An Interdepartmental Self-Management Lab: A Self-Help Approach to Student Development

The authors describe a self-help information and referral center for students that provides pamphlets, files, books, audiocassettes, videotapes, and computer programs on more than 100 topics related to health, personal growth, and academic skills. The center is located in a university library and is jointly sponsored by three departments.     

Assessing cognitive impairment in Indigenous Australians: Re‐evaluation of the Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment in Western Australia and the Northern Territory

The Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment (KICA) was initially developed and validated as a culturally appropriate dementia screening tool for older Indigenous people living in the Kimberley. This paper describes the re‐evaluation of the psychometric properties of the cognitive section (KICA‐Cog) of this tool in two different populations, including a Northern Territory sample, and a larger population‐based cohort from the Kimberley. In both populations, participants were evaluated on the KICA‐Cog tool, and independently assessed by expert clinical raters blinded to the KICA scores, to determine validity and reliability of dementia diagnosis for both groups. Community consultation, feedback and education were integral parts of the research. for the Northern Territory sample, 52 participants were selected primarily through health services. Sensitivity was 82.4% and specificity was 87.5% for diagnosis of dementia, with area under the curve (AUC) of .95, based on a cut‐off score of 31/32 of a possible 39. for the Kimberley sample, 363 participants from multiple communities formed part of a prevalence study of dementia. Sensitivity was 93.3% and specificity was 98.4% for a cut‐off score of 33/34, with AUC = .98 (95% confidence interval: 0.97–0.99). There was no education bias found. The KICA‐Cog appears to be most reliable at a cut‐off of 33/39.     

Still living in a war zone: Perceived health and wellbeing of partners of Vietnam veterans attending partners' support groups in New South Wales,Australia

Post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans is well documented, less so the long‐term impact on the health of their partners and families. The perceived health and wellbeing of women partners of Australian Vietnam veterans who were members of partners of veterans support groups is reported. This qualitative study used data from 76 participants in 10 focus groups in metropolitan, regional, and rural and remote areas of New South Wales (NSW). The data were tape‐recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed using constant comparison methods. The impact of living with a partner with war‐related PTSD appears to be significant and ongoing with women drawing parallels to living in a war zone. The biggest negative impact was on their mental health. They felt burdened as carers and struggled to find explanations for their husbands' problems. Support groups were very helpful. There are implications for partners of veterans who have returned from active military duty and from peacekeeping in current conflicts.     

SMOKING AND SELF-CONCEPT IN YOUNG ADULTS: AN IDIOGRAPHIC METHOD OF MEASUREMENT

An idiographic repertory grid method of measuring self-concept was used in a nomothetic design to study the relation between smoking behavior and four components of self-concept: real self, ideal self, social self, and ideal social self. Personal constructs were elicited from 32 smoker and 32 nonsmoker male and female college students. Differences between smokers and nonsmokers on all four components of self-concept supported the criterion-related validity of the measures. Implications were discussed for the assessment method and clinical practice.     

Prior Exposure to Creatures From a Horror Film

This experiment assesses the impact of two exposure strategies on children's emotional and cognitive reactions to a frightening movie scene. Children from two grade levels (kindergarten and first vs. second through fourth) received a desensitization treatment in which modeled exposure to a live earthworm was factorially varied with exposure to graphic photographs of worms taken from a horror film. Children then viewed a frightening scene involving worms taken from this same film. Results indicated that exposure to photographs increased children's enjoyment of the movie segment and reduced fear reactions to the scene. In contrast, the live exposure strategy was effective in reducing fear reactions to the movie only among boys. However, live exposure did alter children's affective reactions to and judgments of worms themselves. The findings are discussed in terms of current theories of desensitization and information processing.     

The Place of Semantic Theory

Abstract: Some twenty years since its publication Putnam's model‐theoretic argument is still much discussed. The present paper aims to defend a reconstruction of the argument but begins by attempting to clarify the form of the argument. Usually, and with good textual grounds, the argument is treated as a reductio argument against metaphysical realism. I argue instead that it should be treated as developing a paradox. I go on to claim that the most promising response to this paradox is to be able to provide a theory of (Fregean) sense, in the style recommended by Dummett. So, according to this reasoning, the argument is not an argument against metaphysical realism but an argument against positions which reject the notion of sense.