Allyson Weseley - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Allyson Weseley

Journal of Emerging Investigators

Microplastics are a danger to the environment. They are polluting ecosystems, threatening the sur... more Microplastics are a danger to the environment. They are polluting ecosystems, threatening the survival of many species and being ingested by humans. Two common microplastic polymers, polystyrene and polyethylene, contaminate fresh and saltwater ecosystems, thereby affecting life processes of marine organisms, such as Daphnia Magna. While the effects of these plastics have been investigated individually, both plastic polymers have not yet been compared in one study. We sought to compare the effect of both polystyrene and polyethylene microplastics on the speed, mortality rate, and swimming patterns of D. Magna. D. Magna were divided into three groups which were fed either polystyrene microplastics and algae, polyethylene microplastics and algae, or only algae. We recorded the number of living D. Magna and performed phototactic response tests to determine the effect of each condition on D. Magna speed and swimming patterns. Overall, we found that microplastic consumption did not affec...

Pain Medicine, Apr 1, 2010

Objective. With widespread use of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), this study tested th... more Objective. With widespread use of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), this study tested the hypotheses that: 1) pain would be reported less frequently than in earlier studies; 2) pain would correlate less with markers of disease progression (declining cluster of differentiation 4 [CD4+] count), than with age; and 3) pain would be associated inversely with adherence to cART. Design. Retrospective data analysis. Setting. Outpatient center of a university teaching hospital. Patients. Forty-one consecutive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons receiving cART. Outcome Measures. Self-reported pain scale data were retrospectively gathered by their treating physician, along with data regarding gender, age, CD4+ count, self-reported cART adherence, and receipt of pain medication. In addition, data on pain location, duration, and etiology, and on specific cART agents utilized were available for 26 of these subjects. Blinded data were submitted to the investigator, and associations between self-reported pain scores and other variables were calculated. Results. Pain was less prevalent than reported prior to cART (39% vs 60-80%), and pain scale scores were lower (2.0 vs 7.4). Patients reporting more intense pain were more likely to be receiving medication for pain than those reporting less severe pain (87.5% vs 25.0%). Pain was transient in 73% patients and chronic in 27%. Pain scores did not differ by gender, nor did they correlate with adherence scores, disease progression, or age. No patients reported neuropathic pain. Conclusions. In this cohort treated with cART, pain was less prevalent and less likely to be associated with HIV disease progression or treatment than indicated by studies conducted prior to the widespread use of cART.

Study 1 compared perceptions of female athletes in conservative or revealing uniforms. Participan... more Study 1 compared perceptions of female athletes in conservative or revealing uniforms. Participants (N=300) in a 2x3 experiment were randomly assigned to view images of three female lacrosse players wearing either tank tops or t-shirts and either short shorts, long shorts, or skirts. Participants rated the appropriateness of the uniform and the athletes’ capability, femininity, and objectification. A MANOVA revealed a significant main effect for shirt. The conservative shirt was seen as more appropriate than the revealing style; however, uniform type did not affect perceptions of the athletes. Study 2 measured how uniform styles are perceived by the women intended to wear them. Participants (N=156) were randomly assigned to view an image of either a revealing (racerback tank top and spandex shorts) or conservative (loose t-shirt and shorts) uniform and imagine themselves wearing it. Participants completed questions on their attitude toward the style, as well as their expected perfor...

Journal of Political Sciences & Public Affairs, 2021

Columbia Undergraduate Science Journal

The discovery that adjuvant treatment (chemotherapy and radiotherapy) after lumpectomy contribute... more The discovery that adjuvant treatment (chemotherapy and radiotherapy) after lumpectomy contributes to high survival rates has been a groundbreaking development in modern breast cancer care. Participatory decision-making (PDM) is a communication style that involves active interactions and discourse between doctors and patients. Although the receipt of adjuvant therapy for various types of cancers has been found to be linked to differences in patient-physician communication, few studies have explored whether this relationship exists in breast cancer treatment. The present study, one of the first explicitly to examine demographic and psychosocial factors that may be related to adjuvant treatment rates, surveyed a sample of inner-city breast cancer patients (N = 105) about the type of care they received, assessing concomitant levels of participatory decision making (PDM), and anxiety. The results demonstrated that patients who indicated higher PDM tended to have lower levels of anxiety ...

Journal of Research in Education, 2011

Prospective teachers (N = 171) read an essay that manipulated the ethnicity of the studentauthor ... more Prospective teachers (N = 171) read an essay that manipulated the ethnicity of the studentauthor (European American, African American, Asian American, or none mentioned). They then rated the author’s intelligence and probable future success and estimated the author’s GPA. The Asian American student was seen as more intelligent than the control student, but ethnicity did not affect the other dependent variables. The findings may be explained by the stereotype validity model as the essay suggested the author might have characteristics stereotypical of an Asian American. Future research should examine whether experienced teachers will evidence a similar lack of bias.

Journal of Research in Education, 2017

Little is known about methods to address gender-based bias against male elementary educators. Fra... more Little is known about methods to address gender-based bias against male elementary educators. Framed by social role and role congruity theories, this study explored the effects of gendered traits and teacher gender on perceptions of elementary educators. Participants (N = 246) were randomly assigned to view websites that varied gendered traits (communal, agentic, neutral) and teacher gender. When choosing a teacher for their child, individuals preferred either neutral or communal teachers to agentic teachers. Additionally, participants reported that men were significantly less hireable than women, indicating a backlash against men who seek employment in traditionally feminine fields. This study suggests that individuals seeking entry into elementary education should avoid describing themselves in agentic terms.

