Preliminary evaluation of an after-school resistance training program for improving physical fitness in middle school-age boys

Most after-school physical activity programs for youth focus on aerobic games and activities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of an after-school resistance training program on improving the physical fitness of middle school-age boys. 22 boys (M = 13.9 yr., SD = .4 yr.) participated in a periodized, multiple-set, 9-wk. (2x/week) resistance training program. All subjects were pre- and post-tested on their 10-repetition maximum squat, 10-repetition maximum bench press, vertical jump, medicine ball toss, flexibility, and also percentage of body fat and the progressive aerobic cardiovascular endurance run (PACER). Statistical analysis indicated that subjects significantly improved performance on the squat (19%), bench press (15%), flexibility (10%), vertical jump (5%), medicine ball toss (12%), and the PACER (36%). Although this design minus a control group limits interpretation, this after-school resistance-training program can improve muscular fitness and cardiovascular fitness in boys and should be replicated with appropriate experimental controls.     

Applying Chaos Theory to Careers: Attraction and attractors

This article presents the Chaos Theory of Careers with particular reference to the concepts of “attraction” and “attractors”. Attractors are defined in terms of characteristic trajectories, feedback mechanisms, end states, ordered boundedness, reality visions and equilibrium and fluctuation. The identified types of attractors (point, pendulum, torus and strange) and their relevance to career development are described. The attractor concept is then applied to major barriers in career development and life transition by a consideration of closed and open systems thinking. It is contended that ultimately the context of human experience is an open system and that career development difficulties arise when closed systems thinking is used in an open systems reality. The practical counseling applications and counseling research evidence using attractors are briefly reviewed. The additional potential contributions of the Chaos Theory of Careers to the career development field are also outlined.     

The relationship between career decision status and important work outcomes

This paper describes a longitudinal study exploring the relationship between career decision status and work outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction, organizational commitment and performance) in a group of newly appointed graduates. Graduates employed into similar roles in a large Multinational Consultancy were tracked over 12 months at three time intervals: on appointment; 6 months after appointment and 12 months after appointment. It was concluded that job satisfaction promotes career comfort, decidedness predicts organizational commitment and this relationship is moderated by met expectations, and that neither being decided or comfortable predicts performance. Some evidence was found to suggest that those employees claiming high self-clarity (that is knowledge of their abilities, skills, and personality) were rated as higher performers. It was concluded that career decidedness is still relevant to a contemporary work environment, but that comfort with career decisions and knowledge of self (i.e. self-clarity) has the potential for far greater impact.     

Threatened by the unexpected: physiological responses during social interactions with expectancy-violating partners

Individuals who violate expectations increase uncertainty during social interactions. Three experiments explored whether expectancy-violating partners engender "threat" responses in perceivers. Participants interacted with confederates who violated or confirmed expectations while multiple measures were assessed, including cardiovascular reactivity, task performance, appraisals, and behavior. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants interacted with White or Latino confederates who described their family backgrounds as either high or low socioeconomic status. In Experiment 3, participants interacted with Asian or White confederates who spoke with expected accents or southern accents. Participants interacting with expectancy-violating partners (e.g., Asians with southern accents) exhibited cardiovascular responses consistent with threat, poorer task performance, and manifested negative and defeat-related behavior. Implications for decreasing prejudicial responses via uncertainty reduction are discussed.     

The role of the psychologist in crisis/hostage negotiations

Over the past three decades, there has been a noted increase in hostage and barricade incidents involving perpetrators with a variety of emotional, economic, and political motives. A hostage incident may be defined as an incident in which (a) perpetrator(s) hold(s) one or more persons against their will in a location known to police. A barricade incident, on the other hand, is an incident without hostages in which a perpetrator is barricaded, also in a location known to police and refusing to surrender. Approximately 25 years ago, a theory of crisis/hostage negotiations was developed which has been continuously refined in field applications. This article will define the goal of crisis/hostage negotiation, review the history of hostage taking from biblical times to the present, review the utilization of psychologists and other mental health consultants by police crisis/hostage negotiation teams, and discuss the four roles and related functions of psychologists on crisis/hostage negotiation teams. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Churches in transforming mission: A story of Lutheran communion in Africa

The argument of this paper is that the legacy of “ecclesia semper reformanda” (churches in a continued reformation and renewal) in Africa should not only transform the theological perspective of the Lutheran communion, but also take stock of the diaconal, social, economic and political realities of its members. In other words, a theology done in Africa needs tools and methodologies that are more comprehensive.     

Exposure to a Mnemonic Interferes with Recall of Suicide Warning Signs in a Community‐Based Suicide Prevention Program

The incremental impact of adding a mnemonic to remember suicide warning signs to the Air Force Suicide Prevention Program (AFSPP) community awareness briefing was investigated with a sample of young, junior‐enlisted airmen. Participants in the standard briefing significantly increased their ability to list suicide warning signs and improved consistency with an expert consensus list, whereas participants in the standard briefing plus mnemonic demonstrated no learning. Both groups demonstrated positive changes in beliefs about suicide. Results suggest that inclusion of the mnemonic in the AFSPP briefing interfered with participants' ability to learn suicide warning signs, and that increased confidence in the perceived ability to recognize suicide risk is not related to actual ability to accurately recall warning signs.     

Gender and Suicide Risk: The Role of Wound Site

That males have higher suicide rates than females is one of the most empirically documented social facts in suicidology, but the reasons for this continue to be debated. For the present paper, we tested a neglected contributing factor to the gender suicide ratio: wound site or the area of the body that is wounded in firearm suicides. Males may have a higher suicide rate, in part, due to their greater likelihood than women for shooting themselves in the head as opposed to the body. This has been related to gender differences in fear of facial disfigurement and suicide intent. Data from the Wayne County Medical examiner's office regarding 807 suicides committed with firearms was analyzed. The dependent variable was dichotomous and referred to the location of the site of the wound: gunshot to the head vs. gunshot to the body. Controls for demographic covariates of suicide included age and race of the suicide victim. The results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis determined that women were 47% less apt than men to shoot themselves in the head. Further analysis determined that women were less apt than men to use shotguns and rifles in their suicides (weapons that make head shooting more awkward). The findings are consistent with the notion that women are more concerned than men with facial disfigurement, and that women have a lower desire to die than men.