bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Facies Characterization and Architecture of a Muddy Shelf-Sandstone Complex
Authors: Cole Rex D. , Young Robert G.
Published: November 2010

The Mancos B interval of the Upper Cretaceous Mancos Shale is represented by up to 372 m of thinly interstratified clays tone, siltstone, and very fine- to fine-grained sandstone deposited offshore, below storm-wave base, in the Western Interior Seaway. The Mancos B is best developed along Douglas Creek Arch in western Colorado and eastern Utah, where it is a major producer of natural gas and a minor producer of oil.

Combined stratigraphic and sedimentologic data suggest that the Mancos B is a regressive prodelta-plume complex genetically related to deltaic systems active along the western shoreline of the seaway. In outcrop and subsurface cores, the Mancos B is characterized by lenticular, cyclic, upward-coarsening parasequences, ranging in thickness from 2 to 32 m, and composed of five main lithofacies: silty claystone, sandstone-claystone, sandy siltstone, bioturbated muddy sandstone, and sandy dolomite (as beds and concretions). Sedimentary structures include horizontal lamination, wavy lamination, lenticular bedding, flaser bedding, ripple lamination, and horizontal lamination. Paleocurrent measurements indicate an average sediment-transport direction to the southeast (111°). Trace fossils are characteristic of the Cruziana ichnofacies. Lateral lithofacies variations in Mancos B parasequences are characterized by transitions from bioturbated muddy sandstone lithofacies into sandstone-claystone lithofacies then into sandy siltstone or silty claystone lithofacies. Horizons of sandy dolomite lithofacies cap most parasequences and represent periods of low sedimentation.
Isolated Shallow Marine Sand Bodies
Authors: Snedden John W. , Bergman Katherine M.
Published: November 2010

Isolated shallow marine sand bodies detached from coeval coastal deposits and encased in marine mudstone have been a focus of research and exploration in sedimentary geology for over 30 years. Yet, their origin and occurrence continues to spark debate and motivate explorationists interested in accessing the hydrocarbons within these reservoirs. Interpretations of these complex and enigmatic sand bodies have evolved from genetic models based on physical and biological sedimentary structures to regional sequence stratigraphic models invoking allocyclic processes. This evolution of interpretation parallels the stepwise progression of sedimentary geology as a whole. The Shannon Sandstone of Wyoming is a well-documented example of this type of sand body that was originally interpreted as a shelf sand ridge on the basis of sedimentary structures and external geometry. Addition of local and regional stratigraphic studies have generated new ideas involving incised shoreface and estuarine valley-fill models. Determination of the correct model is critical, as the various interpretations imply significant differences in exploration approach and production characteristics.
The Shannon Sandstone
Authors: Tillman Roderick W.
Published: November 2010

The Shannon sandstones in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming have been interpreted by Tillman and Martinsen and others as having been deposited as sand-ridge complexes during transgression on a wide shelf in the Western Interior Seaway, which stretched from Alaska to Mexico in early Campanian time. In recent papers by other workers, the Shannon is interpreted to be a series of incised lowstand shoreface deposits or estuarine valley-fill deposits. The sand-ridge complexes are considered by different workers to have been deposited in a variety of sequence stratigraphic settings ranging from regression to sea level still-stand to transgression. The shelf sand-ridge model infers offshore deposition, possibly as far as 110-160 km from shore at middle shelf depths by south to south-southwest-flowing, shore-oblique currents intensified frequently by storms. A probable source of sediments for the ridges probably does not include shoreline sandstones to the west, but instead the Eagle Sandstone deltaic deposits of southern Montana which he 320 km to the north-northwest.

A model inferring that Hartzog Draw Field, a major Shannon sandstone oil producer, is a remnant of several sequence boundary incisions was recently developed by the current operators of the field. They recognize a sequence boundary at the base of the Shannon and two sequence boundaries within the Shannon. They infer that deposition of the Shannon is primarily by tidal processes. The incisions at the sequence boundaries are projected to cover tens of km laterally and if these are truly incisions they are believed by this author to have formed large open bays. To accommodate the presence of marine fossils that occur below, above, and between the thick fine- to coarse-grained Shannon Sandstone accumulations, where they occur on the Salt Creek anticline, several abrupt changes in sea-level would be required prior to, during, and following Shannon deposition.

A third model has been developed by Canadian authors who have used shoreface models developed for the Cretaceous in Alberta, Canada to explain the Shannon. Their model infers that the Shannon sandstones are a series of lowstand incised shorefaces.

This paper gives a historical perspective of interpretations of the Shannon during the last 25 years. The pros and cons of the various models are considered, and some of the problems with each model are discussed.
Shannon Sandstone of the Powder River Basin
Authors: Swift Donald J.P. , Parsons Brian S.
Published: November 2010

The Shannon Sandstone, consisting of cross-stratified, heterolithic sandstone and thin-bedded sandstone-shale alternations, is a sedimentary complex of ambiguous origin. It lies seemingly "encased in marine shale," far from its time-equivalent shoreline. It has been interpreted as a shelf sand ridge complex, as a detached lowstand wedge, and as a low-stand, deltaic valley fill. The Shannon Sandstone has experienced one of the higher rates of "paradigm shift" seen within the field of stratigraphy, as successive generations have tested it for successively popular depositional models.

