Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale,Mini‐Mental State Examination and General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition in a multicultural cohort of community‐dwelling older persons with early dementia

Early dementia can be difficult to diagnose in older persons from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. The Folstein Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE), the General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition (GPCOG) and the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) were compared in 151 older, community‐dwelling persons. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate diagnostic accuracy, while logistic regression was used to evaluate the influence of age, gender, CALD status and years of education. All three instruments were equally accurate in predicting dementia (ROC area under curve 0.92–0.97, p > 0.05 for all comparisons). At the recommended cut‐offs, the RUDAS was best for ruling in dementia (positive LR = 8.77), while the GPCOG was best for ruling out dementia (negative LR = 0.03). All three instruments were influenced by concomitant depression. Whereas the MMSE was influenced by CALD status, the RUDAS and GPCOG were not. While the GPCOG combines participant and informant data, the RUDAS is a stand‐alone measure specifically designed for, and validated in, multicultural populations.     

The Relationship Between Diverse Components of Intelligence and Creativity

Intelligence and creativity are accounted for in terms of two different mental operations referred to as ‘convergent thinking’ and ‘divergent thinking’, respectively. Nevertheless, psychometric evidence on the relationship between intelligence and creativity has been controversial. To clarify their relationship, we characterized the relationship between diverse components of intelligence and creativity through the administration of psychometric tests on a large sample (WAIS, RPM, and TTCT‐figural: n = 215; TTCT‐verbal: n = 137). The general intelligence factor (g) score showed significant correlations with both TTCT‐figural and TTCT‐verbal scores. However, sub‐dimensional analysis demonstrated that their association was attributable to the specific components of both TTCTs (TTCT‐figural: Abstractness of Titles, Elaboration, and Resistance to Premature Closure; TTCT‐verbal: Flexibility) rather than to their common components (Fluency and Originality). Among the intelligence sub‐dimensions, crystallized intelligence (gC) played a pivotal role in the association between g and the specific components of both TTCTs. When the total sample was divided into two IQ groups, these phenomena were more evident in the average IQ group than in the high IQ group. These results suggest that the mental operation of creativity may be different from that of intelligence, but gC may be used as a resource for the mental operation of creativity.     

CAN CHRISTIAN TALK ABOUT GOD BE LITERAL?

This article discusses whether Christian talk about God can be literal. First, it is argued that the meaning of a word cannot be reduced to its use, that metaphorical language is indirect in its use of words, and that the change of meaning of a word by analogical extension differs from the change of meaning by repeated metaphorical use. Next, it is shown that in Christian talk about God, God can be literally referred to by God's proper name, “YHWH,” and by words that in contexts of prayer and praise function as proper names. Then it is argued that terms for non‐basic actions can be literally applied to the Christian God, and that some of God's essential properties can be literally described on the basis of his self‐revealing actions.     

Psychosocial work factors, physical work load and associated musculoskeletal symptoms among home care workers

This study was based on a questionnaire and included a group of home care workers (HCW) (n = 305) and a reference group of municipal employees (n = 694). The relationship between the work environment and musculoskeletal symptoms was analysed. The HCW were less satisfied with their control over their work and stimulus from their work and had a higher physical work load and prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms, compared with the reference group. The Rate Ratio (RR) of neck and shoulder symptoms among HCW was 83 and 54 %, respectively, higher among those reporting a "high" psychological work load compared with those reporting a "low" load. The highest RR for a single risk indicator was 2.5, and this concerned low-back symptoms among HCW who often worked with twisted postures. A combination of "poor" psychosocial work environment and "high" physical work load produced the highest RR for work-related neck (RR = 2.57) and shoulder (RR = 2.13) symptoms.     

FORMALIZATION OF HILBERT'S GEOMETRY OF INCIDENCE AND PARALLELISM

Three things are presented: How Hilbert changed the original construction postulates of his geometry into existential axioms; In what sense he formalized geometry; How elementary geometry is formalized to present day's standards.     

Tough love: The behavior control justice motive facilitates forgiveness in valued relationships

When individuals in valued relationships are transgressed against, how are they able to protect the relationship while at the same time restore justice for themselves? Study 1 (N = 137) employed a recall design to demonstrate that when victims restore justice, the well‐established association between relationship value and forgiveness can be explained indirectly through a motivation to control future behavior. Studies 2 (N = 122) and 3 (N = 115) replicated this finding using experimental designs, manipulating two distinct facets of valued relationships: the fact that they are continuing and close. There were no indirect effects for two alternative justice motives, just deserts and revenge. We discuss implications for relations between justice and forgiveness in the context of interpersonal relationships.     

Feelings of injustice after violation of succession rules in simulated organizations

In previous studies (e.g. Bruins and Wilke, 1993) it was established that in hierarchically structured groups, power aspirations towards a high power position are stronger for the next most senior person than for lower positioned others, that, is, support was found for Ng's (1977) bureaucratic rule. In the present study the persistence of the bureaucratic rule is demonstrated in simulated organizations with different succession rules. In addition, it appeared that when the least powerful member of the organization was assigned to a vacant high power position, members' feelings of injustice were stronger in conditions in which the succession rule had been violated, but interestingly, these feelings were not dependent on members' own positions.     

Cooperation,ethnic salience and generalization of interethnic attitudes

This study compared the effectiveness of three theoretically-based conditions of intergroup cooperation in bringing about generalization of ethnic outgroup attitudes from a cooperation partner to the outgroup as a whole. Twenty-seven pairs of Dutch secondary school pupils were assigned at random to work together in triads to solve two word puzzles. The triads consisted of one Turkish pupil, always a confederate, and two Dutch pupils. The three conditions varied according to whether reference was made to the ethnic background of the confederate in both an introductory conversation and in the conversation-break between puzzles (High–High salience); only in the later break (Low–High); or not at all (Low–Low). Results show no differences between conditions in attitudes towards the partner, which were quite positive. However, attitude change only generalized in the two conditions in which ethnic membership was made salient (Low–High and High–High, which did not differ). These findings are discussed in terms of different models of intergroup contact, and how contact may actually work.     

The epistemic status of inter-item correlations in Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire: the a priori versus the empirical in psychological data

Judgements of the semantic relatedness of items in Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire and the corresponding inter-item correlations were found to be significantly related. The results are taken to indicate that the inter-item correlations are knowable a priori and, hence, are not empirical. It is also argued that the reported findings themselves are knowable a priori , and that the study, therefore, is pseudoempirical, that is, attempts to test necessarily true propositions empirically. The study was intended to demonstrate concretely the distinction between a priori and empirical in psychological data, and to indicate the confusion arising when that distinction is not made.