Information and Communication Technology in the Work of Catholic Priests

ABSTRACT

This article presents data gathered in a doctoral study, the aim of which was to identify information needs and behavior patterns of Croatian Catholic priests for pastoral work. Results of the research focus only on the role of information and communication technology and using electronic sources by the priests in the liturgy and caregiving role. The research was conducted using quantitative and qualitative methodology (print questionnaires and semi-structured interviews). A total of 327 respondents took part in the quantitative study and twenty respondents were interviewed. Although research results showed that many respondents are not very familiar with the information and communication technology, most of them still occasionally use computers for making documents and consult the Internet for finding religious information in pastoral work. Computers and the Internet to a larger degree are used by younger and well-educated priests who have the least experience regarding management of the parishes in major locations. Since the results indicated that parish priests mostly seek religious and secular information on the Internet, it is recommended that the Catholic Church in Croatia offer them increased electronic resources for pastoral work.     

The Influence of Institutional Salience on Political Attitudes and Activism among Catholic Priests in the United States

What motivates clergy political attitudes and behavior? We investigate this using a questions‐as‐treatment randomized experiment focusing on Roman Catholic priests in the United States. Our results suggest substantial utility in using a question frame referencing the distinct institutional expectations that clergy regularly confront. Specifically, when randomly primed to consider the expectations of institutional reference groups, clergy exhibit significantly higher levels of conservatism and report higher levels of political engagement, which is in line with their church's institutional preferences more generally. Our findings underscore the need for experimental methodology to make increased inroads into understanding political outcomes in religious contexts.     

Information Needs of Church Worship Leaders

Qualitative research methods were used to investigate the informational needs of church worship leaders as they related to collection development for worship service planning. Aguilar's environmental scanning model is adapted from a long-range strategic planning framework, to a short-term information-gathering methodology with task-focused implications. Although the interview subjects come from varied backgrounds, denominationally, educationally, and experientially, they have all developed a personal system of using environmental scanning for their collection development needs.     

亲社会自主动机对青少年幸福感及亲社会行为的影响:基本心理需要满足的中介作用

本研究探讨了亲社会自主动机对青少年幸福感和亲社会行为的影响,并检验了基本心理需要满足的中介作用。研究1以293名青少年为研究对象,通过问卷法考察了亲社会自主动机、基本心理需要满足、幸福感和亲社会行为的关系;研究2以205名青少年为研究对象,通过实验法操纵亲社会自主动机（vs.受控动机）,并考察其对基本心理需要满足、幸福感和亲社会行为的影响。研究结果表明,亲社会自主动机显著正向预测青少年的幸福感和亲社会行为,并且基本心理需要满足在亲社会自主动机对幸福感和亲社会行为的预测中都起到了中介作用;相反,亲社会受控动机则不利于青少年基本心理需要的满足,进而不能有效地提升其幸福感和亲社会行为。     

Exposure to Violence,Social Information Processing,and Problem Behavior in Preschool Children

Understanding the mechanisms by which early risk factors for social maladjustment contribute to disruptive behaviors in social settings is vital to developmental research and practice. A major risk factor for social maladjustment is early exposure to violence, which was examined in this short‐term longitudinal study in relation to social information processing (SIP) patterns and externalizing and internalizing behaviors in a sample of 256 preschool children. Data on exposure to violence were obtained via parent report, data on SIP were obtained via child interview, and data on child problem behavior were obtained via teacher report. Findings supported the hypothesis that, compared to children not exposed to violence, children reported to witness and/or experience violence are more likely to attribute hostile intent to peers, generate aggressive responses, and evaluate socially unaccepted responses (aggressive and inept) as socially suitable. The former were also found to exhibit higher levels of externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Finally, SIP mediated the link between exposure to violence and problem behavior thus supporting this study's general approach, which argues that the link between exposure to violence and children's problem behaviors are better understood within the context of their perceptions about social relationships. Aggr. Behav. 38:429‐441, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

社会阶层分化视角下医患信息行为对医患关系的影响

目前社会阶层分化进程中的医患关系比较紧张,医患信息行为起了很大作用.由于历史原因多数医师未能认识到医患信息行为对医患沟通及医患关系的影响.患者作为医疗信息掌握的弱势群体,其对从医师处获得信息的依赖将长期存在,医师与患者信息行为必然相互影响.针对信息行为建立相应的培训及评价机制是十分必要的.     

