Dimensioning of Telecommunication Network Based on Quality of Services Demand and Detailed Behaviour of Users

The aim of this paper is to be determined the network capacity (number of necessary internal switching lines) based on detailed users’ behaviour and demanded quality of service parameters in an overall telecommunication system. We consider detailed conceptual and its corresponded analytical traffic model of telecommunication system with (virtual) circuit switching, in stationary state with generalized input flow, repeated calls, limited number of homogeneous terminals and losses due to abandoned and interrupted dialing, blocked and interrupted switching, not available intent terminal, blocked and abandoned ringing (absent called user) and abandoned conversation. We propose an analytical - numerical solution for finding the number of internal switching lines and values of the some basic traffic parameters as a function of telecommunication system state. These parameters are requisite for maintenance demand level of network quality of service (QoS). Dependencies, based on the numericalanalytical results are shown graphically. For proposed conceptual and its corresponding analytical model a network dimensioning task (NDT) is formulated, solvability of the NDT and the necessary conditions for analytical solution are researched as well. It is proposed a rule (algorithm) and computer program for calculation of the corresponded number of the internal switching lines, as well as corresponded values of traffic parameters, making the management of QoS easily.

The blurring boundaries between synchronicity and asynchronicity:new communicative situations in work-related Instant Messaging

Instant messaging is one of the most popular communication technologies in virtual teams, enabling interactions to intertwine whole working days, thus creating the sense of copresence for team members who are geographically dispersed. Through close linguistic analyses of naturally occurring data from a virtual team, this article discusses the implications of two novel communicative situations enabled by instant messaging: presence information and the persistence of transcript. The preliminary findings of this study indicate that these new communicative situations require the flouting or rethinking of previously existing interactional norms and that communicative practices employed by the team members are not yet conventionalized/normalized, the expectations and interpretations of interactional rituals and timing vary highly, even within the same virtual team.

Placebo expectancy effect of consuming psychoactive beverages on cognition and mood

Energy drinks have become very popular over the past few years with over half the student population in colleges and universities consuming them at least once a month (Malinauskas et al., 2007). It has been reported that the most common reasons why students consume energy drinks are to maintain alertness, reduce symptoms of hangover, increase energy, to help with driving and to prevent sleepiness (Attila and Cakir, 2011; Malinauskas et al., 2007). Previous research has suggested that energy drinks enhance sensorimotor speed, behaviour, and reduce levels of fatigue (Alford et al., 2001; Horne and Reyner, 2001; Howard and Marczinski, 2010; Kennedy and Scholey, 2004; Smit et al., 2004). The two key ingredients found in energy drinks are caffeine and glucose which have been examined together and alone, which have indicated enhanced reaction times, improvement in both verbal memory and sustained attention and more recently there is evidence to show that expectancy may play a key role in predicting intentions of future consumption (Adan and serra-Grabulosa, 2010). According to Kirsch (1997) people have specific expectations when they consume psychoactive substances that trigger physiological and psychological reactions, which tend to be independent of the psychoactive substance ingested. The concept of expectancy effects can be unambiguous especially when the information provided to the participants prior to the experimental study is specific to a possible outcome response. This thesis investigated the extent of expectancy effect on cognition and mood when psychoactive drinks containing caffeine and glucose were consumed in comparison to non-psychoactive drinks. The investigation commenced with examining the independent effects of caffeine and glucose, followed by the combination of caffeine and glucose as an energy drink on mood and cognition. The investigation advanced by comparing drink presentation effects (i.e., consuming the experimental drink from a branded bottle versus from a glass) irrespective of drink content on mood and cognition. Finally, the investigation lead to exploring what factors may predict expectancy effects when participants’ consumed psychoactive drinks among healthy adults. This was done by applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour model (TPB) (Azjen, 1991) to explore the contribution of specific attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control to the extent of expectancy effects as well as to behavioural intention, with additional variables including; beliefs, habits, past-behaviour, selfidentity. Self-identity representing someone who drinks energy drinks regularly. The level of internal consistency for Cronbach’s alpha was conducted for each variable within the TPB model and for the additional variables included for test reliability. This thesis consisted of four studies, which found that consumption of caffeine and glucose independently and also in combination resulted in psychoactive effects on mood and cognition. Experiment 2 was the only study, which indicated an expectancy effect for immediate verbal recall task and the mood subscale tension. Conversely, for experiment 4 there was a reverse effect found for the immediate verbal recall task. However, there were significant expectancy and psychoactive effects found for mood subscales throughout the four studies. It was also found that the TPB model had two significant variables past-behaviour and self-identity predicted intentions suggesting that participants who regularly consume psychoactive beverages have salient beliefs about consuming psychoactive drinks and the TPB model can be utilised to predict their intentions. Furthermore, the Theory of planned behaviour model found that habit and self-identity significantly predicted participants’ expectancy effects on the vigour. Indicating consumers of energy drinks are familiar with expected outcome response. This model was unsuccessful in predicting expectancy response for cognitive performance. Thus, overall the findings from the four studies indicated that caffeine and glucose have cognitive enhancing properties, which also positively improve mood. However, expectancy effects have been identified for mood only, whereas the overall findings within this thesis were unable to identify significant predictors of expectancy effect and response.

