A randomised placebo-controlled trial of a self-help Internet-based intervention for test anxiety

Test anxiety is widespread and associated with poor performance in academic examinations. The Internet, not well-proven for the treatment of anxiety, should be able to deliver highly accessible Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). This study sought to test the hypothesis that CBT, available on the Internet, could reduce test anxiety. Ninety university students were randomly allocated to CBT or a control program, both on the Internet. Before and after treatment, the participants completed the Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI), an Anxiety Hierarchy Questionnaire (AHQ), the Exam Problem-Solving Inventory (EPSI), the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) and the Heim reasoning tests (AH) as a measure of test performance. Of the CBT and control groups 28% and 35%, respectively, withdrew. According to the TAI, 53% of the CBT group showed a reliable and clinically significant improvement with treatment but only 29% of the control group exhibited such a change. On the AHQ, 67% of the CBT group and 36% of the control group showed a clinically significant improvement, more than two standard deviations above the mean of the baseline, a change in favour of CBT. Both groups improved on the GSES, in state anxiety during exams retrospectively assessed, and on the AH tests. The improvement on the AH tests was probably a practice effect and not a reflection of a change in capacity for academic testing. This study thus supports use of CBT on the Internet for the treatment of test anxiety.     

Alexander of Aphrodisias and the Heterodox dictum de omni et de nullo

Aristotle's explanation of what is said ‘of every’ and ‘of none’ has been interpreted either as involving individuals (of which something is said ‘of every’, or of which something is said ‘of none’), or as regarding exclusively universal terms. I claim that Alexander of Aphrodisias endorsed this latter interpretation of the dictum de omni et de nullo. This interpretation affects our understanding of Alexander's syllogistic: as a matter of fact, Alexander maintained that the dictum de omni et de nullo is one of the core principles of syllogistic.     

Identifying Emergent Social Networks at a Federally Qualified Health Center-Based Farmers’ Market

Identifying potential mechanisms connecting farmers’ market interventions with health, economic, and community outcomes could inform strategies for addressing health disparities. The present study used social network theory to guide the in-depth examination of naturally occurring social interactions at a farmers’ market located at a federally qualified health center located in a rural, low-income community. Trained observers recorded 61 observation logs at the market over 18 weeks. Thematic analysis revealed a range of actors and nonhuman facilitators instrumental to the farmers’ market context. These actors connected with one another for communication and relationship development, economic and financial exchange, education, resource sharing, community ownership of the farmers’ market, and conflict resolution. These interactions provided opportunities for social networks to develop among attendees, which may have facilitated the acquisition of social supports related to improved health, economic and community outcomes. Results provide insight into the role social networks may play in mediating the relationship between a farmers’ market intervention and individual benefits. Findings also contribute to defining the typology of social networks, which may further disentangle the complex relationships between social networks and health outcomes. Future research should identify strategies for purposefully targeting social networks as a way to reduce diet-related health disparities.     

The intergenerational transmission of ethnic essentialism: how parents talk counts the most

The present study analyzed the role of parents as potential sources of children's essentialist beliefs about ethnicity. We tested 76 parent–child (5‐year‐olds) dyads of Jewish Israeli parents from three social groups, defined by the kindergartens children attended: national religious, secular, or Jewish‐Arab integrated. We assessed parents' and children's beliefs, and parents' usage of ethnic attitudinal and categorization markers in a book‐reading activity. Overall, national religious parents manifested the strongest ethnic essentialism and endorsement of anti‐negotiations with Palestinians, and were the most likely to express negative attitudes and mark ethnic categories in their conversations with their children. Moreover, regression analyses revealed that ethnic categorization in parents' speech was the most reliable predictor of children's ethnic essentialism. Ethnic essentialism is transmitted to children not via explicit communication of intergroup beliefs or attitudes, but rather via the sheer marking of categories in ways that resonate with children's own intuitive ways of conceptualizing the social world.