A disadvantage in bilingual sentence production modulated by syntactic frequency and similarity across languages

Bilingual speakers access individual words less fluently, quickly, and accurately than monolinguals, particularly when accessing low-frequency words. Here we examined whether the bilingual speech production disadvantage would (a) extend to full sentences above and beyond single word retrieval and whether it would be modulated by (b) structural frequency and (c) syntactic properties of the bilingual speakers’ other language. English monolinguals, Spanish–English bilinguals and Mandarin–English bilinguals were tested in a sentence production task conducted exclusively in English. Response times were modulated by bilingualism, structural frequency, and structural similarity across the bilingual speakers’ two languages. These results refine our knowledge regarding the scope of the bilingual disadvantage, demonstrate that frequency effects apply to syntactic structures, and also suggest that syntax is partially shared across bilinguals’ two languages.     

Postural tasks are associated with center of pressure spatial patterns of three-dimensional statokinesigrams in young and elderly healthy subjects

The present study investigated the association between postural tasks and center of pressure spatial patterns of three-dimensional statokinesigrams. Young (n = 35; 27.0 ± 7.7 years) and elderly (n = 38; 67.3 ± 8.7 years) healthy volunteers maintained an undisturbed standing position during postural tasks characterized by combined sensory (vision/no vision) and biomechanical challenges (feet apart/together). A method for the analysis of three-dimensional statokinesigrams based on nonparametric statistics and image-processing analysis was employed. Four patterns of spatial distribution were derived from ankle and hip strategies according to the quantity (single; double; multi) and location (anteroposterior; mediolateral) of high-density regions on three-dimensional statokinesigrams. Significant associations between postural task and spatial pattern were observed (young: gamma = 0.548, p < .001; elderly: gamma = 0.582, p < .001). Robustness analysis revealed small changes related to parameter choices for histogram processing. MANOVA revealed multivariate main effects for postural task [Wilks’ Lambda = 0.245, p < .001] and age [Wilks’ Lambda = 0.308, p < .001], with interaction [Wilks’ Lambda = 0.732, p < .001]. The quantity of high-density regions was positively correlated to stabilogram and statokinesigram variables (p < .05 or lower). In conclusion, postural tasks are associated with center of pressure spatial patterns and are similar in young and elderly healthy volunteers. Single-centered patterns reflected more stable postural conditions and were more frequent with complete visual input and a wide base of support.     

Gender relations,the gendered division of labour and health: the case of the women factory workers of Rio Tinto,northeast Brazil, 1924-91

This article examines gendered work-health relationships among female factory workers in Rio Tinto, a textile factory town in Brazil. The author draws on her own and her parents' experiences as factory workers and as residents of Rio Tinto. In addition, she gathered research during 1982-86 and 1988-93, interviewing 30 female and 12 male workers. Findings from 1924-58 and 1959-91 indicate that the family structure and work process were interlinked. Self-images are construed to be the intersection of social relations of sex and class, psychopathology, and the concept of work positions. Gendered relations are a social construction, and awareness of these relations is based on a hierarchy and form of power based on a gendered division of labor. Gendered relations arise out of a specific historical context. Social practices reflect the relationship between sexual division of labor and gendered social relations, their modalities, shape, and periodization. The work-health relationship is expressed in the gendered technical organization of work, the gendered socialization of work, and domestic labor. The period of 1917-58 reflects the capitalist influences. When women became wage earners, their management of household tasks was changed. Men took over the heavy tasks, and women performed tasks that required skill and patience. Work-related health impacts, such as deformed knees or severed fingers, and accidents varied with the task. Women adapted to work conditions. During the 1940s, female workers refused to join the collective protests of men for better wages and conditions. The dream of progress faded by 1964. After 1959, new gendered relations of production and reproduction emerged. Labor laws were passed; new machines were introduced. During 1965-70, the health issues were headaches, irritability, and anxiety. 1970-91 brought a hollowness of spirit and the search for an explanation for the violence they had experienced.     

A functional perspective on group memberships: Differential need fulfillment in a group typology

The social motivation functions of intimacy, task, and social category groups were investigated. In two studies, participants were asked to consider the extent to which their group memberships fulfilled several needs. A factor analysis confirmed that the needs comprised three factors: affiliation, achievement, and identity. Intimacy groups were associated with affiliation needs, task groups were associated with achievement needs, and social category groups were associated with identity. A study using implicit measures reinforced those results, revealing the presence of the same implicit associations between group types and need fulfillments. A final study manipulated participants’ need state through a priming procedure. Priming a specific need (affiliation, achievement, and identity) led to an increased accessibility of the group type that was best suited to meet that need (intimacy, task, social category, respectively). Results help clarify the functional aspects of groups and have implications for the perception and organization of group-level information.     

Expressive Art in Cross-Cultural Group Supervision: Applying the Mmogo-Method™

Academic mobility has increased the tendency of students to study in foreign countries, which poses various personal, interpersonal and contextual challenges to the cross-cultural supervision relationship. This study explored the themes that emerged in a cross-cultural supervision relationship through the application of expressive art, referred to as the Mmogo-Method?, in cross-cultural group supervision. Fourteen individuals participated in the research, thirteen Tswana-speaking women from Botswana and a Tshivenda-speaking man from Venda (age range: 25 to 45 years). Participants were asked to create visual representations illustrating any aspect of their growth since the beginning of the year. Thereafter, the participants engaged in focus group discussions. Data were analysed by means of semiotic data analysis. Central themes suggest that the transfer of culturally embedded values and norms takes place between environments. The data further elicited valuable information regarding aspects that could play an integral role in personal and professional development. It appears that expressive art such as the Mmogo-Method? could serve as a valuable tool in enhancing the quality of supervision.     

The Effect of Color on the Production of Responses to Rorschach Cards VIII,IX, and X in Age Groups of 11–12 and 15–16 Years

The effect of color on the production of responses to the Rorschach task has been considered by investigators from 2 different positions: (a) that color has little effect on the production of responses, and (b) that color increases the number of responses. Some previous results found by the current investigators have supported the first position for the last 3 fully colored Rorschach cards (VIII, IX, and X), in children from 5 to 12 years old. Other studies of ours, however, have confirmed the second position for these same cards with a group of young adults 17 to 23 years old. As there was no increase of responses up to age 12, for this study we hypothesized a developmental effect in adolescence such that there would be an increase in the production of responses to the colored Rorschach cards at the age of 15 to 16 years, and this is what the results indicate. From a pragmatic standpoint, these results imply a revision of interpretive meaning for the Color and Affective Ratio variables in children's protocols. Our results also indicate that color cannot be regarded as a means of expression of affect at age 11 to 12 like it will be from age 15 to 16 and on.     

Is Weiner's attribution‐help model stable across cultures? A test in Brazilian subcultures

The effect of attribution of responsibility on the intention to help is a well‐studied effect. The Weiner model of attribution‐emotion‐help is the main theoretical development to describe the structural relation between these variables. Some research results have suggested that culture influences the relation between model variables. Collectivists tend to show more compassionate emotions independent of attribution of responsibility whereby emotion is no longer a mediator. The present research aims to test the Weiner model in Brazil, a country with established subcultures and clear distinctions in the collectivism–individualism dimension across its regions. An experiment with 1,569 participants from all five Brazilian regions was conducted. Path analysis revealed that more socially oriented participants tended to feel more compassion for the experimental scenario's protagonist, independent of controllability manipulation, decreasing the effect of emotions in the model. These results depict the effect of culture on the model, questioning the stability of the model across cultures.