Interpretation of the Shannon is best undertaken in the context of a three-fold family of Cretaceous marine sandstones. Class I Sandstones cap the progradational tongues of the Cretaceous cliff-forming sandstones. They are cross-stratified with shore-normal paleocurrent orientations, high in angular deviation, have clear tidal signatures, and are of transgressive, estuarine, valley-fill origin. Class II Sandstones exhibit high-angle to hummocky cross-stratification, are amalgamated to discretely bedded, and in the latter case exhibit shore-normal, sole markings with low angular deviations. Class III Sandstones exhibit high-angle cross-stratification, low angular deviation, along-shore (southerly) paleocurrent orientations, and are enriched in intrabasinal components (phosphatic, sideritic, and glauconitic nodules). They are of transgressive, open-marine origin, and in at least some cases were deposited as sand ridges. While the paleontological evidence appears to be contradictory, the highly glauconitic phases of the Shannon provide an insurmountable problem for the lowstand shoreface, and lowstand deltaic models. Both the high glauconite content and the along-shore paleocurrent pattern point to a shelfal origin for the Class III Sandstones as a group, and for the Shannon in particular.

A generic depositional model for the Class III Shannon Sandstone can be salvaged from elements common to the diverse explanations that have been offered, and by abandoning contradictory elements. In this synthesis, the Shannon Sandstone is considered to exhibit lithologies, textures, and structures indicative of transgressive deposition in a shallow open marine setting; both estuarine and outer shelf settings are rejected. The pattern of distribution is an inherited one; it is the consequence of in situ reworking of sediment delivered to the site of deposition by other means. However, the result is not a simple, band-like "stranded lowstand shoreline." In the subsurface the Shannon lenses coalesce into a broad sheet of backstepping sand bodies.
Campanian Shannon Sandstone
Authors: Bergman Katherine M. , Walker Roger G.
Published: November 2010

Recent interpretations of the lower Campanian Shannon Sandstone in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming have suggested that it was deposited in incised shorefaces of the falling stage and lowstand systems tracts rather than in offshore stacked shelf ridge complexes. A complete high resolution stratigraphic analysis of the Shannon requires that outcrops in the Bighorn and Powder River Basin be correlated with subsurface fields basinward. In the Hartzog Draw area where there is good core control, a consistent pattern of facies and erosion surfaces can be defined. From this pattern a template was constructed that could be used to interpret depositional patterns in uncored areas. The template consists of a regressive surface of erosion (RSE) that forms the base of an incised shoreface sandbody and a transgressive surface of erosion (TSE) that truncates the top of the sandbody and the RSE. Applying the template to the cross section suggests that six progradational successions and six transgressions can be defined within the Shannon. Positions of the RSEs and TSEs allow estimates of the magnitude of relative sea level fluctuations that controlled Shannon deposition (a few meters to 60 m). The correlations are consistent with the interpretation of the Shannon as incised shoreface sandbodies of falling stage and lowstand systems tracts, separated by mudstone deposits of the following transgressive systems tract.
An Expanded Model for Modern Shelf Sand Ridge Genesis and
Evolution on the New Jersey Atlantic Shelf
Authors: Snedden John W. , Kreisa Ronald D. , Tillman Roderick W. , Culver Stephen J. , Schweller William J.
Published: November 2010

The stepwise genesis and evolution of modern shelf sand ridges are investigated through chronostratigraphic analysis of four separate study sites on the New Jersey Atlantic shelf, ranging in depth from less than 4 meters (shoreface-attached ridge) to over 45 meters (detached ridge). Radiocarbon age-dated vibracores and high-resolution seismic surveys facilitated construction of a series of chronostratigraphic cross-sections of these 1 by 5 km-scale and greater ridges, which can range in vertical thickness to 10 meters. These data provide compelling support to an earlier morphodynamic model suggesting that shoreface-attached ridges may originate from ebb-tidal deltas and eventually detach from the shoreline during coastal transgression. A key element of the morphodynamic model involves cutting of the adjacent swale by an obliquely migrating tidal-inlet channel.

However, notable yet transitional differences exist between shoreface, nearshore, and offshore ridges in terms of age, microfaunal content, bathymetric profile, and cross-sectional area. This implies that ridges change considerably following coastal detachment. During this final phase, which we term ridge evolution, the ridges may migrate, change orientations, and possibly cannibalize earlier ridge and inlet-channel-fill complexes. This stage may be the most important in terms of what is preserved in the sedimentary record. Understanding the dynamic nature of these long-lived, transgressive shelf sand ridges may help resolve some of the debate regarding analogous ancient, stratigraphically-isolated marine sand bodies.
Sedimentary Facies and Genesis of Holocene Sand Banks on the East
Texas Inner Continental Shelf
Authors: Rodriguez Antonio B. , Anderson John B. , Siringan Fernando P. , Taviani Marco
Published: November 2010

