Helps to Fostering Students' Spiritual Health [1]

Interviews with 98 teachers from a variety of schools were used to develop a definition of spiritual health, and to establish how these teachers thought spiritual health might best be fostered and what hindered its development in the school curriculum. A recurring theme, which seemed to be coming through the comments from teachers in this study, was the very important role that teachers play in helping students develop relationships. This was of vital importance as spiritual health was seen as being reflected in the quality of relationships that students develop with themselves, others, the environment, and with a Transcendent Other. The characteristics of teachers most frequently mentioned as desirable for the promotion of spiritual health were classified as follows:

? caring, sensitive, personal approach;

? concern for individuals;

? committed to personal beliefs and values.

Investigation of these teacher characteristics showed variation by gender, personal view of spiritual health, major curriculum concern, teacher and school type. Implications of these variations are discussed in this paper, together with the role of Spiritual Facilitator, to help nurture students' spiritual health.     

Research on the Internet: Validation of a World-Wide Web mediated personality scale

Two studies were performed to assess the validity of a World-Wide Web (WWW) measure of self-monitoring. In Study 1, Usenet Newsgroups likely to be read by high and low self-monitors were identified and a comparison was made of the extent to which contributors engaged in a form of self-presentation (use ofhandles orscreen names) likely to be influenced by self-monitoring tendencies. Handles were used significantly more frequently in thehigh self-monitoring Newsgroups, supporting the distinction made. In Study 2, participants recruited through these sets of Newsgroups completed the WWW-mediated test. Those from the high self-monitoring groups scored significantly higher. Self-reports of self-monitoring behavior also reflected scores on the scale. The results are interpreted as demonstrating the construct validity of the instrument used and the viability of criterion-group-oriented methods in Internet-mediated research.     

A delivery system for olfactory stimuli

This paper describes the design of a new method for controlling and administering olfactory stimuli—namely, thehood system. The hood system involves a stream of vaporized odor (at known concentrations) mixed with odorless air and pumped (at a constant flow rate) into an oxygen therapy hood. It is designed to be used with odorants in solution, such as essential oils, as the olfactory stimulus. The use of oxygen therapy hoods allows for the precise control of a constant concentration of odorized air over time, while allowing subjects to breathe normally. The hood system provides a natural administration of olfactory stimuli and the exact determination of the stimulus concentration. The use of this system will allow experimental conditions to be completely defined and results and replication studies to be accurately interpreted. The hood system is portable, cost effective, and constructed from readily available components. It is proposed that the hood system could be adopted to suit a wide range of olfactory research, particularly that in which the effects of chronic exposure to olfactory stimuli on cognition are examined.     

The role of central and peripheral vision in postural control duringwalking

Three hypotheses have been proposed for the roles of central and peripheral vision in the perception and control of self-motion: (1) peripheral dominance, (2) retinal invariance, and (3) differential sensitivity to radial flow. We investigated postural responses to optic flow patterns presented at different retinal eccentricities during walking in two experiments. Oscillating displays of radial flow (0° driver direction), lamellar flow (90°), and intermediate flow (30°, 45°) patterns were presented at retinal eccentricities of 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, or 90° to participants walking on a treadmill, while compensatory body sway was measured. In general, postural responses were directionally specific, of comparable amplitude, and strongly coupled to the display for all flow patterns at all retinal eccentricities. One intermediate flow pattern (45°) yielded a bias in sway direction that was consistent with triangulation errors in locating the focus of expansion from visible flow vectors. The results demonstrate functionally specific postural responses in both central and peripheral vision, contrary to the peripheral dominance and differential sensitivity hypotheses, but consistent with retinal invariance. This finding emphasizes the importance of optic flow structure for postural control regardless of the retinal locus of stimulation.     

Perceptions of the Supervisory Relationship: Recovering and Nonrecovering Substance Abuse Counselors

The unique set of dynamics found in the substance abuse field (i.e., recovering and nonrecovering counselors and supervisors) calls for a separate examination of the supervisory relationship within this context. The authors examined differences in counselors' perceptions of the supervisory relationship based on counselor and supervisor recovery status, and the match or mismatch of counselor and supervisor recovery status. Substance abuse counselors (N = 547) working in a statewide public mental health system located in the Southeast rated satisfaction with supervision and reported perceptions of various dimensions of the supervisory relationship. Results of the 2 (counselor recovery status: nonrecovering and recovering) × 2 (supervisor recovery status: nonrecovering and recovering) multivariate analysis of variance indicated no significant differences in ratings of satisfaction or relationship dimensions based on either the counselors' or supervisors' recovery status. A significant interaction effect for counselor and supervisor recovery status (i.e., match or mismatch of recovery status) was found for all satisfaction and relationship measures.     

Predictors of Self-Reported Anxiety and Panic Symptoms: An Evaluation of Anxiety Sensitivity, Suffocation Fear, Heart-Focused Anxiety, and Breath-Holding Duration

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which anxiety-related individual difference variables predict anxious responding when individuals experience aversive bodily sensations. Thus, we explore several psychological and behavioral predictors of response to a single 25-sec inhalation of 20% carbon dioxide-enriched air in 70 nonclinical participants. Predictor variables included anxiety sensitivity, suffocation fear, heart-focused anxiety, and breath-holding duration. Multiple regression analyses indicated that only anxiety sensitivity significantly predicted postchallenge panic symptoms, whereas both anxiety sensitivity and suffocation fear predicted postchallenge anxiety. These data are in accord with current models of panic disorder that emphasize the role of fear of fear in producing heightened anxiety and panic symptoms and help clarify specific predictors of anxiety-related responding to biological challenge.     

Alcohol Consumption and the Theory of Planned Behavior: An Examination of the Cognitive Mediation of Past Behaviorid

This study examined the predictive power of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in explaining alcohol consumption in 3 prospective samples of students ( Ns = 178. 176. and 159). Generally, the TPB performed well. with attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control (PBC) explaining between 28% and 46% of the variability in intentions. Intentions and PBC explained between 12% and 50% of the variability in behavior. Measures of self-identity as a "drinker" and past behavior contributed to predictions of intentions over and above the contribution of attitudes. subjective norms. and PBC. Measures of past behavior but not self-identity consistently contributed to predictions of behavior over and above the contributions from intentions and PBC. The direct relationship between past behavior and intention and between past behavior and behavior (independent of the TPB variables or self-identity) could not be attributed to common method variance.