Social and individual influences on eating in preadolescents:the role of friends’ eating behaviours and individual anxiety and depression

Background: Friends are important role models for the formation of social norms and behaviour comparisons, particularly in children. This study examined the similarities between pre-adolescent children’s own eating behaviours with the eating behaviours of those in their friendship group. It also evaluated whether symptoms of anxiety and depression were related to eating behaviours in this age group. Methods: Three hundred and forty three children (mean age 8.75 years) completed questionnaires designed to measure dietary restraint, emotional eating and external eating, as well as general and social anxiety, and symptoms of depression. Children also provided details about their friendship groups. Results: Pre-adolescents’ dietary restraint was positively predicted by the dietary restraint of members of their friendship groups, and their individual levels of anxiety and depression. The levels of general anxiety exhibited by pre-adolescents predicted emotional and external eating behaviours. Younger children were significantly more likely to report higher levels of emotional and external eating than older children, and boys were more likely to report more external eating behaviours than girls. Conclusions: These results suggest that greater dieting behaviours in pre-adolescents are related to their friends’ reports of greater dieting behaviours. In contrast, greater levels of eating governed by emotions, and eating in response to external hunger cues, are related to greater symptoms of anxiety in pre-adolescent children. Such findings underline the importance of friends’ social influences on dieting behaviours in this age group and highlight the value of targeting healthy eating and eating disorder prevention interventions at pre-adolescents.

Az európai vállalkozó karaktere (The characters of the European entrepreneur and the European manager)

Miben különböznek motivációjukat, értékeit, habitusukat tekintve a vállalkozók, illetve a menedzserek a társadalom többi tagjától és egymástól? Egy 29 európai országra kiterjedő reprezentatív lakossági kérdőíves felmérés (European Social Survey) alapján keresik a szerzők a választ e kérdésre. A Schwartz-értéktesztet használják, amelynek segítségével meghatározhatók az általános célok, elvek, amelyek követését egy személy fontosnak tartja az életében. Így felrajzolható a személy karaktere. Hozzájárulásuk az irodalomhoz kettős. Bár készültek európai szinten elemzések a vállalkozók által vallott sajátos értékekről, a Schwartz-teszt átfogóbb, árnyaltabb és megbízhatóbb elemzést tesz lehetővé. Továbbá, az említett elemzések csak az önfoglalkoztatókat vizsgálták, amely kategória magában foglalja ugyan a vállalkozókat, ám tágabb annál. Az alkalmazott menedzserekről pedig tudomásuk szerint egyáltalán nem készült hasonló elemzés. / === / What distinguishes entrepreneurs and managers from the rest of society and from each other in terms of motivation and values? The authors attempt to answer these questions by analysing data from the European Social Survey covering the populations of 29 countries. They use the Schwartz value-test to identify the general goals and principles people choose to follow in their lives. The test enables them to paint the typical personal characters of entrepreneurs and managers. Their contribution to the literature is threefold. First, although the values held by European entrepreneurs have been investigated before, the Schwartz test provides for a more comprehensive and nuanced analysis. Second, prior statistical analyses have focussed on self-employed, which is a much broader category than entrepreneurs. Third, the distinguishing values of employed managers have not been analysed so far in a similar way.

