An inexpensive variable time period integrator for electromyographic signals

It is frequently desirable for clinical researchers to have some means of precisely quantifying average levels of electromyographic signals over a series of finite time periods. This paper presents the design and development of an inexpensive variable time period integrator that can be adapted to most commercially available electromyograph equipment. The prototype instrument was found to give precise readings in the order of l%–2% accuracy when adjusted to specification.     

Psychological Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization: Trajectories From Middle to High School

Despite evidence documenting the negative consequences, psychological dating violence occurs frequently in adolescent dating relationships. No information exists on the trajectories that adolescents follow and their association to nonphysical peer violence. The sample comprised 624 randomly selected 6th graders. In yearly surveys from 6th through 12th grade, 550 of the 624 students reported dating at least twice during the 3 months prior to completing the survey. These students responded to questions about frequency of engagement in psychological dating violence perpetration and victimization. We used Proc TRAJ to identify developmental trajectories of behavior over time and generalized estimating equation models to examine the associations of the trajectories and peer aggression. Adolescents followed three distinct developmental trajectories related to psychological dating violence victimization and perpetration: low, increasing, and high. Based on the joint probabilities of victimization and perpetration, we identified four predominant groups: low victimization/low perpetration (LVLP; 36%), increasing victimization/increasing perpetration (40%), high victimization/high perpetration (HVHP; 15%), and increasing victimization/low perpetration (IVLP; 7%). The LVLP had significantly more boys and White students; the HVHP group had an even gender distribution and more African‐American students. For all groups, peer aggression decreased from Grade 6 to 12; students in the HVHP group reported the highest peer aggression, and students in the LVLP reported the lowest peer aggression. Findings suggest a strong, reciprocal relationship in the developmental trajectories of adolescents who experience and perpetrate psychological dating violence. Those highly engaged in these behaviors were also more likely to be violent toward peers. Aggr. Behav. 38:510‐520, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Race,Ethnicity, and the Bible: Pedagogical Challenges and Curricular Opportunities

Theological educators are now fostering dialogues, projects, and practices that are designed to acknowledge the challenges and opportunities resulting from the shifting racial and ethnic demographic climate in the U.S. and Canada. As well‐intentioned as these efforts are, most of the scholarship focuses on the contemporary experiences of underrepresented minorities, current institutional concerns, or practical classroom scenarios, leaving Scripture courses, which have long been the backbone of theological education, beyond the scope of critical engagement. In this article I argue that the existing scholarship on teaching and learning in general, and among biblical scholars in particular, does not adequately address the specific challenges that arise when questions about race and ethnicity are exposed in Scripture courses. Therefore, based on my own classroom experiences, I develop a pedagogy of (Emb)Racing the Bible that seeks to bridge the gap between theoretical readings and practical applications of ancient and contemporary discourses about race and ethnicity.     

The role of randomised controlled trials in developing an evidence‐base for counselling and psychotherapy

Background: Representatives of counselling and person‐centred organisations indicate many of their members feel their profession and orientation is under threat, with counselling services being decommissioned in NHS settings. Aims: To understand the views of key figures in the psychological therapies field (policy makers, researchers and representatives of the counselling community) towards randomised controlled trials (RCTs), and their present and future role in developing the evidence‐base for counselling and psychotherapy. Method: Interviews (phone, Skype or face‐to‐face) were conducted with 24 authorities in the field. Relevant practitioner and academic networks were also contacted and key documents in the field were reviewed. Results: Key figures believe that RCTs will continue to play a decisive role in determining which psychological interventions are recommended and commissioned within the NHS for the foreseeable future. Other methods are seen as having some validity, but are generally considered supplementary to RCTs and not a replacement for them. Discussion: Although many members of the counselling community are critical of RCTs, they are likely to remain the mainstay of commissioning policy for some years to come. This means, in the coming years, members of the counselling community may face difficult choices in how to promote their work, while maintaining their core principles and values.     

Social Support and Subjective Health in Fibromyalgia: Self-Compassion as a Mediator

Individuals with fibromyalgia report lower levels of health-related quality of life (HRQL) compared to other chronically ill populations and interpersonal factors (i.e., social support) may influence risk. What is less understood is how intrapersonal factors (i.e., self-compassion) may impact the social support-HRQL linkage. We examined the association between social support and HRQL in a sample of persons with fibromyalgia and tested the potential mediating role of self-compassion. Self-identified adults in the United States with fibromyalgia (N?=?508) were recruited from state, regional, and national organizations and support groups and completed an online battery of self-report questionnaires including: Multidimensional Health Profile—Psychosocial Functioning Index, Short-Form 36 Health Survey, and Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form. Individuals with greater subjective social support reported higher levels of self-compassion and, in turn, higher mental HRQL. These findings provide greater information about psychosocial constructs and HRQL and extend our understanding of self-compassion among individuals living with fibromyalgia.

     

Communalism, familism, and filial piety: are they birds of a collectivist feather?

The present studies examined the extent to which (a) communalism, familism, and filial piety would pattern onto a single family/relationship primacy construct; (b) this construct would be closely related to indices of collectivism; and (c) this construct would be related to positive psychosocial functioning and psychological distress. In Study 1, 1,773 students from nine colleges and universities around the United States completed measures of communalism, familism, and filial piety, as well as of individualistic and collectivistic values. Results indicated that communalism, familism, and filial piety clustered onto a single factor. This factor, to which we refer as family/relationship primacy, was closely and positively related to collectivism but only weakly and positively related to individualism and independence. In Study 2, 10,491 students from 30 colleges and universities in 20 U.S. states completed measures of communalism, familism, and filial piety, as well as of positive psychosocial functioning and psychological distress. The family/relationship primacy factor again emerged and was positively associated with both positive psychosocial functioning and psychological distress. Clinical implications and future directions for the study of cultural values are discussed.     

Katrina: Macro-Ethical Issues for Engineers

Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst disasters in United States history. Failures within New Orleans’ engineered hurricane protection system (levees and floodwalls) contributed to the severity of the event and have drawn considerable public attention. In the time since Katrina, forensic investigations have uncovered a range of issues and problems related to the engineering work. In this article, my goal is to distill from these investigations, and the related literature that has accumulated, some overarching macro-ethical issues that are relevant for all engineers. I attempt to frame these issues, using illustrative examples taken from Katrina, in a way that might be of pedagogical use and benefit for engineering educators interested in engaging their students in discussions of engineering ethics, societal impact of engineered systems, engineering design, or related topics. Some of the issues discussed are problems of unanticipated failure modes, faulty assumptions, lack or misuse of information, the importance of resiliency, the effects of time, balancing competing interests, attending to the details of interfaces, the fickleness of risk perception, and how the past constrains the present.     

Time and Its Relationship to Development in the Life Course: Some Reflections from a Study of HIV-Positive Adults

Although adult development is commonly understood as change over time, the relationship between time and development is rarely highlighted in research in the field. This paper first reviews 3 dimensions of time that interact in the study of developmental processes in the life course. The 3 dimensions are historical time; chronological age or life time; and social time, the culturally-specific, systematic ordering of life events. Second, the paper utilizes data from a follow-up study of HIV-positive men and women to illustrate the importance of time in development. In the original study, an HIV-positive diagnosis was viewed as a death sentence and had the effect of suspending the normal developmental patterns of adult life. Two years later, with the advent of protease inhibitors—an event in historical time—participants had reengaged with life time, once again making social time a relevant factor in their development. These data demonstrate how a better understanding of adult development can be achieved when historical time, life time, and social time are moved center stage in the study of developmental processes.