes the space use of realistic, behaviourally heterogeneous tracks. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2012 British Ecological Society.

Positive Community Norm Survey 2011 : Methodology and Results

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-01

This survey established a baseline understanding of the positive norms that exist in Idaho, plus reveal the gaps in knowledge and perceived norms with regard to impaired driving. These gaps will indicate the most effective opportunities for future co...

Prosocial Norms as a Positive Youth Development Construct: A Conceptual Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew M. H. Siu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Prosocial norms like reciprocity, social responsibility, altruism, and volunteerism are ethical standards and beliefs that youth development programs often want to promote. This paper reviews evolutionary, social-cognitive, and developmental theories of prosocial development and analyzes how young people learn and adopt prosocial norms. The paper showed that very few current theories explicitly address the issue of how prosocial norms, in form of feelings of moral obligations, may be challenged by a norm of self-interest and social circumstances when prosocial acts are needed. It is necessary to develop theories which put prosocial norms as a central construct, and a new social cognitive theory of norm activation has the potential to help us understand how prosocial norms may be applied. This paper also highlights how little we know about young people perceiving and receiving prosocial norms and how influential of school policies and peer influence on the prosocial development. Lastly, while training of interpersonal competence (e.g., empathy, moral reasoning, etc. was commonly used in the youth development, their effectiveness was not systematically evaluated. It will also be interesting to examine how computer and information technology or video games may be used in e-learning of prosocial norms.

The Social Norms of Suicidal and Self-Harming Behaviours in Scottish Adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Quigley, Jody; Rasmussen, Susan; McAlaney, John

2017-03-15

Although the suicidal and self-harming behaviour of individuals is often associated with similar behaviours in people they know, little is known about the impact of perceived social norms on those behaviours. In a range of other behavioural domains (e.g., alcohol consumption, smoking, eating behaviours) perceived social norms have been found to strongly predict individuals' engagement in those behaviours, although discrepancies often exist between perceived and reported norms. Interventions which align perceived norms more closely with reported norms have been effective in reducing damaging behaviours. The current study aimed to explore whether the Social Norms Approach is applicable to suicidal and self-harming behaviours in adolescents. Participants were 456 pupils from five Scottish high-schools (53% female, mean age = 14.98 years), who completed anonymous, cross-sectional surveys examining reported and perceived norms around suicidal and self-harming behaviour. Friedman's ANOVA with post-hoc Wilcoxen signed-ranks tests indicated that proximal groups were perceived as less likely to engage in or be permissive of suicidal and self-harming behaviours than participants' reported themselves, whilst distal groups tended towards being perceived as more likely to do so. Binary logistic regression analyses identified a number of perceived norms associated with reported norms, with close friends' norms positively associated with all outcome variables. The Social Norms Approach may be applicable to suicidal and self-harming behaviour, but associations between perceived and reported norms and predictors of reported norms differ to those found in other behavioural domains. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are considered.

The Social Norms of Suicidal and Self-Harming Behaviours in Scottish Adolescents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jody Quigley

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Although the suicidal and self-harming behaviour of individuals is often associated with similar behaviours in people they know, little is known about the impact of perceived social norms on those behaviours. In a range of other behavioural domains (e.g., alcohol consumption, smoking, eating behaviours perceived social norms have been found to strongly predict individuals’ engagement in those behaviours, although discrepancies often exist between perceived and reported norms. Interventions which align perceived norms more closely with reported norms have been effective in reducing damaging behaviours. The current study aimed to explore whether the Social Norms Approach is applicable to suicidal and self-harming behaviours in adolescents. Participants were 456 pupils from five Scottish high-schools (53% female, mean age = 14.98 years, who completed anonymous, cross-sectional surveys examining reported and perceived norms around suicidal and self-harming behaviour. Friedman’s ANOVA with post-hoc Wilcoxen signed-ranks tests indicated that proximal groups were perceived as less likely to engage in or be permissive of suicidal and self-harming behaviours than participants’ reported themselves, whilst distal groups tended towards being perceived as more likely to do so. Binary logistic regression analyses identified a number of perceived norms associated with reported norms, with close friends’ norms positively associated with all outcome variables. The Social Norms Approach may be applicable to suicidal and self-harming behaviour, but associations between perceived and reported norms and predictors of reported norms differ to those found in other behavioural domains. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are considered.

Cyber Norms for Civilian Nuclear Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spirito, Christopher

2016-11-01

The international community agrees that the safe operation of civilian nuclear infrastructure is in every population’s best interest. One challenge each government must address is defining and agreeing to a set of acceptable norms of behavior in cyberspace as they relate to these facilities. The introduction of digital systems and networking technologies into these environments has led to the possibility that control and supporting computer systems are now accessible and exploitable, especially where interconnections to global information and communications technology (ICT) networks exist. The need for norms of behavior in cyberspace includes what is expected of system architects and cyber defenders as well as adversaries who should abide by rules of engagement even while conducting acts that violate national and international laws. The goal of this paper is to offer three behavioral cyber norms to improve the overall security of the ICT and Operational Technology (OT) networks and systems that underlie the operations of nuclear facilities. These norms of behavior will be specifically defined with the goals of reducing the threats associated to the theft of nuclear materials, accidental release of radiation and sabotage of nuclear processes. These norms would also include instances where an unwitting attacker or intelligence collection entity inadvertently makes their way into a nuclear facility network or system and can recognize they are in a protected zone and an approach to ensuring that these zones are not exploitable by bad actors to place their sensitive cyber effect delivery systems.

Geology and genesis of NORM industrial links and depositional processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, W.F.

1995-01-01

NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material) has now been found to be associated with many industrial activities that extends far beyond oil and gas production. There are approximately 59 naturally occurring radionuclides that might end up in a train of NORM contamination, which could impact at least 13 industries. It is appropriate and indeed necessary to examine the geological roots of NORM and its concentration in various industries. Impacted NORM industries and their associated problems are presented. Some plant and environmental managers may not even suspect they have NORM problems, because one cannot ''sense'' NORM without instrumentation, until it might be too late for the health and safety of the effected employees and surrounding community. Others want to ''see no evil, hear no evil or speak any evil'' until they are forced into ''reactive'' environmental management, rather than ''proactive'' management. It has been the experience of many that reactive management is far more costly than proactive management

The canonical partial metric and the uniform convexity on normed spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Oltra

2005-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper we introduce the notion of canonical partial metric associated to a norm to study geometric properties of normed spaces. In particular, we characterize strict convexity and uniform convexity of normed spaces in terms of the canonical partial metric defined by its norm. We prove that these geometric properties can be considered, in this sense, as topological properties that appear when we compare the natural metric topology of the space with the non translation invariant topology induced by the canonical partial metric in the normed space.

Clarifying the contribution of subjective norm to predicting leisure-time exercise.

Science.gov (United States)

Okun, Morris A; Karoly, Paul; Lutz, Rafer

2002-01-01

To clarify the contribution of subjective norm to exercise intention and behavior by considering the influence of descriptive as well as injunctive social norms related to family and friends. A sample of 530 college students completed a questionnaire that assessed descriptive and injunctive social norms related to family and to friends, perceived behavioral control, attitude, intention, and leisure-time exercise. Friend descriptive social norm was a significant predictor of both intention (pleisure-time exercise (p<.001). Descriptive norms should be incorporated into tests of the theory of planned behavior in the exercise domain.

Privacy, technology, and norms: the case of Smart Meters.

Science.gov (United States)

Horne, Christine; Darras, Brice; Bean, Elyse; Srivastava, Anurag; Frickel, Scott

2015-05-01

Norms shift and emerge in response to technological innovation. One such innovation is Smart Meters - components of Smart Grid energy systems capable of minute-to-minute transmission of consumer electricity use information. We integrate theory from sociological research on social norms and privacy to examine how privacy threats affect the demand for and expectations of norms that emerge in response to new technologies, using Smart Meters as a test case. Results from three vignette experiments suggest that increased threats to privacy created by Smart Meters are likely to provoke strong demand for and expectations of norms opposing the technology and that the strength of these normative rules is at least partly conditional on the context. Privacy concerns vary little with actors' demographic characteristics. These findings contribute to theoretical understanding of norm emergence and have practical implications for implementing privacy protections that effectively address concerns of electricity users. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Norm, gender, and bribe-giving: Insights from a behavioral game.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tian Lan

Full Text Available Previous research has suggested that bribery is more normative in some countries than in others. To understand the underlying process, this paper examines the effects of social norm and gender on bribe-giving behavior. We argue that social norms provide information for strategic planning and impression management, and thus would impact participants' bribe amount. Besides, males are more agentic and focus more on impression management than females. We predicted that males would defy the norm in order to win when the amount of their bribe was kept private, but would conform to the norm when it was made public. To test this hypothesis, we conducted two studies using a competitive game. In each game, we asked three participants to compete in five rounds of creative tasks, and the winner was determined by a referee's subjective judgment of the participants' performance on the tasks. Participants were allowed to give bribes to the referee. Bribe-giving norms were manipulated in two domains: norm level (high vs. low and norm context (private vs. public, in order to investigate the influence of informational and affiliational needs. Studies 1 and 2 consistently showed that individuals conformed to the norm level of bribe-giving while maintaining a relative advantage for economic benefit. Study 2 found that males gave larger bribes in the private context than in the public, whereas females gave smaller bribes in both contexts. We used a latent growth curve model (LGCM to depict the development of bribe-giving behaviors during five rounds of competition. The results showed that gender, creative performance, and norm level all influence the trajectory of bribe-giving behavior.

Norm, gender, and bribe-giving: Insights from a behavioral game.

Science.gov (United States)

Lan, Tian; Hong, Ying-Yi

2017-01-01

Previous research has suggested that bribery is more normative in some countries than in others. To understand the underlying process, this paper examines the effects of social norm and gender on bribe-giving behavior. We argue that social norms provide information for strategic planning and impression management, and thus would impact participants' bribe amount. Besides, males are more agentic and focus more on impression management than females. We predicted that males would defy the norm in order to win when the amount of their bribe was kept private, but would conform to the norm when it was made public. To test this hypothesis, we conducted two studies using a competitive game. In each game, we asked three participants to compete in five rounds of creative tasks, and the winner was determined by a referee's subjective judgment of the participants' performance on the tasks. Participants were allowed to give bribes to the referee. Bribe-giving norms were manipulated in two domains: norm level (high vs. low) and norm context (private vs. public), in order to investigate the influence of informational and affiliational needs. Studies 1 and 2 consistently showed that individuals conformed to the norm level of bribe-giving while maintaining a relative advantage for economic benefit. Study 2 found that males gave larger bribes in the private context than in the public, whereas females gave smaller bribes in both contexts. We used a latent growth curve model (LGCM) to depict the development of bribe-giving behaviors during five rounds of competition. The results showed that gender, creative performance, and norm level all influence the trajectory of bribe-giving behavior.

Socially Enforced Nepotism: How Norms and Reputation Can Amplify Kin Altruism.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Doug

2016-01-01

Kin selection, which can lead organisms to behave altruistically to their genetic relatives, works differently when-as is often the case in human societies-altruism can be boosted by social pressure. Here I present a model of social norms enforced by indirect reciprocity. In the model there are many alternative stable allocations of rewards ("distributional norms"); a stable norm is stable in the sense that each player is best off following the norm if other players do the same. Stable norms vary widely in how equally they reward players with unequal abilities. In a population of mixed groups (some group members follow one norm, some follow another, and some compromise) with modest within-group coefficients of relatedness, selection within groups favors those who compromise, and selection between groups favors generous generalized reciprocity rather than balanced reciprocity. Thus evolved social norms can amplify kin altruism, giving rise to a uniquely human mode of kin-based sociality distinct from spontaneous altruism among close kin, or cooperation among non-kin.

The role of social message using norm abstraction level and ecological value orientation to achieve sustainable consumption

Science.gov (United States)

Ekasari, A.

2018-01-01

Pro-environmental behavior is one of human activities to achieve sustainability. In order to encourage people to do so, it needs contribution from marketing discipline using social message. The research aims to investigate the effect of social message framed by norm abstraction level and ecological value orientation on attitude and intention to act pro-environmental behavior in the context of littering. This study implemented a 3 (message framing: biospheric/altruistic/egoistic) × 2 (norm abstraction level : abstract/concrete) between subject experimental design to collect the data. An independent sample t test was used to analyze the data. The results indicate that a social message using concrete norm combined with the three ecological value orientation gains more positive response than the use of abstract norm with the same ecological value orientations. Findings of the research are expected to help government or other institutions to create an appropriate social message in anti littering campaign and motivates people to change their behavior in practicing sustainable consumption.

Gender norms in South Africa: Implications for HIV and pregnancy prevention among African and Indian women students at a South African tertiary institution

Science.gov (United States)

Mantell, Joanne E.; Needham, Sarah L.; Smit, Jennifer Ann; Hoffman, Susie; Cebekhulu, Queen; Adams-Skinner, Jessica; Exner, Theresa M.; Mabude, Zonke; Beksinska, Mags; Stein, Zena A.; Milford, Cecilia

2009-01-01

In post-Apartheid South Africa, women are constitutionally guaranteed protections and freedoms that were previously unknown to them. These freedoms may have positive implications for women’s ability to negotiate sexual protection with partners and hence prevent unintended pregnancy and decrease their risk of HIV. Among tertiary institution students who are a relatively ‘privileged’ group, there is little information on gender norms that might shape responses to HIV prevention programmes. To elicit gender norms regarding women’s and men’s roles, condom and contraceptive use, sexual communication, and sexual pleasure, we conducted 10 semi-structured focus group discussions with African and Indian female tertiary institution students so as to understand how norms might be used to buttress HIV and pregnancy prevention. Participants reported dramatic changes in the structure of gender norms and relations with the formal recognition of women’s rights in the post-Apartheid context. These generational shifts in norms are supported by other research in South Africa. At the same time, women recognized the co-existence of traditional constructions of gender that operate to constrain women’s freedom. The perceived changes that have taken place provide an entry point for intervention, particularly for reinforcing emerging gender norms that promote women’s protection against unintended pregnancy and HIV/STIs. PMID:19247859

Gender norms in South Africa: implications for HIV and pregnancy prevention among African and Indian women students at a South African tertiary institution.

Science.gov (United States)

Mantell, Joanne E; Needham, Sarah L; Smit, Jennifer Ann; Hoffman, Susie; Cebekhulu, Queen; Adams-Skinner, Jessica; Exner, Theresa M; Mabude, Zonke; Beksinska, Mags; Stein, Zena A; Milford, Cecilia

2009-02-01

In post-Apartheid South Africa, women are constitutionally guaranteed protections and freedoms that were previously unknown to them. These freedoms may have positive implications for women's ability to negotiate sexual protection with partners and hence prevent unintended pregnancy and decrease their risk of HIV. Among tertiary institution students, who are a relatively 'privileged' group, there is little information on gender norms that might shape responses to HIV-prevention programmes. To elicit gender norms regarding women's and men's roles, condom and contraceptive use, sexual communication and sexual pleasure, we conducted 10 semi-structured focus group discussions with African and Indian female tertiary institution students in order to understand how norms might be used to buttress HIV- and pregnancy-prevention. Participants reported dramatic changes in the structure of gender norms and relations with the formal recognition of women's rights in the post-Apartheid context. These generational shifts in norms are supported by other research in South Africa. At the same time, women recognized the co-existence of traditional constructions of gender that operate to constrain women's freedom. The perceived changes that have taken place provide an entry point for intervention, particularly for reinforcing emerging gender norms that promote women's protection against unintended pregnancy and HIV/STIs.

Mechanical energy expenditures and movement efficiency in full body reaching movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Sha, Daohang; France, Christopher R; Thomas, James S

2010-02-01

The effect of target location, speed, and handedness on the average total mechanical energy and movement efficiency is studied in 15 healthy subjects (7 males and 8 females with age 22.9 +/- 1.79 years old) performing full body reaching movements. The average total mechanical energy is measured as the time average of integration of joint power, potential energy, and kinetic energy respectively. Movement efficiency is calculated as the ratio of total kinetic energy to the total joint power and potential energy. Results show that speed and target location have significant effects on total mechanical energy and movement efficiency, but reaching hand only effects kinetic energy. From our findings we conclude that (1) efficiency in whole body reaching is dependent on whether the height of the body center of mass is raised or lowered during the task; (2) efficiency is increased as movement speed is increased, in part because of greater changes in potential energy; and (3) the CNS does not appear to use movement efficiency as a primary planning variable in full body reaching. It may be dependent on a combination of other factors or constraints.

The Influence of Social Norms in Consumer Decision Making: A Meta-Analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Melnyk, V.; Herpen, van E.; Trijp, van J.C.M.

2010-01-01

Although social norms can substantially impact consumer decision making, understanding of how the specification of the norm determines its impact is limited. This meta-analysis (200 independent studies, 659 effect sizes) examines how aspects of social norm specification determine the effect of norms

Social norms of cigarette and hookah smokers in Iranian universities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamidreza Roohafza

2013-02-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: First experiences of tobacco use usually occur in adolescence. The recognition of social norms leading to youth smoking is hence necessary. We tried to assess the social norms among Iranian young cigarette and hookah smokers. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 451 girls and 361 boys aging 20-25 years old who entered Isfahan and Kashan Universities (Iran in 2007. Demographic factors (age, gender, and age at smoking onset cigarette and hookah smoking status, having a smoking father or smoking friends and four related social norms were recorded. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to separately determine associations between hookah and cigarette smoking and the four social norm variables. RESULTS: Cigarette and hookah smokers had significant differences with nonsmokers in two social norms: “Perceived smoking by important characters” [odds ratio (OR = 1.35 in cigarette smokers and 1.58 in hookah smokers; P < 0.001] and “smoking makes gatherings friendly” (OR = 3.62 in cigarette smokers and 6.16 in hookah smokers; P < 0.001. Furthermore, cigarette and hookah smoking were significantly associated with having smoking friends. CONCLUSION: Highlighting the social norms leading to cigarette and hookah smoking may help policy makers develop comprehensive interventions to prevent smoking among adolescents.   Keywords: Cigarette, Hookah, Smoking, Social Norm

Age norms, family relationships, and home leaving in Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Tosi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Previous research has shown that social norms have an influence on young adults' life course transitions. However, few studies have explicitly and directly tested the idea that perceived age norms affect the decision to leave the parental home. Objective: I ask whether normative factors are correlated with the decision to leave the family nest in Italy, and whether this association depends on a system of perceived costs and benefits, parental approval of their children's decisions, and the quality of parent-child relationships. Methods: Using the panel component of Family and Social Subjects data (2003 and 2007, logit and multinomial logit models were adopted to analyze the connection between perceived norms and behavior. The Karlson, Holm, and Breen (2012 decomposition method was used to test the relevance of confounding and mediating factors. Results: The findings show that young adults who consider themselves as too young to leave the parental home are less likely to move out of the family nest in order to marry. The interaction between a 'stay' norm, the perceived benefits of leaving home, and parental approval significantly affects the transition to independence. Contribution: In Italy, decision-making about leaving home and getting married is shaped by age norms concerning extended coresidence. Young adults tend to comply with age norms when they perceive that their decision implies benefits and/or a violation will lead to penalties. Perceived parental disapproval reduces the influence of normative factors on individual actual behaviors, which suggests that young adults adhere to norms that are supported by parents.