A versenyképesség társadalmi környezete

Kutatásunk alapvetése, hogy egy ország versenyképessége az értékteremtő munkamegosztást támogató teljes közösségi intézményrendszer sikeres működésén múlik. Munkánkkal arra kerestük a választ, milyen értékek és motivációk alakítják a magyar gazdaság intézményrendszerét. Nem a hivatalos magatartási szabályok statikus elemzésére koncentráltunk, hanem a normák, konvenciók és innovációk világára, az intézményrendszer jövőjét befolyásoló dinamikus elemekre. Elemzésünk fókuszában a társadalmi és vállalkozói értékek, a gazdaságpolitika formálók versenyképességi narratívái, a helyi gazdaságok versenyképességi tényezői, a versenyképesség javítását szolgáló magánkezdeményezések és a nonprofit szektor működése álltak. Fő eredményünk, hogy a Magyarország jövőbeli versenyképességét befolyásoló tudati elemek - a gazdasági döntéshozók motivációi és normái – megfelelő alapot teremtenek a gazdaságunk versenyképességét megerősítő üzleti, civil és kormányzati kezdeményezések számára. Magas közösségi és morális elvárások jellemzik a lakosság és a vállalkozók értékrendjét. A gazdaságpolitika-alkotók nyitottak az intézményi problémákra, a magyar véleményformálók körében egyetértés van a fő versenyképességi kihívásokat illetően. Jól azonosíthatóak a szervezők erőfeszítéseit kompenzálni képes versenyképességi összefogások keretei. A helyi gazdaságfejlesztés intézményei alakulóban vannak. A nonprofit szektor működési viszonyainak bizonytalansága ellenére a közcélúság és a versenyképesség közös területein (mint az atipikus foglalkoztatás) jól teljesít. Ezek az eredmények egyszerre nyitnak perspektívát a tudományos vizsgálódás és a gyakorlati cselekvés számára. Az önérdek és a közösségi értékteremtő képesség javításának motivációja közötti kapcsolat tudományos vizsgálata, a társadalmi innovációk kutatása a versenyképesség javíthatóságának kereteit tárhatja fel. Az üzleti, civil vagy kormányzati szereplők pedig akkor tudják a fogyasztói, közösségi elvárásokat sikeresen összeegyeztetni stratégiai céljaikkal, ha a gazdasági és társadalmi szereplők normáihoz, konvencióihoz igazítva alakítják ki intézményformáló stratégiáikat. __________ The competitiveness of nations is based on the successful function of the institutions that support the division of labor on value creation – this is the basic principle of this research. Our project investigates what values and motivations shape the institutional setting of Hungarian economy. We study the world of norms, conventions and innovations – the elements that shape the institutions. The static analysis of official rules has only a minor role in this approach. Research focuses (1) on the value system of entrepreneurs (2), on the mind setting of public managers and executives of economic policy (3) on the factors of local economic competitiveness, (4) on the actions of private and non-profit sector in order to enhance competitiveness. The main finding of this research is that the cognitive factors that shape the competitiveness of Hungary – the norms and motivations of decision makers in the economy – give a positive support for the competitiveness strengthening initiatives of business, non-profit and public sectors. The studies on the values system of entrepreneurs and citizens show that expectations and moral values connected to competitiveness are strong. The public managers of economic policy are open-minded and there is a general consensus of experts, business and politics on the key competitiveness challenges of Hungary. There are well defined frameworks to conceptualize the schemes that make organizers’ efforts affordable in private initiatives for competitiveness. There are various developments on the field of institutions for local economic development. The nonprofit sector has good results on the common fields of competiveness and equity (like atypical forms of employment) despite the uncertainties in the background of the sector. These results open perspectives both for scientific research and practical applications. The research on connection between individual goals and motivation to improve value creating ability of the society and the study of social innovation reveal new aspects of competitiveness. Business, non-profit or public leaders can better synchronize their strategies with the expectation of consumers, communities and constituencies if their intentions to shape institutional settings fit better to the norms and conventions of the social and economic stakeholders.

