Civic engagement in relation to outcome expectations among African American young adults

The present study examined civic engagement—volunteering and political activism—among 129 African American young adults from an urban community. The proposed model considered factors that motivate young adults to participate in civic activities as well as barriers that might inhibit involvement. Drawing upon social cognitive theory, this study highlighted the role of two related, but independent, types of civic attitudes: community and individual outcome expectations (OEs) as Bandura defines them. Results indicated that perceptions of neighborhood conditions are linked to community OEs, whereas previous involvement in political actions is linked to individual OEs. Analyses also revealed that community and individual OEs are differentially associated with young adults' intentions to engage in future civic activities. Study findings contribute to an area of research that has received limited investigation and are discussed in terms of developing strategies to support civic engagement among African American young adults in urban settings.     

Age and emotion affect how we look at a face: visual scan patterns differ for own-age versus other-age emotional faces

We investigated how age of faces and emotion expressed in faces affect young (n=30) and older (n=20) adults' visual inspection while viewing faces and judging their expressions. Overall, expression identification was better for young than older faces, suggesting that interpreting expressions in young faces is easier than in older faces, even for older participants. Moreover, there were age-group differences in misattributions of expressions, in that young participants were more likely to label disgusted faces as angry, whereas older adults were more likely to label angry faces as disgusted. In addition to effects of emotion expressed in faces, age of faces affected visual inspection of faces: Both young and older participants spent more time looking at own-age than other-age faces, with longer looking at own-age faces predicting better own-age expression identification. Thus, cues used in expression identification may shift as a function of emotion and age of faces, in interaction with age of participants.     

Individual differences in visual search: relationship to autistic traits, discrimination thresholds, and speed of processing

Enhanced visual search is widely reported in autism. Here we note a similar advantage for university students self-reporting higher levels of autism-like traits. Contrary to prevailing theories of autism, performance was not associated with perceptual-discrimination thresholds for the same stimuli, but was associated with inspection-time threshold--a measure of speed of perceptual processing. Enhanced visual search in autism may, therefore, at least partially be explained by faster speed of processing.     

Neural correlates of phonological processing in speech sound disorder: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Speech sound disorders (SSD) are the largest group of communication disorders observed in children. One explanation for these disorders is that children with SSD fail to form stable phonological representations when acquiring the speech sound system of their language due to poor phonological memory (PM). The goal of this study was to examine PM in individuals with histories of SSD employing functional MR imaging (fMRI). Participants were six right-handed adolescents with a history of early childhood SSD and seven right-handed matched controls with no history of speech and language disorders. We performed an fMRI study using an overt non-word repetition (NWR). Right lateralized hypoactivation in the inferior frontal gyrus and middle temporal gyrus was observed. The former suggests a deficit in the phonological processing loop supporting PM, while the later may indicate a deficit in speech perception. Both are cognitive processes involved in speech production. Bilateral hyperactivation observed in the pre and supplementary motor cortex, inferior parietal, supramarginal gyrus and cerebellum raised the possibility of compensatory increases in cognitive effort or reliance on the other components of the articulatory rehearsal network and phonologic store. These findings may be interpreted to support the hypothesis that individuals with SSD may have a deficit in PM and to suggest the involvement of compensatory mechanisms to counteract dysfunction of the normal network.     

Neuroanatomy of childhood disruptive behavior disorders

Our aims were to (1) examine possible neuroanatomical abnormalities associated with the Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBDs) as a group and (2) assess neuroanatomical anomalies specific to each DBD (i.e., conduct disorder [CD] and oppositional defiant disorder). Cortical thickness analysis and voxel-based morphometry were analyzed in 47 8-year-old boys (22 DBDs with and without CD and/or ODD and 25 healthy controls) from Magnetic Resonance Imaging brain scans. DBD symptoms were assessed using the Dominic-R. In DBD subjects relative to controls, we found (1) a decreased overall mean cortical thickness; (2) thinning of the cingulate, prefrontal and insular cortices; and (3) decreased gray matter density (GMd) in the same brain regions. We also found that scores on the Dominic-R were negatively correlated with GMd in the prefrontal and precuneus/superior temporal regions. There was a subdiagnostic main effect for CD, related to thinning of the middle/medial frontal, and for ODD in the left rectal/orbitofrontal. Findings suggest that thinning and decreased GMd of the insula disorganizes prefrontal circuits, diminishing the inhibitory influence of the prefrontal cortex on anger, aggression, cruelty, and impulsivity, and increasing a person's likelihood of aggressive behavior. These findings have implications for pathophysiologic models of the DBDs, their diagnostic classification system, and for designing more effective intervention programs.     

两亚型注意缺陷多动障碍(ADHD)儿童的内隐注意定向

研究探讨注意缺陷障碍儿童与正常儿童之间,混合型与注意缺陷型ADHD儿童之间在内源与外源注意定向功能的差异。ADHD儿童及与之匹配的正常儿童对照组分别参与了两个实验,实验一采用了内源性内隐注意定向任务,实验二采用了外源性内隐注意定向任务。研究表明：（1）ADHD儿童与正常儿童相比,在注意定向过程（注意解除、转移与施加）上有一定缺陷。（2）ADHD儿童注意定向网络功能有缺陷,与反应水平上动作准备有关的注意功能可能受损。（3）两种亚类型儿童注意定向功能缺陷模式不同。在内原定向上,混合型与注意缺陷型相比较,混合型ADHD儿童表现为有较强的反应冲动性;注意缺陷型儿童,主要表现为注意加工过程比较缓慢,注意更易涣散。在外源定向上,混合型儿童在反应的运动准备及运动控制方面的缺陷要大于注意缺陷型儿童     

试论当代台湾佛教界对资金的吸纳

本文考查了当代台湾佛教界对资金吸纳的18种途径,分析了当代台湾佛教界能大量吸纳到资金的原因,概括了当前台湾佛教界在吸纳资金方面所面临的问题,探讨了台湾佛教界在吸纳资金方面采取的种种应对措施,条分缕析地对台湾当代佛教界的经济问题进行了全方位的研究。     

重构经济学的伦理维度--对经济与伦理、经济学与伦理学关系的反思

经济与伦理都以利益为共同基础与最终指向,二者都有规则的含义,都体现了人类的理性原则。但这并不否定两者之间所存在的差异和冲突。经济与伦理的冲突是由社会分工为前提的实践方式的分化所引起的,是以经济学与伦理学的分工为前提的。构建经济学的伦理维度,旨在用人类整体理性方式来反思经济活动及经济主体之间的关系,从而为市场经济秩序提供伦理辩护,奠定经济发展的价值基础。     

晚明佛教:短暂的辉煌与深远的影响

晚明短短几十年中,社会动荡,民不聊生,佛教诸派因势而起,掀起它在中国古代史上的最后一次辉煌。无论是寺院的兴复,还是义理的抉择,抑或居士佛教的普及,都呈现出前所未有的增长态势,而四大师的先后出现,更是将佛教复兴推向高潮。晚明佛教复兴虽历时短暂,但对后世佛教,尤其是近代佛教的兴起有深远影响。     

大宁隐微禅师略考

本文对属于德山一系的大宁隐微禅师的生平事迹及机缘法要进行了概略的介绍,并对始自罗山的“师子在窟出窟”句进行了分析。