Variation, structure and norms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Harder, Peter

2014-01-01

in linguistics: those that see linguistic norms as antithetical to a descriptive and variational linguistics. Once such a re-evaluation has taken place, however, the social recontextualization of cognition will enable linguistics (including sociolinguistics as an integral part), to eliminate the cracks...... that an evolutionary account can reintegrate the opposed fragments into a whole picture that puts each of them in their ‘ecological position’ with respect to each other. Empirical usage facts should be seen in the context of operational norms in relation to which actual linguistic choices represent adaptations....... Variational patterns should be seen in the context of structural categories without which there would be only ‘differences’ rather than variation. And emergence, individual choice, and flux should be seen in the context of the individual’s dependence on lineages of community practice sustained by collective...

The Role of Values, Moral Norms, and Descriptive Norms in Building Occupant Responses to an Energy-Efficiency Pilot Program and to Framing of Related Messages

Science.gov (United States)

Arpan, Laura M.; Barooah, Prabir; Subramany, Rahul

2015-01-01

This study examined building occupants' responses associated with an occupant-based energy-efficiency pilot in a university building. The influence of occupants' values and norms as well as effects of two educational message frames (descriptive vs. moral norms cues) on program support were tested. Occupants' personal moral norm to conserve energy…

How eye movements in EMDR work: changes in memory vividness and emotionality.

Science.gov (United States)

Leer, Arne; Engelhard, Iris M; van den Hout, Marcel A

2014-09-01

Eye movements (EM) during recall of an aversive memory is a treatment element unique to Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Experimental studies have shown that EM reduce memory vividness and/or emotionality shortly after the intervention. However, it is unclear whether the immediate effects of the intervention reflect actual changes in memory. The aim of this study was to test whether immediate reductions in memory vividness and emotionality persist at a 24 h follow up and whether the magnitude of these effects is related to the duration of the intervention. Seventy-three undergraduates recalled two negative autobiographical memories, one with EM ("recall with EM") and one without ("recall only"). Half of participants recalled each memory for four periods of 24 s, the other half for eight periods of 24 s. Memory vividness/emotionality were self-rated at a pre-test, an immediate post-test, and a 24 h follow-up test. In both duration groups, recall with EM, but not recall only, caused an immediate decrease in memory vividness. There were no immediate reductions in memory emotionality. Furthermore, only the 'eight periods' group showed that recall with EM, but not recall only, caused a decrease in both memory emotionality and memory vividness from the pre-test to the follow-up. Only self-report measures were used. The findings suggest that recall with EM causes 24-h changes in memory vividness/emotionality, which may explain part of the EMDR treatment effect, and these effects are related to intervention duration. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Direct experience and the strength of the personal norm - behaviour relationship

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thøgersen, John

2002-01-01

norms on behavior, and (ii) direct experience is a stronger moderator in this case than in the attitude-behavior case. The case in question is the purchase of organic red wine. It is found that the outcome of consumers' choice between organic and non-organic wine depends on their personal (moral) norms......This study investigates whether the behavioral influence of personal norms with regard to repeated pro-social behavior depends on direct experience of this behavior. Based on previous norm and attitude research, it is hypothesized that (i) direct experience strengthens the influence of personal......, after controlling for attitudes and subjective social norms. However, the influence of personal norms, though not of attitude, depends on whether the consumer has direct experience of buying organic red wine. Hence, both hypotheses are confirmed....

The Potential of NORM in Non-Nuclear Industry in Indonesia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunto Wiharto; Syarbaini

2003-01-01

Industry with an activity of processing natural resources from crust of earth as raw materials could cause natural radioactivity in crust of earth to be accumulated in waste, by product and or main product of that industry. Natural radioactive elements which are mobilized and then accumulated in end industry process are known as NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials). NORM have a potential radiological impact such as external and internal radiation exposure. Therefore, the existence of NORM in these non-nuclear industries should be studied in order to handle properly the radiological impact of those material to the industrial workers, member of the public and the surrounding environment. This paper describes the non nuclear industrial sectors in Indonesia that have potential NORM sources and radiation safety aspects in connecting with NORM. (author)

Modelling the Transfer of Radionuclides from Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM). Report of the NORM Working Group of EMRAS Theme 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

group spent much of its time exploring the global situation and determining the availability of modelling tools. In contrast with other EMRAS working groups, the participants of the NORM working group generally chose to apply existing models from the literature to the test scenarios. These models had been developed by other organizations and so the participants were usually model users rather than model developers/users, as was the case in most of the other working groups. For these reasons, the issue of 'ease of use' of the models was an important issue for the working group. It was noted that several of the models examined were not very 'user friendly' with insufficient explanation provided for the user. It was concluded that ease of use could be greatly enhanced by the provision of good documentation and 'help screens', databases containing default values of environmental parameters, and facilities for plotting the results of calculations. It is also extremely important to provide the model user with simple procedures for changing the default values and for adding extra data to existing databases. Predictions were made for the three hypothetical scenarios using several models. The results for the point source scenario showed that the simple models (COMPLY, CROM) predicted higher radionuclide concentrations than the more realistic model PC-CREAM. Predictions were made for the area source scenario using two models (RESRAD-OFFSITE and DOSDIM + HYDRUS). In general, the results obtained from the two models (which use different methodologies for groundwater transport) were consistent with each other. RESRAD was 'calibrated' by estimating the natural background radiation level and comparing it to the existing natural background radiation levels. The limited amount of model testing which was conducted within the working group does not allow proper conclusions to be drawn about the state of modelling in this area. It is clear that more model testing, especially using the real

Can the Functional Movement Screen™ be used to capture changes in spine and knee motion control following 12 weeks of training?

Science.gov (United States)

Frost, David M; Beach, Tyson A C; Campbell, Troy L; Callaghan, Jack P; McGill, Stuart M

2017-01-01

To examine whether objective measures of spine and frontal plane knee motion exhibited during Functional Movement Screen™ (FMS) task performance changed following a movement-guided fitness (MOV) and conventional fitness (FIT) exercise intervention. Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled experiment. Before and after 12 weeks of exercise, participants' kinematics were quantified while performing the FMS and a series of general whole-body movement tasks. Biomechanics laboratory. Fifty-two firefighters were assigned to MOV, FIT, or a control (CON) group. Peak lumbar spine flexion/extension, lateral bend and axial twist, and frontal plane knee motion. The post-training kinematic changes exhibited by trainees while performing the FMS tasks were similar in magnitude (effect size  0.5). Whether graded qualitatively, or quantitatively via kinematic analyses, the FMS may not be a viable tool to detect movement-based exercise adaptations. Amendments to the FMS tasks and/or scoring method are needed before it can be used for reasons beyond appraising the ability to move freely, symmetrically, and without pain. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling social norms increasingly influences costly sharing in middle childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

House, Bailey R; Tomasello, Michael

2018-07-01

Prosocial and normative behavior emerges in early childhood, but substantial changes in prosocial behavior in middle childhood may be due to it becoming integrated with children's understanding of what is normative. Here we show that information about what is normative begins influencing children's costly sharing in middle childhood in a sample of 6- to 11-year-old German children. Information about what is normative was most influential when indicating what was "right" (i.e., "The right thing is to choose this"). It was less influential when indicating what was prescribed by a rule (i.e., "There is a rule that says to choose this") or when it indicated what the majority of people do (i.e., "Most people choose this"). These findings support the idea that middle childhood is when social norms begin to shape children's costly sharing and provide insight into the psychological foundations of the relationship between norms and prosocial behavior. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of norm referent salience on young people's dietary orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarrant, Mark; Khan, Sammyh S; Qin, Qi

2015-02-01

We examined the effects of making salient different norm referents on young people's dietary orientation. Participants were exposed to a referent who was either of similar age to themselves or older before reporting their normative beliefs, attitudes and intentions concerning dietary behavior. As predicted, exposure to the older referent was associated with stronger perceptions that eating five portions of fruit and vegetables each day was normative. Compared to those exposed to the same-age referent, participants exposed to the older referent reported more positive attitudes towards eating "five-a-day" and stronger intentions to do so over the coming week. Referent salience was also associated with a behavioral outcome, with those participants exposed to the older referent more likely to take a piece of fruit upon completion of the study (OR: 4.97, 95% CI: 1.39-17.82). The implications of these findings for norms-based interventions for changing dietary behavior are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oral-diadochokinesis rates across languages: English and Hebrew norms.

Science.gov (United States)

Icht, Michal; Ben-David, Boaz M

2014-01-01

Oro-facial and speech motor control disorders represent a variety of speech and language pathologies. Early identification of such problems is important and carries clinical implications. A common and simple tool for gauging the presence and severity of speech motor control impairments is oral-diadochokinesis (oral-DDK). Surprisingly, norms for adult performance are missing from the literature. The goals of this study were: (1) to establish a norm for oral-DDK rate for (young to middle-age) adult English speakers, by collecting data from the literature (five studies, N=141); (2) to investigate the possible effect of language (and culture) on oral-DDK performance, by analyzing studies conducted in other languages (five studies, N=140), alongside the English norm; and (3) to find a new norm for adult Hebrew speakers, by testing 115 speakers. We first offer an English norm with a mean of 6.2syllables/s (SD=.8), and a lower boundary of 5.4syllables/s that can be used to indicate possible abnormality. Next, we found significant differences between four tested languages (English, Portuguese, Farsi and Greek) in oral-DDK rates. Results suggest the need to set language and culture sensitive norms for the application of the oral-DDK task world-wide. Finally, we found the oral-DDK performance for adult Hebrew speakers to be 6.4syllables/s (SD=.8), not significantly different than the English norms. This implies possible phonological similarities between English and Hebrew. We further note that no gender effects were found in our study. We recommend using oral-DDK as an important tool in the speech language pathologist's arsenal. Yet, application of this task should be done carefully, comparing individual performance to a set norm within the specific language. Readers will be able to: (1) identify the Speech-Language Pathologist assessment process using the oral-DDK task, by comparing an individual performance to the present English norm, (2) describe the impact of language

Understanding movement data and movement processes: current and emerging directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Schick, Robert S; Loarie, Scott R; Colchero, Fernando; Best, Benjamin D; Boustany, Andre; Conde, Dalia A; Halpin, Patrick N; Joppa, Lucas N; McClellan, Catherine M; Clark, James S

2008-12-01

Animal movement has been the focus on much theoretical and empirical work in ecology over the last 25 years. By studying the causes and consequences of individual movement, ecologists have gained greater insight into the behavior of individuals and the spatial dynamics of populations at increasingly higher levels of organization. In particular, ecologists have focused on the interaction between individuals and their environment in an effort to understand future impacts from habitat loss and climate change. Tools to examine this interaction have included: fractal analysis, first passage time, Lévy flights, multi-behavioral analysis, hidden markov models, and state-space models. Concurrent with the development of movement models has been an increase in the sophistication and availability of hierarchical bayesian models. In this review we bring these two threads together by using hierarchical structures as a framework for reviewing individual models. We synthesize emerging themes in movement ecology, and propose a new hierarchical model for animal movement that builds on these emerging themes. This model moves away from traditional random walks, and instead focuses inference on how moving animals with complex behavior interact with their landscape and make choices about its suitability.

Ways of giving benefits in marriage: norm use, relationship satisfaction, and attachment-related variability.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Margaret S; Lemay, Edward P; Graham, Steven M; Pataki, Sherri P; Finkel, Eli J

2010-07-01

Couples reported on bases for giving support and on relationship satisfaction just prior to and approximately 2 years into marriage. Overall, a need-based, noncontingent (communal) norm was seen as ideal and was followed, and greater use of this norm was linked to higher relationship satisfaction. An exchange norm was seen as not ideal and was followed significantly less frequently than was a communal norm; by 2 years into marriage, greater use of an exchange norm was linked with lower satisfaction. Insecure attachment predicted greater adherence to an exchange norm. Idealization of and adherence to a communal norm dropped slightly across time. As idealization of a communal norm and own use and partner use of a communal norm decreased, people high in avoidance increased their use of an exchange norm, whereas people low in avoidance decreased their use of an exchange norm. Anxious individuals evidenced tighter links between norm use and marital satisfaction relative to nonanxious individuals. Overall, a picture of people valuing a communal norm and striving toward adherence to a communal norm emerged, with secure individuals doing so with more success and equanimity across time than insecure individuals.

Contested Norms in the Process of EU Enlargement: Non-Discrimination and Minority Rights

OpenAIRE

Antje Wiener; Guido Schwellnus

2004-01-01

This paper analyses the adoption of EU conditions regarding non-discrimination and minority protection in three applicant countries: Romania, Hungary and Poland. While non-discrimination is a well established EU norm, minority rights are a contested norm and not enshrined in the acquis communautaire. It is argued that contestation over norm meaning highlights the importance of norm resonance and domestic norm construction in processes of norm diffusion, and that the conceptual tension between...

Estimating changes in lichen mat volume through time and related effects on barren ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Rickbeil, Gregory J M; Hermosilla, Txomin; Coops, Nicholas C; White, Joanne C; Wulder, Michael A

2017-01-01

Lichens form a critical portion of barren ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) diets, especially during winter months. Here, we assess lichen mat volume across five herd ranges in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada, using newly developed composite Landsat imagery. The lichen volume estimator (LVE) was adapted for use across 700 000 km2 of barren ground caribou habitat annually from 1984-2012. We subsequently assessed how LVE changed temporally throughout the time series for each pixel using Theil-Sen's slopes, and spatially by assessing whether slope values were centered in local clusters of similar values. Additionally, we assessed how LVE estimates resulted in changes in barren ground caribou movement rates using an extensive telemetry data set from 2006-2011. The Ahiak/Beverly herd had the largest overall increase in LVE (median = 0.033), while the more western herds had the least (median slopes below zero in all cases). LVE slope pixels were arranged in significant clusters across the study area, with the Cape Bathurst, Bathurst, and Bluenose East herds having the most significant clusters of negative slopes (more than 20% of vegetated land in each case). The Ahiak/Beverly and Bluenose West had the most significant positive clusters (16.3% and 18.5% of vegetated land respectively). Barren ground caribou displayed complex reactions to changing lichen conditions depending on season; the majority of detected associations with movement data agreed with current understanding of barren ground caribou foraging behavior (the exception was an increase in movement velocity at high lichen volume estimates in Fall). The temporal assessment of LVE identified areas where shifts in ecological conditions may have resulted in changing lichen mat conditions, while assessing the slope estimates for clustering identified zones beyond the pixel scale where forage conditions may be changing. Lichen volume estimates associated with barren ground caribou

Estimating changes in lichen mat volume through time and related effects on barren ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) movement

Science.gov (United States)

Hermosilla, Txomin; Coops, Nicholas C.; White, Joanne C.; Wulder, Michael A.

2017-01-01

Lichens form a critical portion of barren ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) diets, especially during winter months. Here, we assess lichen mat volume across five herd ranges in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada, using newly developed composite Landsat imagery. The lichen volume estimator (LVE) was adapted for use across 700 000 km2 of barren ground caribou habitat annually from 1984–2012. We subsequently assessed how LVE changed temporally throughout the time series for each pixel using Theil-Sen’s slopes, and spatially by assessing whether slope values were centered in local clusters of similar values. Additionally, we assessed how LVE estimates resulted in changes in barren ground caribou movement rates using an extensive telemetry data set from 2006–2011. The Ahiak/Beverly herd had the largest overall increase in LVE (median = 0.033), while the more western herds had the least (median slopes below zero in all cases). LVE slope pixels were arranged in significant clusters across the study area, with the Cape Bathurst, Bathurst, and Bluenose East herds having the most significant clusters of negative slopes (more than 20% of vegetated land in each case). The Ahiak/Beverly and Bluenose West had the most significant positive clusters (16.3% and 18.5% of vegetated land respectively). Barren ground caribou displayed complex reactions to changing lichen conditions depending on season; the majority of detected associations with movement data agreed with current understanding of barren ground caribou foraging behavior (the exception was an increase in movement velocity at high lichen volume estimates in Fall). The temporal assessment of LVE identified areas where shifts in ecological conditions may have resulted in changing lichen mat conditions, while assessing the slope estimates for clustering identified zones beyond the pixel scale where forage conditions may be changing. Lichen volume estimates associated with barren ground caribou

The effect of political generation on identity and social change: Age cohort consequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Robyn Lewis; Rohlinger, Deana A

2016-01-01

In this article, we explore how political generation affects the ways in which diverse individuals come together and change their social and personal identities. Drawing on 52 in-depth interviews with members of the Red Hat Society, we show that women draw on their political generation, and the gains of the women's movement specifically, to oppose cultural constructions of aging. The Red Hat Society provides a "free space" for women to foster a collective identity that both visibly challenges aging norms and provides its members new standards for self-approval. We conclude by highlighting the importance of focusing on political generation to understand collective action over the life course and call for more scholarship on the function of political generation in social change.