A közösségi versenyképesség elméleti keretei = Analytical framework to study competitiveness of communities

Tanulmányunk célja a versenyképesség közösségi beágyazottságának elemzéséhez alkalmas elemzési keretek bemutatása és a versenyképesség fogalmának elemzése a fogalom intézményi, normatív tartalma szempontjából. Célunk a közösségi versenyképesség fogalmának és az ezt elemezni képes megközelítés kidolgozása. A feladat kettős: 1. A versenyképesség értelmezése a döntések közösségi keretei szempontjából 2. A közösségi keretek versenyképességre gyakorolt hatásának elemzése Ennek érdekében a tanulmány első fejezetében az egyéni döntést meghatározó tényezőket és az egyéni döntések jövőbeli interakciók környezetére gyakorolt hatását elemző keretet vázoljuk fel. Megközelítésünk szerint az egyéni döntést négy tényező határozza meg. a közösségi környezet, a természeti környezet, s személyes jellemzők és az interakciós partnerek. Az ez alapján születő döntések formálják a jövőbeli döntési környezetet. A döntések hatásának elemzéséhez a környezetre gyakorolt hatások értékelését orientáló fogalomra van szükség. Elemzésünk esetében ez a fogalom az értékteremtés, amit a következőképp határozunk meg: az értékteremtő tevékenységek során valaki arra törekszik, hogy saját személyes céljait a másokkal való kölcsönösen előnyös együttműködések lehetőségeinek bővítésével, hozamainak növelésével szolgálja. A második fejezetben az egyéni döntések közösségi kereteit és az egyéni döntések közösségre gyakorolt hatását elemezzük részletesen. A formális és informális intézmények világát, a közösségi magatartásokat szabályozó normák és konvenciók rendszerét a következő öt – a valóságban gyakran keveredő - alapelemre bontjuk értékrend, konvenció, közösségi szabály, hivatalos előírás, egyének közötti megállapodás. Ezek közül a magánszereplők együttműködésének az érintett szereplők által módosítható intézményi elemeinek (konvenció, megállapodás) alkalmazkodása a leggyorsabb, a közösség egészét irányító formális intézmények a status quo iránti elfogultságuk miatt lomhábbak, míg a közösség életét informálisan befolyásoló normák a legstabilabb intézményi elemek. A közösségek változása általában lassú, legtöbbször nem szándékolt hatások következménye. Mindezek mellett a közösségi intézmények tudatos alakításában komoly szerepe van (1) a konvenciókat megújító intézményi innovátoroknak, (2) a szerződéses formulákon módosító vállalkozóknak és (3) a hivatalos előírások formálásába bekapcsolódó politikai szereplőknek politikai vállalkozóként, tisztviselőként, vagy közéleti résztvevőként. A harmadik fejezetben a versenyképesség fogalmát elemezzük, és ez alapján határozzuk meg a közösségi versenyképesség fogalmát. Megvizsgáljuk, milyen feltevésekkel él a fogalom a közösségi környezettel kapcsolatban, illetve milyen normatív elemei vannak a definíciónak. A vizsgálathoz a versenyképesség fogalmának egy lecsupaszított változatát használtuk. E szerint a versenyképesség valaki képessége értékteremtő módon bekapcsolódni a gazdasági munkamegosztásba úgy, hogy tevékenysége relatív hozama nem csökken. Az elemzés alapján a versenyképesség a közösségi környezet következő hét elemére épül: 1. A közösség tagjainak és a tagság tartalmának meghatározottsága; 2. a potenciális együttműködő felek közös múltja, jövője, konvenció- és normarendszere; 3. A gazdasági együttműködés intézményeinek (csere, vállalkozás, tulajdon, szerződés) működőképessége; 4. Az értékteremtés normatív koncepciója és az arra épülő részleteiben meghatározott, és részleteiben is közösségi legitimációval bíró szabályrendszer; 5. Az innovációt támogató és a kellően rugalmas értékrend és közösségi szabályok. 