Series Of Traits Research Articles

Negative first impression judgements of autistic children by non-autistic adults.

Although autism inclusion and acceptance has increased in recent years, autistic people continue to face stigmatization, exclusion, and victimization. Based on brief 10-second videos, non-autistic adults rate autistic adults less favourably than they rate non-autistic adults in terms of traits and behavioural intentions. In the current study, we extended this paradigm to investigate the first impressions of autistic and non-autistic children by non-autistic adult raters and examined the relationship between the rater's own characteristics and bias against autistic children. Segments of video recorded interviews from 15 autistic and 15 non-autistic children were shown to 346 undergraduate students in audio with video, audio only, video only, transcript, or still image conditions. Participants rated each child on a series of traits and behavioural intentions toward the child, and then completed a series of questionnaires measuring their own social competence, autistic traits, quantity and quality of past experiences with autistic people, and explicit autism stigma. Overall, autistic children were rated more negatively than non-autistic children, particularly in conditions containing audio. Raters with higher social competence and explicit autism stigma rated autistic children more negatively, whereas raters with more autistic traits and more positive past experiences with autistic people rated autistic children more positively. These rapid negative judgments may contribute to the social exclusion experienced by autistic children. The findings indicate that certain personal characteristics may be related to more stigmatised views of autism and decreased willingness to interact with the autistic person. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to the social inclusion and well-being of autistic people.

Genetic resources diversity of tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze) in the southern region of the Caspian Sea

AbstractIn the fields of agricultural, food and medical research, the potential impacts of tea on human health are of special interest because tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze) is continuously consumed by many people in the world. The evaluation of the diversity of genotypes found in tea germplasm can aid in the improvement of the breeding programme. In this study, the genetic diversity of 30 tea genotypes from two commercial sites of tea production in Iran was investigated by using morphological and 12 ISSR markers. Morphological analysis showed that the diversity between samples of tea was limited, and the narrow matching range was calculated. In cluster analysis at level 0.63, samples were divided into four groups. The application of 12 ISSR primers produced 91 polymorphic bands. PIC test showed a range of 0.41–0.48. Based on the ISSR data, the matching range was obtained in the range of 0.24–0.93. In cluster analysis, samples at level 0.58 were divided into five groups. According to the results, it can be understood that these series of traits and primers can very well recognize genetic differences. Using these markers, genetic diversity was observed among tea genotypes, but this diversity was not such as to be able to separate genotypes of various regions from each other. The results showed that the tea genotypes in Iran had high genetic diversity. As a consequence, the findings of our study will help the development of tea germplasm conservation strategies and their sustainable use in breeding programmes.

Appearance and diversity of Phytophthora infestans in Oman in 2013–2015

The purpose of this study was to characterize Phytophthora infestans isolates obtained from diseased tomato tissue in Oman from 2013 to 2015. Late blight caused severe epidemics on tomatoes in Oman in 2013–2014 and 2014–2015. Prior to 2013, late blight had not previously been reported from Oman. Isolates collected from diseased tomato plants in commercial production fields in Oman were assayed for a series of traits. All fifty-five isolates tested for mating type were determined to be A1. A subset of nine isolates analysed for allozymes, sensitivity to mefenoxam, DNA fingerprint as detected with random genome probe fifty-seven (RG57), and microsatellite genotypes revealed a diverse population. A range of sensitivity to mefenoxam was observed and one multi-locus genotype (MLG) was detected in four of the nine isolates. The A2 strain Blue_13, which was recently identified in India and thought to be a possible source of the pathogen, was not detected.

Social and Nonsocial Relational Reasoning in Adolescence and Adulthood.

Reasoning during social interactions requires the individual manipulation of mental representations of one’s own traits and those of other people as well as their joint consideration (relational integration). Research using nonsocial paradigms has linked relational integration to activity in the rostrolateral PFC. Here, we investigated whether social reasoning is supported by the same general system or whether it additionally relies on regions of the social brain network, such as the medial PFC. We further assessed the development of social reasoning. In the social task, participants evaluated themselves or a friend, or compared themselves with their friend, on a series of traits. In the nonsocial task, participants evaluated their hometown or another town or compared the two. In a behavioral study involving 325 participants (11–39 years old), we found that integrating relations, compared with performing single relational judgments, improves during adolescence, both for social and nonsocial information. Thirty-nine female participants (10–31 years old) took part in a neuroimaging study using a similar task. Activation of the relational integration network, including the rostrolateral PFC, was observed in the comparison condition of both the social and nonsocial tasks, whereas the medial PFC showed greater activation when participants processed social as opposed to nonsocial information across conditions. Developmentally, the right anterior insula showed greater activity in adolescents compared with adults during the comparison of nonsocial versus social information. This study shows parallel recruitment of the social brain and the relational reasoning network during the relational integration of social information in adolescence and adulthood.

