Field perspective deficit for positive memories characterizes autobiographical memory in euthymic depressed patients

Research on autobiographical memory (AM) and the ability to retrieve specific autobiographical events in euthymic depressed patients yielded divergent results. The main goal of the present study was to further explore episodic specificity of AM among fully remitted depressed patients. Twenty euthymic depressed patients and 20 matched healthy controls were given a semi-structured interview, which assesses episodic specificity of positive and negative autobiographical memories regarding event and details' specificity, autonoetic consciousness (remember/know procedure) and visual perspective (field/observer procedure). Results showed an impairment of episodic specificity of AM in euthymic depressed patients. This impairment was explained by a field perspective deficit for positive memories only. These results suggest that euthymic patients continue to exhibit discrepancy between their current self and their self for positive past behaviors, which maintains an unfavorable view of their current self. Specific cognitive interventions may improve the self-relevance of their positive memories.     

The state of order in Fe–Al studied by precession electron diffraction

Precession electron diffraction (PED) has been carried out on a fully ordered Fe–40at.%Al solid solution in order to explore its suitability for determining the state of order. The integrated intensity ratio of a superlattice reflection with respect to a fundamental reflection was measured as a function of the sample thickness and the results are well fitted by dynamical simulations. It is proposed that, in addition to conventional X-ray diffraction, PED may provide access to the state of order at microscopic and nanoscopic scales.     

Webs of Connection Using Technology in Theological Education

The author uses a variety of Internet-related technologies to support pedagogical approaches where students become conscious of their role in the production of knowledge in a public and critically collaborative environment. These approaches also seek to address theory/practice dichotomies by using the Internet to bridge academic and parish contexts. The article describes and assesses three courses utilizing web-based technology. One course features student portfolios posted on a website with peer- and parish-based reviewers. A second course features student creation of the course text with contributions from external professionals. A third course features a ministry resource website created by students.     

Is optimal vision required for the successful execution of an interceptive task?

The importance of optimal visual function in demanding interceptive tasks is far from established. The aim of the study was to determine whether induced myopic blur and hence sub-optimal visual function would give rise to a detrimental effect on performance in the execution of an interceptive task. The batting performance of grade level cricket players was assessed facing a bowling machine whilst wearing contact lenses of four different refractive conditions (plano (nil), +1.00, +2.00 and +3.00D over-refraction), inducing increasing amounts of myopic blur. Performance for each condition was assessed based both on the shot quality against each delivery judged by a qualified cricket coach blind to each condition, along with an evaluation of the quality of ball-bat contact for each delivery. No significant change was found in batting performance with the introduction of +1.00 and +2.00D of induced myopic blur. A +3.00D over-correction was required before any significant decrease in batting performance was detected, demonstrating that batters needed to be essentially legally blind (as simulated through the use of the +3.00D over-refraction) before there was any significant measurable decrement in batting performance. We concluded that optimal visual correction is not necessarily required for optimal performance in a demanding interceptive task, and that the human perceptual-motor system is capable of compensating for marked alterations in input.     

Queer Theory and Its Future in Psychology: Exploring Issues of Race Privilege

Queer theory is increasingly making an impact on the discipline of psychology in the UK and elsewhere, both in the form of those who explicitly use queer theory, and those who exhibit a queer sensibility. Yet, it has been suggested, queer theorising more broadly has largely neglected to account for its racial politics, an issue that holds ongoing relevance for its application across disciplines. In this paper, I outline six key areas requiring further attention in regards to the growing use of queer theory within psychology: (i) a greater recognition of the histories on which queer theory builds, (ii) an understanding of how racial hierarchies shape accounts of individualism and universalism, (iii) a continued focus on the operations of a racialised queer desire, (iv) an investigation of the implication of critiques of essentialism, (v) ongoing explorations of language use within queer theorising, and (vi) greater acknowledgement of tensions within queer community building. These six points provide new avenues of consideration for those already in the field, and will encourage those new to the field to explore its unnamed assumptions.