Sediment cores and high-resolution seismic and side-scan sonar data were collected from four shelf banks on the east Texas inner continental shelf. Sabine, Heald, Shepard, and Thomas banks all have similar sediment facies, structure, and genesis. The banks are composed of three facies (top to bottom): A) an interbedded shell hash and sand unit; B) a muddy-sand unit characterized by a seaward-prograding and chaotic seismic facies, and C) an interbedded sand and mud unit characterized by landward-dipping seismic reflectors. These three sediment facies represent amalgamated storm beds, lower-shoreface or ebb-tidal delta, and back-barrier/flood-tidal delta environments respectively. Facies B and C were deposited during a time of relatively slow sea-level rise and were stranded on the shelf during a rapid sea-level rise. Facies A is the result of storms and wind-driven currents reworking the paleoshoreline deposits on the shelf. The banks are drowned paleo-shorelines restricted to the area above and immediately adjacent to the Trinity and Sabine incised fluvial valleys. This association is explained by the greater thickness of sands within the valleys (larger sources of sands), greater accommodation space, and greater subsidence rate within the valleys (greater preservation potential).
Sediment Transport in the Western Interior Seaway of North
America
Authors: Slingerland Rudy , Keen Hmothy R.
Published: November 2010

Whether from the foreshore, shoreface, shelf, or incised esruarine valleys, sedimentary deposits along the western edge of the Western Interior seaway quite uniformly record southerly directed paleoflows. Cardium Formation shoreface gravels at Willesden Green, Alberta, decrease in clast size to the southeast. Isoliths outlining clastic wedges, such as the Chalk Creek, are recurved to the south. Large-scale cross-strata in rocks considered to be either shelf sand ridges or detached shorefaces, such as the Kakwa and Musreau Members of the Cardium Formation and the Straight Cliffs Formation of southwestern Utah, indicate southerly directed paleocurrents. Estuarine incised valley-fills trend south or southeast, reflecting a high-stand shelf topography inherited by rivers as they cut across the inner shelf in response to a high-order sea-level drop. To explain this uniformity we conducted two numerical experiments that predict circulation and sediment transport paths in the seaway in response to 1) mean annual atmospheric forcing and 2) the passage of a mid-latitude winter storm. The mean annual forcing for the early Turonian is computed by GENESIS, an NCAR global climate model; the cyclone is computed using an idealized hurricane model. For the mean annual experiment, circulation of the seaway is computed using a three-dimensional, turbulent flow, coastal ocean model under the following initial and boundary conditions: 1) paleobathymetry according to a new interpretation of the litho- and bio-stratigraphy for the early Turonian; 2) fresh water runoff and precipitation-evaporation magnitudes as computed by GENESIS; 3) temperatures and salinities of the Boreal and Tethys Oceans based on GENESIS atmospheric temperatures; and 4) mean annual and daily wind stresses computed by GENESIS. For the storm experiment, circulation is forced solely by wind stresses.

Results show that these boundary conditions combine to produce a basin-wide counterclockwise gyre that arises from Coriolis acceleration acting on runoff jets trapped along the coast, abetted by latitudinal temperature and salinity gradients and a north-south, wind shear-couple. Individual storm events reverse the general circulation locally, but summed over a storm's duration, the storm-driven fluid and sediment transport augments the mean-annual transport of the gyre. Thus, net sediment transport directions along the western margin of the seaway, both on the shelf and in the wave-driven littoral zone, were southerly because the mean annual wind field, latitudinal temperature gradient, and fresh water runoff from land created a background circulation consisting of southerly geostrophic flow there. In addition, counterclockwise rotating, mid-latitude cyclonic storms passing southeastward over the central seaway drove a net southerly littoral drift in the foreshore and shore-parallel geostrophic flows whose net sediment transport was southerly. Along the eastern margin the computed shelf and littoral transport was to the north.
Linear Transgressive Shoreface Sandbodies Controlled by
Fluctuations of Relative Sea Level
Authors: Burton Jamie , Walker Roger G.
Published: November 2010

The Viking Formation in the Joffre-Fenn area consists of 1) a lower succession of regionally extensive, stacked, sandier-upward successions of open marine to shoreface bioturbated sandy mudstone and muddy sandstone, overlain by 2) a series of long, narrow, linear sandbodies with controversial depositional environments. The lower extensive successions are cut by several bounding discontinuities (BD surfaces). Following the first major drop of relative sea level, BD1 represents a surface of marine transgression, and during a pause in transgression, a shoreface succession prograded northeastward. The succession between BD1 and the next surface BD2 IT (IT = initial transgression) or BD2 RT (RT = resumed transgression) comprises the oil-producing sandbody in the Fenn area. A second major drop in relative sea level was followed by a second transgression on surface BD2 IT. In this paper we contrast our interpretation of prograding shoreface deposits with that of J. MacEachern et al. (2, this volume). They have interpreted the main Joffre sandbody as a series of northeast-prograding bayhead deltas that built into a lagoon, barred to the northeast. Whatever its environment, the sandbody was truncated by a resumed rise of relative sea level, forming surface BD2 RT. The linear sandbody at Joffre (a shoreface in our interpretation) dies out southeastward along-strike, and it appears to be a coincidence that Fenn (producing from the BD1-BD2 IT or RT interval) is exactly along-strike from Joffre, where oil production is from the BD2 IT-BD2 RT interval. We suggest that the linear sandbodies in the Joffre-Fenn area are neither ridges, wedges, nor tongues. Exact depositional environments are controversial. This paper examines the reasoning behind the different interpretations, and shows that sandbodies exactly along-strike from each other are not necessarily at the same stratigraphic horizon.
Cretaceous Sussex Sandstone in House Creek Field (Wyoming, Usa):
Transgressive Incised Shoreface Deposits
Authors: Bergman Katherine M.
Published: November 2010