Socially Enforced Nepotism: How Norms and Reputation Can Amplify Kin Altruism.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Doug Jones

Full Text Available Kin selection, which can lead organisms to behave altruistically to their genetic relatives, works differently when-as is often the case in human societies-altruism can be boosted by social pressure. Here I present a model of social norms enforced by indirect reciprocity. In the model there are many alternative stable allocations of rewards ("distributional norms"; a stable norm is stable in the sense that each player is best off following the norm if other players do the same. Stable norms vary widely in how equally they reward players with unequal abilities. In a population of mixed groups (some group members follow one norm, some follow another, and some compromise with modest within-group coefficients of relatedness, selection within groups favors those who compromise, and selection between groups favors generous generalized reciprocity rather than balanced reciprocity. Thus evolved social norms can amplify kin altruism, giving rise to a uniquely human mode of kin-based sociality distinct from spontaneous altruism among close kin, or cooperation among non-kin.

Stable 1-Norm Error Minimization Based Linear Predictors for Speech Modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Giacobello, Daniele; Christensen, Mads Græsbøll; Jensen, Tobias Lindstrøm

2014-01-01

In linear prediction of speech, the 1-norm error minimization criterion has been shown to provide a valid alternative to the 2-norm minimization criterion. However, unlike 2-norm minimization, 1-norm minimization does not guarantee the stability of the corresponding all-pole filter and can generate...... saturations when this is used to synthesize speech. In this paper, we introduce two new methods to obtain intrinsically stable predictors with the 1-norm minimization. The first method is based on constraining the roots of the predictor to lie within the unit circle by reducing the numerical range...... based linear prediction for modeling and coding of speech....

Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) in oil and gas industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Algalhoud, K. A.; AL-Fawaris, B. H.

2008-01-01

Oil and gas industry in the Great Jamahiriya is one of those industries that were accompanied with generation of some solid and liquid waste, which associated with risks that might lead to harmful effects to the man and the environment. Among those risks the continuous increase of radioactivity levels above natural radioactive background around operating oil fields, due to accumulation of solid and liquid radioactive scales and sludge as well as contaminated produced water that contain some naturally occurring radioactive materials ( NORM/TE-NORM). Emergence of NORM/TE-NORM in studied area noticed when the natural background radioactivity levels increased around some oil fields during end of 1998, For this study, six field trips and a radiation surveys were conducted within selected oil fields that managed and owned by six operating companies under NOC, in order to determine the effective radiation dose in contrast with dose limits set by International Counsel of Radiation Protection(ICRP),and International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) Additionally solid samples in a form of scales and liquid samples were also taken for further investigation and laboratory analysis. Results were tabulated and discussed within the text .However to be more specific results pointed out to the fact that existence of NORM/TE-NORM as 226 Ra, 228 Ra, within some scale samples from surface equipment in some oil and gas fields in Jamahiriya were significant. As a result of that, the workers might receive moderate radiation dose less than the limits set by ICRP,IAEA, and other parts of the world producing oil and gas. Results predicted that within the investigated oil fields if workers receive proper training about handling of NORM/TE-NORM and follow the operating procedure of clean ups, work over and maintenance plane carefully, their committed exposure from NORM/TE-NORM will be less than the set limits by ICRP and IAEA. In a trend to estimate internal radiation dose as a result of possible

Lateralization patterns of covert but not overt movements change with age: An EEG neurofeedback study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zich, Catharina; Debener, Stefan; De Vos, Maarten; Frerichs, Stella; Maurer, Stefanie; Kranczioch, Cornelia

2015-08-01

The mental practice of movements has been suggested as a promising add-on therapy to facilitate motor recovery after stroke. In the case of mentally practised movements, electroencephalogram (EEG) can be utilized to provide feedback about an otherwise covert act. The main target group for such an intervention are elderly patients, though research so far is largely focused on young populations (study therefore aimed to examine the influence of age on the neural correlates of covert movements (CMs) in a real-time EEG neurofeedback framework. CM-induced event-related desynchronization (ERD) was studied in young (mean age: 23.6 years) and elderly (mean age: 62.7 years) healthy adults. Participants performed covert and overt hand movements. CMs were based on kinesthetic motor imagery (MI) or quasi-movements (QM). Based on previous studies investigating QM in the mu frequency range (8-13Hz) QM were expected to result in more lateralized ERD% patterns and accordingly higher classification accuracies. Independent of CM strategy the elderly were characterized by a significantly reduced lateralization of ERD%, due to stronger ipsilateral ERD%, and in consequence, reduced classification accuracies. QM were generally perceived as more vivid, but no differences were evident between MI and QM in ERD% or classification accuracies. EEG feedback enhanced task-related activity independently of strategy and age. ERD% measures of overt and covert movements were strongly related in young adults, whereas in the elderly ERD% lateralization is dissociated. In summary, we did not find evidence in support of more pronounced ERD% lateralization patterns in QM. Our finding of a less lateralized activation pattern in the elderly is in accordance to previous research and with the idea that compensatory processes help to overcome neurodegenerative changes related to normal ageing. Importantly, it indicates that EEG neurofeedback studies should place more emphasis on the age of the potential end

Intuitionistic fuzzy 2-normed space and some related concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mursaleen, M.; Danish Lohani, Q.M.

2009-01-01

Motivated by the notion of 2-norm due to Gaehler [Gaehler S. Lineare 2-normietre Raeume. Math Nachr 28;1965:1-43], in this paper we define the concept of intuitionistic fuzzy 2-normed space which is a generalization of the notion of intuitionistic fuzzy normed space due to Saadati and Park [Saadati R, Park JH, On the intuitionistic fuzzy topological spaces. Chaos Solitons and Fractals 2006;27:331-44]. Further we establish some topological results in this new set up.

An embedding norm and the Lindqvist trigonometric functions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christer Bennewitz

2002-10-01

Full Text Available We shall calculate the operator norm $|T|_p$ of the Hardy operator $Tf = int_0^x f $, where $1le ple infty$. This operator is related to the Sobolev embedding operator from $W^{1,p}(0,1/mathbb{C}$ into $W^p(0,1/mathbb{C}$. For $1norm gives the operator norm $|T|_p$, is expressed in terms of the function $sin_p$ which is a generalization of the usual sine function and was introduced by Lindqvist [6]. Submitted September 12, 2002. Published October 9, 2002. Math Subject Classifications: 46E35, 33D05. Key Words: Sobolev embedding operator; Volterra operator.

Administrative norms on radiofrequency radiation for occupationally exposed persons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saxeboel, G.

1982-01-01

The report presents a proposal for administrative norms on radiofrequency (RF) radiation for occupationally exposed persons. The norms establish maximum allowable field exposure in a frequency range from 1 MHz too 300 GHz. (RF)

PREDICTORS AND CONSEQUENCES OF ADOLESCENTS’ NORMS AGAINST TEENAGE PREGNANCY

Science.gov (United States)

Mollborn, Stefanie

2011-01-01

African American and Latino teenagers and communities are frequently assumed to have weaker norms against teenage pregnancy than whites. Despite their importance, adolescents’ norms about teenage pregnancy have not been measured or their correlates and consequences documented. This study examines individual-level and contextual variation in adolescents’ embarrassment at the prospect of a teenage pregnancy and its relationship with subsequent teenage pregnancy. Descriptive analyses find that norms vary by gender and individual- and neighborhood-level race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES). In multivariate analyses, neighborhood-level racial/ethnic associations with embarrassment are explained by neighborhood-level SES. Embarrassment is associated with a lower likelihood of subsequent teenage pregnancy but does not mediate racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic influences, underscoring the importance of both norms and structural factors for understanding teenage fertility. PMID:21921969

An integrated moral obligation model for landowner conservation norms

Science.gov (United States)

Pradhananga, Amit K.; Davenport, Mae A.; Fulton, David C.; Maruyama, Geoffrey M.; Current, Dean

2017-01-01

This study applies an integrated moral obligation model to examine the role of environmental and cultural values, and beliefs in the activation of landowner conservation norms. Data for this study were collected through a self-administered survey of riparian landowners in two Minnesota watersheds: Sand Creek and Vermillion River watersheds. Study findings suggest that collectivistic and biospheric–altruistic values form the bases for the activation of personal norms. Further, beliefs about local responsibility and ability to act influence personal norms to protect water resources. Findings suggest that landowners’ personal norms of water conservation are more likely to be activated by conservation strategies that appeal to biospheric–altruistic and collectivistic values, emphasize adverse consequences of water pollution, highlight water resource protection as a local responsibility, and provide the resources needed to protect water resources.

Potential environmental and regulatory implications of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paschoa, A.S.

1998-01-01

The immense volume of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) wastes produced annually by extracting industries throughout the world deserves to come to the attention of international and national environmental protection agencies and regulatory bodies. Although a great deal of work has been done in the fields of radiation protection and remedial actions concerning uranium and other mines, the need to dispose of diffuse NORM wastes will have environmental and regulatory implications that thus far are not fully appreciated. NORM wastes constitute, by and large, unwanted byproducts of industrial activities as diverse as thorium and uranium milling, niobium, tin and gold mining extraction, water treatment, and the production of oil, gas, phosphate fertilizer, coal fire and aluminium. The volumes of NORM wastes produced annually could reach levels so high that the existing low level radioactive waste (LLRW) facilities would be readily occupied by NORM if controlled disposal procedures were not adopted. On the other hand, NORM cannot just be ignored as being below radiological concern (BRC) or lower than exempt concentration levels (ECLs), because sometimes NORM concentrations reach levels as high as 1 x 10 3 kBq/kg for 226 Ra, and not much less for 228 Ra. Unfortunately, thus far, there is not enough information available concerning NORM wastes in key industries, though the international scientific community has been concerned, for a long time now, with technologically enhanced natural radiation exposures (TENRE). This article is written with the intention of examining, to the extent possible, the potential environmental and regulatory implications of NORM wastes being produced in selected industries. (Author)

A case study on the formation and sharing process of science classroom norms

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Jina; Song, Jinwoong

2016-03-01

The teaching and learning of science in school are influenced by various factors, including both individual factors, such as member beliefs, and social factors, such as the power structure of the class. To understand this complex context affected by various factors in schools, we investigated the formation and sharing process of science classroom norms in connection with these factors. By examining the developmental process of science classroom norms, we identified how the norms were realized, shared, and internalized among the members. We collected data through classroom observations and interviews focusing on two elementary science classrooms in Korea. From these data, factors influencing norm formation were extracted and developed as stories about norm establishment. The results indicate that every science classroom norm was established, shared, and internalized differently according to the values ingrained in the norms, the agent of norm formation, and the members' understanding about the norm itself. The desirable norms originating from values in science education, such as having an inquiring mind, were not established spontaneously by students, but were instead established through well-organized norm networks to encourage concrete practice. Educational implications were discussed in terms of the practice of school science inquiry, cultural studies, and value-oriented education.

Quasi-invariant modified Sobolev norms for semi linear reversible PDEs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faou, Erwan; Grébert, Benoît

2010-01-01

We consider a general class of infinite dimensional reversible differential systems. Assuming a nonresonance condition on linear frequencies, we construct for such systems almost invariant pseudo-norms that are close to Sobolev-like norms. This allows us to prove that if the Sobolev norm of index s of the initial data z 0 is sufficiently small (of order ε) then the Sobolev norm of the solution is bounded by 2ε over a very long time interval (of order ε −r with r arbitrary). It turns out that this theorem applies to a large class of reversible semi-linear partial differential equations (PDEs) including the nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation on the d-dimensional torus. We also apply our method to a system of coupled NLS equations which is reversible but not Hamiltonian. We also note that for the same class of reversible systems we can prove a Birkhoff normal form theorem, which in turn implies the same bounds on the Sobolev norms. Nevertheless the techniques that we use to prove the existence of quasi-invariant pseudo-norms are much more simple and direct

Social Norms and Adolescents' Sexual Health: An Introduction for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

USER

School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego2 ... An introduction to social norms that will be beneficial for those who intend to integrate a social norms perspective ..... Social network analysis, by measuring the .... Addictive Behavior.

The Propagation of Movement Variability in Time: A Methodological Approach for Discrete Movements with Multiple Degrees of Freedom

Science.gov (United States)

Krüger, Melanie; Straube, Andreas; Eggert, Thomas

2017-01-01

In recent years, theory-building in motor neuroscience and our understanding of the synergistic control of the redundant human motor system has significantly profited from the emergence of a range of different mathematical approaches to analyze the structure of movement variability. Approaches such as the Uncontrolled Manifold method or the Noise-Tolerance-Covariance decomposition method allow to detect and interpret changes in movement coordination due to e.g., learning, external task constraints or disease, by analyzing the structure of within-subject, inter-trial movement variability. Whereas, for cyclical movements (e.g., locomotion), mathematical approaches exist to investigate the propagation of movement variability in time (e.g., time series analysis), similar approaches are missing for discrete, goal-directed movements, such as reaching. Here, we propose canonical correlation analysis as a suitable method to analyze the propagation of within-subject variability across different time points during the execution of discrete movements. While similar analyses have already been applied for discrete movements with only one degree of freedom (DoF; e.g., Pearson's product-moment correlation), canonical correlation analysis allows to evaluate the coupling of inter-trial variability across different time points along the movement trajectory for multiple DoF-effector systems, such as the arm. The theoretical analysis is illustrated by empirical data from a study on reaching movements under normal and disturbed proprioception. The results show increased movement duration, decreased movement amplitude, as well as altered movement coordination under ischemia, which results in a reduced complexity of movement control. Movement endpoint variability is not increased under ischemia. This suggests that healthy adults are able to immediately and efficiently adjust the control of complex reaching movements to compensate for the loss of proprioceptive information. Further, it is

Social norms of cigarette and hookah smokers in Iranian universities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roohafza, Hamidreza; Sadeghi, Masoumeh; Shahnam, Maryam

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND: First experiences of tobacco use usually occur in adolescence. The recognition of social norms leading to youth smoking is hence necessary. We tried to assess the social norms among Iranian young cigarette and hookah smokers. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 451...... regression analysis was used to separately determine associations between hookah and cigarette smoking and the four social norm variables. RESULTS: CIGARETTE AND HOOKAH SMOKERS HAD SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WITH NONSMOKERS IN TWO SOCIAL NORMS: "Perceived smoking by important characters" [odds ratio (OR) = 1.......35 in cigarette smokers and 1.58 in hookah smokers; P smokers and 6.16 in hookah smokers; P

On negative norm states in supersymmetric theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ellwanger, U.

1983-01-01

We study the effective kinetic energy of scalar fields for two classes of supersymmetric theories. In theories with very large VEVs of scalar fields, as proposed by Witten, the use of the renormalization group improved effective action prevents the appearance of negative norm states. For simpler theories a general criterium for the absence of negative norm states is given, which is violated in a model with O(N)-symmetry proposed recently. (orig.)

The Relationship between Social Movements, ICT and Social Change According to the Scientific Community

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belén Casas

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The rapid spread of the information and communication technologies (ICTs has changed the way social movements use Public Communication and will do so again in the future. This paper provides an analysis of the academic literature related to the influence of the ICT transformations on social movements and its consequences for social consent. The study is based on one of the dimensions of the R&D: “Social Production of Communication and Social Reproduction in the Globalization Era”. This is done through a content analysis of the representations offered by scientific institutions that mediate the social reproduction of meaning. Within the theoretical framework of the Social Production of Communication, the implemented analysis includes a corpus of 180 future scenarios from scientific and technical literature in this field. The findings suggest that the ICTs promote agreement between various social groups, but this might simultaneously trigger conflicts with other institutions or governments.

Compilation of Cognitive and Personality Norms for Military Aviators.

Science.gov (United States)

Carretta, Thomas R; King, Raymond E; Ree, Malcolm James; Teachout, Mark S; Barto, Erica

2016-09-01

The assessment of individuals on abilities or other characteristics is based on comparison to a representative sample. General population norms provide an appropriate reference group when the distribution of scores in the sample can be expected to be similar to those for the general population (e.g., comparing high school students at a particular school to national high school norms on a college entrance test). Specialized norms are needed, however, when subsets of the population differ from the population at large. Military pilot trainees represent a special population; they are highly screened on cognitive ability and other characteristics thought to be related to job performance. Other characteristics (e.g., personality) are thought to be "self-selected," resulting in distinctive profiles. Normative tables were developed for U.S. Air Force pilot trainees for two widely used tests, the Multidimensional Aptitude Battery-II (MAB-II) and NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R). The MAB-II and NEO PI-R were administered to large samples of USAF cadets, ROTC students, and officers selected for pilot training. The mean MAB-II full-scale IQ was about 1.5 SD above the adult population norm and was much less variable, supporting the need for specialized norms. Tables showing the percentile equivalents are provided for use by clinicians. Use of these tables, in addition to, or in lieu of, commercially published norms, will prove helpful when clinical psychologists perform assessments on pilots; in particular when evaluating them for return-to-duty status following a disqualifying condition that may have affected cognitive functioning or emotional stability. Carretta TR, King RE, Ree MJ, Teachout MS, Barto E. Compilation of cognitive and personality norms for military aviators. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2016; 87(9):764-771.