The Mediating Role of Information Search in the Relationship Between Prejudice and Voting Behavior

Evidence on the extent to which prejudice serves as a barrier to black and Latino candidates for office is mixed. Some research has found that black and Latino candidates are disadvantaged in terms of their chances of winning election and that they are evaluated differently by voters, while other findings suggest that this may not be the case. This article examines the effects of racial prejudice on candidate evaluation and voting behavior. It uses a unique experimental design to test for direct effects of prejudice on candidate evaluation and voting behavior, as well as indirect effects of prejudice on these variables via the information that subjects seek out. I find that subjects higher in symbolic racism are less likely to vote “correctly” when their preferences most closely align with a black or Latino candidate and that they rate minority candidates more negatively than their white counterparts. I also find that subjects high in prejudice search for less information about minority candidates and that this less robust information search mediates the relationship between prejudice and candidate evaluation and vote measures. Results also suggest that increased information search may mitigate the effects of prejudice on correct voting.     

Brief Report: Assessment of Training and Supervision Needs Among Registered Behavior Technicians

We assessed the self-perceived training needs of Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) to inform the content and direction of supervision provided by Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCaBAs). The RBTs identified several training priorities that would improve their delivery of applied behavior analysis (ABA) services. Self-assessment by RBTs combined with direct observation allows supervisors to develop individualized training plans with these paraprofessional providers.     

The Health and Social Service Needs of Transgender People in Philadelphia

SUMMARY

Two Philadelphia-based HIV service organizations and a local university collaborated on a study of health and social service needs of transgender people. Transgender people were the primary resource for the development of the needs assessment survey. In this article, the survey development process, including two discussion groups and two focus groups, are described. Findings on barriers to care, violence, perception of public safety and comfort, suicide and health and social service needs are presented. Total sample size was 81, with 49 male-to-female and 32 female-to-male transgender individuals. Most (68%) were African American. About half of the respondents had thought about attempting suicide. High levels of violence were reported, especially among male-to-females. Health and social service needs included job training/work, dental care, health care, legal services, transportation, education and housing.     

3至6岁幼儿心理压力源与表现

本研究在大量的调查、访谈和问卷分析的基础上,提出了有关幼儿心理压力的问题,并对幼儿心理压力的来源和表现进行了深入细致的调查和分析。结果发现,幼儿身边存在很多压力事件;幼儿的心理压力主要来源于6个方面:父母、老师、环境适应、同伴关系、功课学习和其他;幼儿的心理压力主要表现在四个方面:生理上的反应、行为上的反常、情绪上的变化和个性上的改变。     

Identifying Training Needs of Health-Care Providers Related to Treatment and Care of Transgendered Patients: A Qualitative Needs Assessment Conducted in New England

SUMMARY

The Transgender Training Project of the New England AIDS Education and Training Center has been providing training on transgender-related issues to health-care providers in the New England region since 1999, having trained nearly 600 providers in that time. The Transgender Training Project embarked on a study during the 2001–2002 grant year to interview providers of HIV-related care and advocacy on their knowledge and experience with working with trans-gendered people and to assess training needs to increase their effectiveness with transgendered clients.

The methodology consisted of face-to-face interviews with 13 providers of HIV treatment and care who are affiliated with the New England AIDS Education and Training Center network to discuss clinical challenges in working with transgendered people.

In this exploratory study, we found that providers had:

1. Desire to treat transgendered patients respectfully but admitted discomfort and lack of tools for specific interviewing/assessments.

2. Experience with a range of transgendered patients, but lack of information on distinctions among transgendered experiences.

3. Restrictions based on time constraints that create an overarching barrier in building trusting relationships with clients, and trusting relationships are integral to quality care.

4. Concern and frustration with lack of information, studies and research.

5. Concern and frustration with lack of treatment guidelines, (or ability to access them), referral contacts and ways to advocate for transgender clients.

