Quantum Computational Structures: Categorical Equivalence for Square Root qMV -algebras

In this paper we investigate a categorical equivalence between square root qMV -algebras (a variety of algebras arising from quantum computation) and a category of preordered semigroups.     

A Finer Grained Approach to Psychological Capital and Work Performance

Purpose

Psychological capital is a set of personal resources comprised by hope, efficacy, optimism, and resilience, which previous research has supported as being valuable for general work performance. However, in today’s organizations, a multidimensional approach is required to understanding work performance, thus, we aimed to determine whether psychological capital improves proficiency, adaptivity, and proactivity, and also whether hope, efficiency, resilience, and optimism have a differential contribution to the same outcomes. Analyzing the temporal meaning of each psychological capital dimension, this paper theorizes the relative weights of psychological capital dimensions on proficiency, adaptivity, and proactivity, proposing also that higher relative weight dimensions are helpful to cope with job demands and perform well.

Methodology

Two survey studies, the first based on cross-sectional data and the second on two waves of data, were conducted with employees from diverse organizations, who provided measures of their psychological capital, work performance, and job demands. Data was modeled with regression analysis together with relative weights analysis.

Findings

Relative weights for dimensions of psychological capital were supported as having remarkable unique contributions for proficient, adaptive, and proactive behavior, particularly when job demands were high.

Originality/Value

We concluded that organizations facing high job demands should implement actions to enhance psychological capital dimensions; however, those actions should focus on the specific criterion of performance of interest.

     

Brain functional connectivity correlates of coping styles

Coping abilities represent the individual set of mental and behavioral strategies adopted when facing stress or traumatic experiences. Coping styles related to avoidance have been linked to a disposition to develop psychiatric disorders such as PTSD, anxiety, and major depression, whereas problem-oriented coping skills have been positively correlated with well-being and high quality of life. Even though coping styles constitute an important determinant of resilience and can impact many aspects of everyday living, no study has investigated their brain functional connectivity underpinnings in humans. Here we analyzed both psychometric scores of coping and resting-state fMRI data from 102 healthy adult participants. Controlling for personality and problem-solving abilities, we identified significant links between the propensity to adopt different coping styles and the functional connectivity profiles of regions belonging to the default mode (DMN) and anterior salience (AS) networks—namely, the anterior cingulate cortex, left frontopolar cortex, and left angular gyrus. Also, a reduced negative correlation between AS and DMN nodes explained variability in one specific coping style, related to avoiding problems while focusing on the emotional component of the stressor at hand, instead of relying on cognitive resources. These results might be integrated with current neurophysiological models of resilience and individual responses to stress, in order to understand the propensity to develop clinical conditions (e.g., PTSD) and predict the outcomes of psychotherapeutic interventions.     

Complex visual analysis of ecologically relevant signals in Siamese fighting fish

Animal Cognition - We currently have limited knowledge about complex visual representations in teleosts. For the specific case of Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens), we do not know whether...     

Radical hope in revolting times: Proposing a culturally relevant psychological framework

Growing research supports the link between individual expressions of hope and psychological well‐being. In this paper, we draw on psychological theories of hope, racial and ethnic studies, and the literature on radical healing to propose a framework of radical hope. Although the proposed multidimensional framework integrates cultural practices of People of Color in the United States, it is flexible enough to be adapted to other contexts. The paper begins by providing a brief review of the literature that conceptualizes the concept of hope in the field of psychology as a prelude to comparing the concept to the interdisciplinary notion of radical hope. Based on this body of work, we then introduce a culturally relevant psychological framework of radical hope, which includes the components of collective memory as well as faith and agency. Both components require an orientation to one of four directions including individual orientation, collective orientation, past orientation, and future orientation. The framework also consists of pathways individuals can follow to experience radical hope including (a) understanding the history of oppression along with the actions of resistance taken to transform these conditions, (b) embracing ancestral pride, (c) envisioning equitable possibilities, and (d) creating meaning and purpose in life by adopting an orientation to social justice. We conclude with a proposed research agenda for radical hope.     

Validation of a solid-state anomaloscope used to assess red-green color vision defects

Solid-state anomaloscopes whose stimuli are derived from light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are simpler and less expensive than conventional anomaloscopes. We have assessed the test-retest reliability and the validity of one solid-state anomaloscope and have obtained normative data for it. Reliability and validity were assessed by classifying 36 color-defective observers into one of five categories defined by degree of defect. When all color defectives were considered, both the validity and reliability of the solid-state anomaloscope were found to be high. The primary stimuli of the solid-state anomaloscope are less well separated in chromaticity space than are those of conventional anomaloscopes, but there is no evidence that this results in the incorrect classification of anomalous trichromats as dichromats. The solid-state anomaloscope appears to be an acceptable alternative to standard anomaloscopes for both research and screening applications.     