Regarding men as superior to women: impacts of Confucianism on family norms in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Z

1994-12-01

Confucianism in China instills the concept of male superiority over women. Although the laws in the New China establish women's rights, the practices and norms of society still engender male dominance. Chinese family norms promote the unity of the family, while placing women in a subservient and uneducated position. The traditional culture requires obedience to a father and then to a husband and sons. The traditional family proscribes women's role as housekeeper, and the value of this activity is considered lower than male work outside the household. Family norms also place the power of family decisions with husbands. Men maintain contact politically and socially at village meetings and negotiate use of resources and production. As women take on greater productive roles and earn income, their involvement in decision making increases. Female power within the family has increased also due to increased women's education. Son preference is perpetuated in rural areas inland as a means of providing a strong labor supply and in coastal areas as a means of carrying on the family name. The traditional preference is for a son and a daughter; those with 2 daughters remain feeling inferior. Sons are considered important for elderly care. Confucianism contributes to high fertility, short birth intervals, and an imbalanced sex ratio. The imbalanced sex ratio in rural areas is perpetuated also due to economic concerns and the lack of social services for the elderly. The Chinese family planning program has been effective in reducing high fertility and in changing traditional family norms and customs. Government efforts most recently have focused on changing the desire for more children and son preference. The expectation is that modernization will bring with it empowerment of women and a balance between men and women in both family and society.

easyCBM Norms. 2014 Edition. Technical Report #1409

Science.gov (United States)

Saven, Jessica L.; Tindal, Gerald; Irvin, P. Shawn; Farley, Dan; Alonzo, Julie

2014-01-01

Previous norms for the easyCBM assessment system were computed using scores from all students who took each measure for every grade and benchmark season (fall, winter, and spring). During the 2013-­14 school year, new national norms were developed to more accurately (proportionately) represent reading and mathematics performance by two variables:…

Affective Norms for 362 Persian Words

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahdi Bagheri

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Background: During the past two decades, a great deal of research has been conducted on developing affective norms for words in various languages, showing that there is an urgent need to create such norms in Persian language, too. The present study intended to develop a set of 362 Persian words rated according to their emotional valence, arousal, imageability, and familiarity so as to prepare the ground for further research on emotional word processing. This was the first attempt to set affective norms for Persian words in the realm of emotion.  Methods: Prior to the study, a multitude of words were selected from Persian dictionary and academic books in Persian literature. Secondly, three independent proficient experts in the Persian literature were asked to extract the suitable words from the list and to choose the best (defined as grammatically correct and most often used. The database normalization process was based on the ratings by a total of 88 participants using a 9-point Likert scale. Each participant evaluated about 120 words on four different scales.  Results: There were significant relationships between affective dimensions and some psycholinguistic variables. Also, further analyses were carried out to investigate the possible relationship between different features of valences (positive, negative, and neutral and other variables included in the dataset.  Conclusion: These affective norms for Persian words create a useful and valid dataset which will provide researchers with applying standard verbal materials as well as materials applied in other languages, e.g. English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, etc.

Social Norm, Family Communication, and HBV Screening among Asian Americans.

Science.gov (United States)

Juon, Hee-Soon; Rimal, Rajiv N; Klassen, Ann; Lee, Sunmin

2017-12-01

Individuals' behaviors are influenced by those of others in their social environment (i.e., descriptive norms), as well as by how individuals perceive they should behave in that environment (e.g., injunctive norms). Although social norms are thought to play an important role in hepatitis B virus (HBV) screening, limited theoretical or empirical guidance exists on how the underlying process works. In addition, norms are social phenomena that are spread through family discussion about the importance of getting HBV screening. Using the theory of normative social behavior (TNSB), this study examined the roles of injunctive norms (IN), descriptive norms (DN), and family discussion in HBV screening behavior among Asian Americans. Data from a survey of Asian Americans in the Baltimore Washington metropolitan area (N = 877) were used to test underlying theoretical propositions. DN and family discussion emerged as key factors in HBV screening behavior among all Asian Americans. IN were associated with HBV screening among Chinese and Korean Americans, but not for Vietnamese Americans. Family discussion moderated the influence of DN on behavior among Chinese and Vietnamese Americans. However, the main effect of DN on screening behavior was not modified by IN (no interactions between DN and IN). The results indicate that family discussion and social norms are integral in enabling Asian Americans to undergo HBV screening and warrant sensitivity in the design and implementation of a liver cancer prevention program in this high-risk group of Asian Americans.

Does Physical Activity Mediate the Associations Between Local-Area Descriptive Norms, Built Environment Walkability, and Glycosylated Hemoglobin?

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, Suzanne J; Niyonsenga, Theo; Coffee, Neil T; Taylor, Anne W; Daniel, Mark

2017-08-23

Associations between local-area residential features and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA 1c ) may be mediated by individual-level health behaviors. Such indirect effects have rarely been tested. This study assessed whether individual-level self-reported physical activity mediated the influence of local-area descriptive norms and objectively expressed walkability on 10-year change in HbA 1c . HbA 1c was assessed three times for adults in a 10-year population-based biomedical cohort ( n = 4056). Local-area norms specific to each participant were calculated, aggregating responses from a separate statewide surveillance survey for 1600 m road-network buffers centered on participant addresses (local prevalence of overweight/obesity (body mass index ≥25 kg/m²) and physical inactivity (Walkability was directly and indirectly protective of worsening HbA 1c . Local-area descriptive norms and walkability influence cardiometabolic risk trajectory through individual-level physical activity. Efforts to reduce population cardiometabolic risk should consider the extent of local-area unhealthful behavioral norms and walkability in tailoring strategies to improve physical activity.

Effects of intermittent theta-burst stimulation on practice-related changes in fast finger movements in healthy subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Agostino, Rocco; Iezzi, Ennio; Dinapoli, Loredana; Suppa, Antonio; Conte, Antonella; Berardelli, Alfredo

2008-08-01

In this paper we investigated the effects of intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) applied to the primary motor cortex on practice-related changes in motor performance. Seventeen healthy subjects underwent two experimental sessions, one testing real iTBS and the other testing sham iTBS. Before and after both iTBS sessions, the subjects practiced fast right index-finger abductions for a few minutes. As measures of cortical excitability we calculated resting motor threshold and motor-evoked potential amplitude. As measures of practice-related changes we evaluated the mean movement amplitude, peak velocity and peak acceleration values for each block. When subjects practiced the movement task, the three variables measuring practice-related changes improved to a similar extent during real and sham iTBS whereas cortical excitability increased only during real iTBS. In a further group of five healthy subjects we investigated the effect of real and sham iTBS on changes in motor performance after a longer task practice and found no significant changes in motor performance and retention after real and sham iTBS. From our results overall we conclude that in healthy subjects iTBS applied to the primary motor cortex leaves practice-related changes in an index finger abduction task unaffected. We suggest that iTBS delivered over the primary motor cortex is insufficient to alter motor performance because early motor learning probably engages a wide cortical and subcortical network.

Relationship among values, beliefs, norms and ecological behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

González López, Antonio; Amérigo Cuervo-Arango, María

2008-11-01

The present study focuses mainly on the relationship between psychological constructs and ecological behaviour. Empirical analysis links personal values, ecological beliefs, consequences of environmental conditions, denial of ecological obligation, environmental control, personal norms and environment protection behaviour. Survey data from a path analysis of a Spanish sample of 403 individuals were used, showing that ecological beliefs, personal norms and eco-altruistic values have become the main psychological explanatory variables of environment protective behaviour. Ecological beliefs, when measured by the New Ecological Paradigm Scale, affected ecological behaviour decisively. Environmental and altruistic values were shown to be related to moral obligation, and a basic variable to understand behaviour. Personal norm mediated the effects of values and environmental control on ecological behaviour.

Subband Adaptive Filtering with l1-Norm Constraint for Sparse System Identification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Young-Seok Choi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a new approach of the normalized subband adaptive filter (NSAF which directly exploits the sparsity condition of an underlying system for sparse system identification. The proposed NSAF integrates a weighted l1-norm constraint into the cost function of the NSAF algorithm. To get the optimum solution of the weighted l1-norm regularized cost function, a subgradient calculus is employed, resulting in a stochastic gradient based update recursion of the weighted l1-norm regularized NSAF. The choice of distinct weighted l1-norm regularization leads to two versions of the l1-norm regularized NSAF. Numerical results clearly indicate the superior convergence of the l1-norm regularized NSAFs over the classical NSAF especially when identifying a sparse system.

Endogenous mobility-reducing norms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haagsma, R.; Koning, N.B.J.

2002-01-01

We present a model where a mobility-reducing norm arises in response to adverse economic conditions. Our example is the classical farm problem of low returns. A temporary transition barrier induces cognitive dissonance in farm youths, which they try to reduce by developing a belief that revalues

Juggling with the norms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hahonou, Eric Komlavi

2017-01-01

The article shows that care in developing countries is a complex matter that cannot be reduced to corrupt practices. The literature on informal payments highlights the role played by corrupt practices in the health sector and tends to attribute corruption to a so-called ‘endemic culture of gifts’...... to the fabrication of the practical norms that regulate the daily functioning of health facilities and shape people’s behaviour.......’. However, as the case of the emergency service of Niamey National Hospital suggests the interactions between civil servants and users in health facilities have little to do with a traditional culture. They are better understood through the lens of practical norms. Furthermore, as the authors demonstrates...... of the services provided by the medical staff, it also depends on the qualifications of the persons (relatives, friends) accompanying the patient. In Niger (and other developing countries), the patient’s attendant is a crucial component of the organisation and the effectiveness of health facilities in emergency...

Normal value collection in nuclear cardiological examination: The 'cured norm' concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maul, F.D.; Standke, R.; Hoer, G.

1989-01-01

As a refence a standard of 'cured norm' is proposed. The patients who come under the 'cured norm' category are those without previous myocardial infarctions and who are free of symptoms after a successful transluminal coronary angioplasty (TCA) with a normalized exercise ECG. Global and sectorial parameters of radionuclide-vetriculography (RNV) and 201 Tl-myocardial-scintigraphy ( 201 Tl-MS) are in good accordance with the published data from other authors. An improvement is found after successful TCA but results are even better in the special 'cured norm' group indicating an additional normalization. Sensitivity and specificity based on the 'cured norm' is comparable with the results published by others. From these results we conclude that the 'cured norm' is suitable for clinical use. (orig.) [de

Marketing norm perception among medical representatives in Indian pharmaceutical industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagashekhara, Molugulu; Agil, Syed Omar Syed; Ramasamy, Ravindran

2012-03-01

Study of marketing norm perception among medical representatives is an under-portrayed component that deserves further perusal in the pharmaceutical industry. The purpose of this study is to find out the perception of marketing norms among medical representatives. The research design is quantitative and cross sectional study with medical representatives as unit of analysis. Data is collected from medical representatives (n=300) using a simple random and cluster sampling using a structured questionnaire. Results indicate that there is no difference in the perception of marketing norms among male and female medical representatives. But there is a difference in opinion among domestic and multinational company's medical representatives. Educational back ground of medical representatives also shows the difference in opinion among medical representatives. Degree holders and multinational company medical representatives have high perception of marketing norms compare to their counterparts. The researchers strongly believe that mandatory training on marketing norms is beneficial in decision making process during the dilemmas in the sales field.

'The NORM Report' : the journal addressing naturally occurring radioactive materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simmons, C.T.; Tsurikov, N.

2008-01-01

Full text: The need for the specific international publication dedicated to the radiation protection and regulatory issues associated with exposures of workers, general public and the environment in situations involving naturally occurring radioactive materials (Norm) has been identified almost ten years ago. In the 1990-s the journal entitled 'the NORM report' was published in the U.S.A. mainly dealt with legislative updates in regard to NORM in different states and at a later stage Canada. The printed journal has a wide following among industries and regulatory authorities concerned with NORM. Unfortunately, the publishing ceased in early 2000-s with the passing of the editor, Dr. Peter Gray. The publication of 'the NORM Report' will re-commence in early 2008 as an internet based publication that is intended to be a resource for: Regulatory authorities exchange information in regards to the 'NORM-specific' regulations and guidelines applicable in their jurisdictions. They are also able to collect details from authorities in other countries/states - to ensure the adoption of the most appropriate regulatory standards to similar levels of radiation exposure and the same industries world-wide (not only within the USA), a) Researches, who will be able to publish the results of their studies in a journal specifically dedicated to naturally occurring radioactive materials and b) Industries that use, process, and generate - to facilitate the information exchange in regards to best practices in controlling radiation exposure and in the disposal or re-use of NORM-containing materials. The intent of the presentation is to obtain the opinion of a wider radiation protection community of the usefulness and the contents of the publication of 'the NORM Report' to ensure the journal meets its state objectives. (author)

Perceived eating norms and children's eating behaviour: An informational social influence account.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharps, Maxine; Robinson, Eric

2017-06-01

There is initial evidence that beliefs about the eating behaviour of others (perceived eating norms) can influence children's vegetable consumption, but little research has examined the mechanisms explaining this effect. In two studies we aimed to replicate the effect that perceived eating norms have on children's vegetable consumption, and to explore mechanisms which may underlie the influence of perceived eating norms on children's vegetable consumption. Study 1 investigated whether children follow perceived eating norms due to a desire to maintain personal feelings of social acceptance. Study 2 investigated whether perceived eating norms influence eating behaviour because eating norms provide information which can remove uncertainty about how to behave. Across both studies children were exposed to vegetable consumption information of other children and their vegetable consumption was examined. In both studies children were influenced by perceived eating norms, eating more when led to believe others had eaten a large amount compared to when led to believe others had eaten no vegetables. In Study 1, children were influenced by a perceived eating norm regardless of whether they felt sure or unsure that other children accepted them. In Study 2, children were most influenced by a perceived eating norm if they were eating in a novel context in which it may have been uncertain how to behave, as opposed to an eating context that children had already encountered. Perceived eating norms may influence children's eating behaviour by removing uncertainty about how to behave, otherwise known as informational social influence. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

True gender ratios and stereotype rating norms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan eGarnham

2015-07-01

Full Text Available We present a study comparing, in English, perceived distributions of men and women in 422 named occupations with actual real world distributions. The first set of data was obtained from previous a large-scale norming study, whereas the second set was mostly drawn from UK governmental sources. In total, real world ratios for 290 occupations were obtained for our perceive vs. real world comparison, of which 205 were deemed to be unproblematic. The means for the two sources were similar and the correlation between them was high, suggesting that people are generally accurate at judging real gender ratios, though there were some notable exceptions. Beside this correlation, some interesting patterns emerged from the two sources, suggesting some response strategies when people complete norming studies. We discuss these patterns in terms of the way real world data might complement norming studies in determining gender stereotypicality.

Enabling phenotypic big data with PheNorm.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Sheng; Ma, Yumeng; Gronsbell, Jessica; Cai, Tianrun; Ananthakrishnan, Ashwin N; Gainer, Vivian S; Churchill, Susanne E; Szolovits, Peter; Murphy, Shawn N; Kohane, Isaac S; Liao, Katherine P; Cai, Tianxi

2018-01-01

Electronic health record (EHR)-based phenotyping infers whether a patient has a disease based on the information in his or her EHR. A human-annotated training set with gold-standard disease status labels is usually required to build an algorithm for phenotyping based on a set of predictive features. The time intensiveness of annotation and feature curation severely limits the ability to achieve high-throughput phenotyping. While previous studies have successfully automated feature curation, annotation remains a major bottleneck. In this paper, we present PheNorm, a phenotyping algorithm that does not require expert-labeled samples for training. The most predictive features, such as the number of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes or mentions of the target phenotype, are normalized to resemble a normal mixture distribution with high area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) for prediction. The transformed features are then denoised and combined into a score for accurate disease classification. We validated the accuracy of PheNorm with 4 phenotypes: coronary artery disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis. The AUCs of the PheNorm score reached 0.90, 0.94, 0.95, and 0.94 for the 4 phenotypes, respectively, which were comparable to the accuracy of supervised algorithms trained with sample sizes of 100-300, with no statistically significant difference. The accuracy of the PheNorm algorithms is on par with algorithms trained with annotated samples. PheNorm fully automates the generation of accurate phenotyping algorithms and demonstrates the capacity for EHR-driven annotations to scale to the next level - phenotypic big data. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Linking Norms and Culture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

McBreen, J.; Tosto, Di G.; Dignum, F.; Hofstede, G.J.

2011-01-01

The goal of this paper is to propose a method of modelling the evolution of social norms in different cultural settings. We analyse the role of culture in shaping agents' normative reasoning and hence their behaviour. The general notion of 'value' is discussed from the perspective of the BDI

Fermionic zero-norm states and enlarged supersymmetries of Type II string

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, J.-C.

2000-01-01

We calculate the NS-R fermionic zero-norm states of the type II string spectrum. The massless and some possible massive zero-norm states are seen to be responsible for the space-time supersymmetry. The existence of other fermionic massive zero-norm states with higher spinor-tensor indices correspond to new enlarged boson-fermion symmetries of the theory at high energy. We also discuss the R-R charges and R-R zero-norm states and justify the idea that the perturbative string does not carry the massless R-R charges. (orig.)

"Who Doesn't?"--The Impact of Descriptive Norms on Corruption.

Science.gov (United States)

Köbis, Nils C; van Prooijen, Jan-Willem; Righetti, Francesca; Van Lange, Paul A M

2015-01-01

Corruption poses one of the major societal challenges of our time. Considerable advances have been made in understanding corruption on a macro level, yet the psychological antecedents of corrupt behavior remain largely unknown. In order to explain why some people engage in corruption while others do not, we explored the impact of descriptive social norms on corrupt behavior by using a novel behavioral measure of corruption. We conducted three studies to test whether perceived descriptive norms of corruption (i.e. the belief about the prevalence of corruption in a specific context) influence corrupt behavior. The results indicated that descriptive norms highly correlate with corrupt behavior--both when measured before (Study 1) or after (Study 2) the behavioral measure of corruption. Finally, we adopted an experimental design to investigate the causal effect of descriptive norms on corruption (Study 3). Corrupt behavior in the corruption game significantly drops when participants receive short anti-corruption descriptive norm primes prior to the game. These findings indicate that perceived descriptive norms can impact corrupt behavior and, possibly, could offer an explanation for inter-personal and inter-cultural variation in corrupt behavior in the real world. We discuss implications of these findings and draw avenues for future research.

"Who Doesn't?"--The Impact of Descriptive Norms on Corruption.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nils C Köbis

Full Text Available Corruption poses one of the major societal challenges of our time. Considerable advances have been made in understanding corruption on a macro level, yet the psychological antecedents of corrupt behavior remain largely unknown. In order to explain why some people engage in corruption while others do not, we explored the impact of descriptive social norms on corrupt behavior by using a novel behavioral measure of corruption. We conducted three studies to test whether perceived descriptive norms of corruption (i.e. the belief about the prevalence of corruption in a specific context influence corrupt behavior. The results indicated that descriptive norms highly correlate with corrupt behavior--both when measured before (Study 1 or after (Study 2 the behavioral measure of corruption. Finally, we adopted an experimental design to investigate the causal effect of descriptive norms on corruption (Study 3. Corrupt behavior in the corruption game significantly drops when participants receive short anti-corruption descriptive norm primes prior to the game. These findings indicate that perceived descriptive norms can impact corrupt behavior and, possibly, could offer an explanation for inter-personal and inter-cultural variation in corrupt behavior in the real world. We discuss implications of these findings and draw avenues for future research.

