WorldWideScience

Sample records for perceptively noticeable differences

  1. Cross-cultural differences in visual perception

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiří Čeněk

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available According to recent cross-cultural studies there exist culturally based differences between visual perception and the related cognitive processes (attention, memory. According to current research, East Asians and Westerners percieve and think about the world in very different ways. Westerners are inclined to attend to some focal object (a salient object within a perception field that is relatively big in size, fast moving, colourful focusing on and analyzing its attributes. East Asians on the other hand are more likely to attend to a broad perceptual field, noticing relationships and changes. In this paper we want to describe the recent findings in the field and propose some directions for future research.

  2. Earthquake and volcano hazard notices: An economic evaluation of changes in risk perceptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernknopf, R.L.; Brookshire, D.S.; Thayer, M.A.

    1990-01-01

    Earthquake and volcano hazard notices were issued for the Mammoth Lakes, California area by the U.S. Geological Survey under the authority granted by the Disaster Relief Act of 1974. The effects on investment, recretion visitation, and risk perceptionsare explored. The hazard notices did not affect recreation visitation, although investment was affected. A perceived loss in the market value of homes was documented. Risk perceptions were altered for property owners. Communication of the probability of an event over time would enhance hazard notices as a policy instrument and would mitigate unnecessary market perturbations. ?? 1990.

  3. Just Noticeable Differences and Weber fraction of oral thickness perception of model beverages

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Camacho, S.; Dop, M.C.; Graaf, de C.; Stieger, M.A.

    2015-01-01

    Rheological properties of beverages contribute considerably to texture perception. When developing new beverages, it is important to have knowledge on the smallest differences of viscosity which a consumer can discriminate. Thickness is the sensory attribute most commonly used to describe the

  4. Perceptions Versus National-Level Differences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dow, Douglas; Håkanson, Lars; Ambos, Björn

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: This chapter bridges the gap between two distinct approaches to the concept of psychic distance – measuring it in terms of people’s perceptions of distance or in terms of exogenous national-level differences. The two approaches are reconciled in a “refined and integrative” definition......-makers, fully capture the impact of national-level differences on trade and FDI flows; however, if such measures of perceptions are not available, a simple selection of four national-level differences will still capture 80% of the same effect....

  5. Changes in the language of perception in Cantonese

    OpenAIRE

    De Sousa, H.

    2011-01-01

    The way a language encodes sensory experiences changes over time, and often this correlates with other changes in the society. There are noticeable differences in the language of perception between older and younger speakers of Cantonese in Hong Kong and Macau. Younger speakers make finer distinctions in the distal senses, but have less knowledge of the finer categories of the proximal senses than older speakers. The difference in the language of perception between older and younger speakers ...

  6. Cross-cultural differences in risk perceptions of disasters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gierlach, Elaine; Belsher, Bradley E; Beutler, Larry E

    2010-10-01

    Public risk perceptions of mass disasters carry considerable influences, both psychologically and economically, despite their oft-times imprecise nature. Prior research has identified the presence of an optimistic bias that affects risk perception, but there is a dearth of literature examining how these perceptions differ among cultures-particularly with regard to mass disasters. The present study explores differences among Japanese, Argentinean, and North American mental health workers in their rates of the optimistic bias in risk perceptions as contrasted between natural disasters and terrorist events. The results indicate a significant difference among cultures in levels of perceived risk that do not correspond to actual exposure rates. Japanese groups had the highest risk perceptions for both types of hazards and North Americans and Argentineans had the lowest risk perceptions for terrorism. Additionally, participants across all cultures rated risk to self as lower than risk to others (optimistic bias) across all disaster types. These findings suggest that cultural factors may have a greater influence on risk perception than social exposure, and that the belief that one is more immune to disasters compared to others may be a cross-cultural phenomenon. © 2010 Society for Risk Analysis.

  7. Age and gender differences in health risk perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, YoungHo; Park, InKyoung; Kang, SooJin

    2018-03-01

    The current study investigated how adolescents perceive their own health risks and compare their own likelihood of health risks with that of others of the same age. Moreover, the study identified the differences in health risk perceptions between males and females. A total of 625 adolescents (314 males and 311 females) from the Nowon district, geographically located in northern Seoul, voluntarily participated. In order to measure health risk perceptions a Korean version of self-other risk judgments profile was used. The findings indicated that study participants, regardless of gender and age, tend to underestimate their vulnerability to majority of health risk events. Furthermore, there were significant gender and age differences in health risk perception and perception bias in all health risk domains. The present study suggests that further research is needed to identify realistic and unrealistic perception mechanism for a large number of people from different demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Copyright© by the National Institute of Public Health, Prague 2018.

  8. Individual differences in visual perception and memory

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Colizoli, O.

    2014-01-01

    There is substantial variation in perception and memory in humans. There are individuals who cannot see red at all, and there are individuals who hear colors and taste words. What determines the differences and similarities between individuals' perception and memory? Can we characterize the neural

  9. Risk perception of different emergencies in a sample of European firefighters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prati, Gabriele; Pietrantoni, Luca; Saccinto, Elisa; Kehl, Doris; Knuth, Daniela; Schmidt, Silke

    2013-01-01

    Firefighters frequently incur injuries while providing emergency services. Risk perception has been found to be associated with injury and safety behavior. This study examined risk perception of different emergency situations among firefighters. Along with risk perceptions, we investigated the role of practical experience, perceived training, tenure, and acute stress related to different emergency situations. Participants were a sample of 1324 firefighters from Germany and Italy. A questionnaire was administered to participants on risk perceptions, practical experience, perceived training, tenure, and acute stress. The results showed that different levels of risk perception are related to different practical experience, acute stress reactions, and training. Higher risk perception was associated with higher perceived training, practical experience, and acute stress reactions. A significant difference was found between the German and the Italian sample in risk perceptions. More specifically the Italian sample perceived disasters (e.g., earthquakes) as more risky. Moreover, there were some differences in perceived training and practical experience about the different emergency situations, in the two samples. The results underline the importance of considering organizational factors in the prediction of risk perception among firefighters.

  10. Nurse perceptions of workplace environment: differences across shifts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teclaw, Robert; Osatuke, Katerine

    2015-11-01

    To evaluate whether nurse work shift affected workplace perceptions. Although the importance of work schedule in shaping work attitudes, generally (and specifically for nurses) is well accepted, much work remains in characterising how and why nurses' perceptions might differ across shifts. Using an exploratory study of observational data, we examined whether shift influenced non-supervisory nurses' job perceptions in the Veterans Health Administration All Employee Survey (n = 14057; years 2008, 2010, 2012). The size of differences in item means (95% C.I.) across shifts was evaluated graphically. Using ordinal logistic regression, we accounted for the ordinal outcome variables and controlled for the demographic and survey year effects. Nurses' perceptions of workplace climate differed across shifts. Items with the greatest differences, consistent across years and analytic methods, involved supervisors and fairness. Night and weekend shift nurse ratings were more negative than for weekday shift nurses. Off-shift nurses are less satisfied with work/life balance, their supervisors and especially fairness. Overall satisfaction and turnover intention are not affected to the same extent. These results indicate several specific areas that nurse managers can address through workforce support and communication. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  11. Perception of Intersensory Synchrony in Audiovisual Speech: Not that Special

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vroomen, Jean; Stekelenburg, Jeroen J.

    2011-01-01

    Perception of intersensory temporal order is particularly difficult for (continuous) audiovisual speech, as perceivers may find it difficult to notice substantial timing differences between speech sounds and lip movements. Here we tested whether this occurs because audiovisual speech is strongly paired ("unity assumption"). Participants made…

  12. Different Backgrounds--Different Priorities? Student Perceptions of a Technology Initiative

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eriksson, Miikka J.; Vuojärvi, Hanna

    2014-01-01

    A multitude of studies has assessed the success of different technology initiatives but rarely has the focus been on special groups. This paper examines whether university students with children and those without have different perceptions of a technology initiative where students were able to acquire university sponsored laptops and were provided…

  13. Perception and eye movements in simulated traffic situations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luoma, J

    1984-01-01

    In an experiment to simulate the perception task of a driver, subjects were shown uninterrupted series of colour slides of different kinds of highway scenes. The dependent variables were eye fixations, fixation times and conscious perceptions for the part of the traffic signs and roadside advertisements. Perceptions were achieved mostly as a result of fixation, but partly also by using peripheral vision. On the other hand fixation did not always cause perception. The lengthening of fixation time increased the number of correct perceptions. When the traffic sign and the roadside advertisement were in the same slide, the advertisement disturbed the perception of the sign, but in the daylight conditions this effect was not noticed as an alteration of the fixation of the sign, but as prevention of further information processing. The disturbing influence of the advertisement was increased by its bad information ergonomics which caused a long fixation time.

  14. Gender Difference as a Factor in Teachers' Perceptions of Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prawat, Richard S.; Jarvis, Robert

    1980-01-01

    Teacher perceptions of students as influenced by differences in student gender are examined. Elementary school teachers' perceptions of students were assessed by their rating children in their classes on various dimensions. Results showed student ability/achievement are more potent in teacher perceptions than gender. (Author/GK)

  15. 47 CFR 73.4250 - Subliminal perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Subliminal perception. 73.4250 Section 73.4250 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES Rules Applicable to All Broadcast Stations § 73.4250 Subliminal perception. (a) See Public Notice, FCC...

  16. Emotion perception and empathy: An individual differences test of relations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olderbak, Sally; Wilhelm, Oliver

    2017-10-01

    Numerous theories posit a positive relation between perceiving emotion expressed in the face of a stranger (emotion perception) and feeling or cognitively understanding the emotion of that person (affective and cognitive empathy, respectively). However, when relating individual differences in emotion perception with individual differences in affective or cognitive empathy, effect sizes are contradictory, but often not significantly different from zero. Based on 4 studies (study ns range from 97 to 486 persons; n total = 958) that differ from one another on many design and sample characteristics, applying advanced modeling techniques to control for measurement error, we estimate relations between affective empathy, cognitive empathy, and emotion perception. Relations are tested separately for each of the 6 basic emotions (an emotion-specific model) as well as across all emotions (an emotion-general model). Reflecting the literature, effect sizes and statistical significance with an emotion-general model vary across the individual studies (rs range from -.001 to .24 for emotion perception with affective empathy and -.01 to .39 for emotion perception with cognitive empathy), with a meta-analysis of these results indicating emotion perception is weakly related with affective (r = .13, p = .003) and cognitive empathy (r = .13, p = .05). Relations are not strengthened in an emotion-specific model. We argue that the weak effect sizes and inconsistency across studies reflects a neglected distinction of measurement approach-specifically, empathy is assessed as typical behavior and emotion perception is assessed as maximal effort-and conclude with considerations regarding the measurement of each construct. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  17. Cultural differences in room size perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saulton, Aurelie; Bülthoff, Heinrich H; de la Rosa, Stephan; Dodds, Trevor J

    2017-01-01

    Cultural differences in spatial perception have been little investigated, which gives rise to the impression that spatial cognitive processes might be universal. Contrary to this idea, we demonstrate cultural differences in spatial volume perception of computer generated rooms between Germans and South Koreans. We used a psychophysical task in which participants had to judge whether a rectangular room was larger or smaller than a square room of reference. We systematically varied the room rectangularity (depth to width aspect ratio) and the viewpoint (middle of the short wall vs. long wall) from which the room was viewed. South Koreans were significantly less biased by room rectangularity and viewpoint than their German counterparts. These results are in line with previous notions of general cognitive processing strategies being more context dependent in East Asian societies than Western ones. We point to the necessity of considering culturally-specific cognitive processing strategies in visual spatial cognition research.

  18. Cultural differences in room size perception.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aurelie Saulton

    Full Text Available Cultural differences in spatial perception have been little investigated, which gives rise to the impression that spatial cognitive processes might be universal. Contrary to this idea, we demonstrate cultural differences in spatial volume perception of computer generated rooms between Germans and South Koreans. We used a psychophysical task in which participants had to judge whether a rectangular room was larger or smaller than a square room of reference. We systematically varied the room rectangularity (depth to width aspect ratio and the viewpoint (middle of the short wall vs. long wall from which the room was viewed. South Koreans were significantly less biased by room rectangularity and viewpoint than their German counterparts. These results are in line with previous notions of general cognitive processing strategies being more context dependent in East Asian societies than Western ones. We point to the necessity of considering culturally-specific cognitive processing strategies in visual spatial cognition research.

  19. An Ecological Analysis of Mathematics Teachers' Noticing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jazby, Dan

    2016-01-01

    Most studies which investigate mathematics teacher noticing cast perception into a passive role. This study develops an ecological analysis of mathematics teachers' noticing in order to investigate how teachers actively look for information in classroom environments. This method of analysis is applied to data collected as an experienced primary…

  20. Gender differences in emotion experience perception under different facial muscle manipulations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yufeng; Zhang, Dongjun; Zou, Feng; Li, Hao; Luo, Yanyan; Zhang, Meng; Liu, Yijun

    2016-04-01

    According to embodied emotion theory, facial manipulations should modulate and initiate particular emotions. However, whether there are gender differences in emotion experience perception under different facial muscle manipulations is not clear. Therefore, we conducted two behavioral experiments to examine gender differences in emotional perception in response to facial expressions (sad, neutral, and happy) under three conditions: (1) holding a pen using only the teeth (HPT), which facilitates the muscles typically associated with smiling; (2) holding a pen using only the lips (HPL), which inhibits the muscles typically associated with smiling; and (3) a control condition--hold no pen (HNP). We found that HPT made the emotional feelings more positive, and that the change degree of female's ratings of sad facial expressions between conditions (HPL to HPT) was larger than males'. These results suggested cognition can be affected by the interaction of the stimuli and the body, especially the female. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Criterion-free measurement of motion transparency perception at different speeds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rocchi, Francesca; Ledgeway, Timothy; Webb, Ben S.

    2018-01-01

    Transparency perception often occurs when objects within the visual scene partially occlude each other or move at the same time, at different velocities across the same spatial region. Although transparent motion perception has been extensively studied, we still do not understand how the distribution of velocities within a visual scene contribute to transparent perception. Here we use a novel psychophysical procedure to characterize the distribution of velocities in a scene that give rise to transparent motion perception. To prevent participants from adopting a subjective decision criterion when discriminating transparent motion, we used an “odd-one-out,” three-alternative forced-choice procedure. Two intervals contained the standard—a random-dot-kinematogram with dot speeds or directions sampled from a uniform distribution. The other interval contained the comparison—speeds or directions sampled from a distribution with the same range as the standard, but with a notch of different widths removed. Our results suggest that transparent motion perception is driven primarily by relatively slow speeds, and does not emerge when only very fast speeds are present within a visual scene. Transparent perception of moving surfaces is modulated by stimulus-based characteristics, such as the separation between the means of the overlapping distributions or the range of speeds presented within an image. Our work illustrates the utility of using objective, forced-choice methods to reveal the mechanisms underlying motion transparency perception. PMID:29614154

  2. Caring More and Knowing More Reduces Age-Related Differences in Emotion Perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanley, Jennifer Tehan; Isaacowitz, Derek M.

    2015-01-01

    Traditional emotion perception tasks show that older adults are less accurate than young adults at recognizing facial expressions of emotion. Recently, we proposed that socioemotional factors might explain why older adults seem impaired in lab tasks but less so in everyday life (Isaacowitz & Stanley, 2011). Thus, in the present research we empirically tested whether socioemotional factors such as motivation and familiarity can alter this pattern of age effects. In one task, accountability instructions eliminated age differences in the traditional emotion perception task. Using a novel emotion perception paradigm featuring spontaneous dynamic facial expressions of a familiar romantic partner versus a same-age stranger, we found that age differences in emotion perception accuracy were attenuated in the familiar partner condition, relative to the stranger condition. Taken together, the results suggest that both overall accuracy as well as specific patterns of age effects differ appreciably between traditional emotion perception tasks and emotion perception within a socioemotional context. PMID:26030775

  3. Caring more and knowing more reduces age-related differences in emotion perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanley, Jennifer Tehan; Isaacowitz, Derek M

    2015-06-01

    Traditional emotion perception tasks show that older adults are less accurate than are young adults at recognizing facial expressions of emotion. Recently, we proposed that socioemotional factors might explain why older adults seem impaired in lab tasks but less so in everyday life (Isaacowitz & Stanley, 2011). Thus, in the present research we empirically tested whether socioemotional factors such as motivation and familiarity can alter this pattern of age effects. In 1 task, accountability instructions eliminated age differences in the traditional emotion perception task. Using a novel emotion perception paradigm featuring spontaneous dynamic facial expressions of a familiar romantic partner versus a same-age stranger, we found that age differences in emotion perception accuracy were attenuated in the familiar partner condition, relative to the stranger condition. Taken together, the results suggest that both overall accuracy as well as specific patterns of age effects differ appreciably between traditional emotion perception tasks and emotion perception within a socioemotional context. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

  4. Evaluating Risk Perception based on Gender Differences for Mountaineering Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Susanto, Novie; Susatyo, Nugroho W. P.; Rizkiyah, Ega

    2018-02-01

    In average 26 death events in mountaineering per year for the time span from 2003 to 2012 is reported. The number of women dying during the mountaineering is significantly smaller than males (3.5 deaths male for one female death). This study aims to analyze the differences of risk perception based on gender and provide recommendations as education basic to prevent accidents in mountaineering. This study utilizes the Kruskal-Wallis test and the Delphi Method. A total of 200 mountaineer respondents (100 males and 100 females) participated in this study. The independent variable in this study was gender. The dependent variable was risk perception including perception toward the serious accident, perception toward the probability of accident event as well as anxiety level and perception of efficacy and self-efficacy. The study result showed that the risk perception of women is higher than men with significant difference (p-value = 0.019). The recommendations from Delphi method result are by developing a positive mental attitude, showing about the risks that exist in nature, implementing Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to raise awareness of the safety of ownself, following the climbing or mountaineer school, and using instructors to give lessons about safety in outdoor activities.

  5. Evaluating Risk Perception based on Gender Differences for Mountaineering Activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susanto Novie

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In average 26 death events in mountaineering per year for the time span from 2003 to 2012 is reported. The number of women dying during the mountaineering is significantly smaller than males (3.5 deaths male for one female death. This study aims to analyze the differences of risk perception based on gender and provide recommendations as education basic to prevent accidents in mountaineering. This study utilizes the Kruskal-Wallis test and the Delphi Method. A total of 200 mountaineer respondents (100 males and 100 females participated in this study. The independent variable in this study was gender. The dependent variable was risk perception including perception toward the serious accident, perception toward the probability of accident event as well as anxiety level and perception of efficacy and self-efficacy. The study result showed that the risk perception of women is higher than men with significant difference (p-value = 0.019. The recommendations from Delphi method result are by developing a positive mental attitude, showing about the risks that exist in nature, implementing Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT to raise awareness of the safety of ownself, following the climbing or mountaineer school, and using instructors to give lessons about safety in outdoor activities.

  6. Color differences and perceptive properties of prints made with microcapsules

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raša Urbas

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the research was to establish whether addition on fragranced microcapsules influences on color values and perceptive properties of prints. For this purpose, three types of printing inks were used on two sets of the paper substrate. Color properties were measured by standard methods while perceptive properties were determined by subjective method. Research has shown that microcapsules cause small color differences while perceptive analyses gave very interesting results.

  7. Data and Decision Making: Same Organization, Different Perceptions; Different Organizations, Different Perceptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maxwell, Nan L.; Rotz, Dana; Garcia, Christina

    2016-01-01

    This study examines the perceptions of data-driven decision making (DDDM) activities and culture in organizations driven by a social mission. Analysis of survey information from multiple stakeholders in each of eight social enterprises highlights the wide divergence in views of DDDM. Within an organization, managerial and nonmanagerial staff…

  8. Gender and Educational Differences in Perception of Domestic Violence Against Women Among Libyan Migrants in Manchester.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Abani, Suaad; Pourmehdi, Mansour

    2018-02-01

    Domestic violence against women (DVAW) is a worldwide phenomenon and refers to any act committed against women that results in physical and psychological harm, and coercion, loss of liberty, and deprivation. There is a dearth of research and information about the extent and prevalence of domestic violence among Libyan communities. The aim of the study was to explore community knowledge of, and attitudes toward, DVAW and to improve our understanding of the factors that influence knowledge, attitudes, and responses, particularly educational and gender differences. Using snowball sampling, we analyzed 20 semistructured interviews with Libyans living in Manchester, United Kingdom. We found gender and education-influenced participants' perception of DVAW. Men in general did not recognize DVAW as a serious social problem; noticeably, they saw it as a personal and family issue. Knowing attitudes toward DVAW is necessary for government and communities' prevention policies as attitudes influence perpetration of DVAW.

  9. Case studies on heat stress related perceptions in different industrial sectors in southern India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balakrishnan, Kalpana; Ramalingam, Ayyappan; Dasu, Venkatesan; Stephen, Jeremiah Chinnadurai; Sivaperumal, Mohan Raj; Kumarasamy, Deepan; Mukhopadhyay, Krishnendu; Ghosh, Santu; Sambandam, Sankar

    2010-11-29

    Linkages between thermal loads and its physiological consequences have been widely studied in non-tropical developed country settings. In many developing countries like India, despite the widespread recognition of the problem, limited attempts have been made to estimate health impacts related to occupational heat stress and fewer yet to link heat stress with potential productivity losses. This is reflected in the ubiquity of workplaces with limited or no controls to reduce exposures. As a prelude to understanding the feasibility of alternative interventions in different industrial sectors, we present case studies from 10 different industrial units in Tamil Nadu, Chennai, which describe perceptions of occupational heat stress among the workers and supervisors/management.Units were selected from among those who had previously requested an assessment of workplace heat stress exposure at select locations as part of routine industrial hygiene services provided by the investigators. Since the earlier measurements were performed in response to a management request, all units were revisited to generate a simple job and process profile using checklists in order to understand the overall heat exposure situation in the concerned unit. This was followed by a simple questionnaire administration to a small subsample of employees to evaluate the perceptions of workers and supervisors/management. Finally, we retrieved available quantitative data from previous measurements of heat stress at these units to correlate prevalence of exposures with respective perceptions.Results indicate that the existing level of controls may not be sufficient for managing work-related heat stress in any of the sectors studied, with wide variations in perceived risks. There was a noticeable disconnect between worker's perceptions and their ability to secure workplace improvements related to heat stress from the management. Wider availability of engineering and administrative controls in the industries

  10. Case studies on heat stress related perceptions in different industrial sectors in southern India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kalpana Balakrishnan

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Linkages between thermal loads and its physiological consequences have been widely studied in non-tropical developed country settings. In many developing countries like India, despite the widespread recognition of the problem, limited attempts have been made to estimate health impacts related to occupational heat stress and fewer yet to link heat stress with potential productivity losses. This is reflected in the ubiquity of workplaces with limited or no controls to reduce exposures. As a prelude to understanding the feasibility of alternative interventions in different industrial sectors, we present case studies from 10 different industrial units in Tamil Nadu, Chennai, which describe perceptions of occupational heat stress among the workers and supervisors/management.Units were selected from among those who had previously requested an assessment of workplace heat stress exposure at select locations as part of routine industrial hygiene services provided by the investigators. Since the earlier measurements were performed in response to a management request, all units were revisited to generate a simple job and process profile using checklists in order to understand the overall heat exposure situation in the concerned unit. This was followed by a simple questionnaire administration to a small subsample of employees to evaluate the perceptions of workers and supervisors/management. Finally, we retrieved available quantitative data from previous measurements of heat stress at these units to correlate prevalence of exposures with respective perceptions.Results indicate that the existing level of controls may not be sufficient for managing work-related heat stress in any of the sectors studied, with wide variations in perceived risks. There was a noticeable disconnect between worker's perceptions and their ability to secure workplace improvements related to heat stress from the management. Wider availability of engineering and administrative

  11. Sensory perception of meat from entire male pigs processed by different heating methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peñaranda, Irene; Garrido, Ma Dolores; Egea, Macarena; Díaz, Pedro; Álvarez, Daniel; Oliver, Ma Angeles; Linares, Ma Belén

    2017-12-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the perception of androstenone in pork from entire male pigs with different androstenone levels (High≥2mgkg -1 ; Medium 0.5-0.7mgkg -1 ) applying four different heating methods (vacuum, grill, oven and frying). Androstenone (AND) perception was analysed during and after cooking by a trained panel. During cooking, the highest score for AND odour (greatest perception) was obtained with the grill and vacuum, while frying was the best option for reducing its perception, which was judged to be imperceptible for androstenone medium level (Pperception, making it the best option for reducing both AND odour and flavour. In short, the use of different heating methods strongly affected AND perception. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. The Role of Affective and Cognitive Individual Differences in Social Perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aquino, Antonio; Haddock, Geoffrey; Maio, Gregory R; Wolf, Lukas J; Alparone, Francesca R

    2016-06-01

    Three studies explored the connection between social perception processes and individual differences in the use of affective and cognitive information in relation to attitudes. Study 1 revealed that individuals high in need for affect (NFA) accentuated differences in evaluations of warm and cold traits, whereas individuals high in need for cognition (NFC) accentuated differences in evaluations of competent and incompetent traits. Study 2 revealed that individual differences in NFA predicted liking of warm or cold targets, whereas individual differences in NFC predicted perceptions of competent or incompetent targets. Furthermore, the effects of NFA and NFC were independent of structural bases and meta-bases of attitudes. Study 3 revealed that differences in the evaluation of warm and cold traits mediated the effects of NFA and NFC on liking of targets. The implications for social perception processes and for individual differences in affect-cognition are discussed. © 2016 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  13. Gender and Race Differences in the Perceptions of Sexual Harassment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sydell, Eric J.; Nelson, Eileen S.

    1998-01-01

    Examines influence of gender and race on perception of sexual harassment and on recommended punitive measures by college judicial boards for potential harasser. Significant gender-based differences were found in perception of an ambiguous sexual-harassment situation, with men tending to attribute greater responsibility to victim than did women.…

  14. Kantowska metafizyka percepcji (Kant’s Metaphysics of Perception

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paweł Sikora

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available This article treats of an issue of Kant’s the metaphysics of perception as a specific sphere where concept of sense perception within transcendental philosophy seem to be rooted into a wider context of metaphysical presuppositions. The text is an epitome of a few Kant’s aporias which appear when he does not notice a metaphysical background which constitutes basic relation between subject and object in sense perception.

  15. Cross-cultural differences in meter perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalender, Beste; Trehub, Sandra E; Schellenberg, E Glenn

    2013-03-01

    We examined the influence of incidental exposure to varied metrical patterns from different musical cultures on the perception of complex metrical structures from an unfamiliar musical culture. Adults who were familiar with Western music only (i.e., simple meters) and those who also had limited familiarity with non-Western music were tested on their perception of metrical organization in unfamiliar (Turkish) music with simple and complex meters. Adults who were familiar with Western music detected meter-violating changes in Turkish music with simple meter but not in Turkish music with complex meter. Adults with some exposure to non-Western music that was unmetered or metrically complex detected meter-violating changes in Turkish music with both simple and complex meters, but they performed better on patterns with a simple meter. The implication is that familiarity with varied metrical structures, including those with a non-isochronous tactus, enhances sensitivity to the metrical organization of unfamiliar music.

  16. Age Differences in Emotion Perception: The Effects of the Social Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murry, Matthew W. E.; Isaacowitz, Derek M.

    2017-01-01

    Older adults tend to have lower emotion-perception accuracy compared to younger adults. Previous studies have centered on individual characteristics, including cognitive decline and positive attentional preferences, as possible mechanisms underlying these age differences in emotion perception; however, thus far, no perceiver-focused factor has…

  17. Effects of different sleep deprivation protocols on sleep perception in healthy volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goulart, Leonardo I; Pinto, Luciano R; Perlis, Michael L; Martins, Raquel; Caboclo, Luis Otavio; Tufik, Sergio; Andersen, Monica L

    2014-10-01

    To investigate whether different protocols of sleep deprivation modify sleep perception. The effects of total sleep deprivation (TD) and selective rapid eye movement (REM) sleep deprivation (RD) on sleep perception were analyzed in normal volunteers. Thirty-one healthy males with normal sleep were randomized to one of three conditions: (i) normal uninterrupted sleep; (ii) four nights of RD; or (iii) two nights of TD. Morning perception of total sleep time was evaluated for each condition. Sleep perception was estimated using total sleep time (in hours) as perceived by the volunteer divided by the total sleep time (in hours) measured by polysomnography (PSG). The final value of this calculation was defined as the perception index (PI). There were no significant differences among the three groups of volunteers in the total sleep time measured by PSG or in the perception of total sleep time at baseline condition. Volunteers submitted to RD exhibited lower sleep PI scores as compared with controls during the sleep deprivation period (P sleep deprivation reduced the ability of healthy young volunteers to perceive their total sleep time when compared with time measured by PSG. The data reinforce the influence of sleep deprivation on sleep perception. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Perception of the energy question in different regions of France

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fouque, B.; Villaret, J.M.

    1982-01-01

    The authors first outline the main variables which account for regional differences in the perception of the energy question, and go on to discuss these differences and the factors underlying them [fr

  19. The Challenge of Different Perceptions on the Belt and Road Initiative

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Junchi Ma

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available This article1 focuses on the perceptions of the Chinese and its partners on the Belt and Road Initiative. The author summarizes the existing foreign opinions about the initiative, one “inequality” of the market, three goals that China wants to achieve and two ways in which China wants to create domestic stability. In fact, the difference between foreign and Chinese perceptions is based on the relative national condition of the two sides, the perception of great powers, and the combination of domestic needs and foreign policy. Finally, the author points out that there are three paradoxes which exist in the differences between China and its partners, which is the biggest challenge of the Belt and Road Initiative.

  20. Motivational incentives modulate age differences in visual perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spaniol, Julia; Voss, Andreas; Bowen, Holly J; Grady, Cheryl L

    2011-12-01

    This study examined whether motivational incentives modulate age-related perceptual deficits. Younger and older adults performed a perceptual discrimination task in which bicolored stimuli had to be classified according to their dominating color. The valent color was associated with either a positive or negative payoff, whereas the neutral color was not associated with a payoff. Effects of incentives on perceptual efficiency and response bias were estimated using the diffusion model (Ratcliff, 1978). Perception of neutral stimuli showed age-related decline, whereas perception of valent stimuli, both positive and negative, showed no age difference. This finding is interpreted in terms of preserved top-down control over the allocation of perceptual processing resources in healthy aging.

  1. The extreme relativity of perception: A new contextual effect modulates human resolving power.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Namdar, Gal; Ganel, Tzvi; Algom, Daniel

    2016-04-01

    The authors report the discovery of a new effect of context that modulates human resolving power with respect to an individual stimulus. They show that the size of the difference threshold or the just noticeable difference around a standard stimulus depends on the range of the other standards tested simultaneously for resolution within the same experimental session. The larger this range, the poorer the resolving power for a given standard. The authors term this effect the range of standards effect (RSE). They establish this result both in the visual domain for the perception of linear extent, and in the somatosensory domain for the perception of weight. They discuss the contingent nature of stimulus resolution in perception and psychophysics and contrast it with the immunity to contextual influences of visually guided action. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  2. Perceptions on Gender-Based Differences in Educational Leadership

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aziz, Fakhra; Kalsoom, Qudsia; Quraishi, Uzma; Hasan, Sibte

    2017-01-01

    This descriptive, qualitative study aimed at identifying disparities in perceptions of males and females regarding gender-based differences in educational leadership. Data were gathered purposively from 20 renowned male and female educationists having a long experience of leadership in various institutes of Pakistan. An open-ended questionnaire…

  3. Gender differences in perception of workplace sexual harassment among future professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banerjee, Amitav; Sharma, Bhavana

    2011-01-01

    Indian society is in a stage of rapid social transition. As more women enter the workforce, stresses vis-à-vis the genders are to be expected in patriarchal society to which most of our population belongs. Earlier studies in Western societies have revealed gender differences in perception of what constitutes sexual harassment. Elicit gender differences, if any, in the workplace sexual harassment among future professionals. A cross-sectional study among the students of professional colleges. A total of 200 students of both sexes were randomly selected from four professional colleges. Data collection was done on a structured questionnaire by interview. Internal consistency of the questionnaire was tested by Crohnbach's α coefficient. Associations between gender and perceptions were explored with Chi-square, Odds Ratio with 95% confidence interval, where applicable. The differences in perception on what constitutes sexual harassment among the genders were statistically significant on many measures (Psexual harassment. Men were more lacking in awareness regarding sexual harassment.

  4. Sociodemographic differences in myocardial infarction risk perceptions among people with coronary heart disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aalto, Anna-Mari; Weinman, John; French, David P

    2007-01-01

    This study examines sociodemographic differences in myocardial infarction (MI) risk perceptions among people with coronary heart disease (CHD) (N = 3130). Two variables for comparative risk perceptions were computed: (1) own risk compared to that of an average person; and (2) own risk compared...... to that of an average person with CHD. Comparative optimism in MI risk perceptions was common, particularly among men and those with higher education. CHD severity and psychosocial resources mediated these sociodemographic differences. These results suggest challenges for secondary prevention in CHD, particularly...

  5. Determining the Differences Between Academic Success and Perception Levels of Conservatory Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Serkan OTACIOĞLU

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This research was studied about professionals in the field of music education students, with musical perception levels and some variable to reveal the differences that occur in this dimension. 50 students from Mimar Sinan University State Conservatory, 39 students from İstanbul University State Conservatory and 38 students from Karadeniz Technique University State Conservatory (N=127. Conservatory students, who are the students of the 2nd, 3 rd and 4th class in 2014-2015 academic year, have been participated which is a field research done by survey method.In this survey, two basic data collection tools were used. First data collection tool is “Student Information Form” which is aimed to obtain individual knowledge, second data collection tool is “Musical Perception Inventory” developed by G.Otacıoğlu and Aslan in 2007 to measure musical perception skills of students. Statistical analysis techniques were used to demonstrate the differences between the variables in the study. As a result of the study, there were statistically significant differences between demographic variables and the scores of musical perception

  6. Modelling gender differences in Egyptian adolescents' perception of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study investigated gender differences in Egyptian adolescents' perception of parental involvement practices when controlling for the effect of adolescents' prior academic achievement and level of educational aspiration. Subjects of this study included 187 first-year students enrolled in four high schools in El-Minia city in ...

  7. Hemispheric Differences in the Effects of Context on Vowel Perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sjerps, Matthias J.; Mitterer, Holger; McQueen, James M.

    2012-01-01

    Listeners perceive speech sounds relative to context. Contextual influences might differ over hemispheres if different types of auditory processing are lateralized. Hemispheric differences in contextual influences on vowel perception were investigated by presenting speech targets and both speech and non-speech contexts to listeners' right or left…

  8. Communication, perception and behaviour during a natural disaster involving a 'Do Not Drink' and a subsequent 'Boil Water' notice: a postal questionnaire study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rundblad, Gabriella; Knapton, Olivia; Hunter, Paul R

    2010-10-25

    During times of public health emergencies, effective communication between the emergency response agencies and the affected public is important to ensure that people protect themselves from injury or disease. In order to investigate compliance with public health advice during natural disasters, we examined consumer behaviour during two water notices that were issued as a result of serious flooding. During the summer of 2007, 140,000 homes in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, that are supplied water from Mythe treatment works, lost their drinking water for up to 17 days. Consumers were issued a 'Do Not Drink' notice when the water was restored, which was subsequently replaced with a 'Boil Water' notice. The rare occurrence of two water notices provided a unique opportunity to compare compliance with public health advice. Information source use and other factors that may affect consumer perception and behaviour were also explored. A postal questionnaire was sent to 1,000 randomly selected households. Chi-square, ANOVA, MANOVA and generalised estimating equation (with and without prior factor analysis) were used for quantitative analysis. In terms of information sources, we found high use of and clear preference for the local radio throughout the incident, but family/friends/neighbours also proved crucial at the onset. Local newspapers and the water company were associated with clarity of advice and feeling informed, respectively. Older consumers and those in paid employment were particularly unlikely to read the official information leaflets. We also found a high degree of confusion regarding which notice was in place at which time, with correct recall varying between 23.2%-26.7%, and a great number of consumers believed two notices were in place simultaneously. In terms of behaviour, overall non-compliance levels were significantly higher for the 'Do Not Drink' notice (62.9%) compared to the 'Boil Water' notice (48.3%); consumers in paid employment were not likely to

  9. Communication, perception and behaviour during a natural disaster involving a 'Do Not Drink' and a subsequent 'Boil Water' notice: a postal questionnaire study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Knapton Olivia

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background During times of public health emergencies, effective communication between the emergency response agencies and the affected public is important to ensure that people protect themselves from injury or disease. In order to investigate compliance with public health advice during natural disasters, we examined consumer behaviour during two water notices that were issued as a result of serious flooding. During the summer of 2007, 140,000 homes in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, that are supplied water from Mythe treatment works, lost their drinking water for up to 17 days. Consumers were issued a 'Do Not Drink' notice when the water was restored, which was subsequently replaced with a 'Boil Water' notice. The rare occurrence of two water notices provided a unique opportunity to compare compliance with public health advice. Information source use and other factors that may affect consumer perception and behaviour were also explored. Method A postal questionnaire was sent to 1,000 randomly selected households. Chi-square, ANOVA, MANOVA and generalised estimating equation (with and without prior factor analysis were used for quantitative analysis. Results In terms of information sources, we found high use of and clear preference for the local radio throughout the incident, but family/friends/neighbours also proved crucial at the onset. Local newspapers and the water company were associated with clarity of advice and feeling informed, respectively. Older consumers and those in paid employment were particularly unlikely to read the official information leaflets. We also found a high degree of confusion regarding which notice was in place at which time, with correct recall varying between 23.2%-26.7%, and a great number of consumers believed two notices were in place simultaneously. In terms of behaviour, overall non-compliance levels were significantly higher for the 'Do Not Drink' notice (62.9% compared to the 'Boil Water' notice (48

  10. Features of brand perception by people with different strategies of consumer behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonova N. V.

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The article describes the results of the research of perception of the domestic and foreign clothing brands by Russian consumers with various strategies of consumer behavior. The study involved 169 people of various ages (m = 24.5 years. Methods of research: a the method of semantic differential for the analysis of the image of the brand, developed by F.N. Vinokurov; b an adapted methodology for researching consumer behavior strategies. Based on the obtained results, it is concluded that there are specific features of perception of domestic and foreign brands by Russian consumers with different consumer behavior strategies: 1 the image of the Russian brand is more complicated, includes 5 factors, while the image of the foreign brand includes 3 factors; 2 8 basic and three generalized strategies of consumer behavior of Russians are singled out, and the content of strategies differs from the content of strategies of foreign consumers; 3 the peculiarities of brand perception in people with different consumer behavior strategies are highlighted, and it is found that the perception of foreign brands is more closely connected with the strategies of consumer behavior than the perception of domestic brands; 4 brand image (primarily such parameters as “reliability” and “positivity” of the brand is more significant for rational and impulsive consumers and to a lesser extent for brand-dependent ones. The obtained results can be used in the construction of brand communication, as well as a basis for further research of the mechanisms of perception of brands as objects of social cognition.

  11. Gender Differences in Students' Perceptions of School Guidance ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The purpose of this study was to examine gender differences in relation to students' perceptions of school guidance and counselling (G&C) services in Mberengwa district, Zimbabwe. The convergent parallel design was used in the study. A total of 114 students (68 males and 76 females) randomly selected students ...

  12. Cultural Differences in Online Learning: International Student Perceptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiaojing; Liu, Shijuan; Lee, Seung-hee; Magjuka, Richard J.

    2010-01-01

    This article reports the findings of a case study that investigated the perceptions of international students regarding the impact of cultural differences on their learning experiences in an online MBA program. The study also revealed that online instructors need to design courses in such a way as to remove potential cultural barriers, including…

  13. Differences between Students' and Teachers' Perceptions of Education: Profiles to Describe Congruence and Friction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Könings, Karen D.; Seidel, Tina; Brand-Gruwel, Saskia; Merriënboer, Jeroen J. G.

    2014-01-01

    Teachers and students have their own perceptions of education. Congruent perceptions contribute to optimal teaching-learning processes and help achieving best learning outcomes. This study investigated patterns in differences between students' and teachers' perceptions of their learning environment. Student profiles were identified taking into…

  14. Time perception and time perspective differences between adolescents and adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siu, Nicolson Y F; Lam, Heidi H Y; Le, Jacqueline J Y; Przepiorka, Aneta M

    2014-09-01

    The present experiment aimed to investigate the differences in time perception and time perspective between subjects representing two developmental stages, namely adolescence and middle adulthood. Twenty Chinese adolescents aged 15-25 and twenty Chinese adults aged 35-55 participated in the study. A time discrimination task and a time reproduction task were implemented to measure the accuracy of their time perception. The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (Short-Form) was adopted to assess their time orientation. It was found that adolescents performed better than adults in both the time discrimination task and the time reproduction task. Adolescents were able to differentiate different time intervals with greater accuracy and reproduce the target duration more precisely. For the time reproduction task, it was also found that adults tended to overestimate the duration of the target stimuli while adolescents were more likely to underestimate it. As regards time perspective, adults were more future-oriented than adolescents, whereas adolescents were more present-oriented than adults. No significant relationship was found between time perspective and time perception. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Gender differences in perception of workplace sexual harassment among future professionals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amitav Banerjee

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Indian society is in a stage of rapid social transition. As more women enter the workforce, stresses vis-à-vis the genders are to be expected in patriarchal society to which most of our population belongs. Earlier studies in Western societies have revealed gender differences in perception of what constitutes sexual harassment. Aim: Elicit gender differences, if any, in the workplace sexual harassment among future professionals. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study among the students of professional colleges. Materials and Methods: A total of 200 students of both sexes were randomly selected from four professional colleges. Data collection was done on a structured questionnaire by interview. Statistical Analysis: Internal consistency of the questionnaire was tested by Crohnbach′s α coefficient. Associations between gender and perceptions were explored with Chi-square, Odds Ratio with 95% confidence interval, where applicable. Results: The differences in perception on what constitutes sexual harassment among the genders were statistically significant on many measures (P<0.01. Conclusions: Men and women differ in their awareness as to what constitute sexual harassment. Men were more lacking in awareness regarding sexual harassment.

  16. Genre Differences on Visual Perception of Color Range and Depth of Field

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luisa Ballesteros

    2003-07-01

    Full Text Available Visual perception is the result of the integration of various related factors of the observed object and its environment. In this study we evaluated the impact of tridimensional form on color perception and the angle from the horizontal plane of a set of similar objets on the depth of field perception between young men and women. A panel half magenta and half white placed at the end of a black box, folded either concaved or convexed to alter the chromatic effect perceived were used to determine tridimensional form on color perception. Four sets of identical sticks where the angle from the horizontal plane varied for each, were used to determine the effect of spatial distribution of depth of field perception. The parameters taking into account were age, genre, associated visual defects for each individual evaluated. Our results show that the tridimensional form alters color perception but the range of color perceived was larger for women whereas depending on the angle from the horizontal plane we found genre differences on the depth of field perception.

  17. Differences and similarities in medicine use, perceptions and sharing among adolescents in two different educational settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vestergaard, Stense; Ravn, Pernille; Hallgreen, Christine Erikstrup; Kaae, Susanne

    2017-11-23

    Background Evidence suggests that there are differences in medicine habits among adolescents with different sociodemographic backgrounds and that peers might also influence medicine use. More knowledge is needed regarding how these aspects together affect how different young people use medicines. Objective To explore the differences in medicine use, perceptions and sharing between adolescents at two different educational (and socio-demographic) settings and assess the influence of parents and peers. Subjects Fifty-nine students from a private high school (HS) and 34 students from a public vocational school (VS) in Denmark between the ages of 15 and 19 years old were subjects in this study. Methods A questionnaire was used that included background, medicine consumption, perceptions and social interaction. Descriptive analyses along with a Fishers test were used to determine differences and similarities between students' medicine patterns at the school settings. Results Of the 93 respondents, 74% used medicine within the past month, with females using more medicines. A significant difference was found with students at the VS using a higher number of medicines. Analgesics were the most frequently consumed medicine; however, reasons for using medicines appear to vary between the schools. Similarities between the schools were identified for perception of safety, sharing medicine and talking primarily with parents about medicine. Conclusion Fewer differences between students' medicine use at two educational settings than expected were identified, showing that aspects other than social background influence adolescents' use of medicine. A general tendency among young people believing that using medicines is a safe might explain these findings.

  18. Gender differences in perception of workplace sexual harassment among future professionals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banerjee, Amitav; Sharma, Bhavana

    2011-01-01

    Background: Indian society is in a stage of rapid social transition. As more women enter the workforce, stresses vis-à-vis the genders are to be expected in patriarchal society to which most of our population belongs. Earlier studies in Western societies have revealed gender differences in perception of what constitutes sexual harassment. Aim: Elicit gender differences, if any, in the workplace sexual harassment among future professionals. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study among the students of professional colleges. Materials and Methods: A total of 200 students of both sexes were randomly selected from four professional colleges. Data collection was done on a structured questionnaire by interview. Statistical Analysis: Internal consistency of the questionnaire was tested by Crohnbach's α coefficient. Associations between gender and perceptions were explored with Chi-square, Odds Ratio with 95% confidence interval, where applicable. Results: The differences in perception on what constitutes sexual harassment among the genders were statistically significant on many measures (Psexual harassment. Men were more lacking in awareness regarding sexual harassment. PMID:22969176

  19. Differences in Perception of Musical Stimuli among Acoustic, Electric, and Combined Modality Listeners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prentiss, Sandra M; Friedland, David R; Nash, John J; Runge, Christina L

    2015-05-01

    Cochlear implants have shown vast improvements in speech understanding for those with severe to profound hearing loss; however, music perception remains a challenge for electric hearing. It is unclear whether the difficulties arise from limitations of sound processing, the nature of a damaged auditory system, or a combination of both. To examine music perception performance with different acoustic and electric hearing configurations. Chord discrimination and timbre perception were tested in subjects representing four daily-use listening configurations: unilateral cochlear implant (CI), contralateral bimodal (CIHA), bilateral hearing aid (HAHA) and normal-hearing (NH) listeners. A same-different task was used for discrimination of two chords played on piano. Timbre perception was assessed using a 10-instrument forced-choice identification task. Fourteen adults were included in each group, none of whom were professional musicians. The number of correct responses was divided by the total number of presentations to calculate scores in percent correct. Data analyses were performed with Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance and linear regression. Chord discrimination showed a narrow range of performance across groups, with mean scores ranging between 72.5% (CI) and 88.9% (NH). Significant differences were seen between the NH and all hearing-impaired groups. Both the HAHA and CIHA groups performed significantly better than the CI groups, and no significant differences were observed between the HAHA and CIHA groups. Timbre perception was significantly poorer for the hearing-impaired groups (mean scores ranged from 50.3-73.9%) compared to NH (95.2%). Significantly better performance was observed in the HAHA group as compared to both groups with electric hearing (CI and CIHA). There was no significant difference in performance between the CIHA and CI groups. Timbre perception was a significantly more difficult task than chord discrimination for both the CI and CIHA

  20. Study on differences between perceptions of Japanese and Chinese emotional speech by Japanese and Chinese listeners

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang, Chenyi; Akagi, Masato

    2018-01-01

    Without understanding of one language, emotional contents of a voice can still be judged by human beings. However, it is reported that differences occur in emotion perception among listeners with different mother languages. Investigating reasons that differences occur may provide a systematic method to the discussions of emotion perception in a cross-language scenario. Therefore, this study discusses commonalities and differences between emotion perception of Japanese and Chinese listeners fo...

  1. Differences in perceptions of managerial roles by gender among southern business students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, J O; Schellenberger, R E

    1991-12-01

    Perception of the roles necessary for managerial success based on the 10 verbal descriptors of the Mintzberg roles were gathered from 128 business students at a southern U.S. university. The objective was to assess whether these 72 men and 56 women viewed the importance of the roles differently. Ratings were collected on the 10 roles for each of four different types of managers. The data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance, chi-squared analysis, and Spearman rank-order correlation. No differences were observed in the perception of men and women in these roles or of their relative importance.

  2. Teacher perceptions affect boys’ and girls’ reading motivation differently

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boerma, I.E.; Mol, S.E.; Jolles, J.

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher perceptions and children's reading motivation, with specific attention to gender differences. The reading self-concept, task value, and attitude of 160 fifth and sixth graders were measured. Teachers rated each student's reading

  3. Cultural differences in affect intensity perception in the context of advertising.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pogosyan, Marianna; Engelmann, Jan B

    2011-01-01

    Cultural differences in the perception of positive affect intensity within an advertising context were investigated among American, Japanese, and Russian participants. Participants were asked to rate the intensity of facial expressions of positive emotions, which displayed either subtle, low intensity, or salient, high intensity expressions of positive affect. In agreement with previous findings from cross-cultural psychological research, current results demonstrate both cross-cultural agreement and differences in the perception of positive affect intensity across the three cultures. Specifically, American participants perceived high arousal (HA) images as significantly less calm than participants from the other two cultures, while the Japanese participants perceived low arousal (LA) images as significantly more excited than participants from the other cultures. The underlying mechanisms of these cultural differences were further investigated through difference scores that probed for cultural differences in perception and categorization of positive emotions. Findings indicate that rating differences are due to (1) perceptual differences in the extent to which HA images were discriminated from LA images, and (2) categorization differences in the extent to which facial expressions were grouped into affect intensity categories. Specifically, American participants revealed significantly higher perceptual differentiation between arousal levels of facial expressions in high and intermediate intensity categories. Japanese participants, on the other hand, did not discriminate between high and low arousal affect categories to the same extent as did the American and Russian participants. These findings indicate the presence of cultural differences in underlying decoding mechanisms of facial expressions of positive affect intensity. Implications of these results for global advertising are discussed.

  4. Cultural differences in affect intensity perception in the context of advertising

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marianna ePogosyan

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Cultural differences in the perception of positive affect intensity within an advertising context were investigated among American, Japanese and Russian participants. Participants were asked to rate the intensity of facial expressions of positive emotions, which displayed either subtle, low intensity or salient, high intensity expressions of positive affect. In agreement with previous findings from cross-cultural psychological research, current results demonstrate both cross-cultural agreement and differences in the perception of positive affect intensity across the three cultures. Specifically, American participants perceived high arousal images as significantly less calm than participants from the other two cultures, while the Japanese participants perceived low arousal images as significantly more excited than participants from the other cultures. The underlying mechanisms of these cultural differences were further investigated through difference scores that probed for cultural differences in perception and categorization of positive emotions. Findings indicate that rating differences are due to (1 perceptual differences in the extent to which high arousal images were discriminated from low arousal images, and (2 categorization differences in the extent to which facial expressions were grouped into affect intensity categories. Specifically, American participants revealed significantly higher perceptual differentiation between arousal levels of facial expressions in high and intermediate intensity categories. Japanese participants, on the other hand, did not discriminate between high and low arousal affect categories to the same extent as did the American and Russian participants. These findings indicate the presence of cultural differences in underlying decoding mechanisms of facial expressions of positive affect intensity. Implications of these results for cross-cultural communication and global advertising are discussed.

  5. Perception of gamma radiation by adults of Sitophilus zeamais mots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiendl, F.M.; Walder, J.M.M.

    1975-05-01

    Perception of gamma radiation by living organisms has been evidenced only a few times. The occurence of such perception with maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky is presented. Tubes containing maize weevil were placed in a radial position to a gamma source. Counting of the insects inside the tubes at different distances from the source was made immediately after irradiation. It was noticed that the insects submitted to irradiation had been driven away from the source as compared with those not submitted (control). A possible relationship exists between this effect and the Cerenkov effect which affects directly the visual organs of the insect. This is probably due to the fact that the insects have a large quantity of water in the occular cells

  6. Differences on Primary Care Labor Perceptions in Medical Students from 11 Latin American Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayta-Tristán, Percy; Montenegro-Idrogo, Juan José; Mejia, Christian R.; Abudinén A., Gabriel; Azucas-Peralta, Rita; Barrezueta-Fernandez, Jorge; Cerna-Urrutia, Luis; DaSilva-DeAbreu, Adrián; Mondragón-Cardona, Alvaro; Moya, Geovanna; Valverde-Solano, Christian D.; Theodorus-Villar, Rhanniel; Vizárraga-León, Maribel

    2016-01-01

    Background The shortage in Latin-American Primary Care (PC) workforce may be due to negative perceptions about it. These perceptions might be probably influenced by particular features of health systems and academic environments, thus varying between countries. Methods Observational, analytic and cross-sectional multicountry study that evaluated 9,561 first and fifth-year medical students from 63 medical schools of 11 Latin American countries through a survey. Perceptions on PC work was evaluated through a previously validated scale. Tertiles of the scores were created in order to compare the different countries. Crude and adjusted prevalence ratios were calculated using simple and multiple Poisson regression with robust variance. Results Approximately 53% of subjects were female; mean age was 20.4±2.9 years; 35.5% were fifth-year students. Statistically significant differences were found between the study subjects’ country, using Peru as reference. Students from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Paraguay perceived PC work more positively, while those from Ecuador showed a less favorable position. No differences were found among perceptions of Bolivian, Salvadoran, Honduran and Venezuelan students when compared to their Peruvian peers. Conclusions Perceptions of PC among medical students from Latin America vary according to country. Considering such differences can be of major importance for potential local specific interventions. PMID:27414643

  7. Socio-demographic characteristics as determinants of differences in perception of local gastronomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vuksanović Nikola

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to research differences in socio-demographic characteristics of foreign tourists in consumption of local food in the city centres Belgrade and Novi Sad, Republic of Serbia. The research was conducted on a sample of 673 respondents. The results of this study point out the importance of socio-demographic variables in research of local gastronomy as a significant component of tourism product. The research included the determining of the impact of the city the tourists stayed at. The differences were examined via two-factor ANOVA analysis of variance. The obtained results indicate that there are differences between age groups, in the level of education, monthly income and countries that foreign tourists come from, whereas there is no difference between genders in relation to the perception of local gastronomy. At the same time, the findings indicate that there are no differences in the perception of local gastronomy between the cities of Novi Sad and Belgrade. The results confirm previous studies and point out the significance of socio-demographic characteristics of foreign tourists in their perception of local gastronomy and adapting it to the visitors, regardless of the city they visited.

  8. Differences in farmers’ perception of opportunities for farm development

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Methorst, Ron; Roep, Dirk; Verhees, Frans; Verstegen, Jos

    2017-01-01

    This paper empirically identifies differences between dairy farmers in their perception of opportunities for farm development. The construct ‘perceived Room for Manoeuvre’ (pRfM) is used which is defined as: ‘the opportunities perceived as viable in order to obtain a (substantial part of) business

  9. The School Psychology and Perception of Education Professionals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Carolina Gravena Vanalli

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed at verifying the education professionals' perception about the performance of school psychologists. To attain this goal, 24 education professionals were interviewed, being 19 educators and five school psychologists from 11 private and public schools of two cities of São Paulo state. Based on descriptions about the psychologists' performance found in the literature, it is possible to compare them to the school psychologists' performance and to the education professionals' perception. From the data obtained, it was verified that the participants had knowledge, even though in a general perspective, about the performance area and considered important the service of those professionals to the school as an institution. However, it was noticed the difference of perception between the performances reported by the psychologists and these professionals' performance described by the other education professionals interviewed, seeming to generate dissatisfaction and possible conflicts. Therefore, it is necessary that the psychologist attributions become clearer and widespread so their interventions could match educators' expectations, provide satisfying results and be more frequently included in school institutions.

  10. The white (male) effect and risk perception: can equality make a difference?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olofsson, Anna; Rashid, Saman

    2011-06-01

    Previous research has shown that white males have a relatively low perception of risks, known as the "white male effect" (WME). Many of the explanations of this effect refer to the privileged position of this particular demographic group in society, adducing white males' socio-economic resources, sense of control, worldviews, etc. It can thus be argued that inequality leads women and ethnic minorities to have higher risk perception than men and the ethnic majority. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the WME in a gender-equal country, Sweden, to see if the pattern is similar to previous studies from the comparably less gender-equal United States. The empirical analyses are based on a national survey (n= 1,472) on the perception of risk conducted in Sweden in the winter of 2005. The results show that in Sweden there is no significant difference between men and women in risk perception, while people with foreign backgrounds perceive risks higher than native people. The chief finding is that there is no WME in Sweden, which we concluded results from the relative equality between the sexes in the country. On the other hand, ethnicity serves as a marker of inequality and discrimination in Sweden. Consequently, ethnicity, in terms of foreign background, mediates inequality, resulting in high risk perception. Equality therefore seems to be a fruitful concept with which to examine differences in risk perception between groups in society, and we propose that the "societal inequality effect" is a more proper description than the "WME." © 2011 Society for Risk Analysis.

  11. Wellness during Midlife and Older Adulthood: A Different Perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, Thomas W.; Levitov, Justin E.

    2012-01-01

    The authors explored how midlifers and older adults perceive wellness by factor analyzing the Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS; Adams, Bezner, & Steinhardt, 1997). Results indicated a 4-factor solution different from the 6 originally proposed wellness dimensions of the PWS, suggesting that wellness perceptions change as people age. Suggestions…

  12. Perceptibility and acceptability thresholds for colour differences in dentistry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Khashayar, G.; Bain, P.A.; Salari, S.; Dozic, A.; Kleverlaan, C.J.; Feilzer, A.J.