6. A gazdasági munkamegosztás igényeihez részleteiben és változásával is igazodó konvenciók, hivatalos előírások és szerződések; 7. A közösségi környezet tudatos alakításával foglalkozó szereplők (közösségi innovátorok, vállalkozók és politikai szereplők) motivációja és lehetősége a hozamok relatív szintjének tartását támogató intézményi környezet karbantartásában. A versenyképesség fogalmának intézményi elemzése rámutat, hogy a fogalom gazdag értéktartalommal és határozott közösségi intézményrendszer-képpel rendelkezik. A közösségi versenyképesség ez alapján a versenyképesség fogalmába kódolt közösségi környezetként határozható meg. A kutatás következő lépése a közösségi versenyképesség meghatározása, az azt befolyásoló mechanizmusok feltárása és javítását támogató elemzési eszközök, gyakorlati segédletek kidolgozása. Ezen feladatok előkészítése érdekében a tanulmány mellékletében két történelmi esettanulmányt mutatunk be, röviden áttekintjük a téma szempontjából releváns irodalom főbb eredményeit és bemutatunk egy praktikus alkalmazásra szánt normatív elemzési eszközt, mellyel az elemezhető, hogy az állami lépések mennyire bátorítják az értékteremtő vállalkozást. _________ This paper (1) introduces an analytical framework to study the impact of the community on competitiveness and (2) analyses the institutional and normative content in the concept of competitiveness. The goal is to elaborate an approach that supports the definition and analysis of the ‘competiveness of community’. This task has two main parts: 1. interpretation of competiveness from social choice perspective 2. assessing the impact of social settings on the competiveness of a community The first chapter of the study draws up an analytical framework to study the social factors of individual decisions and their impact on the environment of future interactions. We focus on four main factors that shape setting of future interactions: social environment, natural environment, personal characteristics and partners in interactions. We use the concept of value creation to assess the impact of individual decisions on these factors. The second chapter discusses the social factors of individual decisions and the impact of individual decisions on the community. Institutions are conceptualized as value systems, conventions, community rules, official rules and contracts in the study. The conventions and contracts can accommodate to the changes of environment more smoothly, formal institutions are less flexible due to their bias toward status quo. Informal rules and value systems resists change more frequently. The formation of social environment is usually slow and based on unintended effects. Altogether (1) innovators who revise social conventions, (2) entrepreneurs who reshape contracts and (4) political entrepreneurs who formulate formal rules have influential roles on the institutional setting. The third chapter discusses the social assumptions included into the definition of competitiveness and we give a definition for the competiveness of communities. A simplified definition of competitiveness is used for this analysis: competiveness is someone’s ability and motivation to participate in the economic division of labor in a way that is based on value creation and maintains the relative return of activities. Our analysis reveals that competitiveness assumes the following features of the community: 1. Defined membership of community: who are the members and what does membership mean. 2. Common past, future, convention and norm system of the potential participants of interactions 3. Functionality of institutions that facilitate division of labor (exchange, entrepreneurship, property, contract) 4. Existing normative concept on value creation and social accepted rules that govern interactions 5. Value system and rules that promote innovation 6. Conventions, official norms and contracts that fits to economic division of labor in a detailed and dynamic way 7. Motivation and potential of actors who shape social environment consciously to maintain institutions in order to sustain the relative return of economic activities This analysis shows that the concept of competitiveness assumes well established values and detailed expectations on institutional settings. Followingly, competiveness of community can be defined with these criteria of social environment. Two historical case studies and the draft of a policy oriented toolkit demonstrate the applicability of the introduced approach in the appendix. The core findings of the literature are also reviewed there.