The Upper Cretaceous Sussex Sandstone at House Creek field (Powder River Basin, Wyoming) has previously been interpreted as a prograding succession of sandstones that were transported southeastward by currents along a relatively shallow marine shelf. These sandstones were deposited many tens of kilometers seaward of the shoreline and a few tens of kilometers from the inferred shelf-slope break. Sand was believed to have been reworked by shelf processes into an offshore bar complex. This interpretation poses difficult problems and fails to account for several of the features observed in the Sussex including 1) pebbly sandstone, 2) stratigraphic variability of the sandstone, 3) erosional base and top of the Sussex and 4) regionally extensive depositional discontinuities marked by juxtapositions of facies, eroded mudstone clasts, glauconite and chert pebbles. These features suggest that fluctuations in rates of relative sea level change were important during Sussex deposition.

In the House Creek area, the base of the Sussex is a shallow northwesterly dipping planar surface with respect to the lower silry marker and is characterized by the abrupt appearance of interbedded sandstone and bioturbated mudstone on top of black mudstone. Burrows of the Glossifungites ichnofacies commonly occur along this contact. The top of the Sussex is marked by an abrupt change from pebbly sandstone to conglomerate which passes upward through pebbly bioturbated sandstone and pervasively bioturbated pebbly mudstone into laminated black mudstone.

The presence of erosional discontinuities in the Sussex Sandstone is suggested by 1) a sharp basal erosion surface that truncates underlying parasequences in the Cody Shale, 2) burrows of the Glossifungites ichnofacies at the basal contact, 3) lateral continuity of the individual facies contained between the discontinuity surfaces, 4) abrupt vertical facies changes and the association of glauconite, chert pebbles and mudstone rip-up clasts with these changes, 5) stratigraphic variability of the sandstones and 6) erosional termination of sandstone deposition and progradation. These discontinuities are characterized by an erosional escarpment with steeper landward margins that flatten basinward. This geometry and the linearity of the overlying sandstone contained in these erosional escarpments suggest incised shoreface deposits. These asymmetrical escarpments and their overlying sandstone form a rerrogradarional stacking pattern suggesting shoreface incision during an overall transgression. The Sussex Sandstone in the House Creek area is reinterpreted here as six back stepping incised shoreface deposits for med during a transgression punctuated by periods of decreased rates of relative rise and/or relative stillstand
The Shannon Sandstone and Isolated Linear Sand Bodies:
Interpretations and Realizations
Authors: Suter John R. , Clifton H. Edward
Published: November 2010

Isolated linear sand bodies in the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway have been remarkably resistant to a consensus interpretation. The best known of these deposits is the Shannon Sandstone, the primary focus of this volume and the SEPM Research Conference from which it derived. Our purpose in this summary paper is to attempt an objective evaluation of the various interpretations for the Shannon, given our own backgrounds, experience, and resultant biases. We are not charged with coming up with our own model for this enigmatic deposit and its isolated linear sand body siblings. We compare and find substantial differences in the investigators' perceptions of the Shannon in outcrop in the Salt Creek anticline area in northeastern Wyoming and in the subsurface in the relatively nearby Hartzog Draw Field. We examine their interpretations in light of modern analogues and paleogeographic constraints and conclude that no interpretation proposed to date adequately explains all aspects of the Shannon. We suspect that the Shannon Sandstone may be more complex than previously thought and that a single interpretation may not be sufficient to explain the whole system. We also came away with renewed respect for the principle of multiple working hypotheses.
Overview of Carbonate Platform Sequences, Cycle Stratigraphy and Reservoirs in Greenhouse and Ice-House Worlds
Authors: Read J.F.
Published: November 2010

In this part we will examine in general terras how carbonate cycles are generated on carbonate platforms, types of carbonate cycles developed, stacking patterns, margin geometries, degree of disconformity development, and briefly overview any characteristic diagenetic effects. In order to do this, a brief review of controls on carbonate deposition, platform types, and sequence stratigraphy is given. This is followed by discussions of cycle development in greenhouse, transitional and icehouse worlds with brief examination of examples. I would like to emphasize that our understanding of climatic forcing of the cyclic stratigraphic record is still simplistic, and any of the models presented are tentative, and certainly will be modified and refined in the future.