Programming by example (PBE) is a powerful programming paradigm based on example driven synthesis... more Programming by example (PBE) is a powerful programming paradigm based on example driven synthesis. Users can provide examples, and a tool automatically constructs a program that satisfies the examples. To investigate the impact of PBE on real-world users, we built a study around StriSynth, a tool for shell scripting by example, and recruited 27 working IT professionals to participate. In our study we asked the users to complete three tasks with StriSynth, and the same three tasks with PowerShell, a traditional scripting language. We found that, although our participants completed the tasks more quickly with StriSynth, they reported that they believed PowerShell to be a more helpful tool.

The experiment investigated the effect of physician sex and specialty on participants’ perception... more The experiment investigated the effect of physician sex and specialty on participants’ perceptions of doctors. Participants (N = 206) viewed a physician profile (male/female orthopedic surgeon or male/female dermatologist) and then evaluated the physician on a survey. While male participants reported they would be more willing to see a female physician and believed female physicians would be more caring, female participants reported they would be more willing to see physicians in counter-stereotypical specialties and rated them as more caring. The study suggests that not only do men and women focus on different things in selecting physicians but also that negative stereotypes of female physicians have dramatically decreased.

Journal of Research in Education Volume 22, Number 1 The Effect of Mandatory Reading Logs on Chil... more Journal of Research in Education Volume 22, Number 1 The Effect of Mandatory Reading Logs on Children’s Motivation to Read Sarah S. Pak Princeton University Allyson J. Weseley Roslyn High School Abstract Reading logs have become a practice in many elementary schools. Although lack of autonomy undermines intrinsic motivation (Lepper, Greene, & Nisbett, 1973), no study has examined the effect of logs. Second and third-grade students (N=112) were assigned either a mandatory or voluntary log and surveyed about their motivation to read at baseline and after two months. Students with mandatory logs expressed declines in both interest and attitudes towards recreational reading in comparison to peers with voluntary logs, and attitudes towards academic reading decreased significantly from pre to post test across conditions. Future research should explore alternate ways to promote reading.

Asian Journal of Social Psychology

While many people view Asian Americans as ‘model minorities’ who excel in math, science and music... more While many people view Asian Americans as ‘model minorities’ who excel in math, science and music, they are also negatively stereotyped as nerdy and unsociable. Research has shown that Asian Americans have to outperform other races academically to receive equal consideration by colleges. This study is the first to test whether this bias is directed towards all Asian Americans or only those who fit the model minority stereotype. The present experiment investigates the effect of race and stereotypes on perceptions of students in the college admission process. College admission officers (N = 79) were randomly assigned to view a shortened version of a college application. The participants rated the student whose application they saw according to likelihood of being accepted into college, social competence, academic competence and contribution to a college's diversity. The stereotypical Asian American student was perceived to be significantly less likely to be accepted into college and had a lower perceived social competence than the other three students. Additionally, students who participated in counter-stereotypical Asian activities were perceived as being more likely to be accepted, more socially competent and to contribute more diversity than students who participated in stereotypical Asian activities. A multiple regression revealed that social competence was the only significant predictor of likely acceptance. This study suggests that rather than all Asian American students being disadvantaged in the college admissions process, it is only those who fit common stereotypes who are affected.

Journal of Psychosocial Oncology

ABSTRACT This study examined the relationship between psychosocial factors in the patient–oncolog... more ABSTRACT This study examined the relationship between psychosocial factors in the patient–oncologist relationship and aspects of care among women with breast cancer. Breast cancer patients (N = 118) completed a questionnaire about their relationship with their oncologist, their treatment, and their health. While trust was related to several positive outcomes, physician supportiveness was most strongly related to satisfaction with care, and health care access was most strongly associated with general health. The results suggest that the addition of supportiveness and healthcare access to trust provide a more complete picture of patients' health outcomes.

Journal of Social Studies Research, 2007

EJ790031 - To Vote or Not to Vote? An Exploration of the Factors Contributing to the Political Ef... more EJ790031 - To Vote or Not to Vote? An Exploration of the Factors Contributing to the Political Efficacy and Intent to Vote of High School Students.

Consumers are often drawn to certain products and services by pricing techniques. Four versions o... more Consumers are often drawn to certain products and services by pricing techniques. Four versions of an Italian restaurant menu were created to test the impact of price level and price type on people's perceptions of a restaurant. Two versions were inexpensive while two were more expensive. Within each condition, one was odd priced, with prices ending in .49 or .99,

Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie, 1997

To assess the extent to which clinical and nonclinical variables have been used by mental health ... more To assess the extent to which clinical and nonclinical variables have been used by mental health professionals in Manitoba to determine fitness to stand trial. Researchers at a forensic setting in another province have suggested that demographic variables account for as much of the variance in predicting the outcome of these assessments as clinical variables. These variables were assessed by the examination of 100 fitness assessments conducted at Winnipeg's Forensic Services unit during a 2-year period. Contrary to findings reported in Ontario, the variance in fitness evaluations in Manitoba was primarily accounted for by clinical rather than demographic variables. Since Manitoba's forensic clinicians were using standardized criteria that were very similar to 1992 Criminal Code revisions of fitness, the findings attest to the usefulness of these criteria.