A magyar fiatalok jellemzése pénzügyi attitűdjeik és magatartásuk mentén – Vizsgálat a felsőoktatásban tanulók pénzügyi attitűdjeiről és magatartásáról = Characterization of the Hungarian youth with their financial attitudes and behaviours – A survey about the financial behaviour and attitudes of students

A pénzügyi piacok és termékek egyre komplexebbé válnak, ami együtt jár a pénzügyeket illető információs szakadék mélyülésével is – a lakosság egyre kevésbé képes pénzügyeiről körültekintő döntéseket hozni. Jelen tanulmány a magyar felsőoktatásban tanuló fiatalokat pénzügyi attitűdjeik mentén szegmentálja és jellemzi, annak érdekében, hogy hozzájáruljon a pénzügyi kultúra szintjét növelő programok sikerességéhez, legyen az állami indíttatású (pénzügyi edukáció) vagy a versenyszféra által vezérelt. A vizsgált fiatalok alapvetően három csoportba sorolhatók: (1) Konzervatívak, (2) Lázadók és (3) Tapasztaltak. A Konzervatívakra a stabil morális értékrend, alacsony kockázatvállalási hajlandóság jellemző, céljaik között egyaránt találunk rövid és hosszú távúakat is – informáltságuk, és ebből eredően pénzügyi ismeretszintjük alacsony, a hitelekkel szembeni attitűdjük negatív. A Lázadók csoportjára az „Élj a mának!” magatartás a jellemző, vagyis rövid távú céljaik vannak, kevésbé tudatosak, pénzügyi ismeretszintjük alacsony, ugyanakkor nyitottak az újdonságokra és a kockázatvállalási szintjük magasabb a másik két csoporténál. A Tapasztaltak csoportjára a tudatosság és a pénzügyi megfontoltság a jellemző – pénzügyi ismeretszintjük magasabb a másik két csoporténál. Náluk a hosszú távú célok dominálnak, de alacsony kockázatvállalási hajlandóság mellett. _____ Financial markets and financial instruments have become more and more complex in the last decades. Unfortunately, financial literacy of population cannot keep up with the innovation activity of financial sector. By segmenting and describing Hungarian young adults along their financial attitudes, the aim of this study is to provide recommendations to the programs aiming to enhance the development of financial literacy. According to the authors’ results, 18-25 year-old young adults can be categorized as (1) conservatives, (2) rebels and (3) experienced. Conservatives can be characterized by stable moral and values, low risktaking willingness and inappropriate financial knowledge. Both short and long term goals can be explored among their preferences. Conservatives have negative attitude to bank loans. The rebels can be described by the ancient Latin saying: “Carpe Diem”. They have short-term goals and the future financial stability is not an issue for them – their financial literacy is low. However, rebels are open-minded and their risk-taking willingness is greater than the other two group members. Despite of the low level of risk-taking willingness, the highest level of financial literacy is showed by the experienced group. They have long-term goals and are able to receive information about complex financial instruments.

Without women: Masculinities, gay male sexual culture and sexual behaviors in Miami, Florida