Part 2 (by Charlie Kerans) will examine cycles and one- and two-dimensional stacking patterns, high resolution stratigraphy, and reservoir geometry on Late Permian platforms in the Permian Basin of West Texas, using examples and exercises from Guadalupe Mt. outcrops, and outcrop and core data from a major Permian reservoir. The Late Permian examples typically reflect relatively low amplitude sea level fluctuations, following collapse of the Permo-Carboniferous ice-sheets. Part 3 (by Jim Weber, Rick Sarg and Frank Wright) will examine reservoirs formed in an ice-house world during the major Carboniferous glaciation of Gondwana, using the Middle Pennsylvanian carbonates of the Giant Aneth oil field, Paradox Basin, Utah. Again, outcrop and subsurface data are used to develop a regional sequence stratigraphic framework, and the controls on facies development and reservoir quality of these stratified reservoirs examined.
Use of One- and Two-Dimensional Cycle Analysis in Establishing High-Frequency Sequence Frameworks
Authors: Kerans Charles
Published: November 2010

The central goal of this contribution is to development new methods for describing and modeling carbonate reservoirs. This pair of exercises focuses on establishing a high-resolution sequence framework for shallow-water platform-top carbonate reservoir strata and, for these specific examples, mixed-carbonate-clastic successions. The scale of particular interest is that of several thousand feet laterally and several hundred feet vertically, a scale useful in reservoir description and modeling.

Specific topics for this discussion will be the development of a sequence stratigraphic framework that integrates observations from core, wireline logs, and outcrop analogs. This approach is similar to that applied by Van Wagoner et al (1988, 1990) for siliciclastic reservoirs. It downplays the emphasis on stratal geometry, the dominant player in seismically oriented sequence stratigraphy, putting it on par with other sequence stratigraphic tools, including cycle hierarchy, cycle stacking (both thickness and symmetry), facies proportions, and facies tract offset.
Nonlinear Dynamics and Fractals
Authors: Middleton Gerard V. , Plotnick Roy E. , Rubin David M.
Published: November 2010

The intention of these notes is to provide sedimentary geologists with an introduction to the new techniques for analyzing experimental and observational data provided by the rapid development of those disciplines generally known as Fractals and Nonlinear Dynamics (chaos theory). A general introduction to a minimum of theory is given, but most of the space is devoted to show how these ideas are useful for interpreting sedimentary data. The main applications are likely to be time series or spatial profiles or two-dimensional maps or images. Sedimentary geologists deal every day with actual time series, such as measurements of current velocity or suspended concentration at a station, or with virtual time series, such as stratigraphic sections, well logs, or topographic profiles yet few geologists know much about the new numerical techniques available to analyze such data.
Time Series Analysis I
Authors: Plotnick Roy E. , Prestegaard Karen L.
Published: November 2010

As discussed in Chapter 1, time series whose power spectra exhibit 1/∫ dependency (1/∫, flicker, or pink noise) have long been known to be ubiquitous in natural and experimental systems (Mandelbrot and Wallis, 1968, 1969a, b; Schroeder, 1991). For example, this behavior has been recognized in turbulent velocity fluctuation as measured in laboratory flumes (Nordin et al., 1972; Mollo-Christensen, 1973; Nowell, 1978). Mandelbrot and Wallis (1968, 1969a, b) demonstrated that fractional Brownian motions and discrete fractional Gaussian noises provide mathematical models for these 1/∫ noises (see Chapter 1). In addition, the last few years have witnessed renewed attempts to produce general physical models, such as self-organized criticality (SOC), to explain this behavior (Bak and Chen, 1989; Chapter 2, this volume). In addition to spectral analysis, other techniques, such as rescaled range, autocorrelation, and geostatistics have been applied to the analysis of fractal series. In this chapter we describe these methods and illustrate their use in the analysis of real and synthetic data sets with fractal structure.
Time Series Analysis II
Authors: Middleton Gerard V.
Published: November 2010

Most methods of analysing time series carry out the numerical analysis on the time series itself. This is because the investigator is basically interested in the variable x = f(t) that has actually been measured. But an alternative approach is to suppose that the variable that was measured is merely one of several that might be measured as output from a dynamical system, which might indeed be better characterized using some other variable. For example, fluid converting in a box might be characterized by a probe measuring temperature or velocity at one point in the box, or by some other measurement, as a function of time. If the governing equations for the system are not known, it is also not possible to identify the fundamental variables which should be measured, or even how many of them there are. In this case, one might think that it is impossible to use measurements made on a single, arbitrarily chosen variable to reconstruct any important properties of the full multidimensional system. As we have seen, it is generally not even clear from simply examining the output x, whether or not the system producing x is stochastic or a nonlinear dynamical system of relatively low dimension.