Morality salience increases adherence to salient norms and values

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gailliot, M.T.; Stillman, T.F.; Schmeichel, B.J.; Maner, J.K.; Plant, E.A.

2008-01-01

Four studies indicate that mortality salience increases adherence to social norms and values, but only when cultural norms and values are salient. In Study 1, mortality salience coupled with a reminder about cultural values of egalitarianism reduced prejudice toward Blacks among non-Black

Predictors of technical adoption and behavioural change to transport energy-saving measures in response to climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aini, M.S.; Chan, S.C.; Syuhaily, O.

2013-01-01

Energy conservation can be achieved through the adoption of technical measures or the changing of one's behaviour. A survey of 201 Malaysian public personnel was conducted to examine the predictors of these two types of transport energy-saving measures in response to climate change. The results indicated that there were significant differences in the relative acceptability of both behavioural measures with respect to gender, level of education, income, knowledge of climate change and attitude. Gender, knowledge of causes of climate change and personal norm were predictors for the acceptability of technical measures, while perceived efficacy and personal norm were the factors that influenced the acceptability of behavioural measures. The results also indicated that distinctions ought to be made between technology adoption and behaviour modifications that require lifestyle changes when assessing pro-environmental intent behaviour. The implications for theory and practice are discussed. - Highlights: • A survey was conducted to examine acceptability of transport energy-saving measures. • Gender, knowledge of causes, efficacy and personal norm are predictors of technical measures. • Personal norm and perceived efficacy influenced acceptability of behavioural change. • Both measures are strongly correlated to psychological factors than to socio-demographic variables

Designing feedback to mitigate teen distracted driving: A social norms approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Merrikhpour, Maryam; Donmez, Birsen

2017-07-01

The purpose of this research is to investigate teens' perceived social norms and whether providing normative information can reduce distracted driving behaviors among them. Parents are among the most important social referents for teens; they have significant influences on teens' driving behaviors, including distracted driving which significantly contributes to teens' crash risks. Social norms interventions have been successfully applied in various domains including driving; however, this approach is yet to be explored for mitigating driver distraction among teens. Forty teens completed a driving simulator experiment while performing a self-paced visual-manual secondary task in four between-subject conditions: a) social norms feedback that provided a report at the end of each drive on teens' distracted driving behavior, comparing their distraction engagement to their parent's, b) post-drive feedback that provided just the report on teens' distracted driving behavior without information on their parents, c) real-time feedback in the form of auditory warnings based on eyes of road-time, and d) no feedback as control. Questionnaires were administered to collect data on these teens' and their parents' self-reported engagement in driver distractions and the associated social norms. Social norms and real-time feedback conditions resulted in significantly smaller average off-road glance duration, rate of long (>2s) off-road glances, and standard deviation of lane position compared to no feedback. Further, social norms feedback decreased brake response time and percentage of time not looking at the road compared to no feedback. No major effect was observed for post-drive feedback. Questionnaire results suggest that teens appeared to overestimate parental norms, but no effect of feedback was found on their perceptions. Feedback systems that leverage social norms can help mitigate driver distraction among teens. Overall, both social norms and real-time feedback induced

The role of efficacy and moral outrage norms in creating the potential for international development activism through group-based interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Emma F; McGarty, Craig A

2009-03-01

This paper adopts an intergroup perspective on helping as collective action to explore the ways to boost motivation amongst people in developed countries to join the effort to combat poverty and preventable disease in developing countries. Following van Zomeren, Spears, Leach, and Fischer's (2004) model of collective action, we investigated the role of norms about an emotional response (moral outrage) and beliefs about efficacy in motivating commitment to take action amongst members of advantaged groups. Norms about outrage and efficacy were harnessed to an opinion-based group identity (Bliuc, McGarty, Reynolds, & Muntele, 2007) and explored in the context of a novel group-based interaction method. Results showed that the group-based interaction boosted commitment to action especially when primed with an (injunctive) outrage norm. This norm stimulated a range of related effects including increased identification with the pro-international development opinion-based group, and higher efficacy beliefs. Results provide an intriguing instance of the power of group interaction (particularly where strengthened with emotion norms) to bolster commitment to positive social change.

A New European COST Network 'NORM4Building' (TU1301) for the Reuse of NORM Containing Residues in Building Materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schroeyers, W.; Schreurs, S.

2014-01-01

The new COST action was initiated on the 1st of January 2014 and runs for four years. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Program. In the presentation more information on how to participate in the network will be provided. In the presentation the new approach and new initiatives of the NORM4BUILDING network, that has its first meeting here in the DEAD SEA Hotel on the 12-13/02/2014, will be introduced. The NORM4Building materials network will be an open network of researchers. An Advisory Board consisting mainly from NORM processing and construction industries and relevant associations and regulators are invited to work in collaboration with the scientists that will populate the various working groups and the management committee of the new COST action

Regulatory controls for NORM contamination: Emerging issues and strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wennerberg, Linda

1992-01-01

Naturally occurring and accelerator-produced radioactive material (NORM) faces the increasing likelihood of federal or state regulatory control. Public concern and limited preliminary survey data fuel the debate over the necessity, approach, and jurisdiction of a NORM regulatory strategy. This debate requires the resolution of technical controversies and potentially competing state and federal agency interests. An additional facet of the debate is the impact of regulation upon traditionally non-nuclear industries, such as oil and gas production. Regulatory response has been initiated in several states, such as Louisiana's controls on equipment used in oil and gas production, to control specific industrial activities which generate NORM. A more comprehensive, generic federal strategy to control NORM contamination is also under review by the Environmental Protection Agency. This paper will detail the emerging technical issues, federal and state regulatory strategies under consideration, and evaluate the efficacy of selected regulatory approaches. (author)

The hitchhiker's guide to altruism: gene-culture coevolution, and the internalization of norms.

Science.gov (United States)

Gintis, Herbert

2003-02-21

An internal norm is a pattern of behavior enforced in part by internal sanctions, such as shame, guilt and loss of self-esteem, as opposed to purely external sanctions, such as material rewards and punishment. The ability to internalize norms is widespread among humans, although in some so-called "sociopaths", this capacity is diminished or lacking. Suppose there is one genetic locus that controls the capacity to internalize norms. This model shows that if an internal norm is fitness enhancing, then for plausible patterns of socialization, the allele for internalization of norms is evolutionarily stable. This framework can be used to model Herbert Simon's (1990) explanation of altruism, showing that altruistic norms can "hitchhike" on the general tendency of internal norms to be personally fitness-enhancing. A multi-level selection, gene-culture coevolution argument then explains why individually fitness-reducing internal norms are likely to be prosocial as opposed to socially harmful.

Environmental impact of NORM in Israeli dwellings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neeman, E.; Steiner, V.

2002-01-01

In the last decade the construction of public dwellings in Israel has been intensified. New construction sites are being created and new construction materials, local or imported, are being used. Since the origin of the building materials is essentially the soil, they inherit the radioactive properties of the environment. The level of Natural Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM),from the decay chains of the ubiquitous radio nuclides U 238 ,Th 232 ,U 235 and K 40 ,as well as artificial radioisotopes like Cs 137 ,in building materials needs to be controlled, in order to limit the gamma and Radon radiation dose of the general public in dwellings. The Ministry of the Environment collaborates with other institutions to evaluate, document and control the NORM content in our environment, based on international standards. The operation of quarries is controlled to ensure a low NORM content in raw building materials. The use of bottom and fly ash, abundantly produced in electrical power stations, in constructions is also being controlled. A new Israeli standard controls the NORM content in building materials such as to limit the radiation dose in dwellings from this practice to 0.45 mSv /year. Special construction solutions are developed and used in areas with high Radon concentration in the soil. The aim is to maintain the Radon concentration in dwellings below the Action Limit of 200 Bq/m 3

Offspring reaction norms shaped by parental environment: interaction between within- and trans-generational plasticity of inducible defenses.

Science.gov (United States)

Luquet, Emilien; Tariel, Juliette

2016-10-12

Within-generational plasticity (WGP) and transgenerational plasticity (TGP) are mechanisms allowing rapid adaptive responses to fluctuating environments without genetic change. These forms of plasticity have often been viewed as independent processes. Recent evidence suggests that WGP is altered by the environmental conditions experienced by previous generations (i.e., TGP). In the context of inducible defenses, one of the most studied cases of plasticity, the WGP x TGP interaction has been poorly investigated. We provide evidence that TGP can alter the reaction norms of inducible defenses in a freshwater snail. The WGP x TGP interaction patterns are trait-specific and lead to decreased slope of reaction norms (behaviour and shell thickness). Offspring from induced parents showed a higher predator avoidance behaviour and a thicker shell than snails from non-induced parents in no predator-cue environment while they reached similar defenses in predator-cue environment. The WGP x TGP interaction further lead to a switch from a plastic towards a constitutive expression of defenses for shell dimensions (flat reaction norm). WGP-alteration by TGP may shape the adaptive responses to environmental change and then has a substantial importance to understand the evolution of plasticity.

Orthodontic Tooth Movement: A Historic Prospective.

Science.gov (United States)

Will, Leslie A

2016-01-01

The earliest report on orthodontic tooth movement in the English literature was published in 1911. Oppenheim carried out studies on baboons to determine what histologic changes occurred during tooth movement. Reitan and many others carried out research into the nature of tooth movement. The pressure-tension model of tooth movement developed from these studies, whereby the two sides of the tooth responded to forces as if in isolation. A second theory, proposed by Stuteville in 1938, was the hydraulic theory of tooth movement. In this theory, fluid from the vasculature, lymphatic system and intercellular spaces responds to the forces of tooth movement, damping the force and limiting movement. Bien and Baumrind expanded on this theory with their own studies in the 1960s. It is clear that both the pressure-tension and fluid flow concepts have merit, but considerable work needs to be done to ascertain the details so that tooth movement can be managed and controlled. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Psycholinguistic norms for 320 fixed expressions (idioms and proverbs) in French.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonin, Patrick; Méot, Alain; Boucheix, Jean-Michel; Bugaiska, Aurélia

2018-05-01

We provide psycholinguistic norms for a new set of 160 French idiomatic expressions and 160 proverbs: knowledge, predictability, literality, compositionality, subjective and objective frequency, familiarity, age of acquisition (AoA) and length. Different analyses (reliability, descriptive statistics and correlations) performed on the norms are reported and discussed. The norms can be downloaded as Supplemental Material .

Gender Norms and Retaliatory Violence against Spouses and Acquaintances

Science.gov (United States)

Feld, Scott L.; Felson, Richard B.

2008-01-01

This article examines an experiment embedded within a nationally representative survey of adult Americans to investigate gender norms regarding retaliatory violence between spouses and acquaintances. Contrary to claims that societal norms permit violence within marriage, respondents disapproved of retaliatory violence against spouses more than…

Implantation of licensing norm for industrial radiography installations - Norm CNEN-NE-604 Rev.1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heilbron Filho, P.F.L.; Oliveira, S.M.V. de.

1988-04-01

The results of audits carried out by DIN/CNEN (Department of Nuclear Installations) in firms of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil, that use industrial radiography for implantation of the norm of installation licensing, are presented. (M.C.K.) [pt

Cultural differences in perceived social norms and social anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Heinrichs, Nina; Rapee, Ronald M; Alden, Lynn A; Bögels, Susan; Hofmann, Stefan G; Oh, Kyung Ja; Sakano, Yuji

2006-08-01

Cultural considerations in social anxiety are a rarely investigated topic although it seems likely that differences between countries in social norms may relate to the extent of social anxiety. The present study investigated individuals' personal and perceived cultural norms and their relation to social anxiety and fear of blushing. A total of 909 participants from eight countries completed vignettes describing social situations and evaluated the social acceptability of the behavior of the main actor both from their own, personal perspective as well as from a cultural viewpoint. Personal and cultural norms showed somewhat different patterns in comparison between types of countries (individualistic/collectivistic). According to reported cultural norms, collectivistic countries were more accepting toward socially reticent and withdrawn behaviors than was the case in individualistic countries. In contrast, there was no difference between individualistic and collectivistic countries on individuals' personal perspectives regarding socially withdrawn behavior. Collectivistic countries also reported greater levels of social anxiety and more fear of blushing than individualistic countries. Significant positive relations occurred between the extent to which attention-avoiding behaviors are accepted in a culture and the level of social anxiety or fear of blushing symptoms. These results provide initial evidence that social anxiety may be related to different cultural norms across countries.

Personal Moral Norms and Attitudes Toward Endangered Species Policies on Private Land

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leigh Raymond

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Research across multiple disciplines has shown that personal moral norms can play an important role in shaping individuals′ attitudes and behaviour. Despite this, we know relatively little about patterns of support among landowners for either a personal moral norm favouring a strong, ′intrinsic′ right of private ownership, or a moral duty to prevent extinction. In addition, we know even less about the ability of such norms to predict attitudes toward species protection on private lands, especially for non-charismatic species with few qualities that typically generate positive attitudes for conservation. Results from a mail survey of central Indiana landowners suggest broad support for a personal moral norm favouring a strong, ′intrinsic′ right of ownership as well as a personal moral norm to prevent extinction, and that these norms are better predictors of attitudes toward endangered species policies than partisan identification, identification as an environmentalist, strong religious beliefs, or several other demographic factors. The results suggest that those seeking to influence landowner attitudes toward species protection policies should pay closer attention to the influence of these personal moral norms.

Statistical convergence of double sequences in intuitionistic fuzzy normed spaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mursaleen, M.; Mohiuddine, S.A.

2009-01-01

Recently, the concept of intuitionistic fuzzy normed spaces was introduced by Saadati and Park [Saadati R, Park JH. Chaos, Solitons and Fractals 2006;27:331-44]. Karakus et al. [Karakus S, Demirci K, Duman O. Chaos, Solitons and Fractals 2008;35:763-69] have quite recently studied the notion of statistical convergence for single sequences in intuitionistic fuzzy normed spaces. In this paper, we study the concept of statistically convergent and statistically Cauchy double sequences in intuitionistic fuzzy normed spaces. Furthermore, we construct an example of a double sequence to show that in IFNS statistical convergence does not imply convergence and our method of convergence even for double sequences is stronger than the usual convergence in intuitionistic fuzzy normed space.

A common fixed point for operators in probabilistic normed spaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghaemi, M.B.; Lafuerza-Guillen, Bernardo; Razani, A.

2009-01-01

Probabilistic Metric spaces was introduced by Karl Menger. Alsina, Schweizer and Sklar gave a general definition of probabilistic normed space based on the definition of Menger [Alsina C, Schweizer B, Sklar A. On the definition of a probabilistic normed spaces. Aequationes Math 1993;46:91-8]. Here, we consider the equicontinuity of a class of linear operators in probabilistic normed spaces and finally, a common fixed point theorem is proved. Application to quantum Mechanic is considered.

The Twist Tensor Nuclear Norm for Video Completion.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Wenrui; Tao, Dacheng; Zhang, Wensheng; Xie, Yuan; Yang, Yehui

2017-12-01

In this paper, we propose a new low-rank tensor model based on the circulant algebra, namely, twist tensor nuclear norm (t-TNN). The twist tensor denotes a three-way tensor representation to laterally store 2-D data slices in order. On one hand, t-TNN convexly relaxes the tensor multirank of the twist tensor in the Fourier domain, which allows an efficient computation using fast Fourier transform. On the other, t-TNN is equal to the nuclear norm of block circulant matricization of the twist tensor in the original domain, which extends the traditional matrix nuclear norm in a block circulant way. We test the t-TNN model on a video completion application that aims to fill missing values and the experiment results validate its effectiveness, especially when dealing with video recorded by a nonstationary panning camera. The block circulant matricization of the twist tensor can be transformed into a circulant block representation with nuclear norm invariance. This representation, after transformation, exploits the horizontal translation relationship between the frames in a video, and endows the t-TNN model with a more powerful ability to reconstruct panning videos than the existing state-of-the-art low-rank models.

ADHD Rating Scale-IV: Checklists, Norms, and Clinical Interpretation

Science.gov (United States)

Pappas, Danielle

2006-01-01

This article reviews the "ADHD Rating Scale-IV: Checklist, norms, and clinical interpretation," is a norm-referenced checklist that measures the symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) according to the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric…

The formation of group norms in computer-mediated communication

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Postmes, T; Spears, R; Lea, M

The formation of group norms in computer-mediated communication (CMC) was examined among students who used e-mail as part of a course. A network analysis of group structures revealed that (a) content and form of communication is normative, group norms defining communication patterns within groups,

Social and moral norm differences among Portuguese 1st and 6th year medical students towards their intention to comply with hand hygiene.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberto, Magda S; Mearns, Kathryn; Silva, Silvia A

2012-01-01

This study examines social and moral norms towards the intention to comply with hand hygiene among Portuguese medical students from 1st and 6th years (N = 175; 121 from the 1st year, 54 from the 6th year). The study extended the theory of planned behaviour theoretical principles and hypothesised that both subjective and moral norms will be the best predictors of 1st and 6th year medical students' intention to comply with hand hygiene; however, these predictors ability to explain intention variance will change according to medical students' school year. Results indicated that the subjective norm, whose referent focuses on professors, is a relevant predictor of 1st year medical students' intention, while the subjective norm that emphasises the relevance of colleagues predicts the intentions of medical students from the 6th year. In terms of the moral norm, 6th year students' intention is better predicted by a norm that interferes with compliance; whereas intentions from 1st year students are better predicted by a norm that favours compliance. Implications of the findings highlight the importance of role models and mentors as key factors in teaching hand hygiene in medical undergraduate curricula.

From Social Movement Learning to Sociomaterial Movement Learning? Addressing the Possibilities and Limits of New Materialism

Science.gov (United States)

McGregor, Callum

2014-01-01

In recent years academic interest in social movement learning (SML) has flourished. "Studies in the Education of Adults" has arguably emerged as the premier international forum for exploring the links between adult learning and movements for progressive change. In parallel to this subfield, yet largely in isolation from it,…

A towel less: social norms enhance pro-environmental behavior in hotels.