Recent studies have reported alarmingly high rates of HIV infection and risky sexual behaviors among gay men in Miami, Florida. Previous research has suggested that the risky sexual behaviors of many gay men reflect the pursuit of intimacy and love, and that barriers to intimate relationships among gay men may stem from traditional masculinity norms. This dissertation examines the meanings which gay men ascribe to their sexual behaviors, as well as the intersections of those meanings with both traditional masculinity constructions and Miami's gay male sexual culture. ^ The study is based upon participant observation, print media content analysis, surveys and ethnographic interviews of a purposive snowball sample of 30 Cuban American, Puerto Rican, African American and Anglo gay men who reside in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Analysis of research questions was accomplished through grounded theory methods and descriptive and non-parametric statistics, including Pearson chi-square, Fisher's Exact and Mann-Whitney U tests. ^ The study shows that culturally-specified masculinity norms vary in the relative importance ascribed to heterosexual prowess, economic providership and competitiveness. These cultural differences appear important not only to the timing of sexual awareness and to the strength of homosexual stereotyping as effeminacy, but also to men's strategies in coming out as gay. The meanings men attributed to their sexual behaviors were, however, constructed in response to both inherited masculinity norms and the hypermasculine structure of Miami's gay male sexual culture. In addition to providing an ethnographic account of this subculture, the study elaborates men's issues relative to casual sex and committed relationships. Unprotected anal intercourse with casual partners during the previous twelve months was associated with growing up without one's father in the home, having been teased for effeminacy during childhood, being defensive about one's masculinity, not trusting men, having been cheated on by boyfriends, and believing that long-term gay male relationships are problematic. ^ It is concluded that the continuing epidemic of HIV infections among local gay men, as well as the hypermasculine form of the gay sexual subculture itself, are nihilistic symptoms embedded in the masculinist gender structure of the larger society. ^

Tobacco use prevention education (TUPE) programs in the state of Florida: Teachers' perceptions of program structure and effectiveness

This study described teacher perceptions of TUPE program effectiveness in Florida in an attempt to improve programs by identifying factors that might influence teacher motivation and performance. Very little work has been done to examine how teachers' perceptions are related to the effectiveness of TUPE programs. A statewide survey provided information about how teachers' perceptions of program effectiveness are affected by variables such as: program structure, barriers, tobacco use norms, and training variables. Data were obtained from a telephone survey conducted in Florida as part of the Tobacco Pilot Project (TPP). The sample included 296 middle school teachers and 282 high school teachers as well as 193 middle school principals and 190 high school principals. Correlational and hierarchical regression analyses identified correlates and predictors of teachers' ratings of effectiveness. Results suggest that use of peer leaders, more frequent evaluations, a higher degree of parent involvement, fewer barriers, greater student interest, and lower tolerance for tobacco use were correlated with higher ratings of program effectiveness. Furthermore, student interest, peer, staff, and community tolerance norms, peer leaders, program evaluation, and parent involvement predicted middle school teachers' perceptions. Parent tolerance, student interest, number of barriers, and more frequent program evaluation predicted high school teachers' perceptions. In addition, middle school teachers who reported a lower number of factors negatively associated with teacher receptivity were more likely to view TUPE programs more favorably than teachers who reported a greater number of these risk factors. This relationship was not as robust among the high school teacher sample. Differences between the middle and high school sample were found in the magnitude and number of significant correlations, the proportion of variance accounted for by predictor variables, and the strength of the relationship between the number of factors negatively associated with teacher receptivity and teachers' perceptions of TUPE effectiveness. These findings highlighted the importance of the timing, program features, and the external environment for enhancing or minimizing teachers' ratings of TUPE program effectiveness. In conclusion, significant increases in TUPE teachers' self-efficacy will occur through the participation of peers, parents, staff, and community leaders in different aspects of TUPE programs. ^