But if, in fact, the signal is a product of a low dimension deterministic system then it turns out that it is possible to reconstruct all the major topological properties of the system, by a technique known as embedding. The basic idea seems to have been discovered independently
On the Relationship between Meaning in Life and Boredom Proneness: Examining a Logotherapy Postulate
Authors: Melton Amanda M. A. , Schulenberg Stefan E.
Published: November 2010

Logotherapy, developed by Viktor Frankl, posits that when one lacks meaning in life, boredom can result. Thus, the two constructs should be inversely related. To examine this relationship, 279 students ( M = 19.8 yr., SD = 2.6; 179 women, 98 men) from a university in the southern United States were administered the Purpose of Life test and the Boredom Proneness Scale. As expected, a statistically significant negative correlation was found between the scores on the two scales ( r = -.71). Directions for research are offered.
Validation of the Norwegian Version of Hayes Ability Screening Index for Mental Retardation
Authors: Søndenaa Erik , Bjørgen Tale Gjertine , Nøttestad Jim Aage
Published: November 2010

The Hayes Ability Screening Index was developed primarily to provide a short, effective screening test to indicate possible mental retardation amongst persons who come in contact with the criminal justice system. This study examined the validity of a Norwegian version in a sample of 73 subjects. 45 were male and 28 were female ( M = 33.3 yr, SD=12.5; range = 17 to 60 years) consecutively selected from patients referred for neuropsychological examination. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III) was the criterion of validity. The correlation of .81 between scores on the WAIS-III and the Hayes Index was significant. At a stated cut-off score of 85, the sensitivity was 100% and specificity 57%. A suggested alternative cut-off score of 81 obtained a sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 72%. These results indicate that the Hayes Ability Screening Index is a useful, valid, and time-saving tool for screening of mental retardation for the Norwegian population.
Employees' Communication Attitudes and Dislike for Working in a Group
Authors: Madlock Paul E. , Kennedy-Lightsey Carrie D. , Myers Scott A.
Published: November 2010

This study examined 128 working adults' attitudes of tolerance for disagreement, tolerance for ambiguity, and argumentativeness in relation to their dislike for working in a group. They completed the Revised Tolerance for Disagreement Scale, the Multiple Stimulus Types Ambiguity Tolerance Scale, the Argumentativeness Scale, and the Grouphate Scale. Dislike for working in a group correlated negatively with Tolerance for Disagreement ( r = -.28, p>.01, r2 = .08), Tolerance for Ambiguity ( r = -.21, p>.05, r2 = .04), and Argumentativeness ( r = -.21, p>.05, r2 = .04). Although these correlations are in the expected directions, magnitudes are very weak; unaccounted for variance should be examined.
Exploring Relations of Wellness and Athletic Coping Skills of Collegiate Athletes: Implications for Sport Performance
Authors: Von Guenthner Shannon , Hammermeister Jon
Published: November 2010

In exploring the relationship between wellness and athletic performance, this study assessed the link between wellness, as defined by a high score on five wellness dimensions of emotional, social, spiritual, intellectual, and physical well-being, with psychological variables thought to be related to athletic performance as measured by athletes' self-report of specific athletic coping skills. 142 collegiate athletes completed a survey composed of the Optimal Living Profile to measure wellness dimensions and the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory to measure specific psychological variables. Analysis indicated that athletes scoring higher on the dimensions of wellness also scored significantly higher on athletic coping skills. Specifically, male athletes who scored higher on wellness also reported higher scores on coachability, concentration, goal setting/mental preparation, and peaking under pressure, and female athletes who scored higher on wellness also reported higher scores in coping with adversity, coachability, concentration, goal setting/mental preparation, and freedom from worry. Various dimensions of wellness seem related to better performance by involving the athletic coping skills of intercollegiate athletes. Implications for coaches and sport psychologists are also discussed.
Anti-Intellectualism and Political Ideology in a Sample of Undergraduate and Graduate Students
Authors: Laverghetta Antonio , Stewart Juliana , Weinstein Lawrence
Published: November 2010

To estimate correlations for scores on a student anti-intellectualism scale with scores on a measure of political conservatism, 235 students were given a survey containing a student anti-intellectualism scale, a political conservatism scale, and a demographics questionnaire identifying the participants' sex, college classification, ethnicity, political party affiliation, and self-described political ideology. The political conservatism scale contained two factors, Religiosity and Economic Conservatism, both of which were scored separately in addition to an overall Conservatism score. Students' Anti-intellectualism scores were correlated with Political Conservatism scores ( r = .37, p<.01), with Religiosity scores ( r = .42, p<.01), and with Economic Conservatism scores ( r = .17, p<.05). An analysis of variance indicated a significant difference in students' Anti-intellectualism scores based on college classification ( F4,233 = 2.27, p<.04). Specifically, freshman had significantly higher scores than graduate students.
Relations of Humor with Perceptions of Stress
Authors: Mauriello Matthew , McConatha Jasmin Tahmaseb
Published: November 2010

Humor has cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components but may be conceptualized as a multidimensional personality trait, comprised of both negative and positive dimensions and styles. Sense of humor may influence other evaluations of life, including perception of stress. Analysis of responses from 51 community adults and 131 undergraduates in psychology, nonrepresentative, random samples, indicated that styles of humor were correlated with self-perception of perceived stress; the largest correlations account for less than 50% of the common variance. Results are discussed in terms of their theoretical links to coping literature, potential for therapeutic interventions, and areas for research.
Positive Behavioral Intervention in Children who Were Wards of the Court Attending a Mainstream School
Authors: Navarro Jose I. , Aguilar Manuel , Aguilar Concepcion , Alcalde Concepcion , Marchena Esperanza
Published: November 2010