    2014-01-01

    Introduction Data on acceptability (AT) and perceptibility thresholds (PT) for colour differences vary in dental literature. There is consensus that the determination of ΔE* is appropriate to define AT and PT, however there is no consensus regarding the values that should be used. The aim of this

  13. Ethnic differences in problem perception: Immigrant mothers in a parenting intervention to reduce disruptive child behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leijten, Patty; Raaijmakers, Maartje A J; Orobio de Castro, Bram; Matthys, Walter

    2016-01-01

    Ethnic minority families in Europe are underrepresented in mental health care-a profound problem for clinicians and policymakers. One reason for their underrepresentation seems that, on average, ethnic minority families tend to perceive externalizing and internalizing child behavior as less problematic. There is concern that this difference in problem perception might limit intervention effectiveness. We tested the extent to which ethnic differences in problem perception exist when ethnic minority families engage in mental health service and whether lower levels of problem perception diminish parenting intervention effects to reduce disruptive child behavior. Our sample included 136 mothers of 3- to 8-year-olds (35% female) from the 3 largest ethnic groups in the Netherlands (43% Dutch; 35% Moroccan; 22% Turkish). Mothers reported on their child's externalizing and internalizing behavior and their perception of this behavior as problematic. They were then randomly assigned to the Incredible Years parenting intervention or a wait list control condition. We contrasted maternal reports of problem perception to teacher reports of the same children. Moroccan and Turkish mothers, compared with Dutch mothers, perceived similar levels of child behavior problems as less problematic, and as causing less impairment and burden. Teacher problem perception did not vary across children from different ethnic groups. Importantly, maternal problem perception did not affect parenting intervention effectiveness to reduce disruptive child behavior. Our findings suggest that ethnic differences in problem perception exist once families engage in treatment, but that lower levels of problem perception do not diminish treatment effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  14. Differences in patients' perceptions of Schizophrenia between Māori and New Zealand Europeans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders, Deanna; Kydd, Robert; Morunga, Eva; Broadbent, Elizabeth

    2011-06-01

    Māori (the Indigenous people of New Zealand) are disproportionately affected by mental illness and experience significantly poorer mental health compared to New Zealand Europeans. It is important to understand cultural differences in patients' ideas about mental illness in treatment settings. The aim of the present study was to investigate differences in illness perceptions between Māori and New Zealand Europeans diagnosed with schizophrenia. A total of 111 users of mental health services (68 Māori, 43 New Zealand European) in the greater Auckland and Northland areas who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder were interviewed using the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire and the Drug Attitude Inventory. District Health Board staff completed the Global Assessment of Functioning for each patient. Māori with schizophrenia believed that their illness would continue significantly less time than New Zealand European patients did. Chance or spiritual factors were listed as causes of mental illness by only five Māori patients and no New Zealand European patients. Other illness perceptions, as well as attitudes towards medication, were comparable between groups. Across groups, the top perceived causes were drugs/alcohol, family relationships/abuse, and biological causes. Illness perceptions provide a framework to assess patients' beliefs about their mental illness. Differences between Māori and New Zealand European patients' beliefs about their mental illness may be related to traditional Māori beliefs about mental illness. Knowledge of differences in illness perceptions provides an opportunity to design effective clinical interventions for both Māori and New Zealand Europeans.

  15. Sex Differences in Social Perception in Children with ASD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coffman, M. C.; Anderson, L. C.; Naples, A. J.; McPartland, J. C.

    2015-01-01

    Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is more common in males than females. An underrepresentation of females in the ASD literature has led to limited knowledge of differences in social function across the sexes. Investigations of face perception represent a promising target for understanding variability in social functioning between males and females.…

  16. GENDER CONFORMITY, PERCEPTIONS OF SHARED POWER, AND MARITAL QUALITY IN SAME- AND DIFFERENT-SEX MARRIAGES.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollitt, Amanda M; Robinson, Brandon A; Umberson, Debra

    2018-01-01

    Research on gender inequality within different-sex marriages shows that women do more unpaid labor than men, and that the perception of inequality influences perceptions of marital quality. Yet research on same-sex couples suggests the importance of considering how gender is relational. Past studies show that same-sex partners share unpaid labor more equally and perceive greater equity than do different-sex partners, and that lesbian, gay, and bisexual people are less gender conforming than heterosexuals. However, studies have not considered how gender conformity might shape inequalities and marital quality within same- and different-sex unions. In this study, we analyze dyadic data from both spouses in same- and different-sex marriages to explore how sex of spouse and gender conformity influence perceptions of shared power within the relationship, which, in turn, influences marital quality. Results show that greater gender conformity is related to stronger perceptions of shared power in different-sex and male same-sex couples but not in female same-sex couples. Perceptions of shared power are positively associated with marital quality in all union types. Our findings suggest that maintaining hegemonic masculinity and power inequalities may be salient to marriages with men. In female same-sex couples, gender and its relation to power inequalities may carry less meaning.

  17. Perception of bitterness, sweetness and liking of different genotypes of lettuce.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chadwick, M; Gawthrop, F; Michelmore, R W; Wagstaff, C; Methven, L

    2016-04-15

    Lettuce is an important leafy vegetable, consumed across the world, containing bitter sesquiterpenoid lactone (SL) compounds that may negatively affect consumer acceptance and consumption. We assessed liking of samples with differing absolute abundance and different ratios of bitter:sweet compounds by analysing recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from an interspecific lettuce mapping population derived from a cross between a wild (L. serriola acc. UC96US23) and domesticated lettuce (L. sativa, cv. Salinas). We found that the ratio of bitter:sweet compounds was a key determinant of bitterness perception and liking. We were able to demonstrate that SLs, such as 8-deoxylactucin-15-sulphate, contribute most strongly to bitterness perception, whilst 15-p-hydroxylphenylacetyllactucin-8-sulphate does not contribute to bitter taste. Glucose was the sugar most highly correlated with sweetness perception. There is a genetic basis to the biochemical composition of lettuce. This information will be useful in lettuce breeding programmes in order to produce leaves with more favourable taste profiles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Biomechanical variables and perception of comfort in running shoes with different cushioning technologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinato, Roberto C; Ribeiro, Ana P; Butugan, Marco K; Pereira, Ivye L R; Onodera, Andrea N; Sacco, Isabel C N

    2015-01-01

    To investigate the relationships between the perception of comfort and biomechanical parameters (plantar pressure and ground reaction force) during running with four different types of cushioning technology in running shoes. Randomized repeated measures. Twenty-two men, recreational runners (18-45 years) ran 12km/h with running shoes with four different cushioning systems. Outcome measures included nine items related to perception of comfort and 12 biomechanical measures related to the ground reaction forces and plantar pressures. Repeated measure ANOVAs, Pearson correlation coefficients, and step-wise multiple regression analyses were employed (p≤0.05). No significant correlations were found between the perception of comfort and the biomechanical parameters for the four types of investigated shoes. Regression analysis revealed that 56% of the perceived general comfort can be explained by the variables push-off rate and pressure integral over the forefoot (p=0.015) and that 33% of the perception of comfort over the forefoot can be explained by second peak force and push-off rate (p=0.016). The results did not demonstrate significant relationships between the perception of comfort and the biomechanical parameters for the three types of shoes investigated (Gel, Air, and ethylene-vinyl acetate). Only the shoe with Adiprene+ technology had its general comfort and cushioning perception predicted by the loads over the forefoot. Thus, in general, one cannot predict the perception of comfort of a running shoe through impact and plantar pressure received. Copyright © 2013 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Stakeholder Perceptions of Risk in Construction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Dong; McCoy, Andrew P.; Kleiner, Brian M.; Mills, Thomas H.; Lingard, Helen

    2015-01-01

    Safety management in construction is an integral effort and its success requires inputs from all stakeholders across design and construction phases. Effective risk mitigation relies on the concordance of all stakeholders’ risk perceptions. Many researchers have noticed the discordance of risk perceptions among critical stakeholders in safe construction work, however few have provided quantifiable evidence describing them. In an effort to fill this perception gap, this research performs an experiment that investigates stakeholder perceptions of risk in construction. Data analysis confirms the existence of such discordance, and indicates a trend in risk likelihood estimation. With risk perceptions from low to high, the stakeholders are architects, contractors/safety professionals, and engineers. Including prior studies, results also suggest that designers have improved their knowledge in building construction safety, but compared to builders they present more difficultly in reaching a consensus of perception. Findings of this research are intended to be used by risk management and decision makers to reassess stakeholders’ varying judgments when considering injury prevention and hazard assessment. PMID:26441481

  20. Parental perceptions in egg allergy: does egg challenge make a difference?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemp, Andrew Stewart; Allen, Clare Wendy; Campbell, Dianne Elisabeth

    2009-11-01

    The aim of the study was to determine the effect of an oral egg challenge in egg sensitized children on parental perceptions relating to their child's allergy. A questionnaire was completed by parents for 167 children attending a tertiary paediatric clinic with egg sensitization. The questionnaires included 10 questions concerning parental perceptions of their child's egg allergy. Parental perceptions of those children who had not had an egg challenge (n = 83) were compared with those whose children had a positive (n = 27) and those with a negative (n = 57) egg challenge. A significant difference (p = parents in the CN group expected little or no future inconvenience for the child. The responses of parents whose child had undergone an egg challenge differed significantly (p = expectation of little or no future discomfort for the child and whether others treated the child differently. The performance of an egg challenge was associated with reduced adverse parental concerns. For 6/10 parameters, expectations concerning egg allergy in children who had been challenged were significantly better than those who had never been challenged irrespective of the challenge outcome. The greater certainty provided by the performance of a food challenge may be a positive outcome in both CP and CN children.

  1. Gender Differences in Perceptions of Studying for the GCSE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, Lynne; Hallam, Susan

    2010-01-01

    This study explored gender differences in perceptions of studying for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). The sample comprised 644 pupils drawn from eight schools in Outer London, UK. The schools encompassed pupils who could be regarded as high, middle and low achievers drawn from co-educational and single-sex schools. Pupils…

  2. GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PERCEPTIONS OF SEXUAL INTENT: A QUALITATIVE REVIEW AND INTEGRATION

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindgren, Kristen P.; Parkhill, Michele R.; George, William H.; Hendershot, Christian S.

    2009-01-01

    Men appear to interpret people’s behaviors more sexually than do women. This finding, which has been replicated in scores of studies using a variety of methodological approaches, has been linked to important social concerns, including sexual assault and sexual harassment. This article provides a critical review of the published literature on gender differences in sexual intent perception, using selective examples to illustrate and summarize the field’s major constructs, methodologies, and empirical findings. Theoretical explanations for gender differences in sexual intent perceptions are reviewed. Finally, we highlight the field’s remaining issues and make several recommendations for future research directions. PMID:19763282

  3. I feel your voice. Cultural differences in the multisensory perception of emotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanaka, Akihiro; Koizumi, Ai; Imai, Hisato; Hiramatsu, Saori; Hiramoto, Eriko; de Gelder, Beatrice

    2010-09-01

    Cultural differences in emotion perception have been reported mainly for facial expressions and to a lesser extent for vocal expressions. However, the way in which the perceiver combines auditory and visual cues may itself be subject to cultural variability. Our study investigated cultural differences between Japanese and Dutch participants in the multisensory perception of emotion. A face and a voice, expressing either congruent or incongruent emotions, were presented on each trial. Participants were instructed to judge the emotion expressed in one of the two sources. The effect of to-be-ignored voice information on facial judgments was larger in Japanese than in Dutch participants, whereas the effect of to-be-ignored face information on vocal judgments was smaller in Japanese than in Dutch participants. This result indicates that Japanese people are more attuned than Dutch people to vocal processing in the multisensory perception of emotion. Our findings provide the first evidence that multisensory integration of affective information is modulated by perceivers' cultural background.

  4. Influence of The Difference of Perception and Kinesthetic Exercise Methods Against Precision Hit The Ball Softball

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fajar Rokhayah

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to determine: 1 The difference between the effects of training methods and the gradual striking distance striking distance remains as to the accuracy of hitting the ball Softball. 2 The difference in accuracy influence Softball hitting the ball between the athletes who have a good kinesthetic perception, kinesthetic perception was, and kinesthetic perception less. 3 The effect of interaction between training methods with kinesthetic perception as to the accuracy of hitting the ball Softball. This study used an experimental method with 2x3 factorial design. The results of this study were: 1 There is a significant difference between the gradual striking distance training methods and training methods remain striking distance of the ability to hit a softball with the result of the acquisition value p-value = 0.027 smaller than 0.05. 2 There is a significant difference between athletes who have a kinesthetic perception of good, moderate, lacking the ability to hit a softball with the result of the acquisition value p-value = 0.000, which is smaller than 0.05. 3 There is an interaction between striking distance training methods and kinesthetic perception of the ability to hit a softball with the result of the acquisition value p-value = 0.000, which is smaller than 0.05 The conclusion of this study were: 1 Gradually striking distance training methods have a better effect than the fixed striking distance training methods. 2 Athletes who have less kinesthetic perception has better results than the athletes who have good kinesthetic perception and being. 3 There is an interaction between striking distance training methods and kinesthetic perception of the ability to hit a softball.

  5. Shoppers’ Perception on Physical Condition of Shopping Centers’ Atmosphere at Different Lifecycle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Astrid Kusumowidagdo

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Shopping center with atmospheric stimuli design needs to be well formulated in marketing strategy to expose its competitive advantage. As a result, most designs included in the marketing tactic scheme pay more attention to all factors related to the lifestyle in order to make designs exist and be appreciated by the society. Design is one of the key factors of shopping center to gain its success. This research aimed to find out to what extent the visitors perception is different towards shopping centers which has different lifecycles. The research studied two things, first was exploratory research intended to find the embodiment of atmospheric (atmospheric variables.The second research was done in a quantitative method, (multiple regression. This research studied the perception of a hundred mall visitors regarding how the variables of the interior atmosphere affected their shopping habit. The independent variables in the research were the exterior features and building configuration, interior features and supporting facilities. The dependent variable was the the visitor behavior. As a conclusion, the atmospheric interior design of a mall that is embodied in its interior element supported the hypothesis which said that existence of experience which felt differently according to visitor perception at shopping centers in different lifecyle.

  6. Material resources availability, parent subject perception and school ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Students' poor performance in the Yoruba language is being considered a serious problem by researchers and education stakeholders. Despite their efforts, no appreciable improvement is noticeable for hardly are enough researches on the extent to which school material resources availability, parental subject perception ...

  7. A meta-analytic review of gender differences in perceptions of sexual harassment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rotundo, M; Nguyen, D H; Sackett, P R

    2001-10-01

    Research on gender differences in perceptions of sexual harassment informs an ongoing legal debate regarding the use of a reasonable person standard instead of a reasonable woman standard to evaluate sexual harassment claims. The authors report a meta-analysis of 62 studies of gender differences in harassment perceptions. An earlier quantitative review combined all types of social-sexual behaviors for a single meta-analysis; the purpose of this study was to investigate whether the magnitude of the female-male difference varies by type of behavior. An overall standardized mean difference of 0.30 was found, suggesting that women perceive a broader range of social-sexual behaviors as harassing. However, the meta-analysis also found that the female-male difference was larger for behaviors that involve hostile work environment harassment, derogatory attitudes toward women, dating pressure, or physical sexual contact than sexual propositions or sexual coercion.

  8. Ethical Perceptions among Hispanic Students: Differences by Major and Gender

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landry, Raymond, Jr.; Moyes, Glen D.; Cortes, Angelica C.

    2004-01-01

    In this study, the authors examined ethical perceptions of Hispanic students by analyzing differences between (a) accounting and nonaccounting business majors and (b) women and men. The authors used the following five constructs: justice, relativism, egoism, utilitarianism, and deontology. Their study incorporated 12 moral characteristics into…

  9. The perception of visual emotion: comparing different measures of awareness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szczepanowski, Remigiusz; Traczyk, Jakub; Wierzchoń, Michał; Cleeremans, Axel

    2013-03-01

    Here, we explore the sensitivity of different awareness scales in revealing conscious reports on visual emotion perception. Participants were exposed to a backward masking task involving fearful faces and asked to rate their conscious awareness in perceiving emotion in facial expression using three different subjective measures: confidence ratings (CRs), with the conventional taxonomy of certainty, the perceptual awareness scale (PAS), through which participants categorize "raw" visual experience, and post-decision wagering (PDW), which involves economic categorization. Our results show that the CR measure was the most exhaustive and the most graded. In contrast, the PAS and PDW measures suggested instead that consciousness of emotional stimuli is dichotomous. Possible explanations of the inconsistency were discussed. Finally, our results also indicate that PDW biases awareness ratings by enhancing first-order accuracy of emotion perception. This effect was possibly a result of higher motivation induced by monetary incentives. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Do men and women differ in their perceptions of stalking: an exploratory study among college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lambert, Eric G; Smith, Brad; Geistman, James; Cluse-Tolar, Terry; Jiang, Shanhe

    2013-01-01

    Stalking is a crime that can terrify its victims and ultimately take a severe emotional toll. Although a growing body of research has examined stalking experiences and reactions of victims, there has been far less research on whether men and women differ in their perceptions of stalking. Toward this end, a survey of college students at a large public 4-year Midwestern university was undertaken. We examined differences is how men and women view stalking and whether gender differences were moderated by prior stalking experience. Specifically, we examined whether there were gender differences in perceptions of the pervasiveness of stalking, the harm stalking does, who tends to be stalked, if stalking mainly involves former relational partners, possible motivations for stalking, the line between courtship and stalking, and notions of victim blaming. We found significant differences in stalking views between men and women on all the measures, except for perceptions of the line between courtship and stalking. Women tended to perceive stalking as more pervasive and harmful. Men were more likely to perceive stalking as involving strangers and to blame the victim for the stalking. Female and male respondents also differed in their perceptions of motivations for stalking. Prior victim stalking experience did not moderate the gender differences. Although being a prior stalking victim had a significant association with 4 of the 7 stalking perception variables, its effect sizes were smaller than that of gender.

  11. Exploring Undergraduate Students' Ethical Perceptions in Barbados: Differences by Gender, Academic Major and Religiosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alleyne, Philmore; Persaud, Nadini

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine whether there were differences in students' ethical perceptions based on gender, academic major and religiosity. Design/methodology/approach: A self-administered survey was conducted of 132 students at a university in Barbados, to determine ethical perceptions on five moral constructs: justice,…

  12. Somatic perception, cultural differences and immigration: results from administration of the Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire (MSPQ to a sample of immigrants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bragazzi NL

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Nicola Luigi Bragazzi, Giovanni Del Puente, Werner Maria NattaDepartment of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, Genoa, ItalyAbstract: The number of immigrants in Italy has doubled every 10 years from 1972 and Genoa hosts two large communities of immigrants from South America and Africa. We investigated differences in the somatic perception between immigrants and Italians and between South Americans and Africans living in the city of Genoa. During a 7 month period, an anonymous questionnaire asking for sociodemographic information and the Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire (MSPQ were administered to all immigrants accessing an outpatient clinic or the general practitioners offices. MSPQ mean scores were significantly higher in immigrant patients than in Italian patients, after adjusting for sex and age differences. We found no differences between South Americans and Africans in MSPQ score. The tendency to express discomfort through physical symptoms appears to be related to being a foreigner who arrived in Italy through a migratory trip and also to being a person who comes from a cultural context that is very different from the one of developed countries.Keywords: immigrants, Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire (MSPQ, somatization, transcultural psychiatry

  13. Ethnic differences in problem perception and perceived need for care for young children with problem behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bevaart, Floor; Mieloo, Cathelijne L; Jansen, Wilma; Raat, Hein; Donker, Marianne C H; Verhulst, Frank C; van Oort, Floor V A

    2012-10-01

     Problem perception and perceived need for professional care are important determinants that can contribute to ethnic differences in the use of mental health care. Therefore, we studied ethnic differences in problem perception and perceived need for professional care in the parents and teachers of 5- to 6-year-old children from the general population who were selected for having emotional and behavioural problems. A cross-sectional study with data of 10,951 children from grade two of the elementary schools in the Rotterdam-Rijnmond area, The Netherlands. Parents and teachers completed the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) as well as questions on problem perception and perceived need for care. The SDQ was used to identify children with emotional and behavioural problems. We included Dutch, Surinamese, Antillean, Moroccan and Turkish children in our sample with high (>P90) SDQ scores (N = 1,215), who were not currently receiving professional care for their problems. Amongst children with high SDQ scores, problem perception was lower in non-Dutch parents than in Dutch parents (49% vs. 81%, p ethnic differences were found in parental perceived need and in problem perception and perceived need reported by teachers. Higher levels of problem perception and perceived need were reported by teachers than by parents in all ethnic groups (PP: 87% vs. 63% and PN: 48% vs. 23%). Child health professionals should be aware of ethnic variations in problem perception as low problem perception in parents of non-Dutch children may lead to miscommunication and unmet need for professional care for the child. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry © 2012 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

  14. Investigation of global and local network properties of music perception with culturally different styles of music.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yan; Rui, Xue; Li, Shuyu; Pu, Fang

    2014-11-01

    Graph theoretical analysis has recently become a popular research tool in neuroscience, however, there have been very few studies on brain responses to music perception, especially when culturally different styles of music are involved. Electroencephalograms were recorded from ten subjects listening to Chinese traditional music, light music and western classical music. For event-related potentials, phase coherence was calculated in the alpha band and then constructed into correlation matrices. Clustering coefficients and characteristic path lengths were evaluated for global properties, while clustering coefficients and efficiency were assessed for local network properties. Perception of light music and western classical music manifested small-world network properties, especially with a relatively low proportion of weights of correlation matrices. For local analysis, efficiency was more discernible than clustering coefficient. Nevertheless, there was no significant discrimination between Chinese traditional and western classical music perception. Perception of different styles of music introduces different network properties, both globally and locally. Research into both global and local network properties has been carried out in other areas; however, this is a preliminary investigation aimed at suggesting a possible new approach to brain network properties in music perception. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Two independent mechanisms for motion-in-depth perception: evidence from individual differences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harold T Nefs

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Our forward-facing eyes allow us the advantage of binocular visual information: using the tiny differences between right and left eye views to learn about depth and location in three dimensions. Our visual systems also contain specialized mechanisms to detect motion-in-depth from binocular vision, but the nature of these mechanisms remains controversial. Binocular motion-in-depth perception could theoretically be based on first detecting binocular disparity and then monitoring how it changes over time. The alternative is to monitor the motion in the right and left eye separately and then compare these motion signals. Here we used an individual differences approach to test whether the two sources of information are processed via dissociated mechanisms, and to measure the relative importance of those mechanisms. Our results suggest the existence of two distinct mechanisms, each contributing to the perception of motion in depth in most observers. Additionally, for the first time, we demonstrate the relative prevalence of the two mechanisms within a normal population. In general, visual systems appear to rely mostly on the mechanism sensitive to changing binocular disparity, but perception of motion in depth is augmented by the presence of a less sensitive mechanism that uses interocular velocity differences. Occasionally, we find observers with the opposite pattern of sensitivity. More generally this work showcases the power of the individual differences approach in studying the functional organisation of cognitive systems.

  16. Differences in Taste Perception and Spicy Preference: A Thai-Japanese Cross-cultural Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trachootham, Dunyaporn; Satoh-Kuriwada, Shizuko; Lam-Ubol, Aroonwan; Promkam, Chadamas; Chotechuang, Nattida; Sasano, Takashi; Shoji, Noriaki

    2017-12-25

    Taste perception is influenced by several factors. However, the relation between taste perception and food culture is unclear. This study compared taste thresholds between populations with different food culture, i.e. Thai and Japanese. A matched case-control study was conducted in 168 adults (84 for each; aged between 50 and 90 years). The age, sex, systemic disease, medication, smoking, xerostomia, and oral hygiene of both groups were not different. Recognition thresholds (RTs) of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami were measured using filter paper disc (FPD). Detection taste thresholds were measured using electrogustometry. Spicy preference was measured by calibrated questionnaires. Higher RTs of all tastes and higher detection taste thresholds were found in Thai as compared to those of Japanese (P differences between 2 countries. The average thresholds for sweet, salty, sour, and bitter in Thai and Japanese were 4 and 2, respectively. The average threshold for umami in Thai and Japanese was 5 and 3, respectively. Moreover, Thai population had stronger preference for spicy food (P culture on taste perception. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  17. Age and sex differences in perceptions of networks of personal relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furman, W; Buhrmester, D

    1992-02-01

    In this study, 549 youths in the fourth grade, seventh grade, tenth grade, and college completed Network of Relationship Inventories assessing their perceptions of their relationships with significant others. The findings were largely consistent with 7 propositions derived from major theories of the developmental courses of personal relationships. In particular, mothers and fathers were seen as the most frequent providers of support in the fourth grade. Same-sex friends were perceived to be as supportive as parents in the seventh grade, and were the most frequent providers of support in the tenth grade. Romantic partners moved up in rank with age until college, where they, along with friends and mothers, received the highest ratings for support. Age differences were also observed in perceptions of relationships with grandparents, teachers, and siblings. Finally, age differences in perceived conflict, punishment, and relative power suggested that there was a peak in tension in parent-child relationships in early and middle adolescence. Discussion centers around the role various relationships are perceived as playing at different points in development.

  18. Destination Quality Perception in the Context of Different Behavioural Characteristics of Visitors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryglová Kateřina

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Visitors’ perceptions of the quality of a tourism destination are fundamental for effective destination management and marketing. This paper deals with the topic of destination quality from the viewpoint of demand, i.e. from the viewpoint of a destination visitor. The results of perceiving the destination quality partial factors in the context of different behavioural characteristics of a visitor are presented, particularly, the way how spending and organizing a holiday influences the perception of destination quality factors (Kruskal-Wallis test. The research nineteen factors were designed on the basis of contemporary theories and on qualitative research. Some important quality aspects related to tourism were identified and assessed for the Czech population. The primary data were obtained through a questionnaire survey with quota sampling (n = 1097. The dependence of destination quality perception on the way of spending the holiday was revealed in the case of 8 factors (e.g., Availability of transportation to the destination, Availability and quality of information; Additional infrastructure, Sense of security, Destination cleanliness, Uniqueness of destination, Price level in the destination, Cultural monuments. The significant differences identified among various groups of respondents are described in detail in this study. The research findings contribute to better understanding of the behavioural mechanism and can be used by destination managers to design communication strategies for different segments of consumers for individual destinations to improve their competiveness.

  19. Adaptive Changes in the Perception of Fast and Slow Movement at Different Head Positions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panichi, Roberto; Occhigrossi, Chiara; Ferraresi, Aldo; Faralli, Mario; Lucertini, Marco; Pettorossi, Vito E

    2017-05-01

    This paper examines the subjective sense of orientation during asymmetric body rotations in normal subjects. Self-motion perception was investigated in 10 healthy individuals during asymmetric whole-body rotation with different head orientations. Both on-vertical axis and off-vertical axis rotations were employed. Subjects tracked a remembered earth-fixed visual target while rotating in the dark for four cycles of asymmetric rotation (two half-sinusoidal cycles of the same amplitude, but of different duration). The rotations induced a bias in the perception of velocity (more pronounced with fast than with slow motion). At the end of rotation, a marked target position error (TPE) was present. For the on-vertical axis rotations, the TPE was no different if the rotations were performed with a 30° nose-down, a 60° nose-up, or a 90° side-down head tilt. With off-vertical axis rotations, the simultaneous activation of the semicircular canals and otolithic receptors produced a significant increase of TPE for all head positions. This difference between on-vertical and off-vertical axis rotation was probably partly due to the vestibular transfer function and partly due to different adaptation to the speed of rotation. Such a phenomenon might be generated in different components of the vestibular system. The adaptive process enhancing the perception of dynamic movement around the vertical axis is not related to the specific semicircular canals that are activated; the addition of an otolithic component results in a significant increase of the TPE.Panichi R, Occhigrossi C, Ferraresi A, Faralli M, Lucertini M, Pettorossi VE. Adaptive changes in the perception of fast and slow movement at different head positions. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(5):463-468.

  20. Consumer perceptions of strain differences in Cannabis aroma.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avery N Gilbert

    Full Text Available The smell of marijuana (Cannabis sativa L. is of interest to users, growers, plant breeders, law enforcement and, increasingly, to state-licensed retail businesses. The numerous varieties and strains of Cannabis produce strikingly different scents but to date there have been few, if any, attempts to quantify these olfactory profiles directly. Using standard sensory evaluation techniques with untrained consumers we have validated a preliminary olfactory lexicon for dried cannabis flower, and characterized the aroma profile of eleven strains sold in the legal recreational market in Colorado. We show that consumers perceive differences among strains, that the strains form distinct clusters based on odor similarity, and that strain aroma profiles are linked to perceptions of potency, price, and smoking interest.

  1. Consumer perceptions of strain differences in Cannabis aroma

    Science.gov (United States)

    DiVerdi, Joseph A.

    2018-01-01

    The smell of marijuana (Cannabis sativa L.) is of interest to users, growers, plant breeders, law enforcement and, increasingly, to state-licensed retail businesses. The numerous varieties and strains of Cannabis produce strikingly different scents but to date there have been few, if any, attempts to quantify these olfactory profiles directly. Using standard sensory evaluation techniques with untrained consumers we have validated a preliminary olfactory lexicon for dried cannabis flower, and characterized the aroma profile of eleven strains sold in the legal recreational market in Colorado. We show that consumers perceive differences among strains, that the strains form distinct clusters based on odor similarity, and that strain aroma profiles are linked to perceptions of potency, price, and smoking interest. PMID:29401526

  2. Racial Differences in Perceptions of Air Pollution Health Risk: Does Environmental Exposure Matter?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jayajit Chakraborty

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This article extends environmental risk perception research by exploring how potential health risk from exposure to industrial and vehicular air pollutants, as well as other contextual and socio-demographic factors, influence racial/ethnic differences in air pollution health risk perception. Our study site is the Greater Houston metropolitan area, Texas, USA—a racially/ethnically diverse area facing high levels of exposure to pollutants from both industrial and transportation sources. We integrate primary household-level survey data with estimates of excess cancer risk from ambient exposure to industrial and on-road mobile source emissions of air toxics obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Statistical analysis is based on multivariate generalized estimation equation models which account for geographic clustering of surveyed households. Our results reveal significantly higher risk perceptions for non-Hispanic Black residents and those exposed to greater cancer risk from industrial pollutants, and also indicate that gender influences the relationship between race/ethnicity and air pollution risk perception. These findings highlight the need to incorporate measures of environmental health risk exposure in future analysis of social disparities in risk perception.

  3. Different perception levels of histamine-induced itch sensation in young adult mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Yeounjung; Jang, Yongwoo; Lee, Wook Joo; Yang, Young Duk; Shim, Won-Sik

    2018-05-01

    Itch is an unpleasant sensation that evokes behavioral responses such as scratching the skin. Interestingly, it is conceived that the perception of itch sensation is influenced by age. Indeed, accumulating evidence supports the idea that even children or younger adults show distinctive itch sensation depending on age. This evidence implies the presence of a mechanism that regulates the perception of itch sensation in an age-dependent fashion. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate a putative mechanism for the age-dependent perception of itch sensation by comparing histamine-induced scratching behaviors in 45-day old (D45) and 75-day old male "young adult" mice. The results indicated that, following histamine administration, the D75 mice spent a longer time scratching than D45 mice. However, the intensity of the calcium influx induced by histamine in primary culture of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons was not different between D45 and D75 mice. Moreover, no apparent difference was observed in mRNA levels of a characteristic His-related receptor and ion channel. In contrast, the mRNA levels of Toll-Like Receptor 4 (TLR4) were increased approximately by two-fold in D75 DRG compared with D45 DRG. Additionally, D75-derived DRG neurons exhibited enhanced intracellular calcium increase by lipopolysaccharide (LPS, a TLR4 agonist) than those of D45 mice. Furthermore, intensities of calcium influx induced by histamine were significantly potentiated when co-treated with LPS in D75 DRG neurons, but not in those of D45 mice. Thus, it appears that D75 mice showed enhanced histamine-induced scratching behaviors not by increased expression levels of histamine-related genes, but probably due to augmented TLR4 expression in DRG neurons. Consequently, the current study found that different perception levels of histamine-induced itch sensation are present in different age groups of young adult mice. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. How different chocolate brands influence our chocolate perception and buying behavior?

    OpenAIRE

    Mitrovic, Jelena

    2014-01-01

    Master in Marketing This master dissertation is based on a research conducted in order to answer the question ‘How different chocolate brands influence our chocolate perception and buying behavior?’. This research was conducted with a sample of 101 respondents through a structured questionnaire. All data acquired were analyzed in the SPSS software, due to its huge potential to compare different variables, that is, different aspects of data. The main aim of this research is to compare...

  5. Gender Differences in Boys' and Girls' Perception of Teaching and Learning Mathematics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samuelsson, Marcus; Samuelsson, Joakim

    2016-01-01

    Gender differences between boys and girls in the perception of the classroom setting, and their relationship to achievement in mathematics and aspects of self-regulated learning skills are the focus for this article. Throughout the component analysis of answers from 6758 Swedish students we found some differences in how boys and girls perceive…

  6. Does thinking style make a difference in environmental perception and orientation?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jahanshahi, Asghar Afshar; Brem, Alexander; Shahabinezhad, Mohammad

    2018-01-01

    prefer more tangible data, information, facts, and analytical tools, and entrepreneurs with nonlinear or non-rational thinking styles rely more on internal feelings, impressions, imagination, creativity, and sensations when making important organizational decisions. By using cross-sectional survey data......Styles of thinking set different paths for an entrepreneur's perception and strategic action. In order to understand the environmental consequences of a thinking style, we investigated the relations between entrepreneurs' linear and nonlinear styles of thinking with their perception...... of environmental uncertainty in their businesses. Furthermore, we tested the effect of the entrepreneurs' linear and nonlinear style of thinking on their newly established firms' orientation towards preserving the surrounding internal and external environment. Entrepreneurs with linear or rational thinking styles...

  7. Perceptions & Attitudes of Male Homosexuals from Differing Socio-Cultural & Audiological Backgrounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swartz, Daniel B.

    This study examined four male homosexual, sociocultural groups: normal-hearing homosexuals with normal-hearing parents, deaf homosexuals with normal-hearing parents, deaf homosexuals with hearing-impaired parents, and hard-of-hearing homosexuals with normal-hearing parents. Differences with regard to self-perception, identity, and attitudes were…

  8. Reliability of Interaural Time Difference-Based Localization Training in Elderly Individuals with Speech-in-Noise Perception Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delphi, Maryam; Lotfi, M-Yones; Moossavi, Abdollah; Bakhshi, Enayatollah; Banimostafa, Maryam

    2017-09-01

    Previous studies have shown that interaural-time-difference (ITD) training can improve localization ability. Surprisingly little is, however, known about localization training vis-à-vis speech perception in noise based on interaural time difference in the envelope (ITD ENV). We sought to investigate the reliability of an ITD ENV-based training program in speech-in-noise perception among elderly individuals with normal hearing and speech-in-noise disorder. The present interventional study was performed during 2016. Sixteen elderly men between 55 and 65 years of age with the clinical diagnosis of normal hearing up to 2000 Hz and speech-in-noise perception disorder participated in this study. The training localization program was based on changes in ITD ENV. In order to evaluate the reliability of the training program, we performed speech-in-noise tests before the training program, immediately afterward, and then at 2 months' follow-up. The reliability of the training program was analyzed using the Friedman test and the SPSS software. Significant statistical differences were shown in the mean scores of speech-in-noise perception between the 3 time points (P=0.001). The results also indicated no difference in the mean scores of speech-in-noise perception between the 2 time points of immediately after the training program and 2 months' follow-up (P=0.212). The present study showed the reliability of an ITD ENV-based localization training in elderly individuals with speech-in-noise perception disorder.

  9. Division I men and women athletes do not differ on perceptions of worth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lockhart, Barbara D; Black, Nate; Vincent, William J

    2012-04-01

    Historically, especially prior to the increased interest in women's athletics with the passage of Title IX in 1972, there have been negative perceptions of women as athletes. If these social perceptions still hold in part today, as is indirectly suggested by unequal press coverage and less basic support for women athletes, one might predict that collegiate female athletes would rate themselves lower on self-esteem and worth than collegiate male athletes. 176 Division I male (n = 90) and female (n = 86) athletes rated their perceptions of self on the Worth Index which measures basic human worth, personal security, performance, and physical self; these are divided into intrinsic (unconditional worth) measures and behavior or performance (conditional worth) measures. There were no significant sex differences in the ratings of any aspect of perceived worth, in contrast to prior results among non-athletes. In spite of less support given to women athletes, perhaps the long-term high-intensity competition that is required to reach Division I status tends to eliminate sex differences in self-worth.

  10. Hypoglycemia perception: Cross-cultural differences in Punjabi and Hindi speaking postmenopausal women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhutani, Jaikrit; Kalra, Sanjay; Bhutani, Sukriti; Kalra, Bharti

    2013-10-01

    The cross cultural differences in perception of menopausal symptoms are well known and these differences in perception of hypoglycemic symptoms in Russian-speaking and Caucasian postmenopausal women have been reported. This study assessed cross - linguistic and cross - cultural differences in symptomatology of self reported hypoglycemia, between Punjabi and Hindi speaking diabetic post menopausal women. Thirty Punjabi speaking and 20 Hindi speaking diabetic postmenopausal women aged over 50 years, were recruited for this study. Each subject was asked, what happens to you when you have low sugar? in the language of her choice, and spontaneous answers were recorded verbatim. The data so obtained was analyzed by paper and pen method to obtain an understanding of the frequency of self reporting of various symptoms and then analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science ver.19.0. Symptoms of hollowness, cold sweats and headache correlated significantly (P Punjabi speaking cohort were bilingual. Some symptoms of hypoglycemia may have been missed or over-reported by participants. Diabetes care professionals should be aware that persons with diabetes from varying linguistic backgrounds may report symptoms of hypoglycemia differently.

  11. Uncertainty Expressions in Accounting Standards: is there any effect of time in the differences of perception?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo Fernandes Malaquias

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines whether differences in the perception of uncertainty expressions persist over time. The empirical analysis of this question involved two approaches: quantitative (with tests to compare means, medians, regression analysis with ordinary least squares and quantile regression, and qualitative, with interviews. Principal findings are that the differences in the perceptions of participants with respect to uncertainty expressions were not statistically significant, which differs from the findings reported in previous studies. This may be indicative of a tendency toward elimination of potential differences in the interpretation of accounting standards over time.

  12. Age Differences in the Complexity of Emotion Perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Seungyoun; Geren, Jennifer L; Knight, Bob G

    2015-01-01

    The current study examined age differences in the number of emotion components used in the judgment of emotion from facial expressions. Fifty-eight younger and 58 older adults were compared on the complexity of perception of emotion from standardized facial expressions that were either clear or ambiguous exemplars of emotion. Using an intra-individual factor analytic approach, results showed that older adults used more emotion components in perceiving emotion in faces than younger adults. Both age groups reported greater emotional complexity for the clear and prototypical emotional stimuli. Age differences in emotional complexity were more pronounced for the ambiguous expressions compared with the clear expressions. These findings demonstrate that older adults showed increased elaboration of emotion, particularly when emotion cues were subtle and provide support for greater emotion differentiation in older adulthood.

  13. Generational Differences in the Perception of Corporate Culture in European Transport Enterprises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rudolf Kampf

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The workforce of an enterprise consists of employees of various ages with different personality types. Members of each generation differ not only in their behaviour, but also in their attitudes and opinions. A manager should identify generational differences. Subsequently, the management style, leadership and employee motivation should be adapted forasmuch as well-motivated employees are able to affect the efficiency of enterprise processes in right way. The objective of the paper is to identify differences in perception of the preferred level of corporate culture in terms of various generations. Preferred level of corporate culture in six areas is evaluated using a questionnaire consisting of 24 questions. Sixty-four European transport enterprises are engaged in the survey. Following the outcomes, we find that all generations of respondents working in the European transport enterprises prefer clan corporate culture in the course of five years. This culture puts emphasis on employees, customers and traditions. Loyalty and teamwork are considered to be the essential tools for business success. Following the statistical verification using the ANOVA test, we can state that the hypothesis regarding the existence of generational differences in the perception of corporate culture was not confirmed.

  14. The Effect of individual Difference on Perceptions of Job-related Stress among National College and University Librarians in Taiwan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Su-may Sheih Chen

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available Defined as an environmental force in the workplace, either real or imagined, job-related stress interacts with an individual’s perception. Individuals’ perceptions alter with age, gender, work experience, job characteristics, and personality behavior of individuals. In an attempt to gain a comprehensive understanding, this study examines the relationship between individual difference and the perceptions of job-related stress in the library settings of national colleges and universities on Taiwan. The result shows that individual difference is influential for librarians’ perceptions of job-related stress. [Article content in Chinese

  15. Facial emotion perception differs in young persons at genetic and clinical high-risk for psychosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohler, Christian G; Richard, Jan A; Brensinger, Colleen M; Borgmann-Winter, Karin E; Conroy, Catherine G; Moberg, Paul J; Gur, Ruben C; Gur, Raquel E; Calkins, Monica E

    2014-05-15

    A large body of literature has documented facial emotion perception impairments in schizophrenia. More recently, emotion perception has been investigated in persons at genetic and clinical high-risk for psychosis. This study compared emotion perception abilities in groups of young persons with schizophrenia, clinical high-risk, genetic risk and healthy controls. Groups, ages 13-25, included 24 persons at clinical high-risk, 52 first-degree relatives at genetic risk, 91 persons with schizophrenia and 90 low risk persons who completed computerized testing of emotion recognition and differentiation. Groups differed by overall emotion recognition abilities and recognition of happy, sad, anger and fear expressions. Pairwise comparisons revealed comparable impairments in recognition of happy, angry, and fearful expressions for persons at clinical high-risk and schizophrenia, while genetic risk participants were less impaired, showing reduced recognition of fearful expressions. Groups also differed for differentiation of happy and sad expressions, but differences were mainly between schizophrenia and control groups. Emotion perception impairments are observable in young persons at-risk for psychosis. Preliminary results with clinical high-risk participants, when considered along findings in genetic risk relatives, suggest social cognition abilities to reflect pathophysiological processes involved in risk of schizophrenia. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Age differences in vocal emotion perception: on the role of speaker age and listener sex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sen, Antarika; Isaacowitz, Derek; Schirmer, Annett

    2017-10-24

    Older adults have greater difficulty than younger adults perceiving vocal emotions. To better characterise this effect, we explored its relation to age differences in sensory, cognitive and emotional functioning. Additionally, we examined the role of speaker age and listener sex. Participants (N = 163) aged 19-34 years and 60-85 years categorised neutral sentences spoken by ten younger and ten older speakers with a happy, neutral, sad, or angry voice. Acoustic analyses indicated that expressions from younger and older speakers denoted the intended emotion with similar accuracy. As expected, younger participants outperformed older participants and this effect was statistically mediated by an age-related decline in both optimism and working-memory. Additionally, age differences in emotion perception were larger for younger as compared to older speakers and a better perception of younger as compared to older speakers was greater in younger as compared to older participants. Last, a female perception benefit was less pervasive in the older than the younger group. Together, these findings suggest that the role of age for emotion perception is multi-faceted. It is linked to emotional and cognitive change, to processing biases that benefit young and own-age expressions, and to the different aptitudes of women and men.

  17. Teachers’ perceptions on gender differences in sexuality education in Portuguese schools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teresa Vilaça

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available It is argued that according teachers’ perceptions, boys and girls actively use the material on sexuality education (SE, as well as the aspects of school life, as symbolic resources to construct their gender identity and their power relationships. In this sense, an investigation where a semi-structured interview was applied to a purposeful sample of teachers who were teaching between the 7th and 12th years, and who had already developed projects or activities of SE (N=87 will be presented, to focus on, among other aspects, their perceptions regarding issues related to gender that affect the responses of students in sexuality education, aiming at understanding their perceptions on: i gender differences in students’ reactions to themes/problems of SE; and ii the nature of the gender interactions during SE. According to the discourse of most teachers, during SE, boys tried to demonstrate their masculinity by presenting themselves differently to girls and distancing themselves from all matters related to women's sexuality, devaluating and distancing themselves from all that is feminine which sometimes involved belittling and insulting the girls. However, the girls reacted positively because SE maintains and supports their sense of gender identity and gender codes that are prescribed for them by society. Therefore, these results show that it is essential to work in teacher training on the relationship between gender, sexuality and power in order to empower teachers to reflect critically on students' reactions to promote gender equity.

  18. Different perceptions of stress, coping styles, and general well-being among pregnant Chinese women: a structural equation modeling approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Ying; Tha, Pyai Htun; Wong, Daniel Fu Keung; Wang, Yuqiong; Wang, Ying; Yobas, Piyanee Klainin

    2016-02-01

    Few studies have examined different perceptions of stress or explored the positive aspects of well-being among pregnant Chinese women, so there is a need to explore these phenomena in order to fill the research gap. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among the different perceptions of stress, coping styles, and general well-being using a structural equation modeling approach. We examined a hypothetical model among 755 pregnant Chinese women based on the integration of theoretical models. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Trait Coping Styles Questionnaire (TCSQ), and the General Well-Being Schedule (GWB) were used to measure perceived stress, coping styles, and general well-being, respectively. A structural equation model showed that positive and negative perceptions of stress significantly influenced positive and negative coping styles, respectively. Different perceptions of stress were significantly associated with general well-being, but different coping styles had no significant effects on general well-being. The model had a good fit to the data (IFI = 0.910, TLI = 0.904, CFI = 0.910, and RMSEA = 0.038). Different perception of stress was able to predict significant differences in coping styles and general well-being.

  19. The perceptions of patient safety culture: A difference between physicians and nurses in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chih-Hsuan; Wu, Hsin-Hung; Lee, Yii-Ching

    2018-04-01

    In order to pursue a better patient safety culture and provide a superior medical service for patients, this study aims to respectively investigate the perceptions of patient safety from the viewpoints of physicians and nurses in Taiwan. Little knowledge has clearly identified the difference of perceptions between physicians and nurses in patient safety culture. Understanding physicians and nurses' attitudes toward patient safety is a critical issue for healthcare organizations to improve medical quality. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is used to verify the structure of data (e.g. reliability and validity), and Pearson's correlation analysis is conducted to demonstrate the relationships among seven patient safety culture dimensions. Research results illustrate that more teamwork is exhibited among team members, the more safety of a patient is committed. Perceptions of management and emotional exhaustion are important components that contribute to a better patient safety. More importantly, working conditions and stress recognition are found to be negatively related from the perceptions of nurses. Compared to physicians, nurses reported higher stress and challenges which result from multi-task working conditions in the hospital. This study focused on the contribution of a better patient safety culture from different viewpoints of physicians and nurses for healthcare organizations in Taiwan. A different attitudes toward patient safety is found between physicians and nurses. The results enable the hospital management to realize and design appropriate implications for hospital staffs to establish a better patient safety culture. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  20. Reliability of Interaural Time Difference-Based Localization Training in Elderly Individuals with Speech-in-Noise Perception Disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryam Delphi

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: Previous studies have shown that interaural-time-difference (ITD training can improve localization ability. Surprisingly little is, however, known about localization training vis-à-vis speech perception in noise based on interaural time difference in the envelope (ITD ENV. We sought to investigate the reliability of an ITD ENV-based training program in speech-in-noise perception among elderly individuals with normal hearing and speech-in-noise disorder. Methods: The present interventional study was performed during 2016. Sixteen elderly men between 55 and 65 years of age with the clinical diagnosis of normal hearing up to 2000 Hz and speech-in-noise perception disorder participated in this study. The training localization program was based on changes in ITD ENV. In order to evaluate the reliability of the training program, we performed speech-in-noise tests before the training program, immediately afterward, and then at 2 months’ follow-up. The reliability of the training program was analyzed using the Friedman test and the SPSS software. Results: Significant statistical differences were shown in the mean scores of speech-in-noise perception between the 3 time points (P=0.001. The results also indicated no difference in the mean scores of speech-in-noise perception between the 2 time points of immediately after the training program and 2 months’ follow-up (P=0.212. Conclusion: The present study showed the reliability of an ITD ENV-based localization training in elderly individuals with speech-in-noise perception disorder.

  1. Changes in Perception of Selected Concepts That Accompany Differing Leadership Treatments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callan, Laurence Brian

    A study was made of effects of two different leadership treatments on perception of nonverbal stimuli relating to concepts of leaders, authority, and cohesion as measured by changes in the Semantic Differential Scale. Subjects (28 Yaqui Indian and Mexican-American members of the Neighborhood Youth Corps) were randomly assigned to an autocratic…

  2. Dieting behaviors, body shape perceptions, and body satisfaction: cross-cultural differences in Argentinean and Swedish 13-year-olds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmqvist, Kristina; Lunde, Carolina; Frisén, Ann

    2007-06-01

    This exploratory study represents a cross-cultural effort to examine differences in dieting practices and weight loss attempts, perceived body shape, and body satisfaction between young Argentinean and Swedish adolescents. The study group consisted of 358 Argentinean (193 girls, 165 boys) and 874 Swedish (474 girls, 400 boys) 13-year-olds. A main finding was that Argentinean and Swedish adolescents did not differ on body satisfaction, although girls in both countries displayed greater body dissatisfaction than did boys. Dieting and weight loss attempts were more prevalent among the Argentinean adolescents, especially among girls, and did not appear to depend on overweight or perception of body shape. The samples also differed in their perceptions of body shape and the effect those perceptions had on their body satisfaction, with Swedish adolescents suffering more from negative body shape perceptions.

  3. Communicating Conservation Status: How Different Statistical Assessment Criteria Affect Perceptions of Extinction Risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Hwanseok; Schuldt, Jonathon P

    2017-09-01

    Although alternative forms of statistical and verbal information are routinely used to convey species' extinction risk to policymakers and the public, little is known about their effects on audience information processing and risk perceptions. To address this gap in literature, we report on an experiment that was designed to explore how perceptions of extinction risk differ as a function of five different assessment benchmarks (Criteria A-E) used by scientists to classify species within IUCN Red List risk levels (e.g., Critically Endangered, Vulnerable), as well as the role of key individual differences in these effects (e.g., rational and experiential thinking styles, environmental concern). Despite their normative equivalence within the IUCN classification system, results revealed divergent effects of specific assessment criteria: on average, describing extinction risk in terms of proportional population decline over time (Criterion A) and number of remaining individuals (Criterion D) evoked the highest level of perceived risk, whereas the single-event probability of a species becoming extinct (Criterion E) engendered the least perceived risk. Furthermore, participants scoring high in rationality (analytic thinking) were less prone to exhibit these biases compared to those low in rationality. Our findings suggest that despite their equivalence in the eyes of scientific experts, IUCN criteria are indeed capable of engendering different levels of risk perception among lay audiences, effects that carry direct and important implications for those tasked with communicating about conservation status to diverse publics. © 2016 Society for Risk Analysis.

  4. Cultural and language differences in voice quality perception: a preliminary investigation using synthesized signals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yiu, Edwin M-L; Murdoch, Bruce; Hird, Kathryn; Lau, Polly; Ho, Elaine Mandy

    2008-01-01

    Perceptual voice evaluation is a common clinical tool. However, to date, there is no consensus yet as to which common quality should be measured. Some available evidence shows that voice quality is a language-specific property which may be different across different languages. The familiarity of a language may affect the perception and reliability in rating voice quality. The present study set out to investigate the effects of listeners' cultural and language backgrounds on the perception of voice qualities. Forty speech pathology students from Australia and Hong Kong were asked to rate the breathy and rough qualities of synthesized voice signals in Cantonese and English. Results showed that the English stimulus sets as a whole were rated less severely than the Cantonese stimuli by both groups of listeners. In addition, the male Cantonese and English breathy stimuli were rated differently by the Australian and Hong Kong listeners. These results provided some evidence to support the claim that cultural and language backgrounds of the listeners would affect the perception for some voice quality types. Thus, the cultural and language backgrounds of judges should be taken into consideration in clinical voice evaluation. 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  5. Gender differences in perception of workplace sexual harassment among future professionals

    OpenAIRE

    Banerjee, Amitav; Sharma, Bhavana

    2011-01-01

    Background: Indian society is in a stage of rapid social transition. As more women enter the workforce, stresses vis-à-vis the genders are to be expected in patriarchal society to which most of our population belongs. Earlier studies in Western societies have revealed gender differences in perception of what constitutes sexual harassment. Aim: Elicit gender differences, if any, in the workplace sexual harassment among future professionals. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study among th...

  6. Possible cross-cultural differences in the perception of impact of voice disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yiu, Edwin M-L; Ho, Elaine M; Ma, Estella P-M; Verdolini Abbott, Katherine; Branski, Ryan; Richardson, Katherine; Li, Nicole Y-K

    2011-05-01

    Perception of the impact of voice disorders may differ across different cultural backgrounds. This study investigated the difference in the perception of the impact of voice disorders between the American (Pittsburgh) and Chinese (Hong Kong) cultures. Sixty dysphonic subjects from Hong Kong, China, and 60 dysphonic subjects from Pittsburgh, USA, were recruited to complete the Chinese and English versions of the Voice Activity and Participation Profile (VAPP), respectively. Data analyses using independent t tests were conducted on (1) the total profile scores; (b) total activity limitation score (ALS) and total participation restriction score (PRS); (c) section scores of job, daily communication, and social communication; and (d) section ALS and section PRS. Hong Kong subjects showed significantly higher scores than the Pittsburgh subjects in total profile and other subsections except in the job PRS. RESULTS support the possible influence of individualist and collectivist cultures on the perceived impact of voice disorders on the activity and participation. Copyright © 2011 The Voice Foundation. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Perceptions of success in performance-based procurement: Differences between clients and contractors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Duren, J.M.A.; Doree, Andries G.; Voordijk, Johannes T.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose – The purpose of this study is to analyse, from the perspective of agency theory, differences between client and contractor in their perceptions of changes in uncertainty and in inclination to opportunistic behaviour while using a performance-based procurement procedure. In agency theory,

  8. 77 FR 42503 - Ophthalmic Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-19

    ... committee meeting cannot always be published quickly enough to provide timely notice. Therefore, you should... perception, the retina must be able to respond to electrical stimulation as evidenced by an electrically...

  9. COMMUNICATION Designing a somatosensory neural prosthesis: percepts evoked by different patterns of thalamic stimulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heming, Ethan; Sanden, Andrew; Kiss, Zelma H. T.

    2010-12-01

    Although major advances have been made in the development of motor prostheses, fine motor control requires intuitive somatosensory feedback. Here we explored whether a thalamic site for a somatosensory neural prosthetic could provide natural somatic sensation to humans. Different patterns of electrical stimulation (obtained from thalamic spike trains) were applied in patients undergoing deep brain stimulation surgery. Changes in pattern produced different sensations, while preserving somatotopic representation. While most percepts were reported as 'unnatural', some stimulations produced more 'natural' sensations than others. However, the additional patterns did not elicit more 'natural' percepts than high-frequency (333 Hz) electrical stimulation. These features suggest that despite some limitations, the thalamus may be a feasible site for a somatosensory neural prosthesis and different stimulation patterns may be useful in its development.

  10. Differences between immigrant and national students in motivational variables and classroom-motivational-climate perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alonso-Tapia, Jesús; Simón, Carmen

    2012-03-01

    The objective of this study is to see whether Immigrant (IM) and Spanish (National) students (SP) need different kinds of help from teachers due to differences in motivation, family expectancies and interests and classroom-motivational-climate perception. A sample of Secondary Students -242 Spanish and 243 Immigrants- completed questionnaires assessing goal orientations and expectancies, family attitudes towards academic work, perception of classroom motivational climate and of its effects, satisfaction, disruptive behavior and achievement. ANOVAs showed differences in many of the motivational variables assessed as well as in family attitudes. In most cases, Immigrant students scored lower than Spanish students in the relevant variables. Regression analyses showed that personal and family differences were related to student's satisfaction, achievement and disruptive behavior. Finally, multi-group analysis of classroom-motivational-climate (CMC) showed similarities and differences in the motivational value attributed by IM and SP to each specific teaching pattern that configure the CMC. IM lower self-esteem could explain these results, whose implications for teaching and research are discussed.

  11. Neural differences in self-perception during illness and after weight-recovery in anorexia nervosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAdams, Carrie J; Jeon-Slaughter, Haekyung; Evans, Siobahn; Lohrenz, Terry; Montague, P Read; Krawczyk, Daniel C

    2016-11-01

    Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe mental illness characterized by problems with self-perception. Whole-brain neural activations in healthy women, women with AN and women in long-term weight recovery following AN were compared using two functional magnetic resonance imaging tasks probing different aspects of self-perception. The Social Identity-V2 task involved consideration about oneself and others using socially descriptive adjectives. Both the ill and weight-recovered women with AN engaged medial prefrontal cortex less than healthy women for self-relevant cognitions, a potential biological trait difference. Weight-recovered women also activated the inferior frontal gyri and dorsal anterior cingulate more for direct self-evaluations than for reflected self-evaluations, unlike both other groups, suggesting that recovery may include compensatory neural changes related to social perspectives. The Faces task compared viewing oneself to a stranger. Participants with AN showed elevated activity in the bilateral fusiform gyri for self-images, unlike the weight-recovered and healthy women, suggesting cognitive distortions about physical appearance are a state rather than trait problem in this disease. Because both ill and recovered women showed neural differences related to social self-perception, but only recovered women differed when considering social perspectives, these neurocognitive targets may be particularly important for treatment. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press.

  12. Lack of differences between males with or without perceived same sex attraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Peter A; Houk, Christopher P

    2006-02-01

    Adolescent males are often concerned that they may be homosexual because of a sense of sexual attraction to other males. This not uncommon concern is often expressed to pediatric endocrinologists who come into contact with these boys because of concerns with abnormal pubertal development. To explore the character and prevalence of these types of homosexual concerns we assessed the perceptions of a group of healthy adolescent males using a structured questionnaire. The aim of this study was to determine whether males concerned about homosexual tendencies manifest a unique self-perception profile or interact differently with others. A multi-item questionnaire regarding demographic, behavioral, psychological and sexual characteristics was administered to 52 18-24 year-old males. Overall, there were few differences between males admitting to an adolescent homosexual attraction to males and males without this attraction. Differences between these two groups included more exposure to some kinds of pornography (including male to male imagery), noticeable psychosexual responses to male pornography, internal questioning over homosexual tendencies, comparisons of genitalia and perceptions of body build. There were no differences in demographics, family structure, religious beliefs, socio-economic status, knowledge of puberty, inter-personal relationships or sources of information about sexuality.

  13. Gender differences in oxytocin-associated disruption of decision bias during emotion perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynn, Spencer K; Hoge, Elizabeth A; Fischer, Laura E; Barrett, Lisa Feldman; Simon, Naomi M

    2014-09-30

    Oxytocin is associated with differences in the perception of and response to socially mediated information, such as facial expressions. Across studies, however, oxytocin׳s effect on emotion perception has been inconsistent. Outside the laboratory, emotion perception involves interpretation of perceptual uncertainty and assessment of behavioral risk. An account of these factors is largely missing from studies of oxytocin׳s effect on emotion perception and might explain inconsistent results across studies. Of relevance, studies of oxytocin׳s effect on learning and decision-making indicate that oxytocin attenuates risk aversion. We used the probability of encountering angry faces and the cost of misidentifying them as not angry to create a risky environment wherein bias to categorize faces as angry would maximize point earnings. Consistent with an underestimation of the factors creating risk (i.e., encounter rate and cost), men given oxytocin exhibited a worse (i.e., less liberal) response bias than men given placebo. Oxytocin did not influence women׳s performance. These results suggest that oxytocin may impair men׳s ability to adapt to changes in risk and uncertainty when introduced to novel or changing social environments. Because oxytocin also influences behavior in non-social realms, oxytocin pharmacotherapy could have unintended consequences (i.e., risk-prone decision-making) while nonetheless normalizing pathological social interaction. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Gender differences in customer expectations and perceptions of corporate social responsibility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Calabrese, Armando; Costa, Roberta; Rosati, Francesco

    2016-01-01

    The literature on business ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability includes many studies on gender differences, however the results are often contrasting. In particular, there has not yet been full agreement on the role and significance of gender differences in customer...... the statistical and the substantive significance of gender differences in customer expectations and perceptions of corporate responsibility, also examining the influence of age and education. The analysis is carried out on a remarkably large sample of 908 clients, pertaining to 12 of the largest Italian banks...... strategies in designing, planning, implementing and assessing sustainability initiatives....