Defining Hate Speech

There is no shortage of opinions about what should be done about hate speech, but if there is one point of agreement, it is that the topic is ripe for rigorous study. But just what is hate speech, and how will we know it when we see it online? For all of the extensive literature about the causes, harms, and responses to hate speech, few scholars have endeavored to systematically define the term. Where other areas of content analysis have developed rich methodologies to account for influences like context or bias, the present scholarship around hate speech rarely extends beyond identification of particular words or phrases that are likely to cause harm targeted toward immutable characteristics. This essay seeks to review some of the various attempts to define hate speech, and pull from them a series of traits that can be used to frame hate speech with a higher degree of confidence. In so doing, it explores the tensions between hate speech and principles of freedom of expression, both in the abstract and as they are captured in existing definitions. It also analyzes historical attempts to define the term in the United States, from the brief period of time when the United States punished hate speech directly. From this analysis, eight traits are surfaced that can be used for the development of a confidence scoring system to help ascertain whether a particular expression should be considered one of hate speech or not.

A new western Atlantic species of Didiscus Dendy, 1922 (Porifera: Demospongiae: Halichondrida) with a key to the species of the genus

Didiscus gladiussp. nov. is described from Bahia State (Brazil). The sponge is thinly encrusting to lump-shaped and has a glassy, translucent appearance, through which the spiculation is clearly visible. The megascleres are styles and two categories of oxeas. The microscleres are discorhabds. Colour is beige or brown in ethanol.Didiscus verdensisis the nearest relative in the Atlantic which differs from the new species in a series of traits (e.g. absence of true styles and presence of strongyles). A key to species ofDidiscusis given.

English

Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune multifactorial disease which has a great socio-economic impact. In Morocco, less is known about the contribution of Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles to type 1 diabetes susceptibility. Our study focused on evaluating the distribution of class II HLA genes among Moroccan patients presenting type 1 diabetes coming from different regions of the country. A total of 76 patients diagnosed with type I diabetes were compared to a group of 248 healthy controls matched by age, sex, and ethnic origin. The HLA class II (DR and DQ) typing of patients and controls was performed using polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP). Ambiguous typings were reanalyzed by Luminex technology. We found a significant association between HLA-DRB1*03 (p = 0.0001), DRB1*04 (p = 0.0001), DQB1*02 (p = 0.0001, OR = 4.4) and DQB1*03 (p = 0.002) alleles frequencies and the susceptibility to diabetes. The HLA-DQB1*06 allele was significantly decreased in patients (p = 0.008). DRB1*03-DQB1*02, DRB1*04-DQB1*03 and DRB1*04-DQB1*02 haplotypes induce susceptibility to type 1 diabetes while DRB1*13-DQB1*06 and DRB1*15-DQB1*06 haplotypes seems to confer a protective effect in our population. These data highlights that Moroccans diabetic patients do share a series of traits with diabetics of other origins but also have specific characteristics. Key words : Type 1 diabetes, susceptibility, human leukocyte antigen (HLA), Moroccan population.

The effect of aerobic soil conditions, soil volume and sowing date on the development of four tropical rice varieties grown in the greenhouse.

Rice has generally been reported to yield less in aerobic soil conditions than in flooded soil conditions, in association with delayed anthesis and a reduction in height. A greenhouse experiment was conducted and repeated twice with four rice varieties grown in either flooded or nearly-saturated aerobic soil, in either large or small pots. The rate of leaf appearance was recorded weekly until heading time, when plants were harvested for shoot and root biomass. The kinetics of leaf appearance was generally trilinear with longer phyllochrons in the May sowing. Pot size had only a small effect whereas aerobic soil conditions slowed down the rate of leaf initiation, which consequently delayed panicle initiation and heading date and thus increased the duration of the tillering phase and finally the number of tillers. Surprisingly, the four varieties showed a significant response to sowing date, especially IR72, which headed 21 days later and after the expansion of two more leaves in the May sowing. The aerobic soil conditions and sowing date have thus changed the rate of development of rice plants and this trait has appeared to be the initial link of a chain of consequences in a series of traits known to be affected by these factors.

