Note on the squared multiple correlation as a lower bound to communality

It is demonstrated that the squared multiple correlation of a variable with the remaining variables in a set of variables is a function of the communalities and the squared canonical correlations between the observed variables and common factors. This equation is shown to imply a strict inequality between the squared multiple correlation and communality.     

Team-Track: A tool for investigating tracking performance in teams

Team performance and coordination have gained considerable interest in disparate fields (e.g., aviation, process control, medicine, and wartime operations). Team-Track, a C program that allows controlled experimental manipulation of team conditions, was developed to meet the research needs resulting from this interest. Using Team-Track, one can manipulate task interdependence, team staffing, relative contributions of team members, communications, and informational displays in a low-cost environment. The dependent measure of performance generated by the program is the absolute tracking error along each dimension. The program is ideal for investigating team interactions as it allows for orthogonal manipulation of team variables, therefore accommodating a multitude of research paradigms.     

Students' perceptions of male sexually aggressive behavior as a function of educational level and gender

Two hundred and four students (108 college freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors; 96 high school juniors and seniors) participated in this study. The socioeconomic status of the participants (high school = 93% Caucasian, 7% African-American; college = 96% Caucasian, 4% African-American) was primarily in the lower middle-class range. The purposes of this investigation were (1) to test whether or not differences exist between high school and college students' perceptions of one form of male sexually aggressive behavior against women, (2) to determine if differences exist between male and female students' perceptions of such behavior against women, and (3) to explore the sex role socialization theory by providing empirical observation of its basic tenets. Findings suggested that boys may experience slower maturation and development of sensitivity toward sexual aggression than girls, but that this gap may lessen with advancing age for college males.     

Negative priming is not task bound: A consistent pattern across naming and categorization tasks

When a word that was a to-be-ignored flanker on an initial prime trial becomes the target on the subsequent probe trial, responding to that word on the probe trial is slowed, a phenomenon callednegative priming. Virtually all prior studies have required subjects to perform the same task on both the prime and the probe trials. Thus, the extent to which negative priming is task bound is uncertain. We manipulated task factorially on the prime and probe trials, resulting in four groups: name-name, name-categorize, categorize-name, and categorize-categorize. The results showed equivalent negative priming of about 22 msec both within and between tasks for identical words, but no negative priming for semantically related words from the same category. These findings suggest (1) that negative priming for identical words can readily cross task types; and (2) that semantic negative priming does not occur for words, at least when categorical relatedness alone determines the semantic relation.     

A tactile stimulation device for measuring two-point and gap discrimination thresholds in humans

A device to measure two-point-discrimination and gap-discrimination thresholds is described. The apparatus is capable of controlled and reliable delivery of forces up to 42.50 g while determining point of skin contact and subsequent depth of skin indentation during threshold determination. Stimulus delivery is controlled by computer software that deactivates a solenoid, allowing a counterbalanced beam with one of two stimulus wheels mounted on its end to rise and stimulate the skin. Depth of skin indentation is recorded by hardware that monitors the output of a photocell reflecting the position of the beam. The apparatus allows complete computer control of all data acquisition and recording.     

Interim Managers: Distinguishing Personality Characteristics of Managers on Short-term Contracts

The use of interim managers by companies is increasing, and reasons for this trend are discussed. A study is reported in which the normative personality make-up of a group of interim managers is compared with that of a general sample of UK managers. Ninety-four interim managers completed the revised PA Preference Inventory (PAPI-N) and the results are compared with those from a general UK managerial sample. Statistically significant differences are reported for 12 out of 20 scales, with nine of the effect sizes ≥ 0.5. Results are also compared with a priori job expert predictions. Of nine predictions that interim managers would differ from the general management norm, seven are consistent with the statistical findings. Practical and methodological implications of the findings, and their relation to the ‘Big Five’, are discussed, together with broader implications for the study of workers in new and emerging forms of employment. The findings are also interpreted in the particular context of interim management roles.     

Primary Progressive Aphasia: A Review of 112 Cases

Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) was first recognized by Mesulam in 1982. Although dozens of cases have since been described, it has been difficult to place these cases into a coherent framework due to the wide variation in measures which have been reported. We review 170 contacts with 112 patients to provide a clinical, neuroanatomical, and neuropsychological profile of patients with the disorder. The progression of the disease is analyzed over a 10-year reporting period starting from symptom onset to show how progression affects five general linguistic skills: oral and written naming, reading, repetition, and general comprehension. The pattern of functional and neurological deficits in PPA is heterogeneous. Differences in the distribution of neurological anomalies between patients with bilateral and unilateral changes suggest that there may be two separate disease processes involved.     

Ajātasattu and the future of psychoanalytic anthropology. Part I: The promise of a culture

Conclusion Thus, we can see that Obeyesekere’s notion and usage of some psychoanalytic concepts is at variance with Freud’s formulations and with those of standard psychoanalytic theory. This divergence is also evident in Obeyesekere’s formulation of the concept of disconnection, which is arguably the most important construct in the first chapter of The work of culture. Space constraints prevent us taking-up this concept here. So let me now conclude this first part of the essay, and begin part 2 with an examination of ‘disconnection’ in the context of a discussion of Obeyesekere’s accounts of two South Asian ecstatics.