This report looked at the effects of treatment using contingency contracts and token economy procedures in three children, two 14 yr. and one 8 yr., who were wards of the court and attending a mainstream school. Students presented problems of adaptation to school, such as making constant noises with the mouth, hands, or pencil on the desk; frequently emitted raucous cries in the classroom; destruction of school resource materials; verbal aggression to classmates and teachers; verbal rejection of all academic work, refusing to do it, making negative comments prior to starting any school activity, in addition to lack of motivation for undertaking school activities. A 4-mo. individual treatment using contingency contracts and token economy behavioral procedures was implemented, with several follow-up sessions. The results indicated an adaptation of behavior to the school environment, confirmed by teachers, significantly reducing the incidence of insults, the destruction of school materials, and indolence during class sessions. These students are at high risk for social exclusion. Interventions have potential social importance in possible prevention of adult criminality, increasing academic achievement, and decreasing social exclusion.
Congruence between Adolescents' Self-Reports and Their Adult Retrospective Reports regarding Parental Discipline Practices during Their Adolescence
Authors: White Helene Raskin , Widom Cathy Spatz , Chen Ping-Hsin
Published: November 2010

The congruence between adolescents' self-reports and their adult retrospective reports of parental discipline practices and physical abuse in adolescence was examined. A community sample of adolescents was recruited in 1979 through 1981 by a randomized telephone screening for a longitudinal study of adolescent development. These 104 men and 190 women ( N = 359) were interviewed in person five times between the ages of 12 and 30 to 31 years about a variety of topics, including parental discipline and physical abuse. Analysis indicated only fair agreement on reports of discipline practices and physical abuse (most kappas between .2 and .4). Current life status, including depression, drug problems, and life dissatisfaction, was related to adult retrospective reports of physical abuse for both men and women. Research is needed to identify how best to obtain accurate histories of childhood maltreatment.
The Correlation between Trait Verbal Aggression and Reports of Viewing Others' Conflict Interactions: A Survey
Authors: Rudd Jill E. , Pettey Gary , Burant Patricia , Snyder-Suhy Sharon
Published: November 2010

Perceptions of others' use of verbally aggressive messages during conflicts were examined in family and organizational as well as in interactions among strangers. Additionally, trait verbal aggressiveness and its correlation with the perception of others' use of aggressive messages were examined. 266 participants answered a brief telephone survey completing the Trait Verbal Aggressiveness Scale and rating how often they observed others using verbally aggresive messages. Participants reported observing more verbally aggressive messages in conflict episodes with strangers than with family members or coworkers. Trait verbal aggressiveness and frequency of observed verbally aggressive messages were significantly correlated in the family and organizational settings but not in the context with a stranger.
Pilot Study of Relationships among Quality as a Parent Choice Criterion, Accredited Child Care, and Maternal Separation Anxiety
Authors: Russell Elizabeth Morgan , Williams Sue W. , Blunk Elizabeth M.
Published: November 2010

This pilot study explored the relationships among quality as a parent reported criterion for choosing child care, the actual selection of accredited child care, and maternal separation anxiety. Of the 59 mothers, 29 had placed their infants in accredited child care centers and 30 had placed their infants in nonaccredited child care centers. Participants completed a standardized measure, the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale, and indicated their top three criteria for choosing child care on a demographic form. Participants who reported quality as a top criterion were no more likely to have chosen an accredited program than participants who did not include quality as a criterion. Student t test indicated that mothers who reported greater concern about balancing the maternal and work roles, i.e., had higher scores on Subscale Three, were more likely to have enrolled their infants in nonaccredited than accredited child care programs.
Usability and Trust in E-Banking
Authors: Pravettoni Gabriella , Leotta Salvatore Nuccio , Lucchiari Claudio , Misuraca Raffaella
Published: November 2010

This study assessed the role of usability in trust of e-banking services. A questionnaire was administered to 185 Italian undergraduate working students who volunteered for the experiment ( M age = 30.5 yr., SD = 3.1). Participants were differentiated on computer ability (Expert, n = 104; Nonexpert, n = 81) and e-banking use (User, n = 93; Nonusers, n = 92). Analysis showed that the website usability of e-banking services did not play a very important role for the User group. Instead, institution-based trust, e.g., the trust in the security policy of the Web merchant, customers, and the overall trust of the bank were the crucial factors in the adoption of e-banking.
A Second Step in Development of a Checklist for Screening Risk for Violence in Acute Psychiatric Patients: Evaluation of Interrater Reliability of the Preliminary Scheme 33
Authors: Bjørkly Stål , Moger Tron A.
Published: November 2010