The will to write: Students' and teachers' perceptions of writing

This study investigated the perceptions of writing among secondary and post-secondary students and their teachers. The focus was on students' writing philosophy and influences, perceptions of the writing process, and perceptions of student writing skills, high stakes assessment tests, and writing across the curriculum. ^ An ethnographic case study was used to investigate the perceptions of writing among ten students and their English teachers in two high schools, a community college, and a university. To establish balance and ethnic plurality, seven females and three males representing the four large ethnic groups in South Florida—African American, Haitian American, European American and Latino—participated. During one four-month term, data from written samples of students' writing, formal and informal interviews, a student focus group, field notes, classroom observations, and a “think-aloud” protocol were collected. ^ Four themes emerged. First, Florida's writing assessment test has a negative influence on students' perceptions of writing. Students' motivation and attitudes as well as their confidence in their abilities were affected by practice and preparation in “recital writing.” Second, writing is a vehicle of social and personal transformation. Students believed that writing is a mean to connect to others and to create change in schools and communities. Third, students lacked the ability to connect writing, thinking and learning. Although students and teachers agree with statements about this connection, students failed to see the relevance of thinking and learning through writing in current or future courses, or in their future careers. Finally, writing context, teachers, schools, peers and gender influenced writing perceptions. Students believed that their writing philosophy, writing process, and perceptions of writing in academia and in the workplace are connected to these five factors. ^ The effect of the Florida writing test pervades students' and teachers' writing perceptions, making a stronger case for writing across the curriculum than previous research. Writing should help students see knowledge as interrelated, honor students' interests and values, and build relationships between and among students, schools and communities. In designing and implementing methods that support and sustain student writing, teachers should provide students with multiple opportunities to expand knowledge, learning, and connection through writing. ^

Development of a mathematical and computer model to assess water quality impacts of hazardous compounds from minor gasoline spills in the inter-tidal zone of the Miami River, Florida

The objective of this study was to develop a model to predict transport and fate of gasoline components of environmental concern in the Miami River by mathematically simulating the movement of dissolved benzene, toluene, xylene (BTX), and methyl-tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) occurring from minor gasoline spills in the inter-tidal zone of the river. Computer codes were based on mathematical algorithms that acknowledge the role of advective and dispersive physical phenomena along the river and prevailing phase transformations of BTX and MTBE. Phase transformations included volatilization and settling. ^ The model used a finite-difference scheme of steady-state conditions, with a set of numerical equations that was solved by two numerical methods: Gauss-Seidel and Jacobi iterations. A numerical validation process was conducted by comparing the results from both methods with analytical and numerical reference solutions. Since similar trends were achieved after the numerical validation process, it was concluded that the computer codes algorithmically were correct. The Gauss-Seidel iteration yielded at a faster convergence rate than the Jacobi iteration. Hence, the mathematical code was selected to further develop the computer program and software. The model was then analyzed for its sensitivity. It was found that the model was very sensitive to wind speed but not to sediment settling velocity. ^ A computer software was developed with the model code embedded. The software was provided with two major user-friendly visualized forms, one to interface with the database files and the other to execute and present the graphical and tabulated results. For all predicted concentrations of BTX and MTBE, the maximum concentrations were over an order of magnitude lower than current drinking water standards. It should be pointed out, however, that smaller concentrations than the latter reported standards and values, although not harmful to humans, may be very harmful to organisms of the trophic levels of the Miami River ecosystem and associated waters. This computer model can be used for the rapid assessment and management of the effects of minor gasoline spills on inter-tidal riverine water quality. ^

Relations between acculturation and alcohol use among international students

In the current study, 226 international students attending Florida International University responded to an Web-based questionnaire that assessed self-reported scores for: acculturation, acculturative stress, alcohol use patterns, perceived peer alcohol use, and perceived injunctive social norms for alcohol use. The purpose of the study was to evaluate structural relations among this set of variables using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) via AMOS 17.0. The results of SEM analyses documented acceptable fit of a model which hypothesized that relations between acculturation and alcohol use variables are mediated partially by acculturative stress, perceived peer alcohol use, and perceived injunctive social norms. While significant path coefficients were documented for paths between (a) acculturation and acculturative stress and (b) acculturative stress and alcohol use, the coefficients had negative signs, contrary to existing studies investigating these relations among immigrant youth. While paths between (a) perceived peer alcohol use or (b) perceived injunctive social norms and participants’ alcohol use were significant, path coefficients between acculturation and either (a) perceived peer alcohol use or (b) perceived injunctive social norms were not statistically significant. In addition, multiple-group comparisons suggested that social support had a significant moderating influence on several significant paths in the structural model. Specifically, international students reporting higher social support reported lower scores for acculturative stress and alcohol use, in contrast to their counterparts who reported lower scores for social support.