Science.gov (United States)

Reese, Gerhard; Loew, Kristina; Steffgen, Georges

2014-01-01

Previous research has shown that normative appeals to engage in environmentally friendly behavior were most effective when they were accompanied by a provincial norm (e.g., when norms matched individuals' immediate situational circumstances). Analyzing hotel guests' towel-use during their stay, the current study tests whether messages employing provincial norms were more effective in reducing towel-use than standard environmental messages. In line with previous findings, guests of two hotels used significantly fewer towels when provincial normative appeals--rather than standard environmental messages--were communicated. These findings corroborate to the body of research demonstrating the power of social norms on environmental behavior.

Negative-norm states, superselection rules, and the lepton family

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crawford, J.P.; Barut, A.O.

1983-01-01

Field theories containing states of both positive and negative norm are considered. With the correct definition of the number operators for the quantum fields, all physical quantities are rendered canonically normalized. If the theory admits a global symmetry leading to a superselection rule which forbids transitions between positive- and negative-norm states, then the negative-norm states are allowed to be physical. Specifically, a spinor theory with higher-order field equations and multiple excitations is considered and applied to the charged lepton system: e,μ,tau. In this model, the negative norm of the muon state allows us to understand the nonexistence of μ→eγ decay. For minimal coupling, the theory is renormalizable and equivalent to three separate fermion electrodynamics with the additional prediction of equal charge for the leptons. A further anomalous magnetic moment coupling can only allow one of the decays tau→μγ or tau→eγ

Regulation of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) -- an international perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, M.W.

1997-01-01

Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) was first recognized as a potential problem as long ago as 1904 in the oil fields of Canada. NORM later became an issue in the North Sea oil and gas production facilities in the early 1980's and became more widely recognized in the United States in 1986 during a routine well workover in the state of Mississippi. NORM contamination of oil and gas industry production equipment has since been identified world wide. The United States, including Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico region, the North Sea region, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and several Middle Eastern countries have all reported NORM contamination. The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the international regulations or guidelines that have been promulgated concerning NORM in the oil and gas industry. Additionally, the impact of these regulations or guidelines on non-oil and gas industries will also be discussed. A comparison of these regulations or guidelines to those generally found in the United States shall be drawn

Inconsistent Norms in Buyer-Supplier Relations – A Study of Sustainability Introduction in the Textile and Apparel Industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ulla Normann

2016-01-01

affected the applied exchange norms. We find thatsuppliers have experienced that the behavior of buying companies has become more transactional,since the textile and apparel industry started requiring sustainability. The norm set of buyingcompanies has changed and may be separated into two: A previous set...... a significant role in determining the behavior characteristics in contractual andrelational exchanges. In this study, we interviewed 30 suppliers/manufacturers in the textile andapparel industry in India, Bangladesh and China, to shed light on how the introduction ofsustainability requirements from buyers has...

Cosmopolitanism, Custom, and Complexity: Kant`s Cosmopolitan Norms in Action

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tracey Leigh Dowdeswell

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Immanuel Kant's Cosmopolitanism has come to stand alongside Political Realism and Liberal Internationalism as one of three broad theories of ethics in international relations. Yet Cosmopolitanism has been subjected to criticisms that the universal norms identified by Kant - including such norms as hospitality, reciprocity, and publicity (transparency and free political participation - are Western and Eurocentric in nature, incompatible with cultural pluralism, and lack the justification and legitimacy for the broad-based consensus required for a Cosmopolitan political sphere to emerge among the world’s diverse peoples. This paper seeks to address these criticisms of Cosmopolitanism by studying examples of Cosmopolitan norms in action. These examples have been drawn from diverse regions around the globe to represent self-organized, 'self-legislating', civil societies that have themselves developed the rules that guide their behaviour and the terms of their discourse in the absence of a centralized governing authority. It is hoped that this approach will contribute to this ongoing debate by demonstrating that Cosmopolitan norms can be found in a diverse array of human communities and cultures, that Cosmopolitan norms are not only compatible with pluralism, but are instrumental in its success and vitality, and, finally, that the flourishing of such civil societies shows that the adoption of Cosmopolitan norms are strongly correlated with successful outcomes and well-being.

The motivational roots of norms for environmentally responsible behavior

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thøgersen, John

2009-01-01

-reported behavior and the person's reasons and motives for performing the behavior were measured. The number and types of associations differ depending on the strength of the person's norms and the two types of norms differ in their embeddedness in the person's cognitive structures. With the partial exception...

The Subjectivity of the Translator and Socio-Cultural Norms

Science.gov (United States)

Pei, Denghua

2010-01-01

This thesis attempts to probe into the dialectical relationship between the subjectivity of the translator and socio-cultural norms. The socio-cultural norms inevitably regulate the translator's translating activity, as acceptability of the translated text is the primary concern of most translators. However, this does not mean that the…

'Global' norms and 'local' agency

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Björkdahl, Annika; Gusic, Ivan

2015-01-01

This article explores how the 'liberal democratic peace package' is received in post-conflict spaces. As such, it is part of a critical peace research agenda that raises critical questions concerning the quality of peace in many post-conflict societies. A close reading of the peace-building process...... in post-conflict Kosovo provides the backdrop for the theoretical discussion that identifies friction in norm diffusion processes and the different agencies that are generated through encounters between global norms and local practices. We unpack the interplay between the 'global' and the 'local......' in peacebuilding and, through the lens of friction, we reveal the diverse and unequal encounters that produce new power relations. By foregrounding agency, we theorise different agentive subjects in the post-conflict setting, and map local agency from various segments of society that may localise, co-opt or reject...

Workability of the norms of transparency and accountability against ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper discusses the workability of the existing norms of transparency and accountability in the battle against corruption in Nigeria. Incontrovertibly, high level corruption pervades every nook and cranny of the country to the detriment of its citizens. Although anti-corruption norms exist in the Nigerian legal order, high ...

[French norms of imagery for pictures, for concrete and abstract words].

Science.gov (United States)

Robin, Frédérique

2006-09-01

This paper deals with French norms for mental image versus picture agreement for 138 pictures and the imagery value for 138 concrete words and 69 abstract words. The pictures were selected from Snodgrass et Vanderwart's norms (1980). The concrete words correspond to the dominant naming response to the pictorial stimuli. The abstract words were taken from verbal associative norms published by Ferrand (2001). The norms were established according to two variables: 1) mental image vs. picture agreement, and 2) imagery value of words. Three other variables were controlled: 1) picture naming agreement; 2) familiarity of objects referred to in the pictures and the concrete words, and 3) subjective verbal frequency of words. The originality of this work is to provide French imagery norms for the three kinds of stimuli usually compared in research on dual coding. Moreover, these studies focus on figurative and verbal stimuli variations in visual imagery processes.

RECOGNIZE: A Social Norms Campaign to Reduce Rumor Spreading in a Junior High School

Science.gov (United States)

Cross, Jennifer E.; Peisner, William

2009-01-01

This article studied changes in rumor spreading and perceptions of peers' rumor spreading among students at one public junior high school following a social norms marketing campaign. Results of the study show that perceptions of peer rumor spreading fell following the campaign, but self-reports of rumor spreading did not decrease. Results suggest…

The empirical study of norms is just what we are missing

Science.gov (United States)

Achourioti, Theodora; Fugard, Andrew J. B.; Stenning, Keith

2014-01-01

This paper argues that the goals people have when reasoning determine their own norms of reasoning. A radical descriptivism which avoids norms never worked for any science; nor can it work for the psychology of reasoning. Norms as we understand them are illustrated with examples from categorical syllogistic reasoning and the “new paradigm” of subjective probabilities. We argue that many formal systems are required for psychology: classical logic, non-monotonic logics, probability logics, relevance logic, and others. One of the hardest challenges is working out what goals reasoners have and choosing and tailoring the appropriate logics to model the norms those goals imply. PMID:25368590

Expectancy and Professional Norms in Legal Translation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Faber, Dorrit; Hjort-Pedersen, Mette

2013-01-01

. These parameters focus on the degree to which the use of explicitation and implicitation is considered to influence meaning transfer, authentic English legal language and style, and the informative function of the translation in a defined translational situation. Based on Chesterman’s categorization of norms...... perceived norms influence the use of explicitation and implicitation. The findings are based on experiments involving Danish translators and legal experts who were asked to evaluate three different translations into English of the same Danish legal source text on a set of defined parameters...

NORM and the Risk of Internal Contamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Syaifudin, Mukh; Iin Kurnia; Yanti Lusiyanti; Siti Nurhayati; Iwiq Indrawati

2003-01-01

The earth and its atmosphere contain various natural radioactive materials known as NORM (naturally occurring radioactive materials) as sources of external and internal radiation exposures to human. The main radionuclides of NORM are uranium and thorium chairs and their progenies. In this paper, it will be discussed briefly about effects of internal contamination these elements which could enter into the body through inhalation and ingestion as well as absorption on the skin. The distribution, excretion and decontamination methods of the radionuclide incorporated in the body are also discussed. (author)

CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING THE INTERPRETATION OF LEGAL NORM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camelia IGNĂTESCU

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The legal norm represents an intellectual creation of the legislator. It is expressed in legal language, according to certain rules of preparation, respecting the grammar rules specific to the language in which it is drawn up, as well as the legislative technique. The final result, thought out and wanted by the author, must be understood in direct relation to his intention. Interpretation of the law concerns the particular significance of the general form and the cognitive value of the information, of grammatical construction that expresses the legal norm.

From Blame to Punishment: Disrupting Prefrontal Cortex Activity Reveals Norm Enforcement Mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Buckholtz, Joshua W; Martin, Justin W; Treadway, Michael T; Jan, Katherine; Zald, David H; Jones, Owen; Marois, René

2015-09-23

The social welfare provided by cooperation depends on the enforcement of social norms. Determining blameworthiness and assigning a deserved punishment are two cognitive cornerstones of norm enforcement. Although prior work has implicated the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in norm-based judgments, the relative contribution of this region to blameworthiness and punishment decisions remains poorly understood. Here, we used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and fMRI to determine the specific role of DLPFC function in norm-enforcement behavior. DLPFC rTMS reduced punishment for wrongful acts without affecting blameworthiness ratings, and fMRI revealed punishment-selective DLPFC recruitment, suggesting that these two facets of norm-based decision making are neurobiologically dissociable. Finally, we show that DLPFC rTMS affects punishment decision making by altering the integration of information about culpability and harm. Together, these findings reveal a selective, causal role for DLPFC in norm enforcement: representational integration of the distinct information streams used to make punishment decisions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conditions for the Emergence of Shared Norms in Populations with Incompatible Preferences

Science.gov (United States)

Helbing, Dirk; Yu, Wenjian; Opp, Karl-Dieter; Rauhut, Heiko

2014-01-01

Understanding norms is a key challenge in sociology. Nevertheless, there is a lack of dynamical models explaining how one of several possible behaviors is established as a norm and under what conditions. Analysing an agent-based model, we identify interesting parameter dependencies that imply when two behaviors will coexist or when a shared norm will emerge in a heterogeneous society, where different populations have incompatible preferences. Our model highlights the importance of randomness, spatial interactions, non-linear dynamics, and self-organization. It can also explain the emergence of unpopular norms that do not maximize the collective benefit. Furthermore, we compare behavior-based with preference-based punishment and find interesting results concerning hypocritical punishment. Strikingly, pressuring others to perform the same public behavior as oneself is more effective in promoting norms than pressuring others to meet one’s own private preference. Finally, we show that adaptive group pressure exerted by randomly occuring, local majorities may create norms under conditions where different behaviors would normally coexist. PMID:25166137

Eating for Two? Protocol of an Exploratory Survey and Experimental Study on Social Norms and Norm-Based Messages Influencing European Pregnant and Non-pregnant Women's Eating Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Bevelander, Kirsten E; Herte, Katharina; Kakoulakis, Catherine; Sanguino, Inés; Tebbe, Anna-Lena; Tünte, Markus R

2018-01-01

The social context is an important factor underlying unhealthy eating behavior and the development of inappropriate weight gain. Evidence is accumulating that powerful social influences can also be used as a tool to impact people's eating behavior in a positive manner. Social norm-based messages have potential to steer people in making healthier food choices. The research field on nutritional social norms is still emerging and more research is needed to gain insights into why some people adhere to social norms whereas others do not. There are indications stemming from empirical studies on social eating behavior that this may be due to ingratiation purposes and uncertainty reduction. That is, people match their eating behavior to that of the norm set by their eating companion(s) in order to blend in and be part of the group. In this project, we explore nutritional social norms among pregnant women. This population is particularly interesting because they are often subject to unsolicited advice and experience social pressure from their environment. In addition, their pregnancy affects their body composition, eating pattern, and psychosocial status. Pregnancy provides an important window of opportunity to impact health of pregnant women and their child. Nevertheless, the field of nutritional social norms among pregnant women is understudied and more knowledge is needed on whether pregnant women use guidelines from their social environment for their own eating behavior. In this project we aim to fill this research gap by means of an exploratory survey (Study 1) assessing information about social expectations, (mis)perceived social norms and the role of different reference groups such as other pregnant women, family, and friends. In addition, we conduct an online experiment (Study 2) testing to what extent pregnant women are susceptible to social norm-based messages compared to non-pregnant women. Moreover, possible moderators are explored which might impact women

Sex-specific patterns of morphological diversification: evolution of reaction norms and static allometries in neriid flies.

Science.gov (United States)

Cassidy, Elizabeth J; Bath, Eleanor; Chenoweth, Stephen F; Bonduriansky, Russell

2014-02-01

The consequences of sex-specific selection for patterns of diversification remain poorly known. Because male secondary sexual traits are typically costly to express, and both costs and benefits are likely to depend on ambient environment and individual condition, such traits may be expected to diversify via changes in reaction norms as well as the scaling of trait size with body size (static allometry). We investigated morphological diversification within two species of Australian neriid flies (Telostylinus angusticollis, Telostylinus lineolatus) by rearing larvae from several populations on larval diets varying sixfold in nutrient concentration. Mean body size varied among populations of T. angusticollis, but body size reaction norms did not vary within either species. However, we detected diversification of reaction norms for body shape in males and females within both species. Moreover, unlike females, males also diversified in static allometry slope and reaction norms for static allometry slope of sexual and nonsexual traits. Our findings reveal qualitative sex differences in patterns of morphological diversification, whereby shape-size relationships diversify extensively in males, but remain conserved in females despite extensive evolution of trait means. Our results highlight the importance of incorporating plasticity and allometry in studies of adaptation and diversification. © 2013 The Author(s). Evolution © 2013 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Globalization and eating disorder risk: Peer influence, perceived social norms, and adolescent disordered eating in Fiji

Science.gov (United States)

Gerbasi, Margaret E.; Richards, Lauren K.; Thomas, Jennifer J.; Agnew-Blais, Jessica C.; Thompson-Brenner, Heather; Gilman, Stephen E.; Becker, Anne E.

2014-01-01

Objective The increasing global health burden imposed by eating disorders warrants close examination of social exposures associated with globalization that potentially elevate risk during the critical developmental period of adolescence in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The study aim was to investigate the association of peer influence and perceived social norms with adolescent eating pathology in Fiji, a LMIC undergoing rapid social change. Method We measured peer influence on eating concerns (with the Inventory of Peer Influence on Eating Concerns; IPIEC), perceived peer norms associated with disordered eating and body concerns, perceived community cultural norms, and individual cultural orientations in a representative sample of school-going ethnic Fijian adolescent girls (n=523). We then developed a multivariable linear regression model to examine their relation to eating pathology (measured by the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire; EDE-Q). Results We found independent and statistically significant associations between both IPIEC scores and our proxy for perceived social norms specific to disordered eating (both p disordered eating may elevate risk for disordered eating in Fiji, during the critical developmental period of adolescence. Replication and extension of these research findings in other populations undergoing rapid social transition—and where globalization is also influencing local social norms—may enrich etiologic models and inform strategies to mitigate risk. PMID:25139374

Technological options for management of NORM/TENORM from the petroleum exploration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miranda, Marcia Valeria Sa; Gomes, Joana D'Arc L.; Crispim, Verginia R.

2008-01-01

Full text: Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) is present in many natural resources and the contamination of oil and gas facilities with it can be expected. Some of the contamination may be sufficiently severe that maintenance and other personnel may be exposed to hazardous concentrations, at the production line. Because of this, its management shall be efficient and optimized. The measure adopted to achieve successful management will be in accordance with general environmental and safety objectives and will involve the application of best available techniques and best environmental safety practices. The disposal of NORM contaminated wastes is a problem with no completely satisfactory solution yet. NORM contamination in the oil and gas industry commonly occurs as radioactive scales, films and sludge. The resulting of the decontamination of petroleum production facilities can generate large volumes of NORM wastes. These materials require the same handling as low-level radioactive wastes. The cost of storing or disposing material contaminated with NORM is undoubtedly very expensive. The high cost of disposing of NORM wastes is opening new opportunities for research and development in methods and techniques of reducing waste volumes. The aim of this paper is present some considerations of possible NORM management/disposal options and show some samples analysis. The objective is to find appropriated solutions to the management/disposal of NORM wastes to prevent pollution of the environment and minimize public and occupational radiation exposure. NORM can be dealt with safely, efficiently and with minimized risks to the health of workers and the public while providing optimized environmental protection. Techniques as encapsulation, down hole injection, overboard disposal with produced formation water, landfill disposal including burial, land disposal in abandoned mine and interim storage in a dedicated facility pending ultimate disposal, are discussed from a

Anisotropic, Mixed-Norm Lizorkin-Triebel Spaces and Diffeomorphic Maps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johnsen, Jon; Hansen, Sabrina Munch; Sickel, Winfried

2014-01-01

This paper gives general results on invariance of anisotropic Lizorkin-Triebel spaces with mixed norms under coordinate transformations on Euclidean space, open sets, and cylindrical domains.......This paper gives general results on invariance of anisotropic Lizorkin-Triebel spaces with mixed norms under coordinate transformations on Euclidean space, open sets, and cylindrical domains....