The Acute Project is a research project conducted on acute psychiatric admission wards in Norway. The objective is to develop and validate a structured, easy-to-use screening checklist for assessment of risk for violence in patients both during their stay in the ward and after discharge. The Preliminary Scheme 33 is a 33-item screening checklist with content domain inspired by the Historical-Clinical-Risk Management Scheme (HCR–20), the Brøset Violence Checklist, and eight risk factors extracted from the literature on risk assessment. The Preliminary Scheme 33 was designed and tested in two steps by a research group which includes the authors. The common aim of both steps was to develop this into a time economical, reliable, and valid checklist. In the first step in 2006 the predictive validity of the individual items was tested. The present work presents results from the second step, a study conducted to assess the interrater reliability of the 33 items. Eight clinicians working in an acute psychiatric unit volunteered to be raters and were trained to score the 33 items on a three-point scale in relation to 15 clinical vignettes, which contained information from 15 acute psychiatric patients' files. Analysis showed high interrater reliability for the total score with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of .86 (95% CI: 0.74-0.94). However, a substantial proportion of the items had medium to low ICCs. Consequences of this finding for further development of these items into a brief screen are discussed.
Sociometric Effects on Rejection of Children in Grade 2 Given a Multifocal Intervention Involving Teachers, Parents, and Children in One Brazilian School
Authors: Da Silva Melo Márcia Helena , De Mattos Silvares Edwiges Ferreira
Published: November 2010

Current literature favors developing social competence in childhood, especially preventing peer rejection. This study presents the effects of a preventive multifocal intervention at one Brazilian elementary school. Participants were second graders ( N = 255), their teachers ( n = 7), and 13 caregivers. Teachers referred 52 children to overcome interaction problems. Baseline and postintervention sociometric assessment assigned every second grader to one of five social status groups (rejected, neglected, median, popular, and controversial). Trained teachers developed an education program with second graders. A psychologist treated 13 referred children and caregivers (Cognitive Behavioral Child Therapy+Parent Training). The referred group of 13 at baseline showed a significantly higher percentage of rejection and fewer popular children. The nonreferred group postprogram showed no significant change on rejection, however, referred treated groups showed a higher percentage of popular children whereas the control group showed a higher percentage of rejected children
Aspiration and Compromise Effect
Authors: Chuang Shih-Chieh , Wu Pei-Hsun , Kao Danny T. , Tsai Chia-Ching
Published: November 2010

Consumers' choice is often influenced by numerous reference points, such as the consumers' aspiration for product quality. In this study, the effect of such aspiration in compromise was investigated. Two experiments with 722 participants (309 men and 413 women) indicated that, when the quality of a product was below participants' aspiration level, the compromise effect decreased.
Belief and Disbelief in the Existence of Genetic Risk Factors for Suicide: Cross-Cultural Comparisons
Authors: Voracek Martin
Published: November 2010

There is evidence for widespread disbelief in the genetics of suicide, despite recent research progress in this area and convergent evidence supporting a role for genetic factors. This study analyzed the beliefs held in 8 samples (total N=1224) of various types (psychology, medical, and various undergraduates, psychology graduates, and the general population) from 6 countries located on 3 continents (Austria, Canada, Malaysia, Romania, United Kingdom, and the USA). Endorsement rates for the existence of genetic risk factors for suicide ranged from 26% and 30% (Austrian psychology undergraduates and general population) to around 50% (psychology undergraduates in the USA and United Kingdom). In the 8 samples, respondents' sex, age, religiosity, political orientation, and other demographic variables were, for the most part, unrelated, but overall knowledge about suicide throughout was related positively to endorsement rates. Consistent with previous research, across a considerable variety of sample types and cultural settings there was no evidence for a clear majority believing in genetic bases for suicide.
Finite codimensional linear isometries on spaces of differentiable and Lipschitz functions
Authors: Koshimizu Hironao
Published: November 2010

We characterize finite codimensional linear isometries on two spaces, C
(n)[0; 1] and Lip [0; 1], where C
(n)[0; 1] is the Banach space of n-times continuously differentiable functions on [0; 1] and Lip [0; 1] is the Banach space of Lipschitz continuous functions on [0; 1]. We will see they are exactly surjective isometries. Also, we show that C
(n)[0; 1] and Lip [0; 1] admit neither isometric shifts nor backward shifts.
The investigation of sensing mechanism of ethanol vapour in polymer-nanostructured carbon composite
Authors: Sakale Gita , Knite Maris , Teteris Valdis , Tupureina Velta , Stepina Santa , Liepa Elina
Published: November 2010

Polymer-nanostructured carbon composites (PNCC) using three different polymers as composite matrix materials (polyvinylacetate (PVAc), polyethylene glycol (PEG) and ethylene-vinylacetate copolymer (EVA)) have been developed. High structure carbon black Printex XE2 (Degussa AG) was used as a composites filler. Ethanol vapour sensor-effect of composites was determined as a change of electrical resistance as the composite was held in ethanol vapour for 30 seconds. Reversibility of electrical resistance of PNCC, response stability and repeatability have been measured and compared. The electrical resistance response of EVA-nanostructured carbon composite (EVA-NCC) to ethanol vapour as a function of vinylacetate content in the copolymer has been evaluated. Promising ethanol vapour sensor-effect has been observed for PEG-NCC followed by PVAc-NCC and EVA-NCC.