Merah and Breivik: A Reflection of the European Identity Crisis

While the cases of Anders Behring Breivik and Mohamed Merah clearly demonstrate the impact of social networks and the role of the Internet and prison on the radicalization process, the killings in Norway and France in fact expose larger issues that exist within contemporary Europe, including profound identity crises manifesting as Islamist extremism in some quarters and far-right extremism in others. This article discusses the individual pathways towards extremism of Merah and Breivik, the interconnectivity of two extremisms and how these can be understood as mirrored manifestations of an identity crisis in Europe.¹1. A shorter version of this article was presented at the international conference on “Europe and Islam in the 21st Century,” organized by the Monash European and EU Centre, Monash University, Prato, Italy, June 20–21, 2013. I would also like to thank Associate Professor Pete Lentini, and Dr Natalie Doyle for having inspired me to continue this research that is close to my heart.     

Optimierung expositionsbasierter Therapie

Exposure is an effective approach for treating anxiety disorders, although a substantial number of individuals fail to benefit or experience a return of fear. Research results suggest that anxious individuals show deficits in the mechanisms underlying exposure therapy, such as inhibitory learning. Targeting these processes may help improve the efficacy of exposure; however, there has been little discussion of how to implement this model in clinical practice. The primary aim of this paper is to provide examples to clinicians for how to apply this model to optimize exposure therapy, in ways that distinguish it from a fear habituation approach and a belief disconfirmation approach. Optimization strategies include (1) expectancy violation, (2) deepened extinction, (3) occasional reinforced extinction, (4) removal of safety signals, (5) variability, (6) retrieval cues, (7) multiple contexts and (8) affect labeling. Case studies illustrate methods of applying these techniques with a variety of anxiety disorders.     

Children's Depression Inventory: invariance across children and adolescents with and without depressive disorders

In the study, the authors examined the measurement (configural, factor loadings, thresholds, and error variances) and structural (factor variances, covariances, and mean scores) invariance of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI; Kovacs, 1992) across ratings provided by clinic-referred children and adolescents with (N = 383) and without (N = 412) depressive disorders. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis of the Craighead, Smucker, Craighead, and Ilardi (1998) CDI model supported full measurement invariance and invariance for structural variances and covariances. Invariance for thresholds was also supported by multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) procedures that controlled for the effects of age; sex; and the presence or absence of anxiety disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and oppositional defiant/conduct disorders. The MIMIC analyses showed that for latent mean scores, the group with depressive disorders had higher scores, with at least medium effect sizes, for Self-Deprecation and Biological Dysregulation. The theoretical, psychometric, and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.     

An item response theory analysis of the Problem Gambling Severity Index

Increases in the availability of gambling heighten the need for a short screening measure of problem gambling. The Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) is a brief measure that allows for the assessment of characteristics of gambling behavior and severity and its consequences. The authors evaluate the psychometric properties of the PGSI using item response theory methods in a representative sample of the urban adult population in South Africa (N = 3,000). The PGSI items were evaluated for differential item functioning (DIF) due to language translation. DIF was not detected. The PGSI was found to be unidimensional, and use of the nominal categories model provided additional information at higher values of the underlying construct relative to a simpler binary model. This study contributes to the growing literature supporting the PGSI as the screen of choice for assessing gambling problems in the general population.     

Students’ perception of instrumental support and effort in mathematics: the mediating role of subjective task values

Recent research shows that teacher support is predictive of student outcomes, such as engagement and effort. In this study, we explored the relation between students’ perceptions of teacher instrumental support in mathematics lessons and their effort in mathematics. We also tested whether this relation was mediated through students’ perception of the utility value, cost, and intrinsic value of mathematics. The study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. The participants included 309 9th and 10th grade Norwegian high school students. Three dimensions of mathematics task values were measured: utility value, intrinsic value, and the cost of working with mathematics. The data were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling. Instrumental support was directly and positively related to both the utility value and the intrinsic value of mathematics. However, it was only indirectly related to the perceived cost of working with mathematics, mediated by the utility value and the intrinsic value. Instrumental support was also both directly and indirectly related to effort. The indirect relation was mediated by the students’ perception of mathematics task values.     

Whose Rights Count? Negotiating Practice,Policy, and Legal Dilemmas Regarding Infant–Parent Contact When Infants are in Out‐of‐Home Care

This article takes a human rights perspective with a view to articulating the infant's perspective when the infant has been subjected to abuse, neglect, or both and is reliant on the state to ensure his or her health and well‐being. When a young child is removed from parental care, important and often difficult decisions have to be made about subsequent contact between child and parent. We consider a number of dilemmas which may arise for practitioners when they are assisting child welfare decision makers in relation to contact, and acknowledge the limited empirical follow‐up studies of the impact of child welfare practice and legal decisions on infant outcomes. We draw on the significant and substantive evidence base about infant emotional and cognitive development and infant–parent attachment relationships as well as infant mental health to illuminate the infant's subjective experience in these practice dilemmas. We describe innovations in practice from various countries, which seek to shed light on the challenges often associated with contact.     

Collaboration Technologies Improve Performance and Communication in Air Battle Management

Team communication is critical for Air Battle Management (ABM). In this study, two communication tools (text chat and electronic whiteboard) and two team resource aids (tabular and graphical displays) were introduced during simulated ABM to supplement radio communication. Results showed that combined chat and virtual whiteboard improved team performance, decreased number and duration of radio transmissions, but had mixed effects on workload. In addition, the graphical resource display improved team performance, decreased number and duration of radio transmissions, and reduced workload compared to the tabular display. These findings indicate that collaboration technologies introduced in this experiment may benefit military operations.     

A Commentary on 'Exploring the Nature of Human Resource Developers' Expertise"

Previous research has shown that organizational identification (OI) of leaders is positively related to employee OI and, in turn, linked to positive behaviours of employees towards the organization. In the present study, we argue that leader OI does not only affect variables at the employee level but, through its influence on employees, also contributes to important customer outcomes (i.e., customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and customer recommendations). Drawing on self-concept based theories of leadership effectiveness and insights from service linkage research, the present article proposes that OI plays an important role in these influence processes. Additionally, the article delineates the behavioural and psychological variables that intervene employee OI and customer outcomes. More specifically, we suggest that leader OI is positively related to follower OI, which results in customer-oriented service behaviour. Customer orientation, in turn, should positively affect customers' identification with the organization and, ultimately, result in customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and customer recommendations. Results of a multilevel field study using data from leaders, employees, and customers provide support for our theoretical model.