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The Brunswik Lens Model is presented as a framework in which to analyse the property appraisal function. Relationships between observable characteristics of real estate, valuer‐predicted appraisals and actual sales price are explored. Attention focuses through the Lens on the development of computer‐assisted valuation models of residential property. It is shown that statistical deftness must be combined with an appreciation of cognitive processes in order to develop an efficient environmentally‐based valuation model.

Effective team functioning requires the existence of a shared or team mental model among members of a team. However, the best method for measuring team mental models is unclear. Methods reported vary in terms of how mental model content is elicited and analyzed or represented. We review the strengths and weaknesses of various methods that have been used to elicit, represent, and analyze individual and team mental models and provide recommendations for method selection and development. We describe the nature of mental models and review techniques that have been used to elicit and represent them. We focus on a case study on selecting a method to examine team mental models in industry. The processes involved in the selection and development of an appropriate method for eliciting, representing, and analyzing team mental models are described. The criteria for method selection were (a) applicability to the problem under investigation; (b) practical considerations---suitability for collecting data from the targeted research sample; and (c) theoretical rationale---the assumption that associative networks in memory are a basis for the development of mental models. We provide an evaluation of the method matched to the research problem and make recommendations for future research. The practical applications of this research include the provision of a technique for analyzing team mental models in organizations, the development of methods and processes for eliciting a mental model from research participants in their normal work environment, and a survey of available methodologies for mental model research.

This case study investigates the use of online blogs as a teaching tool. A collaborative blog was implemented in parallel classes on group processes in the United States and Germany. Our goal was to connect American and German graduate students by helping them to talk about group communication and meeting behaviors. Collected data included transcripts of the messages, as well as students' evaluations of the blog (collected at the end of the project). Quantitative analyses assessed students' participation rates and the content of their postings. Qualitative analysis examined the use of the blog as a teaching and learning tool. The results showed that students interacted more on the blog than was required by the instructor. Students valued blogging as a new learning experience. We discuss the pedagogical implications of blog usage for teaching about groups and provide recommendations for instructors interested in using blogs in their own courses.

This book bridges the gap between the energetic and species approaches to studying food webs, addressing many important topics in ecology. Species, matter, and energy are common features of all ecological systems. Through the lens of complex adaptive systems thinking, the authors explore how the inextricable relationship between species, matter, and energy can explain how systems are structured, and how they persist in real and model systems.

Social media platforms (i.e., Twitter, Tik Tok, YouTube, Snapchat) transmit traumatic imagery of racist encounters that dehumanize racially marginalized Americans. Behavioral and social sciences have long documented the adverse effects of media on young adults which include negative physical and mental health outcomes. However, evidence is sparse on the health-related impact of viewing gender-specific, racially motivated violence via social media. Through an interdisciplinary approach, with theories from psychology, sociology, and communications, we propose a novel framework called the Vicarious Intersectional Trauma (VIT) Conceptual Model. The proposed model situates the Racial Encounter Coping Appraisal and Socialization Theory (RECAST) as a foundational theory understanding the pathways by which traumatic racial encounters impact health among Black Americans. We expand on RECAST by integrating Agenda Setting Theory, Cultivation Theory, and Intersectionality Theory, to facilitate a better understanding of the health-related implications of consuming intersectional violence on social media. Our interdisciplinary work contributes to literature promoting health equity by expanding an existing theory to address the intersections of gender and race on the perception of traumatic imagery and how gendered-racial socialization affects subsequent coping mechanisms.

Twenty‐four‐hour recall data from the Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals (CSFII) are frequently used to estimate dietary exposure for risk assessment. Food frequency questionnaires are traditional instruments of epidemiological research; however, their application in dietary exposure and risk assessment has been limited. This article presents a probabilistic method of bridging the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) food frequency and the CSFII data to estimate longitudinal (usual) intake, using a case study of seafood mercury exposures for two population subgroups (females 16 to 49 years and children 1 to 5 years). Two hundred forty‐nine CSFII food codes were mapped into 28 NHANES fish/shellfish categories. FDA and state/local seafood mercury data were used. A uniform distribution with minimum and maximum blood‐diet ratios of 0.66 to 1.07 was assumed. A probabilistic assessment was conducted to estimate distributions of individual 30‐day average daily fish/shellfish intakes, methyl mercury exposure, and blood levels. The upper percentile estimates of fish and shellfish intakes based on the 30‐day daily averages were lower than those based on two‐ and three‐day daily averages. These results support previous findings that distributions of "usual" intakes based on a small number of consumption days provide overestimates in the upper percentiles. About 10% of the females (16 to 49 years) and children (1 to 5 years) may be exposed to mercury levels above the EPA's RfD. The predicted 75th and 90th percentile blood mercury levels for the females in the 16‐to‐49‐year group were similar to those reported by NHANES. The predicted 90th percentile blood mercury levels for children in the 1‐to‐5‐year subgroup was similar to NHANES and the 75th percentile estimates were slightly above the NHANES.

<p><strong>Background</strong>: While routine HIV testing in the general population is a national recommendation, actual practice may vary.</p><p><strong>Purpose</strong>: To determine risk factors associated with HIV testing after the adoption of a New York State law in 2010 mandating that healthcare providers offer HIV testing in all clinical settings.</p><p><strong>Methods.</strong>: Survey data from Monroe County, New York, were collected in 2012 for adults aged 18-64 years and analyzed in 2014. Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors independently associated with HIV testing and high-risk behavior.</p><p><strong>Results</strong>: Among adults aged 18-34 years, fewer Whites were offered HIV testing in the past year by their doctors compared with Blacks (34% vs 64%) despite having similar rates of any HIV high-risk behavior (20% overall). For adults aged 35-64 years, fewer Whites than Blacks were ever tested for HIV (42% vs 71%), offered HIV testing in past year (17% vs 40%), and reported any HIV high-risk behavior (3% vs 13%). Latinos showed intermediate levels. With logistic regression analysis, ever tested for HIV was independently associated with only race/ethnicity; offered HIV testing in the past year was associated with females, Blacks and Latinos, aged 18-34 years, and having a routine health checkup in past year; any HIV high-risk behavior was associated with only younger age. </p><p><strong>Conclusions</strong>: To improve HIV testing rates as well as compliance with state laws and national guidelines, targeted efforts should be considered that improve perceptions of risk and emphasize the value of routine HIV screening, including those directed at white adults and their health care providers. <em>Ethn Dis.</em> 2016;26(1):91-98; doi:10.18865/ed.26.1.91</p>