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Dunlap, The University of Alabama, USA ABSTRACT In the electrical and computer engineering (ECE) curriculum at The University of Alabama, freshmen are introduced to fundamental electrical concepts and units, DC circuit analysis techniques, operational amplifiers, circuit simulation, design, and professional ethics. The two credit course has both lecture and laboratory components that address these topics. The laboratory has been used, in this project, to provide students an experience in design. In one of the laboratory assignments, students work in teams to design and build products giving attention to both function and aesthetics. Creativity is an important attribute for engineers practicing their profession in a global society. The creative process was exercised in the design lab by progressively engaging students through various stages including: brainstorming, formation of a construction plan, producing schematic representations, and implementing their design. In a twoyear period, four laboratory exercises were developed to provide design experiences in our introductory ECE course. Assessment results show that the majority of students enjoy several aspects of the laboratory on design and creativity. At the same time, they consider this lab to be one of the most difficult ones due to its open-ended nature. Students who experienced the creative lab were somewhat more likely to state they would continue in their major. Overall, the project team concluded that the creative lab was valuable and did raise awareness of the creative process.

Using data from a unique series of surveys collected between 1963 and 2013, this study examines racial attitudes among young white adults in the Deep South over a 50‐year period. Repeated surveys of University of Alabama students in 1963, 1966, 1969, 1972, 1983, 1988, and 2013 measured racial stereotypes, support for racial segregation, and in the 2013 study, racial resentment and support for ameliorative racial policies. Analyses show that in the 1960s endorsement of racial stereotypes was a powerful predictor of support for racial segregation. By the early 1970s, racial integration became a reality in the Deep South and, paralleling broad trends in U.S. society, endorsement of racial stereotypes and support for racial segregation declined. Simultaneously, threats to whites' position in the form of ameliorative racial policies (including affirmative action) emerged along with racial resentment. By 2013, racial resentment, rather than racial stereotyping, was the primary determinant of white students' opposition to racial change. Our findings support Herbert Blumer's (1958) argument that racial prejudice exists in a sense of group position, and that it functions to preserve the advantaged position of the dominant group regardless of changes in the form that prejudice takes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to translate the evidence-based Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH) II intervention for use in 4 Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs). A secondary aim was to examine possible moderators of treatment outcome. Design and Methods: We used a quasi-experimental pre-post treatment design with no control group. A partnership was formed between the Alabama Department of Senior Services and the University of Alabama. The partnership trimmed the REACH II intervention used in the clinical trial for feasible use in a social service agency. The condensed REACH intervention, termed REACH OUT, was delivered to 272 dementia caregivers during 4 home visits and 3 phone calls for a period of 4 months. The assessment examined pre-post treatment effects on a number of outcomes, including care recipient risk, mood, memory, and behavior problems; caregiver stress and emotional well-being; caregiver health; and program satisfaction. All aspects of the program except for training, periodic consultation, and data analysis were controlled by the AAA staff. Results: Analyses were conducted on the 236 dyads that completed at least 3 of the 4 planned sessions. Significant positive pre-post effects were found on caregiver subjective burden, social support, caregiver frustration, depression, caregiver health, care recipient behavior problems and mood, and 2 of 4 care recipient risk behaviors. Site of intervention and certain participant characteristics (e.g., caregiver relationship) moderated several pre-post differences. A caregiver survey and interventionist focus group reported high acceptability of the program. Implications: This project suggests that the REACH II intervention can be modified for feasible and effective use in AAAs. The next step is to integrate the intervention into usual service delivery to achieve sustainability.

Interviewed 257 impoverished, urban public housing residents regarding how empowerment, sense of community, and neighboring behavior affected the likelihood of their engaging in discussion about community issues directly affecting their lives and the lives of their neighbors. Overall, sense of community and neighboring behaviors predicted discussion about local issues, with neighboring behaviors the most important. (Contains references.) (SM)

Purpose: The effectiveness of a novel intervention for increasing health and safety behaviors of older farmers was tested. Blending didactic and readers' theater techniques, Farm Dinner Theater (FDT) engages farmers in discussions of health and safety in a nonthreatening social atmosphere supportive of potential changes. Methods: Through community collaborations, farmers 45 years and older were recruited in 8 communities for the FDT. For each site, 3 scripts were prepared highlighting health and safety issues especially relevant for older farmers. The brief plays were performed in a dinner theater format, with group discussion following each play. Printed educational packets (EPs) addressing the same topics were mailed to comparison groups of participants in 9 communities. In telephone interviews conducted 2 weeks and 2 months later, 870 participants (553 FDT and 317 EP) reported health and safety‐related changes they had made in their farm operations. Findings: FDT participants were more likely than EP participants to report having made any changes and reported making more changes on both the 2‐week and 2‐month follow‐up assessments. This outcome occurred when analyzing all farms and when considering only farms with at least 1 participant who spent 10 or more hours per week farming. Conclusions: FDT is a fun, relaxing intervention; it is acceptable to farming communities; and it is more effective in producing health and safety‐related changes than the common approach of providing printed materials. FDT not only had a greater impact than EP, but it has the potential to reach larger audiences due to its greater appeal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory study compared Alabama welfare leavers from two types of rural counties with those from two types of metropolitan counties. It was based on telephone interviews conducted during the summer of 1999 with a random sample of 4 16 people who had left TANF between July and November 1998. There were no statistically significant differences among leavers by county type in the likelihood they were employed and, if employed, in the rate of pay, number of hours worked weekly, or the types of benefits available at the job. Although many respondents no longer received benefits they had received while on TANF (Medicaid, Food Stamps, help receiving child support), county type was unrelated to losing such benefits. There was some suggestion that those residing in persistent poverty counties might have a harder time reaching self sufficiency that those residing in other rural counties. These results must be interpreted with caution due to the exploratory nature of the study and the relatively positive economic climate existing when the data were gathered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two formats of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) Scales were administered to 54 college students. Each subject completed the MHLC Scales in the standard 6-level response format (ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree) and in a revised 2-level format (ranging from disagree to agree). Comparisons of internal consistency measures, principal components, and classification of subjects into groups indicate that the 2-level response format yields comparable data to those obtained with the 6-level format, particularly when classification of subjects is the goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Schopler and Layton (1972b) framework for influence attributions was employed to investigate the effects of two factors on attributions of influence. Participants were either agents or observers of an influence attempt, which was followed by a target's compliance, noncompliance or countercompliance. The results supported predictions that influence attributed to the agent (by both agent and observer) would be highest following compliance, moderate following countercompliance, and lowest following noncompliance. Agent-observer differences in attributions occurred only in conditions of target compliance, in which agents attributed more influence to themselves than did the observers, as predicted. The results suggest the need to include undesired changes in a target as an aspect of interpersonal influence processes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]