  15. Use of paired management action grids for ease in depicting differences between users' and managers' perceptions of problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    R. J. Steele; James E. Fletcher

    1992-01-01

    This research was to determine whether differences exist between users and managers concerning perceptions of actual and perceived problems in parks and primarily to present a method of graphically depicting the differing perceptions of problems which exist between users and park managers which can be easily employed by area managers and related to the public, upper...

  16. Differences in social support and illness perceptions among South Asian and Caucasian patients with coronary artery disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grewal, Keerat; Stewart, Donna E; Grace, Sherry L

    2010-01-01

    Social support and illness perceptions may affect recovery from a cardiac event or procedure. Previous research has found that patients of South Asian origin with coronary artery disease (CAD) have lower levels of social support and may perceive different causes of their condition. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively investigate differences in social support and illness perceptions between Caucasian and South Asian patients with CAD. A total of 562 inpatients with CAD (53 [9%] South Asian) were recruited from 2 hospitals. The Medical Outcomes Study social support scale and Illness Perception Questionnaire were administered to examine ethnocultural differences in total social support and subscales, and in illness perceptions subscales, including causes of illness. South Asian participants had significantly lower levels of tangible (P=.001) and emotional/informational support (P stress/worry (P=.04) and poor medical care in the past (P=.02) and less likely to attribute their illness to aging (P=.03) compared with Caucasian participants. Lower levels of social support among South Asians in Canada may have negative effects on recovery and prognosis. Our results support qualitative findings suggesting South Asians perceive their illness to be a result of fate or related to stress. Future studies should investigate interventions targeted at modifying illness perceptions among this group in an attempt to improve risk-reducing behavior and secondary prevention use. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. The relationship of speech intelligibility with hearing sensitivity, cognition, and perceived hearing difficulties varies for different speech perception tests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinrich, Antje; Henshaw, Helen; Ferguson, Melanie A.

    2015-01-01

    Listeners vary in their ability to understand speech in noisy environments. Hearing sensitivity, as measured by pure-tone audiometry, can only partly explain these results, and cognition has emerged as another key concept. Although cognition relates to speech perception, the exact nature of the relationship remains to be fully understood. This study investigates how different aspects of cognition, particularly working memory and attention, relate to speech intelligibility for various tests. Perceptual accuracy of speech perception represents just one aspect of functioning in a listening environment. Activity and participation limits imposed by hearing loss, in addition to the demands of a listening environment, are also important and may be better captured by self-report questionnaires. Understanding how speech perception relates to self-reported aspects of listening forms the second focus of the study. Forty-four listeners aged between 50 and 74 years with mild sensorineural hearing loss were tested on speech perception tests differing in complexity from low (phoneme discrimination in quiet), to medium (digit triplet perception in speech-shaped noise) to high (sentence perception in modulated noise); cognitive tests of attention, memory, and non-verbal intelligence quotient; and self-report questionnaires of general health-related and hearing-specific quality of life. Hearing sensitivity and cognition related to intelligibility differently depending on the speech test: neither was important for phoneme discrimination, hearing sensitivity alone was important for digit triplet perception, and hearing and cognition together played a role in sentence perception. Self-reported aspects of auditory functioning were correlated with speech intelligibility to different degrees, with digit triplets in noise showing the richest pattern. The results suggest that intelligibility tests can vary in their auditory and cognitive demands and their sensitivity to the challenges that

  18. The relationship of speech intelligibility with hearing sensitivity, cognition, and perceived hearing difficulties varies for different speech perception tests

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antje eHeinrich

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Listeners vary in their ability to understand speech in noisy environments. Hearing sensitivity, as measured by pure-tone audiometry, can only partly explain these results, and cognition has emerged as another key concept. Although cognition relates to speech perception, the exact nature of the relationship remains to be fully understood. This study investigates how different aspects of cognition, particularly working memory and attention, relate to speech intelligibility for various tests.Perceptual accuracy of speech perception represents just one aspect of functioning in a listening environment. Activity and participation limits imposed by hearing loss, in addition to the demands of a listening environment, are also important and may be better captured by self-report questionnaires. Understanding how speech perception relates to self-reported aspects of listening forms the second focus of the study.Forty-four listeners aged between 50-74 years with mild SNHL were tested on speech perception tests differing in complexity from low (phoneme discrimination in quiet, to medium (digit triplet perception in speech-shaped noise to high (sentence perception in modulated noise; cognitive tests of attention, memory, and nonverbal IQ; and self-report questionnaires of general health-related and hearing-specific quality of life.Hearing sensitivity and cognition related to intelligibility differently depending on the speech test: neither was important for phoneme discrimination, hearing sensitivity alone was important for digit triplet perception, and hearing and cognition together played a role in sentence perception. Self-reported aspects of auditory functioning were correlated with speech intelligibility to different degrees, with digit triplets in noise showing the richest pattern. The results suggest that intelligibility tests can vary in their auditory and cognitive demands and their sensitivity to the challenges that auditory environments pose on

  19. Differences in perception: How the experts look at energy efficiency (findings from a Finnish survey)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Virkki-Hatakka, Terhi; Luoranen, Mika; Ikävalko, Markku

    2013-01-01

    Using energy efficiently is generally considered to be essential for a continuing prosperous future. As a result, improving efficiency has become a focus of attention, and recently a lot of time and effort has been expended to develop new energy efficiency methodologies and technologies. Considering the amount of focused attention, the rate of improvement has not been encouraging. Human behaviour is an important factor of the energy efficiency challenge, and research has revealed several consumer profiles with significantly different perceptions on energy issues. In this study, the focus is not on consumers but on energy efficiency professionals. A number of Finnish energy efficiency professionals from both the private and public sectors were surveyed revealing that experts have decidedly different perceptions regarding energy efficiency. Our analysis of survey results suggests that energy efficiency expertise comes from a variety of educational and professional backgrounds, and that instead of working on common ground, experts with differing perspectives are endeavouring to make progress in a complex and multifaceted arena. Focusing on specific areas in which players need to share a common understanding of terminology and where common and clearly stated goals can be established should result in an acceleration of efficiency improvement results. - Highlights: • Energy efficiency professionals from both private and public sectors were surveyed. • Perceptions of energy efficiency vary, which delays improvement progress. • The educational background and professional affiliation do influence to perceptions. • For energy efficiency progress, target-audience specific guiding actions are needed

  20. Prefrontal cortex based sex differences in tinnitus perception: same tinnitus intensity, same tinnitus distress, different mood.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sven Vanneste

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Tinnitus refers to auditory phantom sensation. It is estimated that for 2% of the population this auditory phantom percept severely affects the quality of life, due to tinnitus related distress. Although the overall distress levels do not differ between sexes in tinnitus, females are more influenced by distress than males. Typically, pain, sleep, and depression are perceived as significantly more severe by female tinnitus patients. Studies on gender differences in emotional regulation indicate that females with high depressive symptoms show greater attention to emotion, and use less anti-rumination emotional repair strategies than males. METHODOLOGY: The objective of this study was to verify whether the activity and connectivity of the resting brain is different for male and female tinnitus patients using resting-state EEG. CONCLUSIONS: Females had a higher mean score than male tinnitus patients on the BDI-II. Female tinnitus patients differ from male tinnitus patients in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC extending to the frontopolar cortex in beta1 and beta2. The OFC is important for emotional processing of sounds. Increased functional alpha connectivity is found between the OFC, insula, subgenual anterior cingulate (sgACC, parahippocampal (PHC areas and the auditory cortex in females. Our data suggest increased functional connectivity that binds tinnitus-related auditory cortex activity to auditory emotion-related areas via the PHC-sgACC connections resulting in a more depressive state even though the tinnitus intensity and tinnitus-related distress are not different from men. Comparing male tinnitus patients to a control group of males significant differences could be found for beta3 in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC. The PCC might be related to cognitive and memory-related aspects of the tinnitus percept. Our results propose that sex influences in tinnitus research cannot be ignored and should be taken into account in functional

  1. Asian Learners’ Perception of Quality in Distance Education and Gender Differences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Insung Jung

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available There have been few efforts to investigate the concept of quality from learners’ perspectives or to incorporate their needs and perceptions in quality standards in distance education. This is rather surprising, particularly in distance education contexts where the quality of the learning is not derived only from the products and services delivered to the learner but also from the knowledge, understanding, and relationships that are codeveloped by both teachers and learners during the teaching and learning processes. This study proposes and verifies a conceptual model of the 10 dimensions of quality in distance education from the learners’ perspectives and investigates gender differences in the perception of quality in distance education with 1,665 distance learners from 11 Asian countries and one territory. The results show that all 10 dimensions across supportive, pedagogical, and environmental domains in the model are important in judging quality in distance education. Also, gender differences are found in the perceived importance of 10 quality dimensions, barriers to DE, important supporters, and types of support received. The implications of these findings are discussed and suggestions for further research and development are offered.

  2. An Investigation of Perceptional Differences between Eastern and Western Adolescents in Online Social Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Robert

    2013-01-01

    The current study focused on an important issue pertaining to online social communication by investigating perceptional differences between eastern and western adolescents. A total of 309 participants were recruited from three countries: China, Singapore, and the United States. Significant differences were found between eastern and western…

  3. The Role of Individual Differences and Situational Factors in Perception of Verbal Irony

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gucman Magda

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available A study was conducted to analyze the influence of situational and individual factors on verbal irony perception. Participants (N = 144 rated smartness, criticality, humorousness, and offensiveness of ironic utterances and their literal equivalents. The utterances were put in various contexts, differing in terms of the structure of the interlocutors’ social ranks and the responsibility of the addressee for the described event. Additionally, participants’ state and trait of anxiety were measured using the Polish adaptation of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Wrześniewski, Sosnowski, Jaworowska, & Fecenec, 2011 and their social competences were measured with the Social Competences Questionnaire (Matczak, 2007. Analyses showed that the structure of the interlocutors’ social ranks, the addressee’s responsibility, as well as the state and trait of anxiety can influence the perception of irony, although it does not always concern all of the variables rated herein. No link between social competences and irony perception was found.

  4. Gender Differences in the Effects of Perception of Organizational Injustice on Workplace Reactivity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bolanle Ogungbamila

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Previous studies have not adequately examined, in a single model, how gender and perception of organizational injustice are related with revenge-motivated behaviors, especially in male-dominated societies. This study investigated the extent to which gender and perception of organizational injustice predicted employees’ tendencies to engage in workplace reactivity, which comprises organizational revenge, interpersonal revenge, interpersonal violence, and corruption in a sample of 703 (460 females; 243 males employees. Results of the hierarchical multiple regression indicated that gender predicted employees’ tendencies to engage in organizational revenge and interpersonal violence; with males showing higher tendencies than females. There were no gender differences in employees’ tendencies to engage in corruption and interpersonal revenge. Employees’ tendencies to engage in organizational revenge, interpersonal revenge, interpersonal violence, and corruption significantly increased with perception of organizational injustice. Females who felt unjustly treated exhibited as much organizational revenge, interpersonal revenge, interpersonal violence, and corrupt tendencies as males who felt unjustly treated. Implications for theory and research are discussed.

  5. Half pitch lower sound perception caused by carbamazepine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konno, Shyu; Yamazaki, Etsuko; Kudoh, Masako; Abe, Takashi; Tohgi, Hideo

    2003-09-01

    We report a 16-year-old woman with secondary generalization of partial seizure, who complained of an auditory disturbance after carbamazepine (CBZ) administration. She had been taking sodium valproate (VPA) from the age of 15. However, her seizures remained poorly controlled. We changed her antiepileptic drug from VPA to CBZ. At 1 week after CBZ administration, she noticed that electone musical performances were heard as a semitone lower. When oral administration of CBZ was stopped, her pitch perception returned to normal. If she had not been able to discern absolute pitch, she might have been unable to recognize her lowered pitch perception. Auditory disturbance caused by CBZ is reversible and very rare.

  6. Sex differences in facial emotion perception ability across the lifespan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olderbak, Sally; Wilhelm, Oliver; Hildebrandt, Andrea; Quoidbach, Jordi

    2018-03-22

    Perception of emotion in the face is a key component of human social cognition and is considered vital for many domains of life; however, little is known about how this ability differs across the lifespan for men and women. We addressed this question with a large community sample (N = 100,257) of persons ranging from younger than 15 to older than 60 years of age. Participants were viewers of the television show "Tout le Monde Joue", and the task was presented on television, with participants responding via their mobile devices. Applying latent variable modeling, and establishing measurement invariance between males and females and across age, we found that, for both males and females, emotion perception abilities peak between the ages of 15 and 30, with poorer performance by younger adults and declining performance after the age of 30. In addition, we show a consistent advantage by females across the lifespan, which decreases in magnitude with increasing age. This large scale study with a wide range of people and testing environments suggests these effects are largely robust. Implications are discussed.

  7. [Perception, processing of visual information and resistance to emotional stresses in athletes of different ages].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korobeĭnikova, L H; Makarchuk, M Iu

    2013-01-01

    Among the numerous studies devoted to the study of perception and information processing, no data available on the effects of age on these processes. In this paper we studied the influence of psycho-emotional stress and different levels of stress on the mental processes of perception and information processing in highly skilled athletes divided into two groups. The first group included the athletes aged 19-24 years (12 athletes, members of the Ukrainian team in Greco-Roman wrestling), the second group included the athletes aged 27-31 years (7 highly skilled athletes, members of the Ukrainian team in Greco-Roman wrestling). We revealed that the athletes of the first group had higher productivity and better visual perception and visual information processing efficiency, compared with athletes from the second group. This observation suggests a dependency of cognitive component of perception and information processing on the age of the athletes. Sportsmen from the second group had higher stress resistance compared to the older age group.

  8. Rethinking the Concept of Just Noticeable Difference in Online Marketing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viktor Vojtko

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The main goal of this study is to answer a question whether the just noticeable difference (JND related marketing practices could survive in the world with social media and as a part of online marketing. Although the findings are limited, they suggest that using of such practices might be much riskier than it used to be before and marketers should be aware of that and consider their using more thoroughly. It also shows that usage of the agent based modelling (ABM can be helpful in dealing with problems like this one and can provide further insight into dynamics of processes on consumer markets where the social media play crucial role in spreading of information.

  9. Correlated individual differences suggest a common mechanism underlying metacognition in visual perception and visual short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samaha, Jason; Postle, Bradley R

    2017-11-29

    Adaptive behaviour depends on the ability to introspect accurately about one's own performance. Whether this metacognitive ability is supported by the same mechanisms across different tasks is unclear. We investigated the relationship between metacognition of visual perception and metacognition of visual short-term memory (VSTM). Experiments 1 and 2 required subjects to estimate the perceived or remembered orientation of a grating stimulus and rate their confidence. We observed strong positive correlations between individual differences in metacognitive accuracy between the two tasks. This relationship was not accounted for by individual differences in task performance or average confidence, and was present across two different metrics of metacognition and in both experiments. A model-based analysis of data from a third experiment showed that a cross-domain correlation only emerged when both tasks shared the same task-relevant stimulus feature. That is, metacognition for perception and VSTM were correlated when both tasks required orientation judgements, but not when the perceptual task was switched to require contrast judgements. In contrast with previous results comparing perception and long-term memory, which have largely provided evidence for domain-specific metacognitive processes, the current findings suggest that metacognition of visual perception and VSTM is supported by a domain-general metacognitive architecture, but only when both domains share the same task-relevant stimulus feature. © 2017 The Author(s).

  10. Same same but different!? The differential influence of smilies and emoticons on person perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganster, Tina; Eimler, Sabrina C; Krämer, Nicole C

    2012-04-01

    Emoticons (ASCII-based character strings) and smilies (pictograms) are widely used in computer-mediated communication as substitutes to compensate for the absence of nonverbal cues. Although their usage has been investigated in numerous studies, it remains open whether they provoke differential effects and whether they lead to person perception patterns similar to what is known from face-to-face interactions. Based on findings from research about person perception and nonverbal communication, we investigated the differential effects of smilies and emoticons with regard to recipients' mood, message evaluation, and person perception in an experimental online study (n=127) with a 2(smiley/emoticon) by 2(positive/negative) between-subjects design (with an additional control condition). Results generally support earlier findings, indicating that the valence of the cue (smiley or emoticon) affects the corresponding impression formation. Further, findings concerning the differential influence of both forms of cues show that there are no differences with regard to message interpretation, whereas smiling smilies have a stronger impact on personal mood than smiling emoticons. The perception of a writer's commitment was only altered by smilies, suggesting that they elicit a stronger impact than emoticons.

  11. Use of humour in primary care: different perceptions among patients and physicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granek-Catarivas, M; Goldstein-Ferber, S; Azuri, Y; Vinker, S; Kahan, E

    2005-02-01

    (1) To explore the frequency with which humorous behaviour and statements occur in family medicine practice in Israel, and (2) to quantitatively assess the correlation between the subjective perceptions of humour in medical encounters between patients and physicians. In a cross sectional study, two populations (doctors and patients) were surveyed with paired structured questionnaires completed immediately after primary care practice visits. Two hundred and fifty consecutive encounters from 15 practices were sampled. The physician questionnaire was self administered, and patient questionnaire was administered by a trained research assistant. A mean of 16.7 questionnaires was completed per physician (range 6-20). The physicians reported having used some humour in only 95 encounters (38%), whereas almost 60% of patients agreed with the statement, "The doctor used some humour during the visit". At the same time, for specific encounters, the agreement between patients' perception and physicians' perceptions on the use of humour, although not completely by chance (p = 0.04), is low (kappa = 0.115). Patient characteristics (age, education, gender, family status, mother tongue, self perceived heath status, stress, mood, and expectations) were not related to the degree of agreement between the patients' and physicians' perceptions. Humour was used in a large proportion of encounters, independently of patient characteristics. Patients seem to be more sensitised to humour than physicians, probably because of their high stress level during medical encounters. Cultural differences may also play a part. Physicians should be made aware of this magnifying effect, and the issue should be discussed in medical schools.

  12. Gender Differences in Perception of Romance in Chinese College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Jie; Zhang, John X.; Xie, Jing; Zou, Zhiling; Huang, Xiting

    2013-01-01

    Women often complain that their partners are not romantic enough. This raises the question: how romance is recognized and evaluated in a love relationship? However, there has been essentially no empirical research bearing on this issue. The present set of studies examined possible gender differences in perceptions of romance and the associated neural mechanisms in Chinese college students. In Study 1, 303 participants (198 women, 105 men) were administrated a questionnaire consisting of 60 sentences and required to rate the romance level of each sentence. Results showed higher rating scores in males than females for low romance items, but not for high or medium romance items. In Study 2, 69 participants (37 women, 32 men) were recruited to judge the degree of romance in sentences presented on a computer screen one by one. Compared with females, males again showed higher scores and responded more slowly only to low romance items. In Study 3, 36 participants (18 women, 18 men) currently in love with someone were scanned with functional MRI while they did the romance judgment task from Study 2. Compared with females, greater brain activation was found for males in the frontal lobe, precentral gyrus, precuneus and parahippocampal gyrus for low romance items. The results provide the first piece of evidence for gender differences in romance perception, suggesting enhanced cognitive processing in males when evaluating the degree of romance in romantic scenes. PMID:24146853

  13. Gender differences in perception of romance in Chinese college students.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie Yin

    Full Text Available Women often complain that their partners are not romantic enough. This raises the question: how romance is recognized and evaluated in a love relationship? However, there has been essentially no empirical research bearing on this issue. The present set of studies examined possible gender differences in perceptions of romance and the associated neural mechanisms in Chinese college students. In Study 1, 303 participants (198 women, 105 men were administrated a questionnaire consisting of 60 sentences and required to rate the romance level of each sentence. Results showed higher rating scores in males than females for low romance items, but not for high or medium romance items. In Study 2, 69 participants (37 women, 32 men were recruited to judge the degree of romance in sentences presented on a computer screen one by one. Compared with females, males again showed higher scores and responded more slowly only to low romance items. In Study 3, 36 participants (18 women, 18 men currently in love with someone were scanned with functional MRI while they did the romance judgment task from Study 2. Compared with females, greater brain activation was found for males in the frontal lobe, precentral gyrus, precuneus and parahippocampal gyrus for low romance items. The results provide the first piece of evidence for gender differences in romance perception, suggesting enhanced cognitive processing in males when evaluating the degree of romance in romantic scenes.

  14. Iranian EFL Teachers’ Perceptions of Learning Accent

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hassan Galbat

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Since the appearance of “Audio-lingual Method”, the issue of foreign accent has been the focus of many researchers and many teachers attempted to sound as native like as possible to better teach native English accent. The present study attempted to uncover the Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions on accent, the way they viewed their own accent, and how English accent can be improved. Totally 50 male and female teachers with different age range, qualifications, teaching and learning experiences participated in the study. The data of the study were collected using Teachers’ Perceptions of Accent Questionnaire developed by the researcher and semi-structured interviews. Based on the analysis performed on the data collected through questionnaires and interviews, it was found that teachers care about learning accent and they considered it valuable and important. They admitted that they have foreign accent to some degree and they did not seem to be happy with foreign accent and were more in favour of native like accent. Regarding the strategies to improve English accent, they mentioned techniques like listening to authentic language, understanding pronunciation rules, and comparing people’s accent with their own accent, watching English movies, noticing stress, and pronunciation patterns, imitating, speaking with native people, using books, and recording and monitoring their own speeches.

  15. Exploring Student Perceptions, Learning Outcome and Gender Differences in a Flipped Mathematics Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, So-Chen; Yang, Stephen J. H.; Hsiao, Chia-Chang

    2016-01-01

    The flipped classroom approach has recently gained prominence in education. However, a review of previous studies shows that the relationship associated with gender difference, student perceptions and learning outcomes has still remained unexplored, and there has been little discussion regarding flipped classroom environment. To fill this gap,…

  16. Otolith signals contribute to inter-individual differences in the perception of gravity-centered space.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cian, C; Barraud, P A; Paillard, A C; Hidot, S; Denise, P; Ventre-Dominey, J

    2014-03-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate (1) the relative contribution of the egocentric reference as well as body orientation perception to visual horizon percept during tilt or during increased gravito-inertial acceleration (GiA, hypergravity environment) conditions and (2) the role of vestibular signals in the inter-individual differences observed in these perceptual modalities. Perceptual estimates analysis showed that backward tilt induced (1) an elevation of the visual horizon, (2) an elevation of the egocentric estimation (visual straight ahead) and (3) an overestimation of body tilt. The increase in the magnitude of GiA induced (1) a lowering of the apparent horizon, (2) a lowering of the straight ahead and (3) a perception of backward tilt. Overall, visual horizon percept can be expressed as the combination of body orientation perception and egocentric estimation. When assessing otolith reactivity using off-vertical axis rotation (OVAR), only visual egocentric estimation was significantly correlated with horizontal OVAR performance. On the one hand, we found a correlation between a low modulation amplitude of the otolith responses and straight ahead accuracy when the head axis was tilted relative to gravity. On the other hand, the bias of otolith responses was significantly correlated with straight ahead accuracy when subjects were submitted to an increase in the GiA. Thus, straight ahead sense would be dependent to some extent to otolith function. These results are discussed in terms of the contribution of otolith inputs in the overall multimodal integration subtending spatial constancy.

  17. MOTIVATIONAL CLUSTER PROFILES OF ADOLESCENT ATHLETES: AN EXAMINATION OF DIFFERENCES IN PHYSICAL-SELF PERCEPTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emine Çağlar

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The primary purpose of the present study was to identify motivational profiles of adolescent athletes using cluster analysis in non-Western culture. A second purpose was to examine relationships between physical self-perception differences of adolescent athletes and motivational profiles. One hundred and thirty six male (Mage = 17.46, SD = 1.25 years and 80 female adolescent athletes (Mage = 17.61, SD = 1.19 years from a variety of team sports including basketball, soccer, volleyball, and handball volunteered to participate in this study. The Sport Motivation Scale (SMS and Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP were administered to all participants. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed a four-cluster solution for this sample: amotivated, low motivated, moderate motivated, and highly motivated. A 4 x 5 (Cluster x PSPP Subscales MANOVA revealed no significant main effect of motivational clusters on physical self-perception levels (p > 0.05. As a result, findings of the present study showed that motivational types of the adolescent athletes constituted four different motivational clusters. Highly and moderate motivated athletes consistently scored higher than amotivated athletes on the perceived sport competence, physical condition, and physical self-worth subscales of PSPP. This study identified motivational profiles of competitive youth-sport participants

  18. Role Perceptions and Job Stress among Special Education School Principals: Do They Differ from Principals of Regular Schools?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaziel, Haim Henry; Cohen-Azaria, Yael; Ermenc, Klara Skubic

    2012-01-01

    The objective of the present study was to compare principals' perceptions of their leadership roles in regular (Dovno, 1999) versus special education (Zaretzky, Faircloth & Moreau, 2005) schools, and how these perceptions affect feelings of job stress (Friedman, 2001; Margalit, 1999). We predicted that regular school principals would differ in…

  19. Nurses' perception of their manager's leadership style and unit climate: are there generational differences?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farag, Amany A; Tullai-McGuinness, Susan; Anthony, Mary K

    2009-01-01

    To describe and compare how nurses representing four age cohorts perceive their manager's leadership style and unit climate. The current workforce consists of nurses representing four generational cohorts. Nursing literature suggests that nurses from each age cohort think, behave and approach work differently. Limited empirical evidence, however, exists about how nurses from each age cohort perceive two aspects of their work environment: their managers' leadership style and unit climate. This cross-sectional, descriptive survey was conducted using a convenience sample of 475 registered nurses working in different inpatient units in three community non-magnet hospitals. Only nurses from Boomer and Gen-Xers had sufficient representation to be included in the data analysis. Nurses from the two main age cohorts did not differ in their perceptions of their manager's leadership style. Significant differences were found in two unit climate dimensions. The Gen-Xers had a less favourable perception of their unit climate related to warmth and belonging and administrative support. Nurse manager's might reflect on how they interact with different age cohorts; and to involve nurses from various age cohorts in the development of policies to create a flexible work environment.

  20. Age Group Differences in Perceived Age Discrimination: Associations With Self-Perceptions of Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giasson, Hannah L; Queen, Tara L; Larkina, Marina; Smith, Jacqui

    2017-08-01

    From midlife onwards, age stereotypes increasingly underlie social judgments and contribute to age-based discrimination. Whereas many studies compare differences between young and older adults in reports of age discrimination or sensitivity to age stereotypes, few consider age group differences among adults over 50. We form subgroups corresponding to social age group membership (early midlife, late midlife, young old, oldest old) and examine differences in reported experiences of everyday age discrimination and associations with self-perceptions of aging. Using cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS: N = 15,071; M Age = 68, range 50-101), multivariate logistic regression was used to examine experiences of everyday discrimination attributed to age, and associations between age discrimination and self-perceptions of aging, in four age groups: early midlife, late midlife, young old, oldest old. People in the early midlife group (aged 50-59) reported more experiences of unfair treatment than the older age groups but were less likely to attribute their experiences to age discrimination. After controlling for covariates, individuals in all age groups who perceived their own aging positively were less likely to report experiences of age discrimination. The magnitude of this effect, however, was greatest in the early midlife group. Findings support proposals that midlife is a pivotal life period when individuals adjust to life events and social role transitions. Future longitudinal studies will provide further insight into whether positive self-perceptions of aging are especially important in this phase of the life course. © The Author 2017. 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.

  1. Pain-related anxiety influences pain perception differently in men and women: a quantitative sensory test across thermal pain modalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thibodeau, Michel A; Welch, Patrick G; Katz, Joel; Asmundson, Gordon J G

    2013-03-01

    The sexes differ with respect to perception of experimental pain. Anxiety influences pain perception more in men than in women; however, there lacks research exploring which anxiety constructs influence pain perception differentially between men and women. Furthermore, research examining whether depression is associated with pain perception differently between the sexes remains scant. The present investigation was designed to examine how trait anxiety, pain-related anxiety constructs (ie, fear of pain, pain-related anxiety, anxiety sensitivity), and depression are associated with pain perception between the sexes. A total of 95 nonclinical participants (55% women) completed measures assessing the constructs of interest and participated in quantitative sensory testing using heat and cold stimuli administered by a Medoc Pathway Pain and Sensory Evaluation System. The findings suggest that pain-related anxiety constructs, but not trait anxiety, are associated with pain perception. Furthermore, these constructs are associated with pain intensity ratings in men and pain tolerance levels in women. This contrasts with previous research suggesting that anxiety influences pain perception mostly or uniquely in men. Depression was not systematically associated with pain perception in either sex. Systematic relationships were not identified that allow conclusions regarding how fear of pain, pain-related anxiety, and anxiety sensitivity may contribute to pain perception differentially in men and women; however, anxiety sensitivity was associated with increased pain tolerance, a novel finding needing further examination. The results provide directions for future research and clinical endeavors and support that fear and anxiety are important features associated with hyperalgesia in both men and women. Copyright © 2012 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Different perceptions of narrative medicine between Western and Chinese medicine students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chien-Da; Liao, Kuo-Chen; Chung, Fu-Tsai; Tseng, Hsu-Min; Fang, Ji-Tseng; Lii, Shu-Chung; Kuo, Han-Pin; Yeh, San-Jou; Lee, Shih-Tseng

    2017-05-10

    Western medicine is an evidence-based science, whereas Chinese medicine is more of a healing art. To date, there has been no research that has examined whether students of Western and Chinese medicine differentially engage in, or benefit from, educational activities for narrative medicine. This study fills a gap in current literature with the aim of evaluating and comparing Western and Chinese Medicine students' perceptions of narrative medicine as an approach to learning empathy and professionalism. An initial 10-item questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale was developed to assess fifth-year Western medical (MS) and traditional Chinese medical (TCMS) students' perceptions of a 4-activity narrative medicine program during a 13-week internal medicine clerkship. Exploratory factor analysis was undertaken. The response rate was 88.6% (412/465), including 270 (65.5%) MSs and 142 (34.5%) TCMSs, with a large reliability (Cronbach alpha = 0.934). Three factors were extracted from 9 items: personal attitude, self-development/reflection, and emotional benefit, more favorable in terms of enhancement of self-development/reflection. The perceptions of narrative medicine by scores between the two groups were significantly higher in TCMSs than MSs in all 9-item questionnaire and 3 extracted factors. Given the different learning cultures of medical education in which these student groups engage, this suggests that undertaking a course in Chinese medicine might enhance one's acceptance to, and benefit from, a medical humanities course. Alternatively, Chinese medicine programmes might attract more humanities-focused students.

  3. Psycho-acoustical valuation of pleasant and less perceptible sound characters in wind turbine noise; Psyko-akustisk vaerdering av behagliga och mindre maerkbara ljudkaraktaerer i vindkraftverksljud - interaktiv utvaerdering och akustisk beskrivning av den skvalpande karaktaeren

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Persson Waye, Kerstin; Agge, Agneta

    2001-03-01

    The report describes phase 3 in the ongoing project 'Perception and annoyance of wind turbine sounds'. The overall aim of the project is to increase the knowledge of annoyance and perception of wind turbine sounds in order for the industry to optimise wind turbine constructions. The specific aim for phase 3 was to evaluate the most noticeable and annoying psycho-acoustical character described as 'lapping'. The lapping characteristic was evaluated in experimental studies comprising in total 24 test subjects. With the object to obtain a pleasant sound test subjects were asked to vary four parameters related to the psycho-acoustical perception of 'lapping' in the original sound. The variations of parameters were carried out using an interactive sound processing system and done in such a way so the resulting sound always had a constant dBA level. The resulting values of three of the four parameters were significantly different compared to the original sound. A pleasant sound thus had low contents of the different lapping characteristics. While no difference was found between the original sound and the resulting sound with regard to the equivalent frequency spectra, some differences could be detected using Zwickers loudness calculations. Some differences may be attributed to a lower degree of roughness in the 'pleasant sound'. It is however more likely that the difference between the noises as regard the content of specific loudness in the frequency range of 1270 to 3150 may be of greater importance. Analysis of conventional acoustical measures were not sufficient to predict subjects perception of noticeable and unpleasant characteristics in wind turbine sounds. Further analysis should be pursued of how to best describe an unpleasant or pleasant wind turbine sound.

  4. Experimentally observed responses to humour are related to individual differences in emotion perception and regulation in everyday life.

    OpenAIRE

    Papousek I.; Schulter G.; Lackner H. K.; Samson A. C.; Freudenthaler H. H.

    2014-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate the relevance of an individual's typical emotion perception and emotion regulation behavior to his or her responsiveness to humor. This was studied behaviorally by examining responses to different types of humorous stimuli in an experimental paradigm, in a sample of n = 54 participants aged between 18 to 41 years (29 women, 25 men). Individual differences in emotion perception and regulation were assessed by relevant subscales of an established self-report inst...

  5. Time Perception in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Patients: A Study Comparing Different Methodologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mioni, G.; Mattalia, G.; Stablum, F.

    2013-01-01

    In this study, we investigated time perception in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Fifteen TBI patients and 15 matched healthy controls participated in the study. Participants were tested with durations above and below 1s on three different temporal tasks that involved time reproduction, production, and discrimination tasks. Data…

  6. Comparison of the onset of uterine contractions determined from tocodynamometry and maternal perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ying Wang; Pei Gao; Qian Qiu; Yang An; Dongmei Hao; Fangwei Yang; Xiya Zhou; Lin Yang; Yimin Yang; Xuwen Li; Song Zhang; Dingchang Zheng

    2017-07-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the time difference (TD) between the onset of uterine contraction (UC) determined from tocodynamometry (TOCO) and identified by maternal perception. The online available Icelandic database was used to calculate TD, which was defined as the difference between when it was felt by a pregnant woman and the starting point on the UC signal recorded by a TOCO. A total of 295 TDs from 78 recordings (from a total of 33 participants; among them, 13 participants included at least 3 recordings from different gestational weeks) were analyzed with the overall mean±SD of TD calculated. For each individual participant with at least 3 recordings, regression analysis was then performed to investigate the relationship between the mean TD from each recording with gestational week, with their overall slope calculated. The results showed that 85.4% of TDs was within [-40, 40] s, with an overall mean TD of 3.04 s (p>0.05), indicating that there was no significant difference between the UC onset determined from TOCO and maternal perception. It was also noticed that 61.5% recordings (48 out of 78 recordings) had all positive or negative TD for all the UCs analyzed within a recording. Furthermore, the regression analysis showed that the regression line slope was negative for 10 out of the 13 participants with at least 3 recordings from different gestational weeks, resulting in that the overall slope (-2.85±5.58) was significantly negative (pTOCO and maternal perception, providing scientific evidence for future studies to understand the underlying mechanism of the time sequence of UC activity determined from different techniques.

  7. Preferred teacher-student interpersonal behaviour: Differences between Polish primary and higher education students' perceptions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sztejnberg, A.; Brok, den P.J.; Hurek, J.

    2004-01-01

    This study investigated differences between students’ perceptions of their best teachers in primary and higher education in Poland. Teacher behavior was conceptualized in terms of the teacher-student interpersonal relationship and described in terms of eight behavioral sectors – leadership,

  8. Racial/ethnic differences in electronic cigarette knowledge, social norms, and risk perceptions among current and former smokers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webb Hooper, Monica; Kolar, Stephanie K

    2017-04-01

    Psychosocial factors that may affect electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) initiation or maintenance among racial/ethnic minorities are not well-understood. This study examined racial/ethnic differences in e-cigarette knowledge, risk perceptions, and social norms among current and former smokers. Individuals with a tobacco smoking history and an awareness of e-cigarettes (N=285) were recruited from the community from June to August 2014. Telephone-administered surveys assessed demographics, smoking status, and e-cigarette knowledge, risk perceptions, and normative beliefs. Analyses of covariance and multinomial logistic regression tested associations by race/ethnicity. Controlling for sociodemographics and smoking status, White participants scored significantly higher on e-cigarette knowledge, compared to both Hispanics and African Americans/Blacks. Knowledge was lower among African Americans/Blacks compared to Hispanics. Compared to both Whites and Hispanics, African American/Black participants held lower perceptions regarding e-cigarette health risks and were less likely to view e-cigarettes as addictive. Normative beliefs did not differ by race/ethnicity. In conclusion, e-cigarette knowledge, health risk perceptions, and perceived addictiveness differed by race/ethnicity. The variation in e-cigarette knowledge and beliefs among smokers and former smokers has implications for use, and potentially, dual use. Understanding these relationships in unrepresented populations can inform future research and practice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. A comprehensive model of audiovisual perception: both percept and temporal dynamics.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia Besson

    Full Text Available The sparse information captured by the sensory systems is used by the brain to apprehend the environment, for example, to spatially locate the source of audiovisual stimuli. This is an ill-posed inverse problem whose inherent uncertainty can be solved by jointly processing the information, as well as introducing constraints during this process, on the way this multisensory information is handled. This process and its result--the percept--depend on the contextual conditions perception takes place in. To date, perception has been investigated and modeled on the basis of either one of two of its dimensions: the percept or the temporal dynamics of the process. Here, we extend our previously proposed audiovisual perception model to predict both these dimensions to capture the phenomenon as a whole. Starting from a behavioral analysis, we use a data-driven approach to elicit a bayesian network which infers the different percepts and dynamics of the process. Context-specific independence analyses enable us to use the model's structure to directly explore how different contexts affect the way subjects handle the same available information. Hence, we establish that, while the percepts yielded by a unisensory stimulus or by the non-fusion of multisensory stimuli may be similar, they result from different processes, as shown by their differing temporal dynamics. Moreover, our model predicts the impact of bottom-up (stimulus driven factors as well as of top-down factors (induced by instruction manipulation on both the perception process and the percept itself.

  10. Pesticide risk perceptions and the differences between farmers and extensionists: Towards a knowledge-in-context model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ríos-González, Adriana, E-mail: adrianariosg@hotmail.com [Society, Culture and Health Academic Area, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur. Carretera Panamericana y Periférico Sur s/n, Barrio de María Auxiliadora cp. 29290 San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas (Mexico); The Africa and Latin America Research Groups Network (GRAAL), Faculty of Medicine, Biostatistics Unit, Barcelona Autonomous University, Edificio M, 08193 Bellaterra (Spain); Jansen, Kees, E-mail: Kees.Jansen@wur.nl [Knowledge, Technology and Innovation Group, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, 6706 KN Wageningen (Netherlands); Javier Sánchez-Pérez, Héctor, E-mail: hsanchez@ecosur.mx [Society, Culture and Health Academic Area, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur. Carretera Panamericana y Periférico Sur s/n, Barrio de María Auxiliadora cp. 29290 San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas (Mexico); The Africa and Latin America Research Groups Network (GRAAL), Faculty of Medicine, Biostatistics Unit, Barcelona Autonomous University, Edificio M, 08193 Bellaterra (Spain)

    2013-07-15

    A growing body of literature analyzes farmer perceptions of pesticide risk, but much less attention has been given to differences in risk perception between farmers and technical experts. Furthermore, inconsistencies in knowledge have too easily been explained in terms of lack of knowledge rather than exploring the underlying reasons for particular forms of thinking about pesticide risks. By doing this, the division between expert and lay knowledge has been deepened rather than transcended. Objective: This study aims to understand differences and similarities among the perceptions of pesticide risks of farmers, farm workers, and technical experts such as extensionists, by applying a social science approach towards knowledge and risk attitudes. Methods: Semi-structured interviews and field observations were conducted to smallholders, farm workers, extensionists, health professionals and scientists involved in the use and handling of pesticides. Subsequently, a survey was carried out to quantify the farmers and extensionists' acceptance or rejection of typical assertions expressed previously in the semi-structured interviews. Results: Smallholders showed to gain knowledge from their own experiences and to adapt pesticides practices, which is a potential basis for transforming notions of pesticide safety and risk reduction strategies. Though extensionists have received formal education, they sometimes develop ideas deviating from the technical perspective. The risk perception of the studied actors appeared to vary according to their role in the agricultural labor process; they varied much less than expected according to their schooling level. Conclusions: Commitment to the technical perspective is not dramatically different for extensionists on the one hand and farmers as well as farm workers on the other hand. Ideas about a supposed lack of knowledge by farmers and the need of formal training are too much driven by a deficit model of knowledge. Further research

  11. Pesticide risk perceptions and the differences between farmers and extensionists: Towards a knowledge-in-context model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ríos-González, Adriana; Jansen, Kees; Javier Sánchez-Pérez, Héctor

    2013-01-01

    A growing body of literature analyzes farmer perceptions of pesticide risk, but much less attention has been given to differences in risk perception between farmers and technical experts. Furthermore, inconsistencies in knowledge have too easily been explained in terms of lack of knowledge rather than exploring the underlying reasons for particular forms of thinking about pesticide risks. By doing this, the division between expert and lay knowledge has been deepened rather than transcended. Objective: This study aims to understand differences and similarities among the perceptions of pesticide risks of farmers, farm workers, and technical experts such as extensionists, by applying a social science approach towards knowledge and risk attitudes. Methods: Semi-structured interviews and field observations were conducted to smallholders, farm workers, extensionists, health professionals and scientists involved in the use and handling of pesticides. Subsequently, a survey was carried out to quantify the farmers and extensionists' acceptance or rejection of typical assertions expressed previously in the semi-structured interviews. Results: Smallholders showed to gain knowledge from their own experiences and to adapt pesticides practices, which is a potential basis for transforming notions of pesticide safety and risk reduction strategies. Though extensionists have received formal education, they sometimes develop ideas deviating from the technical perspective. The risk perception of the studied actors appeared to vary according to their role in the agricultural labor process; they varied much less than expected according to their schooling level. Conclusions: Commitment to the technical perspective is not dramatically different for extensionists on the one hand and farmers as well as farm workers on the other hand. Ideas about a supposed lack of knowledge by farmers and the need of formal training are too much driven by a deficit model of knowledge. Further research on

  12. Cooperative or collaborative learning: Is there a difference in university students’ perceptions?

    OpenAIRE

    María Ángeles ANDREU-ANDRÉS

    2016-01-01

    The hypothesis that the same educational objective, raised as cooperative or collaborative learning in university teaching does not affect students’ perceptions of the learning model, leads this study. It analyses the reflections of two students groups of engineering that shared the same educational goals implemented through two different methodological active learning strategies: Simulation as cooperative learning strategy and Problem-based Learning as a collaborative one. The...

  13. GENDER DIFFERENCES AMONGST AFRICAN GENERATION Y STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF FASHION MARKETING ACTIVITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heleneze-Tiane Lues

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to determine whether gender differences existamongst African Generation Y students’ perceptions concerning selectedmarketing activities of their preferred clothing brand. The African Generation Ycohort (individuals born between 1986 and 2005 in South Africa, represents animportant market segment in that it makes up 32 per cent of the country’spopulation. As one of the largest contributors to the South African economy, thefashion retail industry is experiencing intense competition amongst fashion brandsand retailers due to an increased amount of national and international brandsavailable to consumers. Consequently, the need for effective differentiation, suchas branding, is becoming more significant. In light of this, it is increasinglyimportant for marketers and brand managers to define their target market clearly,which requires a sound understanding of their target market’s needs and thecontributors of consumer behaviour, of which gender is a key factor. This studyused a self-administered questionnaire to collect data from a convenience sampleof 750 students across three South African public higher education institution’campuses situated in the Gauteng province. The collected data were analysedusing descriptive statistics and a two independent-samples t-test. The findings suggest that while there is no statistically significant difference between male andfemale participants’ perceptions concerning their preferred clothing brands’advertising and product activities, statistically significant differences were foundconcerning the store image and pricing activities of their preferred clothing brand.

  14. Relations between different types of jealousy and self and partner perceptions of relationship quality

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Barelds, D.P.H.; Barelds-Dijkstra, P.

    2007-01-01

    The present paper examines the relationships between relationship quality and three different types of jealousy, including both partners' levels of jealousy and perceptions of relationship quality. It was expected that jealousy in response to a direct threat to the relationship-that is, reactive

  15. Brain mechanisms for simple perception and bistable perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Megan; Arteaga, Daniel; He, Biyu J

    2013-08-27

    When faced with ambiguous sensory inputs, subjective perception alternates between the different interpretations in a stochastic manner. Such multistable perception phenomena have intrigued scientists and laymen alike for over a century. Despite rigorous investigations, the underlying mechanisms of multistable perception remain elusive. Recent studies using multivariate pattern analysis revealed that activity patterns in posterior visual areas correlate with fluctuating percepts. However, increasing evidence suggests that vision--and perception at large--is an active inferential process involving hierarchical brain systems. We applied searchlight multivariate pattern analysis to functional magnetic resonance imaging signals across the human brain to decode perceptual content during bistable perception and simple unambiguous perception. Although perceptually reflective activity patterns during simple perception localized predominantly to posterior visual regions, bistable perception involved additionally many higher-order frontoparietal and temporal regions. Moreover, compared with simple perception, both top-down and bottom-up influences were dramatically enhanced during bistable perception. We further studied the intermittent presentation of ambiguous images--a condition that is known to elicit perceptual memory. Compared with continuous presentation, intermittent presentation recruited even more higher-order regions and was accompanied by further strengthened top-down influences but relatively weakened bottom-up influences. Taken together, these results strongly support an active top-down inferential process in perception.

  16. Cultural differences in the primacy effect for person perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noguchi, Kenji; Kamada, Akiko; Shrira, Ilan

    2014-06-01

    Previous work has shown there are robust differences in how North Americans and East Asians form impressions of people. The present research examines whether the tendency to weigh initial information more heavily-the primacy effect-may be another component of these cultural differences. Specifically, we tested whether Americans would be more likely to use first impressions to guide person perception, compared to Japanese participants. In this experiment, participants read a vignette that described a target person's behaviour, then rated the target's personality. Before reading the vignette, some trait information was given to create an expectation about the target's personality. The data revealed that Americans used this initial information to guide their judgments of the target, whereas the Japanese sample based their judgments on all the information more evenly. Thus, Americans showed a stronger primacy effect in their impression formation than Japanese participants, who engaged in more data-driven processing. © 2013 International Union of Psychological Science.

  17. Consumer perceptions of specific design characteristics for front-of-package nutrition labels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acton, R B; Vanderlee, L; Roberto, C A; Hammond, D

    2018-04-01

    An increasing number of countries are developing front-of-package (FOP) labels; however, there is limited evidence examining the impact of specific design characteristics for these labels. The current study investigated consumer perceptions of several FOP label design characteristics, including potential differences among sociodemographic sub-groups. Two hundred and thirty-four participants aged 16 years or older completed nine label rating tasks on a laptop at a local shopping mall in Canada. The rating tasks asked participants to rate five primary design characteristics (border, background presence, background colour, 'caution' symbol and government attribution) on their noticeability, readability, believability and likelihood of changing their beverage choice. FOP labels with a border, solid background and contrasting colours increased noticeability. A solid background increased readability, while a contrasting background colour reduced it. Both a 'caution' symbol and a government attribution increased the believability of the labels and the perceived likelihood of influencing beverage choice. The effect of the design characteristics was generally similar across sociodemographic groups, with modest differences in five of the nine outcomes. Label design characteristics, such as the use of a border, colour and symbols can enhance the salience of FOP nutrition labels and may increase the likelihood that FOP labels are used by consumers.

  18. Food risk perceptions, gender, and individual differences in avoidance and approach motivation, intuitive and analytic thinking styles, and anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leikas, Sointu; Lindeman, Marjaana; Roininen, Katariina; Lähteenmäki, Liisa

    2007-03-01

    Risks appear to be perceived in two different ways, affectively and rationally. Finnish adult internet users were contacted via e-mail and asked to fill an internet questionnaire consisting of questions of food risks and measures of avoidance and approach motivation, analytic and intuitive information processing style, trait anxiety, and gender in order to find out (1) whether food risks are perceived two-dimensionally, (2) how individual differences in motivation, information processing, and anxiety are associated with the different dimensions of food risk perceptions, and (3) whether gender moderates these associations. The data were analyzed by factor, correlation and regression analyses. Three factors emerged: risk scariness, risk likelihood, and risks of cardiovascular disease. Personality and gender x personality interactions predicted food risk perceptions. Results showed that food risk perceptions generally form two dimensions; scariness and likelihood, but that this may depend on the nature of the risk. In addition, results imply that individuals with high avoidance motivation perceive food risks as scarier and more likely than others, and that individuals with an analytic information processing style perceive food risks as less likely than others. Trait anxiety seems to be associated with higher food risk perceptions only among men.

  19. Experimental and model-based analysis of differences in perception of cutaneous electrical stimulation across the sole of the foot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frahm, Ken Steffen; Mørch, Carsten Dahl; Grill, Warren M; Andersen, Ole Kæseler

    2013-09-01

    During electrocutaneous stimulations, variation in skin properties across locations can lead to differences in neural activation. However, little focus has been given to the effect of different skin thicknesses on neural activation. Electrical stimulation was applied to six sites across the sole of the foot. The intensities used were two and four times perception threshold. The subjects (n = 8) rated the perception quality and intensity using the McGill Pain Questionnaire and a visual analog scale (VAS). A finite element model was developed and combined with the activation function (AF) to estimate neural activation. Electrical stimulation was perceived as significantly less sharp at the heel compared to all other sites, except one site in the forefoot (logistic regression, p model showed that the AF was between 91 and 231 % higher at the five other sites than at the heel. The differences in perception across the sole of the foot indicated that the CNS received different inputs depending on the stimulus site. The lower AF at the heel indicated that the skin thicknesses could contribute to the perceived differences.

  20. Ethnic differences in problem perception and perceived need as determinants of referral in young children with problem behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bevaart, Floor; Mieloo, Cathelijne L; Donker, Marianne C H; Jansen, Wilma; Raat, Hein; Verhulst, Frank C; van Oort, Floor V A

    2014-05-01

    An underrepresentation of ethnic minority children in mental health care settings is consistently reported. Parents of ethnic minority children are, however, less likely to perceive problem behaviour in their children. Our hypothesis was that, as a result of ethnic differences in problem perception, referral to care by a child health professional (CHP) would be lower for 5- to 6-year-old (high-risk) children from ethnic minority backgrounds than for their peers from the ethnic majority (Dutch origin). For 10,951 children in grade two of elementary school, parents and/or teachers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) as well as questions on problem perception (PP) and perceived need for professional care (PN). Referral information was obtained from the Electronic Child Records (ECR) for 1,034 of these children. These children had a high (>90th percentile) SDQ score, and were not receiving mental health care. CHP's referred 144 children (14 %) during the routine health assessments. A lower problem perception was reported by parents of ethnic minority children (40-72 %) than by parents of the ethnic majority group (80 %; p ethnic differences in referral (OR range 0.9-1.9-p > 0.05). No ethnic differences were found for parental PN, nor for teacher's PP or PN. Despite a lower problem perception in ethnic minority parents when compared to ethnic majority parents, no ethnic differences were found in referral of children with problem behaviour in a preventive health care setting.

  1. Attitudes and risk perception of parents of different ethnic backgrounds regarding meningococcal C vaccination

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Timmermans, D.R.M.; Henneman, L.; Hirasing, R.A.; Wal, G. van der

    2005-01-01

    The aim of the present study is to assess the attitudes of parents toward vaccination as well as their risk perception of disease and vaccination. We interviewed 1763 parents of different ethnic groups (among others, Dutch, Turkish, Moroccan, and Surinamese parents). Results show that there were

  2. Dairy-Based Emulsions: Viscosity Affects Fat Difference Thresholds and Sweetness Perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zahn, Susann; Hoppert, Karin; Ullrich, Franziska; Rohm, Harald

    2013-11-27

    In complex emulsions, viscosity or viscosity-associated sensory attributes such as creaminess are important for quality assessment and product differentiation. Two sets of emulsions with fat or locust bean gum content being varied at seven levels were developed; the two emulsions at each level had similar apparent viscosity. Additionally, sugar concentration was kept constant either with respect to total emulsion, or with respect to the aqueous phase. Series of two-alternative forced choice tests were performed with one constant stimulus, and just noticeable differences were calculated using probability regression. The results show that, when viscosity was not compensated, it was easy for the subjects to (a) distinguish emulsions with different fat content when the fat content was addressed in the question, and to (b) distinguish emulsions with different fat or locust bean gum content when creaminess was addressed. For the latter descriptor, it is of minor importance whether viscosity is altered by fat content or a thickener. Weber fractions that were calculated for viscosity were approximately 0.20. The quantitative effects of viscosity on sweetness, however, depend on how product rheology was modified.

  3. How Differences Between Manager and Clinician Perceptions of Safety Culture Impact Hospital Processes of Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richter, Jason; Mazurenko, Olena; Kazley, Abby Swanson; Ford, Eric W

    2017-11-04

    Evidenced-based processes of care improve patient outcomes, yet universal compliance is lacking, and perceptions of the quality of care are highly variable. The purpose of this study is to examine how differences in clinician and management perceptions on teamwork and communication relate to adherence to hospital processes of care. Hospitals submitted identifiable data for the 2012 Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Hospital Compare. The dependent variable was a composite, developed from the scores on adherence to acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and pneumonia process of care measures. The primary independent variables reflected 4 safety culture domains: communication openness, feedback about errors, teamwork within units, and teamwork between units. We assigned each hospital into one of 4 groups based on agreement between managers and clinicians on each domain. Each hospital was categorized as "high" (above the median) or "low" (below) for clinicians and managers in communication and teamwork. We found a positive relationship between perceived teamwork and communication climate and processes of care measures. If managers and clinicians perceived the communication openness as high, the hospital was more likely to adhere with processes of care. Similarly, if clinicians perceived teamwork across units as high, the hospital was more likely to adhere to processes of care. Manager and staff perceptions about teamwork and communications impact adherence to processes of care. Policies should recognize the importance of perceptions of both clinicians and managers on teamwork and communication and seek to improve organizational climate and practices. Clinician perceptions of teamwork across units are more closely linked to processes of care, so managers should be cognizant and try to improve their perceptions.

  4. Differences in Perceptions of Patient Safety Culture between Charge and Noncharge Nurses: Implications for Effectiveness Outcomes Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deleise Wilson

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The implementation of evidence-based practice guidelines can be influenced by nurses’ perceptions of the organizational safety culture. Shift-by-shift management of each nursing unit is designated to a subset of staff nurses (charge nurses, whom are often recruited as champions for change. The findings indicate that compared to charge nurses, noncharge nurses were more positive about overall perceptions of safety (=.05 and teamwork (<.05. Among charge nurses, significant differences were observed based on the number of years’ experience in charge: perception of teamwork within units [(3,365=3.52, <.01]; overall perceptions of safety, [(3,365=4.20, <.05]; safety grade for work area [(3,360=2.61, <.05]; number of events reported within the last month [(3,362=3.49, <.05]. These findings provide important insights to organizational contextual factors that may impact effectiveness outcomes research in the future.

  5. Gender differences in emotion perception and self-reported emotional intelligence: A test of the emotion sensitivity hypothesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, Agneta H; Kret, Mariska E; Broekens, Joost

    2018-01-01

    Previous meta-analyses and reviews on gender differences in emotion recognition have shown a small to moderate female advantage. However, inconsistent evidence from recent studies has raised questions regarding the implications of different methodologies, stimuli, and samples. In the present research based on a community sample of more than 5000 participants, we tested the emotional sensitivity hypothesis, stating that women are more sensitive to perceive subtle, i.e. low intense or ambiguous, emotion cues. In addition, we included a self-report emotional intelligence test in order to examine any discrepancy between self-perceptions and actual performance for both men and women. We used a wide range of stimuli and models, displaying six different emotions at two different intensity levels. In order to better tap sensitivity for subtle emotion cues, we did not use a forced choice format, but rather intensity measures of different emotions. We found no support for the emotional sensitivity account, as both genders rated the target emotions as similarly intense at both levels of stimulus intensity. Men, however, more strongly perceived non-target emotions to be present than women. In addition, we also found that the lower scores of men in self-reported EI was not related to their actual perception of target emotions, but it was to the perception of non-target emotions.

  6. Gender differences in emotion perception and self-reported emotional intelligence: A test of the emotion sensitivity hypothesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kret, Mariska E.; Broekens, Joost

    2018-01-01

    Previous meta-analyses and reviews on gender differences in emotion recognition have shown a small to moderate female advantage. However, inconsistent evidence from recent studies has raised questions regarding the implications of different methodologies, stimuli, and samples. In the present research based on a community sample of more than 5000 participants, we tested the emotional sensitivity hypothesis, stating that women are more sensitive to perceive subtle, i.e. low intense or ambiguous, emotion cues. In addition, we included a self-report emotional intelligence test in order to examine any discrepancy between self-perceptions and actual performance for both men and women. We used a wide range of stimuli and models, displaying six different emotions at two different intensity levels. In order to better tap sensitivity for subtle emotion cues, we did not use a forced choice format, but rather intensity measures of different emotions. We found no support for the emotional sensitivity account, as both genders rated the target emotions as similarly intense at both levels of stimulus intensity. Men, however, more strongly perceived non-target emotions to be present than women. In addition, we also found that the lower scores of men in self-reported EI was not related to their actual perception of target emotions, but it was to the perception of non-target emotions. PMID:29370198

  7. Perceptions About Sex Related Myths And Misconceptions: Difference In Male And Female

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anupam Raizada

    1997-04-01

    Full Text Available Research problem: Perceptions about sex-re- iated myths and misconceptions. Objectives: To identify the difference in percep­tions of mates and females over sex-reiated myths and misconceptions. Study Design - Community based cross sectional study. Setting - Self-administered questionnaire study was un­dertaken in an urban area of Jhansi. Participants - Married couples with reproductive age wife. Sample size - 417 couples of the area. Study Variables-Sex-related myths and misconceptions. Outcome Variables - Masturbation, Penis-size and sexual performance, STD transmission. Intercourse with virgin and cure of STDs, Initiation of sexual act, Bleeding on first night. Statistical analysis - By chi - square test. Results: Response rate 63.8%. Only 8.6% females and 33.7% males knew correctly about masturbation. Males also knew better about route of STD infection (73.5% and about the fact that intercouse with a virgin cannot cure STDs (47.4%. Females, however, outnumber males on the question of relation between man's penis size and his sexual performance (70%, initiation of sexual act (58.6% and bleeding in females on first night of marriage (70%. Conclusion: Males and females had significantly different perceptions on sex related myths and misconceptions. Recommendations: Sex education campaigns should be designed and implemented to eliminate these age old sex related myths and misconceptions.

