Autobiographical reflections on what it means to experience disruption

Accepting disruption as an inevitable occurrence in life, five nurse-teacher-researchers explore their experience with being disruptive/being disrupted. Reflection on the all-encompassing embodied experience of disruption takes us through a process of exploration and meaning-making. We pause to show what it is like to be in-between the known and unknown in creating a life in academia through stories. Plotlines such as being in-between family and work; transplanted outsider seeking a sense of belonging; going into the chaos while feeling invisible; and self-induced disruption in response to loss illuminate our reflection. The metaphor of the breathturn allows us to reconstruct our experience and to discern possibilities beyond the usual negative connotations.     

Cross‐cultural Generalizability of the Alternative Five‐factor Model Using the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire

Several personality models are known for being replicable across cultures, such as the Five‐Factor Model (FFM) or Eysenck's Psychoticism–Extraversion–Neuroticism (PEN) model, and are for this reason considered universal. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the cross‐cultural replicability of the recently revised Alternative FFM (AFFM). A total of 15 048 participants from 23 cultures completed the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA‐PQ) aimed at assessing personality according to this revised AFFM. Internal consistencies, gender differences and correlations with age were similar across cultures for all five factors and facet scales. The AFFM structure was very similar across samples and can be considered as highly replicable with total congruence coefficients ranging from .94 to .99. Measurement invariance across cultures was assessed using multi‐group confirmatory factor analyses, and each higher‐order personality factor did reach configural and metric invariance. Scalar invariance was never reached, which implies that culture‐specific norms should be considered. The underlying structure of the ZKA‐PQ replicates well across cultures, suggesting that this questionnaire can be used in a large diversity of cultures and that the AFFM might be as universal as the FFM or the PEN model. This suggests that more research is needed to identify and define an integrative framework underlying these personality models. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology     

The structure of coping styles: a comparative study of croatian sample

The primary aim of this study was to develop a Croatian inventory for assessing coping strategies that people use when under stress. As a basis for this inventory, a translation of the multidimensional coping inventory (COPE) by Carver, Scheier and Weintraub (1989) was used. The second purpose was to compare the results of the original version of the COPE with the translated Croatian version. Three additional scales (Humour, Turning to Religion, and Drug and Alcohol Use) were also analysed. The results were obtained using a sample consisting of undergraduate students (N=403) from the University of Rijeka, Croatia. When comparing the original version of the COPE inventory with the Croatian version, a similar factor structure emerged. The differences obtained are interpreted by taking into account different sociocultural and economic conditions in Croatia and the USA. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The HEXACO Personality Inventory: Validation and Psychometric Properties in the Serbian Language

The aim of this research is to validate the HEXACO model of personality in the Serbian language through psychometric validation of the 100–item version of the HEXACO–PI–R. The research was conducted on 2 independent samples, the first comprising 1,217 participants from a community sample (55.5% females; average age = 31.77 years), and the second 345 undergraduate students (65% females; average age = 21 years). Besides the HEXACO–PI–R, 2 questionnaires were applied for the purposes of convergent validation: the Big Five Plus Two (BF+2), measuring 7 lexical personality dimensions (applied in Sample 1), and the Big Five Inventory (BFI; applied in Sample 2). Factor structure of the HEXACO–PI–R is in line with model assumptions. Convergent validity is good, whereby Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Conscientiousness are highly correlated to their BFI and BF+2 counterparts. Honesty–Humility is most closely related to Negative Valence (BF+2), Emotionality to BFI Neuroticism, and Agreeableness to BF+2 Aggressiveness and BFI Agreeableness. The results point to the satisfactory validity of the HEXACO model and its measure in the Serbian language.     

Dissociative Experiences and Trauma Exposure Among Newly Arrived and Settled Young War Refugees

War-traumatized refugee adolescents are a vulnerable and understudied group. This study of two different groups of war-traumatized youth (N = 77) resettled in Sweden (newly arrived refugee adolescents, n = 42, 13–19 years, and settled students with childhood war experiences, n = 35, 11–18 years) evaluated their war experiences, refugee journey, general trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and dissociative experiences. Both groups had experienced many traumas and a substantial proportion reported levels consistent with posttraumatic stress (71% in the newly arrived group and 34% among the settled students) and dissociation (36% and 23%, respectively). The study also provides information about the type of adverse events experienced by war-refugee adolescents, including their own subjective appraisals of the worst events. The results show that the extent of trauma exposure and posttraumatic and dissociative symptomatology among refugee adolescents are considerable even after a period of resettlement, a finding that has educational, clinical, and social implications.     

No evidence for self-recognition in a small passerine,the great tit (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Parus major</Emphasis>) judged from the mark/mirror test

Self-recognition is a trait presumed to be associated with high levels of cognition and something previously considered to be exclusive to humans and possibly apes. The most common test of self-recognition is the mark/mirror test of whether an animal can understand that it sees its own reflection in a mirror. The usual design is that an animal is marked with a colour spot somewhere on the body where the spot can only be seen by the animal by using a mirror. Very few species have passed this test, and among birds, only magpies have been affirmatively demonstrated to pass it. In this study, we tested great tits (Parus major), small passerines, that are known for their innovative foraging skills and good problem-solving abilities, in the mirror self-recognition test. We found no indication that they have any ability of this kind and believe that they are unlikely to be capable of this type of self-recognition.     

Are the aesthetic preferences towards snake species already formed in pre-school aged children?

This study explores aesthetic preferences towards boa and python species among pre-school children and adults, and compares the ratings between the two groups. A set of snake photographs was presented (56 species) to children and adult respondents. The respondents were asked to select the five most preferred and five least preferred species. The children’s agreement on which species were ‘beautiful’ and which were ‘ugly’ was statistically significant and a positive relationship between the mean ranks provided by children and adults was also found (r = .54, P < .001). Children preferred species with thick necks and inconspicuous heads, usually small species, harmless to children. Large pythons probably posed more danger to children than they did to adults during human evolution in African savannas and therefore we hypothesize that young children’s aesthetic preferences were shaped by natural selection through interactions with dangerous snakes.     

How do affected interests support global democracy?

In this paper, I critique one way of arguing for global democracy on grounds of affected interests and defend another. A famous argument for global democracy, which I call the Demos-Based Argument, attempts to justify global democracy based on the claim that affected interests vindicate individual claims to democratic participation or representation. I analyze and evaluate the Demos-Based Argument and consider different ways of interpreting and justifying its crucial premise: the Principle of Affected Interests. The result is that the argument fails. One lesson of the discussion of the Demos-Based Argument is that the most promising, though eventually unsuccessful, justification of the Principle of Affected Interests is utilitarian. Given the failure of the Demos-Based Argument, the question suggests itself if there is another way to argue for global democracy on utilitarian grounds. I will outline a promising alternative argument for global democracy, which I call the Direct Argument. Like the Demos-Based Argument, the Direct Argument is based on affected interests and ultimately on utilitarianism, but unlike the former, the Direct Argument avoids the detour over stating a criterion for individual claims to democratic participation and representation.