Measuring Child Mental Health Status for Services Research

Epidemiological studies of the prevalence of mental health disorders typically contain multiple measures of mental health, using different instruments and different informants (child, parent, and interviewer). We used the Methods for the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescents Mental Disorder (MECA) study of U.S. youth to assess the effects of employing a range of these measures in mental health services research. We examined the effect of including various measures of mental health status in regressions of income on mental health service use. The estimated effect of income on service use varied widely, depending on the measure of mental health status used. Some measures of mental health status have little explanatory power in service use regressions. Measures of mental health status based on parental assessment of impairment or need, such as the Columbia Impairment Scale, are less costly to collect and also have good explanatory power, but are more strongly correlated with income. The Non-Clinician Child Global Assessment Scale (NC-CGAS) performs best in terms of explanatory power and correlation with income. Higher income parents appeared to judge behaviors differently from lower income parents, so analyses based on measures derived from parental report may lead to an understatement of the effect of income on service use.     

Correspondence between statistically derived behavior problem syndromes and child psychiatric diagnoses in a community sample

The correspondence between Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (3rd ed.) (DSM-III) diagnoses and statistically derived syndromes was examined within a community sample of children and adolescents in Puerto Rico. Specifically, the extent to which behavior dimensions, derived from the Child Behavior Checklist and the Youth Self-Report, corresponded to psychiatric diagnoses, derived from parent and child versions of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, was examined. The alternative approaches for assessing psychopathology in children and adolescents were compared against external validators. The results indicated a meaningful convergence between DSM-III diagnoses and statistical syndromes; however, a one-to-one correspondence did not emerge. Little evidence was found for diagnostic thresholds. There was no evidence of the superiority of either the statistically derived syndromes or the DSM-III diagnoses. The incorporation of a measure of impairment improved the validity of both approaches. Adding parental reports to the selfreports of adolescents yielded little gain in the validity of either the statistical or diagnostic approach. The implications for the definition and assessment of child and adolescent disorders are discussed.This research was supported by grant MH 38821 from the National Institute of Mental Health.The authors wish to acknowledge Glorisa Canino, Ph.D., and Maritza Rubio-Stipec, M.A., of the University of Puerto Rico, co-investigators in the epidemiologic project and to Barbara Bettes, Ph.D. for her contribution to preliminary analyses for this manuscripl. Portions of this paper were presented at the 38th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, San Francisco, October 1991.     

ALTRUISM IN SUICIDE TERROR ORGANIZATIONS

In recent years, much has been learned about the strategic and organizational contexts of suicide attacks. However, motivations of the agents who commit them remain difficult to explain. In part this is because standard models of social learning as well as Durkheimian notions of sacrificial behavior are inadequate in the face of the actions of human bombers. In addition, the importance of organizational structures and practices in reinforcing commitment on the part of suicide recruits is an under-explored factor in many analyses. This essay examines the potential applicability of evolutionary models of altruism to the understanding of commitment to suicide on the part of terrorist organizational recruits. Three evolutionary models of sacrificial behavior in nonhuman species and many categories of human behavior are explored cross-organizationally: reciprocity, inclusive fitness theory, and induced altruism. Reciprocal altruism is unlikely to be a major motivator in suicide attacks because the costs exhibited by attackers are too high to be adequately compensated. However, the role of evolved self-deception in perceptions of personal death, and thus of rewards in the afterlife, is potentially illuminating. Inclusive fitness theory can help explain the motivations of attackers because rewards to kin often are offered by organizations to suicide recruits. However, suicide bombers also often act out of revenge for the loss of or injury to relatives, and inclusive fitness theory generally, as well as more specific theoretical models of retaliatory aggression, may not adequately account for the bombers' actions. Predictions from induced altruism theory appear to be well supported because suicide terror organizations tend to be tightly structured around practices intended to maintain and reinforce commitment though the manipulation of kinship-recognition cues.     

IUSAM-APdeBA: A higher education institute for psychoanalytic training

The history of the last century shows the almost constant presence of psychoanalysis in the academic setting and, simultaneously, the incredible absence of analytic training at the universities. This paper outlines the project of the Buenos Aires Psychoanalytic Association (APdeBA) to create a higher education institution of its own (IUSAM) specifically aimed at lodging psychoanalytic training within a university setting. The project was approved by the Argentine educational authorities in 2005 and received the economic support of the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA). The academic structure of the university is described, whose goal is broadened to the interdisciplinary field of mental health with psychoanalysis as an integrating axis. Some of the characteristics of the traditional 'university model' as well as its relationship with psychoanalysis are pointed out. With the IUSAM, psychoanalytic training is not included as a part of an already established university, it rather creates a new one, with the support of a well-known psychoanalytical association (APdeBA) which endorses its activities and guarantees its identity. IPA's requirements for analytic training (didactic analysis, supervisions and seminars) have been fully preserved in this new context. Finally, some of the advantages and disadvantages of including analytic training into an academic environment are listed .