6. Belief that training by transgendered people themselves was an essential teaching element.

These results point to the need for the development and dissemination of specific training materials and resources for health-care providers serving transgendered people living with or at risk for HIV.     

城市化进程中被征地新居民的心理反应与需求状况研究

以东、西部被征地新居民为对象,通过访谈和问卷调查,着重考察了被征地新居民对土地被征用的情绪反应、行为变化和需求状况。结果发现:大多数被征地新居民都为土地被征用而担心生计问题;在土地被征用后,只有个别被征地新居民(不到6.4%)的生活水平和生活满意度有所提高,但比较西部地区,东部地区被征地新居民的情形要好得多;绝大多数被征地新居民虽然迫切希望解决他们所面临的问题,但尚无如何帮助他们的具体建议、也无自身如何努力的具体方向。研究认为,有关部门应加强对被征地新居民的再社会化培训和教育。     

计划行为模型在HIV性风险行为领域的应用与发展*

整理和回顾了计划行为模型在HIV性风险行为领域的应用与进展。该模型在不同文化背景、不同样本中,对于HIV性风险行为呈现良好的解释力,但是其整体预测力及内部变量的显著程度仍不时波动。21世纪以来,通过核心变量操作化、新变量引入和结构关系调整,模型获得了较大的扩展和完善。但在模型效度再检验、纳入社会性别视角、克服个体行为模型缺陷,以及强化模型的干预适用性方面仍有较大的发展空间     

大学生亲社会行为决策中自尊与情绪信息的交互作用

采用自编亲社会行为决策材料,以行为决策对象的被选频次为指标,通过对65名男女大学生的研究,结果发现：1）在阈上和阈下的＂图-词＂启动范式下,均存在显著的情绪启动效应,且实验性情绪变化明显。2）在正性图片启动下,自尊水平和情绪效价对亲社会行为决策均无显著影响,但二者的交互作用显著,低自尊个体在负性情绪下的亲社会行为决策存在显著性差异;行为决策对象对大学生亲社会行为决策有显著影响,与自尊水平、情绪效价之间的交互效应不显著;在负性图片启动下,自尊水平、情绪效价、行为决策对象以及三者的交互作用对亲社会行为决策均无显著影响。3）总体上,大学生亲社会行为决策受自尊水平与情绪效价的交互作用影响,也受行为决策对象及其与自尊水平、情绪效价的三次交互作用的影响。     

Synergistic Information Processing Encrypts Strategic Reasoning in Poker

There is a tendency in decision‐making research to treat uncertainty only as a problem to be overcome. But it is also a feature that can be leveraged, particularly in social interaction. Comparing the behavior of profitable and unprofitable poker players, we reveal a strategic use of information processing that keeps decision makers unpredictable. To win at poker, a player must exploit public signals from others. But using public inputs makes it easier for an observer to reconstruct that player's strategy and predict his or her behavior. How should players trade off between exploiting profitable opportunities and remaining unexploitable themselves? Using a recent multivariate approach to information theoretic data analysis and 1.75 million hands of online two‐player No‐Limit Texas Hold'em, we find that the important difference between winning and losing players is not in the amount of information they process, but how they process it. In particular, winning players are better at integrative information processing—creating new information from the interaction between their cards and their opponents’ signals. We argue that integrative information processing does not just produce better decisions, it makes decision‐making harder for others to reverse engineer, as an expert poker player's cards act like the private key in public‐key cryptography. Poker players encrypt their reasoning with the way they process information. The encryption function of integrative information processing makes it possible for players to exploit others while remaining unexploitable. By recognizing the act of information processing as a strategic behavior in its own right, we offer a detailed account of how experts use endemic uncertainty to conceal their intentions in high‐stakes competitive environments, and we highlight new opportunities between cognitive science, information theory, and game theory.     