  8. Perceptions About Sex Related Myths And Misconceptions: Difference In Male And Female

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anupam Raizada

    1997-04-01

    Full Text Available Research problem: Perceptions about sex-re- iated myths and misconceptions.Objectives: To identify the difference in percep­tions of mates and females over sex-reiated myths and misconceptions.Study Design - Community based cross sectional study.Setting - Self-administered questionnaire study was un­dertaken in an urban area of Jhansi.Participants - Married couples with reproductive age wife.Sample size - 417 couples of the area.Study Variables-Sex-related myths and misconceptionsOutcome Variables - Masturbation, Penis-size and sexual performance, STD transmission. Intercourse with virgin and cure of STDs, Initiation of sexual act, Bleeding on first night.Statistical analysis - By chi - square test.Results: Response rate 63.8%. Only 8.6% females and 33.7% males knew correctly about masturbation. Males also knew better about route of STD infection (73.5% and about the fact that intercouse with a virgin cannot cure STDs (47.4%. Females, however, outnumber males on the question of relation between man's penis size and his sexual performance (70%, initiation of sexual act (58.6% and bleeding in females on first night of marriage (70%.Conclusion: Males and females had significantly different perceptions on sex related myths and misconceptions.Recommendations: Sex education campaigns should be designed and implemented to eliminate these age old sex related myths and misconceptions.

  9. Perception of smile esthetics by laypeople of different ages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sriphadungporn, Chompunuch; Chamnannidiadha, Niramol

    2017-12-01

    Age is a factor affecting smile esthetics. Three variables of smile esthetics associated with the maxillary anterior teeth and age-related changes have recently received considerable attention: (i) the incisal edge position of the maxillary central incisors, (ii) the maxillary gingival display, and (iii) the presence of a black triangle between the maxillary central incisors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of age on smile esthetic perception based on these three variables in a group of Thai laypeople. The smiles were constructed from a photograph of a female smile. Smile photographs were altered in various increments using three variables: the incisal edge position of the maxillary incisors, gingival display, and a black triangle between the maxillary central incisors. The photographs were shown to a group of 240 Thai laypeople. The subjects were divided into two groups: a younger group, 15-29 years old (n = 120) and an older group, 36-52 years old (n = 120). Each subject was asked to score the attractiveness of each smile separately using a visual analog scale. Smile attractiveness scores concerning the incisal edge positions of the maxillary central incisors were similar between the two groups. However, upper lip coverage was rated as unattractive by the younger group. A gingival display of 0 and 2 mm was rated as most attractive by the younger group. Upper lip coverage and gingival display of 0 and 2 mm were considered attractive by the older group. Excessive gingival display (6 mm) was scored as unattractive by both groups. A black triangle ranging from 1 to 2.5 mm between the maxillary central incisors was scored differently between the two groups. The older group was more tolerant of the black triangle size. Age impacts smile perception based on maxillary gingival display and the presence of a black triangle between the maxillary central incisors, but not of the incisal edge position of the maxillary central incisors. Due to

  10. Do You Hear What I Hear? Overweight Children's Perceptions of Different Physical Activity Settings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meaney, Karen; Hart, Melanie A.; Griffin, L. Kent

    2011-01-01

    Social-Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986, 1999) served as the framework to explore overweight children's perceptions of different physical activity settings. Participants were children (n = 67) enrolled in an after-school and summer program for overweight African-American and Hispanic-American children from low-income families. To gain insight into…

  11. Perceptions of Family Relations when Mothers and Fathers Are Depicted with Different Parenting Styles

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGillicuddy-De Lisi, Ann V.; De Lisi, Richard

    2007-01-01

    College students (N = 125) reported their perceptions of family relations in response to vignettes that presented 5 different parenting styles. Participants viewed family relations as most positive when parents were portrayed as authoritative or permissive and as most negative when parents were portrayed as uninvolved-neglecting or authoritarian.…

  12. Cross-National Similarities and Differences in Employee Perceptions of Issues in the Work Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ripley, David; Hudson, Irene; Turner, Robin; Osman-Gani, AAhad

    2006-01-01

    This exploratory study examines cross-national similarities and differences in employee perceptions of issues in the work environment in 17 organizational work settings in seven Asia-Pacific countries; Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States. Employees at these 17 sites indicated their degree of…

  13. Role-play experience facilitates reading the mind of individuals with different perception.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fumikazu Furumi

    Full Text Available The present study examined effects of role-play experience on reading the mind of people with different perception. It is normally difficult but very important in daily life to understand people with different characteristics, including those with restricted color vision. We explored the mechanisms of reading the mind of people with different perception. Forty university students were introduced to a communication task in which the use of mindreading was essential. During each trial, participants viewed a shelf, presented on a laptop computer, which contained several familiar objects, and they were instructed to touch an object on the shelf following an instruction issued by a partner who stood at the opposite side of the shelf. There were two partners: one was a monkey with normal color vision and the other was a dog with restricted color vision. The monkey could see all the objects in the same colors as the participants, whereas the dog saw some objects in different colors (e.g., he saw as yellow objects that the participants saw as red. Participants were required to respond according to the partner's instruction. In the restricted color vision condition, the dog saw the colors of objects differently; thus, participants had to work out his intentions (i.e., mind read, according to his different perspective. In the normal color vision condition, all objects were in the same colors as those seen by the monkey. Before the test phase, the role-play group had a role-play experience in which participants assumed the role of people with restricted color vision. No-role-play participants made significantly more errors in the restricted color vision condition than in the normal color vision condition, whereas among role-play participants, there was no difference between conditions. These results suggest that role-play experience facilitates reading the mind of people with perceptual experiences different from our own.

  14. Useful but Different: Resident Physician Perceptions of Interprofessional Feedback.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vesel, Travis P; O'Brien, Bridget C; Henry, Duncan M; van Schaik, Sandrijn M

    2016-01-01

    Phenomenon: Based on recently formulated interprofessional core competencies, physicians are expected to incorporate feedback from other healthcare professionals. Based on social identity theory, physicians likely differentiate between feedback from members of their own profession and others. The current study examined residents' experiences with, and perceptions of, interprofessional feedback. In 2013, Anesthesia, Obstetrics-Gynecology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry residents completed a survey including questions about frequency of feedback from different professionals and its perceived value (5-point scale). The authors performed an analysis of variance to examine interactions between residency program and profession of feedback provider. They conducted follow-up interviews with a subset of residents to explore reasons for residents' survey ratings. Fifty-two percent (131/254) of residents completed the survey, and 15 participated in interviews. Eighty percent of residents reported receiving written feedback from physicians, 26% from nurses, and less than 10% from other professions. There was a significant interaction between residency program and feedback provider profession, F(21, 847) = 3.82, p feedback provider profession, F(7, 847) = 73.7, p feedback from attending physicians higher than feedback from others, and anesthesia residents rated feedback from other professionals significantly lower than other residents. Ten major themes arose from qualitative data analysis, which revealed an overall positive attitude toward interprofessional feedback and clarified reasons behind residents' perceptions and identified barriers. Insights: Residents in our study reported limited exposure to interprofessional feedback and valued such feedback less than intraprofessional feedback. However, our data suggest opportunities exist for effective utilization of interprofessional feedback.

  15. The correlation between pain perception among patients with six different orthodontic archwires and the degree of dental crowding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marković Evgenija

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Forces generated in orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances create tension and compression zones in the periodontal ligament resulting in a painful experience for patients. In the first phase of orthodontic treatment, when leveling of teeth is needed, nickel-titanium (NiTi archwires can be completely engaged in brackets, even in the cases of extreme crowding, exerting small forces. There is a great individual variation in the pain perception related to the application of orthodontic forces. Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate the pain perception among patients with dental crowding after insertion of six different NiTi orthodontic archwires as a part of fixed appliances in the first stage of orthodontic treatment. Methods. The study was conducted on a sample of 189 orthodontic patients receiving one of six different either superelastic or heat activated NiTi archwires, in the first phase of orthodontic treatment. Pain perception was evaluated in groups of patients with different degree of crowding. The modified McGill Pain Questionnaire with Visual Analogue Scale was used to evaluate the quality and intensity of pain. Statistical analysis was performed using simple descriptive statistics, and Pearson`s chi-square test with statistical significance of p<0.05. Results. Majority of patients reported pain as discomfort or pressure of moderate intensity caused by chewing or biting, started within 12 hours, carried on for 3-4 days, and decreased over time without self-medication. Conclusion. No correlation was found between pain perception among patients with different types of NiTi archwires and the degree of crowding.

  16. Undergraduate Engineering Students' Attitudes and Perceptions towards "Professional Ethics" Course: A Case Study of India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sethy, Satya Sundar

    2017-01-01

    "Professional Ethics" has been offered as a compulsory course to undergraduate engineering students in a premier engineering institution of India. It was noticed that students' perceptions and attitudes were frivolous and ornamental towards this course. Course instructors and institution authorities were motivated to find out the factors…

  17. Individual Differences in Beat Perception Affect Gait Responses to Low- and High-Groove Music

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leow, Li-Ann; Parrott, Taylor; Grahn, Jessica A.

    2014-01-01

    Slowed gait in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) can be improved when patients synchronize footsteps to isochronous metronome cues, but limited retention of such improvements suggest that permanent cueing regimes are needed for long-term improvements. If so, music might make permanent cueing regimes more pleasant, improving adherence; however, music cueing requires patients to synchronize movements to the “beat,” which might be difficult for patients with PD who tend to show weak beat perception. One solution may be to use high-groove music, which has high beat salience that may facilitate synchronization, and affective properties, which may improve motivation to move. As a first step to understanding how beat perception affects gait in complex neurological disorders, we examined how beat perception ability affected gait in neurotypical adults. Synchronization performance and gait parameters were assessed as healthy young adults with strong or weak beat perception synchronized to low-groove music, high-groove music, and metronome cues. High-groove music was predicted to elicit better synchronization than low-groove music, due to its higher beat salience. Two musical tempi, or rates, were used: (1) preferred tempo: beat rate matched to preferred step rate and (2) faster tempo: beat rate adjusted to 22.5% faster than preferred step rate. For both strong and weak beat-perceivers, synchronization performance was best with metronome cues, followed by high-groove music, and worst with low-groove music. In addition, high-groove music elicited longer and faster steps than low-groove music, both at preferred tempo and at faster tempo. Low-groove music was particularly detrimental to gait in weak beat-perceivers, who showed slower and shorter steps compared to uncued walking. The findings show that individual differences in beat perception affect gait when synchronizing footsteps to music, and have implications for using music in gait rehabilitation. PMID:25374521

  18. Individual differences in beat perception affect gait responses to low- and high-groove music.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li-Ann eLeow

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Slowed gait in Parkinson’s disease (PD patients can be improved when patients synchronize footsteps to isochronous metronome cues, but limited retention of such improvements suggest that permanent cueing regimes are needed for long-term improvements. If so, music might make permanent cueing regimes more pleasant, improving adherence; however, music cueing requires patients to synchronize movements to the beat, which might be difficult for PD patients who tend to show weak beat perception. One solution may be to use high groove music, which has high beat salience that may facilitate synchronization, and affective properties which may improve motivation to move. As a first step in understanding how beat perception affects gait in complex neurological disorders, we examined how beat perception ability affected gait in neurotypical adults. Synchronization performance and gait parameters were assessed as healthy young adults with strong or weak beat perception synchronized to low groove music, high groove music, and metronome cues. High groove music was predicted to elicit better synchronization than low groove music, due to its higher beat salience. Two musical tempi, or rates, were used: (1 preferred tempo: beat rate matched to preferred step rate and (2 faster tempo: beat rate adjusted to 22.5% faster than preferred step rate. For both strong and weak beat-perceivers, synchronization performance was best with metronome cues, followed by high groove music, and worst with low groove music. In addition, high groove music elicited longer and faster steps than low groove music, both at preferred tempo and at faster tempo. Low groove music was particularly detrimental to gait in weak beat-perceivers, who showed slower and shorter steps compared to uncued walking. The findings show that individual differences in beat perception affect gait when synchronizing footsteps to music, and have implications for using music in gait rehabilitation.

  19. Doubts in business communication: Can we transform perception into message

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jovanović Dragana

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The communication potential of virtual technology is widely recognized. Here, we review current problems related to developing, evaluating, or using virtual technology in business communication. Business uses of digital technology are broadly understood, but some of the questions we discussed here raise confusion about virtuality and reality, mental illusions, intransitive condition, and impassable boundaries of virtuality - embodied, sensual, singular subjectivity. Virtual communication is far beyond using computer technology, as we know it today. However, we all should be aware of confusion related to computer-mediated perception. From individual perception, communication sometime moves toward contemplative abstraction, which tends to forget its precondition: the original, mediated perceptual-sensuous immediacy of physical existence in the world. Perception is the unmediated directness, original, non-objected participation of organism in the universe. That is existence in unity with things, coexistence with the world. Original or phenomenological, sensory perception is not seen as a sign that the object emits and which informs us about it, or as structures of our brain centers or translation energy pulses in the respective forms - all these ideas are subsequent, second level or secondary metal structures. Perception is not noticed, but modus vivendi, manner of existence, the direct participation in the universe. This is the metaphysical meaning of perception, which doesn't deny the necessity of action, forces us to treat perceptions as a message, but it is secondary and derived meaning that we cannot legitimately absolutize.

  20. Perceptions of Geography as a Discipline among Students of Different Academic Levels in Pakistan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fatima, Munazza

    2016-01-01

    Geography is facing the problem of its identity and recognition as a useful academic discipline in Pakistan. This research paper examines the perception about geography as an academic discipline from the students of different academic levels i.e. intermediate, graduate, master and M.Phil. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and a…

  1. NOTICING AND TEXT-BASED CHAT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chun Lai

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available This study examined the capacity of text-based online chat to promote learners’ noticing of their problematic language productions and of the interactional feedback from their interlocutors. In this study, twelve ESL learners formed six mixed-proficiency dyads. The same dyads worked on two spot-the-difference tasks, one via online chat and the other through face-to-face conversation. Stimulated recall sessions were held subsequently to identify instances of noticing. It was found that text-based online chat promotes noticing more than face-to-face conversations, especially in terms of learners’ noticing of their own linguistic mistakes.

  2. Differences in Perception of the Participants in the Management Process and Its Real Trajectory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olaf Flak

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to present results of the research that was focused on managers’ behaviours. We tried to discover the main differences between the real trajectory and perception of managers in the field of two types of management processes. In the first part of the paper there is a theoretical foundation of process management and conclusions that led to a research model. In the second part we present the state of art in the field of human perception theories. Then, we describe assumptions of the research and methods of gathering data. What is important in the case of research method, an observation and a survey were used. The observation was done using the online management tools. During the research, managers were given a small project to lead. We recorded their actions and when their projects were completed, we asked them how they had acted. As a result of the research, there are three examples of description of managers’ behaviours and their perception. In the introduction we formulated two hypotheses and on the grounds of the research result we prove both statements in conclusion of the paper.

  3. Perception of risk from radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slovic, P.

    1996-01-01

    Perceptions of risk from radiation have been studied systematically for about 20 years. This paper summarises the key findings and conclusions from this research with regard to the nature of risk perceptions, the impacts of these perceptions, and the need for communication about radiological hazards. Perhaps the most important generalisation from research in this area is that there is no uniform or consistent perception of radiation risks. Public perception and acceptance is determined by the context in which the radiation is used -and the very different reactions to different uses provide insight into the nature of perception and the determinants of acceptable risk. (author)

  4. Job characteristic perception and intrinsic motivation in medical record department staff.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isfahani, Sakineh Saghaeiannejad; Bahrami, Soosan; Torki, Sedighe

    2013-01-01

    Human resources are key factors in service organizations like hospitals. Therefore, motivating human recourses to achieve the objectives of an organization is important. Job enrichment is a strategy used to increase job motivation in staffs. The goal of the current study is to determine the relationship between job characteristics and intrinsic motivation in medical record staff in hospitals related to Medical Science University in Isfahan in 2011-2012 academic year. The type of the study is descriptive and corelational of multi variables. The population of the study includes all the medical record staffs of medical record department working in Medical Science hospitals of Isfahan. One hundred twentyseven subjects were selected by conducting a census. In the present study, data collected by using two questionnaires of job characteristics devised by Hackman and Oldeham, and of intrinsic motivation. Content validity was confirmed by experts and its reliability was calculated through coefficient of Cronbach's alpha (r1 = 0.84- r2 = 0.94). The questionnaires completed were entered into SPSS(18) software; furthermore, statistical analysis done descriptively (frequency percent, mean, standard deviation, Pierson correlation coefficient,...) and inferentially (multiple regression, MANOVA, LSD). A significant relationship between job characteristics as well as its elements (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback) and intrinsic motivation was noticed. (p intrinsic motivation was significant and job feedback had the most impact upon the intrinsic motivation. No significant difference was noticed among the mean amounts of job characteristic perception according to age, gender, level of education, and the kind of educational degree in hospitals. However, there was a significant difference among the mean amounts of job characteristic perception according to the unit of service and the years of servicein hospitals. The findings show that all job

  5. Dairy-Based Emulsions: Viscosity Affects Fat Difference Thresholds and Sweetness Perception

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susann Zahn

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available In complex emulsions, viscosity or viscosity-associated sensory attributes such as creaminess are important for quality assessment and product differentiation. Two sets of emulsions with fat or locust bean gum content being varied at seven levels were developed; the two emulsions at each level had similar apparent viscosity. Additionally, sugar concentration was kept constant either with respect to total emulsion, or with respect to the aqueous phase. Series of two-alternative forced choice tests were performed with one constant stimulus, and just noticeable differences were calculated using probability regression. The results show that, when viscosity was not compensated, it was easy for the subjects to (a distinguish emulsions with different fat content when the fat content was addressed in the question, and to (b distinguish emulsions with different fat or locust bean gum content when creaminess was addressed. For the latter descriptor, it is of minor importance whether viscosity is altered by fat content or a thickener. Weber fractions that were calculated for viscosity were approximately 0.20. The quantitative effects of viscosity on sweetness, however, depend on how product rheology was modified.

  6. Human roughness perception and possible factors effecting roughness sensation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aktar, Tugba; Chen, Jianshe; Ettelaie, Rammile; Holmes, Melvin; Henson, Brian

    2017-06-01

    Surface texture sensation is significant for business success, in particular for solid surfaces for most of the materials; including foods. Mechanisms of roughness perception are still unknown, especially under different conditions such as lubricants with varying viscosities, different temperatures, or under different force loads during the observation of the surface. This work aims to determine the effect of those unknown factors, with applied sensory tests on 62 healthy participants. Roughness sensation of fingertip was tested under different lubricants including water and diluted syrup solutions at room temperature (25C) and body temperature (37C) by using simple pair-wise comparison to observe the just noticeable difference threshold and perception levels. Additionally, in this research applied force load during roughness observation was tested with pair-wise ranking method to illustrate its possible effect on human sensation. Obtained results showed that human's capability of roughness discrimination reduces with increased viscosity of the lubricant, where the influence of the temperature was not found to be significant. Moreover, the increase in the applied force load showed an increase in the sensitivity of roughness discrimination. Observed effects of the applied factors were also used for estimating the oral sensation of texture during eating. These findings are significant for our fundamental understanding to texture perception, and for the development of new food products with controlled textural features. Texture discrimination ability, more specifically roughness discrimination capability, is a significant factor for preference and appreciation for a wide range of materials, including food, furniture, or fabric. To explore the mechanism of sensation capability through tactile senses, it is necessary to identify the relevant factors and define characteristics that dominate the process involved. The results that will be obtained under these principles

  7. Differences in the Perception of Growth in Spiritual Development between Freshmen and Seniors Attending an Assemblies of God Affiliated University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manley, Paula R.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose, Scope, and Method of Study: The purpose of this study was to describe the perception of growth in spiritual development of undergraduate students attending an Assemblies of God affiliated university by examining the differences in the perception of spiritual development between freshmen and seniors. This quantitative study used a survey…

  8. Measuring Race and Gender Differences in Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Campus Climate and Intentions to Leave College: An Analysis in Black and White

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strayhorn, Terrell L.

    2013-01-01

    Student perceptions of campus climate environments and intentions to leave college were examined for 391 participants. Differences by race were found for perceptions of the campus climate being cold and uncaring and for expectations to encounter racism in college. Perceptions of campus climate were related to African American students' intent to…

  9. Global integration of local color differences in transparency perception: An fMRI study.

    OpenAIRE

    Dojat, Michel; Piettre, Loÿs; Delon-Martin, Chantal; Pachot-Clouard, Mathilde; Segebarth, Christoph; Knoblauch, Kenneth

    2006-01-01

    In normal viewing, the visual system effortlessly assigns approximately constant attributes of color and shape to perceived objects. A fundamental component of this process is the compensation for illuminant variations and intervening media to recover reflectance properties of natural surfaces. We exploited the phenomenon of transparency perception to explore what cortical regions are implicated in such processes, using fMRI. By manipulating the coherence of local color differences around a r...

  10. Haptic perception

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kappers, A.M.L.; Bergmann Tiest, W.M.

    2013-01-01

    Fueled by novel applications, interest in haptic perception is growing. This paper provides an overview of the state of the art of a number of important aspects of haptic perception. By means of touch we can not only perceive quite different material properties, such as roughness, compliance,

  11. Foreign direct investments in Europe: are the East-West differences still so noticeable?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariem Brahim

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This article strives to successively compare the FDI determinants in the former EU-15 and in the CEECs in order to analyze the possible differences between the two areas. The econometric analysis, led over the 1993-2010 period, shows that over that period few noticeable differences can be observed between the two areas, with the traditional effects of market size and openness remaining as factors of attraction in either side of Europe. However, some differences keep up on the role played by the technological gap as well as the wage and the tax system costs variables. The estimates also show that the workforce education level also matters. The results bring out an evolution of the determinants in time suggesting that the social and mainly tax system competitiveness show up on the technological gap. This coincides with the crisis occurrence which generates a greater volatility in FDI flows.

  12. Color categories only affect post-perceptual processes when same- and different-category colors are equally discriminable.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Xun; Witzel, Christoph; Forder, Lewis; Clifford, Alexandra; Franklin, Anna

    2014-04-01

    Prior claims that color categories affect color perception are confounded by inequalities in the color space used to equate same- and different-category colors. Here, we equate same- and different-category colors in the number of just-noticeable differences, and measure event-related potentials (ERPs) to these colors on a visual oddball task to establish if color categories affect perceptual or post-perceptual stages of processing. Category effects were found from 200 ms after color presentation, only in ERP components that reflect post-perceptual processes (e.g., N2, P3). The findings suggest that color categories affect post-perceptual processing, but do not affect the perceptual representation of color.

  13. Influence of individual differences in disease perception on consumer response to direct-to-consumer genomic testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boeldt, D L; Schork, N J; Topol, E J; Bloss, C S

    2015-03-01

    Individuals who undergo multiplex direct-to-consumer (DTC) genomic testing receive genetic risk results for multiple conditions. To date, research has not investigated the influence of individual differences in disease perceptions among consumers on testing outcomes. A total of 2037 participants received DTC genomic testing and completed baseline and follow-up surveys assessing disease perceptions and health behaviors. Participants were asked to indicate their most feared disease of those tested. Perceived seriousness and controllability of the disease via lifestyle or medical intervention were assessed. Participants most frequently reported heart attack (19.1%) and Alzheimer's disease (18.6%) as their most feared disease. Perceived seriousness and control over the feared disease both influenced response to DTC genomic testing. Greater perceived seriousness and diminished perceived control were associated with higher, but not clinically significant levels of anxiety and distress. In some cases these associations were modified by genetic risk. No significant associations were observed for diet, exercise and screening behaviors. Individual differences in disease perceptions influence psychological outcomes following DTC genomic testing. Higher perceived seriousness may make a consumer more psychologically sensitive to test results and greater perceived control may protect against adverse psychological outcomes. Findings may inform development of educational and counseling services. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Assessing the effect of physical differences in the articulation of consonants and vowels on audiovisual temporal perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vatakis, Argiro; Maragos, Petros; Rodomagoulakis, Isidoros; Spence, Charles

    2012-01-01

    We investigated how the physical differences associated with the articulation of speech affect the temporal aspects of audiovisual speech perception. Video clips of consonants and vowels uttered by three different speakers were presented. The video clips were analyzed using an auditory-visual signal saliency model in order to compare signal saliency and behavioral data. Participants made temporal order judgments (TOJs) regarding which speech-stream (auditory or visual) had been presented first. The sensitivity of participants' TOJs and the point of subjective simultaneity (PSS) were analyzed as a function of the place, manner of articulation, and voicing for consonants, and the height/backness of the tongue and lip-roundedness for vowels. We expected that in the case of the place of articulation and roundedness, where the visual-speech signal is more salient, temporal perception of speech would be modulated by the visual-speech signal. No such effect was expected for the manner of articulation or height. The results demonstrate that for place and manner of articulation, participants' temporal percept was affected (although not always significantly) by highly-salient speech-signals with the visual-signals requiring smaller visual-leads at the PSS. This was not the case when height was evaluated. These findings suggest that in the case of audiovisual speech perception, a highly salient visual-speech signal may lead to higher probabilities regarding the identity of the auditory-signal that modulate the temporal window of multisensory integration of the speech-stimulus. PMID:23060756

  15. Placing the face in context: cultural differences in the perception of facial emotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masuda, Takahiko; Ellsworth, Phoebe C; Mesquita, Batja; Leu, Janxin; Tanida, Shigehito; Van de Veerdonk, Ellen

    2008-03-01

    Two studies tested the hypothesis that in judging people's emotions from their facial expressions, Japanese, more than Westerners, incorporate information from the social context. In Study 1, participants viewed cartoons depicting a happy, sad, angry, or neutral person surrounded by other people expressing the same emotion as the central person or a different one. The surrounding people's emotions influenced Japanese but not Westerners' perceptions of the central person. These differences reflect differences in attention, as indicated by eye-tracking data (Study 2): Japanese looked at the surrounding people more than did Westerners. Previous findings on East-West differences in contextual sensitivity generalize to social contexts, suggesting that Westerners see emotions as individual feelings, whereas Japanese see them as inseparable from the feelings of the group.

  16. Consumers' perceptions toward 3 different fermented dairy products: Insights from focus groups, word association, and projective mapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esmerino, Erick A; Ferraz, Juliana P; Filho, Elson R Tavares; Pinto, Letícia P F; Freitas, Mônica Q; Cruz, Adriano G; Bolini, Helena M A

    2017-11-01

    Yogurts, fermented milk beverages, and fermented milks have great similarity and are widely accepted by Brazilian population, but the factors that influence their choice and consumption are unknown. In this sense, the present study aimed to identify the main aspects involved in consumers' perception of 3 different products, comparing the findings by using the 2 fast qualitative methods, word association and projective mapping, and a standard method, focus group. The tasks were performed by different participants through graphic stimuli (word association and projective mapping) and focus interviews (focus group). Results showed that all the 3 methodologies identified numerous intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence the consumer choices regarding fermented dairy products. Major dimensions were closely related to the sensory aspects, emotional factors, perception of benefits, and composition, among others. It is noteworthy that the stimuli related to fermented milk beverages evoked rejecting responses, possibly due to the dissociation between information and consumers' expectation. Although minor differences were observed between the number and type of dimensions that were obtained, similar conclusions can be drawn from all 3 sensory methods, which shows the relevance of qualitative and projective methods for investigation of consumers' perception. These findings can help dairy companies to provide subsidies and guidelines for the reformulation of their products, marketing strategies, and improvement in the communication between producers and consumers from different fermented dairy products. Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Gender Differences in Teens' Digital Propensity and Perceptions and Preferences with Regard to Digital and Printed Text

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seok, Soonhwa; DaCosta, Boaventura

    2017-01-01

    Gender differences between the reading of digital and printed text were explored in this study. Predictors of digital propensity were investigated along with gender differences in the context of digital propensity and perceptions and preferences toward the reading of digital and printed text. Findings strengthened results reported in existing…

  18. The reasonable woman standard: a meta-analytic review of gender differences in perceptions of sexual harassment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blumenthal, J A

    1998-02-01

    Courts and legislatures have begun to develop the "reasonable woman standard" (RWS) as a criterion for deciding sexual harassment trials. This standard rests on assumptions of a "wide divergence" between the perceptions of men and women when viewing social-sexual behavior that may be considered harassing. Narrative reviews of the literature on such perceptions have suggested that these assumptions are only minimally supported. To test these assumptions quantitatively, a meta-analytic review was conducted that assessed the size, stability, and moderators of gender differences in perceptions of sexual harassment. The effect of the actor's status relative to the target also was evaluated meta-analytically, as one alternative to the importance of gender effects. Results supported the claims of narrative reviews for a relatively small gender effect, and draw attention to the status effect. In discussing legal implications of the present findings, earlier claims are echoed suggesting caution in establishing the reasonable woman standard, and one alternative to the RWS, the "reasonable victim standard," is discussed.

  19. Cause Related Marketing: Consumers Perceptions and Benefits for Profit and Non-Profits Organisations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisca Farache

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available This study is an attempt to understand consumers’ perceptions regarding Cause Related Marketing [CRM]. The research findings were based on a survey of 200 consumers in the Brighton area and published data. The research aim was focused on the consumers’ perception of the alliance between corporations and non-profit organisations. The research found that consumers have a better perception of firms that work with charities and good causes than those that do not. They believe that the partnership between corporations and charities has an impact on the good of society. However, they are aware that corporations themselves benefit from this partnership. Concerning good causes, consumers prefer to support those related to Children. The researchers noticed that an individual connection with a cause might have considerable influence on consumer attitudes and behaviour in relation to a specific cause.

  20. Do Farmers Using Conventional and Non-Conventional Systems of Agriculture Have Different Perceptions of the Diversity of Wild Birds? Implications for Conservation

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Andrade, Luciano Pires; Muniz, Lauana Souza; Telino-Júnior, Wallace Rodrigues; Albuquerque, Ulysses Paulino; Lyra-Neves, Rachel Maria

    2016-01-01

    Farmers’ perceptions of birds’ interactions with agricultural production systems are fundamental to species conservation efforts. In the present study, we evaluated the perceptions of birds held by farmers who engage in conventional and non-conventional agricultural production processes and the implications of potential differences in these perceptions on species conservation. To accomplish this, data were collected using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and other complementary sources of information gathered from 191 farmers in northeastern Brazil. Although some similarities were identified among the farmers in their perceptions and local ecological knowledge (LEK) of birds, differences existed between the conventional and non-conventional farmers in their attitudes toward, conflicts with, and usage of bird species. Compared to the conventional farmers, the non-conventional farmers could identify more bird species, possessed more favorable attitudes toward birds, and engaged in practices more beneficial to the conservation of avifauna. The perceptions that were identified were related to the type of agriculture practiced, and such perceptions may affect the conservation of bird species. Therefore, the adoption of certain agricultural practices has important implications for conservation. Our results indicate the need for investment in public policies, programs and actions that account for farmers’ knowledge and perceptions. Such investments will contribute to the development and adoption of practices supporting wild bird conservation in agricultural areas. PMID:27243222

  1. Do Farmers Using Conventional and Non-Conventional Systems of Agriculture Have Different Perceptions of the Diversity of Wild Birds? Implications for Conservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva-Andrade, Horasa Lima; de Andrade, Luciano Pires; Muniz, Lauana Souza; Telino-Júnior, Wallace Rodrigues; Albuquerque, Ulysses Paulino; Lyra-Neves, Rachel Maria

    2016-01-01

    Farmers' perceptions of birds' interactions with agricultural production systems are fundamental to species conservation efforts. In the present study, we evaluated the perceptions of birds held by farmers who engage in conventional and non-conventional agricultural production processes and the implications of potential differences in these perceptions on species conservation. To accomplish this, data were collected using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and other complementary sources of information gathered from 191 farmers in northeastern Brazil. Although some similarities were identified among the farmers in their perceptions and local ecological knowledge (LEK) of birds, differences existed between the conventional and non-conventional farmers in their attitudes toward, conflicts with, and usage of bird species. Compared to the conventional farmers, the non-conventional farmers could identify more bird species, possessed more favorable attitudes toward birds, and engaged in practices more beneficial to the conservation of avifauna. The perceptions that were identified were related to the type of agriculture practiced, and such perceptions may affect the conservation of bird species. Therefore, the adoption of certain agricultural practices has important implications for conservation. Our results indicate the need for investment in public policies, programs and actions that account for farmers' knowledge and perceptions. Such investments will contribute to the development and adoption of practices supporting wild bird conservation in agricultural areas.

  2. Do Farmers Using Conventional and Non-Conventional Systems of Agriculture Have Different Perceptions of the Diversity of Wild Birds? Implications for Conservation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Horasa Lima Silva-Andrade

    Full Text Available Farmers' perceptions of birds' interactions with agricultural production systems are fundamental to species conservation efforts. In the present study, we evaluated the perceptions of birds held by farmers who engage in conventional and non-conventional agricultural production processes and the implications of potential differences in these perceptions on species conservation. To accomplish this, data were collected using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and other complementary sources of information gathered from 191 farmers in northeastern Brazil. Although some similarities were identified among the farmers in their perceptions and local ecological knowledge (LEK of birds, differences existed between the conventional and non-conventional farmers in their attitudes toward, conflicts with, and usage of bird species. Compared to the conventional farmers, the non-conventional farmers could identify more bird species, possessed more favorable attitudes toward birds, and engaged in practices more beneficial to the conservation of avifauna. The perceptions that were identified were related to the type of agriculture practiced, and such perceptions may affect the conservation of bird species. Therefore, the adoption of certain agricultural practices has important implications for conservation. Our results indicate the need for investment in public policies, programs and actions that account for farmers' knowledge and perceptions. Such investments will contribute to the development and adoption of practices supporting wild bird conservation in agricultural areas.

  3. Age Differences in Perceptions of Rich and Poor People: Is It Skill or Luck?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sigelman, Carol K.

    2013-01-01

    To gain new perspective on the development of understandings and perceptions of income inequality, this study compared the reactions of six, eight, and 10-year-olds to a rich man and a poor man and the winners and losers of a contest of skill and a game of chance. Age differences in attributions for outcomes reflected a strengthening with age of…

  4. Country-wise differences in perception of health-related messages in cereal-based food products

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Saba, A.; Vassallo, M.; Sheperd, R.

    2010-01-01

    and on likelihood to buy the products, whereas the pictorial representations were found to have a weak influence on the two dependent variables. However, the findings showed that health-related information on food labels differently influenced the healthiness perception and the likelihood to buy the product across......The objective of the present study was to explore the impact of health-related messages on the perceived overall healthiness and consumers' likelihood to buy cereal-based products or non-cereal products containing beneficial compounds from grains, across four European countries. The data were...... collected from a sample of 2392 members of the public in Finland, Germany, Italy and the UK. The results from a conjoint task with a main effects additive model were reported. In general, the presence of a health claim on foods had positive influence on respondents perception of healthiness...

  5. Haptic perception disambiguates visual perception of 3D shape

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wijntjes, Maarten W A; Volcic, Robert; Pont, Sylvia C.; Koenderink, Jan J.; Kappers, Astrid M L

    We studied the influence of haptics on visual perception of three-dimensional shape. Observers were shown pictures of an oblate spheroid in two different orientations. A gauge-figure task was used to measure their perception of the global shape. In the first two sessions only vision was used. The

  6. Teacher Perception of Cultural Difference in L2 Materials: Is Filtering Culture the Right Approach?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hermessi, Tarek

    2017-01-01

    With the emergence of the intercultural approach to L2 teaching, several studies investigated teachers' attitudes and beliefs concerning the cultural dimension of L2 teaching in different foreign language settings. This study explored teachers' perceptions of the relationship between teaching English and culture in Tunisia, an EFL setting where…

  7. Distortions and gender-related differences in the perception of mechanical engineering in high school students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrando Piera, Pere Joan; Gutiérrez-Colón Plana, Mar; Paleo Cageao, Paloma; de la Flor López, Silvia; Ferrando Piera, Francesc

    2013-01-01

    The reason for this study was the low interest that high school students, particularly females, show for the subject of mechanical engineering (ME). We assumed that this problem was partly due to: (a) lack of understanding of the tasks involved in ME, and (b) a distorted and negative perception of the professional environment and working conditions. To assess these two assumptions, two measurement instruments (tasks and perceptions) were developed and administered in a sample of 496 high school students. A multiple-group design was used and data was analyzed by using an extended item response theory model. In general terms, the results agreed with our expectations. However, no significant gender differences were found. The implications of the results for future improvements are discussed.

  8. Mental rotation versus invariant features in object perception from different viewpoints: An fMRI study

    OpenAIRE

    Vanrie, Jan; Béatse, Erik; Wagemans, Johan; Sunaert, Stefan; Van Hecke, Paul

    2002-01-01

    It has been proposed that object perception can proceed through different routes, which can be situated on a continuum ranging from complete viewpoint-dependency to complete viewpoint-independency, depending on the objects and the task at hand. Although these different routes have been extensively demonstrated on the behavioral level, the corresponding distinction in the underlying neural substrate has not received the same attention. Our goal was to disentangle, on the behavioral and the neu...

  9. Scene perception and memory revealed by eye movements and receiver-operating characteristic analyses: Does a cultural difference truly exist?

    OpenAIRE

    Evans, Kris; Rotello, Caren M.; Li, Xingshan; Rayner, Keith

    2008-01-01

    Cultural differences have been observed in scene perception and memory: Chinese participants purportedly attend to the background information more than did American participants. We investigated the influence of culture by recording eye movements during scene perception and while participants made recognition memory judgements. Real-world pictures with a focal object on a background were shown to both American and Chinese participants while their eye movements were recorded. Later, memory for...

  10. Gender differences in ethical perceptions of business practices: a social role theory perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franke, G R; Crown, D F; Spake, D F

    1997-12-01

    This study presents a meta-analysis of research on gender differences in perceptions of ethical decision making. Data from more than 20,000 respondents in 66 samples show that women are more likely than men to perceive specific hypothetical business practices as unethical. As suggested by social role theory (A. H. Eagly, 1987), the gender difference observed in precareer (student) samples declines as the work experience of samples increases. Social role theory also accounts for greater gender differences in nonmonetary issues than in monetary issues. T. M. Jones's (1991) issue-contingent model of moral intensity helps explain why gender differences vary across types of behavior. Contrary to expectations, differences are not influenced by the sex of the actor or the target of the behavior and do not depend on whether the behavior involves personal relationships or action vs. inaction.

  11. Illness perception and fibromyalgia impact on female patients from Spain and the Netherlands: do cultural differences exist?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz-Montero, Pedro J; Van Wilgen, C Paul; Segura-Jiménez, Victor; Carbonell-Baeza, Ana; Delgado-Fernández, Manuel

    2015-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in illness perception and overall impact on fibromyalgia females from Spain and the Netherlands. A total of 325 fibromyalgia females from Spain (54.3 ± 7.1 years) and the Netherlands (51.8 ± 7.2 years) participated in the study. Illness perception and impact of fibromyalgia were assessed by the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire and the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, respectively. Spanish fibromyalgia females perceived more symptoms related to their fibromyalgia (identity) such as nausea, breathlessness, wheezing or fatigue (P fibromyalgia females experienced less timeline (acute/chronic) and consequences (all, P fibromyalgia females reported higher impact of fibromyalgia than Dutch females (61.2 + 14.8 vs. 54.9 + 16.4, respectively; P fibromyalgia and negative views of fibromyalgia were higher in Spanish fibromyalgia females, whereas Dutch fibromyalgia females presented higher score of positive beliefs about the controllability of the illness. Psychological interventions which help patients to cope with their illness perception might lead to an improvement of the impact of the disease on fibromyalgia females.

  12. Reported exposure to E-cigarette advertising and promotion in different regulatory environments: Findings from the International Tobacco Control Four Country (ITC-4C) Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wadsworth, E; McNeill, A; Li, L; Hammond, D; Thrasher, J F; Yong, H-H; Cummings, K M; Fong, G T; Hitchman, S C

    2018-07-01

    Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) advertising regulations differ across countries. This study examines how differences in e-cigarette advertising regulations influence exposure to e-cigarette advertising, and perceptions about what participants had seen and read about e-cigarettes. Data come from the ITC Four Country Survey (Canada [CA], United States [US], Australia [AU] and United Kingdom [UK]) carried out between August 2013 and March 2015 (n = 3460). In 2014, AU and CA had laws prohibiting the retail sale of e-cigarettes containing nicotine while the US and UK had no restrictions, although a voluntary agreement restricting advertising in the UK was introduced during fieldwork. Smokers and ex-smokers were asked whether in the last six months they had noticed e-cigarettes advertisements and received free samples/special offers (promotion), and about their perceptions (positive or otherwise) of what they had seen or read about e-cigarettes. Data were analyzed in 2017. US and UK participants were more likely to report that they had noticed e-cigarette advertisements and received promotions compared to CA or AU participants. For TV and radio advertisements, reported exposure was higher in US compared to UK. For all types of advertisements, reported exposure was higher in CA than AU. Overall, nearly half of AU (44.0%) and UK (47.8%) participants perceived everything they had seen and read about e-cigarettes to be positive, with no significant differences between AU and UK. Participants in countries with permissive e-cigarette advertising restrictions and less restrictive e-cigarette regulations were more likely to notice advertisements than participants in countries with more restrictive e-cigarette regulations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Staff perceptions of organisational values in a large South African manufacturing company: exploring socio-demographic differences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nico Martins

    2011-11-01

    Research purpose: The objective of the study was to explore the perceptions of men and women staff members, as well as members of various race and age groups, in a large South African manufacturing company about the current enactment of organisational values and the importance of these values. Motivation for the study: The challenge of managing multi-cultural work forces from different gender, race and generational backgrounds makes an understanding of how peoples’ values align with those of their organisations, as reflected in their cultures, necessary. Research design, approach and method: Using an organisational values scale, the researchers conducted a quantitative survey on a random sample of 988 participants employed in a large South African manufacturing company. Main findings: ANOVAs and post hoc multiple comparison of means tests revealed that gender, race and age have a significant effect on some of the dimensions of organisational values and that these biographical groups differ significantly in their perceptions of the importance of certain organisational values as well as how their organisations enact them. Practical/mangerial implications: The findings highlight the importance of understanding staff perceptions in creating greater commitment to organisational values as important aspects of an effective organisational culture. Contribution/value-add: This study is original research that contributes new knowledge to the field of organisational psychology and management practices.

  14. Student perception of two different simulation techniques in oral and maxillofacial surgery undergraduate training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lund, Bodil; Fors, Uno; Sejersen, Ronny; Sallnäs, Eva-Lotta; Rosén, Annika

    2011-10-12

    Yearly surveys among the undergraduate students in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Karolinska Institutet have conveyed a wish for increased clinical training, and in particular, in surgical removal of mandibular third molars. Due to lack of resources, this kind of clinical supervision has so far not been possible to implement. One possible solution to this problem might be to introduce simulation into the curriculum. The purpose of this study was to investigate undergraduate students' perception of two different simulation methods for practicing clinical reasoning skills and technical skills in oral and maxillofacial surgery. Forty-seven students participating in the oral and maxillofacial surgery course at Karolinska Institutet during their final year were included. Three different oral surgery patient cases were created in a Virtual Patient (VP) Simulation system (Web-SP) and used for training clinical reasoning. A mandibular third molar surgery simulator with tactile feedback, providing hands on training in the bone removal and tooth sectioning in third molar surgery, was also tested. A seminar was performed using the combination of these two simulators where students' perception of the two different simulation methods was assessed by means of a questionnaire. The response rate was 91.5% (43/47). The students were positive to the VP cases, although they rated their possible improvement of clinical reasoning skills as moderate. The students' perception of improved technical skills after training in the mandibular third molar surgery simulator was rated high. The majority of the students agreed that both simulation techniques should be included in the curriculum and strongly agreed that it was a good idea to use the two simulators in concert. The importance of feedback from the senior experts during simulator training was emphasised. The two tested simulation methods were well accepted and most students agreed that the future curriculum would benefit from

  15. Individual Differences in Children's Risk Perception and Appraisals in Outdoor Play Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Helen; Wyver, Shirley

    2010-01-01

    Child characteristics including age, gender, risk-taking behaviour and sensation seeking are thought to influence children's ability to appraise risks. The present study investigated children's risk perceptions and appraisals in the context of common outdoor physical play activities. Risk perceptions and appraisal of four- and five-year olds were…

  16. Regional differences in entrepreneurial perceptions and implications for the Romanian competitiveness policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolae Mariana

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Understanding entrepreneurship as being spatially rooted transforms it in a regional and national competitiveness factor. Despite the increasing importance of the territorial dimension in supporting economic growth at policy and declarative levels, in practice, in Romania, the territorial structure and spatial organization of the economy contributes little to the national value added. In this context, we study regional differences in entrepreneurial initiative and perception and their possible impact on the national competitiveness strategy. We use primary data collected in three Romanian regions (Centre, North-East, Bucureşti-Ilfov and conduct a statistical analysis of the data. The results indicate different comparative regional profiles. The regional differences in the intentions, motivations, barriers and limitation for entrepreneurship confirm the theoretical view that personal motivations of becoming an entrepreneur are determined by environmental conditions. We conclude that the regional differences should be taken into account in the elaboration of the competitiveness policy, corroborated with the results of other similar studies.

  17. Adolescents' Perceptions of Opportunities in the U.S. South: Postracial Mirage or Reality in the New Black Mecca?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Jerome E.; Woodruff, Sara E.

    2015-01-01

    The scholarly community has eagerly assessed adults' perspectives on race and opportunity in the "postracial" era. Noticeably absent are studies that probe youths' perceptions of social and educational opportunity within this era, given the relationship between education and upward mobility, and the symbolism embodied in Obama's 2008…

  18. Sex differences in itch perception and modulation by distraction--an FMRI pilot study in healthy volunteers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Astrid Stumpf

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Even though itch is a common syndrome of many diseases there is only little knowledge about sex and gender differences in pruritus, especially in central itch perception and modulation. To our knowledge, this is the first fMRI study examining sex differences in perception and its modulation by distraction. METHODS: Experimental itch was induced by application of histamine (0.1 mM via microdialysis fibers twice at the left forearm and twice at the left lower leg in 33 healthy volunteers (17 females, 16 males. The brain activation patterns were assessed by fMRI during itch without and with distraction (Stroop task. Between the various conditions, subjects were asked to rate itch intensity, desire to scratch and pain intensity. In a second experiment in 10 of the 33 volunteers histamine was replaced by saline solution to serve as control for the 'Stroop' condition. RESULTS: Women generally presented higher itch intensities compared to men during itch over the course of the experiment. A more specific analysis revealed higher itch intensities and desire to scratch in women during experimental induced itch that can be reduced by distraction at the lower legs when itch is followed by 'Stroop'. In contrast, men depicted significant reduction of 'itch' by 'Stroop' at the forearms. Women depicted higher brain activation of structures responsible for integration of sensory, affective information and motor integration/planning during 'itch' and 'Stroop' condition when compared to men. No sex differences were seen in the saline control condition. CONCLUSION: Women and men exhibited localisation dependent differences in their itch perception with women presenting higher itch intensities and desire to scratch. Our findings parallel clinical observations of women reporting higher itch intensities depending on itch localisation and suffering more from itch as compared to men.

  19. Touch perceptions across skin sites: differences between sensitivity, direction discrimination and pleasantness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rochelle eAckerley

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Human skin is innervated with different tactile afferents over the body, which are found at varying densities. We investigate how the relationships between tactile pleasantness, sensitivity and discrimination differ across the skin. Tactile pleasantness was assessed by stroking a soft brush over the skin, using five velocities (0.3, 1, 3, 10, 30 cm s-1, known to differentiate hedonic touch, and pleasantness ratings were gained. The ratings velocity-profile is known to correlate with firing in unmyelinated C-tactile afferents. Tactile sensitivity thresholds were determined using monofilament force detection and the tactile discrimination level was obtained in the direction discrimination of a moving probe; both tasks readily activate myelinated touch receptors. Perceptions were measured over five skin sites: forehead, arm, palm, thigh and shin. The assessment of tactile pleasantness over the skin resulted in a preference for the middle velocities (1-10 cm s-1, where higher ratings were gained compared to the slowest and fastest velocities. This preference in tactile pleasantness was found across all the skin sites, apart from at the palm, where no decrease in pleasantness for the faster stroking velocities was seen. We find that tactile sensitivity and discrimination vary across the skin, where the forehead and palm show increased acuity. Tactile sensitivity and discrimination levels also correlated significantly, although the tactile acuity did not relate to the perceived pleasantness of touch. Tactile pleasantness varied in a subtle way across skin sites, where the middle velocities were always rated as the most pleasant, but the ratings at hairy skin sites were more receptive to changes in stroking velocity. We postulate that although the mechanoreceptive afferent physiology may be different over the skin, the perception of pleasant touch can be interpreted using all of the available incoming somatosensory information in combination with

  20. Site-specific differences in the association between plantar tactile perception and mobility function in older adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yenisel eCruz-Almeida

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Impaired somatosensation is common in older adults and contributes to age-related loss of mobility function. However, little is known about whether somatosensation at different sites on the plantar surface of the foot are differentially related to mobility function. Such a finding may have important implications for clinical care of older adults and other at-risk populations, such as for optimizing interventions (e.g., footwear for augmenting somatosensory feedback and for improving the efficiency of clinical assessment. Materials and Methods Tactile perception was evaluated with a 10g monofilament at four sites on the plantar surface of each foot: great toe (GT, first metatarsal head (MT1, heel (H and fifth metatarsal head (MT5. Mobility function was assessed with the Berg Balance Scale and walking speed. Results Sixty-one older adults participated. Tactile perception was significantly positively associated with Berg Balance Score (adjusted R2 = 0.30 - 0.75; p = 0.03 - Discussion The present findings indicate that tactile perception at MT1 is more closely linked to mobility function than is tactile perception at GT, MT5 or H. These findings warrant further research to examine whether interventions (e.g., textured insoles and assessments that preferentially or exclusively focus on the site of MT1 may be more effective for optimizing clinical care.

  1. Restrictions to Pharmacy Ownership and Vertical Integration in Estonia-Perception of Different Stakeholders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gross, Marit; Volmer, Daisy

    2016-04-19

    From 2020, the ownership of community pharmacies in Estonia will be limited to the pharmacy profession, and the vertical integration of wholesale companies and community pharmacies will not be allowed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perception of different stakeholders in primary healthcare toward the new regulations of the community pharmacy sector in Estonia. A qualitative electronic survey was distributed to the main stakeholders in primary healthcare and higher education institutions providing pharmacy education ( n = 40) in May 2015. For data analysis, the systematic text condensation method was used. The study participants described two opposing positions regarding the development of community pharmacies in the future. Reform supporters emphasized increased professional independence and more healthcare-oriented operation of community pharmacies. Reform opponents argued against these ideas as community pharmacists do not have sufficient practical experience and finances to ensure sustainable development of the community pharmacy sector in Estonia. Based on the current perception of all respondents, the future operation of the community pharmacy sector in Estonia is unclear and there is urgent need for implementation criteria for the new regulations.

  2. Maturational differences in physical self- perceptions and the relationship with physical activity in early adolescent girls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niven, Alisa G; Fawkner, Samantha G; Knowles, Anne-Marie; Stephenson, Claire

    2007-11-01

    This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between physical self-perceptions (PSPs), maturation, and physical activity and compared the strength of the relationships of biological and chronological age with PSPs in early adolescent girls (N = 208; mean age = 11.83 +/- 0.39 years). Participants completed the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children, the Children's Physical Self-Perception Profile, and the Pubertal Development Scale. Results indicated that PSPs were significantly and moderately correlated with physical activity. There were no differences in physical activity between maturation stages. Girls who were in the early stages of maturation had significantly more positive perceptions of body attractiveness and physical self-worth than girls in the mid stages of maturation. There was no evidence of a relationship between PSPs and chronological age. This study provided further support for the relationship between PSPs and physical activity and the relationship between maturation and aspects of PSPs. In this age group, maturation does not appear to be related to physical activity or the PSPs most strongly influential on physical activity behavior.

  3. When managers and their teams disagree: a longitudinal look at the consequences of differences in perceptions of organizational support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bashshur, Michael R; Hernández, Ana; González-Romá, Vicente

    2011-05-01

    The authors argue that over time the difference between team members' perception of the organizational support received by the team (or team climate for organizational support) and their manager's perception of the organizational support received by the team has an effect on important outcomes and emergent states, such as team performance and team positive and negative affect above and beyond the main effects of climate perceptions themselves. With a longitudinal sample of 179 teams at Time 1 and 154 teams at Time 2, the authors tested their predictions using a combined polynomial regression and response surface analyses approach. The results supported the authors' predictions. When team managers and team members' perceptions of organizational support were high and in agreement, outcomes were maximized. When team managers and team members disagreed, team negative affect increased and team performance and team positive affect decreased. The negative effects of disagreement were most amplified when managers perceived that the team received higher levels of support than did the team itself.

  4. Gender differences in teachers' perceptions of students' temperament, educational competence, and teachability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mullola, Sari; Ravaja, Niklas; Lipsanen, Jari; Alatupa, Saija; Hintsanen, Mirka; Jokela, Markus; Keltikangas-Järvinen, Liisa

    2012-06-01

    Student's temperament plays a significant role in teacher's perception of the student's learning style, educational competence (EC), and teachability. Hence, temperament contributes to student's academic achievement and teacher's subjective ratings of school grades. However, little is known about the effect of gender and teacher's age on this association. We examined the effect of teacher's and student's gender and teacher's age on teacher-perceived temperament, EC, and teachability, and whether there is significant same gender or different gender association between teachers and students in this relationship. The participants were population-based sample of 3,212 Finnish adolescents (M= 15.1 years) and 221 subject teachers. Temperament was assessed with Temperament Assessment Battery for Children - Revised and Revised Dimensions of Temperament Survey batteries and EC with three subscales covering Cognitive ability, Motivation, and Maturity. Data were analyzed with multi-level modelling. Teachers perceived boys' temperament and EC more negatively than girls'. However, the differences between boys and girls were not as large when perceived by male teachers, as they were when perceived by female teachers. Males perceived boys more positively and more capable in EC and teachability than females. They were also stricter regarding their perceptions of girls' traits. With increasing age, males perceived boys' inhibition as higher and mood lower. Generally, the older the teacher, the more mature he/she perceived the student. Teachers' ratings varied systematically by their gender and age, and by students' gender. This bias may have an effect on school grades and needs be taken into consideration in teacher education. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

  5. Monitoring in Language Perception: Mild and Strong Conflicts Elicit Different ERP Patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    van de Meerendonk, Nan; Kolk, Herman H. J.; Vissers, Constance Th. W. M.; Chwilla, Dorothee J.

    2010-01-01

    In the language domain, most studies of error monitoring have been devoted to language production. However, in language perception, errors are made as well and we are able to detect them. According to the monitoring theory of language perception, a strong conflict between what is expected and what is observed triggers reanalysis to check for…

  6. Gender Differences in Body Image Perception among Northern Malaysian Tertiary Students

    OpenAIRE

    Wong, Lee-Min; Say, Yee-How

    2013-01-01

    Aims: This study examined the association of socio-cultural and psychological factors with body shape concern, perception and body weight perception among tertiary students of Northern Malaysia. Study Design: This is a cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Universiti and Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR and KTAR), Perak campuses, between August 2011 and January 2012. Methodology: A total of 1003 students were recruited (M = 431, F = 572; mean age 19.96 ± 1.51) and their body image...

  7. The Effect of Differences in Day and Night Lighting Distributions on Drivers' Speed Perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jonathan D; Perrone, John A; Isler, Robert B

    2017-06-01

    Previous research has shown that changes to contrast levels in the visual environment caused by fog can affect drivers' perceptions of speed. It is not easy, however, to extrapolate these results to other driving scenarios in which contrast is affected, such as during nighttime driving, because the measure of contrast is more complex when considering factors such as the illumination provided by headlights. Therefore, we investigated the differences in lighting distribution patterns between day- and nighttime driving on speed perception using prerendered 3D scenarios representing driving on a rural road. A two-alternative forced-choice design based on the method of constant stimuli was utilised, with 32 participants viewing a series of pairs of scenarios (day vs. night driving) from a driver's perspective while indicating for each pair whether the second scenario was faster or slower than the first scenario. Our results indicated that speed discrimination accuracy was minimally affected by changes in lighting distribution patterns between day and night.

  8. Patients’ perception of differences in general practitioners’ attitudes toward immigrants compared to the general population: Qualicopc Slovenia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rotar Pavlič, Danica

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Introduction Globally, the number of immigrants is rising every year, so that the number of immigrants worldwide is estimated at 200 million. In Slovenia, immigrants comprise 6.5% of the overall population. Immigrants bring along to a foreign country their cultural differences and these differences can affect immigrants’ overall health status and lead to chronic health conditions. The aim of this study was to identify patients’ perception of general practitioners’ (GPs’) attitudes toward immigrants in Slovenia. Methods This study was based on the Qualicopc questionnaire. We used the questions that targeted patients’ experience with the appointment at their GP on the day that the study was carried out. Results There were no differences in GPs’ accessibility based on groups included in our study (p>0.05). Compared to the non-immigrant population, first-generation immigrants answered that their GPs were impolite (p=0.018) and that they did not take enough time for them (p=0.038). In addition, they also experienced more difficulties understanding their GP’s instructions (p<0.001). Second-generation immigrants experienced more negative behaviour from GPs, and first-generation immigrants had more difficulties understanding GPs’ instructions. Conclusion There may be some differences in patients’ perception of GPs’ attitudes towards immigrants in comparison with the general Slovenian population. However, based on the perception of the immigrants that do benefit from the medical care it is not possible to judge the GPs’ attitudes towards immigrants as worse compared to their attitude towards the non-immigrant population. Indeed, there may be other reasons why the patients answered the way they did. PMID:27703534

  9. [Perception of sweet and salty flavors in different population groups].

    Science.gov (United States)

    González Carnero, J; de la Montaña Miguélez, J; Míguez Bernárdez, M

    2002-01-01

    The flavour perceived by humans when eating varies depending on age, gender, habits, emotional status, etc. The present study reflects the changes in the perception of sweet and salt flavours among different population groups depending on age, with an assessment, for each flavour, of the threshold concentration for the detection of these flavours. Triangular discrimination sensorial tests were performed in three groups, with thirty members in each, classified to represent young, adult and elderly age groups. With regard to sweet flavours, the groups of young people and adults distinguished the different sample at 0.1% of sugar for 95% and 99% significance levels, whereas the elderly required the concentration to reach 1% at both levels before they could distinguish the sugar solution from water. In the case of salt flavours, young people are able to detect the different sample at the lowest concentration level, for both levels of significance. Adults significantly distinguished the sample containing 0.05% of salt, at the 95% significance level, whereas the elderly needed a concentration of 0.1% for both levels of significance. Age-dependent variations in response were observed. As age increases, greater concentrations are required in order to distinguish the salt or sweet solutions from the samples containing only water.