Norms and Varieties of English and TESOL Teacher Agency

Science.gov (United States)

Hamid, M. Obaidul; Zhu, Lingyan; Baldauf, Richard B., Jr.

2014-01-01

The growing recognition of the plurality of English underlying the World Englishes (WE) paradigm has problematised the conventional second language acquisition (SLA) views of errors. If English use in emerging English-speaking contexts is to be judged by local norms, as argued by WE scholars, applying exocentric norms in these contexts can be…

Norms of certain Jordan elementary operators

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaoli; Ji, Guoxing

2008-10-01

Let be a complex Hilbert space and let denote the algebra of all bounded linear operators on . For , the Jordan elementary operator UA,B is defined by UA,B(X)=AXB+BXA, . In this short note, we discuss the norm of UA,B. We show that if and ||UA,B||=||A||||B||, then either AB* or B*A is 0. We give some examples of Jordan elementary operators UA,B such that ||UA,B||=||A||||B|| but AB*[not equal to]0 and B*A[not equal to]0, which answer negatively a question posed by M. Boumazgour in [M. Boumazgour, Norm inequalities for sums of two basic elementary operators, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 342 (2008) 386-393].

Minority acculturation and peer rejection: Costs of acculturation misfit with peer-group norms.

Science.gov (United States)

Celeste, Laura; Meeussen, Loes; Verschueren, Karine; Phalet, Karen

2016-09-01

How do minority adolescents' personal acculturation preferences and peer norms of acculturation affect their social inclusion in school? Turkish and Moroccan minority adolescents (N = 681) reported their preferences for heritage culture maintenance, mainstream culture adoption, and their experiences of peer rejection as a key indicator of adjustment problems. Additionally, we aggregated peer acculturation norms of maintenance and adoption within ethnically diverse classrooms (N = 230 in 50 Belgian schools), distinguishing between co-ethnic (Turkish or Moroccan classmates only, N = 681) and cross-ethnic norms (also including N = 1,930 other classmates). Cross-ethnic peer-group norms (of adoption and maintenance) and co-ethnic norms (of maintenance, marginally) predicted minority experiences of peer rejection (controlling for ethnic composition). Moreover, misfit of minorities' own acculturation preferences with both cross-ethnic and co-ethnic peer-group norms was harmful. When cross-ethnic norms stressed adoption, 'integrationist' minority youth - who combined culture adoption with maintenance - experienced most peer rejection. Yet, when co-ethnic peers stressed maintenance, 'assimilationist' minority youth experienced most rejection. In conclusion, acculturation misfit with peer-group norms is a risk factor for minority inclusion in ethnically diverse environments. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

Fairness Norms and Theory of Mind in an Ultimatum Game: Judgments, Offers, and Decisions in School-Aged Children

Science.gov (United States)

Castelli, Ilaria; Massaro, Davide; Bicchieri, Cristina; Chavez, Alex; Marchetti, Antonella

2014-01-01

The sensitivity to fairness undergoes relevant changes across development. Whether such changes depend on primary inequity aversion or on sensitivity to a social norm of fairness is still debated. Using a modified version of the Ultimatum Game that creates informational asymmetries between Proposer and Responder, a previous study showed that both perceptions of fairness and fair behavior depend upon normative expectations, i.e., beliefs about what others expect one should do in a specific situation. Individuals tend to comply with the norm when risking sanctions, but disregard the norm when violations are undetectable. Using the same methodology with children aged 8–10 years, the present study shows that children's beliefs and behaviors differ from what is observed in adults. Playing as Proposers, children show a self-serving bias only when there is a clear informational asymmetry. Playing as Responders, they show a remarkable discrepancy between their normative judgment about fair procedures (a coin toss to determine the offer) and their behavior (rejection of an unfair offer derived from the coin toss), supporting the existence of an outcome bias effect. Finally, our results reveal no influence of theory of mind on children's decision-making behavior. PMID:25118863

Fairness norms and theory of mind in an ultimatum game: judgments, offers, and decisions in school-aged children.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilaria Castelli

Full Text Available The sensitivity to fairness undergoes relevant changes across development. Whether such changes depend on primary inequity aversion or on sensitivity to a social norm of fairness is still debated. Using a modified version of the Ultimatum Game that creates informational asymmetries between Proposer and Responder, a previous study showed that both perceptions of fairness and fair behavior depend upon normative expectations, i.e., beliefs about what others expect one should do in a specific situation. Individuals tend to comply with the norm when risking sanctions, but disregard the norm when violations are undetectable. Using the same methodology with children aged 8-10 years, the present study shows that children's beliefs and behaviors differ from what is observed in adults. Playing as Proposers, children show a self-serving bias only when there is a clear informational asymmetry. Playing as Responders, they show a remarkable discrepancy between their normative judgment about fair procedures (a coin toss to determine the offer and their behavior (rejection of an unfair offer derived from the coin toss, supporting the existence of an outcome bias effect. Finally, our results reveal no influence of theory of mind on children's decision-making behavior.

Reliance on God, prayer, and religion reduces influence of perceived norms on drinking.

Science.gov (United States)

Neighbors, Clayton; Brown, Garrett A; Dibello, Angelo M; Rodriguez, Lindsey M; Foster, Dawn W

2013-05-01

Previous research has shown that perceived social norms are among the strongest predictors of drinking among young adults. Research has also consistently found religiousness to be protective against risk and negative health behaviors. The present research evaluates the extent to which reliance on God, prayer, and religion moderates the association between perceived social norms and drinking. Participants (n = 1,124 undergraduate students) completed a cross-sectional survey online, which included measures of perceived norms, religious values, and drinking. Perceived norms were assessed by asking participants their perceptions of typical student drinking. Drinking outcomes included drinks per week, drinking frequency, and typical quantity consumed. Regression analyses indicated that religiousness and perceived norms had significant unique associations in opposite directions for all three drinking outcomes. Significant interactions were evident between religiousness and perceived norms in predicting drinks per week, frequency, and typical quantity. In each case, the interactions indicated weaker associations between norms and drinking among those who assigned greater importance to religiousness. The extent of the relationship between perceived social norms and drinking was buffered by the degree to which students identified with religiousness. A growing body of literature has shown interventions including personalized feedback regarding social norms to be an effective strategy in reducing drinking among college students. The present research suggests that incorporating religious or spiritual values into student interventions may be a promising direction to pursue.

Development of fast measurements of concentration of NORM U-238 by HPGe

Science.gov (United States)

Cha, Seokki; Kim, Siu; Kim, Geehyun

2017-02-01

Naturally Occureed Radioactive Material (NORM) generated from the origin of earth can be found all around us and even people who are not engaged in the work related to radiation have been exposed to unnecessary radiation. This NORM has a potential risk provided that is concentrated or transformed by artificial activities. Likewise, a development of fast measruement method of NORM is emerging to prevent the radiation exposure of the general public and person engaged in the work related to the type of business related thereto who uses the material in which NORM is concentrated or transfromed. Based on such a background, many of countries have tried to manage NORM and carried out regulatory legislation. To effienctly manage NORM, there is need for developing new measurement to quickly and accurately analyze the nuclide and concentration. In this study, development of the fast and reliable measurement was carried out. In addition to confirming the reliability of the fast measurement, we have obtained results that can suggest the possibility of developing another fast measurement. Therefore, as a follow-up, it is possible to develop another fast analytical measurement afterwards. The results of this study will be very useful for the regulatory system to manage NORM. In this study, a review of two indirect measurement methods of NORM U-238 that has used HPGe on the basis of the equilibrium theory of relationships of mother and daughter nuclide at decay-chain of NORM U-238 has been carried out. For comparative study(in order to know reliabily), direct measurement that makes use of alpha spectrometer with complicated pre-processing process was implemented.

College-Bound Teens' Decisions about the Transition to Sex: Negotiating Competing Norms.

Science.gov (United States)

Sennott, Christie; Mollborn, Stefanie

2011-06-01

The normative influence of parents, close friends, and other peers on teens' sexual behavior has been well documented. Yet, we still know little about the processes through which these oftentimes competing norms impact teens' own sexual norms and behaviors. Drawing on qualitative data from 47 interviews conducted with college-bound teens, we investigate the processes through which perceived parental, close friend, and other peer norms about sex influenced teens' decisions about whether and when to have sex. Although virtually all teens perceived that most of their peers were having sex and that parents were almost universally against teen sex, some teens had sex and others did not. Our findings demonstrate that teens who remained virgins and those who were sexually active during high school often negotiated different sets of competing norms. Differences in understandings of age norms, in close friends' sexual norms and behaviors, and in communication about sex with parents, close friends and other peers were related to different levels of sexual behavior for teens who otherwise shared many similarities in social location (e.g.. class, race, and educational status). While virgins reported an individualized process of deciding whether they were ready for sex, we find that their behavior fits within a traditional understanding of an age norm because of the emphasis on avoiding negative sanctions. Sexually experienced teens, on the other hand, explicitly reported abiding by a group age norm that prescribed sex as normal during high school. Finally, parents' normative objections to teen sex - either moral or practical - and the ways they communicated with their teen about sex had important influence on teens' own sexual norms and behaviors during high school.

College-Bound Teens’ Decisions about the Transition to Sex: Negotiating Competing Norms

Science.gov (United States)

Mollborn, Stefanie

2012-01-01

The normative influence of parents, close friends, and other peers on teens’ sexual behavior has been well documented. Yet, we still know little about the processes through which these oftentimes competing norms impact teens’ own sexual norms and behaviors. Drawing on qualitative data from 47 interviews conducted with college-bound teens, we investigate the processes through which perceived parental, close friend, and other peer norms about sex influenced teens’ decisions about whether and when to have sex. Although virtually all teens perceived that most of their peers were having sex and that parents were almost universally against teen sex, some teens had sex and others did not. Our findings demonstrate that teens who remained virgins and those who were sexually active during high school often negotiated different sets of competing norms. Differences in understandings of age norms, in close friends’ sexual norms and behaviors, and in communication about sex with parents, close friends and other peers were related to different levels of sexual behavior for teens who otherwise shared many similarities in social location (e.g.. class, race, and educational status). While virgins reported an individualized process of deciding whether they were ready for sex, we find that their behavior fits within a traditional understanding of an age norm because of the emphasis on avoiding negative sanctions. Sexually experienced teens, on the other hand, explicitly reported abiding by a group age norm that prescribed sex as normal during high school. Finally, parents’ normative objections to teen sex – either moral or practical – and the ways they communicated with their teen about sex had important influence on teens’ own sexual norms and behaviors during high school. PMID:22439133

How eye movements in EMDR work : Changes in memory vividness and emotionality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leer, Arne; Engelhard, Iris M.; Van Den Hout, Marcel A.

2014-01-01

Background and objectives Eye movements (EM) during recall of an aversive memory is a treatment element unique to Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Experimental studies have shown that EM reduce memory vividness and/or emotionality shortly after the intervention. However, it is

Christelike norme en waardes in onderwys en opleiding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wouter C. van Wyk

1996-12-01

Full Text Available This article investigates the way Christian norms and values can be realised in the context of education and training. The article starts with a survey of the ways in which, in the previous political dispensation, Christian norms and values were incorporated in career training, in tertiary education and in the programmes of primary and secondary schools. Education and training, however, now have to operate in a new environment, which will be greatly determined by the Bill of Human Rights in the new constitution, the Reconstruction and Development Plan and the White Paper on Education and Training. After examining the implications of this new environment the article concludes by identifying opportunities for actively furthering Christian norms and values within the new environment of education and training in South Africa.

Coevolution of honest signaling and cooperative norms by cultural group selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheuring, István

2010-08-01

Evolution of cooperative norms is studied in a population where individual and group level selection are both in operation. Individuals play indirect reciprocity game within their group and follow second order norms. Individuals are norm-followers, and imitate their successful group mates. Aside from direct observation individuals can be informed about the previous actions and reputations by information transferred by others. A potential donor estimates the reputation of a potential receiver either by her own observation or by the opinion of the majority of others (indirect observation). Following a previous study (Scheuring, 2009) we assume that norms determine only the probabilities of actions, and mutants can differ in these probabilities. Similarly, we assume that individuals follow a stochastic information transfer strategy. The central question is whether cooperative norm and honest social information transfer can emerge in a population where initially only non-cooperative norms were present, and the transferred information was not sufficiently honest. It is shown that evolution can lead to a cooperative state where information transferred in a reliable manner, where generous cooperative strategies are dominant. This cooperative state emerges along a sharp transition of norms. We studied the characteristics of actions and strategies in this transition by classifying the stochastic norms, and found that a series of more and more judging strategies invade each other before the stabilization of the so-called generous judging strategy. Numerical experiments on the coevolution of social parameters (e.g. probability of direct observation and the number of indirect observers) reveal that it is advantageous to lean on indirect observation even if information transfer is much noisier than for direct observation, which is because to follow the majorities' opinion suppresses information noise meaningfully.

Using the RxNorm web services API for quality assurance purposes.

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Lee; Bodenreider, Olivier

2008-11-06

Auditing large, rapidly evolving terminological systems is still a challenge. In the case of RxNorm, a standardized nomenclature for clinical drugs, we argue that quality assurance processes can benefit from the recently released application programming interface (API) provided by RxNav. We demonstrate the usefulness of the API by performing a systematic comparison of alternative paths in the RxNorm graph, over several thousands of drug entities. This study revealed potential errors in RxNorm, currently under review. The results also prompted us to modify the implementation of RxNav to navigate the RxNorm graph more accurately. The RxNav web services API used in this experiment is robust and fast.

Analysis of EEG Related Saccadic Eye Movement

Science.gov (United States)

Funase, Arao; Kuno, Yoshiaki; Okuma, Shigeru; Yagi, Tohru

Our final goal is to establish the model for saccadic eye movement that connects the saccade and the electroencephalogram(EEG). As the first step toward this goal, we recorded and analyzed the saccade-related EEG. In the study recorded in this paper, we tried detecting a certain EEG that is peculiar to the eye movement. In these experiments, each subject was instructed to point their eyes toward visual targets (LEDs) or the direction of the sound sources (buzzers). In the control cases, the EEG was recorded in the case of no eye movemens. As results, in the visual experiments, we found that the potential of EEG changed sharply on the occipital lobe just before eye movement. Furthermore, in the case of the auditory experiments, similar results were observed. In the case of the visual experiments and auditory experiments without eye movement, we could not observed the EEG changed sharply. Moreover, when the subject moved his/her eyes toward a right-side target, a change in EEG potential was found on the right occipital lobe. On the contrary, when the subject moved his/her eyes toward a left-side target, a sharp change in EEG potential was found on the left occipital lobe.

ESTIMATION OF EXPOSURE DOSES FOR THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF NORM WASTE DISPOSAL.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Jongtae; Ko, Nak Yul; Cho, Dong-Keun; Baik, Min Hoon; Yoon, Ki-Hoon

2018-03-16

Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) wastes with different radiological characteristics are generated in several industries. The appropriate options for NORM waste management including disposal options should be discussed and established based on the act and regulation guidelines. Several studies calculated the exposure dose and mass of NORM waste to be disposed in landfill site by considering the activity concentration level and exposure dose. In 2012, the Korean government promulgated an act on the safety control of NORM around living environments to protect human health and the environment. For the successful implementation of this act, we suggest a reference design for a landfill for the disposal of NORM waste. Based on this reference landfill, we estimate the maximum exposure doses and the relative impact of each pathway to exposure dose for three scenarios: a reference scenario, an ingestion pathway exclusion scenario, and a low leach rate scenario. Also, we estimate the possible quantity of NORM waste disposal into a landfill as a function of the activity concentration level of U series, Th series and 40K and two kinds of exposure dose levels, 1 and 0.3 mSv/y. The results of this study can be used to support the establishment of technical bases of the management strategy for the safe disposal of NORM waste.

Community stress and social and technological change: a framework for interpreting the behavior of social movements and community action groups

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perry, R.W.; Schuller, C.R.; Lindell, M.K.; Greene, M.R.; Walsh, J.T.; Earle, T.

1980-06-01

The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive examination of existing research on community organizations and community political systems. These findings will be integrated into a framework for understanding the variety of social and political responses which may be manifest in small communities facing the prospect of hosting a major nuclear facility. The principal focus is on the formation and behavior of social groups in communities, particularly politically oriented social movements or community action groups. This analysis is set on the context of a community experiencing social stress. Most of the discussion which follows is based on an extrapolation from the large body of reseach literature on the topics in sociology, political science, and psychology. Chapter I examines the community political systems which are the arena in which local action groups will operate. Chapter II focuses on the internal conditions necessary for the formation and maintenance of community action groups. Chapter III reviews the research literature on the social environment of organizations in communities and the external conditions which are necessary to maintain organizations over time. Chapter IV develops a logic whereby the community consensus model can be adopted to particular social movement organizations and community actions groups. Chapter V examines changes in aspects of the environment which can be a function of the operation of movement organizations, and changes in the structure and tactics of movement organizations which appear to be a response to the environment.

Group Norms and the Attitude-Behavior Relationship: A Role for Group Identification.

Science.gov (United States)

Terry, Deborah J.; Hogg, Michael A.

1996-01-01

Two studies provided support for the proposal that the role of norms in attitude-behavior relations can be useful reconceptualized for the perspective of social identity/self- categorization theory. Study one examined group norms as they influenced subjects to engage in regular exercise. Study two examined group norms as they influenced subjects…

Randomizing quantum states to Shatten p -norm for all p ≥ 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Kabgyun

2014-01-01

We formularize a method for randomizing quantum states with respect to the Shatten p-norms (p ≥ 1) in trace class. In particular, this work includes the operator norm, p = ∞, and the trace norm, p = 1, simultaneously in a single statement via McDiarmid's inequality and a net construction

Movement of global warming issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugiyama, Taishi

2015-01-01

This paper summarizes the report of IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), and the movement of the global warming issues as seen from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Conference of the Parties: COP) and the policy discussions in Japan. From the Fifth Assessment Report published by IPCC, it shows the following items: (1) increasing trends of greenhouse effect gas emissions during 1970 and 2010, (2) trends in world's greenhouse effect gas emissions according to income segment, and (3) factor analysis of changes in greenhouse effect gas emissions. Next, it takes up the greenhouse gas emission scenario of IPCC, shows the scenario due to temperature rise pattern, and introduces the assumption of emission reduction due to BECCS. Regarding the 2 deg. scenario that has become a hot topic in international negotiations, it describes the reason for difficulties in its implementation. In addition, as the international trends of global warming, it describes the agreement of numerical targets for emissions at COP3 (Kyoto Conference) and the subsequent movements. Finally, it introduces Japan's measures against global warming, as well as the future movement. (A.O.)

