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In two studies, students evaluated group pictures of workgroups of varying ethnic and gender composition with respect to anticipated affective and productive outcomes. The impact of level of diversity, faultlines and individual differences in diversity attitudes on anticipated outcomes were examined. Favorable level effects of diversity were particularly found for groups with weak faultlines and for productive outcomes of diversity. In general, outcomes of cross-categorized groups were anticipated as more favorable than outcomes of groups with strong faultlines. Also in line with expectations, attitudes towards diversity moderated the impact of diversity on anticipated group outcomes. Interestingly, attitudes towards diversity buffered against increasing levels of diversity and not so much against the presence of faultlines.

A strand or cable consists of a central core surrounded by a number of wires wound helically in a single layer or multilayers. There are three modes of contact in a simple straight strand. The first type is a core-wire contact in which the wires in the layer are in contact with the core only. In the second type, the wires in the layer are in contact among themselves and not with the core, while in the third type there is a coupled contact among the core and all the wires. Most literature handled the cable assembly with either the core-wire or the wire-wire contact because of the simplicity of the loads acting in these distinct contact modes. An attempt is made in this paper to model the strand with a coupled core-wire and wire-wire contact and deduce its equations of equilibrium. The numerical analyses of strand force, twisting moment, strand stiffness, contact force, and contact stress are carried out based on the equilibrium of thin rods and the results are compared with earlier research works. The importance of the inclusion of interface forces and their effects is studied.

A new mathematical model has been developed to predict the behaviour of a stranded cable assembly under the influence of interfacial radial contact forces and radial contraction of the core. A single layered cable assembly with six helical wires and a straight cylindrical core, all made with the same material, Steel has been chosen to explain this phenomenon when the assembly is under the influence of core-wire radial contact. An attempt is made in this paper to model the strand with a radial (core-wire) contact and deduce its equations of equilibrium. Numerical analysis of strand force, twisting moment, strand stiffness, contact force and contact stresses is carriedout based on the equilibrium of thin rods, and the results are compared with the earlier research work. The importance of the inclusion of interfacial forces at the contact locations and their associated effects of axial and twist slip of the helical wires on the core, is highlighted. The behaviour of the stranded cable assembly due to the contact force in the radial direction and its associated effects on the axial strain of the core due to Poisson's effect is one more additional feature incorporated in the present work.

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