  10. Illness perceptions among cancer survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Na; Fielding, Richard; Soong, Inda; Chan, Karen K K; Tsang, Janice; Lee, Victor; Lee, Conrad; Ng, Alice; Sze, Wing Kin; Tin, Pamela; Lam, Wendy Wing Tak

    2016-03-01

    The purpose of the study is to document in Hong Kong Chinese cancer survivors cross-sectional associations between illness perceptions, physical symptom distress and dispositional optimism. A consecutive sample of 1036 (response rate, 86.1%, mean age 55.18 years, 60% female) survivors of different cancers recruited within 6 months of completion of adjuvant therapy from Hong Kong public hospitals completed the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ), Chinese version of the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale Short-Form (MSAS-SF), and the revised Chinese version of Life Orientation Test (C-LOT-R), respectively. Stepwise multiple regression analyses examined adjusted associations. IPQ seriousness, symptom identity, illness concern, and emotional impact scores varied by cancer type (p Stress-related, lifestyle, environment, psychological/personality, and health-related factors were most frequently attributed causes of cancer. After adjustment for sample differences, physical symptom distress was significantly associated with all illness perception dimensions (p differences by cancer type were eliminated by adjustment for sample characteristics. Illness perceptions did not differ by cancer type. Greater physical symptom distress and lower levels of optimism were associated with more negative illness perceptions. Understanding how cancer survivors make sense of cancer can clarify an important aspect of adaptation. This in turn can inform interventions to facilitate adjustment. Knowledge contributions include evidence of physical symptom distress correlating with most dimensions of illness perception. Optimism was also associated with cancer survivors' illness perceptions.

  11. Students’ and Teachers’ Perceptions about Strategies which Promote Proficiency in Second Language Writing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monique Bournot-Trites

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract We examined the perceptions and suggestions of French immersion students regarding their progress in written production in French. Fifty-seven French immersion students were interviewed about two comparable compositions they had written in Grades 5 and 7 and asked about the differences they observed between the two. Students talked about what they had learned and which teaching and learning strategies they had found most effective. The students’ teachers from Grades 5 through 7 were also interviewed about the progress they had noticed in the two compositions. Findings suggest that French immersion students have a high degree of language awareness, understanding what contributes to their writing abilities. These include the benefits of grammar work, reading and vocabulary, and the transfer of first language writing skills.

  12. Scene perception and memory revealed by eye movements and receiver-operating characteristic analyses: does a cultural difference truly exist?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Kris; Rotello, Caren M; Li, Xingshan; Rayner, Keith

    2009-02-01

    Cultural differences have been observed in scene perception and memory: Chinese participants purportedly attend to the background information more than did American participants. We investigated the influence of culture by recording eye movements during scene perception and while participants made recognition memory judgements. Real-world pictures with a focal object on a background were shown to both American and Chinese participants while their eye movements were recorded. Later, memory for the focal object in each scene was tested, and the relationship between the focal object (studied, new) and the background context (studied, new) was manipulated. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves show that both sensitivity and response bias were changed when objects were tested in new contexts. However, neither the decrease in accuracy nor the response bias shift differed with culture. The eye movement patterns were also similar across cultural groups. Both groups made longer and more fixations on the focal objects than on the contexts. The similarity of eye movement patterns and recognition memory behaviour suggests that both Americans and Chinese use the same strategies in scene perception and memory.

  13. Rhythm perception: speeding up or slowing down affects different subcomponents of the ERP P3 complex

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jongsma, M.A.; Meeuwissen, Esther; Vos, Piet G.; Maes, Roald

    2007-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate, by measuring the event related potential (ERP) P3 complex, whether the perception of small accelerations differs from that of small decelerations. Participants had to decide whether the last beat of a short sequence was presented ‘too early’ or ‘too late’.

  14. Visual space perception at different levels of depth description

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šikl, Radovan; Šimeček, Michal

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 77, č. 6 (2015), 2098–2107 ISSN 1943-3921 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-28709S Institutional support: RVO:68081740 Keywords : visual space perception * Depth scales * Level of description Subject RIV: AN - Psychology Impact factor: 1.782, year: 2015

  15. Women's gambling behaviour, product preferences, and perceptions of product harm: differences by age and gambling risk status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCarthy, Simone; Thomas, Samantha L; Randle, Melanie; Bestman, Amy; Pitt, Hannah; Cowlishaw, Sean; Daube, Mike

    2018-04-24

    Women's participation in, and harm from gambling, is steadily increasing. There has been very limited research to investigate how gambling behaviour, product preferences, and perceptions of gambling harm may vary across subgroups of women. This study surveyed a convenience sample of 509 women from Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. Women were asked a range of questions about their socio-demographic characteristics and gambling behaviour. Focusing on four gambling products in Australia-casino gambling, electronic gambling machines (EGMs), horse betting, and sports betting-women were asked about their frequency of participation, their product preferences, and perceptions of product harms. The sample was segmented a priori according to age and gambling risk status, and differences between groups were identified using Chi-square tests and ANOVAs. Thematic analysis was used to interpret qualitative data. Almost two thirds (n = 324, 63.7%) of women had engaged with one of the four products in the previous 12 months. Compared to other age groups, younger women aged 16-34 years exhibited a higher proportion of problem gambling, gambled more frequently, and across more products. While EGMs were the product gambled on most frequently by women overall, younger women were significantly more likely to bet on sports and gamble at casinos relative to older women. Qualitative data indicated that younger women engaged with gambling products as part of a "night out", "with friends", due to their "ease of access" and perceived "chance of winning big". There were significant differences in the perceptions of the harms associated with horse and sports betting according to age and gambling risk status, with younger women and gamblers perceiving these products as less harmful. This study highlights that there are clear differences in the gambling behaviour, product preferences, and perceptions of product harms between subgroups of women. A gendered approach will enable public

  16. Do Illness Perceptions in Patients with Fibromyalgia Differ Across Countries? A Comparative Study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuppens, Kevin; Neels, Hedwig; van Wilgen, C. Paul; Roussel, Nathalie; Heyrman, Annette; Lambrecht, Luc; van Ittersum, Miriam W.; Nijs, Jo

    2015-01-01

    Objective: Illness perceptions, i.e. how patients think about their illness in terms of identity, cause and consequences, are important, as negative illness perceptions are associated with maladaptive illness behavior, more dysfunctioning, poor treatment adherence and treatment outcome. As illness

  17. Generational Differences In Organizational Justice Perceptions: An Exploratory Investigation Across Three Generational Cohorts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ledimo Ophillia

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Despite several reviews of generational differences across cohorts regarding their career stages in organizations, relatively few empirical investigations have been conducted to understand cohorts’ perceptions. Hence, there is paucity of studies that explored differences on the construct organizational justice across generational cohorts. The objective of this study was to explore the differences across three generational cohorts (Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers on dimensions of the organizational justice measurement instrument (OJMI. Data was collected through the administration of OJMI to a random sample size of organizational employees (n = 289. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance were conducted to interpret the data. These findings provide evidence that differences do exist across cohorts on dimensions of organizational justice. In terms of contributions and practical implications, insight gained from the findings may be used in proposing organizational development interventions to manage multigenerational employees as well as to conduct future research.

  18. Medical students perception of their medical environment-expected versus actual perceptions--a cross sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sundus, Ayesha; Haider, Mohammad Nadir; Ibrahim, Mohammad Faisal; Younus, Nida; Farooqui, Mohammad Talha; Iftikhar, Fatiha; Siddique, Osama; Aziz, Sina

    2014-02-01

    To compare the expected (perceptions of their environment at the beginning of their 1st year) versus actual perceptions (perceptions at the end of 1st year) of 1st year students at Dow University of Health Sciences. The 'expected' perceptions of the students were recorded at the beginning of their 1st year (n = 411) of medical education when they entered the medical school using Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM). DREEM is a validated and self-administered inventory which focuses on learning, teachers, self-confidence and academic as well as social environment. The 'actual' perceptions were then recorded at the end of their first year (n = 405) of education when they had received adequate exposure of their environment. The 2 records were then compared. The total expected DREEM score was 118/200 and the total actual DREEM score was 113/200. The expected domain (Students' perceptions of learning, students' perceptions of teachers, students' academic self-perceptions, students' perceptions of atmosphere, and students' social self-perceptions) scores were 28/48, 26/44, 20/32, 28/48, and 16/28. The actual domain scores were 27/48, 23/44, 19/32, 27/48, 16/28. However both the actual and expected scoring displayed satisfactory environment for learning. Significant differences (p students perceived the environment positively but the significant difference found in the two samples, demonstrated that their expectations were not met.

  19. Do different vertical positions of maxillary central incisors influence smile esthetics perception?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menezes, Erica Bretas Cabral; Bittencourt, Marcos Alan Vieira; Machado, Andre Wilson

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the perception of smile esthetics among orthodontists and layperson, with respect to different maxillary central incisors vertical positions in full-face and close-up smile analyses. Frontal photographs of the smiles of two adult women were used. Images were altered to create a symmetrical image with the gingival margin levels of the maxillary canines matching the central incisors and a 1.0-mm central-to-lateral incisal step. Later, the images were altered in order to create six different central incisor vertical positions in 0.5-mm increments. The images were randomly assembled in an album, which was given to 114 judges, 57 orthodontists and 57 laypersons, who were asked to evaluate the attractiveness of the images using the visual analog scale. The data collected were statistically analyzed by means of 1-way analysis of variance with the Tukey post-hoc test and the Student t test. The highest rated smiles showed two notable characteristics: a) the central incisor gingival margins matched or were 0.5 mm below the line of the canine gingival margins and; b) the central-to-lateral incisal step was 1.0 to 1.5 mm. The worst smiles showed two notable characteristics: a) the central incisor gingival margins were 1.0 mm above or 1.5 mm below the canine gingival margins and; b) no step between the centrals and laterals or a 2.5-mm step. The vertical position of the maxillary central incisors significantly affected the perception of the smile esthetics, whereas slightly extruded central incisors were more esthetically preferred than intruded.

  20. Do different vertical positions of maxillary central incisors influence smile esthetics perception?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erica Bretas Cabral Menezes

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to determine the perception of smile esthetics among orthodontists and layperson, with respect to different maxillary central incisors vertical positions in full-face and close-up smile analyses. METHODS: Frontal photographs of the smiles of two adult women were used. Images were altered to create a symmetrical image with the gingival margin levels of the maxillary canines matching the central incisors and a 1.0-mm central-to-lateral incisal step. Later, the images were altered in order to create six different central incisor vertical positions in 0.5-mm increments. The images were randomly assembled in an album, which was given to 114 judges, 57 orthodontists and 57 laypersons, who were asked to evaluate the attractiveness of the images using the visual analog scale. The data collected were statistically analyzed by means of 1-way analysis of variance with the Tukey post-hoc test and the Student t test. RESULTS: The highest rated smiles showed two notable characteristics: a the central incisor gingival margins matched or were 0.5 mm below the line of the canine gingival margins and; b the central-to-lateral incisal step was 1.0 to 1.5 mm. The worst smiles showed two notable characteristics: a the central incisor gingival margins were 1.0 mm above or 1.5 mm below the canine gingival margins and; b no step between the centrals and laterals or a 2.5-mm step. CONCLUSION: The vertical position of the maxillary central incisors significantly affected the perception of the smile esthetics, whereas slightly extruded central incisors were more esthetically preferred than intruded.

  1. Perceptions of cardiovascular health in underserved communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryant, Lucinda L; Chin, Nancy P; Cottrell, Lesley A; Duckles, Joyce M; Fernandez, I Diana; Garces, D Marcela; Keyserling, Thomas C; McMilin, Colleen R; Peters, Karen E; Samuel-Hodge, Carmen D; Tu, Shin-Ping; Vu, Maihan B; Fitzpatrick, Annette L

    2010-03-01

    Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of deaths and illnesses in US adults, and the prevalence is disproportionately high in underserved populations. In this study, we assessed respondents' understanding of context-specific differences in knowledge and perceptions of disease, risk, and prevention in 6 underserved communities, with the longer-term goal of developing appropriate interventions. Thirty-nine small-group sessions and 14 interviews yielded data from 318 adults. Each site's researchers coded, analyzed, and extracted key themes from local data. Investigators from all sites synthesized results and identified common themes and differences. Themes clustered in 3 areas (barriers to cardiovascular health, constraints related to multiple roles, and suggestions for effective communications and programs). Barriers spanned individual, social and cultural, and environmental levels; women in particular cited multiple roles (eg, competing demands, lack of self-care). Programmatic suggestions included the following: personal, interactive, social context; information in language that people use; activities built around cultural values and interests; and community orientation. In addition, respondents preferred health-related information from trusted groups (eg, AARP), health care providers (but with noticeable differences of opinion), family and friends, and printed materials. Interventions to decrease barriers to cardiovascular health are needed; these strategies should include family and community context, small groups, interactive methods, culturally sensitive materials, and trusted information sources. New-immigrant communities need culturally and linguistically tailored education before receiving more substantive interventions.

  2. Age-group differences in risk perceptions of non-communicable ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in South Africa (SA) occur simultaneously with an ageing HIV-positive population, resulting in premature deaths in persons <70 years of age. Poor risk perception of NCDs results in poor adoption practices of NCD preventive measures. There is a gap in age-related ...

  3. Restrictions to Pharmacy Ownership and Vertical Integration in Estonia—Perception of Different Stakeholders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gross, Marit; Volmer, Daisy

    2016-01-01

    Objectives: From 2020, the ownership of community pharmacies in Estonia will be limited to the pharmacy profession, and the vertical integration of wholesale companies and community pharmacies will not be allowed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perception of different stakeholders in primary healthcare toward the new regulations of the community pharmacy sector in Estonia. Methods: A qualitative electronic survey was distributed to the main stakeholders in primary healthcare and higher education institutions providing pharmacy education (n = 40) in May 2015. For data analysis, the systematic text condensation method was used. Results: The study participants described two opposing positions regarding the development of community pharmacies in the future. Reform supporters emphasized increased professional independence and more healthcare-oriented operation of community pharmacies. Reform opponents argued against these ideas as community pharmacists do not have sufficient practical experience and finances to ensure sustainable development of the community pharmacy sector in Estonia. Conclusion: Based on the current perception of all respondents, the future operation of the community pharmacy sector in Estonia is unclear and there is urgent need for implementation criteria for the new regulations. PMID:28970391

  4. Chinese and American Children's Perceptions of Popularity Determinants: Cultural Differences and Behavioral Correlates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yan; Xie, Hongling; Shi, Junqi

    2012-01-01

    The present study aimed to investigate cultural construction of children's perceptions of popularity determinants using a cross-cultural approach. This study examined 327 Chinese and 312 American fifth-graders' perceptions of what individual characteristics and peer relationships would make a peer popular. Consistent with cultural emphases,…

  5. Perception of trigeminal mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filiou, Renée-Pier; Lepore, Franco; Bryant, Bruce; Lundström, Johan N; Frasnelli, Johannes

    2015-01-01

    The trigeminal system is a chemical sense allowing for the perception of chemosensory information in our environment. However, contrary to smell and taste, we lack a thorough understanding of the trigeminal processing of mixtures. We, therefore, investigated trigeminal perception using mixtures of 3 relatively receptor-specific agonists together with one control odor in different proportions to determine basic perceptual dimensions of trigeminal perception. We found that 4 main dimensions were linked to trigeminal perception: sensations of intensity, warmth, coldness, and pain. We subsequently investigated perception of binary mixtures of trigeminal stimuli by means of these 4 perceptual dimensions using different concentrations of a cooling stimulus (eucalyptol) mixed with a stimulus that evokes warmth perception (cinnamaldehyde). To determine if sensory interactions are mainly of central or peripheral origin, we presented stimuli in a physical "mixture" or as a "combination" presented separately to individual nostrils. Results showed that mixtures generally yielded higher ratings than combinations on the trigeminal dimensions "intensity," "warm," and "painful," whereas combinations yielded higher ratings than mixtures on the trigeminal dimension "cold." These results suggest dimension-specific interactions in the perception of trigeminal mixtures, which may be explained by particular interactions that may take place on peripheral or central levels. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Organizational Justice Perception According to Generations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeki YÜKSEKBİLGİLİ

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Although there are many different researches on the subject of organizational justice, there is no research on organizational justice perception according to generations. In this study, the research subject is defined if there is a difference on the perception of organizational justice between x and y generations. After a conduct of 430 surveys the Organizational Justice Scale is used. As a result, it is proved that there is no significant difference between the organizational justice perceptions according to generations

  7. Different Perceptions of Time Passage Among Older People: A Comparative Study in Terms of Age and Gender

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Ali Nazari

    2016-04-01

    Conclusion: Research findings indicate that age affects time perception so that perceived time in the elderly people is shorter than the real physical time. Our findings also showed that if sources pay less attention to the passage of time or the memory capacity declines, the time estimation will be less. Based on cognitive changes in old age, the cognitive abilities of older people were found to decrease with increasing age. As the accurate processing of time intervals relates to memory capacity and attention, the changes in any cognitive process could affect the differences in the perception of time. Probably due to these factors, the reproduction of time in the older people shortens.

  8. Gender perceptions predict sex differences in growth patterns of indigenous Guatemalan infants and young children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tumilowicz, Alison; Habicht, Jean-Pierre; Pelto, Gretel; Pelletier, David L

    2015-11-01

    Nearly one-half of Guatemalan children experience growth faltering, more so in indigenous than in nonindigenous children. On the basis of ethnographic interviews in Totonicapán, Guatemala, which revealed differences in maternal perceptions about food needs in infant girls and boys, we predicted a cumulative sex difference in favor of girls that occurred at ∼6 mo of age and diminished markedly thereafter. We examined whether the predicted differences in age-sex patterns were observed in the village, replicated the examination nationally for indigenous children, and examined whether the pattern in nonindigenous children was different. Ethnographic interviews (n = 24) in an indigenous village were conducted. Anthropometric measurements of the village children aged 0-35 mo (n = 119) were obtained. National-level growth patterns were analyzed for indigenous (n = 969) and nonindigenous (n = 1374) children aged 0-35 mo with the use of Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data. Mothers reported that, compared with female infants, male infants were hungrier, were not as satisfied with breastfeeding alone, and required earlier complementary feeding. An anthropometric analysis confirmed the prediction of healthier growth in indigenous girls than in indigenous boys throughout the first year of life, which resulted in a 2.98-cm height-for-age difference (HAD) between sexes in the village and a 1.61-cm HAD (P differences diminished in the second year of life (P differences in the HAD that first favor girls and then favor boys in the indigenous growth patterns are due to feeding patterns on the basis of gendered cultural perceptions. Circumstances that result in differential sex growth patterns need to be elucidated, in particular the favorable growth in girls in the first year of life. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

  9. Differences in Hospital Managers’, Unit Managers’, and Health Care Workers’ Perceptions of the Safety Climate for Respiratory Protection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Kristina; Rogers, Bonnie M. E.; Brosseau, Lisa M.; Payne, Julianne; Cooney, Jennifer; Joe, Lauren; Novak, Debra

    2017-01-01

    This article compares hospital managers’ (HM), unit managers’ (UM), and health care workers’ (HCW) perceptions of respiratory protection safety climate in acute care hospitals. The article is based on survey responses from 215 HMs, 245 UMs, and 1,105 HCWs employed by 98 acute care hospitals in six states. Ten survey questions assessed five of the key dimensions of safety climate commonly identified in the literature: managerial commitment to safety, management feedback on safety procedures, coworkers’ safety norms, worker involvement, and worker safety training. Clinically and statistically significant differences were found across the three respondent types. HCWs had less positive perceptions of management commitment, worker involvement, and safety training aspects of safety climate than HMs and UMs. UMs had more positive perceptions of management’s supervision of HCWs’ respiratory protection practices. Implications for practice improvements indicate the need for frontline HCWs’ inclusion in efforts to reduce safety climate barriers and better support effective respiratory protection programs and daily health protection practices. PMID:27056750

  10. Differences in Hospital Managers', Unit Managers', and Health Care Workers' Perceptions of the Safety Climate for Respiratory Protection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Kristina; Rogers, Bonnie M E; Brosseau, Lisa M; Payne, Julianne; Cooney, Jennifer; Joe, Lauren; Novak, Debra

    2016-07-01

    This article compares hospital managers' (HM), unit managers' (UM), and health care workers' (HCW) perceptions of respiratory protection safety climate in acute care hospitals. The article is based on survey responses from 215 HMs, 245 UMs, and 1,105 HCWs employed by 98 acute care hospitals in six states. Ten survey questions assessed five of the key dimensions of safety climate commonly identified in the literature: managerial commitment to safety, management feedback on safety procedures, coworkers' safety norms, worker involvement, and worker safety training. Clinically and statistically significant differences were found across the three respondent types. HCWs had less positive perceptions of management commitment, worker involvement, and safety training aspects of safety climate than HMs and UMs. UMs had more positive perceptions of management's supervision of HCWs' respiratory protection practices. Implications for practice improvements indicate the need for frontline HCWs' inclusion in efforts to reduce safety climate barriers and better support effective respiratory protection programs and daily health protection practices. © 2016 The Author(s).

  11. Lung cancer risk perception and distress: difference by smoking status, and role of physical activity and race among US population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sunil Mathur

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: cigarette smoking is the greatest known risk factor for lung cancer, and people with different smoking status may process risk information differently. While psychological distress has been linked with smoking status, little is known about the impact of distress on lung cancer perception or the moderating role of physical activity and race. This study explores the association of lung cancer perception and distress and investigates the effects of physical activity and race on that association.Methods: the study uses a national, biennial survey (the Health Information National Trends Survey that was designed to collect nationally representative data on the American public’s need for, access to, and use of cancer-related information using a cross-sectional, complex sample survey design. Out of 5 586 participants, 1 015 were current smokers, 1 599 were former smokers, 2 877 were never smokers. Of the sample, 1 765 participants answered the lung cancer risk perception question and had no personal history of lung cancer. Statistical analysis contrasts smokers, former smokers, and never smokers to examine the association of lung cancer perception and distress and the moderating role of physical activity and race.Results: distress and lung cancer risk perception were significantly positively associated (p value < 0.001. Respondents who were current smokers and were distressed had very high odds of agreeing that they have a somewhat high chance (odds ratio=900.8, CI: 94.23, 8 611.75; p value < 0.001 or a very high chance (odds ratio=500.44 CI: 56.53, 4 430.02, p value < 0.001 of developing lung cancer in the future as compared to not distressed never smokers. However, race and physical activity status did not significantly affect perception of risk. Perceptions of risk are important precursors of health change.Conclusions: elevated distress level and higher perceived risk, in addition to physical activity status and race, could potentially

  12. Consumption, health attitudes and perception toward fast food among Arab consumers in Kuwait: gender differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musaiger, Abdulrahman O

    2014-07-15

    This study aimed to investigate gender differences in the fast food intake, health attitudes, and perceptions of fast food among adult Arab consumers aged 19 to 65 years in Kuwait. A total of 499 consumers (252 males, 247 females) were selected at convenience from three shopping malls in Kuwait City. The consumers were interviewed using a specially designed questionnaire. The findings revealed that men were more frequently consumed fast food than women (p fast food harmful to health. However, the consumers were continued to intake fast food (92%), indicating that health information on fast food not necessarly affects their consumption. Local foods were more likely to be considered fast food if eaten as a sandwich or without a disposal container. It can be concluded that fast food perceptions are influenced by gender, media and socio-cultural factors. Nutrition education programmes should focus on nutritive values of the foods rather than on their "fast food" classification.

  13. Ethnic differences in problem perception and perceived need as determinants of referral in young children with problem behaviour

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bevaart, F.; Mieloo, C.L.; Donker, M.C.H.; Jansen, W.; Raat, H.; Verhulst, F.C.; van Oort, F.V.A.

    2014-01-01

    An underrepresentation of ethnic minority children in mental health care settings is consistently reported. Parents of ethnic minority children are, however, less likely to perceive problem behaviour in their children. Our hypothesis was that, as a result of ethnic differences in problem perception,

  14. Individual differences in speech-in-noise perception parallel neural speech processing and attention in preschoolers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Elaine C.; Carr, Kali Woodruff; White-Schwoch, Travis; Otto-Meyer, Sebastian; Kraus, Nina

    2016-01-01

    From bustling classrooms to unruly lunchrooms, school settings are noisy. To learn effectively in the unwelcome company of numerous distractions, children must clearly perceive speech in noise. In older children and adults, speech-in-noise perception is supported by sensory and cognitive processes, but the correlates underlying this critical listening skill in young children (3–5 year olds) remain undetermined. Employing a longitudinal design (two evaluations separated by ~12 months), we followed a cohort of 59 preschoolers, ages 3.0–4.9, assessing word-in-noise perception, cognitive abilities (intelligence, short-term memory, attention), and neural responses to speech. Results reveal changes in word-in-noise perception parallel changes in processing of the fundamental frequency (F0), an acoustic cue known for playing a role central to speaker identification and auditory scene analysis. Four unique developmental trajectories (speech-in-noise perception groups) confirm this relationship, in that improvements and declines in word-in-noise perception couple with enhancements and diminishments of F0 encoding, respectively. Improvements in word-in-noise perception also pair with gains in attention. Word-in-noise perception does not relate to strength of neural harmonic representation or short-term memory. These findings reinforce previously-reported roles of F0 and attention in hearing speech in noise in older children and adults, and extend this relationship to preschool children. PMID:27864051

  15. Illness Perceptions and Fatigue in Systemic Vasculitis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grayson, Peter C.; Amudala, Naomi A.; McAlear, Carol A.; Leduc, Renée L.; Shereff, Denise; Richesson, Rachel; Fraenkel, Liana; Merkel, Peter A.

    2014-01-01

    Objective To compare illness perceptions among patients with different forms of vasculitis, identify risk factors for negative illness perceptions, and determine the association between illness perceptions and fatigue. Methods Participants were recruited from an online registry in vasculitis to complete the revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R). Mean scores on each IPQ-R dimension were compared across types of vasculitis. Cluster analysis and stepwise regression identified predictors of negative illness perception. Fatigue was measured using the general subscale of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI). Patient-reported measures of disease activity and IPQ-R dimensions were assessed in relation to MFI scores using linear regression in sequential, additive models with model-fit comparisons. Results 692 participants with 9 forms of vasculitis completed the IPQ-R. For 6 out of 8 IPQ-R dimensions, there were no significant differences in mean scores between the different vasculitides. Scores in identity and cyclical dimensions were significantly higher in Behçet’s disease compared to other types of vasculitis (13.5 vs 10.7; 4.0 vs 3.2, pvasculitis, and younger age is a risk factor for negative illness perceptions. Illness perceptions explain differences in fatigue scores beyond what can be explained by measures of disease activity. PMID:23861259

  16. Individual differences in laughter perception reveal roles for mentalizing and sensorimotor systems in the evaluation of emotional authenticity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGettigan, C; Walsh, E; Jessop, R; Agnew, Z K; Sauter, D A; Warren, J E; Scott, S K

    2015-01-01

    Humans express laughter differently depending on the context: polite titters of agreement are very different from explosions of mirth. Using functional MRI, we explored the neural responses during passive listening to authentic amusement laughter and controlled, voluntary laughter. We found greater activity in anterior medial prefrontal cortex (amPFC) to the deliberate, Emitted Laughs, suggesting an obligatory attempt to determine others' mental states when laughter is perceived as less genuine. In contrast, passive perception of authentic Evoked Laughs was associated with greater activity in bilateral superior temporal gyri. An individual differences analysis found that greater accuracy on a post hoc test of authenticity judgments of laughter predicted the magnitude of passive listening responses to laughter in amPFC, as well as several regions in sensorimotor cortex (in line with simulation accounts of emotion perception). These medial prefrontal and sensorimotor sites showed enhanced positive connectivity with cortical and subcortical regions during listening to involuntary laughter, indicating a complex set of interacting systems supporting the automatic emotional evaluation of heard vocalizations. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press.

  17. Different Vocal Parameters Predict Perceptions of Dominance and Attractiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hodges-Simeon, Carolyn R; Gaulin, Steven J C; Puts, David A

    2010-12-01

    Low mean fundamental frequency (F(0)) in men's voices has been found to positively influence perceptions of dominance by men and attractiveness by women using standardized speech. Using natural speech obtained during an ecologically valid social interaction, we examined relationships between multiple vocal parameters and dominance and attractiveness judgments. Male voices from an unscripted dating game were judged by men for physical and social dominance and by women in fertile and non-fertile menstrual cycle phases for desirability in short-term and long-term relationships. Five vocal parameters were analyzed: mean F(0) (an acoustic correlate of vocal fold size), F(0) variation, intensity (loudness), utterance duration, and formant dispersion (D(f), an acoustic correlate of vocal tract length). Parallel but separate ratings of speech transcripts served as controls for content. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the independent contributions of each of the predictors. Physical dominance was predicted by low F(0) variation and physically dominant word content. Social dominance was predicted only by socially dominant word content. Ratings of attractiveness by women were predicted by low mean F(0), low D(f), high intensity, and attractive word content across cycle phase and mating context. Low D(f) was perceived as attractive by fertile-phase women only. We hypothesize that competitors and potential mates may attend more strongly to different components of men's voices because of the different types of information these vocal parameters provide.

  18. [Perceptions of nurses about leadership].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amestoy, Simone Coelho; Cestari, Maria Elisabeth; Thofehrn, Maira Buss; Backes, Vânia Marli Schubert; Milbrath, Viviane Marten; Trindade, Letícia de Lima

    2009-12-01

    This study aimed at ascertaining the perceptions of nurses facing the use of managerial leadership as a tool in their work process. This was a qualitative study of descriptive and exploratory type, conducted with eleven nurses from a large hospital in the southern region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, during the months of February and March 2008. For data collection were used semi-structured interviews and focus group. The content analysis was chosen as a technique for processing the data, resulting in two categories: meanings attributed to the leadership and authority versus authoritarianism. It was noticed that even the leadership offering advantages in nursing work, are still great the difficulties to understand it and, especially, to put it into practice, making it necessary to create programs and strategies to improve the performance of the leadership as a nurses managerial instrument.

  19. Gender Differences in Perceptions of Grandchildren towards Grandparent Nurturing

    OpenAIRE

    Yusuf, Muhammed; Mai, Mohammed Y. M.; Salih, Maria

    2016-01-01

    Persisting writing on grandparents' enthusiasm towards grandchildren’s development shows that numerous grandparents take part in raising their grandchildren at a young age and preparing them for a better future. Grandparents motivate their grandchildren to excel scholastically and morally. The present study investigates grandchildren’s perceptions towards their grandparents’ nurturing educationally, culturally, socially, and religiously. One hundred and eighty one grandchildren from two ...

  20. TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF SUPERVISOR-TEACHER INTERACTION.

    Science.gov (United States)

    AMIDON, EDMUND; BLUMBERG, ARTHUR

    TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF SUPERVISOR-TEACHER INTERACTION WERE ANALYZED TO SUPPORT THE HYPOTHESIS THAT FOUR GROUPS, REPRESENTING DIFFERENT PERCEPTIONS OF SUPERVISORY BEHAVIOR, WOULD DIFFER WITH RESPECT TO TEACHER EVALUATIONS OF CONFERENCE PRODUCTIVITY, CONFERENCE LEARNING, AND THE COMMUNICATIVE ATMOSPHERE. THE 166 GRADUATE INSERVICE TEACHERS AT TEMPLE…

  1. Self-perception, knowledge, and awareness of halitosis among female university students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bin Mubayrik, Azizah; Al Hamdan, Rana; Al Hadlaq, Emad M; AlBagieh, Hamad; AlAhmed, Dan; Jaddoh, Hend; Demyati, Mawadh; Abu Shryei, Rawan

    2017-01-01

    Background Halitosis or oral malodor is defined as an unpleasant breath odor. It can become a serious problem affecting individuals’ social communication and self-confidence. Furthermore, it is a discomforting issue for the people around the person affected, because they consider it embarrassing to inform the person of the problem. Aim This study was designed to measure self-perception, knowledge, and awareness of halitosis among female university students in Saudi Arabia. Materials and methods A cross-sectional survey was implemented with 392 volunteer participants who responded to a questionnaire on their self-perception, knowledge, and awareness of halitosis. Results The response rate was 89.1% (392/440). Self-perception of halitosis was low (21.4%), whereas a larger percentage (78.1%) indicated noticing people with bad breath. Most participants (80.4%) thought that the gastrointestinal tract is the primary source of halitosis. Seventy-seven percent preferred using personal methods such as mouthwash and chewing gum to treat oral malodor. According to 82.1% of respondents, a dentist is the most appropriate professional to treat halitosis. Conclusion The investigation revealed low self-perception and limited knowledge regarding halitosis. Therefore, the role of dentists in informing and educating their patients concerning oral malodor should be enhanced. Public education about the causes of and possible ways of managing bad breath should be increased. PMID:28603430

  2. Self-other differences in H1N1 flu risk perception in a global context: a comparative study between the United States and China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Gang Kevin; Zhang, Jueman Mandy; Chu, Kejun Rebecca; Shen, Guolin

    2014-01-01

    Extending research on self-other differences in perception to a global health risk, this study compares U.S. and Chinese college students' perceived H1N1 flu risk at four levels: personal, group, societal, and global. It also examines how personal experience, interpersonal communication, traditional and Internet-based media, and self-efficacy affect perception at four levels, as well as the self-other differences between the personal level and each of the other three levels. An online survey in both countries reveals an "ascending pattern," showing higher perceived risk for others than for selves. Chinese respondents perceive higher risk than U.S. respondents at all levels. Interpersonal communication predicts risk perception at four levels in the United States and at the group and societal levels in China. New media exposure exerts influence on all but the group level in China, while social networking sites (SNS) exposure predicts group- and societal-level risk perception in the United States. The overall attention paid to H1N1 information in the media affects all levels in both countries. Interaction between media exposure and attention is influential at all levels in the United States. Self-efficacy is negatively associated with risk perception in China except at the global level. Attention to media in the United States, and SNS exposure in China, explain the self-other differences in three comparisons, along with self-efficacy, which decreases the self-other gap in the United States while increasing the gap in China.

  3. What Butterfly Effect? The Contextual Differences in Public Perceptions of the Health Risk Posed by Climate Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James W. Stoutenborough

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available One of the most difficult aspects of persuading the public to support climate change policy is the lack of recognition that climate change will likely have a direct impact on an individual’s life. Anecdotal evidence and arguments within the media suggest that those who are skeptical of climate change are more likely to believe that the negative externalities associated with climate change will be experienced by others, and, therefore, are not a concern to that individual. This project examines public perceptions of the health risk posed by climate change. Using a large national public opinion survey of adults in the United States, respondents were asked to evaluate the health risk for themselves, their community, the United States, and the world. The results suggest that individuals evaluate the risk for each of these contexts differently. Statistical analyses are estimated to identify the determinants of each risk perception to identify their respective differences. The implications of these findings on support for climate change policy are discussed.

  4. RN-BSN Students' Perceptions of the Differences in Practice of the ADN- and BSN-Prepared RN.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthias, April D; Kim-Godwin, Yeoun Soo

    2016-01-01

    This study explored RN-BSN students' perceptions of practice differences between nurses prepared with an ADN and BSN. Five themes were identified in 20 students' discussion posts: "a nurse is a nurse" at the bedside, beyond the bedside, BSN wanted, digging deeper, and appraisal. Results illustrate the need for educators to assist nurses in translating the differentiated educational competencies to the practice role of the bedside RN.

  5. Canine obesity: is there a difference between veterinarian and owner perception?

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, G A; Hobson-West, P; Cobb, K; Craigon, J; Hammond, R; Millar, K M

    2011-12-01

    The overall aim of this study was to examine the nature of the relationship between dog-ownership and canine obesity, explored in two cohorts of overweight/obese or non-overweight dogs (n=125). This paper concentrates on the owners' perception of dog weight. A researcher-mediated questionnaire was used to collect data from dog owners attending a small veterinary practice. Interviewees (n=121) were asked qualitative and quantitative questions, designed to examine the owners' views of their relationship with their dogs. Although a high proportion of owners claimed to have discussed the dog's weight with their veterinarian, some discrepancies were apparent between owner perception of animal weight and the veterinarian's evaluation of body condition score. Owner disagreement was significantly greater for the veterinarian-defined overweight dogs (P=0·005). Owners often provide personal narratives to account for their dog's weight status. This study confirms the important role of the vet in providing information about the issue of dog weight but also suggests that providing verbal information is sometimes insufficient. The study also indicates the potential value of qualitative research methods to further understand client perception of complex animal care issues and highlights the need for further in-depth research. © 2011 British Small Animal Veterinary Association.

  6. A hierarchical stochastic model for bistable perception.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Albert

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Viewing of ambiguous stimuli can lead to bistable perception alternating between the possible percepts. During continuous presentation of ambiguous stimuli, percept changes occur as single events, whereas during intermittent presentation of ambiguous stimuli, percept changes occur at more or less regular intervals either as single events or bursts. Response patterns can be highly variable and have been reported to show systematic differences between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Existing models of bistable perception often use detailed assumptions and large parameter sets which make parameter estimation challenging. Here we propose a parsimonious stochastic model that provides a link between empirical data analysis of the observed response patterns and detailed models of underlying neuronal processes. Firstly, we use a Hidden Markov Model (HMM for the times between percept changes, which assumes one single state in continuous presentation and a stable and an unstable state in intermittent presentation. The HMM captures the observed differences between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls, but remains descriptive. Therefore, we secondly propose a hierarchical Brownian model (HBM, which produces similar response patterns but also provides a relation to potential underlying mechanisms. The main idea is that neuronal activity is described as an activity difference between two competing neuronal populations reflected in Brownian motions with drift. This differential activity generates switching between the two conflicting percepts and between stable and unstable states with similar mechanisms on different neuronal levels. With only a small number of parameters, the HBM can be fitted closely to a high variety of response patterns and captures group differences between healthy controls and patients with schizophrenia. At the same time, it provides a link to mechanistic models of bistable perception, linking the group

  7. A hierarchical stochastic model for bistable perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albert, Stefan; Schmack, Katharina; Sterzer, Philipp; Schneider, Gaby

    2017-11-01

    Viewing of ambiguous stimuli can lead to bistable perception alternating between the possible percepts. During continuous presentation of ambiguous stimuli, percept changes occur as single events, whereas during intermittent presentation of ambiguous stimuli, percept changes occur at more or less regular intervals either as single events or bursts. Response patterns can be highly variable and have been reported to show systematic differences between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Existing models of bistable perception often use detailed assumptions and large parameter sets which make parameter estimation challenging. Here we propose a parsimonious stochastic model that provides a link between empirical data analysis of the observed response patterns and detailed models of underlying neuronal processes. Firstly, we use a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) for the times between percept changes, which assumes one single state in continuous presentation and a stable and an unstable state in intermittent presentation. The HMM captures the observed differences between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls, but remains descriptive. Therefore, we secondly propose a hierarchical Brownian model (HBM), which produces similar response patterns but also provides a relation to potential underlying mechanisms. The main idea is that neuronal activity is described as an activity difference between two competing neuronal populations reflected in Brownian motions with drift. This differential activity generates switching between the two conflicting percepts and between stable and unstable states with similar mechanisms on different neuronal levels. With only a small number of parameters, the HBM can be fitted closely to a high variety of response patterns and captures group differences between healthy controls and patients with schizophrenia. At the same time, it provides a link to mechanistic models of bistable perception, linking the group differences to

  8. Corrective feedback, learner uptake, and feedback perception in a Chinese as a foreign language classroom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tingfeng Fu

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The role of corrective feedback in second language classrooms has received considerable research attention in the past few decades. However, most of this research has been conducted in English-teaching settings, either ESL or EFL. This study examined teacher feedback, learner uptake as well as learner and teacher perception of feedback in an adult Chinese as a foreign language classroom. Ten hours of classroom interactions were videotaped, transcribed and coded for analysis. Lyster and Ranta’s (1997 coding system involving six types of feedback was initially used to identify feedback frequency and learner uptake. However, the teacher was found to use a number of additional feedback types. Altogether, 12 types of feedback were identified: recasts, delayed recasts, clarification requests, translation, metalinguistic feedback, elicitation, explicit correction, asking a direct question, repetition, directing question to other students, re-asks, and using L1-English. Differences were noted in the frequency of some of the feedback types as well as learner uptake compared to what had been reported in some previous ESL and EFL studies. With respect to the new feedback types, some led to noticeable uptake. As for the students’ and teacher’s perceptions, they did not match and both the teacher and the students were generally not accurate in perceiving the frequency of each feedback type. The findings are discussed in terms of the role of context in affecting the provision and effectiveness of feedback and its relationship to student and teacher perception of feedback.

  9. The perception of hazards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fritzsche, A.F.

    1986-01-01

    The fourth chapter deals with the profusion of factors determining the differing assessment of hazards by our society. Subjective factors influencing risk perception comprise, among others, general knowledge and recognition of a hazard; the degree of voluntariness when taking the risk and its influencibility; the problem of large scale accidents; immediate and delayed results. Next to the objective and the subjective risks, the individual and the social or collective risks are assessed differently. The author dicusses in detail recent investigations into and study methods for the determination of risk perception, while eliminating systematic trends from subjective perception since common assessments are shared by whole groups of individuals time and again which allow a better understanding of today's handling of hazards. (HSCH) [de

  10. Consumption, Health Attitudes and Perception Toward Fast Food Among Arab Consumers in Kuwait: Gender Differences

    OpenAIRE

    Musaiger, Abdulrahman O.

    2014-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate gender differences in the fast food intake, health attitudes, and perceptions of fast food among adult Arab consumers aged 19 to 65 years in Kuwait. A total of 499 consumers (252 males, 247 females) were selected at convenience from three shopping malls in Kuwait City. The consumers were interviewed using a specially designed questionnaire. The findings revealed that men were more frequently consumed fast food than women (p < 0.001). Men were significantly more...

  11. Molecular structural differences between low methoxy pectins induced by pectin methyl esterase II: effects on texture, release and perception of aroma in gels of similar modulus of elasticity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Yang; Kim, Young-Suk; Yoo, Sang-Ho; Kim, Kwang-Ok

    2014-02-15

    Six low-methoxy pectins with different degrees of methylesterification and amidation, and molecular weights were used to prepare gels with similar moduli of elasticity by varying the concentrations of pectin and calcium phosphate. Five aroma compounds were added to the gels and their sensory textural properties, release and perception of aromas were investigated. Sensory firmness, springiness, adhesiveness, chewiness and cohesiveness differed according to the gel type, even though the moduli of elasticity were not significantly different (ppectin exhibited the lowest release and perception for all the aroma compounds, while pectin-methylesterase-treated pectin gels exhibited relatively higher aroma release and perception. These results showed that the structural properties of pectins and gelling factors that increase the non-polar character of the gel matrices could decrease the release and perception of aromas in pectin gel systems. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Cultural Differences between American and Israeli Medical Students Regarding Their Perceptions of the Medical Profession and Satisfaction with Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eyal Lotan

    2010-07-01

    Conclusions:  Cultural differences affect students' perception of their studies, mentors and future careers. Medical educators should be sensitive to the effects of students' background which influence academic and professional attitudes and find ways to strengthen their commitment to the profession.

  13. Sensory perception: lessons from synesthesia: using synesthesia to inform the understanding of sensory perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harvey, Joshua Paul

    2013-06-01

    Synesthesia, the conscious, idiosyncratic, repeatable, and involuntary sensation of one sensory modality in response to another, is a condition that has puzzled both researchers and philosophers for centuries. Much time has been spent proving the condition's existence as well as investigating its etiology, but what can be learned from synesthesia remains a poorly discussed topic. Here, synaesthesia is presented as a possible answer rather than a question to the current gaps in our understanding of sensory perception. By first appreciating the similarities between normal sensory perception and synesthesia, one can use what is known about synaesthesia, from behavioral and imaging studies, to inform our understanding of "normal" sensory perception. In particular, in considering synesthesia, one can better understand how and where the different sensory modalities interact in the brain, how different sensory modalities can interact without confusion - the binding problem - as well as how sensory perception develops.

  14. Cognitive metaphor as a tool for study of work perception by different professional groups

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sukhanov E.P.

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This article contains an analysis of cognitive approach to metaphor and of pos- sibility to use it in researching objects perception by people. Metaphor is considered as a part of thinking process and at the same time as its product, which can be meaning- ful for thinking process analysis itself. The main basics of metaphor were formulated. Methods were modified for creating metaphors. A wide range of respondents were at- tracted to help many of them with creating metaphors as it is too difficult task from their point of view. To open diagnostically potential of cognitive metaphor it was held comparative analysis of metaphors for perception of work among 124 teachers and 52 medicine workers. The result of content analysis helped to find metaphor groups reflecting some patterns of perception of work. It was shown that cognitive metaphor is effective and precise tool which helps to understand characteristic perception people have about their work.

  15. Public's perception and judgment on nuclear power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Young Sung; Kim, Jong Seok; Lee, Byung Wook

    2000-01-01

    A public's perception and judgment model on nuclear power is developed to reveal the structure of public acceptance toward nuclear power in Korea. This is somewhat a verification of an earlier study by the author using two independent sets of survey data. A perception model makes it possible to construct two major exploratory variables, perceived risk and perceived benefit. The difference of perception is analyzed for different groups such as gender, education difference, and different information channels. A judgment model helps identify influential factors that improve the acceptance of nuclear energy. Estimates of model parameters from independent data sets were not significantly different, which implies the validity of the model. Methodologies of this study can be used as the basis for investigating the structure of public perception of technological risks and benefits, designing a public information and risk communication program, and developing remedial policy actions to improve public acceptance

  16. Different Vocal Parameters Predict Perceptions of Dominance and Attractiveness

    OpenAIRE

    Hodges-Simeon, Carolyn R.; Gaulin, Steven J. C.; Puts, David A.

    2010-01-01

    Low mean fundamental frequency (F 0) in men’s voices has been found to positively influence perceptions of dominance by men and attractiveness by women using standardized speech. Using natural speech obtained during an ecologically valid social interaction, we examined relationships between multiple vocal parameters and dominance and attractiveness judgments. Male voices from an unscripted dating game were judged by men for physical and social dominance and by women in fert...

  17. What a car does to your perception: Distance evaluations differ from within and outside of a car.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moeller, Birte; Zoppke, Hartmut; Frings, Christian

    2016-06-01

    Almost a century ago it was first suggested that cars can be interpreted as tools, but consequences of this assumption were never tested. Research on hand-held tools that are used to manipulate objects in the environment suggests that perception of near space is extended by using tools. Literature on environment perception finds perception of far space to be modulated by the observer's potential to act in the environment. Here we argue that a car increases the action potential and modulates perception of far space in a way similar to how hand-held tools modulate perception of near space. Five distances (4 to 20 meters) were estimated by pedestrians and drivers before and after driving/walking. Drivers underestimated all distances to a larger percentage than did pedestrians. Underestimation was even stronger after driving. We conclude that cars modulate the perception of far distances because they modulate the driver's perception, like a tool typically does, and change the perceived action potential.

  18. Differential effects of gender on entropy perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Satcharoen, Kleddao

    2017-12-01

    The purpose of this research is to examine differences in perception of entropy (color intensity) between male and female computer users. The objectives include identifying gender-based differences in entropy intention and exploring the potential effects of these differences (if any) on user interface design. The research is an effort to contribute to an emerging field of interest in gender as it relates to science, engineering and technology (SET), particularly user interface design. Currently, there is limited evidence on the role of gender in user interface design and in use of technology generally, with most efforts at gender-differentiated or customized design based on stereotypes and assumptions about female use of technology or the assumption of a default position based on male preferences. Image entropy was selected as a potential characteristic where gender could be a factor in perception because of known differences in color perception acuity between male and female individuals, even where there is no known color perception abnormality (which is more common with males). Although the literature review suggested that training could offset differences in color perception and identification, tests in untrained subject groups routinely show that females are more able to identify, match, and differentiate colors, and that there is a stronger emotional and psychosocial association of color for females. Since image entropy is associated with information content and image salience, the ability to identify areas of high entropy could make a difference in user perception and technological capabilities.

  19. Smile attractiveness related to buccal corridor space in 3 different facial types: A perception of 3 ethnic groups of Malaysians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nimbalkar, Smita; Oh, Yih Y; Mok, Reei Y; Tioh, Jing Y; Yew, Kai J; Patil, Pravinkumar G

    2018-03-16

    Buccal corridor space and its variations greatly influence smile attractiveness. Facial types are different for different ethnic populations, and so is smile attractiveness. The subjective perception of smile attractiveness of different populations may vary in regard to different buccal corridor spaces and facial patterns. The purpose of this study was to determine esthetic perceptions of the Malaysian population regarding the width of buccal corridor spaces and their effect on smile esthetics in individuals with short, normal, and long faces. The image of a smiling individual with a mesofacial face was modified to create 2 different facial types (brachyfacial and dolicofacial). Each face form was further modified into 5 different buccal corridors (2%, 10%, 15%, 22%, and 28%). The images were submitted to 3 different ethnic groups of evaluators (Chinese, Malay, Indian; 100 each), ranging between 17 and 21 years of age. A visual analog scale (50 mm in length) was used for assessment. The scores given to each image were compared with the Kruskal-Wallis test, and pairwise comparison was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test (α=.05). All 3 groups of evaluators could distinguish gradations of dark spaces in the buccal corridor at 2%, 10%, and 28%. Statistically significant differences were observed among 3 groups of evaluators in esthetic perception when pairwise comparisons were performed. A 15% buccal corridor was found to score esthetically equally within 3 face types by all 3 groups of evaluators. The Indian population was more critical in evaluation than the Chinese or Malay populations. In a pairwise comparison, more significant differences were found between long and short faces and the normal face; the normal face was compared with long and short faces separately. The width of the buccal corridor space influences smile attractiveness in different facial types. A medium buccal corridor (15%) is the esthetic characteristic preferred by all groups of evaluators

  20. Adult age differences in visual search from perception to response: Evidence from event-related potentials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wiegand, Iris

    task, in which the singleton target-defining feature (color/shape) varied independently from the response-defining feature (orientation). Slower responses in older participants were associated with age differences in all analyzed ERP components (PCN, SPCN and LRPs), indicating that slowing originated...... at multiple stages from perception to response. Furthermore, we explored the implicit influence of recently encountered information in terms of intertrial effects. ERPs could disentangle that, while automatic processes of perceptual-dimension priming and response priming across trials were preserved, older...

  1. Speech perception in older listeners with normal hearing:conditions of time alteration, selective word stress, and length of sentences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Soojin; Yu, Jyaehyoung; Chun, Hyungi; Seo, Hyekyung; Han, Woojae

    2014-04-01

    Deficits of the aging auditory system negatively affect older listeners in terms of speech communication, resulting in limitations to their social lives. To improve their perceptual skills, the goal of this study was to investigate the effects of time alteration, selective word stress, and varying sentence lengths on the speech perception of older listeners. Seventeen older people with normal hearing were tested for seven conditions of different time-altered sentences (i.e., ±60%, ±40%, ±20%, 0%), two conditions of selective word stress (i.e., no-stress and stress), and three different lengths of sentences (i.e., short, medium, and long) at the most comfortable level for individuals in quiet circumstances. As time compression increased, sentence perception scores decreased statistically. Compared to a natural (or no stress) condition, the selectively stressed words significantly improved the perceptual scores of these older listeners. Long sentences yielded the worst scores under all time-altered conditions. Interestingly, there was a noticeable positive effect for the selective word stress at the 20% time compression. This pattern of results suggests that a combination of time compression and selective word stress is more effective for understanding speech in older listeners than using the time-expanded condition only.

  2. Gender Differences in Pedestrian Perception and Satisfaction on the Walkability of Kuala Lumpur City Center

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arshad Ahmad Kamil

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The quality of built environment usually influences the walkability of a city. This is because each pedestrian walk differently on different type of facilities or built environment provided to them. This paper aims to investigate whether gender differences influences the pedestrian perception and satisfaction level at three sidewalks located within the Kuala Lumpur City Center by means of questionnaire survey. A total of 317 pedestrians were involved in the questionnaire survey at the three different sidewalk locations. The result shows significant differences in mean satisfaction value between male and female pedestrians. Female pedestrian give lower satisfaction value for overall travel experience at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman but higher satisfaction value at Petaling Street and Bukit Bintang compared to male pedestrian. Overall, the satisfaction level was rated between acceptable to satisfactory regardless of gender differences. Improvements should be made for the safety parameter because both male and female pedestrian gives lowest satisfaction level in that area.

  3. Leadership Styles: Perceptions in Information Technology Project Teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fune, Roy P.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to uncover Information Technology (IT) Project Managers' and IT Professionals' perceptions of effective leadership styles as they apply to project success. There have been prior studies dealing with the differences in perceptions between IT Functional Manager's leadership self-perception versus staff perceptions of…

  4. Gender differences in body mass index, body weight perception and weight loss strategies among undergraduates in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuan, P X; Ho, H L; Shuhaili, M S; Siti, A A; Gudum, H R

    2011-04-01

    This study was carried out among undergraduate students in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak with the objective of examining gender differences in body mass index (BMI), body weight perception, eating attitudes and weightloss strategies. Subjects consisted of 600 undergraduates (300 males and 300 females) recruited from the various faculties between September 2008 until mid-November 2008. The Original Figure Rating Scale: Body Weight Perception, Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) were used as assessment tools. Overall, 52.8% of students had normal BMI, with approximately an equal number of both sexes. More males than females were overweight (33.7%), while more females were underweight (25.3%). Males were more likely to perceive themselves as overweight, and fail to see themselves as underweight. More than half of the females preferred their ideal figure to be underweight, whereas about 30% males chose an overweight figure as their ideal model. Females were generally more concerned about body weight, body shape and eating than males. They diet more frequently, had self-induced vomiting, and used laxatives and exercise as their weight-loss strategies. Issues pertaining to body weight perception, eating attitudes and weight-loss strategies exist with differences among male and female undergraduates. Thus, in order to correct misperceptions among young adults, a more tailored intervention programme and more in-depth studies into the various factors involved are required.

  5. Perception of Esthetic Impact of Smile Line in Complete Denture Wearers by Different Age Groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pithon, Matheus Melo; Alves, Leandro Pereira; da Costa Prado, Matheus; Oliveira, Rener Leal; Costa, Matheus Souza Campos; da Silva Coqueiro, Raildo; Gusmão, João Milton Rocha; Santos, Rogério Lacerda

    2016-10-01

    To evaluate esthetic perceptions based on tooth exposure when smiling of patients wearing complete dentures by evaluators in different age groups. Alterations were made to a front view photograph of a smiling patient wearing complete maxillary and mandibular dentures. Alterations in the smile line were simulated to increase or decrease tooth exposure (increments of 0.5 mm). For this purpose, image manipulation software was used. After manipulation, images were printed on photo paper, attached to a questionnaire, and distributed to individuals in three age groups (n = 150). To evaluate the esthetic perception for each image, a visual analog scale was used, with 0 representing least attractive, 5 representing attractive, and 10 representing very attractive. Differences between examiners were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test. All statistical analyses were performed with a degree of confidence of 95%. Two evaluators did not observe any differences between images. The images given the best and worst scores were E and O (alterations of 2 and 7 mm), respectively, in the 15- to 19-year-old group, B and O (alterations of 0.5 and 7 mm), respectively, in the 35- to 44-year-old group, and A and M (no alteration and 6 mm alteration), respectively, in the 65- to 74-year-old group. When the images were presented together (images 1 and 2), the unaltered image was selected by individuals of different age groups as the best, and the image with a change of 7 mm was selected as the worst. In this study, complete dental prostheses with smile lines that coincided with the cervical margins of the anterior teeth were the most acceptable. Less exposure of the maxillary teeth when smiling corresponded with decreased attractiveness. © 2015 by the American College of Prosthodontists.

  6. Differences between Fathers and Mothers in the Treatment of, and Relationship with, Their Teenage Children: Perceptions of Chinese Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shek, Daniel T. L.

    2000-01-01

    Chinese adolescents' perceptions of differences between mothers and fathers in parenting styles, parent-adolescent communication, and quality of the parent-adolescent relationship were assessed. Fathers, as compared with mothers, were perceived to be less responsive, less demanding, demonstrating less concern, and more harsh; and paternal…

  7. [Self-perception in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maia, Catarina; Guardiano, Micaela; Viana, Victor; Almeida, J Paulo; Guimarães, Maria Júlia

    2011-12-01

    The Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a disorder reflected by significant deficits in multiple domains, interfering with the self-perception and self-esteem of children. However, international studies that assess the relationship between ADHD and self-perception have come to contradictory results, and, in Portugal, this is still a little investigated subject. The present work aims to assess the self-perception in different areas (scholastic competence, athletic competence, physical appearance, behaviour and social acceptance) in children with ADHD, comparing them with a control group. This study also tries to analyze whether the subtype of ADHD could interfere differently with the self-perception. We studied 43 children who had a clinical diagnosis of ADHD and 59 children without this diagnosis. Children with ADHD were divided into different subtypes in view of the revised Conners Scales (Portuguese version). The children completed the Self-Perception Profile for Children. From the analysis of averages comparison, it was found that the group of children with ADHD showed lower values in the different domains of self-perception, with a statistically significant difference in scholastic and behaviour self-perceptions. Regarding the different subtypes of ADHD, the results were not statistically significant, but indicated that children perceive themselves differently depending on the subtype. This discrepancy was most evident in scholastic competence where children predominantly inattentive considered themselves less able than the others. In this study, as in the international literature, children with ADHD have an scholastic and behavioural self-perception statistically inferior to other children of the same age, needing every possible support for a healthy emotional development.

  8. Understanding Statin Non-Adherence: Knowing Which Perceptions and Experiences Matter to Different Patients.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hans Wouters

    Full Text Available Non-adherence to statins is substantial and is associated with numerous perceptions and experiences. However, time limits in clinical practice constrain in depth explorations of these perceptions and experiences.To propose and examine a strategy aimed at an efficient assessment of a wide array of perceptions and experiences regarding the efficacy, side effects, and practical problems of statins. Furthermore, to assess associations between this wide array of experiences and perceptions and non-adherence and to examine whether patients' 'perceived self-efficacy' moderated these associations.Patients were recruited through community pharmacies. A wide array of specific patient perceptions and experiences was efficiently assessed using the electronic Tailored Medicine Inventory that allows people to skip irrelevant questions. Adherence was measured through self-report and pharmacy refill data.Of the two-hundred twenty-nine patients who participated (mean age 63.9, standard deviation 10.2, 40%-70% doubted the necessity of or lacked knowledge about the efficacy of statins, 20%-35% of the patients were worried about joint and muscle side effects or had experienced these, and 23% had encountered practical problems regarding information about statins, intake of tablets, the package, or the blister. Experiencing more practical problems was associated with increased unintentional non-adherence (Odds ratio 1.54, 95%CI:1.13-2.10, P < 0.01, whereas worrying about side effects was associated with increased intentional non-adherence (Odds ratio 1.90, 95%CI:1.17-3.08, P < 0.01. Higher 'perceived self-efficacy' did not moderate these associations.Insight into patients' specific barriers with regard to appropriate statin use may reveal personal reasons for being non-adherent. The Tailored Medicine Inventory is a promising tool to devise individualized intervention strategies aimed at improving adherence by the clinician-patient alliance.