Structure-Specific Movement Patterns in Patients With Chronic Low Back Dysfunction Using Lumbar Combined Movement Examination.

Science.gov (United States)

Monie, Aubrey P; Price, Roger I; Lind, Christopher R P; Singer, Kevin P

2017-06-01

A test-retest cohort study was conducted to assess the use of a novel computer-aided, combined movement examination (CME) to measure change in low back movement after pain management intervention in 17 cases of lumbar spondylosis. Additionally we desired to use a CME normal reference range (NRR) to compare and contrast movement patterns identified from 3 specific structural pathologic conditions: intervertebral disc, facet joint, and nerve root compression. Computer-aided CME was used before and after intervention, in a cohort study design, to record lumbar range of movement along with pain, disability, and health self-report questionnaires in 17 participants who received image-guided facet, epidural, and/or rhizotomy intervention. In the majority of cases, CME was reassessed after injection together with 2 serial self-reports after an average of 2 and 14 weeks. A minimal clinically important difference of 30% was used to interpret meaningful change in self-reports. A CME NRR (n = 159) was used for comparison with the 17 cases. Post hoc observation included subgrouping cases into 3 discrete pathologic conditions, intervertebral disc, facet dysfunction, and nerve root compression, in order to report intergroup differences in CME movement. Seven of the 17 participants stated that a "combined" movement was their most painful CME direction. Self-report outcome data indicated that 4 participants experienced significant improvement in health survey, 5 improved by ≥30% on low back function, and 8 reported that low back pain was more bothersome than stiffness, 6 of whom achieved the minimal clinically important difference for self-reported pain. Subgrouping of cases into structure-specific groups provided insight to different CME movement patterns. The use of CME assists in identifying atypical lumbar movement relative to an age and sex NRR. Data from this study, exemplified by representative case studies, provide preliminary evidence for distinct intervertebral disc

Safe Management of natural Occurring radionuclides Materials (NORM) from Petroleum Industry in Egypt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Hussany, B.S.

2015-01-01

The isolation of radioactive waste from the environment becomes a real problem need to solve in the last half century. Waste management system is created for safe isolation of the waste. Radioactive waste management including all activities, administrative and operational, That are involved in the handling, conditioning, transport, storage and disposal of radioactive wastes. In petroleum and gas industries there are many wastes containing natural occurring radioactive waste (NORM). The concentration of NORM is increased during the different processes. Accumulation of NORM in these areas makes hazard effects on the workers and on the environment. In Egypt, there are many oil and gas industries in different areas of the republic. Most of these exploration sites containing large amounts of NORM waste. The management of this waste is remained unclear for many companies. Some companies have storage designs for the waste. Others are stored the waste on the working site on land without barriers. Additionally final destination of these wastes is not decided. The improper management of this waste lead to hazard effects to workers in the present time and to public in the future. The present work studies the NORM waste management, from petroleum industry, in Egypt. Strategy of NORM is proposed. NORM waste management steps (system) is also proposed, Incineration and deoiling processes for the treatment of NORM waste are compered. Also in this study, human intrusion scenarios were studied for two NORM storage designs, A) above-ground and B) under-ground bunkers

Reliance on God, Prayer, and Religion Reduces Influence of Perceived Norms on Drinking

Science.gov (United States)

Neighbors, Clayton; Brown, Garrett A.; Dibello, Angelo M.; Rodriguez, Lindsey M.; Foster, Dawn W.

2013-01-01

Objective: Previous research has shown that perceived social norms are among the strongest predictors of drinking among young adults. Research has also consistently found religiousness to be protective against risk and negative health behaviors. The present research evaluates the extent to which reliance on God, prayer, and religion moderates the association between perceived social norms and drinking. Method: Participants (n = 1,124 undergraduate students) completed a cross-sectional survey online, which included measures of perceived norms, religious values, and drinking. Perceived norms were assessed by asking participants their perceptions of typical student drinking. Drinking outcomes included drinks per week, drinking frequency, and typical quantity consumed. Results: Regression analyses indicated that religiousness and perceived norms had significant unique associations in opposite directions for all three drinking outcomes. Significant interactions were evident between religiousness and perceived norms in predicting drinks per week, frequency, and typical quantity. In each case, the interactions indicated weaker associations between norms and drinking among those who assigned greater importance to religiousness. Conclusions: The extent of the relationship between perceived social norms and drinking was buffered by the degree to which students identified with religiousness. A growing body of literature has shown interventions including personalized feedback regarding social norms to be an effective strategy in reducing drinking among college students. The present research suggests that incorporating religious or spiritual values into student interventions may be a promising direction to pursue. PMID:23490564

Simulation of car movement along circular path

Science.gov (United States)

Fedotov, A. I.; Tikhov-Tinnikov, D. A.; Ovchinnikova, N. I.; Lysenko, A. V.

2017-10-01

Under operating conditions, suspension system performance changes which negatively affects vehicle stability and handling. The paper aims to simulate the impact of changes in suspension system performance on vehicle stability and handling. Methods. The paper describes monitoring of suspension system performance, testing of vehicle stability and handling, analyzes methods of suspension system performance monitoring under operating conditions. The mathematical model of a car movement along a circular path was developed. Mathematical tools describing a circular movement of a vehicle along a horizontal road were developed. Turning car movements were simulated. Calculation and experiment results were compared. Simulation proves the applicability of a mathematical model for assessment of the impact of suspension system performance on vehicle stability and handling.

Norms and facts in measurement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brakel, J. van

1984-01-01

Publications concerned with the foundations of measurement often accept uncritically the theory/observation and the norm/fact distinction. However, measurement is measurement-in-a-context. This is analysed in the first part of the paper. Important aspects of this context are: the purpose of the

Eating for Two? Protocol of an Exploratory Survey and Experimental Study on Social Norms and Norm-Based Messages Influencing European Pregnant and Non-pregnant Women’s Eating Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Bevelander, Kirsten E.; Herte, Katharina; Kakoulakis, Catherine; Sanguino, Inés; Tebbe, Anna-Lena; Tünte, Markus R.

2018-01-01

The social context is an important factor underlying unhealthy eating behavior and the development of inappropriate weight gain. Evidence is accumulating that powerful social influences can also be used as a tool to impact people’s eating behavior in a positive manner. Social norm-based messages have potential to steer people in making healthier food choices. The research field on nutritional social norms is still emerging and more research is needed to gain insights into why some people adhere to social norms whereas others do not. There are indications stemming from empirical studies on social eating behavior that this may be due to ingratiation purposes and uncertainty reduction. That is, people match their eating behavior to that of the norm set by their eating companion(s) in order to blend in and be part of the group. In this project, we explore nutritional social norms among pregnant women. This population is particularly interesting because they are often subject to unsolicited advice and experience social pressure from their environment. In addition, their pregnancy affects their body composition, eating pattern, and psychosocial status. Pregnancy provides an important window of opportunity to impact health of pregnant women and their child. Nevertheless, the field of nutritional social norms among pregnant women is understudied and more knowledge is needed on whether pregnant women use guidelines from their social environment for their own eating behavior. In this project we aim to fill this research gap by means of an exploratory survey (Study 1) assessing information about social expectations, (mis)perceived social norms and the role of different reference groups such as other pregnant women, family, and friends. In addition, we conduct an online experiment (Study 2) testing to what extent pregnant women are susceptible to social norm-based messages compared to non-pregnant women. Moreover, possible moderators are explored which might impact women�

Eating for Two? Protocol of an Exploratory Survey and Experimental Study on Social Norms and Norm-Based Messages Influencing European Pregnant and Non-pregnant Women’s Eating Behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirsten E. Bevelander

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The social context is an important factor underlying unhealthy eating behavior and the development of inappropriate weight gain. Evidence is accumulating that powerful social influences can also be used as a tool to impact people’s eating behavior in a positive manner. Social norm-based messages have potential to steer people in making healthier food choices. The research field on nutritional social norms is still emerging and more research is needed to gain insights into why some people adhere to social norms whereas others do not. There are indications stemming from empirical studies on social eating behavior that this may be due to ingratiation purposes and uncertainty reduction. That is, people match their eating behavior to that of the norm set by their eating companion(s in order to blend in and be part of the group. In this project, we explore nutritional social norms among pregnant women. This population is particularly interesting because they are often subject to unsolicited advice and experience social pressure from their environment. In addition, their pregnancy affects their body composition, eating pattern, and psychosocial status. Pregnancy provides an important window of opportunity to impact health of pregnant women and their child. Nevertheless, the field of nutritional social norms among pregnant women is understudied and more knowledge is needed on whether pregnant women use guidelines from their social environment for their own eating behavior. In this project we aim to fill this research gap by means of an exploratory survey (Study 1 assessing information about social expectations, (misperceived social norms and the role of different reference groups such as other pregnant women, family, and friends. In addition, we conduct an online experiment (Study 2 testing to what extent pregnant women are susceptible to social norm-based messages compared to non-pregnant women. Moreover, possible moderators are explored which might

Hiring retirees: impact of age norms and stereotypes

OpenAIRE

Karspinska, K.; Henkens, K.; Schippers, J.

2013-01-01

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the role of managers in the re-employment of early retirees and focuses on the effect of managers' age norms and stereotypes on managers' employment decisions. Design/methodology/approach – A combination of a factorial study and a survey was conducted. First, information on the age norms and stereotypes was collected. Secondly, profiles of hypothetical retired job applicants were presented to the employers, who were asked to make a specific hiring deci...

Norms in face-threatening instances of simultaneous conference interpreting: results from a questionnaire

OpenAIRE

Lenglet, Cédric

2015-01-01

Conference interpreters are expected to act like neutral spokespersons and expert communicators at the same time. To achieve this, they abide by translational norms. These norms can be elicited from the discourse on interpreting, field observation and corpus data. They might also overlap with assessment norms. Anecdotes from the booth and field observations indicate that interpreters sometimes modify the speaker’s positions and shape the meaning of the target text. One translational norm coul...

Young children's inclusion decisions in moral and social-conventional group norm contexts.

Science.gov (United States)

Rizzo, Michael T; Cooley, Shelby; Elenbaas, Laura; Killen, Melanie

2018-01-01

Being a member of a peer group involves making decisions about whom to include in or exclude from the group. Sometimes these decisions are related to whether members of the group support or challenge the norms of the group. To examine how young children weigh concerns for group norms and group membership in both moral and social-conventional norm contexts, children (3- to 6-year-olds; N=73) were asked to decide between including an ingroup member who challenged the group's norm or an outgroup member who supported the norm. Groups held either moral (equal or unequal resource allocation) or social-conventional (traditional or nontraditional) norms. In the moral contexts, children were more likely to include the peer who advocated for the moral concern for equality regardless of the peer's group membership or their group's specific norm. In the social-conventional contexts, however, children were more likely to include the peer who advocated for the conventional concern for maintaining traditions but only at the group-specific level. Furthermore, with age children increasingly based their inclusion decisions on normative concerns, rather than on group membership concerns, and differed in their inclusion decisions for ingroups and outgroups. Finally, children reasoned about their decisions by referencing concerns for fairness, group norms, and group membership, suggesting that preschool children weigh multiple concerns when deciding whom to include in their groups. Overall, the current study revealed differences in how preschool children weigh moral and social-conventional concerns in intergroup contexts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Does the cerebellum initiate movement?

Science.gov (United States)

Thach, W T

2014-02-01

Opinion is divided on what the exact function of the cerebellum is. Experiments are summarized that support the following views: (1) the cerebellum is a combiner of multiple movement factors; (2) it contains anatomically fixed permanent focal representation of individual body parts (muscles and segments) and movement modes (e.g., vestibular driven vs. cognitive driven); (3) it contains flexible changing representations/memory of physical properties of the body parts including muscle strength, segment inertia, joint viscosity, and segmental interaction torques (dynamics); (4) it contains mechanisms for learning and storage of the properties in item no. 3 through trial-and-error practice; (5) it provides for linkage of body parts, motor modes, and motordynamics via the parallel fiber system; (6) it combines and integrates the many factors so as to initiate coordinated movements of the many body parts; (7) it is thus enabled to play the unique role of initiating coordinated movements; and (8) this unique causative role is evidenced by the fact that: (a) electrical stimulation of the cerebellum can initiate compound coordinated movements; (b) in naturally initiated compound movements, cerebellar discharge precedes that in downstream target structures such as motor cerebral cortex; and (c) cerebellar ablation abolishes the natural production of compound movements in the awake alert individuals.

Hybrid normed ideal perturbations of n-tuples of operators I

Science.gov (United States)

Voiculescu, Dan-Virgil

2018-06-01

In hybrid normed ideal perturbations of n-tuples of operators, the normed ideal is allowed to vary with the component operators. We begin extending to this setting the machinery we developed for normed ideal perturbations based on the modulus of quasicentral approximation and an adaptation of our non-commutative generalization of the Weyl-von Neumann theorem. For commuting n-tuples of hermitian operators, the modulus of quasicentral approximation remains essentially the same when Cn- is replaced by a hybrid n-tuple Cp1,…- , … , Cpn- , p1-1 + ⋯ + pn-1 = 1. The proof involves singular integrals of mixed homogeneity.

Development of a face-to-face injunctive norms brief motivational intervention for college drinkers and preliminary outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Prince, Mark A; Maisto, Stephen A; Rice, Samara L; Carey, Kate B

2015-12-01

Findings are presented from the first randomized clinical trial that compared changes in alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences among college student drinkers from baseline to follow-up across 4 conditions: (a) a new single component injunctive norms brief motivational intervention (IN-BMI) condition; (b) a single component descriptive norms brief motivational intervention (DN-BMI); (c) a combined IN and DN brief motivational intervention (Combined-BMI); and (d) assessment-only control. DN-BMI focused on the juxtaposition of personal, perceived, and actual alcohol use by typical same-sex students at your university. IN-BMI focused on the juxtaposition of personal, perceived, and actual attitudes about alcohol-related consequences by the typical same-sex student at your university. Exploratory analyses assessed the effect of IN-BMI and DN-BMI on matched (e.g., the effect of DN-BMI on perceived DN) and mismatched norms (e.g., the effect of DN-BMI on perceived IN). IN-BMI resulted in greater decreases in alcohol use and consequences when delivered alone and in conjunction with DN-BMI compared with the control condition. Further, the Combined-BMI condition reported greater reductions in alcohol use but not consequences compared to the DN condition. Receiving IN-BMI either alone or in combination with DN-BMI produced greater changes in IN perceptions than were produced in the control group. Grounded in norms theory, this study examined how college student problem drinking is affected by both IN-BMI and DN-BMI alone and in combination. We conclude that IN-BMI alone or in combination with DN-BMI is able to modify alcohol use and reduce alcohol-related consequences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Economische consequenties invoering CTT-norm zoute baggerspecie voor Nederlandse havens: evaluatie CTT norm 2004-2005

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Linderhof, V.G.M.; Hess, S.; Kruseman, G.; Hattum, van B.; Bruinsma, F.; Jonkeren, O.; Ubbels, E.

2006-01-01

In juni 2004 werd een nieuw toetsingskader, de Chemie-Toxiciteit-Toets (CTT), voor zoute baggerspecie geïntroduceerd. De CTT vervangt de Uniforme Gehalte Toets (UGT). De belangrijkste wijzigingen zijn de expliciete norm voor Tributyltin (TBT) en signaleringswaarden voor een drietal bio-assays. Op

Outcomes of Social Movements and Protest Activities

OpenAIRE

Giugni, Marco; Bosi, Lorenzo; Uba, Katrin

2013-01-01

Scholarship has left the study of the consequences of social movements in the background for a long time, focusing instead on movement emergence, characteristics, and dynamics. Since the mid-1970s, however, scholars have paid an increasing interest in how social movements and protest activities may produce change at various levels. The existing literature can be ordered according to the kind of consequence addressed. In this regard, one can roughly distinguish between political, biographical,...

VALIDATION OF THE DERIVED LAW NORM IN THE EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alina Leția

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Throughout realizing the study we analyzed the validity of the European law norm resulting from the derived sources of law with obligatory force (regulations, decisions and directives in connection with the European law norm, the national law norm and the general principles of law considering the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice and the supremacy of the European Union law also over national constitutions. Thus the European Union represents a new law order, having as subjects not only states member, but also the nationals of these states, who benefit of rights that can be appealed before national courts against public organisms or other private persons and obligations. Therefore, the European Court of Justice has successively imposed the direct applicability of community norms, continuing with the priority of these norms so that in the end the principle of the supremacy of the European law has been adopted. The European norm has to be respected and interpreted in a uniform manner in all states member, considering the fact that the supremacy of the European law over the national law is seen as a sine qua non of the integration, but also a fundamental principle of the Union. National courts guarantee the supremacy of the European norm and its unitary application – aspects analyzed in this study- through the procedure of preliminary decisions.

Islamic Puritanism Movements in Indonesia as Transnational Movements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benny Baskara

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Islamic puritanism movements are the movements compelling to return to the teachings of Quran and Sunnah, as the pure teachings of Islam and abandon even abolish other teachings outside the teachings of Quran and Sunnah. The movements of Islamic puritanism can be considered as transnational movements because they spread their teachings and ideologies, create organizations, networks, and provide financial supports across nations. This paper describes Islamic puritanism movements in Indonesia and their transnational connections. Some Islamic puritanism movements in Indonesia can be considered as part of Islamic transnational movements, in which most of the movements are centered in the Middle East. In Indonesia, Islamic puritanism movements firstly appeared in the beginning of the nineteenth century, called Padri movement in West Sumatra. It was then continued to the emergence of Islamic organizations in the twentieth century. Recently, Islamic puritanism movements in Indonesia mostly take form as Salafism-Wahabism movements.

Defectors, not norm violators, are punished by third-parties.