Recall of Television Commercials as a Function of Viewing Context: The Impact of Program-Commercial Congruity on Commercial Messages

The effect of the congruity between the involvement types of advertising commercial and a television program on the effectiveness of the commercial was studied. Participants (N = 103) viewed either a cognitive or an affective commercial for a product, which was embedded in either a cognitive or an affective television program. The results showed that the effects of the congruence influence the impact on memory. Free recall and cued recall were significantly influenced by the program-commercial congruity. Free recall and cued recall were significantly higher for the cognitively involving commercial in the cognitively involving program context than in the affectively involving program context. Similarly, free recall and cued recall were significantly higher for the affectively involving commercial in the affectively involving program context than in the cognitively involving program context.     

Eric J. Sharpe (1933–2000)

This paper gives a general account of the developments in the Baha'i Faith over the last three decades. The period began with the Baha'i Faith as a little-known religion with a hereditary leadership of predominantly Iranian membership but with some spread to the West. At the present time the religion has been transformed into a much better-known religion led by an elected council. It has increased some 20-fold in numbers and is now world-wide in membership. The major structural changes involved as the previous hereditary leadership at the international level was converted into the leadership of an elected council are analysed. The growth and development of the religion over this period are described and some statistical information is given. The central concerns of the religion during this time are described in terms of a number of motifs: polar, legalism, millenarianism, social reformism, universalism, liberalism, and martyrdom and sacrifice. An attempt is made to analyse some of the present problems facing the Baha'i community, both in terms of the persecutions that it suffers as well as the problems presented by its successful expansion, and to describe the ways in which it copes with these.     

Neural activation pattern in self-deceivers

While deception is a conscious cognitive effort and self-deception is an unconscious cognitive effort. Such effort possibly shapes the working memory and generates a neural activation pattern in self-deception. Little attempt was made to identify activation pattern in self-deception. The present study investigated the phenomenon of self-deception by increasing the working memory functions using a boxcar design. functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) revealed more activation in bilateral inferior parietal lobule (BA 40), superior parietal lobule (BA 7), middle frontal gyrus (BA 9), medial frontal gyrus (BA 6), thalamus and cerebellum. Activated areas in frontal and parietal cortex suggest significant role of working memory during self-deception.     

Street Girls and Their Fight for Survival Across Four Developing Countries

Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative approaches this study explored the lives of 115 girls on the streets, the data were gathered from the cities of New Delhi (India), Jakarta (Indonesia), Manila (Philippines), and Pretoria (South Africa). The average age of the sample was 15.17 years and the sample comprised of family based, street based, and shelter based children. The results indicated that the girls who were street based were at maximum risk of being involved in antisocial activities with peers, being low on problem solving, and high on depression and mental health related problems. However, the sample was also high on community engagement, religiosity, and individual attributes of self esteem, self efficacy, and resilience. The results were further substantiated via protocols from the participants. Given the vulnerable position of the girl child on the streets, programs that directly address the well-being and health of the girl child, especially those who are street based, are important to be examined.     

The Scientific Study of Religion: Its Contribution to the Study of the Bhagavadgītā

Abstract. The Bhagavadg?tā is a popular Hindu text containing eighteen chapters. It begins with the hero, Arjuna, showing a marked unwillingness to engage in combat on the eve of battle. He is finally persuaded to do so by Krishna, who is an incarnation of God. Krishna actually reveals himself as such to an amazed Arjuna in the eleventh chapter. The fact that Arjuna does not immediately heed Krishna's advice to engage in battle after Krishna's sensational self‐disclosure has long puzzled students of the text. It is only at the end of the eighteenth chapter that Arjuna finally shows his readiness to fight. In this essay I argue that the discussion of the nine primary sensory states by Eugene d'Aquili may help resolve this issue and thus provide an instance of a case in which modern scientific study of religion enhances our understanding of a religious phenomenon, as a corrective to the usual charge that it must invariably diminish it.     

Gender Ideology and Social Transformation: Using Mixed Methods to Explore Processes of Ideological Change and the Promotion of Women’s Human Rights in Tanzania

Despite growing international interest in policies and practices to enhance women’s status and well-being in the Global South, ideological constraints to structural transformation and increasing opportunities available to women are widespread. There is thus considerable need to examine how ideological processes surrounding women’s status and value can be challenged. In the current study we used mixed method analyses to examine a process of deideologization—the contestation and transformation of traditional ideology—among a group of Maasai women in northern Tanzania. First, thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative interviews conducted with 16 Maasai women. Themes involving traditional ideology, the value of popular education, and components of a deideologization process were identified and assessed. Second, quantitative structural equation modeling was used to test a process model connecting women’s participation in popular education classes to increased political efficacy, decreased discomfort speaking at community meetings, and, in turn, deceased patriarchal beliefs about women. Overall, findings provided evidence for an iterative deideologization process catalyzed by popular education that led to improvements in women’s lives. The importance of promoting processes of deideologization via locally driven efforts to improve the status and well-being of women are discussed.     

Functional brain activation differences in stuttering identified with a rapid fMRI sequence

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether brain activity related to the presence of stuttering can be identified with rapid functional MRI (fMRI) sequences that involved overt and covert speech processing tasks. The long-term goal is to develop sensitive fMRI approaches with developmentally appropriate tasks to identify deviant speech motor and auditory brain activity in children who stutter closer to the age at which recovery from stuttering is documented. Rapid sequences may be preferred for individuals or populations who do not tolerate long scanning sessions. In this report, we document the application of a picture naming and phoneme monitoring task in 3 min fMRI sequences with adults who stutter (AWS). If relevant brain differences are found in AWS with these approaches that conform to previous reports, then these approaches can be extended to younger populations. Pairwise contrasts of brain BOLD activity between AWS and normally fluent adults indicated the AWS showed higher BOLD activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), right temporal lobe and sensorimotor cortices during picture naming and higher activity in the right IFG during phoneme monitoring. The right lateralized pattern of BOLD activity together with higher activity in sensorimotor cortices is consistent with previous reports, which indicates rapid fMRI sequences can be considered for investigating stuttering in younger participants.Educational objectives: The reader will learn about and be able to describe the: (1) use of functional MRI to study persistent developmental stuttering; (2) differences in brain activation between persons who stutter and normally fluent speakers; and (3) potential benefit of time efficient fMRI sequences combined with a range of speech processing tasks for investigating stuttering in younger populations.     

Science teaching: science teachers in Trinidad and Tobago share their stories

Qualitative narrative inquiry using exploratory interviews with five experienced secondary school science teachers in Trinidad and Tobago were analysed to reveal what learnings can be derived from the experiences and stories shared by these individuals. The stories present science teaching as an evolutionary process, which portrays science teaching with the following attributes: a work in progress, a haven for students, a lifelong vocation, and a personal commitment. Integral elements of science teaching as a process rather than a product in an atmosphere of discipline, respect, and trustworthiness were revealed. While this work is instructive for aspiring teachers and has several implications for teacher preparation programmes, the aim in this instance is to share the stories of these five teachers, and in that regard it serves a celebratory rather than a theoretical purpose.