  9. Personality and risk perception in transport.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fyhri, Aslak; Backer-Grøndahl, Agathe

    2012-11-01

    Within research on individual variations in risk perception, personality has been suggested as one important factor. In the present study, personality traits (44 items from the Big Five inventory) were investigated in relation to risk perception in transport and transport behavioural adaptations. In a sample of 312 participants, we found that the personality trait 'emotional stability versus neuroticism' was negatively correlated with risk perception (operationalised as "thinking about the possibility") of an accident (-0.38) and an unpleasant incident, such as crime, violence, robbery (-0.25). 'Agreeableness' was also negatively related to risk perception, however first and foremost in relation to perceived risk for unpleasant incidents on transport modes in which one interacts with other people (0.25). Moreover, regression analyses showed that 'emotional stability' was a significant predictor of behavioural adaptations on bus. Regression analyses explained between 17 and 26 percent of variance in behavioural adaptations. The results show that different groups of people vary systematically in their perception of risk in transport. Furthermore, these differences are manifest as a difference in risk-preventive behaviour at a strategic level, i.e. as decisions about avoiding risky situations. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Perceptions of diagnostic labels in forensic psychiatric practice: a survey of differences between nurses and other disciplines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, Tom; Caulfield, Mike; Hall, Rebecca; Melling, Kat

    2010-05-01

    This paper reports on a study of nurses' and non-nurses' perceptions of labels of mental illness and personality disorder in forensic services in the UK. The objectives of the study were to establish if differences in perceptions existed within, and between, the two groups of professionals. The research method was a survey design with 1,200 questionnaires distributed to nurses and 300 to other professionals in disciplines on forensic units in the UK, with response rates of 34.6% and 43%, respectively. The target population included clinical health care staff who had patient contact, including nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and occupational therapists. The results indicate that there are statistically significant differences within both nursing and non-nursing groups and also between the groups in relation to a "management" perspective for individuals labelled with a personality disorder and a "clinical" focus for individuals who are labelled as mentally ill. This paper adds research into the arena of forensic mental health in relation to the diagnostic labels of mental illness and personality disorders. It also adds evidence of a clinical response or a management response to such diagnostic labels which may impact on the practice of forensic psychiatry.

  11. Perceptions of brachyfacial, mesofacial and dolichofacial individuals with regard to the buccal corridor in different facial types

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matheus Melo PITHON

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Evaluate the esthetic perception and attractiveness of the smile with regard to the buccal corridor in different facial types by brachyfacial, mesofacial and dolichofacial individuals. Material and Methods: The image of a smiling individual with a mesofacial type of face was changed to create three different facial types with five different buccal corridors (2%, 10%, 15%, 22% and 28%. To achieve this effect, a photo editing software was used (Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Systems Inc, San Francisco, CA, EUA. The images were submitted to evaluators with brachyfacial, mesofacial and dolichofacial types of faces, who evaluated the degree of esthetic perception and attractiveness by means of a visual analog scale measuring 70 mm. The differences between evaluators were verified by the Mann-Whitney test. All statistics were performed with a confidence level of 95%. Results: Brachyfacial individuals perceived mesofacial and dolichofacial types of faces with buccal corridor of 2% as more attractive. Mesofacial individuals perceived mesofacial and dolichofacial types of faces with buccal corridor of 2%, 10% and 15% as more attractive. Dolichofacial individuals perceived the mesofacial type of face with buccal corridor of 2% as more attractive. Evaluators of the female sex generally attributed higher scores than the male evaluators. Conclusion: To achieve an enhanced esthetic smile it is necessary to observe the patient’s facial type. The preference for narrow buccal corridors is an esthetic characteristic preferred by men and women, and wide buccal corridors are less attractive.

  12. 76 FR 51126 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Notice; Notice

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Internal Revenue Service Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Notice; Notice AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury. ACTION: Notice and request for comments... in electing investment partnership (EIP). DATES: Written comments should be received on or before...

  13. Educational differences in associations of noticing anti-tobacco information with smoking-related attitudes and quit intentions: findings from the International Tobacco Control Europe Surveys

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Springvloet, L.; Willemsen, M.C.; Mons, U.; van den Putte, B.; Kunst, A.E.; Guignard, R.; Hummel, K.; Allwright, S.; Siahpush, M.; de Vries, H.; Nagelhout, G.E.

    2015-01-01

    This study examined educational differences in associations of noticing anti-tobacco information with smoking-related attitudes and quit intentions among adult smokers. Longitudinal data (N = 7571) from two waves of six countries of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Europe Surveys were

  14. 47 CFR 51.329 - Notice of network changes: Methods for providing notice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Notice of network changes: Methods for providing notice. 51.329 Section 51.329 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED...) Filing a public notice with the Commission; or (2) Providing public notice through industry fora...

  15. Differences in the perception of characteristics of excellence of clinical tutors among residents and consultants at an emergency medicine residency program a qualitative research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muna Saleem Aljahany

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Defining exactly what characterizes a clinical tutor as excellent and another less effective, is an important task in assessing the effectiveness of clinical training and guiding faculty development. Aim: We aimed to evaluate those characteristics and measure differences in their perception among accomplished and non-accomplished consultants and residents in the Emergency Department. We also compared perceptions between the different groups of participants. Methods: The characteristics measured were extracted from an extensive search of previously published studies summarized in a review article. A qualitative study was conducted, using a 20 item questionnaire piloted from the refined characteristics (good indicator of reliability; Cronbach′s Alpha = 0.86. The questionnaire was distributed among all consultants and residents in Saudi Board of Emergency Medicine. Results: No significant difference between consultants′ and residents′ perception was found. "Sincere" was an exception 87.8% versus 55.1%, P = 0.013. Consultants′ specifications did not seem to affect perception on overall scores and its component sub-scores. Conclusion: Since results showed no relation between accomplished and non-accomplished consultants in perceiving those qualities, we excluded the lack of knowledge of those characteristics as a cause of being accomplished or non-accomplished. We suggest a greater dedication from program developers towards creating more opportunities to involve more consultants in basic Emergency Medicine training.

  16. Differences in food environment perceptions and spatial attributes of food shopping between residents of low and high food access areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sohi, Inderbir; Bell, Bethany A; Liu, Jihong; Battersby, Sarah E; Liese, Angela D

    2014-01-01

    To explore potential differences in food shopping behaviors and healthy food availability perceptions between residents living in areas with low and high food access. A cross-sectional telephone survey to assess food shopping behaviors and perceptions. Data from an 8-county food environment field census used to define the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) healthier food retail tract and US Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service food desert measure. A total of 968 residents in 8 South Carolina counties. Residents' food shopping behaviors and healthy food availability perceptions. Linear and logistic regression. Compared with residents in high food access areas, residents in low food access areas traveled farther to their primary food store (US Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service: 8.8 vs 7.1 miles, P = .03; CDC: 9.2 vs 6.1 miles, P shopping miles per week (CDC: 28.0 vs 15.4 miles; P shopping access (P Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Rich Man, Poor Man: Developmental Differences in Attributions and Perceptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sigelman, Carol K.

    2012-01-01

    In an examination guided by cognitive developmental and attribution theory of how explanations of wealth and poverty and perceptions of rich and poor people change with age and are interrelated, 6-, 10-, and 14-year-olds (N = 88) were asked for their causal attributions and trait judgments concerning a rich man and a poor man. First graders, like…

  18. Climate change and coastal aquaculture farmers’ risk perceptions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ahsan, Dewan; Brandt, Urs Steiner

    2015-01-01

    This paper addresses the issue of risk perception in relation to climate change threats, comparison of risk perceptions in two different regions, and derives general results of what affect peoples’ level of risk perceptions. Revelation of individual risk perception is essential for local acceptance...... and cooperation. We do this by a comparative study with Bangladesh shrimp farmers and Danish mussel farmers. Since these people live on the edge of subsistence, already small changes in the climate will affect them significantly. Farmers in both developed and developing economies are concerned about global...... climate change but there are significant differences in farmers’ perceptions of the causes of global climate change in developed and developing countries....

  19. S1-1: Individual Differences in the Perception of Biological Motion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ian Thornton

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Our ability to accurately perceive the actions of others based on reduced visual cues has been well documented. Previous work has suggested that this ability is probably made possible by separable mechanisms that can operate in either a passive, bottom-up fashion or an active, top-down fashion (Thornton, Rensink, & Shiffrar, 2002 Perception 31 837–853. One line of evidence for exploring the contribution of top-down mechanisms is to consider the extent to which individual differences in more general cognitive abilities, such as attention and working memory, predict performance on biological motion tasks. In this talk, I will begin by reviewing previous work that has looked at biological motion processing in clinical settings and as a function of domain-specific expertise. I will then introduce a new task that we are using in my lab to explore individual variation in action matching as a function of independently assessed attentional control and working memory capacity.

  20. Workplace sexual harassment in two general hospitals in Taiwan: the incidence, perception, and gender differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Liang-Jen; Chen, Chih-Ken; Sheng, Yi-Chen; Lu, Pei-Wen; Chen, Yi-Ting; Chen, Huei-Jun; Lin, Jyh-Sheng

    2012-01-01

    The aims of this study were to examine sexual harassment (SH) among hospital staffs in Taiwan, in terms of three-month incidence rate, the frequency of each type and the perception of SH, perpetrated by coworkers, patients and patients' families and to investigate the gender differences for these issues. The subjects were employees at two general hospitals in Taiwan. The self-administered "Hospital Sexual Harassment Questionnaire" was sent to eligible staff, and the voluntary respondents answered the questionnaire anonymously. There were 536 respondents available for analysis, with an overall response rate of 43.4%. The three-month incidence rates of SH by coworkers, patients, and patients' families in our study population were 2.4, 4.3, and 1.7%, respectively. Telling sexual jokes was the most common type of SH. The males had greater opportunities to be exposed to porn videos by their coworkers. The females were more frequently exposed to sex jokes and remarks made by patients and their family members and unwanted physical touching by patients in the workplace. There were significant differences with regard to the perception of sex jokes and sexually explicit verbal descriptions as SH or not between genders. The information in this study can be a helpful reference for administrators in hospitals when they are establishing education plans and policies. It might be possible to prevent sexual harassment and misunderstandings between genders and to further avoid the negative impact on the emotional well-being of workers in hospitals.

  1. Adapting Computer Programming Self-Efficacy Scale and Engineering Students' Self-Efficacy Perceptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korkmaz, Özgen; Altun, Halis

    2014-01-01

    Students might have different type and different level of perceptions: Positive or negative perceptions on programming; a perception on benefit of programming, perceptions related to difficulties of programming process etc. The perception of student on their own competence is defined as self-efficacy. Based on the discussions reported in…

  2. Perceptions of fieldwork in occupational therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ingwersen, Kate; Lyons, Nikki; Hitch, Danielle

    2017-02-01

    There are few studies in occupational therapy that compare the perceptions of supervisors and students regarding quality clinical placement programmes, and those that exist indicate substantial differences in the perceptions held by each group. This pilot study was conducted using a cross-sectional descriptive design, with a single questionnaire distributed to occupational therapy students and clinical supervisors. A total of 40 questionnaires were returned: 17 from students and 23 from clinical supervisors. Differences were found between the perceptions of occupational therapy students and clinical supervisors in response to four topics: preparation from the university for their placements; consistency across placement sites; instances of supervisors seeking feedback from students; and the burden associated with the placement-related workload for clinicians. Differences were found between the perceptions of occupational therapy students and clinical supervisors in response to four topics DISCUSSION: Different perceptions around preparation from universities and consistency across placement sites relate to the existing roles of each group: students are more aware of university preparation and clinical supervisors are more aware of organisational inconsistencies in their respective usual work environments. The discrepancy in the perceived seeking of feedback from students has also been reported in student debriefing sessions. The burdens perceived by clinical supervisors appear to be influenced by a belief that clinical education is an additional duty rather than a core role. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. A framework for the first-person internal sensation of visual perception in mammals and a comparable circuitry for olfactory perception in Drosophila.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vadakkan, Kunjumon I

    2015-01-01

    Perception is a first-person internal sensation induced within the nervous system at the time of arrival of sensory stimuli from objects in the environment. Lack of access to the first-person properties has limited viewing perception as an emergent property and it is currently being studied using third-person observed findings from various levels. One feasible approach to understand its mechanism is to build a hypothesis for the specific conditions and required circuit features of the nodal points where the mechanistic operation of perception take place for one type of sensation in one species and to verify it for the presence of comparable circuit properties for perceiving a different sensation in a different species. The present work explains visual perception in mammalian nervous system from a first-person frame of reference and provides explanations for the homogeneity of perception of visual stimuli above flicker fusion frequency, the perception of objects at locations different from their actual position, the smooth pursuit and saccadic eye movements, the perception of object borders, and perception of pressure phosphenes. Using results from temporal resolution studies and the known details of visual cortical circuitry, explanations are provided for (a) the perception of rapidly changing visual stimuli, (b) how the perception of objects occurs in the correct orientation even though, according to the third-person view, activity from the visual stimulus reaches the cortices in an inverted manner and (c) the functional significance of well-conserved columnar organization of the visual cortex. A comparable circuitry detected in a different nervous system in a remote species-the olfactory circuitry of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster-provides an opportunity to explore circuit functions using genetic manipulations, which, along with high-resolution microscopic techniques and lipid membrane interaction studies, will be able to verify the structure

  4. A Preliminary Investigation of User Perception and Behavioral Intention for Different Review Types: Customers and Designers Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qazi, Atika; Waheed, Mahwish; Abraham, Ajith

    2014-01-01

    Existing opinion mining studies have focused on and explored only two types of reviews, that is, regular and comparative. There is a visible gap in determining the useful review types from customers and designers perspective. Based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and statistical measures we examine users' perception about different review types and its effects in terms of behavioral intention towards using online review system. By using sample of users (N = 400) and designers (N = 106), current research work studies three review types, A (regular), B (comparative), and C (suggestive), which are related to perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and behavioral intention. The study reveals that positive perception of the use of suggestive reviews improves users' decision making in business intelligence. The results also depict that type C (suggestive reviews) could be considered a new useful review type in addition to other types, A and B. PMID:24711739

  5. Innovation Management Perceptions of Principals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakir, Asli Agiroglu

    2016-01-01

    This study is aimed to determine the perceptions of principals about innovation management and to investigate whether there is a significant difference in this perception according to various parameters. In the study, descriptive research model is used and universe is consisted from principals who participated in "Acquiring Formation Course…

  6. Factors Affecting Customer’s Perception of Service Quality: Comparing Differences among Countries - Case study: Beauty salons in Bandung and Tokyo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keiko Nakashima

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines a holistic study of analyzing several factors affecting service quality andtheir correlation with characteristic of customers based on value and life style. Furthermore,customer’s perception of service quality can be drawn from those relationships. Exploratoryfactor analysis and quantitative analysis is employed with case study of beauty salon serviceat Bandung and Tokyo. The results indicate how the quality of services is perceived differentlyby customers who have different value and life style, and also describe significant relationshipbetween value and life style with the affecting factors of service quality.Key words : service quality, value and life style, customer perception, beauty salon.

  7. Introducing blended learning in the English language classroom: Students’ attitudes and perceptions before and after the course

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalya Emelyanova

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The increased demands for foreign language learning and the dwindling number of contact hours have urged teachers to look for innovative methods of instruction such as blended learning (BL. A study was conducted at a Russian university (The National Research University Higher School of Economics in order to explore the attitudes and perceptions of the students toward blended learning in the English language classroom. The research instruments were tests and questionnaires administered to students before and after the course. The online portion of the course was realized through the corporate learning management system (LMS. The study revealed a noticeable evolution in students’ perceptions and attitudes towards using blended learning in foreign language instruction. This shift and the consequential outcomes of the study are discussed.

  8. Evaluation of a workplace disability prevention intervention in Canada: examining differing perceptions of stakeholders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maiwald, Karin; de Rijk, Angelique; Guzman, Jaime; Schonstein, Eva; Yassi, Annalee

    2011-06-01

    INTRODUCTION Workplace disability prevention is important, but stakeholders can differ in their appreciation of such interventions. We present a responsive evaluation of a workplace disability prevention intervention in a Canadian healthcare organization. Three groups of stakeholders were included: designers of the intervention, deliverers, and workers. The aim was to examine the appreciation of this intervention by analyzing the discrepancies with respect to what these various stakeholders see as the causes of work disability, what the intervention should aim at to address this problem, and to what extent the intervention works in practice. METHODS A qualitative research method was used, including data-triangulation: (a) documentary materials; (b) semi-structured interviews with the deliverers and workers (n = 14); (c) participatory observations of group meetings (n = 6); (d) member-checking meetings (n = 3); (e) focus-group meetings (n = 2). A grounded theory approach, including some ethnographic methodology, was used for the data-analysis. RESULTS Stakeholders' perceptions of causes for work disability differ, as do preferred strategies for prevention. Designers proposed work-directed measures to change the workplace and work organizations, and individual-directed measures to change workers' behaviour. Deliverers targeted individual-directed measures, however, workers were mostly seeking work-directed measures. To assess how the intervention was working, designers sought a wide range of outcome measures. Deliverers focused on measurable outcomes targeted at reducing work time-loss. Workers perceived that this intervention offered short-term benefits yet fell short in ensuring sustainable return-to-work. CONCLUSION This study provides understanding of where discrepancies between stakeholders' perceptions about interventions come from. Our findings have implications for workplace disability prevention intervention development, implementation and evaluation

  9. Cross-Cultural Differences in Perception of Patient by Senior Medical Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T R Nizovtseva

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The present study analyses the qualitative characteristics of the attitude of the Russian and international medical students to the patient. The peculiarities of the perception of the patient and the contact with him/her are revealed through interviewing students.

  10. School Counselors and Principals: Different Perceptions of Relationship, Leadership, and Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armstrong, Stephen A.; MacDonald, Jane H.; Stillo, Sandy

    2010-01-01

    This study examined school counselors' and principals' perceptions of their relationship and the effectiveness of their respective professional preparation programs. An exploratory factor analysis (n = 615) revealed three salient factors: relationship quality, campus leadership and training satisfaction. Kruskal-Wallis tests revealed statistically…

  11. Perceptions about gender relations and sexual division of labor for people with disabilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lilian Barros Moreira

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Contemporary society has discussed the idea of “diversity”, and among its possibilities, the insertion of people with disabilities (PWDs in organizations has been often discussed in organizational studies. Although disability appears to be no longer an uncomfortable subject to be discussed, it is still a very delicate issue to be talked about. In addition to it, gender relations and sexual division of   labor are not solved issues when work is involved. This work was carried out with the objective of understanding the perceptions of PWDs about gender relations and sexual division of  labor. We argue that both this perception and its origin are connected to the subjectivity. The research was conducted in a hospital, where five people were interviewed. The interviews were analyzed through the method of content analysis. They did not show explicitly the interviewees’ perception of unequal gender relations, but this was noticed through the method of observation. The interviewees’ view of gender relations was found to be full of social stereotypes. Finally, questions were asked that intended to lead the reader to a deeper reflection about sexual division of labor, disability and prejudice in the organizational environment.

  12. Cultural similarities and differences in the perception of emotional valence and intensity: a comparison of Americans and Hong Kong Chinese.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Zhuoying; Ho, Samuel M Y; Bonanno, George A

    2013-01-01

    Despite being challenged for their ecological validity, studies of emotion perception have often relied on static, posed expressions. One of the key reasons is that dynamic, spontaneous expressions are difficult to control because of the existence of display rules and frequent co-occurrence of non-emotion related facial movements. The present study investigated cross-cultural patterns in the perception of emotion using an expressive regulation paradigm for generating facial expressions. The paradigm largely balances out the competing concerns for ecological and internal validity. Americans and Hong Kong Chinese (expressors) were presented with positively and negatively valenced pictures and were asked to enhance, suppress, or naturally display their facial expressions according to their subjective emotions. Videos of naturalistic and dynamic expressions of emotions were rated by Americans and Hong Kong Chinese (judges) for valence and intensity. The 2 cultures agreed on the valence and relative intensity of emotion expressions, but cultural differences were observed in absolute intensity ratings. The differences varied between positive and negative expressions. With positive expressions, ratings were higher when there was a cultural match between the expressor and the judge and when the expression was enhanced by the expressor. With negative expressions, Chinese judges gave higher ratings than their American counterparts for Chinese expressions under all 3 expressive conditions, and the discrepancy increased with expression intensity; no cultural differences were observed when American expressions were judged. The results were discussed with respect to the "decoding rules" and "same-culture advantage" approaches of emotion perception and a negativity bias in the Chinese collective culture.

  13. Measuring and improving the public perceptions on nuclear energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Young Sung

    2001-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to measure the public's perception on risk and benefit of nuclear power and to find ways to improve the perceptions. Latent Class Analysis is adopted for the perception measures, which quantify people's perception and reveal the perception structure. The measures resulted from Latent Class Analysis show that women perceive risks to be more existent and benefits to be less than men do. Moreover there is a tendency that if education level is high, perceived risk is low and perceived benefit is high. The perception of risk and benefit also depends on different channels through which people get information about nuclear energy. Comparing seven different information channels, the most effective ways of communicating with people to improve the risk and benefit perception of nuclear energy are found to be the visit to nuclear plants and the education through the regular schooling. Information dissemination through mass media is only effective to the benefit perception

  14. The effect of varying talker identity and listening conditions on gaze behavior during audiovisual speech perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchan, Julie N; Paré, Martin; Munhall, Kevin G

    2008-11-25

    During face-to-face conversation the face provides auditory and visual linguistic information, and also conveys information about the identity of the speaker. This study investigated behavioral strategies involved in gathering visual information while watching talking faces. The effects of varying talker identity and varying the intelligibility of speech (by adding acoustic noise) on gaze behavior were measured with an eyetracker. Varying the intelligibility of the speech by adding noise had a noticeable effect on the location and duration of fixations. When noise was present subjects adopted a vantage point that was more centralized on the face by reducing the frequency of the fixations on the eyes and mouth and lengthening the duration of their gaze fixations on the nose and mouth. Varying talker identity resulted in a more modest change in gaze behavior that was modulated by the intelligibility of the speech. Although subjects generally used similar strategies to extract visual information in both talker variability conditions, when noise was absent there were more fixations on the mouth when viewing a different talker every trial as opposed to the same talker every trial. These findings provide a useful baseline for studies examining gaze behavior during audiovisual speech perception and perception of dynamic faces.

  15. Diversity and human perceptions of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in Southeast Asian megacities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sing, Kong-Wah; Wang, Wen-Zhi; Wan, Tao; Lee, Ping-Shin; Li, Zong-Xu; Chen, Xing; Wang, Yun-Yu; Wilson, John-James

    2016-10-01

    Urbanization requires the conversion of natural land cover to cover with human-constructed elements and is considered a major threat to biodiversity. Bee populations, globally, are under threat; however, the effect of rapid urban expansion in Southeast Asia on bee diversity has not been investigated. Given the pressing issues of bee conservation and urbanization in Southeast Asia, coupled with complex factors surrounding human-bee coexistence, we investigated bee diversity and human perceptions of bees in four megacities. We sampled bees and conducted questionnaires at three different site types in each megacity: a botanical garden, central business district, and peripheral suburban areas. Overall, the mean species richness and abundance of bees were significantly higher in peripheral suburban areas than central business districts; however, there were no significant differences in the mean species richness and abundance between botanical gardens and peripheral suburban areas or botanical gardens and central business districts. Urban residents were unlikely to have seen bees but agreed that bees have a right to exist in their natural environment. Residents who did notice and interact with bees, even though being stung, were more likely to have positive opinions towards the presence of bees in cities.

  16. Gender difference in the health risk perception of radiation from Fukushima in Japan: the role of hegemonic masculinity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morioka, Rika

    2014-04-01

    This paper presents the preliminary findings of gender difference in the perception of radiation risk in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. In-depth interviews were conducted with the residents of Fukushima and other parts of Japan in November 2011 and July 2012. Compared to mothers, fathers in general expressed less concern for radiation. Fathers prioritized their responsibilities as the breadwinner for their families and saw radiation risk as a threat to economic stability and masculine identity. As a result, mothers' health concerns were dismissed, and they were prevented from taking preventive actions. The social norms in the dominant institutions such as corporations and the government influenced men's perception of radiation risk. The findings illustrate the importance of sociocultural context in which meanings of health risk are constructed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. 76 FR 45312 - Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment, Notice of Public Meetings, and Notice To...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment, Notice of Public Meetings, and Notice To Request Public Scoping Comments for the Air Tour Management Plan Program at Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and Point Reyes National...

  18. Non-Native University Students' Perception of Plagiarism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Ummul Khair; Mansourizadeh, Kobra; Ai, Grace Koh Ming

    2012-01-01

    Plagiarism is a complex issue especially among non-native students and it has received a lot of attention from researchers and scholars of academic writing. Some scholars attribute this problem to cultural perceptions and different attitudes toward texts. This study evaluates student perception of different aspects of plagiarism. A small group of…

  19. Perception Differences in Ambiguous Forms of Workplace Sexual Harassment: A Comparison between the United States and Turkey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toker, Yonca

    2016-07-03

    Certain social-sexual behaviors that could be potentially encountered in workplaces are ambiguous in nature and perceiving them as sexual harassment can depend on the culture. With an aim to delineate the overlap and distinctions of sexual harassment perceptions of such behaviors across samples of women university students from Turkey (TR, N = 215) and the United States (US, N = 209), measurement invariance and latent mean differences in perceiving three ambiguous forms; sexist hostility, sexual hostility, and insinuation-of-interest, were examined. It was hypothesized that the US sample would perceive sexist hostility more sexually harassing as sexist workplace discriminatory practices are emphasized as a form of sexual harassment, and that the TR sample would perceive sexual hostility and insinuation-of-interest as more sexually harassing as women in TR operate in a conservative context. Despite similarities in rank ordering, US participants perceived sexist hostility more sexually harassing; insinuation-of-interest and sexual hostility less sexually harassing than Turkish participants, supporting all three hypotheses. There are implications of differing perceptions across cultures for organizations in terms of disseminating awareness via training programs about the forms of sexual harassment (SH) in a local context and for taking account of local findings in shaping the labor code of countries in relation to SH.

  20. Seeing through a Different Lens: What Do Interns Learn when They Make Video Cases of Their Own Teaching?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosaen, Cheryl L.; Lundeberg, Mary; Terpstra, Marjorie; Cooper, Marjorie; Fu, Jing; Niu, Rui

    2010-01-01

    This study included four preservice interns at a Midwestern university in the United States who were learning to facilitate interactive discussions in English language arts. The authors investigated how the interns' perceptions of their self-selected audience influenced what they noticed, talked about, and learned as they constructed a video case…

  1. Educational Differences in Associations of Noticing Anti-Tobacco Information with Smoking-Related Attitudes and Quit Intentions: Findings from the International Tobacco Control Europe Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Springvloet, L.; Willemsen, M. C.; Mons, U.; van den Putte, B.; Kunst, A. E.; Guignard, R.; Hummel, K.; Allwright, S.; Siahpush, M.; de Vries, H.; Nagelhout, G. E.

    2015-01-01

    This study examined educational differences in associations of noticing anti-tobacco information with smoking-related attitudes and quit intentions among adult smokers. Longitudinal data (N = 7571) from two waves of six countries of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Europe Surveys were included. Generalized estimating equation analyses and…

  2. Genes contribute to the switching dynamics of bistable perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shannon, Robert W; Patrick, Christopher J; Jiang, Yi; Bernat, Edward; He, Sheng

    2011-03-09

    Ordinarily, the visual system provides an unambiguous representation of the world. However, at times alternative plausible interpretations of a given stimulus arise, resulting in a dynamic perceptual alternation of the differing interpretations, commonly referred to as bistable or rivalrous perception. Recent research suggests that common neural mechanisms may be involved in the dynamics of very different types of bistable phenomena. Further, evidence has emerged that genetic factors may be involved in determining the rate of switch for at least one form of bistable perception, known as binocular rivalry. The current study evaluated whether genetic factors contribute to the switching dynamics for distinctly different variants of bistable perception in the same participant sample. Switching rates were recorded for MZ and DZ twin participants in two different bistable perception tasks, binocular rivalry and the Necker Cube. Strong concordance in switching rates across both tasks was evident for MZ but not DZ twins, indicating that genetic factors indeed contribute to the dynamics of multiple forms of bistable perception.

  3. Holistic face perception is modulated by experience-dependent perceptual grouping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curby, Kim M; Entenman, Robert J; Fleming, Justin T

    2016-07-01

    What role do general-purpose, experience-sensitive perceptual mechanisms play in producing characteristic features of face perception? We previously demonstrated that different-colored, misaligned framing backgrounds, designed to disrupt perceptual grouping of face parts appearing upon them, disrupt holistic face perception. In the current experiments, a similar part-judgment task with composite faces was performed: face parts appeared in either misaligned, different-colored rectangles or aligned, same-colored rectangles. To investigate whether experience can shape impacts of perceptual grouping on holistic face perception, a pre-task fostered the perception of either (a) the misaligned, differently colored rectangle frames as parts of a single, multicolored polygon or (b) the aligned, same-colored rectangle frames as a single square shape. Faces appearing in the misaligned, differently colored rectangles were processed more holistically by those in the polygon-, compared with the square-, pre-task group. Holistic effects for faces appearing in aligned, same-colored rectangles showed the opposite pattern. Experiment 2, which included a pre-task condition fostering the perception of the aligned, same-colored frames as pairs of independent rectangles, provided converging evidence that experience can modulate impacts of perceptual grouping on holistic face perception. These results are surprising given the proposed impenetrability of holistic face perception and provide insights into the elusive mechanisms underlying holistic perception.

  4. Neural networks for perception human and machine perception

    CERN Document Server

    Wechsler, Harry

    1991-01-01

    Neural Networks for Perception, Volume 1: Human and Machine Perception focuses on models for understanding human perception in terms of distributed computation and examples of PDP models for machine perception. This book addresses both theoretical and practical issues related to the feasibility of both explaining human perception and implementing machine perception in terms of neural network models. The book is organized into two parts. The first part focuses on human perception. Topics on network model ofobject recognition in human vision, the self-organization of functional architecture in t

  5. Stress through the mind of the beholder: preliminary differences in child and maternal perceptions of child stress in relation to child cortisol and cardiovascular activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allwood, Maureen A; Gaffey, Allison E; Vergara-Lopez, Chrystal; Stroud, Laura R

    2017-07-01

    The present study examined associations among parent and child reports of youth's stressful life events (SLEs), perceived stress, and biological measures of stress activity (i.e. cortisol and cardiovascular activity). Examining these aspects of youth stress presents several challenges. Unlike adult studies of individual differences in which information regarding SLEs, perceptions of events, and biological activity are gathered from one individual, assessment of individual differences among children usually involves other informants (e.g. parent). However, parent and child reports of SLEs and the child's psychological response to such events are often discordant. Moreover, examinations of youth perception of stress are hampered by limitations of child cognitive processes, as well as parents' limited knowledge of their child's perception of stress. In a preliminary effort to unscramble the complex effects of youth SLEs and perceived stress in relation to biological response to acute stressors, this study examined 51 boys and girls aged 7-16, with no history of psychopathology or medical concerns. Contrary to hypotheses, findings revealed that compared to actual experiences of stress, perceived stress has greater associations with both cortisol and cardiovascular activity. That is, perceived stress is more biologically salient relative to actual stress. Results also suggest that informant differences may explain some previous inconsistent findings in studies of youth's stress reactivity. The current findings mirror the adult studies that show appraisal and perception of traumatic and stressful events may be more predictive of negative health and mental health outcomes than the severity of the events. Further studies are needed to understand the impact of youth's perceptions of stress on their biological stress reactions and later health outcomes such as clinical disorders.

  6. Turkish Primary Students' Perceptions of Geography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senyurt, Secil

    2014-01-01

    This study provides an in-depth investigation of Turkish primary school students' perceptions of geography. Gender differences in students' perceptions of geography were investigated, including definitions of geography and its field of study. The findings showed that "landforms," "our geographical regions/Turkey,"…

  7. Comparison of pain threshold and duration of pain perception in men and women of different ages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marília Soares Leonel de Nazaré

    Full Text Available Introduction Pain is a sensory and emotional experience that occurs with the presence of tissue injury, actual or potential. Pain is subjective, and its expression is primarily determined by the perceived intensity of the painful sensation, called the pain threshold. Objective To evaluate whether there are differences in pain threshold (LD and time to pain perception (TPED between the gender in different age groups and to analyze the correlation between age and pain threshold in each gender. Methods and procedures Participants were 60 volunteers divided into 6 groups (n = 10 each according to gender and age (18–33, 34–49, and 50–64 years. The evaluation of perception and pain tolerance was performed by immersing the container with one hand in water at a temperature of 0 °C–2 °C; the latency to withdrawal of the hand from ice water was measured in seconds and was considered a measure of LD. The TPED was reported by each participant as the start time of the painful stimulus. Results We found differences between the LD for G1 (men aged between 18 and 33 years and G2 (women aged 18 to 33 years with greater LD for G1 (p = 0.0122 and greater LD for women (p = 0.0094; for other comparisons of LD and TPED, there were no differences (p > 0.05 for all comparisons. Low correlation was found between age progression with increased LD and the TPED only in men (p = 0.01 and r = 0.45 and p = 0.05 and r = 0.34, respectively. Conclusion We conclude that women have a higher pain threshold than men especially when these groups are aged between 18 and 33 years, and in men increasing age correlates with increased TPED and LD.

  8. The Right Hemisphere in Aesthetic Perception

    OpenAIRE

    Bianca eBromberger; Rebecca eSternschein; Page eWidick; William eSmith; Anjan eChatterjee

    2011-01-01

    Little about the neuropsychology of art perception and evaluation is known. Most neuropsychological approaches to art have focused on art production and have been anecdotal and qualitative. The field is in desperate need of quantitative methods if it is to advance. Here, we combine a quantitative approach to the assessment of art with modern voxel-lesion-symptom-mapping (VLSM) methods to determine brain-behavior relationships in art perception. We hypothesized that perception of different att...

  9. The Right Hemisphere in Esthetic Perception

    OpenAIRE

    Bromberger, Bianca; Sternschein, Rebecca; Widick, Page; Smith, William; Chatterjee, Anjan

    2011-01-01

    Little about the neuropsychology of art perception and evaluation is known. Most neuropsychological approaches to art have focused on art production and have been anecdotal and qualitative. The field is in desperate need of quantitative methods if it is to advance. Here, we combine a quantitative approach to the assessment of art with modern voxel-lesion-symptom-mapping methods to determine brain–behavior relationships in art perception. We hypothesized that perception of different attributes...

  10. Physical abuse during adolescence: Gender differences in the adolescents' perceptions of family functioning and parenting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunday, Suzanne; Labruna, Victor; Kaplan, Sandra; Pelcovitz, David; Newman, Jennifer; Salzinger, Suzanne

    2008-01-01

    To examine the relationship between physical abuse of adolescents and parenting by mothers and fathers and whether the association differs by gender. Subjects were adolescents, 51 girls and 45 boys, documented by Child Protective Services (CPS) as physically abused during adolescence. Comparison subjects were non-abused adolescents, 47 girls and 48 boys, from the same suburban communities. Subjects completed the following: Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale, Parental Bonding Instrument, modified Conflict Tactics Scale (assessing physical abuse/punishment by each parent). Although CPS generally cited fathers as the abuse perpetrators, abused boys and girls often reported experiencing physical maltreatment from both parents. Not surprisingly, comparison subjects rated parents more positively than abused subjects. For both groups, mothers were perceived as more caring and less controlling, were reported to have closer relationships with their adolescents, and were less likely to use abuse/harsh punishment than were fathers. Differences between the adolescents' perceptions of mothers and fathers were more pronounced for abused than for comparison subjects. Boys' and girls' perceptions of parenting were generally similar except that girls, especially the abused girls, reported feeling less close to fathers. Abused girls also viewed mothers as less caring than the other groups viewed mothers. Abused girls were also less likely than abused boys to perceive that either parent, but particularly fathers, had provided them with an optimum style of parenting. Adolescents who experienced relatively mild physical abuse reported dysfunctional family relationships, which may place them at risk of poor adult outcomes. Adolescents' reports suggest that CPS reports may underestimate physical maltreatment by mothers.

  11. Racial Differences in Neighborhood Perceptions and their Influences on Physical Activity among Urban Older Women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenjun Li

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Proper levels of physical activity (PA are important to healthy aging. Little is known about racial differences in influences of neighborhood perceptions (NP on PA and use of neighborhood resources among community-dwelling older women. Materials and methods: In 2014 and 2015, 49 white and 44 black women of age 65 and older living in Washington, DC were queried about their PA, NP, use of neighborhood resources and sociodemographic characteristics. They wore an accelerometer and a Global Positioning System device concurrently for 7 consecutive days. Data were analyzed by race. Results: Compared to Whites, Blacks had lower NP scores (71% positive vs. 77%, p = 0.01, lower mean daily step counts (mean (SD: 3256 (1918 vs. 5457 (2989, p < 0.001, and lower frequencies of all exercise activities combined (19.7 (8.7 vs. 25.2 (11.8 per week, p = 0.01. For both Whites and Blacks, better NPs were associated with more frequent PA both at (p = 0.05 and away from home (p = 0.01. However, better NPs were associated with higher frequencies of exercise activities, moderate-to-high intensity activities, and utilitarian walking for Whites but not Blacks (p < 0.05 for race-perception interaction terms. Conclusions: In an urban setting, older Black women were more likely than older White women to have poor NPs, less PA, and weaker or no association of positive NPs with higher levels of certain PAs. Such substantial racial differences warrant further investigation and consideration in health promotion programs.

  12. The Beginnings of Danish Speech Perception

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Østerbye, Torkil

    , in the light of the rich and complex Danish sound system. The first two studies report on native adults’ perception of Danish speech sounds in quiet and noise. The third study examined the development of language-specific perception in native Danish infants at 6, 9 and 12 months of age. The book points......Little is known about the perception of speech sounds by native Danish listeners. However, the Danish sound system differs in several interesting ways from the sound systems of other languages. For instance, Danish is characterized, among other features, by a rich vowel inventory and by different...... reductions of speech sounds evident in the pronunciation of the language. This book (originally a PhD thesis) consists of three studies based on the results of two experiments. The experiments were designed to provide knowledge of the perception of Danish speech sounds by Danish adults and infants...

  13. Do gender differences in audio-visual benefit and visual influence in audio-visual speech perception emerge with age?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magnus eAlm

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Gender and age have been found to affect adults’ audio-visual (AV speech perception. However, research on adult aging focuses on adults over 60 years, who have an increasing likelihood for cognitive and sensory decline, which may confound positive effects of age-related AV-experience and its interaction with gender. Observed age and gender differences in AV speech perception may also depend on measurement sensitivity and AV task difficulty. Consequently both AV benefit and visual influence were used to measure visual contribution for gender-balanced groups of young (20-30 years and middle-aged adults (50-60 years with task difficulty varied using AV syllables from different talkers in alternative auditory backgrounds. Females had better speech-reading performance than males. Whereas no gender differences in AV benefit or visual influence were observed for young adults, visually influenced responses were significantly greater for middle-aged females than middle-aged males. That speech-reading performance did not influence AV benefit may be explained by visual speech extraction and AV integration constituting independent abilities. Contrastingly, the gender difference in visually influenced responses in middle adulthood may reflect an experience-related shift in females’ general AV perceptual strategy. Although young females’ speech-reading proficiency may not readily contribute to greater visual influence, between young and middle-adulthood recurrent confirmation of the contribution of visual cues induced by speech-reading proficiency may gradually shift females AV perceptual strategy towards more visually dominated responses.

  14. School Nutrition Employees' Perceptions of Farm to School (FTS) Activities Differ Based on Management Type and FTS Participation Length

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Sangwook; Arendt, Susan W.; Stokes, Nathan M.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore school nutrition employees' perceptions of FTS activities and whether the numbers of activities differ based on management type of school foodservice operation and length of FTS participation. Methods: The state with the most FTS programs from each of the eight national FTS regions was selected. A…

  15. Individual differences in the perception of melodic contours and pitch-accent timing in speech: Support for domain-generality of pitch processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrill, Tuuli H; McAuley, J Devin; Dilley, Laura C; Hambrick, David Z

    2015-08-01

    Do the same mechanisms underlie processing of music and language? Recent investigations of this question have yielded inconsistent results. Likely factors contributing to discrepant findings are use of small samples and failure to control for individual differences in cognitive ability. We investigated the relationship between music and speech prosody processing, while controlling for cognitive ability. Participants (n = 179) completed a battery of cognitive ability tests, the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA) to assess music perception, and a prosody test of pitch peak timing discrimination (early, as in insight vs. late, incite). Structural equation modeling revealed that only music perception was a significant predictor of prosody test performance. Music perception accounted for 34.5% of variance on prosody test performance; cognitive abilities and music training added only about 8%. These results indicate musical pitch and temporal processing are highly predictive of pitch discrimination in speech processing, even after controlling for other possible predictors of this aspect of language processing. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Differences in Food Environment Perceptions and Spatial Attributes of Food Shopping between Residents of Low and High Food Access Areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sohi, Inderbir; Bell, Bethany A.; Liu, Jihong; Battersby, Sarah E.; Liese, Angela D.

    2014-01-01

    Objective To explore potential differences in food shopping behaviors and healthy food availability perceptions between residents living in areas with low and high food access. Design A cross-sectional telephone survey to assess food shopping behaviors and perceptions. Data from an eight-county food environment field census used to define the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) healthier food retail tract and USDA ERS (United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service) food desert measure. Participants 968 residents in eight South Carolina counties. Main Outcome Measures Residents’ food shopping behaviors and healthy food availability perceptions. Analysis Linear and logistic regression. Results Compared to residents in high food access areas, residents in low food access areas traveled further to their primary food store (USDA ERS: 8.8 vs. 7.1 miles, p=0.03; CDC: 9.2 vs. 6.1 miles, pshopping miles per week; CDC 28.0 vs. 15.4 miles, pshopping access (p<0.001). Conclusions and Implications These findings lend support to ongoing community and policy interventions aimed at reducing food access disparities. PMID:24560861

  17. 17 CFR 248.123 - Contents of opt out notice; consolidated and equivalent notices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... EXCHANGE COMMISSION (CONTINUED) REGULATIONS S-P AND S-AM Regulation S-AM: Limitations on Affiliate Marketing § 248.123 Contents of opt out notice; consolidated and equivalent notices. (a) Contents of opt out...) The name of the affiliate(s) providing the notice. If the notice is provided jointly by multiple...

  18. Inattentional Blindness and Individual Differences in Cognitive Abilities.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carina Kreitz

    Full Text Available People sometimes fail to notice salient unexpected objects when their attention is otherwise occupied, a phenomenon known as inattentional blindness. To explore individual differences in inattentional blindness, we employed both static and dynamic tasks that either presented the unexpected object away from the focus of attention (spatial or near the focus of attention (central. We hypothesized that noticing in central tasks might be driven by the availability of cognitive resources like working memory, and that noticing in spatial tasks might be driven by the limits on spatial attention like attention breadth. However, none of the cognitive measures predicted noticing in the dynamic central task or in either the static or dynamic spatial task. Only in the central static task did working memory capacity predict noticing, and that relationship was fairly weak. Furthermore, whether or not participants noticed an unexpected object in a static task was only weakly associated with their odds of noticing an unexpected object in a dynamic task. Taken together, our results are largely consistent with the notion that noticing unexpected objects is driven more by stochastic processes common to all people than by stable individual differences in cognitive abilities.

  19. Inattentional Blindness and Individual Differences in Cognitive Abilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreitz, Carina; Furley, Philip; Memmert, Daniel; Simons, Daniel J.

    2015-01-01

    People sometimes fail to notice salient unexpected objects when their attention is otherwise occupied, a phenomenon known as inattentional blindness. To explore individual differences in inattentional blindness, we employed both static and dynamic tasks that either presented the unexpected object away from the focus of attention (spatial) or near the focus of attention (central). We hypothesized that noticing in central tasks might be driven by the availability of cognitive resources like working memory, and that noticing in spatial tasks might be driven by the limits on spatial attention like attention breadth. However, none of the cognitive measures predicted noticing in the dynamic central task or in either the static or dynamic spatial task. Only in the central static task did working memory capacity predict noticing, and that relationship was fairly weak. Furthermore, whether or not participants noticed an unexpected object in a static task was only weakly associated with their odds of noticing an unexpected object in a dynamic task. Taken together, our results are largely consistent with the notion that noticing unexpected objects is driven more by stochastic processes common to all people than by stable individual differences in cognitive abilities. PMID:26258545

  20. Inattentional Blindness and Individual Differences in Cognitive Abilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreitz, Carina; Furley, Philip; Memmert, Daniel; Simons, Daniel J

    2015-01-01

    People sometimes fail to notice salient unexpected objects when their attention is otherwise occupied, a phenomenon known as inattentional blindness. To explore individual differences in inattentional blindness, we employed both static and dynamic tasks that either presented the unexpected object away from the focus of attention (spatial) or near the focus of attention (central). We hypothesized that noticing in central tasks might be driven by the availability of cognitive resources like working memory, and that noticing in spatial tasks might be driven by the limits on spatial attention like attention breadth. However, none of the cognitive measures predicted noticing in the dynamic central task or in either the static or dynamic spatial task. Only in the central static task did working memory capacity predict noticing, and that relationship was fairly weak. Furthermore, whether or not participants noticed an unexpected object in a static task was only weakly associated with their odds of noticing an unexpected object in a dynamic task. Taken together, our results are largely consistent with the notion that noticing unexpected objects is driven more by stochastic processes common to all people than by stable individual differences in cognitive abilities.

  1. University Students' Perceptions of Plagiarism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Power, Lori G.

    2009-01-01

    Plagiarism is an intriguing topic with many avenues for exploration. Students' perceptions of plagiarism certainly differ from their professors' and it is valuable to attempt to listen in some small measure to what those perceptions are. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of some of the ways first- and second-year university…

  2. Harm Perceptions of Menthol and Nonmenthol Cigarettes Differ by Brand, Race/Ethnicity, and Gender in US Adult Smokers: Results from PATH Wave 1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohn, Amy M; Rose, Shyanika W; Ilakkuvan, Vinu; Gray, Tiffany; Curry, Laurel; Villanti, Andrea C; Mays, Darren; Lindblom, Eric; Tercyak, Kenneth; Debnam, Charles; Mayo, Ashley; Perreras, Lexie

    2018-01-27

    Harm perceptions of menthol cigarettes may contribute to their appeal and use. African-Americans, women, and younger smokers disproportionately use menthol cigarettes, and may misperceive harm of menthol cigarettes. Data were from Wave 1 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study. Weighted analyses of current adult smokers (18 and older) were used to estimate the correlates of menthol smoking among all cigarette brands and separately for the top three cigarette brands (Newport, Camel, and Marlboro). Adjusted models examined the main effect of menthol smoking on harm perceptions of one's own brand of cigarette and interactions with race/ethnicity, age, and gender. Menthol cigarettes were used by nearly 40% of current smokers, although the prevalence of menthol smoking differed across the top three brands (94% Newport, 46% Camel, and 18% Marlboro). Among menthol smokers, 80% perceived their cigarette as equally harmful, 14% perceived their brand as more harmful, and 7% perceived their brand as less harmful. In adjusted models, menthol smokers were more likely than nonmenthol smokers to misperceive their own brand as more harmful than other brands (compared to no difference in harm). Race and gender emerged as moderators of the association between menthol brand preference and harm perceptions. In adjusted analyses, menthol smokers were more likely than nonmenthol smokers to perceive their brand as more harmful than other brands, with differences by sub-groups who disproportionately use menthol. Menthol cigarettes have been historically marketed with messages conveying lower harm than other cigarettes. Little is known about how contemporary adult menthol smokers perceive the harm of their usual brand, and potential differences by race, gender, and young adult versus older adult age group. After adjusting for other factors, menthol smokers were more likely than nonmenthol smokers to perceive their cigarette brand as more harmful than other brands

  3. DIFFERENCES OF COMMITMENT BETWEEN GENERATIONS X AND Y – A STUDY IN A METALLURGICAL INDUSTRY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fábio Teodoro Tolfo Ribas

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The way each generation acts in society and in organizations is always a matter of study and appreciation (LOMBARDIA; STEIN & PIN, 2008. Thus, this study aimed to examine the organizational commitment in its affetctive, instrumental and normative dimensions in different generational groups (X and Y of Metallurgical Industry in the city of Caxias do Sul (RS. The research is descriptive and quantitative in nature. To reach its objective it uses a validated questionnaire, based on Ribas 2010, with 96 professional of the administrative sector. The results identify that the respondents have very similar approaches regarding affective, instrumental and normative commitment perceptions. Still, it was noticed that the highest means for both generations, were obtained in the construct of affective commitment. The clearest difference emerged in the focus of instrumental commitment, which determines the individual’s need to remain in business.

  4. Health smart cards: differing perceptions of emergency department patients and staff.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohd Rosli, Reizal; Taylor, David McD; Knott, Jonathan C; Das, Atandrila; Dent, Andrew W

    2009-02-01

    An analytical, cross-sectional survey of 270 emergency department patients and 92 staff undertaken in three tertiary referral hospital emergency departments was completed to compare the perceptions of patients and staff regarding the use of health smart cards containing patient medical records. The study recorded data on a range of health smart card issues including awareness, privacy, confidentiality, security, advantages and disadvantages, and willingness to use. A significantly higher proportion of staff had heard of the card. The perceived disadvantages reported by patients and staff were, overall, significantly different, with the staff reporting more disadvantages. A significantly higher proportion of patients believed that they should choose what information is on the card and who should have access to the information. Patients were more conservative regarding what information should be included, but staff were more conservative regarding who should have access to the information. Significantly fewer staff believed that patients could reliably handle the cards. Overall, however, the cards were considered acceptable and useful, and their introduction would be supported.

  5. Perception of nuclear risks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brenot, J.; Bonnefous, S.; Hubert, Ph.

    1996-01-01

    Many factors are involved in the perception of a risk by individuals. Some are individual related (psychology, knowledge, experience), others describe the social environment (culture, ideology), others at end precise the nature of the risk. The word risk has various meanings and is understood differently by the three main categories involved in risk management, that is engineers, administrators and lay public. Several models which describe the perception phenomenon are presented. The dimensions affecting perception are listed. Based on public opinion poll data, a risk taxonomy is proposed, perceived nuclear risks are compared with other risks, and results are given concerning trust in the information diffused and the credibility of those in charge of nuclear activities. (author)

  6. Factors associated with medication information in diabetes care: differences in perceptions between patients and health care professionals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Längst G

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Gerda Längst,1 Hanna Marita Seidling,2,3 Marion Stützle,2,3 Dominik Ose,1 Ines Baudendistel,1 Joachim Szecsenyi,1 Michel Wensing,1,4 Cornelia Mahler1 1Department of General Practice and Health Services Research, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; 2Cooperation Unit Clinical Pharmacy, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; 3Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacoepidemiology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; 4Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Scientific Institute for Quality of Healthcare, Nijmegen, the Netherlands Purpose: This qualitative study in patients with type 2 diabetes and health care professionals (HCPs aimed to investigate which factors they perceive to enhance or impede medication information provision in primary care. Similarities and differences in perspectives were explored.Methods: Eight semistructured focus groups were conducted, four with type 2 diabetes patients (n=25 and four with both general practitioners (n=13 and health care assistants (n=10. Sessions were audio and video recorded, transcribed verbatim, and subjected to computer-aided qualitative content analysis.Results: Diabetes patients and HCPs broadly highlighted similar factors as enablers for satisfactory medication information delivery. Perceptions substantially differed regarding impeding factors. Both patients and HCPs perceived it to be essential to deliver tailored information, to have a trustful and continuous patient–provider relationship, to regularly reconcile medications, and to provide tools for medication management. However, substantial differences in perceptions related to impeding factors included the causes of inadequate information, the detail required for risk-related information, and barriers to medication reconciliation. Medication self-management was a prevalent topic among patients, whereas HCPs’ focus was on fulfilling therapy and medication management responsibilities

  7. NOTICING HYBRID RECASTS IN TEXT CHAT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark J. Oliver

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This study examined ten EFL learners’ noticing of the corrective nature of a form of text-based SCMC (text chat feedback that combined a recast of a grammatical error with metalinguistic information. The feedback, termed a hybrid recast, was provided by a native-speaker interlocutor during two text chat activities: a spot-the-difference and picture-ordering task. Data was collected in two ways: analysis of task-based dyadic text chat interaction in which uptake was used as an indicator of learner noticing, and a post-task questionnaire containing questions that identified evidence of learner noticing. Interaction analysis showed that learners responded to almost two thirds of the hybrid recasts with uptake. In addition, every learner provided evidence that they had correctly perceived at least some of the hybrid recasts as corrective in their post-task questionnaire responses.

  8. How Different Are Our Perceptions of Equal-Tempered and Microtonal Intervals? A Behavioural and EEG Survey.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Freya Bailes

    Full Text Available For listeners familiar with Western twelve-tone equal-tempered (12-TET music, a novel microtonal tuning system is expected to present additional processing challenges. We aimed to determine whether this was the case, focusing on the extent to which our perceptions can be considered bottom-up (psychoacoustic and primarily perceptual and top-down (dependent on familiarity and cognitive processing. We elicited both overt response ratings, and covert event-related potentials (ERPs, so as to compare subjective impressions of sounds with the neurophysiological processing of the acoustic signal. We hypothesised that microtonal intervals are perceived differently from 12-TET intervals, and that the responses of musicians (n = 10 and non-musicians (n = 10 are distinct. Two-note chords were presented comprising 12-TET intervals (consonant and dissonant or microtonal (quarter tone intervals, and ERP, subjective roughness ratings, and liking ratings were recorded successively. Musical experience mediated the perception of differences between dissonant and microtone intervals, with non-musicians giving similar ratings for each, and musicians preferring dissonant over the less commonly used microtonal intervals, rating them as less rough. ERP response amplitude was greater for consonant intervals than other intervals. Musical experience interacted with interval type, suggesting that musical expertise facilitates the sensory and perceptual discrimination of microtonal intervals from 12-TET intervals, and an increased ability to categorize such intervals. Non-musicians appear to have perceived microtonal intervals as instances of neighbouring 12-TET intervals.

  9. Balancing bistable perception during self-motion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Elk, Michiel; Blanke, Olaf

    2012-10-01

    In two experiments we investigated whether bistable visual perception is influenced by passive own body displacements due to vestibular stimulation. For this we passively rotated our participants around the vertical (yaw) axis while observing different rotating bistable stimuli (bodily or non-bodily) with different ambiguous motion directions. Based on previous work on multimodal effects on bistable perception, we hypothesized that vestibular stimulation should alter bistable perception and that the effects should differ for bodily versus non-bodily stimuli. In the first experiment, it was found that the rotation bias (i.e., the difference between the percentage of time that a CW or CCW rotation was perceived) was selectively modulated by vestibular stimulation: the perceived duration of the bodily stimuli was longer for the rotation direction congruent with the subject's own body rotation, whereas the opposite was true for the non-bodily stimulus (Necker cube). The results found in the second experiment extend the findings from the first experiment and show that these vestibular effects on bistable perception only occur when the axis of rotation of the bodily stimulus matches the axis of passive own body rotation. These findings indicate that the effect of vestibular stimulation on the rotation bias depends on the stimulus that is presented and the rotation axis of the stimulus. Although most studies on vestibular processing have traditionally focused on multisensory signal integration for posture, balance, and heading direction, the present data show that vestibular self-motion influences the perception of bistable bodily stimuli revealing the importance of vestibular mechanisms for visual consciousness.

  10. Estimating a just-noticeable difference for ocular comfort in contact lens wearers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papas, Eric B; Keay, Lisa; Golebiowski, Blanka

    2011-06-21

    To estimate the just-noticeable difference (JND) in ocular comfort rating by human, contact lens-wearing subjects using 1 to 100 numerical scales. Ostensibly identical, new contact lenses were worn simultaneously in both eyes by 40 subjects who made individual comfort ratings for each eye using a 100-point numerical ratings scale (NRS). Concurrently, interocular preference was indicated on a five-point Likert scale (1 to 5: strongly prefer right, slightly prefer right, no preference, slightly prefer left, strongly prefer left, respectively). Differences in NRS comfort score (ΔC) between the right and left eyes were determined for each Likert scale preference criteria. The distribution of group ΔC scores was examined relative to alternative definitions of JND as a means of estimating its value. For Likert scores indicating the presence of a slight interocular preference, absolute ΔC ranged from 1 to 30 units with a mean of 7.4 ± 1.3 (95% confidence interval) across all lenses and trials. When there was no Likert scale preference expressed between the eyes, absolute ΔC did not exceed 5 units. For ratings of comfort using a 100-point numerical rating scale, the inter-ocular JND is unlikely to be less than 5 units. The estimate for the average value in the population was approximately 7 to 8 units. These numbers indicate the lowest level at which changes in comfort measured with such scales are likely to be clinically significant.

  11. Teacher and Administrator Perceptions of Bullying In Schools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tom D. Kennedy

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The primary aim of this study was to explore the differences between teacher and administrator perceptions of bullying. Data were collected from 139 practicing educators and administrators who completed a survey regarding their perceptions of bullying in schools. Mann Whitney U tests were conducted to determine if perceptions of bullying varied with occupation and gender. Bonferroni adjustments were made for the multiple pairwise comparisons. There were statistically significant differences between the perceptions of teachers and administrators regarding their role in bullying prevention. Teachers felt more strongly that educators played an important role in bullying prevention; however, administrators felt more comfortable communicating with the parents of bullying victims. Interestingly, teachers were significantly more likely than administrators to perceive a need for increased bullying prevention training. Significant gender differences concerning the inclusion of bullying prevention in school curriculum were also found.

  12. Association of a trait-like bias towards the perception of negative subjective life events with risk of developing premenstrual symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonda, Xenia; Fountoulakis, Konstantinos N; Csukly, Gabor; Telek, Tamas; Pap, Dorottya; Rihmer, Zoltan; Bagdy, Gyorgy

    2010-04-16

    Premenstrual symptoms affect the majority of healthy women. Premenstrual symptomatology has earlier been linked to stress and a state-like alteration in the perception of life events in the late-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. We hypothesised that there is also a trait-like negative bias in the perception of life events evident throughout the whole cycle which is associated with the likelihood to manifest more marked symptoms in the late-luteal phase of the cycle. 88 healthy women completed the PRISM calendar for three consecutive cycles and the Objective and Subjective Event Checklist during the follicular phase of the first cycle. Association between PRISM score change from the follicular through the late-luteal phase and life event variables was investigated by Generalized Linear Model Analysis (GENMOD). The PRISM score change showed a significant negative association with the ratio of positive subjective life events and a significant positive association with the ratio of negative subjective life events. There were no significant results in case of the objective life events. Our results indicate that women manifesting a more marked increase of symptoms from the late follicular through the late-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle are more likely to notice negative subjective life events and less likely to notice positive subjective life events. This suggest a trait-like negative bias in the perception of life events present throughout the whole reproductive cycle which may play an important role in the emergence of premenstrual symptoms. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Perception of Nonverbal Communication Influenced by Culture

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    张蒙蒙

    2013-01-01

    The concept of perception influenced by culture is pretty important in the study of intercultural communication. The perceptions of language and nonverbal language formed under various cultures intimate with each other during communication. This paper aims to explore the relationship between perception and culture in nonverbal communication through the study of eye language and body odor, and promote the communication among people of different culture as well.