安宁疗护共享决策中的信息需求——以晚期肿瘤患者及照护者为例

为了解晚期肿瘤患者及照护者参与安宁疗护共享决策时的信息需求,选取2021年4月~9月上海市某三甲医院安宁疗护科室15名晚期肿瘤住院患者及12名照护者进行半结构化个人深入访谈,运用Colaizzi七步资料分析法进行资料分析,提炼出主题。结果显示,患方行共享决策时信息需求分别为：疾病相关信息、治疗方案信息、患者支持性照护信息、出院计划信息、照护者支持内容、就诊信息以及可获得的社会支持。建议医务人员基于患方信息需求与患者及照护者的区别进行针对性的信息沟通,提高共享决策的质量。

     

Memory for Angry Faces,Impulsivity, and Problematic Behavior in Adolescence

Research has shown that cognitive processes like the attribution of hostile intention or angry emotion to others contribute to the development and maintenance of conduct problems. However, the role of memory has been understudied in comparison with attribution biases. The aim of this study was thus to test if a memory bias for angry faces was related to conduct problems in youth. Adolescents from a junior secondary school were presented with angry and happy faces and were later asked to recognize the same faces with a neutral expression. They also completed an impulsivity questionnaire. A teacher assessed their behavior. The results showed that a better recognition of angry faces than happy faces predicted conduct problems and hyperactivity/inattention as reported by the teacher. The memory bias effect was more pronounced for impulsive adolescents. It is suggested that a memory bias for angry faces favors disruptive behavior but that a good ability to control impulses may moderate the negative impact of this bias.     

深谋远虑:前瞻行为研究的回顾与展望

前瞻行为是一个自我发起、未来导向以及试图改变现状的积极行为,能够为个人与组织带来正面的影响.本文旨于回顾前瞻行为的本质、前导因素、动机历程以及结果效应,也特别回顾笔者近期针对前瞻行为所进行的研究.首先,关于前瞻一词可以从不同的角度进行理解,包括个别差异观点、行为观点与历程观点.由于过去文献多从行为观点进行研究,本文的回顾亦以行为观点为主轴.其次,本文逐一回顾目前文献所提出的三个关于促进前瞻行为的动机历程:能力、缘由与情绪.再者,笔者讨论各种能够促发前瞻行为的前导因素,包括个人因素、环境因素,以及两者间的交互作用如何影响前瞻行为的展现.笔者也基于过去的研究发现,总结前瞻行为所能导致的结果,包括工作态度与绩效.最后,在近期研究的介绍中,笔者介绍了三个根据个别差异的观点所进行的研究.此研究路线旨在了解人格特质对前瞻行为的影响,并且勾勒情境所扮演的调节效应.全文最终总结前瞻行为的研究现状,以及提出未来可能探索的研究方向.     

Overt and Covert Dimensions of Antisocial Behavior in Early Childhood

The present study was designed to assess both the prevalence and structure of antisocial behavior in a normative sample of preschoolers. Prevalence estimates suggested that 40% of preschoolers exhibit at least one antisocial behavior each day. Furthermore, 10% of preschoolers exhibit six or more antisocial behaviors each day. Consistent with research based on older children, factor analyses provided support for conceptualizing antisocial behavior in early childhood as consisting of both overt and covert dimensions. While both overt and covert behaviors had acceptable test–retest reliability, only overt behaviors had acceptable interrater reliability. Finally both overt and covert dimensions of antisocial behavior were uniquely related to general measures of conduct problems, hyperactivity, and adult and peer conflict in the classroom setting. Findings are discussed with regard to early assessment and the developmental course of antisocial behavior.     

基本需要在导师排斥感知与研究生心理健康的关系中的作用

为探讨导师排斥感知对研究生心理健康的影响及作用机制,本研究采用导师排斥感知问卷、基本需要问卷、生活满意度量表、简版流调中心抑郁量表及攻击问卷,对北京市六所本科院校的864名在校硕士和博士研究生进行问卷调查。结果发现：（1）导师排斥感知正向预测研究生的抑郁和攻击性,负向预测其生活满意度;（2）基本需要在导师排斥感知与研究生的生活满意度、抑郁之间起着完全中介作用,在导师排斥感知与攻击性之间起部分中介作用。结果表明,研究生导师排斥感知越强,基本需要的满足水平越低,进而导致研究生的抑郁水平越高、攻击性越强、生活满意度越低。即研究生感知的导师排斥感越强,其心理健康水平越低。