Scientific discourses are rhetorical constructs for interpreting, articulating, and coordinating the bits of information and knowledge produced by science. Discourses also help scientific communities promote and advocate particular strategies for action. A review of the literature on ecological integrity has led us to identify four scientific discourses: (1) Wilderness-Normative, (2) Systemic-N...

This study is to fill up a research gap on examining the differences in normative beliefs (namely acceptance of weaknesses, acceptance of provoked aggression, and acceptance of unprovoked aggression) among different subtypes of aggressors and non-aggressors (reactive aggressors, proactive aggressors, reactive-proactive aggressors, and non-aggressors). 2,236 students (1,372 males and 864 females...

CONTEXT Limited studies, particularly in Australia, are aimed at understanding young people's beliefs about organ donation. Identification of such beliefs may serve to increase donation decision registration and decision discussion rates among this age cohort. OBJECTIVES To examine young adults' knowledge about organ donation and to use a theory of planned behavior framework to determine the ...

OBJECTIVE Studies suggest that American Muslim women underutilize mammography. While religion has a strong influence upon Muslim health behaviors, scant research has examined how religion-related beliefs inform Muslim women's intention for mammography. Our study identifies and examines such beliefs. METHODS Muslim women aged 40 years and older sampled from mosques participated in focus groups...

This paper addresses the problem of norm adaptation using Bayesian reinforcement learning. We are concerned with the effectiveness of adding prior domain knowledge when facing environments with different settings as well as with the speed of adapting to a new environment. Individuals develop their normative framework via interaction with their surrounding environment (including other individual...

Humans often change their beliefs or behavior due to the behavior or opinions of others. This study explored, with the use of human event-related potentials (ERPs), whether social conformity is based on a general performance-monitoring mechanism. We tested the hypothesis that conflicts with a normative group opinion evoke a feedback-related negativity (FRN) often associated with performance mon...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Use of nutrition labels in food selection is recommended for consumers. The aim of this study is to examine factors, mainly beliefs explaining nutrition label use in female college students based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). SUBJECTS/METHODS The subjects were female college students from a university in Seoul, Korea. The survey questionnaire was composed of i...

OBJECTIVE To identify beliefs associated with seeking medical advice promptly when symptoms of HIV infection are suspected among HIV-negative gay men. DESIGN Qualitative study of beliefs among focus group participants. SETTING Quebec city, Que, metropolitan area. PARTICIPANTS Referred sample of 20 HIV-negative gay men 18 to 45 years old who attended bars, university, or gay associations i...

Much social behavior is predicated upon assumptions an actor makes about the knowledge, beliefs and motives of others. To note just a few examples, coordinated behavior of the kind found in bargaining and similar structured interactions (Dawes, McTavish, & Shaklee, 1977; Schelling, 1960) requires that participants plan their own moves in anticipation of what their partners' moves are likely to ...

OBJECTIVES To compare normative beliefs about sexual health in young men and women from black Caribbean, black African, and white ethnic groups in order to better understand ethnic inequalities in sexual health. METHODS Focus group discussions with young people living in an area with known high prevalence of gonorrhoea and chlamydia. Groups were stratified by sex and self defined ethnicity. ...