  14. PERCEPTION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA’S QUALIFICATION TO FIFA WORLD CUP 2014 BY DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Özgür Dirim Özkan

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Generally, in Balkans, particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, football fandom is very much associated with the fact of ethnic tension. Football is often used as a metaphor for warfare, while in turn, during the Yugoslav Wars, ironically football terminology was used to metaphorise the significance of ethnic slaughtering. In fact, it is very commonly uttered that the starting flame of the Yugoslav Wars was sparkled in Zagreb Maksimir Stadium in May 13, 1990 after a match between Red Star Belgrade and Dinamo Zagreb. During the Yugoslav Wars, fan groups acted as recruitment agencies for organizing paramilitary groups who were convicted for organizing war crimes. This was the case in Bosnia as well. Although almost two decades have passed since the war in Bosnia, the effects of ethnic nationalism in football fandom is still inevitable. Recently, national football team of Bosnia succeeded to participate in the 2014 World Cup, which will be organized in Brazil, causing euphoria in the country. However, it is a controversial issue whether if all the ethnic groups, namely Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Serbs respectively did attend the celebrations. In other words, it is a question mark if they perceive Bosnian National Football as their “national” team. In this sense, this paper aims to discuss the perception of this success by different ethnic groups relying on interviews with different fan groups in the country. Methods: The presentation will rely on two basic resources: [1] An ethnographic study which was conducted in Bosnia in 2007/2008 as a part of PhD dissertation titled Football Fandom as a Factor Behind Formation of Cultural Differences: A Case Study on FK Sarajevo and FK Zeljeznicar Football Fans and ongoing observations of the presenter on Bosnian football since then. [2] Deep interviews with leading football fan groups of different clubs with different ethnic backgrounds like Velež Mostar, Čelik Zenica, Sloboda Tuzla

  15. Consumer Perception of Store Brand and National Brand in Hypermart Manado

    OpenAIRE

    Pandowo, Merinda; Bawata, Nancy

    2014-01-01

    Coffee is one global community of beverage that is consumed by many people in this world. The Consumer Perception on Brand, especially for coffee commodity, is changed based on the understanding of Promotion Perception, Product Perception, Price Perception, Store Perception, Self-perception and Perception Risk. In this research, the main objective is to figure out whether there is any significant difference for Consumer Perception on Brand concept between Luwak White Coffee consumers and Valu...

  16. Egocentric fairness perception: emotional reactions and individual differences in overt responses.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benoit Bediou

    Full Text Available Extensive research documents the existence of egocentric biases in the perception and application of justice norms. The origin of these biases remains poorly understood. We investigated both inter- and intra-individual differences in egocentric justice biases. Participants played an ultimatum game presumably with different anonymous players (simulated by a computer in which they contributed differentially to the joint production of the initial endowment. We examined how contributions (low vs. high affect proposers' offers and responders' acceptance decisions, as well as their fairness judgments and their emotional reactions to different types of offers (equal, equitable, unfair, and hyperfair. An egocentric bias in proposers' offers (indicating more flexible preferences was found only in individualists and not in prosocials, suggesting differences in the motivations (or cognitions underlying their choice of justice norms. Responders also showed egocentric biases in their judgments of fairness and in their emotional reactions to equal and equitable offers, but not in their acceptance decisions. Such dissociation might suggest that some form of emotion regulation occurred. Responders may evaluate offers on valence dimensions (e.g., goal conduciveness/outcome favorability and norm compatibility/justice that are multiply interacting and potentially conflicting. The individual's acceptance/rejection decision reflects the relative weight attributed to competing appraisals. For this overt behavioral decision, the (personal appraisal of outcome favorability that drives (analytical acceptance of goal-conducive outcome seems to be stronger than the (social appraisal of outcome fairness, which may trigger covert (emotional rejection of offers that are incompatible with justice norms. Our data show that the emotional reaction patterns provide a more fine-grained readout of the overall evaluation of the proposer's action, the underlying emotional dynamics of

  17. Risk perception and clinical decision making in primary care

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barfoed, Benedicte Marie Lind

    2015-01-01

    Objectives We aim to present new knowledge about different perspectives of health care professionals’ risk perceptions and clinical decision making. Furthermore, we intend to discuss differences between professional and personal risk perceptions and the impact on decisions in terms of both short...... and long-term outcomes. Background Insight into healthcare professionals’ perception of risk is a cornerstone for understanding their strategies for practising preventive care. The way people perceive risk can be seen as part of a general personality trait influenced by a mixture of individual...... considerations and the specific context. Most research has been focused on understanding of the concepts of risk. However healthcare professionals’ risk perception and personal attitudes also affect their clinical decision-making and risk communication. The differences between health care professionals’ personal...

  18. Pitch perception prior to cortical maturation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Bonnie K.

    Pitch perception plays an important role in many complex auditory tasks including speech perception, music perception, and sound source segregation. Because of the protracted and extensive development of the human auditory cortex, pitch perception might be expected to mature, at least over the first few months of life. This dissertation investigates complex pitch perception in 3-month-olds, 7-month-olds and adults -- time points when the organization of the auditory pathway is distinctly different. Using an observer-based psychophysical procedure, a series of four studies were conducted to determine whether infants (1) discriminate the pitch of harmonic complex tones, (2) discriminate the pitch of unresolved harmonics, (3) discriminate the pitch of missing fundamental melodies, and (4) have comparable sensitivity to pitch and spectral changes as adult listeners. The stimuli used in these studies were harmonic complex tones, with energy missing at the fundamental frequency. Infants at both three and seven months of age discriminated the pitch of missing fundamental complexes composed of resolved and unresolved harmonics as well as missing fundamental melodies, demonstrating perception of complex pitch by three months of age. More surprisingly, infants in both age groups had lower pitch and spectral discrimination thresholds than adult listeners. Furthermore, no differences in performance on any of the tasks presented were observed between infants at three and seven months of age. These results suggest that subcortical processing is not only sufficient to support pitch perception prior to cortical maturation, but provides adult-like sensitivity to pitch by three months.

  19. Gender differences in regional cerebral activity during the perception of emotion: a functional MRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofer, Alex; Siedentopf, Christian M; Ischebeck, Anja; Rettenbacher, Maria A; Verius, Michael; Felber, Stephan; Fleischhacker, W Wolfgang

    2006-08-15

    Whether men activate different brain regions during various emotions compared to women or whether gender differences exist in transient emotional states has been the subject of only few studies. We used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate gender differences during the perception of positive or negative emotions. The experiment comprised two emotional conditions (pleasant/unpleasant visual stimuli) during which fMRI data were acquired. Altogether, 38 healthy volunteers (19 males, 19 females) were investigated. When subtracting the activation values of men from those of women, suprathreshold positive signal changes were detected in the right posterior cingulate, the left putamen and the left cerebellum during positive mood induction, and in bilateral superior temporal gyri and cerebellar vermis during negative mood induction. The subtraction of activation values of women from those of men yielded no significant differences. Our findings suggest gender-related neural responses to emotional stimuli and could contribute to the understanding of mechanisms underlying gender-related vulnerability of the prevalence and severity of neuropsychiatric disorders.

  20. Self-esteem, social support perception and seizure controllability perception in adolescents with epilepsy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathália F. Siqueira

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Compare the self-esteem of adolescents with epilepsy and adolescents without epilepsy and relate it to social support and seizure controllability perception. METHOD: The study sample consisted: case participants (34 subjects attending the pediatric epilepsy clinic of University Hospital and control participants (30 subjects from public schools in Campinas-SP. The instruments utilized were: identification card with demographic and epilepsy data, a semi-structured interview on aspects of the disease, and a Self-Esteem Multidimensional Scale. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the two groups but majority of adolescents with epilepsy presented higher self esteem rate, have knowledge about epilepsy, presented high levels of social support and seizure controllability perception. There was no significant relationship between social support and seizure controllability perception with self-esteem. CONCLUSION: Knowledge about epilepsy, social support such good controllability seizure perception seem are important contingencies for a better evaluation of self esteem in adolescents with epilepsy.

  1. Vision as subjective perception; La vision, une perception subjective

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reppas, J.B. [Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States). Biological Labs.; Dale, A.; Sereno, M.; Tootell, R.

    1996-07-01

    The human brain is not very different of the monkey`s one: at least, its visual cortex is organized as a similar scheme. Specialized areas in the movement analysis are found and others in the forms perception. In this work, the author tries to answer to the following questions: (1)why so many visual areas? What are exactly their role in vision? Thirteen years of experimentation have not allowed to answer to these questions. The cerebral NMR imaging gives the opportunity of understanding the subjective perception of the visual world. One step which is particularly described in this work is to know how the visual cortex reacts to the optical illusions. (O.M.).

  2. Cross-sectional study on differences in pain perception and behavioral distress during venipuncture between Italian and Chinese children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sofia Bisogni

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Venipuncture is perhaps the scariest aspect of hospitalization for children as it causes pain and high levels of behavioral distress. Pain is a complex experience which is also influenced by social factors such as cultural attitudes, beliefs and traditions. Studies focusing on ethnic/cultural differences in pain perception and behavioral distress show controversial results, in particular with regards to children. The aim of this paper is to evaluate differences in pain perception and behavioral manifestations between Italian and Chinese children undergoing a venipuncture, through a cross-sectional study. Behavioral distress and self-reported pain were measured in Chinese and Italian outpatient children during a standardized blood-drawing procedure, using the Observational Scale of Behavioral Distress (OSBD and pain scales. We observed 332 children: 93 Chinese and 239 Italian. Chinese children scored higher than Italians on pain scales − mean scores 5.3 (95%CI 4.78-5.81 vs. 3.2 (95%CI 2.86-3.53 − but lower mean OSBD scores − mean 4.1 (95%CI 3.04-5.15 vs. 8.1 (95%CI 7.06-9.14. Our data suggest that Chinese children experience higher levels of pain than their Italian peers, although they show more self-control in their behavioral reaction to pain when experiencing venipuncture.

  3. Perceptions of students in different phases of medical education of the educational environment: Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahman, Nor Iza A; Aziz, Aniza Abd; Zulkifli, Zainal; Haj, Muhammad Arshad; Mohd Nasir, Farah Hanani Binti; Pergalathan, Sharvina; Hamidi, Muhammad Ismail; Ismail, Salwani; Simbak, Nordin Bin; Haque, Mainul

    2015-01-01

    Background The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) was planned and designed to quantify the educational environment precisely for medical schools and health-related professional schools. DREEM is now considered a valid and reliable tool, which is globally accepted for measuring the medical educational environment. The educational environment encountered by students has an impact on satisfaction with the course of study, perceived sense of well-being, aspirations, and academic achievement. In addition to being measurable, the educational environment can also be changed, thus enhancing the quality of medical education and the environment, and the medical education process. The objective of this study was to assess the educational environment of the Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) undergraduate medical program from the students’ perspective. The study expected to explore UniSZA medical students’ overall perceptions, perceptions of learning, teachers, atmosphere, academic self-perception, and social self-perception using the DREEM questionnaire. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted to study the perceptions of the students toward the educational environment of UniSZA as a new medical school, using the DREEM questionnaire. All medical students of UniSZA from Years I–V enrolled in the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery programs were the target population (n=270). Therefore, the universal sampling technique was used. The data were analyzed using the SPSS 20 software. This study obtained ethical clearance from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UniSZA. Results A total of 195 out of 270 students responded. Respondents included 31% males and 69% females. The overall DREEM scores were significantly higher (Pstudents at UniSZA showed a positive perception of their educational environment. The new medical faculty, established for only a few years, has achieved an above-average, conducive educational environment for

  4. Undergraduate engineering students' attitudes and perceptions towards `professional ethics' course: a case study of India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sethy, Satya Sundar

    2017-11-01

    'Professional Ethics' has been offered as a compulsory course to undergraduate engineering students in a premier engineering institution of India. It was noticed that students' perceptions and attitudes were frivolous and ornamental towards this course. Course instructors and institution authorities were motivated to find out the factors contributing to this awkwardness. For this purpose, a questionnaire was prepared and administrated to 336 students registered for the July-November 2014 semester. The study found two factors contributing to students' indifference towards the Professional Ethics course. First, most of the students did not have self-interest to join the engineering programme, and while pursuing their study, they decided to switch to a different field upon completion of their engineering study. Second, students who desired to be engineers in their future believed that engineering code of ethics is not really referred to in most of the engineering jobs, and therefore Professional Ethics course is only meant for classroom discussions.

  5. The Analysis of Different Perceptions between PPAk Students, KAP Auditors and Company Manager toward Public Accountant Responsibility Related to Expectation Gap

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gen Norman Thomas

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available This study is in research domain of behavioral accounting that is based on the current aspect is still interesting to explore.This study aims to reveal differences in perceptions of students, auditors and company managers to public accountant responsility related to expectation gap that includes fraud disclosures, maintain of independence, providing early warning of possibility of business failure, violation of law and improving audit quality. This research is quantitative research using descriptive and comparative research method. Data collective tehnique use survey method with sample was determined by non probability under convenience sample. Data quality was examined with using cronbach’s alpha shows the data is valid and realible. Data normality test used independent t test showed data in normal curve, no multicolinearity and no hetrogenity. First to fifth hyphotesis showed the difference of perception amongs PPAk students, KAP’s auditors and company managers to public accountant responsibility in various dimensions of expectation gap in Jakarta.

  6. Analysis of the Explanatory Variables of the Differences in Perceptions of Cyberbullying: A Role-Based-Model Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-Antelo, Inmaculada; Cuadrado-Gordillo, Isabel

    2018-04-01

    The controversies that exist regarding the delimitation of the cyberbullying construct demonstrate the need for further research focused on determining the criteria that shape the structure of the perceptions that adolescents have of this phenomenon and on seeking explanations of this behavior. The objectives of this study were to (a) construct possible explanatory models of the perception of cyberbullying from identifying and relating the criteria that form this construct and (b) analyze the influence of previous cyber victimization and cyber aggression experiences in the construction of explanatory models of the perception of cyberbullying. The sample consisted of 2,148 adolescents (49.1% girls; SD = 0.5) aged from 12 to 16 years ( M = 13.9 years; SD = 1.2). The results have shown that previous cyber victimization and cyber aggression experiences lead to major differences in the explanatory models to interpret cyber-abusive behavior as cyberbullying episodes, or as social relationship mechanisms, or as a revenge reaction. We note that the aggressors' explanatory model is based primarily on a strong reciprocal relationship between the imbalance of power and intentionality, that it functions as a link promoting indirect causal relationships of the anonymity and repetition factors with the cyberbullying construct. The victims' perceptual structure is based on three criteria-imbalance of power, intentionality, and publicity-where the key factor in this structure is the intention to harm. These results allow to design more effective measures of prevention and intervention closely tailored to addressing directly the factors that are considered to be predictors of risk.

  7. Perceptions of love across the lifespan: differences in passion, intimacy, and commitment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sumter, S.R.; Valkenburg, P.M.; Peter, J.

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated perceptions of love across the lifespan using Sternberg’s triangular theory of love, which distinguishes between passion, intimacy, and commitment. The study aimed to (a) investigate the psychometric properties of the short Triangular Love Scale (TLS-short) in adolescents and

  8. Ethics, Risk and Benefits Associated with Different Applications of Nanotechnology: a Comparison of Expert and Consumer Perceptions of Drivers of Societal Acceptance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gupta, N.; Fischer, A.R.H.; Frewer, L.J.

    2015-01-01

    Examining those risk and benefit perceptions utilised in the formation of attitudes and opinions about emerging technologies such as nanotechnology can be useful for both industry and policy makers involved in their development, implementation and regulation. A broad range of different

  9. Strengthening physical self-perceptions through exercise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caruso, C M; Gill, D L

    1992-12-01

    Two studies examined the effects of physical activity/exercise on physical self-perceptions, self-efficacy, body satisfaction, fitness and relationships among these variables. In study 1, 34 female undergraduates participated in a 10-week exercise/activity program. Participants were selected from existing classes forming a weight training, aerobic exercise and activity control group. Results revealed changes in physical self-perceptions, strength, and body composition over the 10-weeks. Improvements in physical self-perceptions and fitness occurred independent of exercise/activity group. Groups differed in the perceived importance attached to physical self-perceptions. Correlations among the measures revealed relationships among physical self-perceptions, body satisfaction, global self-esteem, and fitness. In study 2, we hypothesized that weight training would have a greater effect on physical self-perceptions and body image perceptions than physical education activity classes. Thirty-seven males and 28 females were selected from existing classes forming a weight training and activity group. Results revealed no significant changes in physical self-perceptions, body image, or global self-esteem over the 10-week program, while strength and physical self-efficacy improved. Correlations among measures from both studies offer preliminary support for Sonstroem and Morgan's model for the examination of self-esteem in exercise settings.

  10. When pain meets … pain-related choice behavior and pain perception in different goal conflict situations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schrooten, Martien G S; Wiech, Katja; Vlaeyen, Johan W S

    2014-11-01

    Individuals in pain often face the choice between avoiding pain and pursuing other equally valued goals. However, little is known about pain-related choice behavior and pain perception in goal conflict situations. Seventy-eight healthy volunteers performed a computerized task requiring repeated choices between incompatible options, differing in their effect on probability to receive painful stimulation and money. Depending on group assignment, participants chose between increased pain probability versus decreased money probability (avoidance-avoidance conflict situation); decreased pain probability versus increased money probability (approach-approach conflict situation); or decrease versus increase in both probabilities (double approach/avoidance conflict situation). During the choice task, participants rated painfulness, unpleasantness, threat, and fearfulness associated with the painful stimulation and how they felt. Longer choice latency and more choice switching were associated with higher retrospective ratings of conflict and of decision difficulty, and more equal importance placed on pain avoidance and earning money. Groups did not differ in choice behavior, pain stimulus ratings, or affect. Across groups, longer choice latencies were nonsignificantly associated with higher pain, unpleasantness, threat, and fearfulness. In the avoidance-avoidance group, more choice switching was associated with higher pain-related threat and fearfulness, and with more negative affect. These results of this study suggest that associations between choice behaviors, pain perception, and affect depend on conflict situation. We present a first experimental demonstration of the relationship between pain-related choice behaviors, pain, and affect in different goal conflict situations. This experimental approach allows us to examine these relationships in a controlled fashion. Better understanding of pain-related goal conflicts and their resolution may lead to more effective pain

  11. Geometrical factors in the perception of sacredness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Costa, Marco; Bonetti, Leonardo

    2016-01-01

    Geometrical and environmental factors in the perception of sacredness, dominance, and attractiveness were assessed by 137 participants in five tests. In the first test, a two-alternative forced-choice paradigm was used to test the perception of sacredness, dominance, and attractiveness in geometr......Geometrical and environmental factors in the perception of sacredness, dominance, and attractiveness were assessed by 137 participants in five tests. In the first test, a two-alternative forced-choice paradigm was used to test the perception of sacredness, dominance, and attractiveness...... in geometrical figures differing in shape, verticality, size, and symmetry. Verticality, symmetry, and convexity were found to be important factors in the perception of sacredness. In the second test, participants had to mark the point inside geometrical surfaces that was perceived as most sacred, dominant....... Geometrical factors in the perception of sacredness, dominance, and attractiveness were largely overlapping....

  12. Contemporary Koreans’ Perceptions of Facial Beauty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seung Chul Rhee

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Background This article aims to investigate current perceptions of beauty of the general public and physicians without a specialization in plastic surgery performing aesthetic procedures. Methods A cross-sectional and interviewing questionnaire was administered to 290 people in Seoul, South Korea in September 2015. The questionnaire addressed three issues: general attitudes about plastic surgery (Q1, perception of and preferences regarding Korean female celebrities’ facial attractiveness (Q2, and the relative influence of each facial aesthetic subunit on overall facial attractiveness. The survey’s results were gathered by a professional research agency and classified according to a respondent’s gender, age, and job type (95%±5.75% confidence interval. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS ver. 10.1, calculating one-way analysis of variance with post hoc analysis and Tukey’s t-test. Results Among the respondents, 38.3% were in favor of aesthetic plastic surgery. The most common source of plastic surgery information was the internet (50.0%. The most powerful factor influencing hospital or clinic selection was the postoperative surgical results of acquaintances (74.9%. We created a composite face of an attractive Korean female, representing the current facial configuration considered appealing to the Koreans. Beauty perceptions differed to some degree based on gender and generational differences. We found that there were certain differences in beauty perceptions between general physicians who perform aesthetic procedures and the general public. Conclusions Our study results provide aesthetic plastic surgeons with detailed information about contemporary Korean people’s attitudes toward and perceptions of plastic surgery and the specific characteristics of female Korean faces currently considered attractive, plus trends in these perceptions, which should inform plastic surgeons within their specialized fields.

  13. The emotional body and time perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Droit-Volet, Sylvie; Gil, Sandrine

    2016-01-01

    We examined the effects of emotional bodily expressions on the perception of time. Participants were shown bodily expressions of fear, happiness and sadness in a temporal bisection task featuring different stimulus duration ranges. Stimulus durations were judged to be longer for bodily expressions of fear than for those of sadness, whereas no significant difference was observed between sad and happy postures. In addition, the magnitude of the lengthening effect of fearful versus sad postures increased with duration range. These results suggest that the perception of fearful bodily expressions increases the level of arousal which, in turn, speeds up the internal clock system underlying the representation of time. The effect of bodily expressions on time perception is thus consistent with findings for other highly arousing emotional stimuli, such as emotional facial expressions.

  14. Perceptions of students in different phases of medical education of the educational environment: Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahman NIA

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Nor Iza A Rahman, Aniza Abd Aziz, Zainal Zulkifli, Muhammad Arshad Haj, Farah Hanani Binti Mohd Nasir, Sharvina Pergalathan, Muhammad Ismail Hamidi, Salwani Ismail, Nordin Bin Simbak, Mainul Haque Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia Background: The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM was planned and designed to quantify the educational environment precisely for medical schools and health-related professional schools. DREEM is now considered a valid and reliable tool, which is globally accepted for measuring the medical educational environment. The educational environment encountered by students has an impact on satisfaction with the course of study, perceived sense of well-being, aspirations, and academic achievement. In addition to being measurable, the educational environment can also be changed, thus enhancing the quality of medical education and the environment, and the medical education process. The objective of this study was to assess the educational environment of the Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA undergraduate medical program from the students’ perspective. The study expected to explore UniSZA medical students’ overall perceptions, perceptions of learning, teachers, atmosphere, academic self-perception, and social self-perception using the DREEM questionnaire. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to study the perceptions of the students toward the educational environment of UniSZA as a new medical school, using the DREEM questionnaire. All medical students of UniSZA from Years I–V enrolled in the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery programs were the target population (n=270. Therefore, the universal sampling technique was used. The data were analyzed using the SPSS 20 software. This study obtained ethical clearance from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UniSZA. Results: A total of 195 out of 270 students responded

  15. Risk policies and risk perceptions: a comparative study of environmental health risk policy and perception in six European countries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bröer, C.; Moerman, G.; Spruijt, P.; van Poll, R.

    2014-01-01

    This paper explores the influence that health risk policies have on the citizens’ perceptions of those health risks. Previously, detailed mixed methods research revealed that noise annoyance policies shaped noise perception. This idea is now applied to nine different environmental health risks in

  16. Urban children's perceptions of violence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheehan, Karen; Kim, Lynn E; Galvin, John P

    2004-01-01

    To determine how preadolescent urban children conceptualize and experience violence in their lives. This qualitative study reports the results of focus groups designed to examine perceptions of violence among preadolescent urban children. Program directors were trained to conduct the sessions using a semistructured script. All groups were audiotaped or videotaped. The summaries were analyzed for recurring themes. A community-based visual arts program for children designed to be a secondary violence-prevention program. There were 12 focus groups of volunteer participants. Each consisted of 3 to 6 children aged 8 to 12 years, separated by sex and age. Fifty children participated: 27 boys and 23 girls. These children defined violence in a broader way than most adults would. Not only did the children identify shootings and stabbings as examples of violence, but they also considered violence to be any act that might hurt someone's feelings (such as cheating and lying) or any act accompanying violence (such as cursing and yelling). The boys and girls were very similar in their views except regarding the issue of intimate-partner violence. The girls were almost universally concerned about this issue, but the boys seemed noticeably unaware that intimate-partner violence was considered a form of violence. Most children felt safe at home, and almost no child felt safe at school. They looked to trusted adults to keep them safe. Future investigators measuring the effect of violence-prevention activities on preteen children should be aware that their definition of violence may differ from that of young children and should be cognizant of potential sex differences, especially around the topic of intimate-partner violence. Those designing violence-prevention programs for children should consider engaging adult family members as well because children usually turn to them for safety.

  17. Selection system orientations as an explanation for the differences between dual leaders of the same organization in their perception of organizational performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    P.V. Bhansing (Pawan); M.A.A.M. Leenders (Mark); N.M. Wijnberg (Nachoem)

    2016-01-01

    textabstractWe investigate to what extent individual managers operating in a dual leadership structure have different perceptions of how well his/her organization is performing. Using selection system theory we develop hypotheses on the relationships between a leader’s selection system orientation

  18. Adolescent Perceptions of Dating Violence: A Qualitative Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Sarah; Calkins, Carrie A; Xia, Yan; Dalla, Rochelle L

    2017-08-01

    Scholars have identified dating violence as a public health issue among adolescents. Yet, minimal research has detailed adolescents' perceptions of dating violence, specifically gender differences in perceptions. Research suggests that in order for dating violence prevention and intervention to be effective, services need to be delivered in a manner that is understood by adolescents. Therefore, this study used a qualitative phenomenology study to investigate adolescents' perceptions of dating violence, including gender differences in adolescents' perceptions. Thirty adolescents between the ages of 14 and 19 from a Midwest public high school participated in focus groups. Focus group participants were asked semistructured interview questions regarding the definition of dating violence, risk and protective factors for dating violence, support for victims and perpetrators, and prevention efforts. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis methods, and common themes were identified. Adolescents' language revealed gender differences in perceptions toward dating violence. Males perceive dating violence through action, perpetration, and physical consequences. Females discuss dating violence by relating to the victim and the victim's emotions. Although gender differences existed in participants' perceptions, both males and females explained that dating violence is more often perpetrated by females, despite the view from society that males are more likely to perpetrate dating violence. Findings suggest that schools, practitioners, and policy makers are not meeting the needs of adolescents in regard to dating violence prevention and intervention. Prevention and intervention efforts could be improved by delivering education and services using language that adolescents find relevant. Findings also suggest that adolescents may benefit from prevention and intervention with gender specific components.

  19. Perception and acceptance of technological risk sources. Volume 2. Empirical analysis of risk perception and acceptance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Renn, O

    1981-01-01

    Volume 2 presents a comparative investigation of risk perception and acceptance. It contains the evaluations of the two experiments in social psychology and the analysis of two intensive inquiries concerning risk perception with a view to 12 different risk sources. The data of the two inquiries were acquired from a total of 200 interview partners in two cities in North-Rhine Westphalia.

  20. The Categorical Perception Deficit in Dyslexia: A Meta-Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noordenbos, Mark W.; Serniclaes, Willy

    2015-01-01

    Speech perception in dyslexia is characterized by a categorical perception (CP) deficit, demonstrated by weaker discrimination of acoustic differences between phonemic categories in conjunction with better discrimination of acoustic differences within phonemic categories. We performed a meta-analysis of studies that examined the reliability of the…

  1. Time perception: the bad news and the good

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthews, William J; Meck, Warren H

    2014-01-01

    Time perception is fundamental and heavily researched, but the field faces a number of obstacles to theoretical progress. In this advanced review, we focus on three pieces of ‘bad news’ for time perception research: temporal perception is highly labile across changes in experimental context and task; there are pronounced individual differences not just in overall performance but in the use of different timing strategies and the effect of key variables; and laboratory studies typically bear little relation to timing in the ‘real world’. We describe recent examples of these issues and in each case offer some ‘good news’ by showing how new research is addressing these challenges to provide rich insights into the neural and information-processing bases of timing and time perception. PMID:25210578

  2. Gender Differences in Perception of Contraception Alternatives by Never-Married College Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDermott, Robert J.; Gold, Robert S.

    A study examined the perceptions of college students regarding 10 contraceptive methods, including the condom, douche, oral contraceptive, withdrawal, diaphragm, female sterilization, spermicidal foam, rhythm, male sterilization, and intrauterine device. A total of 285 females and 316 males responded to a questionnaire which had students rank each…

  3. Exposure Knowledge and Perception of Wireless Communication Technologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frederik Freudenstein

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The presented survey investigates risk and exposure perceptions of radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF associated with base stations, mobile phones and other sources, the key issue being the interaction between both sets of perceptions. The study is based on a cross-sectional design, and conducted with an online sample of 838 citizens from Portugal. The results indicate that respondents’ intuitive exposure perception differs from the actual exposure levels. Furthermore, exposure and risk perceptions are found to be highly correlated. Respondents’ beliefs  about exposure factors, which might influence possible health risks, is appropriate. A regression analysis between exposure characteristics, as predictor variables, and RF EMF risk perception, as the response variable, indicates that people seem to use simple heuristics to form their perceptions. What is bigger, more frequent and longer lasting is seen as riskier. Moreover, the quality of exposure knowledge is not an indicator for amplified EMF risk perception. These findings show that exposure perception is key to future risk communication.

  4. Perception of the risk of adverse reactions to analgesics: differences between medical students and residents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Castillo-Guzman

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Background. Medications are not exempt from adverse drug reactions (ADR and how the physician perceives the risk of prescription drugs could influence their availability to report ADR and their prescription behavior. Methods. We assess the perception of risk and the perception of ADR associated with COX2-Inbitors, paracetamol, NSAIDs, and morphine in medical students and residents of northeast of Mexico. Results. The analgesic with the highest risk perception in both group of students was morphine, while the drug with the least risk perceived was paracetamol. Addiction and gastrointestinal bleeding were the ADR with the highest score for morphine and NSAIDs respectively. Discussion. Our findings show that medical students give higher risk scores than residents toward risk due to analgesics. Continuing training and informing physicians about ADRs is necessary since the lack of training is known to induce inadequate use of drugs.

  5. Gender and Stress Perception Based Differences in BMI, Hormonal Response and Appetite in Adult Pakistani Population

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haque, Z.; Haleem, D. J.

    2014-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate and compare the gender based variations in stress perception induced changes in leptin, cortisol and serotonin (5-HT) trends, appetite and Body Mass Index (BMI). Study Design: An analytical comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: Neurochemistry Laboratory, University of Karachi, from January to August 2013. Methodology: Appetite, BMI and serum leptin, cortisol, and 5-HT were measured in 100 men and women of aged 30 - 60 years, working in teaching institutes of Karachi, to evaluate gender based, stress perception induced variations. The samples were identified by stratified random technique. The chemical variables were estimated through ELISA. Results were analysed using one-way ANOVA and multivariate general linear model using SPSS version 17. Results: Mean stress perception, BMI and serum leptin levels were significantly more in women (p < 0.05). Serum cortisol and 5-HT were found significantly reduced in women (p < 0.05). BMI, serum cortisol and leptin were found to be increased with increasing level of stress perception (p < 0.05). VAS for hunger and desire to eat as the measure of appetite was significantly higher in men (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Stress perception attenuates the positive effect of cortisol and negative effects of leptin and 5-HT on appetite through changes in their circulatory levels. Women perceive more stress and exhibit significantly attenuated changes in hormonal levels and appetite which may be the contributing factor towards obesity. Increased BMI in women despite decreased appetite merits more studies. (author)

  6. 76 FR 27649 - HIV/AIDS Bureau Policy Notice 11-01 (Replaces Policy Notice 99-02)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-12

    ... Bureau Policy Notice 11-01 (Replaces Policy Notice 99- 02) AGENCY: Health Resources and Services.../AIDS Bureau (HAB) Policy Notice 99-02 established policies for the use of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program... and short-term or emergency housing needs. Amendment 1 to Policy Notice 99-02, effective March 27...

  7. Differences on self-perception of organizational pride and loyalty in Millennial & Generation X, considering gender and seniority variables

    OpenAIRE

    Arredondo Trapero, Florina G.; Villa Castaño, Lida Esperanza; Vázquez Parra, José C.; De la Garza García, Jorge

    2017-01-01

    The research objective is to compare the differences in self-perception of organizational pride and loyalty between millennials and generation x, considering the variables of gender and seniority. The reason for this study is the importance of millennials’ influence in the business sector, and the effect it is having in terms of turnover toward companies. The study was conducted on 432 employees working in a cluster of companies located in northeastern Mexico. For statistical purposes, an...

  8. Selection system orientations as an explanation for the differences between dual leaders of the same organization in their perception of organizational performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bhansing, P.V.; Leenders, M.A.A.M.; Wijnberg, N.M.

    2016-01-01

    We investigate to what extent individual managers operating in a dual leadership structure have different perceptions of how well his/her organization is performing. Using selection system theory we develop hypotheses on the relationships between a leader’s selection system orientation and his/her

  9. Ethics, Risk and Benefits Associated with Different Applications of Nanotechnology: a Comparison of Expert and Consumer Perceptions of Drivers of Societal Acceptance

    OpenAIRE

    Gupta, N.; Fischer, A. R. H.; Frewer, L. J.

    2015-01-01

    Examining those risk and benefit perceptions utilised in the formation of attitudes and opinions about emerging technologies such as nanotechnology can be useful for both industry and policy makers involved in their development, implementation and regulation. A broad range of different socio-psychological and affective factors may influence consumer responses to different applications of nanotechnology, including ethical concerns. A useful approach to identifying relevant consumer concerns an...

  10. Perceptions of Active Learning between Faculty and Undergraduates: Differing Views among Departments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patrick, Lorelei E.; Howell, Leigh Anne; Wischusen, William

    2016-01-01

    There have been numerous calls recently to increase the use of active learning in university science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) classrooms to more actively engage students and enhance student learning. However, few studies have investigated faculty and student perceptions regarding the effectiveness of active learning or the…

  11. Public perceptions of animal experimentation across Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Roten, Fabienne Crettaz

    2013-08-01

    The goal of this article is to map out public perceptions of animal experimentation in 28 European countries. Postulating cross-cultural differences, this study mixes country-level variables (from the Eurostat database) and individual-level variables (from Eurobarometer Science and Technology 2010). It is shown that experimentation on animals such as mice is generally accepted in European countries, but perceptions are divided on dogs and monkeys. Between 2005 and 2010, we observe globally a change of approval on dogs and monkeys, with a significant decrease in nine countries. Multilevel analysis results show differences at country level (related to a post-industrialism model) and at individual level (related to gender, age, education, proximity and perceptions of science and the environment). These results may have consequences for public perceptions of science and we call for more cross-cultural research on press coverage of animal research and on the level of public engagement of scientists doing animal research.

  12. The impact of systemic cortical alterations on perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zheng

    2011-12-01

    Perception is the process of transmitting and interpreting sensory information, and the primary somatosensory (SI) area in the human cortex is the main sensory receptive area for the sensation of touch. The elaborate neuroanatomical connectivity that subserves the neuronal communication between adjacent and near-adjacent regions within sensory cortex has been widely recognized to be essential to normal sensory function. As a result, systemic cortical alterations that impact the cortical regional interaction, as associated with many neurological disorders, are expected to have significant impact on sensory perception. Recently, our research group has developed a novel sensory diagnostic system that employs quantitative sensory testing methods and is able to non-invasively assess central nervous system healthy status. The intent of this study is to utilize quantitative sensory testing methods that were designed to generate discriminable perception to objectively and quantitatively assess the impacts of different conditions on human sensory information processing capacity. The correlation between human perceptions with observations from animal research enables a better understanding of the underlying neurophysiology of human perception. Additional findings on different subject populations provide valuable insight of the underlying mechanisms for the development and maintenance of different neurological diseases. During the course of the study, several protocols were designed and utilized. And this set of sensory-based perceptual metrics was employed to study the effects of different conditions (non-noxious thermal stimulation, chronic pain stage, and normal aging) on sensory perception. It was found that these conditions result in significant deviations of the subjects' tactile information processing capacities from normal values. Although the observed shift of sensory detection sensitivity could be a result of enhanced peripheral activity, the changes in the effects

  13. Risk perception for paragliding practitioners.

    OpenAIRE

    Paixão, Jairo Antônio da; Tucher, Guilherme

    2012-01-01

    As an adventure sport, paragliding exposes participants to different levels of life risk. However, the boundary between calculated risk and real risk is a subtle one, depending on the practitioner’s perception. Thus, this study aimed to analyze risk perception of 73 paragliding practitioners. The descriptive-exploratory study method was used. Data was col-lected via a questionnaire validated according to the Delphi technique. Variables were evaluated from a bipolar Likert type scale, ranging ...

  14. The effects of different doses of caffeine on performance, rating of perceived exertion and pain perception in teenagers female karate athletes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamid Arazi

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The present study set to examine the effects of different doses of caffeine on performance, rating of perceived exertion (RPE, and pain perception in female teenager athletes of karate. Ten female karate athletes (16.8±1.23 years; height 1.59±0.28 m; body-mass 57.73±8.33 kg; BMI 22.71±3.05 kg/m2 participated in the study. A double-blind, randomized, and crossover counterbalanced design was used. In three sessions (with an interval of seven days', ten female karate athletes ingested low dose (2 mg/kg, moderate dose (5 mg/kg caffeine, and placebo. Sixty minutes after consumption, they performed the tests as below: one repetition maximum and 60% of one repetition maximum in the leg press, explosive power test, and anaerobic RAST test. After the tests, the participants' RPE (6-20 scale and pain perception (0-10 scale were recorded using various categorical scales. The results showed that caffeine ingestion at moderate dose significantly reduced RPE and pain perception values compared with the placebo during muscular endurance test (P=0.0001 and P=0.039, respectively. The findings suggest that caffeine dose of 5 mg/kg body mass appears to improve RPE and pain perception in female teenager athletes of karate. The dose of 2 mg/kg body mass does not confer any additional improvement in performance.

  15. 16 CFR 680.23 - Contents of opt-out notice; consolidated and equivalent notices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... equivalent notices. 680.23 Section 680.23 Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT AFFILIATE MARKETING § 680.23 Contents of opt-out notice; consolidated and equivalent notices... receiving marketing than is required by this part, the requirements of this section may be satisfied by...

  16. 12 CFR 717.23 - Contents of opt-out notice; consolidated and equivalent notices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... AFFECTING CREDIT UNIONS FAIR CREDIT REPORTING Affiliate Marketing § 717.23 Contents of opt-out notice..., conspicuous, and concise, and must accurately disclose: (i) The name of the affiliate(s) providing the notice. If the notice is provided jointly by multiple affiliates and each affiliate shares a common name...

  17. 78 FR 71643 - Certain Opaque Polymers; Notice of Commission Decision Amending the Complaint and Notice of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-29

    ... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation No. 337-TA-883] Certain Opaque Polymers; Notice of Commission Decision Amending the Complaint and Notice of Investigation AGENCY: U.S. International Trade Commission. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has...

  18. Energy landscape and dynamics of brain activity during human bistable perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watanabe, Takamitsu; Masuda, Naoki; Megumi, Fukuda; Kanai, Ryota; Rees, Geraint

    2014-08-28

    Individual differences in the structure of parietal and prefrontal cortex predict the stability of bistable visual perception. However, the mechanisms linking such individual differences in brain structures to behaviour remain elusive. Here we demonstrate a systematic relationship between the dynamics of brain activity, cortical structure and behaviour underpinning bistable perception. Using fMRI in humans, we find that the activity dynamics during bistable perception are well described as fluctuating between three spatially distributed energy minimums: visual-area-dominant, frontal-area-dominant and intermediate states. Transitions between these energy minimums predicted behaviour, with participants whose brain activity tend to reflect the visual-area-dominant state exhibiting more stable perception and those whose activity transits to frontal-area-dominant states reporting more frequent perceptual switches. Critically, these brain activity dynamics are correlated with individual differences in grey matter volume of the corresponding brain areas. Thus, individual differences in the large-scale dynamics of brain activity link focal brain structure with bistable perception.

  19. Characteristics of Effective EFL Instructors: Language Teachers’ Perceptions Versus Learners’ Perceptions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Negar Hajizadeh

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Improving the field of foreign language teaching without improving the qualities of the teachers seems impossible. This attempt, at first hand, requires recognizing the qualities of effective EFL teachers. The aim of this study was to find what foreign language instructors perceive to be the most important characteristics of a successful EFL teacher. In addition, the teachers’ perception was compared to that of learners’ to see whether there were discrepancies between the two groups’ perceptions regarding the preferable characteristics of an effective English language instructors or not. A 58-item questionnaire was administered to teachers at a prominent language institute in Iran. This questionnaire was divided into eight sections and addressed issues relating to teachers’ personal qualities, command in English, teaching methods and evaluation methods they used within the class, mastery over teaching, teacher-student relation, class management and finally language skills management. Teachers were asked to specify the importance of each item in the questionnaire using terms like not important at all, somehow important, important and finally very important. Basic statistics were used to convert the qualitative results into quantitative ones for easier comparison. Interestingly however, the study revealed that the students’ perceptions and teachers’ perceptions do not differ in major ways although there are slight discrepancies.

  20. Perceptions of Love across the Lifespan: Differences in Passion, Intimacy, and Commitment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumter, Sindy R.; Valkenburg, Patti M.; Peter, Jochen

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated perceptions of love across the lifespan using Sternberg's triangular theory of love, which distinguishes between passion, intimacy, and commitment. The study aimed to (a) investigate the psychometric properties of the short Triangular Love Scale (TLS-short) in adolescents and adults (see Appendix), and (b) track age and…

  1. 12 CFR 571.23 - Contents of opt-out notice; consolidated and equivalent notices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... TREASURY FAIR CREDIT REPORTING Affiliate Marketing § 571.23 Contents of opt-out notice; consolidated and... concise, and must accurately disclose: (i) The name of the affiliate(s) providing the notice. If the notice is provided jointly by multiple affiliates and each affiliate shares a common name, such as “ABC...

  2. Age differences in conscious versus subconscious social perception: the influence of face age and valence on gaze following.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bailey, Phoebe E; Slessor, Gillian; Rendell, Peter G; Bennetts, Rachel J; Campbell, Anna; Ruffman, Ted

    2014-09-01

    Gaze following is the primary means of establishing joint attention with others and is subject to age-related decline. In addition, young but not older adults experience an own-age bias in gaze following. The current research assessed the effects of subconscious processing on these age-related differences. Participants responded to targets that were either congruent or incongruent with the direction of gaze displayed in supraliminal and subliminal images of young and older faces. These faces displayed either neutral (Study 1) or happy and fearful (Study 2) expressions. In Studies 1 and 2, both age groups demonstrated gaze-directed attention by responding faster to targets that were congruent as opposed to incongruent with gaze-cues. In Study 1, subliminal stimuli did not attenuate the age-related decline in gaze-cuing, but did result in an own-age bias among older participants. In Study 2, gaze-cuing was reduced for older relative to young adults in response to supraliminal stimuli, and this could not be attributed to reduced visual acuity or age group differences in the perceived emotional intensity of the gaze-cue faces. Moreover, there were no age differences in gaze-cuing when responding to subliminal faces that were emotionally arousing. In addition, older adults demonstrated an own-age bias for both conscious and subconscious gaze-cuing when faces expressed happiness but not fear. We discuss growing evidence for age-related preservation of subconscious relative to conscious social perception, as well as an interaction between face age and valence in social perception. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  3. Social perception and aging: The relationship between aging and the perception of subtle changes in facial happiness and identity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Tao; Penton, Tegan; Köybaşı, Şerife Leman; Banissy, Michael J

    2017-09-01

    Previous findings suggest that older adults show impairments in the social perception of faces, including the perception of emotion and facial identity. The majority of this work has tended to examine performance on tasks involving young adult faces and prototypical emotions. While useful, this can influence performance differences between groups due to perceptual biases and limitations on task performance. Here we sought to examine how typical aging is associated with the perception of subtle changes in facial happiness and facial identity in older adult faces. We developed novel tasks that permitted the ability to assess facial happiness, facial identity, and non-social perception (object perception) across similar task parameters. We observe that aging is linked with declines in the ability to make fine-grained judgements in the perception of facial happiness and facial identity (from older adult faces), but not for non-social (object) perception. This pattern of results is discussed in relation to mechanisms that may contribute to declines in facial perceptual processing in older adulthood. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. An Exploration of Differences in Cultural Values in Teacher Education Pedagogy: Chinese English Language Teacher Trainees' Perceptions of Effective Teaching Practice Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skinner, Barbara; Abbott, Lesley

    2013-01-01

    This study reports the impact of different cultural values on the teacher education of Chinese teacher trainees. By examining their perceptions of the effectiveness of teaching practice feedback, the study uses Hofstede's dimension of "individualism" (IDV) to explore the "culture bumps" which may occur between teacher educators…

  5. A different view on the Necker cube-Differences in multistable perception dynamics between Asperger and non-Asperger observers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jürgen Kornmeier

    Full Text Available During observation of the Necker cube perception becomes unstable and alternates repeatedly between a from-above-perspective ("fap" and a from-below-perspective ("fbp" interpretation. Both interpretations are physically equally plausible, however, observers usually show an a priori top-down bias in favor of the fap interpretation. Patients with Autism spectrum disorder are known to show an altered pattern of perception with a focus on sensory details. In the present study we tested whether this altered perceptual processing affects their reversal dynamics and reduces the perceptual bias during Necker cube observation.19 participants with Asperger syndrome and 16 healthy controls observed a Necker cube stimulus continuously for 5 minutes and indicated perceptual reversals by key press. We compared reversal rates (number of reversals per minute and the distributions of dwell times for the two interpretations between observer groups.Asperger participants showed less perceptual reversal than controls. Six Asperger participants did not perceive any reversal at all, whereas all observers from the control group perceived at least five reversals within the five minutes observation time. Further, control participants showed the typical perceptual bias with significant longer median dwell times for the fap compared to the fbp interpretation. No such perceptual bias was found in the Asperger group.The perceptual system weights the incomplete and ambiguous sensory input with memorized concepts in order to construct stable and reliable percepts. In the case of the Necker cube stimulus, two perceptual interpretations are equally compatible with the sensory information and internal fluctuations may cause perceptual alternations between them-with a slightly larger probability value for the fap interpretation (perceptual bias. Smaller reversal rates in Asperger observers may result from the dominance of bottom-up sensory input over endogenous top-down factors

  6. Diabetes knowledge and perceptions among nursing students, and curriculum differences in Japan and Australia: A cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramjan, Lucie M; Watanabe, Hiroko; Salamonson, Yenna

    2017-06-01

    To investigate the associations between knowledge and perceptions of diabetes mellitus (DM) among nursing students from Japan and Australia; and to compare curriculum differences. Cross-sectional study. Convenience sample of students from Japan (N=78) and Australia (N=85) in their final year were surveyed. Students reported demographic details, and perceptions towards caring for patients with DM. The 23-item Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Test (MDKT) was used to assess general knowledge, and seven additional questions were used to assess DM-related clinical knowledge (CDKT). Multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine the associations between knowledge and perceptions. The curricula of the two universities were compared through a review of teaching hours on DM, teaching methods, class sizes and self-reported number of DM patients cared for during clinical placement. Australian students were more likely to be aware of DM and identified caring for more patients on clinical placement during the course. They also performed better on the CDKT in comparison to the Japanese students (71.43% versus 65.02%). When teaching models were compared, the Japanese curriculum dedicated more hours to didactic classroom teaching on DM and had a smaller teacher to student ratio. While both groups felt they received enough classroom education on DM, the Japanese students self-reported lower perceived competency, self-confidence, and felt less prepared to care for DM patients. However Japanese students performed slightly better on the MDKT than Australian students (74.25% versus 70.03%). Being from Japan was a predictor for high MDKT score (>73.91%), while perceived preparedness was a predictor for high CDKT score (>71.43%). Statistically significant differences in DM knowledge (CDKT score) between students were found. There remains room for improvement, particularly a need for increased teaching hours at University and greater clinical practice time caring for patients

  7. Gender Differences in Type 2 Diabetes Risk Perception, Attitude, and Protective Health Behaviors: A Study of Overweight and Obese College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amuta, Ann O.; Jacobs, Wura; Barry, Adam E.; Popoola, Olufemi A.; Crosslin, Katie

    2016-01-01

    Background: Obesity prevalence among children and adolescents has dramatically increased in the past decade and has resulted in higher rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among adolescents. Purpose: To examine whether there are gender differences in T2DM risk perception, attitude toward T2DM protective behaviors, physical activity, and…

  8. Hysteresis in audiovisual synchrony perception.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-Rémy Martin

    Full Text Available The effect of stimulation history on the perception of a current event can yield two opposite effects, namely: adaptation or hysteresis. The perception of the current event thus goes in the opposite or in the same direction as prior stimulation, respectively. In audiovisual (AV synchrony perception, adaptation effects have primarily been reported. Here, we tested if perceptual hysteresis could also be observed over adaptation in AV timing perception by varying different experimental conditions. Participants were asked to judge the synchrony of the last (test stimulus of an AV sequence with either constant or gradually changing AV intervals (constant and dynamic condition, respectively. The onset timing of the test stimulus could be cued or not (prospective vs. retrospective condition, respectively. We observed hysteretic effects for AV synchrony judgments in the retrospective condition that were independent of the constant or dynamic nature of the adapted stimuli; these effects disappeared in the prospective condition. The present findings suggest that knowing when to estimate a stimulus property has a crucial impact on perceptual simultaneity judgments. Our results extend beyond AV timing perception, and have strong implications regarding the comparative study of hysteresis and adaptation phenomena.

  9. Perception of Gait Patterns that Deviate from Normal and Symmetric Biped Locomotion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ismet eHandzic

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the range of gait patterns that are perceived as healthy and human-like with the goal of understanding how much asymmetry is allowable in a gait pattern before other people start to notice a gait impairment. Specifically, this study explores if certain abnormal walking patterns can be dismissed as unimpaired or not uncanny. Altering gait biomechanics is generally done in the fields of prosthetics and rehabilitation, however the perception of gait is often neglected. Although a certain gait can be functional, it may not be considered as normal by observers. On the other hand, an abnormally perceived gait may be more practical or necessary in some situations, such as limping after an injury or stroke and when wearing a prosthesis. This research will help to find the balance between the form and function of gait. Gait patterns are synthetically created using a passive dynamic walker (PDW model that allows gait patterns to be systematically changed without the confounding influence from human sensorimotor feedback during walking. This standardized method allows the perception of specific changes in gait to be studied. The PDW model was used to produce walking patterns that showed a degree of abnormality in gait cadence, knee height, step length, and swing time created by changing the foot roll-over-shape, knee damping, knee location, and leg masses. The gait patterns were shown to participants who rated them according to separate scales of impairment and uncanniness. The results indicate that some pathological and asymmetric gait patterns are perceived as unimpaired and normal. Step time and step length asymmetries less than 5%, small knee location differences, and gait cadence changes of 25% do not result in a change in perception. The results also show that the parameters of a pathologically or uncanny perceived gait can be beneficially altered by increasing other independent parameters, in some sense masking the initial

  10. Social perception: historic-philosophical and psychological preliminary investigation

    OpenAIRE

    A. O. Pocelujko

    2015-01-01

    The article investigates the prerequisite analysis of social perception in different epistemological, psychological General (socio­psychological) theories. Epistemology is the philosophy section, which explores the general premise of cognitive activity, the ratio of knowledge and reality, establishing the terms of true and certain knowledge creates a stable foundation for the study of social perception. Depending on a particular epistemological concepts can differentiate different understandi...

  11. Cross-cultural differences in women's sexuality and their perception and impact of premature ejaculation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burri, Andrea; Graziottin, Alessandra

    2015-01-01

    To assess the cross-cultural differences in women's perception of premature ejaculation (PE). A total of 1463 sexually active women from 3 different countries—Mexico, South Korea, and Italy—reporting being or having been in a relationship with a man who suffers from PE were included in the study. A mix of self-constructed questions and questions taken from validated instruments were used, including the Female Sexual Function Index, the Female Sexual Distress Scale, and the Relationship Assessment Scale. Significant differences in importance of ejaculatory control and the degree of distress caused by PE were detected between the 3 countries (P < .001 for both). Lack of control was the most commonly reported reason for distress for Mexico, short latency for Italy, and lack of control for South Korea. Mexico reported the highest rates of previous relationship breakups due to PE (28.9%), whereas Italian women reported the lowest relationship satisfaction and South Korean women the highest. It is important to get a better understanding of which sexual issues are important for individuals across different cultures, and whether the same aspects of the problem are considered distressing. This can have implications on nosology, on types of treatments offered, and hence, the likelihood of their efficiency when a couple's sexual perspective is carefully considered. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. 46 CFR 201.72 - Notice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... Formal Proceedings, Notice, Pleadings, Replies (Rule 7) § 201.72 Notice. Notice of any matter which may... Register in sufficient detail and in sufficient time to apprise interested persons of the nature of the...

  13. Product perception from sensory stimuli: the case of vacuum cleaner.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almeida e Silva, Caio Márcio; Okimoto, Maria Lúciar R L; Tanure, Raffaela Leane Zenni

    2012-01-01

    This paper discusses the importance of consideration of different sensory stimuli in the perception of the product. So we conducted an experiment that examined whether there is a difference between the perception of sensory stimuli from artificially isolated. The result is an analysis of the different sensory modalities, relating them to product an between them.

  14. Family Functioning Differences Across the Deployment Cycle in British Army Families: The Perceptions of Wives and Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pye, Rachel E; Simpson, Leanne K

    2017-09-01

    Military deployment can have an adverse effect on a soldier's family, though little research has looked at these effects in a British sample. We investigated wives' of U.K.-serving soldiers perceptions of marital and family functioning, across three stages of the deployment cycle: currently deployed, postdeployment and predeployed, plus a nonmilitary comparison group. Uniquely, young (aged 3.5-11 years) children's perceptions of their family were also investigated, using the parent-child alliance (PCA) coding scheme of drawings of the family. Two hundred and twenty British military families of regular service personnel from the British Army's Royal Armoured Corps, were sent survey packs distributed with a monthly welfare office newsletter. Wives were asked to complete a series of self-report items, and the youngest child in the family between the ages of 3.5 and 11 years was asked to draw a picture of their family. Complete data were available for 78 military families, and an additional 34 nonmilitary families were recruited via opportunity sampling. Results indicated wives of currently deployed and recently returned personnel were less satisfied with their family and its communication, and children's pictures indicated higher levels of dysfunctional parent-child alliance, whereas predeployed families responded similarly to nonmilitary families. Marital satisfaction was similar across all groups except predeployed families who were significantly more satisfied. Nonmilitary and predeployed families showed balanced family functioning, and currently and recently deployed families demonstrated poor family functioning. In comparison to nonmilitary families, predeployed families showed a large "spike" in the rigidity subscale of the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale IV. Wives' perceptions of family functioning, but not marital satisfaction, differed between the deployment groups. The results from the coded children's drawings correlated with the self

  15. Noticing numeracy now! Examining changes in preservice teachers' noticing, knowledge, and attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Molly H.; Thomas, Jonathan; Schack, Edna O.; Jong, Cindy; Tassell, Janet

    2017-11-01

    This study examined the impact of an intervention, focused on professional noticing of children's conceptual development in whole number and arithmetic reasoning, on preservice elementary teachers' (PSETs') professional noticing skills, attitudes toward mathematics, and mathematical knowledge for teaching mathematics. A video-based professional noticing module, situated in the pedagogies of practice framework, was used with 224 PSETs from five universities. Comparison data was also collected with similar groups not participating in the instructional module. Through pre- and post-assessments, findings indicated that PSETs can develop sound professional noticing skills as a result of participation in a video-based module. The impact on attitudes toward mathematics was less convincing as significant changes were revealed in intervention as well as comparison groups. We hypothesized the potential for professional noticing of children's mathematical thinking to serve as a mechanism for increasing the capabilities of PSETs to negotiate the complexities of mathematics teaching and learning; however, mathematics knowledge for teaching showed no significant increase for either group.

  16. Noticing numeracy now! Examining changes in preservice teachers' noticing, knowledge, and attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Molly H.; Thomas, Jonathan; Schack, Edna O.; Jong, Cindy; Tassell, Janet

    2018-06-01

    This study examined the impact of an intervention, focused on professional noticing of children's conceptual development in whole number and arithmetic reasoning, on preservice elementary teachers' (PSETs') professional noticing skills, attitudes toward mathematics, and mathematical knowledge for teaching mathematics. A video-based professional noticing module, situated in the pedagogies of practice framework, was used with 224 PSETs from five universities. Comparison data was also collected with similar groups not participating in the instructional module. Through pre- and post-assessments, findings indicated that PSETs can develop sound professional noticing skills as a result of participation in a video-based module. The impact on attitudes toward mathematics was less convincing as significant changes were revealed in intervention as well as comparison groups. We hypothesized the potential for professional noticing of children's mathematical thinking to serve as a mechanism for increasing the capabilities of PSETs to negotiate the complexities of mathematics teaching and learning; however, mathematics knowledge for teaching showed no significant increase for either group.

  17. Self-perception, self-regulation and metacognition in adolescents with intellectual disability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nader-Grosbois, Nathalie

    2014-06-01

    This study compares self-perception of competences in 28 typically developing children (TD) aged 7-9 years and 32 adolescents with intellectual disability (ID) aged 11-16 years in special school, matched for mental age (MA). The links between self-perception, self-regulation in problem-solving and metacognition are investigated. Overall self-perception and self-perception of competences by domain do not differ significantly between the two groups. Self-perception of competences in specific domains, self-regulation and metacognition vary depending on MA and verbal comprehension in the two groups. ID adolescents attribute more importance to social acceptance than TD children. In both groups, positive links are identified between self-perception and importance attributed to domains. Performance, self-regulation and metacognition are lower in ID adolescents than in TD children. Positive links are obtained between self-perception of competences in specific domains and certain self-regulatory and metacognitive strategies, although these links differ in the two groups. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Le Chatelier's Principle in Sensation and Perception: Fractal-Like Enfolding at Different Scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norwich, Kenneth H.