A memory advantage for untrustworthy faces

Inferences of others’ social traits from their faces can influence how we think and behave towards them, but little is known about how perceptions of people’s traits may affect downstream cognitions, such as memory. Here we explored the relationship between targets’ perceived social traits and how well they were remembered following a single brief perception, focusing primarily on inferences of trustworthiness. In Study 1, participants encoded high-consensus trustworthy and untrustworthy faces, showing significantly better memory for the latter group. Study 2 compared memory for faces rated high and low on a series of traits (dominance, facial maturity, likeability, and trustworthiness), and found that untrustworthy and unlikeable faces were remembered best, with no differences for the other traits. Finally, Study 3 compared information about trustworthiness from facial appearance and from behavioral descriptions. Untrustworthy targets were remembered better than trustworthy targets both from behavior and faces, though the effects were significantly stronger for the latter. Faces perceived as untrustworthy therefore appear to be remembered better than faces perceived as trustworthy. Consistent with ecological theories of perception, cues to trustworthiness from facial appearance may thus guide who is remembered and who is forgotten at first impression.

Perceiving the target's state or state provoked by the target? An analysis of the descriptive and evaluative knowledge in person perception

In line with the theory of traits as generalized affordances, the present article argues that target's states (TSs) and states provoked by a target (other's states (OSs) towards target) are two components of the meaning of traits referring, respectively, to a descriptive and to an evaluative knowledge of people. A preliminary study confirmed that TS and OS were equally representative of a trait. Two studies were designed to study the effects of practising the use of traits as either TS or OS categories (an induction procedure) on a subsequent person perception task, requiring participants to rate photographed targets on a series of traits. Results show that both the differentiation between targets and evaluative consistency of ratings were enhanced under the OS condition compared to TS and control (with no practice of traits) conditions. Importantly, Study 2 tends to show that the effects of the induction procedure are not limited to the practised traits but also generalize to unpractised traits. Implications of these findings for social perception research are discussed.

The scent of the others: chemical recognition in two distinct populations of the European whip snake, Hierophis viridiflavus

Abstract Isolated populations of a given species may diverge from conspecifics for a certain series of traits. It is of particular interest when this divergence involves the signals and the related responses used by sexually reproducing animals to identify prospective mating partners. Using behavioural trials during reproductive season, we studied pheromone-mediated response between insular and mainland European whip snakes, Hierophis viridiflavus. Our results revealed that both insular and mainland males can utilise both homotypic and heterotypic chemical cues. However, while insular snakes did not show any preference between the two types of chemical cues, mainland males preferred homotypic odours. These results, though preliminarly, show the existence of asymmetry in the displayed behavioural patterns and support the idea that isolated populations may evolve differences in communication systems.

Two new species of Leydigia Kurz, 1875 (Chydoridae, Cladocera) from Spain

We describe two new species of Leydigia Kurz, 1875 (Chydoridae, Cladocera) from Spain. L. (Neoleydigia) iberica sp. nov. has a series of traits rarely observed in well-studied species of the subgenus L. (Neoleydigia), and never in this combination: (1) PP distance large; (2) numerous, low hillocks on preanal margin of postabdomen; (3) numerous setae in lateral fascicles on postabdomen, plus distalmost and next setae subequal in size; (4) sensory seta shifted to distal end of antenna I, but not so markedly as in L. microps; (5) fully setulated basal segment of distalmost scraper on limb III; (6) 5 setae on exopodite III. L (N.) korovchinskyi sp. nov. has seven setae on limb III exopodite, characteristic for only two species of the subgenus L. (Neoleydigia) Kotov, 2009, namely L. (N.) propinqua and L. (N.) microps, but the former differs from both latter taxa in: (1) absence of a “coarse” striation; (2) rounded apex of labral keel and (3) longer setae 34 of exopodite III. At this moment, each species was found in a single locality. Both species are rare and seem endemic of Iberian Peninsula (but may be found in some surrounded Mediterranean territories); they could be regarded as relicts sensu Korovchinsky (2006).

Build A Personal Leadership Brand to Advance Your Career

Build A Personal Leadership Brand to Advance Your Career

Understanding Resilience In South Australian Farm Families

Despite prolonged droughts over the last decade across rural South Australia the majority of farmers continue to farm. This research asks the questions, ‘what helps them to “get by”?’, and ‘does this mean that they are resilient?’. In this study, resilience implies a strengths-based approach to mental health and well-being whilst other drought response programs focus on identifying and responding to problems or deficits. In using resilience to understand mental health and wellbeing in farm families, we move beyond the perceptions that resilience is a series of traits or characteristics, which protect an individual from the impact of adversity. Instead, we view resilience as a systemic process embedded in the wider social contexts that enables individuals to make judgements and decisions for themselves, their families and their communities.

