Does probability weighting matter in probability elicitation?

One of the most widely used methods for probability encoding in decision analysis uses binary comparisons (choices) between two lotteries: one that depends on the values of the random variable of interest and another that is contingent on an external reference chance device (typically a probability wheel). This note investigates the degree to which differences in probability weighting functions between the two types of events could affect the practice of subjective probability encoding. We develop a general methodology to investigate this question and illustrate it with two popular probability weighting functions over the range of parameters reported in the literature. We use this methodology to (a) alert decision analysts and researchers to the possibility of reversals, (b) identify the circumstances under which overt preferences for one lottery over the other are not affected by the weighting function, (c) document the magnitude of the differences between choices based on probabilities and their corresponding weighting functions, and (d) offer practical recommendations for probability elicitation.     

Piety among Tablīghī women

Islamic piety in Muslim women has been on the rise in the last three decades around the world. Much of it involves formerly nominal Muslim women becoming observant of Islamic rules, rituals and practices and taking their faith seriously. For these women, it is a journey of spiritual elevation. It is a new endeavour of Islamic awakening and self discovery. All this is occurring in an era characterized by a modernity which claims, among other things, that religion is the basis for women’s oppression in society. Thus, western and western-educated scholars and feminist theorists have argued for the “unveiling” of Muslim women as part of the process of weakening the hold of Islam and allowing women to become free thinking, liberal and independent. This article is an attempt to explore the continuous growth of Islamic piety in Muslim women around the world. Using the Tablīgh Jamā‘at in Australia as a case study, the article seeks to understand the role of Islamic piety in Muslim women. The article argues that Islamic piety in Muslim women is an attempt by Muslim women to find a religious response to modernity.     

Linking family incivility to workplace incivility: Mediating role of negative emotions and moderating role of self‐efficacy for emotional regulation

The research on work‐related antecedents of workplace incivility (WI) is well‐established, yet relatively less attention has been paid to non‐work‐related experiences as key antecedents to employees’ incivility at work. Drawing upon the incivility spiraling framework and spillover theory, we use a moderated‐mediation model to investigate the impact of employees’ experience of family incivility on their behavioral WI through the mediation of negative emotions and the moderation of self‐efficacy for emotional regulation (SEER). The multisource field data also demonstrate general support for the hypothesized relationships. Findings revealed that negative emotions carry the spiraling effect from family incivility to WI. In addition, SEER moderated the positive direct relationship of experienced family incivility and negative emotions, and indirect association with behavioral WI. These findings have implications for theory and management alike, further suggesting directions for future research.     

The threat simulation theory of the evolutionary function of dreaming: Evidence from dreams of traumatized children

The threat simulation theory of dreaming (TST) () states that dream consciousness is essentially an ancient biological defence mechanism, evolutionarily selected for its capacity to repeatedly simulate threatening events. Threat simulation during dreaming rehearses the cognitive mechanisms required for efficient threat perception and threat avoidance, leading to increased probability of reproductive success during human evolution. One hypothesis drawn from TST is that real threatening events encountered by the individual during wakefulness should lead to an increased activation of the system, a threat simulation response, and therefore, to an increased frequency and severity of threatening events in dreams. Consequently, children who live in an environment in which their physical and psychological well-being is constantly threatened should have a highly activated dream production and threat simulation system, whereas children living in a safe environment that is relatively free of such threat cues should have a weakly activated system. We tested this hypothesis by analysing the content of dream reports from severely traumatized and less traumatized Kurdish children and ordinary, non-traumatized Finnish children. Our results give support for most of the predictions drawn from TST. The severely traumatized children reported a significantly greater number of dreams and their dreams included a higher number of threatening dream events. The dream threats of traumatized children were also more severe in nature than the threats of less traumatized or non-traumatized children.     

Post-training reversible inactivation of the rat's basolateral amygdala interferes with hippocampus-dependent place avoidance memory in a time-dependent manner

In this study, tetrodotoxin (TTX) inactivation was employed to evaluate the involvement of the rat's basolateral amygdala (BLA) in hippocampus-dependent spatial memory using a place avoidance learning task. Rats were trained in single 30 min session to avoid a 60 degrees segment of the stable circular (80-cm diameter) arena, entering which was punished by a mild shock. Bilateral injections of TTX or saline were made either immediately, 1 or 2h after training. Retention was tested 24h later in a 30 min extinction session. Retention was impaired when both BLA inactivated immediately or 1h after training, but not 2h after training. These data indicate that activity in the BLA, at least 60 min after training, is necessary for the post-training processing of a hippocampus-dependent place avoidance memory.     

Cetacean responses to violation of expectation paradigm in a free-swim context

Animal Cognition - The investigation of individual responses to unexpected stimuli or outcomes provides insights into basic cognitive processes, such as mental representations, emotional states of...     

Relationships of the Practice of Hijab,Workplace Discrimination,Social Class,Job Stress,and Job Satisfaction Among Muslim American Women

Religious discrimination in the workplace has received little attention in the research. The present study is an exploratory study that investigated the impact of workplace discrimination on a self‐selected sample of diverse Muslim women living across the United States (N = 129). The results of this study revealed that workplace discrimination, job stress, social class, and religiosity were related to lower levels of job satisfaction. Implications of the results are discussed in terms of clinical intervention strategies.     

The mosque and social control in Edinburgh's Muslim community

The present paper is based on an ethnographic study of the social organisation of one of the main mosques (Markazi Jamia Masjid‐i‐Anwar‐i‐Madina) in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The main focus of the paper is the ways the mosque operates as an agency of social control among the Muslim population of Edinburgh. This study identifies sabaq—mosque‐based religious education of young Muslims—and the Jom'a (Friday) congregational prayer as the two main mechanisms of social control within the mosque. It is argued that while the social organisation of the mosque is, in some important ways, a response to and shaped by exclusionary practices in the wider society, it plays a central role in the maintenance of order in the Muslim community of Edinburgh.     

A portable four-channel cassette recording system for short-term electroencephalogram in the field

A portable four-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) cassette recording system has been designed which offers good performance, is simple to construct, and moderate in cost. The recorder is compatible with a commercially available, portable, battery-operated power source, and is therefore usable in the field where line power is unavailable. The system incorporates a small, lightweight, portable, battery-powered oscilloscope which provides monitoring and playback capability. While a few experimental portable EEG recorders have been reported in recent years with more channel capacity or perhaps lighter weight, the engineering details of these units are rarely published and, in any event, would require a substantial effort for most electronics support shops to reproduce. The recording system described here, however, should be within the capability of most electronics support groups to assemble in a very short time and provide good performance.