    2010-01-01

    Le Chatelier's principle asserts that a disturbance, when applied to a resting system may drive the system away from its equilibrium state, but will invoke a countervailing influence that will counteract the effect of the disturbance. When applied to the field of sensation and perception, a generalized stimulus will displace the system from equilibrium, and a generalized adaptation process will serve as the countervailing influence tending to reduce the impact of the stimulus. The principle applies at all levels, from the behavioral to the neural, the larger enfolding the smaller in fractal-like form. Le Chatelier's principle, so applied, leads to the unification of many concepts in sensory science. Ideas as diverse as sensory adaptation, reflex arcs, and simple deductive logic can be brought under the umbrella of a single orienting principle. Beyond unification, this principle allows us to approach many questions in pathophysiology from a different perspective. For example, we find new direction toward the reduction of phantom-limb pain and possibly of vertigo. PMID:21423359

  19. University Students' Perceptions of Their Science Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaya, Osman Nafiz; Kilic, Ziya; Akdeniz, Ali Riza

    2004-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the dimensions of the university students' perceptions of their science classes and whether or not the students' perceptions differ significantly as regards to the gender and grade level in six main categories namely; (1) pedagogical strategies, (2) faculty interest in teaching, (3) students interest…

  20. Service quality perceptions in primary health care centres in Greece

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papanikolaou, Vicky; Zygiaris, Sotiris

    2012-01-01

    Abstract Context  The paper refers to the increased competition between health care providers and the need for patient‐centred services in Greece. Using service quality methodology, this paper investigates service quality perceptions of patients in Greek public primary health centres. Objective  To test the internal consistency and applicability of SERVQUAL in primary health care centres in Greece. Strategy  SERVQUAL was used to examine whether patients have different expectations from health care providers and whether different groups of patients may consider some dimensions of care more important than others. Results  The analysis showed that there were gaps in all dimensions measured by SERVQUAL. The largest gap was detected in empathy. Further analysis showed that there were also differences depending on gender, age and education levels. A separate analysis of expectations and perceptions revealed that this gap was because of differences in patients’ perceptions rather than expectations. Discussion and conclusions  This paper raises a number of issues that concern the applicability of SERVQUAL in health care services and could enhance current discussions about SERVQUAL improvement. Quality of health care needs to be redefined by encompassing multiple dimensions. Beyond a simple expectations–perceptions gap, people may hold different understandings of health care that, in turn, influence their perception of the quality of services. PMID:22296402

  1. Service quality perceptions in primary health care centres in Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papanikolaou, Vicky; Zygiaris, Sotiris

    2014-04-01

    The paper refers to the increased competition between health care providers and the need for patient-centred services in Greece. Using service quality methodology, this paper investigates service quality perceptions of patients in Greek public primary health centres. To test the internal consistency and applicability of SERVQUAL in primary health care centres in Greece. SERVQUAL was used to examine whether patients have different expectations from health care providers and whether different groups of patients may consider some dimensions of care more important than others. The analysis showed that there were gaps in all dimensions measured by SERVQUAL. The largest gap was detected in empathy. Further analysis showed that there were also differences depending on gender, age and education levels. A separate analysis of expectations and perceptions revealed that this gap was because of differences in patients' perceptions rather than expectations. THIS paper raises a number of issues that concern the applicability of SERVQUAL in health care services and could enhance current discussions about SERVQUAL improvement. Quality of health care needs to be redefined by encompassing multiple dimensions. Beyond a simple expectations-perceptions gap, people may hold different understandings of health care that, in turn, influence their perception of the quality of services. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Users’ Perceptions on Internet Financial Reporting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dolinšek Tatjana

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Background and Purpose: The objective of this research was to explore the perceptions of the users regarding Internet financial reporting practices in Slovenia. With this research, we wanted to determine what the perceptions of the users are regarding the reliability, credibility, usefulness and sufficiency of online accounting information and how their expectations regarding the content of accounting information differ from the actual situation.

  3. Interpretation and misinterpretation of warning signage: perceptions of rockfalls in a naturalistic setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aucote, Helen M; Miner, Anthony; Dahlhaus, Peter

    2012-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate the factors relating to non-adherence to warning signs about falling rocks from coastal cliff faces. Face-to-face interviews (n = 62) in a naturalistic setting (in the vicinity of a high-risk rockfall area) were conducted to investigate attention to and comprehension of warning signs, as well as beliefs relating to non-adherence of the signage. It was found that, while most participants could correctly identify the danger in the area and had noticed the warning signage, less than half of the participants could correctly interpret the signage. The perception of danger did not differ significantly between the participants who had, or had not, entered the high-risk zone. Differences in knowledge and beliefs between local residents and visitors to the area were identified. It was concluded that the warning signs did not provide enough detail for people to make informed decisions about safe behaviours. Comprehension of the signage may have been hampered by a lack of prior-knowledge of the particular risk, a failure to think carefully about the situation (i.e. low-effort processing), and the pictorial representation on the signs misleading the participants as to the true danger.

  4. A brain electrophysiological correlate of depth perception

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akay, Ahmet; Celebi, Gurbuz

    2009-01-01

    To investigate brain electrical activity accompanying depth perception using random-dot stereograms. Additional experiments were conducted to ascertain the specificity of this potential to depth perception. In the present study, we performed 3 different and independent experiments on 34 subjects to establish the relationship between depth perception and its cortical electrophysiological correlate. Visual evoked potentials in response to visual stimulation by random-dot stereograms were recorded. To achieve this goal, a data acquisition and analysis system, different from common visual evoked potential recording systems, consisting of 2 personal computers, was used. One of the computers was used to generate the visual stimulus patterns and the other to record and digitally average the potentials evoked by the stimuli. This study was carried out at the Department of Biophysics of Ege University Medical School, Izmir, Turkey, from April to December, 2006. A negative potential component, which is thought to arise in association with depth perception, was recorded from the occipital region from 30 of the 34 subjects. Typically, it had a mean latency of 211.46 ms and 6.40 micron V amplitude. The negative potential is related to depth perception, as this component is present in the responses to stimulus, which carries disparity information but is absent when the stimulus is switched to no disparity information. Additional experiments also showed that the specificity of this component to depth perception becomes evident beyond doubt. (author)

  5. Embodied perception: A proposal to reconcile affordance and spatial perception

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Canal Bruland, R.; van der Kamp, J.

    2015-01-01

    Proffitt's embodied approach to perception is deeply indebted to Gibson's ecological approach to visual perception, in particular the idea that the primary objects of perception are affordances or what the environment offers for action. Yet, rather than directly addressing affordance perception,

  6. Person perception precedes theory of mind: an event related potential analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Y W; Lin, C D; Yuan, B; Huang, L; Zhang, W X; Shen, D L

    2010-09-29

    Prior to developing an understanding of another person's mental state, an ability termed "theory of mind" (ToM), a perception of that person's appearance and actions is required. However the relationship between this "person perception" and ToM is unclear. To investigate the time course of ToM and person perception, event-related potentials (ERP) were recorded while 17 normal adults received three kinds of visual stimuli: cartoons involving people (person perception cartoons), cartoons involving people and also requiring ToM for comprehension (ToM cartoons), and scene cartoons. We hypothesized that the respective patterns of brain activation would be different under these three stimuli, at different stages in time. Our findings supported this proposal: the peak amplitudes of P200 for scene cartoons were significantly lower than for person perception or ToM cartoons, while there were no significant differences between the latter two for P200. During the 1000-1300 ms epoch, the mean amplitudes of the late positive components (LPC) for person perception were more positive than for scene representation, while the mean amplitudes of the LPC for ToM were more positive than for person perception. The present study provides preliminary evidence of the neural dynamic that underlies the dissociation between person perception and ToM. Copyright 2010 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Perception is reality: How patients contribute to poor workplace safety perceptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCaughey, Deirdre; McGhan, Gwen; DelliFraine, Jami L; Brannon, S Diane

    2011-01-01

    Nurses and aides are among the occupational subgroups with the highest injury rates and workdays lost to illness and injury in North America. Many studies have shown that these incidents frequently happen during provision of patient care. Moreover, health care workplaces are a source of numerous safety risks that contribute to worker injuries. These findings identify health care as a high-risk occupation for employee injury or illness. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among patient care, employee safety perceptions, and employee stress. Using the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Model of Job Stress and Health as a foundation, we developed and tested a conceptual workplace safety climate-stress model that explicates how caring for high-risk patients is a safety stressor that has negative outcomes for health care providers, including poor workplace safety perceptions and increasing stress levels. We introduced the concept of "high-risk patients" and define them as those who put providers at greater risk for injury or illness. Using a nonexperimental survey design, we examined patient types and safety perceptions of health care providers (nurses, aides, and allied health) in an acute care hospital. Health care providers who care for high-risk patients more frequently have poor safety climate perceptions and higher stress levels. Safety climate was found to mediate the relationship between high-risk patients and stress. These findings bring insight into actions health care organizations can pursue to improve health care provider well-being. Recognizing that different patients present different risks and pursuing staffing, training, and equipment to minimize employee risk of injury will help reduce the staggering injury rates experienced by these employees. Moreover, minimizing employee stress over poor workplace safety is achievable through comprehensive workplace safety climate programs that include supervisor, management

  8. Organisational Values in Higher Education: Perceptions and Preferences of Staff

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleijnen, Jan; Dolmans, Diana; Muijtjens, Arno; Willems, Jos; Van Hout, Hans

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, staff members' perceptions about the organisational culture are measured. The questions addressed are: what are their opinions about the current and preferred organisational culture? Are there differences between the current and preferred situation? Do the perceptions differ per department? The Organisational Culture Assessment…

  9. Age differences in visual-auditory self-motion perception during a simulated driving task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert eRamkhalawansingh

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Recent evidence suggests that visual-auditory cue integration may change as a function of age such that integration is heightened among older adults. Our goal was to determine whether these changes in multisensory integration are also observed in the context of self-motion perception under realistic task constraints. Thus, we developed a simulated driving paradigm in which we provided older and younger adults with visual motion cues (i.e. optic flow and systematically manipulated the presence or absence of congruent auditory cues to self-motion (i.e. engine, tire, and wind sounds. Results demonstrated that the presence or absence of congruent auditory input had different effects on older and younger adults. Both age groups demonstrated a reduction in speed variability when auditory cues were present compared to when they were absent, but older adults demonstrated a proportionally greater reduction in speed variability under combined sensory conditions. These results are consistent with evidence indicating that multisensory integration is heightened in older adults. Importantly, this study is the first to provide evidence to suggest that age differences in multisensory integration may generalize from simple stimulus detection tasks to the integration of the more complex and dynamic visual and auditory cues that are experienced during self-motion.

  10. Racial/Ethnic Differences in Perceptions of School Climate and Its Association with Student Engagement and Peer Aggression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konold, Timothy; Cornell, Dewey; Shukla, Kathan; Huang, Francis

    2017-06-01

    Research indicates that a positive school climate is associated with higher levels of student engagement and lower rates of peer aggression. However, less attention has been given to whether such findings are consistent across racial/ethnic groups. The current study examined whether Black, Hispanic, and White high school students differed in their perceptions of school climate, student engagement, and peer aggression as measured by the Authoritative School Climate survey. In addition, the study tested whether the associations between school climate and both student engagement and peer aggression varied as a function of racial/ethnic group. The sample consisted of 48,027 students in grades 9-12 (51.4 % female; 17.9 % Black, 10.5 % Hispanic, 56.7 % White, and 14.9 % other) attending 323 high schools. Regression models that contrasted racial/ethnic groups controlled for the nesting of students within schools and used student covariates of parent education, student gender, and percentage of schoolmates sharing the same race/ethnicity, as well as school covariates of school size and school percentage of students eligible for free- or reduced-price meals. Perceptions of school climate differed between Black and White groups, but not between Hispanic and White groups. However, race/ethnicity did not moderate the associations between school climate and either engagement or peer aggression. Although correlational and cross-sectional in nature, these results are consistent with the conclusion that a positive school climate holds similar benefits of promoting student engagement and reducing victimization experiences across Black, Hispanic, and White groups.

  11. Perception of facial profile attractiveness by a Saudi sample

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Talic, Nabeel; Alshakhs, Mohammad S.

    2008-01-01

    Previous studies have reported different levels of perception of attractiveness among different ethnicities and among varying education-level groups on facial profile rating.To study the perception of facial profile attractiveness among Saudi dentists and lay-individuals. Digital facial profile images with altered degree of prognathism and retrognathism were presented to a sample of 60 Saudi dentists and 60 lay-persons with equal gender distribution. High reliability of repeated assessment of profile images was detected (ICC=0.982). Significant difference in perception of facial profile was found between genders (P<0.05) and among the groups with different education backgrounds (P<0.001). General agreement was established in both sample groups on average facial profile to be the most attractive and on the most retrognathic profile to be the least attractive. (author)

  12. ERP signatures of conscious and unconscious word and letter perception in an inattentional blindness paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schelonka, Kathryn; Graulty, Christian; Canseco-Gonzalez, Enriqueta; Pitts, Michael A

    2017-09-01

    A three-phase inattentional blindness paradigm was combined with ERPs. While participants performed a distracter task, line segments in the background formed words or consonant-strings. Nearly half of the participants failed to notice these word-forms and were deemed inattentionally blind. All participants noticed the word-forms in phase 2 of the experiment while they performed the same distracter task. In the final phase, participants performed a task on the word-forms. In all phases, including during inattentional blindness, word-forms elicited distinct ERPs during early latencies (∼200-280ms) suggesting unconscious orthographic processing. A subsequent ERP (∼320-380ms) similar to the visual awareness negativity appeared only when subjects were aware of the word-forms, regardless of the task. Finally, word-forms elicited a P3b (∼400-550ms) only when these stimuli were task-relevant. These results are consistent with previous inattentional blindness studies and help distinguish brain activity associated with pre- and post-perceptual processing from correlates of conscious perception. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Embodied Perception: A Proposal to Reconcile Affordance and Spatial Perception

    OpenAIRE

    Ca?al-Bruland, Rouwen; van der Kamp, John

    2015-01-01

    Proffitt's embodied approach to perception is deeply indebted to Gibson's ecological approach to visual perception, in particular the idea that the primary objects of perception are affordances or what the environment offers for action. Yet, rather than directly addressing affordance perception, most of the empirical work evaluating Proffitt's approach focuses on the perception of spatial properties of the environment. We propose that theoretical and empirical efforts should be directed towar...

  14. Self-perceptions, self-worth and sport participation in adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balaguer, Isabel; Atienza, Francisco L; Duda, Joan L

    2012-07-01

    The purpose of this study was to study the associations between specific self-perceptions and global self-worth with different frequency levels of sport participation among Spanish boys and girls adolescents. Students (457 boys and 460 girls) completed the Self Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985) and items assessing sport engagement from The Health Behavior in School Children Questionnaire (Wold, 1995). Results showed that some specific dimensions of self-perception were related to different frequency of sport participation whereas overall judgments of self-worth did not. Specifically, for boys and girls, higher levels of sport participation were positively associated to Athletic Competence, and for boys were also associated with Physical Appearance and Social Acceptance. The potential implications of domain specific socialisation processes on the configuration of self-perceptions are highlighted.

  15. The international perception of scientific discourse about the climate threat by public in six countries: South Africa, Brazil, China, United States, France, India. Investigation report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baecher, Cedric; Dutreix, Nicolas; Buick, Rebecca; Ioualalen, Romain; Guyot, Paul; Campagne, Jean-Charles; Collomb, Etienne

    2012-01-01

    Based on a bibliographic study, a web-based study, qualitative interviews, a quantitative field survey, a study of some results from the ScenaRio 2012 project, this investigation aimed at highlighting the perception that people of different countries and cultural backgrounds (South Africa, Brazil, China, United States, France, India) have from the scientific discourse on climate change threat. The authors first give an overview of the sources of scientific discourse on climate change (primary sources like scientific institutions, GIEC, secondary sources), then analyse how this discourse is relayed by the media (media operation principles, recent trends, Internet, messages and tools to communicate with public opinions). They analyse and comment the behaviour of the different public opinions, outline the determining factors of public opinions, the diversity of noticed profiles, and the behaviour of young generations. They also propose a comparison between countries and a synthesis of results for each country

  16. 78 FR 22876 - Rodenticides; Notice of Intent To Cancel Registrations of, and Notice of Denial of Applications...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-17

    ... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FIFRA Docket No. 661; FRL-9804-2] Rodenticides; Notice of Intent To Cancel Registrations of, and Notice of Denial of Applications for, Certain Rodenticide Bait... to the Notice of Intent to Cancel Registration of, and Notice of Denial of Application for, Certain...

  17. L2 Learners’ Proficiency Development through Noticing Feedback

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed Saber Alavi

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available This experimental study investigated the relationship between noticing of corrective feedback and L2 development considering the learners’ perspective on error correction. Specifically, it aimed to uncover the noticeability and effectiveness of recasts, prompts, a combination of the two, to determine a relationship between noticing of CF and learning of the past tense. The participants were four groups of college ESL learners (n = 40. Each group was assigned to a treatment condition, but the researcher taught the control group. CF was provided to learners in response to their mistakes in forming the past tense. While noticing of CF was assessed through immediate recall and questionnaire responses, learning outcomes were measured through picture description administered via pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test design. Learner beliefs about CF were probed by means of a 40-item questionnaire. The results indicated that the noticeability of CF is dependent on the grammatical target it addresses and that the feedback techniques that push learners to self-correct alone or in combination with target exemplars are more effective in. In relation to the learning outcomes, the overall past tense accuracy increased more than that for questions, but there were no significant differences between the groups. Finally, in relation to the beliefs about CF, the participants’ responses centered on the importance of oral CF, recasts as CF technique, prompts as CF technique, and affective consequences of CF, two of which mediated the noticeability of the supplied CF, but none impacted the learning outcomes.

  18. Differences and Agreement in Perception of Child Picky Eating Among Center- and Home-Based Childcare Providers and Parents and Its Impact on Utilized Mealtime Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Virginia Luchini

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Picky eating is a problematic eating behavior caregivers may encounter with children under their care. A picky eater (PE is typically characterized as consuming a narrow range of food, as well as rejecting several food items. Much of the literature regarding PEs involves parents, although use of nonparental childcare arrangements in the United States has increased in the past several decades. Although data on parental mealtime strategies exist, little is known about how parent and childcare provider pickiness perceptions differ between types of childcare, such as center-based childcare (CBCC and home-based childcare (HBCC, or how these perceptions influence the mealtime strategies utilized. The objectives of this study were to (1 compare perceptions of child pickiness between parents and childcare providers, (2 compare percent agreement in pickiness perception between the dyads of CBCC parents and providers and HBCC parents and providers, and (3 identify mealtime strategy utilization based on pickiness perception. A total of 52 child, parent, and childcare provider triads participated in the study and completed the Mealtime Assessment Survey and the Parent/Teacher Mealtime Strategy Survey regarding the same child. Results showed that parents are 1.4 times more likely than childcare providers to perceive a child as being picky, HBCC parents and providers are 1.4 times more likely to perceive a child as being picky than CBCC parents and providers, CBCC parents and providers disagree more in their perception of child pickiness than HBCC parents and providers (41% vs 26%, and finally, perception of child pickiness has a greater influence on mealtime strategies utilized by parents. These results can be used to focus intervention efforts aimed at improving child eating habits across the home and childcare location.

  19. Fast mode decision based on human noticeable luminance difference and rate distortion cost for H.264/AVC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Mian-Shiuan; Chen, Mei-Juan; Tai, Kuang-Han; Sue, Kuen-Liang

    2013-12-01

    This article proposes a fast mode decision algorithm based on the correlation of the just-noticeable-difference (JND) and the rate distortion cost (RD cost) to reduce the computational complexity of H.264/AVC. First, the relationship between the average RD cost and the number of JND pixels is established by Gaussian distributions. Thus, the RD cost of the Inter 16 × 16 mode is compared with the predicted thresholds from these models for fast mode selection. In addition, we use the image content, the residual data, and JND visual model for horizontal/vertical detection, and then utilize the result to predict the partition in a macroblock. From the experimental results, a greater time saving can be achieved while the proposed algorithm also maintains performance and quality effectively.

  20. Student Self-Esteem and the School System: Perceptions and Implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Cynthia G.; And Others

    1996-01-01

    Reports a study that examined similarities and differences in perceptions of K-12 school administrators, counselors, and teachers about student self-esteem, and how they perceived their impact on student self-esteem. Surveys yielded noteworthy similarities and differences in their perceptions of student self-esteem and statistical significance…

  1. What Is a Group? Young Children's Perceptions of Different Types of Groups and Group Entitativity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Plötner

    Full Text Available To date, developmental research on groups has focused mainly on in-group biases and intergroup relations. However, little is known about children's general understanding of social groups and their perceptions of different forms of group. In this study, 5- to 6-year-old children were asked to evaluate prototypes of four key types of groups: an intimacy group (friends, a task group (people who are collaborating, a social category (people who look alike, and a loose association (people who coincidently meet at a tram stop. In line with previous work with adults, the vast majority of children perceived the intimacy group, task group, and social category, but not the loose association, to possess entitativity, that is, to be a 'real group.' In addition, children evaluated group member properties, social relations, and social obligations differently in each type of group, demonstrating that young children are able to distinguish between different types of in-group relations. The origins of the general group typology used by adults thus appear early in development. These findings contribute to our knowledge about children's intuitive understanding of groups and group members' behavior.

  2. Designers’ identity: skills' self-perception and expectation in design students

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kunrath, Kamila; Cash, Philip; Li-Ying, Jason

    2018-01-01

    Designers’ Professional Identity (DPI) combines social- and self-perceptive awareness through which one is able to identify as a designer. However, self-perception can be different from the expectations associated with an ideal designer, especially during education. Thus, this paper reports...... a survey where self-perceived design skills and expectation are compared at different points in a design education. Findings indicate that changes in mindset modify the alignment between self-perception and expectations, which provides implications for education and for a broader understanding of DPI....

  3. Eye contact perception in the West and East: a cross-cultural study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shota Uono

    Full Text Available This study investigated whether eye contact perception differs in people with different cultural backgrounds. Finnish (European and Japanese (East Asian participants were asked to determine whether Finnish and Japanese neutral faces with various gaze directions were looking at them. Further, participants rated the face stimuli for emotion and other affect-related dimensions. The results indicated that Finnish viewers had a smaller bias toward judging slightly averted gazes as directed at them when judging Finnish rather than Japanese faces, while the bias of Japanese viewers did not differ between faces from their own and other cultural backgrounds. This may be explained by Westerners experiencing more eye contact in their daily life leading to larger visual experience of gaze perception generally, and to more accurate perception of eye contact with people from their own cultural background particularly. The results also revealed cultural differences in the perception of emotion from neutral faces that could also contribute to the bias in eye contact perception.

  4. Eye contact perception in the West and East: a cross-cultural study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uono, Shota; Hietanen, Jari K

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated whether eye contact perception differs in people with different cultural backgrounds. Finnish (European) and Japanese (East Asian) participants were asked to determine whether Finnish and Japanese neutral faces with various gaze directions were looking at them. Further, participants rated the face stimuli for emotion and other affect-related dimensions. The results indicated that Finnish viewers had a smaller bias toward judging slightly averted gazes as directed at them when judging Finnish rather than Japanese faces, while the bias of Japanese viewers did not differ between faces from their own and other cultural backgrounds. This may be explained by Westerners experiencing more eye contact in their daily life leading to larger visual experience of gaze perception generally, and to more accurate perception of eye contact with people from their own cultural background particularly. The results also revealed cultural differences in the perception of emotion from neutral faces that could also contribute to the bias in eye contact perception.

  5. Risk perceptions and technological hazards: a contextual view

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walker, G.; Simmons, P.; Irwin, A.; Wynne, B.

    1998-01-01

    Full text of publication follows: the study of public perceptions of risk has given rise to a number of different (and sometimes conflicting) perspectives. Although the differences between these approaches are not trivial, recent reviews have suggested that there may be some points of convergence. In particular, recent work within the different traditions has emphasised the importance of factors such as trust and power for understanding public perceptions of risk. These factors take us beyond the characteristics of the risks themselves, which were the focus of influential work in the psychometric tradition and into a consideration of the social and cultural context within which potentially hazardous technologies are encountered and evaluated. In this paper we examine the way in which the lay public understand and respond to a particular class of technological risks - those associated with site-based major accident hazards. On the basis of empirical research, we argue that an appreciation of the different contexts within which citizens encounter such risks is crucial to understanding the dynamics of public concerns. We illustrate our argument by examining the different ways in which contextual factors influence perceptions. The discussion draws upon a recently completed study of public perceptions of the risks at seven major hazard sites in the UK, which was funded the by UK Health and Safety Executive. (authors)

  6. Perceptions of acceptable conducts by university students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dora Nazaré Marques

    2016-07-01

    Conclusion: Academic misconducts were mainly considered more acceptable than professional misconducts. Our results show that perceptions of acceptable conducts amongst optometry students are not very different from other students, and, against our initial prediction, do not show a general change in misconduct perception when students become more mature. Universities should pay more attention to this problem and take action.

  7. South Korean University Students' Perceptions of Different English Varieties and Their Contribution to the Learning of English as a Foreign Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahn, So-Yeon; Kang, Hyun-Sook

    2017-01-01

    This study explored South Korean university students' perceptions of different English varieties and their speakers, student attitudes towards the learning of English and its varieties, and the role of these attitudinal variables in the learning of English as a foreign language. One-hundred-one students who were enrolled in four sections of a…

  8. Frontoparietal cortex mediates perceptual transitions in bistable perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weilnhammer, Veith A; Ludwig, Karin; Hesselmann, Guido; Sterzer, Philipp

    2013-10-02

    During bistable vision, perception oscillates between two mutually exclusive percepts despite constant sensory input. Greater BOLD responses in frontoparietal cortex have been shown to be associated with endogenous perceptual transitions compared with "replay" transitions designed to closely match bistability in both perceptual quality and timing. It has remained controversial, however, whether this enhanced activity reflects causal influences of these regions on processing at the sensory level or, alternatively, an effect of stimulus differences that result in, for example, longer durations of perceptual transitions in bistable perception compared with replay conditions. Using a rotating Lissajous figure in an fMRI experiment on 15 human participants, we controlled for potential confounds of differences in transition duration and confirmed previous findings of greater activity in frontoparietal areas for transitions during bistable perception. In addition, we applied dynamic causal modeling to identify the neural model that best explains the observed BOLD signals in terms of effective connectivity. We found that enhanced activity for perceptual transitions is associated with a modulation of top-down connectivity from frontal to visual cortex, thus arguing for a crucial role of frontoparietal cortex in perceptual transitions during bistable perception.

  9. Individual differneces in degraded speech perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carbonell, Kathy M.

    One of the lasting concerns in audiology is the unexplained individual differences in speech perception performance even for individuals with similar audiograms. One proposal is that there are cognitive/perceptual individual differences underlying this vulnerability and that these differences are present in normal hearing (NH) individuals but do not reveal themselves in studies that use clear speech produced in quiet (because of a ceiling effect). However, previous studies have failed to uncover cognitive/perceptual variables that explain much of the variance in NH performance on more challenging degraded speech tasks. This lack of strong correlations may be due to either examining the wrong measures (e.g., working memory capacity) or to there being no reliable differences in degraded speech performance in NH listeners (i.e., variability in performance is due to measurement noise). The proposed project has 3 aims; the first, is to establish whether there are reliable individual differences in degraded speech performance for NH listeners that are sustained both across degradation types (speech in noise, compressed speech, noise-vocoded speech) and across multiple testing sessions. The second aim is to establish whether there are reliable differences in NH listeners' ability to adapt their phonetic categories based on short-term statistics both across tasks and across sessions; and finally, to determine whether performance on degraded speech perception tasks are correlated with performance on phonetic adaptability tasks, thus establishing a possible explanatory variable for individual differences in speech perception for NH and hearing impaired listeners.

  10. Illness perception is a strong parameter on anxiety and depression scores in early-stage breast cancer survivors: a single-center cross-sectional study of Turkish patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kus, Tulay; Aktas, Gokmen; Ekici, Hatice; Elboga, Gulcin; Djamgoz, Sabire

    2017-11-01

    Illness perception has been suggested to have a significant effect on anxiety and depression in cancer patients. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to evaluate this on Turkish breast cancer patients with follow-up periods up to 12 years. A total of 225 patients (with 6 months to 12 years follow-up) were recruited in this cross-sectional study. The patients were divided into three groups of follow-up: 6 months-2 years, 2-5 years, and >5 years. Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Duke-University of North Carolina Functional Social Support Questionnaire, and Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire were used to assess the depression, anxiety, functional social support (FSS), and illness perception, respectively. Statistical significance of the associations was analyzed using Spearman correlation, Student's t, Mann-Whitney U, and ANOVA tests. Rates of moderate-severe anxiety and depression scores were not correlated with follow-up period and disease stage, whereas all these parameters were associated significantly with FSS and age. Parameters of illness perception were also not correlated with follow-up period and stage of disease. However, illness perception scores were noticeably better with increments in FSS. Also, the parameters of illness perception were strongly associated with the depression/anxiety score. Illness perception is an important determinant of the depression/anxiety score in Turkish breast cancer patients.

  11. Similar effects of feature-based attention on motion perception and pursuit eye movements at different levels of awareness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spering, Miriam; Carrasco, Marisa

    2012-05-30

    Feature-based attention enhances visual processing and improves perception, even for visual features that we are not aware of. Does feature-based attention also modulate motor behavior in response to visual information that does or does not reach awareness? Here we compare the effect of feature-based attention on motion perception and smooth-pursuit eye movements in response to moving dichoptic plaids--stimuli composed of two orthogonally drifting gratings, presented separately to each eye--in human observers. Monocular adaptation to one grating before the presentation of both gratings renders the adapted grating perceptually weaker than the unadapted grating and decreases the level of awareness. Feature-based attention was directed to either the adapted or the unadapted grating's motion direction or to both (neutral condition). We show that observers were better at detecting a speed change in the attended than the unattended motion direction, indicating that they had successfully attended to one grating. Speed change detection was also better when the change occurred in the unadapted than the adapted grating, indicating that the adapted grating was perceptually weaker. In neutral conditions, perception and pursuit in response to plaid motion were dissociated: While perception followed one grating's motion direction almost exclusively (component motion), the eyes tracked the average of both gratings (pattern motion). In attention conditions, perception and pursuit were shifted toward the attended component. These results suggest that attention affects perception and pursuit similarly even though only the former reflects awareness. The eyes can track an attended feature even if observers do not perceive it.

  12. RF EMF Risk Perception Revisited: Is the Focus on Concern Sufficient for Risk Perception Studies?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiedemann, Peter M; Freudenstein, Frederik; Böhmert, Christoph; Wiart, Joe; Croft, Rodney J

    2017-06-08

    An implicit assumption of risk perception studies is that concerns expressed in questionnaires reflect concerns in everyday life. The aim of the present study is to check this assumption, i.e., the extrapolability of risk perceptions expressed in a survey, to risk perceptions in everyday life. To that end, risk perceptions were measured by a multidimensional approach. In addition to the traditional focus on measuring the magnitude of risk perceptions, the thematic relevance (how often people think about a risk issue) and the discursive relevance (how often people think about or discuss a risk issue) of risk perceptions were also collected. Taking into account this extended view of risk perception, an online survey was conducted in six European countries with 2454 respondents, referring to radio frequency electromagnetic field (RF EMF) risk potentials from base stations, and access points, such as WiFi routers and cell phones. The findings reveal that the present study's multidimensional approach to measuring risk perception provides a more differentiated understanding of RF EMF risk perception. High levels of concerns expressed in questionnaires do not automatically imply that these concerns are thematically relevant in everyday life. We use thematic relevance to distinguish between enduringly concerned (high concern according to both questionnaire and thematic relevance) and not enduringly concerned participants (high concern according to questionnaire but no thematic relevance). Furthermore, we provide data for the empirical value of this distinction: Compared to other participants, enduringly concerned subjects consider radio frequency electromagnetic field exposure to a greater extent as a moral and affective issue. They also see themselves as highly exposed to radio frequency electromagnetic fields. However, despite these differences, subjects with high levels of thematic relevance are nevertheless sensitive to exposure reduction as a means for improving the

  13. RF EMF Risk Perception Revisited: Is the Focus on Concern Sufficient for Risk Perception Studies?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiedemann, Peter M.; Freudenstein, Frederik; Böhmert, Christoph; Wiart, Joe; Croft, Rodney J.

    2017-01-01

    An implicit assumption of risk perception studies is that concerns expressed in questionnaires reflect concerns in everyday life. The aim of the present study is to check this assumption, i.e., the extrapolability of risk perceptions expressed in a survey, to risk perceptions in everyday life. To that end, risk perceptions were measured by a multidimensional approach. In addition to the traditional focus on measuring the magnitude of risk perceptions, the thematic relevance (how often people think about a risk issue) and the discursive relevance (how often people think about or discuss a risk issue) of risk perceptions were also collected. Taking into account this extended view of risk perception, an online survey was conducted in six European countries with 2454 respondents, referring to radio frequency electromagnetic field (RF EMF) risk potentials from base stations, and access points, such as WiFi routers and cell phones. The findings reveal that the present study’s multidimensional approach to measuring risk perception provides a more differentiated understanding of RF EMF risk perception. High levels of concerns expressed in questionnaires do not automatically imply that these concerns are thematically relevant in everyday life. We use thematic relevance to distinguish between enduringly concerned (high concern according to both questionnaire and thematic relevance) and not enduringly concerned participants (high concern according to questionnaire but no thematic relevance). Furthermore, we provide data for the empirical value of this distinction: Compared to other participants, enduringly concerned subjects consider radio frequency electromagnetic field exposure to a greater extent as a moral and affective issue. They also see themselves as highly exposed to radio frequency electromagnetic fields. However, despite these differences, subjects with high levels of thematic relevance are nevertheless sensitive to exposure reduction as a means for improving the

  14. Human Occipital and Parietal GABA Selectively Influence Visual Perception of Orientation and Size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Chen; Sandberg, Kristian; Andersen, Lau Møller; Blicher, Jakob Udby; Rees, Geraint

    2017-09-13

    GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in human brain. The level of GABA varies substantially across individuals, and this variability is associated with interindividual differences in visual perception. However, it remains unclear whether the association between GABA level and visual perception reflects a general influence of visual inhibition or whether the GABA levels of different cortical regions selectively influence perception of different visual features. To address this, we studied how the GABA levels of parietal and occipital cortices related to interindividual differences in size, orientation, and brightness perception. We used visual contextual illusion as a perceptual assay since the illusion dissociates perceptual content from stimulus content and the magnitude of the illusion reflects the effect of visual inhibition. Across individuals, we observed selective correlations between the level of GABA and the magnitude of contextual illusion. Specifically, parietal GABA level correlated with size illusion magnitude but not with orientation or brightness illusion magnitude; in contrast, occipital GABA level correlated with orientation illusion magnitude but not with size or brightness illusion magnitude. Our findings reveal a region- and feature-dependent influence of GABA level on human visual perception. Parietal and occipital cortices contain, respectively, topographic maps of size and orientation preference in which neural responses to stimulus sizes and stimulus orientations are modulated by intraregional lateral connections. We propose that these lateral connections may underlie the selective influence of GABA on visual perception. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT GABA, the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in human visual system, varies substantially across individuals. This interindividual variability in GABA level is linked to interindividual differences in many aspects of visual perception. However, the widespread influence of GABA raises the

  15. Human Occipital and Parietal GABA Selectively Influence Visual Perception of Orientation and Size

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersen, Lau Møller; Blicher, Jakob Udby

    2017-01-01

    GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in human brain. The level of GABA varies substantially across individuals, and this variability is associated with interindividual differences in visual perception. However, it remains unclear whether the association between GABA level and visual perception reflects a general influence of visual inhibition or whether the GABA levels of different cortical regions selectively influence perception of different visual features. To address this, we studied how the GABA levels of parietal and occipital cortices related to interindividual differences in size, orientation, and brightness perception. We used visual contextual illusion as a perceptual assay since the illusion dissociates perceptual content from stimulus content and the magnitude of the illusion reflects the effect of visual inhibition. Across individuals, we observed selective correlations between the level of GABA and the magnitude of contextual illusion. Specifically, parietal GABA level correlated with size illusion magnitude but not with orientation or brightness illusion magnitude; in contrast, occipital GABA level correlated with orientation illusion magnitude but not with size or brightness illusion magnitude. Our findings reveal a region- and feature-dependent influence of GABA level on human visual perception. Parietal and occipital cortices contain, respectively, topographic maps of size and orientation preference in which neural responses to stimulus sizes and stimulus orientations are modulated by intraregional lateral connections. We propose that these lateral connections may underlie the selective influence of GABA on visual perception. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT GABA, the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in human visual system, varies substantially across individuals. This interindividual variability in GABA level is linked to interindividual differences in many aspects of visual perception. However, the widespread influence of GABA raises the

  16. VHI-10 and SVHI-10 Differences in Singers' Self-perception of Dysphonia Severity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renk, Elizabeth; Sulica, Lucian; Grossman, Chad; Georges, Jenny; Murry, Thomas

    2017-05-01

    Previous investigations of the Voice Handicap Index (VHI)-10 in clinical practice noted that specific information relevant to singers was not forthcoming. Consequently, a second index, the Singing Voice Handicap Index (SVHI) as well as its shortened counterpart the SVHI-10, was developed. The purpose of this study was to directly compare the differences in scores between the VHI-10 and the SVHI-10 in a group of 50 singers. A retrospective chart review of 50 singers (26 women, 24 men) was performed between June 2014 and November 2014 at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York. Subjects completed both the VHI-10 and the SVHI-10 at their initial evaluation. The results from the VHI-10 and the SVHI-10 were then compared using paired t test and two-way analysis of variance. The SVHI-10 scores from the performers were significantly higher than those of the VHI-10 (P < 0.0001). The mean score on the VHI-10 was 12.1 compared with 20.4 on the SVHI-10 (maximum score for each questionnaire is 40). There were no significant gender differences when comparing the VHI-10 and the SVHI-10 on the overall scores or for individual items. The analysis of variance also found no significant gender difference (P = 0.865) and confirmed a significant difference between VHI-10 and SVHI-10 (P = 0.0003). Whereas singers may have general complaints about their voice, they also have specific complaints that relate only to their singing voice. Finding a significant difference between the scores of the VHI-10 and the SVHI-10 suggests the importance of assessing the singer's perception of voice severity using a tool that focuses on the singing voice. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Practice of hand hygiene and use of protective gloves: Differences in the perception between patients and medical staff.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wałaszek, Marta; Kołpa, Małgorzata; Różańska, Anna; Wolak, Zdzisław; Bulanda, Małgorzata; Wójkowska-Mach, Jadwiga

    2018-03-13

    This study investigated differences in perceptions of hand hygiene and protective glove use among patients and health care workers (HCWs) in Poland. We conducted a survey using an original questionnaire among 462 respondents, including 173 (37.4%) patients and 289 (62.6%) HCWs; HCWs demonstrated poor familiarity with the My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene. The role of protective gloves in preventing health care-associated infection was overestimated by both patients and HCWs. Copyright © 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. 76 FR 6811 - Notice of Availability: Notice of Technical Correction to the Notice of Public Interest (NOPI...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-08

    ..., 2011, HUD posted on http://www.Grants.gov , a Notice of Public Interest (NOPI) for Fiscal Year 2010... posted to http://www.Grants.gov a technical correction to that notice. The technical correction adds an... Development agency link on the Grants.gov/Find Web site at http://www.grants.gov/search/agency.do . A link to...

  19. ESPECIALLY THE PERCEPTION OF YOURSELF AS A PARENT MEN-STEPFATHERS AND MEN - BIOLOGICAL FATHERS WITH DIFFERENT STYLES PARENTAL RELATIONSHIP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. E. Semenova

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses the problem of modern fatherhood in the context of studying the personal experience of parenthood men - stepfathers and men biological fathers raising children of primary school age. The author presents the results of empirical studies of the specificity of a parental relationship stepfathers and their self-perception in the role of the father in view of the prevailing style of a parental relationship to the child of the spouse in comparison with similar parameters of personal experience in the family parenting fathers. Based on these data, the conclusion about the presence of qualitative differences in parental relation to stepfathers and biological fathers who are the predominance of the first ones are mostly unfavorable for the development of primary school children of parental attitude and, conversely, the predominance of the second is favorable for the development of the child of younger school age of parental attitude. Also noted for the fact of a high degree of coincidence in the system of self-perception of the subjects of the images "I" and "good father" with the prevalence in men is favorable for child development of parental attitude that, first of all, there is the biological fathers, and the differences of these images with the prevalence of adverse child development of parental attitude that is more common in stepfathers.

  20. Parental illness perceptions and medication perceptions in childhood asthma, a focus group study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klok, Ted; Brand, Paul L.; Bomhof-Roordink, Hanna; Duiverman, Eric J.; Kaptein, Adrian A.

    Aim: Asthma treatment according to guidelines fails frequently, through patients' nonadherence to doctors' advice. This study aimed to explore how differences in asthma care influence parents' perceptions to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). Methods: We conducted six semistructured focus groups,

  1. Illness perception, help-seeking attitudes, and knowledge related to obsessive-compulsive disorder across different ethnic groups: a community survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández de la Cruz, Lorena; Kolvenbach, Sarah; Vidal-Ribas, Pablo; Jassi, Amita; Llorens, Marta; Patel, Natasha; Weinman, John; Hatch, Stephani L; Bhugra, Dinesh; Mataix-Cols, David

    2016-03-01

    Despite similar prevalence rates across ethnicities, ethnic minorities with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are under-represented in research and clinical settings. The reasons for this disproportion have been sparsely studied. We explored potential differences in illness perception, help-seeking attitudes, illness knowledge, and causal attributions that could help explain the lower uptake of treatment for OCD amongst ethnic minorities. Two-hundred and ninety-three parents (139 White British, 61 Black African, 46 Black Caribbean, and 47 Indian) were recruited from the general population in South-East London, UK. Using a text vignette methodology, participants completed a survey including questions on illness perception, help-seeking attitudes, OCD knowledge, and causal attributions. The groups did not differ in socio-demographic characteristics and family history of OCD. White British parents perceived that the OCD difficulties would have more negative impact on their children and that treatment would be more helpful, compared to the ethnic minorities; the largest differences were observed between White British and Indian parents. Ethnic minorities were more prone to say that would seek help from their religious communities. Black African parents were more in favor of not seeking help for the described difficulties and, in general, perceived more treatment barriers. White British parents seemed to be better informed about OCD than ethnic minority parents. The results offer some plausible explanations for the large inequalities in access to services amongst ethnic minorities with OCD. Clinicians and policy-makers need to be aware of these socio-cultural factors when designing strategies to encourage help-seeking behaviors in these populations.

  2. Generational Perceptions of Campus Climate among LGBTQ Undergraduates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garvey, Jason C.; Sanders, Laura A.; Flint, Maureen A.

    2017-01-01

    Using data from the National LGBT Alumni Survey, we examined generational perceptions of campus climate for LGBTQ undergraduate students who graduated from 1944 through 2013 (N = 3,121) with Renn and Arnold's (2003) reconceptualized ecological model as a framework. Results demonstrate differences in LGBTQ student campus climate perceptions across…

  3. Malaysian and American Students' Perceptions of Research Ethics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowman, Laura L.; Anthonysamy, Angela

    2006-01-01

    Differences in perceptions of research ethics between Malaysian and American students were assessed using a questionnaire that measured perceptions of voluntary informed consent for adults and children, assessment of the risk/benefit ratio, issues of deception, and issues of privacy and confidentiality. As predicted, Malaysian students had less…

  4. Snapshots of mathematics teacher noticing during task design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choy, Ban Heng

    2016-09-01

    Designing a mathematically worthwhile task is critical for promoting students' reasoning. To improve task design skills, teachers often engage in collaborative lesson planning activities such as lesson study. However, to learn from the process of lesson study, it is important for teachers to notice productively the concepts, students' confusion and the design of the task. But what researchers mean by productive noticing varies. In this article, I present the FOCUS Framework which highlights two characteristics of productive noticing: having an explicit focus for noticing and focusing noticing through pedagogical reasoning. Using these two characteristics, I develop snapshots of noticing as a representation of practice to present a fine-grained analysis of teacher noticing. Through vignettes of teachers discussing the design of a task to teach fractions, I illustrate how two teachers' noticing can be analysed and represented using snapshots of noticing. To conclude, I highlight what snapshots of noticing tell us about a teacher's noticing and suggest ways to use these snapshots in future studies of noticing.

  5. Social risk perception: recent findings in Spain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prades-Lopez, A.; Martinez-Arias, R.; Diaz-Hidalgo, M.

    1998-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to present our main results from a survey carried out in Spain in the context of social risk perception. This survey is included in a broad project (PRISP) sponsored by the UE and the national Civil Protection Service, and carried out simultaneously in three countries: Spain, Italy and UK. The project combined qualitative and quantitative assessment methods, although only survey results are presented here. A random sample of 600 subjects from two different Spanish communities close to a COMAH chemical site was selected for the research. Main findings regarding, differential perception between both community populations, sex differences, and 'bias perception' of risks among others have been achieved. Main dimensions were obtained by multidimensional scaling and Factor Analysis. Dimensions reported here are similar to the usual findings from the psychometric paradigm. (authors)

  6. Perceptions of family relations when mothers and fathers are depicted with different parenting styles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGillicuddy-De Lisi, Ann V; De Lisi, Richard

    2007-12-01

    College students (N = 125) reported their perceptions of family relations in response to vignettes that presented 5 different parenting styles. Participants viewed family relations as most positive when parents were portrayed as authoritative or permissive and as most negative when parents were portrayed as uninvolved-neglecting or authoritarian. Student gender and parent gender effects qualified these findings. Female students reported family relations to be less positive than did male students when parents were depicted as authoritarian or as uninvolved-neglecting, and they rated family relations more positively than did male students when parents were depicted as permissive. Participants viewed family relations as more positive when mothers rather than fathers were presented as permissive and when fathers rather than mothers were depicted as authoritarian. The authors discuss the findings of the study in relation to theories of beliefs about children and implications for future parenting styles of male and female college students.

  7. Where Do the Cultural Differences in Dynamics of Controlling Parenting Lie? Adolescents as Active Agents in the Perception of and Coping with Parental Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beiwen Chen

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available There is ongoing debate about the universal or culture-specific role of controlling parenting in children’s and adolescents’ development. This study addressed the possibility of cultural variability in how controlling parenting practices are perceived and dealt with. Specifically, we examined Belgian ('N' = 341 and Chinese ('N' = 316 adolescents’ perceptions of and reactions towards a vignette depicting parental guilt-induction, relative to generally controlling and autonomy supportive vignettes. Whereas Belgian adolescents perceived guilt-induction to be as controlling as generally controlling parental behavior, Chinese adolescents’ perception of guilt-induction as controlling was more moderate. Belgian and Chinese adolescents also showed some similarities and differences in their responses to the feelings of need frustration following from the controlling practices, with compulsive compliance for instance being more common in Chinese adolescents. Discussion focuses on cross-cultural similarities and differences in dynamics of controlling parenting.

  8. Interns are from Venus, consultants are from Mars: differential perception among clinicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nair, Balakrishnan Kichu R; Attia, John R; Bowe, Steven J; Mears, Stephen R; Hitchcock, Karen I

    To test for the presence of sex-based differences in perception (the notion that men and women "think" differently, and that differences in perception are biologically based) among healthcare professionals. Prospective survey. 90 medical personnel at a tertiary care hospital in Newcastle, NSW. Healthcare professionals were shown two pictures that could be interpreted as depicting either a young or an old person, and a word that could be seen as geometric shapes. The effects of sex, age, seniority, and specialisation in relation to the first impression of the image, the ability to change one's perception, and the speed of perception. Contrary to popular opinion, male physicians were more likely to perceive the older figures, and just as likely as women to be able to change their perception. Surgeons and junior staff were more likely to see, as well as being faster to form, an impression requiring abstract thought, and were more able to change their perceptions. Traditional sex stereotypes do not apply to medical personnel, but other age-based stereotypes, and professional rivalries (medical versus surgical) may have some empiric basis.

  9. Cultural Difference in Stereotype Perceptions and Performances in Nonverbal Deductive Reasoning and Creativity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Regine; Niu, Weihua

    2013-01-01

    A total of 182 undergraduate students from China and the United States participated in a study examining the presence of stereotypical perceptions regarding creativity and deductive reasoning abilities, as well as the influence of stereotype on participants' performance on deductive reasoning and creativity in nonverbal form. The results showed…

  10. Perceptions of acceptable conducts by university students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marques, Dora Nazaré; Macedo, António Filipe

    2016-01-01

    To determine perceptions of acceptable conducts amongst under and postgraduate optometry students and to compare them with students from other disciplines. Students (under/postgraduate) of optometry (n=156) and other courses (n=54) from University of Minho participated in a voluntary online questionnaire about perception of conducts, classifying as acceptable or unacceptable 15 academic or professional scenarios. 210 questionnaires were analyzed. Differences in perceptions were found between optometry under and postgraduates in scenario 5, Chi-square(2,156)=4.3, p=0.038, and scenario 7, Chi-square(2,156)=7.0, p=0.008 (both with cheating more acceptable for postgrads). Differences between under and postgraduates from other courses were found in scenario 9 (taking supplies from classroom more acceptable for undergrads), Chi-square(1,54)=5.0, p=0.025, and scenario 14 (forging a signature more acceptable for postgrads), Chi-square(1,54)=3.9, p=0.046. Differences between optometry and other courses undergraduates were observed in scenario 2 (plagiarism more acceptable for optometry undergrads), Chi-square(1,154)=8.3, p=0.004 and scenario 9 (taking supplies from classroom more acceptable for other undergrads), chi-square(1,54)=7.8, p=0.005. Differences between optometry and other courses postgraduates were observed in scenario 7, Chi-square(1,56)=5.8, p=0.016, scenario 10 (both with cheating more acceptable for optometry postgrads), chi-square(1,54)=8.1, p=0.004 and scenario 14 (forging a signature more acceptable for other postgrads), Chi-square(1,54)=6.1, p=0.026. Academic misconducts were mainly considered more acceptable than professional misconducts. Our results show that perceptions of acceptable conducts amongst optometry students are not very different from other students, and, against our initial prediction, do not show a general change in misconduct perception when students become more mature. Universities should pay more attention to this problem and take

  11. High School Rugby Players' Perception of Coaching Effectiveness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broodryk, Retief; van den Berg, Pieter Hendrick

    2011-01-01

    The aims of this study were firstly to determine the players' perceptions of their respective coaches' coaching effectiveness and secondly, determine the difference between big and small schools of the players' perceptions of their respective coaches' coaching effectiveness. Four hundred and seventy six players from 22 schools were asked to fill…

  12. Children's Perceptions of Illness and Health: An Analysis of Drawings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mouratidi, Paraskevi-Stavroula; Bonoti, Fotini; Leondari, Angeliki

    2016-01-01

    Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore possible age differences in children's perceptions of illness and health and to what extent these differ from adults' perceptions. Design: Cross-sectional design. Setting: Selected nursery and primary schools in Greece. Method: The sample consisted of 347 children aged 5-11 years and 114…

  13. The Healthier the Tastier? USA?India Comparison Studies on Consumer Perception of a Nutritious Agricultural Product at Different Food Processing Levels

    OpenAIRE

    Dub?, Laurette; Fatemi, Hajar; Lu, Ji; Hertzer, Cristian

    2016-01-01

    Present research compares food beliefs associated with a naturally nutritious agricultural commodity (namely pulses) in Western and Eastern cultures (namely US and India). Specifically, this paper focuses on the perception of healthiness and tastefulness of the food and their relationship. Two studies tested the effect of processing level, cultural differences and branding strategies. In contrast to the well-established inverse relationship between healthiness and tastefulness beliefs observe...

  14. Different Signal Enhancement Pathways of Attention and Consciousness Underlie Perception in Humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Boxtel, Jeroen J A

    2017-06-14

    It is not yet known whether attention and consciousness operate through similar or largely different mechanisms. Visual processing mechanisms are routinely characterized by measuring contrast response functions (CRFs). In this report, behavioral CRFs were obtained in humans (both males and females) by measuring afterimage durations over the entire range of inducer stimulus contrasts to reveal visual mechanisms behind attention and consciousness. Deviations relative to the standard CRF, i.e., gain functions, describe the strength of signal enhancement, which were assessed for both changes due to attentional task and conscious perception. It was found that attention displayed a response-gain function, whereas consciousness displayed a contrast-gain function. Through model comparisons, which only included contrast-gain modulations, both contrast-gain and response-gain effects can be explained with a two-level normalization model, in which consciousness affects only the first level and attention affects only the second level. These results demonstrate that attention and consciousness can effectively show different gain functions because they operate through different signal enhancement mechanisms. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The relationship between attention and consciousness is still debated. Mapping contrast response functions (CRFs) has allowed (neuro)scientists to gain important insights into the mechanistic underpinnings of visual processing. Here, the influence of both attention and consciousness on these functions were measured and they displayed a strong dissociation. First, attention lowered CRFs, whereas consciousness raised them. Second, attention manifests itself as a response-gain function, whereas consciousness manifests itself as a contrast-gain function. Extensive model comparisons show that these results are best explained in a two-level normalization model in which consciousness affects only the first level, whereas attention affects only the second level

  15. Effects of coloured lighting on the perception of interior spaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odabaşioğlu, Seden; Olguntürk, Nіlgün

    2015-02-01

    Use of coloured lighting in interior spaces has become prevalent in recent years. Considerable importance is ascribed to coloured lighting in interior and lighting design. The effects of colour on the perception of interior spaces have been studied as surface colour; but here, the effects of three different types of chromatic light were investigated. The lighting differed in colour (red, green and white) and perceptions of interior space were assessed. 97 participants (59 women, 38 men; M age = 21.4 yr.) evaluated the experiment room on a questionnaire assessing eight evaluative factors: Pleasantness, Arousal, Aesthetics, Usefulness, Comfort, Spaciousness, Colour, and Lighting quality. Perceptions of the room differed by colour of lighting for some of the evaluative factors, but there was no sex difference in perceptions. Interior spaces may be perceived as equally pleasant under white, green and red lighting. Under white lighting a space is perceived as more useful, spacious, clear, and luminous. Green lighting would make the same effect. Green and white lighting were perceived equally comfortable in an interior space. Chromatic coloured lighting was perceived to be more aesthetic than white lighting. The results support previous findings for some evaluative factors, but differed for others.

  16. On the perception and operationalization of risk perception

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoav Ganzach

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available We compare and critique two measures of risk perception. We suggest that a single question --- ``How risky is the situation?'' --- captures the concept of risk perception more accurately than the multiple-item measure used by Sitkin and Weingart (1995. In fact, this latter measure inadvertently captures notions of attractiveness or expected return, rather than risk perception. We further propose that the error underlying the construction of Sitkin and Weingart's measure is explained in terms of a top-down model of risk perception, in which perceived risk and perceived return are consequences, rather than determinants, of attractiveness. Two studies compare the validity of the two alternative measures.

  17. Illness perceptions and self-care behaviours in the first years of living with type 2 diabetes; does the presence of complications matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Puffelen, Anne L; Heijmans, Monique J W M; Rijken, Mieke; Rutten, Guy E H M; Nijpels, Giel; Schellevis, François G

    2015-01-01

    To assess illness perceptions, self-care behaviours and their relationship in recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with and without diabetes-related complications. Cross-sectional survey among 192 recently diagnosed T2DM patients of whom 23% reported the presence of diabetes-related complications. Illness perceptions and self-care were assessed by the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) and the revised Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA) measure. Generally, participating patients perceived T2DM as a chronic, but relatively controllable condition with minor consequences. In the presence of complications, however, T2DM was perceived as more unpredictable with more (serious) consequences and less controllable by self-care or medical treatment. Furthermore, engagement in exercise and foot care was reported more often by patients with complications. Self-care was related to certain illness perception dimensions, and interactions between perceptions and complications were found. T2DM patients in the first years of their illness are often recommended to make lifestyle changes in the absence of noticeable diabetes-related symptoms or complaints. As many T2DM patients do not seem to perceive their condition to be serious and postpone lifestyle changes until diabetes-related complications appear, a major challenge for professionals is to convince asymptomatic patients of the importance of self-care.

  18. 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.

  19. Risk perception and benefits perception. Survey results and discussion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Touzet, R.; Remedi, J.; Baron, J.; Caspani, C.

    2000-01-01

    The fact that the risks deriving from different activities involving the same radiation exposure are seen very differently by a single population is a highly significant one. Exactly identical risks are considered oppositely, depending on the origin of radiation (whether produced by medical applications or by nuclear power plants, resulting from natural radiation or from artificial radiation). It appears as if there was good radiation and bad radiation..! One of the purposes of the paper is the discussion of causes. The acceptance of a given risk by a certain section of the population is closely related to the benefits that the group expects to receive-either consciously or unconsciously-from the activity producing the risk. Consequently, an analysis of the factors influencing the eventual rejection of a practice should explore not only fears, but also hopes...! On the basis of a risk-perception survey carried out in a population sector attending hospitals-including both patients and physicians-, a prior objective analysis of the results obtained was performed and, later on, the various statements by those surveyed were studied. The design of the survey allowed for a comparative assessment of the perception of different risks depending on the people's educational and social level. An epistemological study was made on the validity involved in the use of the data resulting from the survey, so as to reach different conclusions. The population's opinion about the capacity for response, the qualification and the mitigation means available to the State authorities in order to face an eventual radiological emergency plays a leading role in risk perception. In an analysis of the relevant factors involved in risk and benefits perception by the population (in the real world), attention must be paid to the existence of organized opinion groups representing the interest of a given sector. Of course, the population's confidence in the experts providing the information is a key

  20. Smokers' and E-Cigarette Users' Perceptions about E-Cigarette Warning Statements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wackowski, Olivia A; Hammond, David; O'Connor, Richard J; Strasser, Andrew A; Delnevo, Cristine D

    2016-06-30

    Cigarette warning labels are important sources of risk information, but warning research for other tobacco products is limited. This study aimed to gauge perceptions about warnings that may be used for e-cigarettes. We conducted six small focus groups in late 2014/early 2015 with adult current e-cigarette users and cigarette-only smokers. Participants rated and discussed their perceptions of six e-cigarette warning statements, and warnings in two existing Vuse and MarkTen e-cigarette ads. Participants were open to e-cigarette warnings and provided the strongest reactions to statements warning that e-liquid/e-vapor or e-cigarettes can be poisonous, contain toxins, or are "not a safe alternative to smoking". However, many also noted that these statements were exaggerated, potentially misleading, and could scare smokers away from reducing their harm by switching to e-cigarettes. Opinions on the Food and Drug Administration's proposed nicotine addiction warning and warnings that e-cigarettes had not been approved for smoking cessation or had unknown health effects were mixed. Participants perceived MarkTen's advertisement warning to be stronger and more noticeable than Vuse's. Care should be taken in developing e-cigarette warnings given their relative recentness and potential for harm reduction compared to other tobacco products. Additional research, including with varied audiences, would be instructive.