Women's Access to Managerial Positions: An Experimental Study of Leadership Styles and Gender

This study attempts to test one of the explanations of the scarce representation of women in managerial positions, specifically the one advanced by "role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders" (Eagly & Karau, 2002), which appeals to the fact that women get unfavorable evaluations if they adopt male-stereotypical leadership styles. One-hundred and thirty-six undergraduate students participated in an experiment with a 2 (Male-stereotypical vs. Female-stereotypical leadership style) x 2 (Male vs. Female leader) design. Dependent variables were leader's competence, efficacy, and evaluation in a series of traits. It was found that, regardless of sex, the leaders were considered more competent and efficient, and were evaluated more favorably, when they adopted stereotypically feminine leadership styles. Implications of these findings for women's underrepresentation as leaders in management top positions worldwide are discussed.

First record of Ciocalypta (Demospongiae: Halichondrida) from Brazil, southwestern Atlantic, with the description of a new species

A new species of Ciocalypta Bowerbank, 1862 is described from the coasts of Santa Catarina and São Paulo (Brazil), collected at depths of 12–25 m. The fistules have a glassy, translucent appearance, through which the central spicular axis is clearly visible. The megascleres are only oxeas. Colour of the fistules is white-yelowish alive, and whitish in alcohol. Its nearest relative in the Atlantic is C. penicillus from which it differs by a series of traits: smaller, less cavernous fistules, thinner secondary tracts of megascleres in the fistules, and possession of oxeas exclusively.

The relationship between maximum jumping performance and hind limb morphology/physiology in domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus).

A critical role of functional morphology is to demonstrate form-function relationships that can then be used by evolutionary biologists to infer the evolutionary history of the structure in question. Tests of theoretical expectations about the effects of many aspects of morphology/physiology on locomotor performance have had very mixed results. If systems such as jumping can be shown to reliably predict performance from morphology, this would provide a foundation upon which hypotheses for the evolutionary origin of certain morphologies can be generated. The present study examined whether a relationship exists between maximum takeoff velocity (TOV) and several carefully chosen morphological and physiological traits in domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus). Based on the contributions of extensor muscle work to increasing the kinetic and potential energy of the center of mass (CM) during takeoff, we predicted that maximum TOV would be dependent upon relative limb length, relative extensor muscle mass, body mass and the percentage of fast-twitch muscle fibers. Both maximum TOV and this series of traits were measured in 18 cats. We found that variation in cat maximum TOV is significantly explained by both hind limb length and fat mass relative to lean body mass, but not by extensor muscle mass relative to lean mass or fast-twitch fiber content. The effect of body fat mass is pervasive because it reduces the proportion of muscle mass/body mass and thus increases the muscle work invested in increasing the CM potential energy as compared with kinetic energy during takeoff.

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Exploring the Effects of Attractiveness on Perception of Harassment

This study was designed to explore the effect of attractiveness on perceptions of sexual harassment. Male and female college students (N = 150) rated four scenarios depicting ambiguous incidents of sexual harassment, each paired with photos of a male boss and a female secretary. Male and female attractiveness was varied in a 2 × 2 factorial design. Participants were asked to rate each photo on a series of traits before making harassment judgments. Overall, females perceived more harassment. The behavior of attractive males was less likely to be seen as harassing. Attractive females were more likely to be seen as harassed, especially when the potential harasser was unattractive. The possible mechanisms underlying the effects of attractiveness were explored with the results supporting a direct effect of stereotypes over a mediating role for implicit personality theories.

Modesty versus self-enhancement as alternative forms of ingratiation

Within the general framework of a competitive job-seeking task, subjects described themselves to a potential supervisor on a series of traits. For subjects in two ( dependence) conditions, these ratings were to serve the supervisor as the most important basis for determining who would be his high-paid assistant and who would be a low-paid clerical helper. Subjects in the third ( no dependence) condition believed that job assignments were determined by coin flip and the ratings were simply a means of getting acquainted with the supervisor. In one dependence condition ( supervisor-aware), the subjects believed that the supervisor was cognizant of his role in the assignment of subordinates. In the other dependence condition ( supervisor-unaware), the subjects were told that the supervisor actually determined job assignments by a simple statement of preference but thought job assignments were determined by coin flip. As predicted, subjects in the supervisor-aware condition were more inclined than supervisor-unaware subjects to be modest in their claims of personal attributes that reflect the judgments of others (e.g., “popular”). Subjects in both dependence conditions were less modest in claiming traits reflecting task competence than were control subjects. Further evidence indicates that dependent subjects with an aware supervisor went to greater lengths to establish the credibility of their ratings than other subjects did. Conclusion: While self-enhancement is the normal reaction to a condition of social dependence, the tendency to claim positive attributes is complicated and inhibited by the knowledge that the target person is aware of his relative power.