Linking personality to interpersonal citizenship behaviour: The moderating effect of empathy

To account for generally low direct relationships between Big‐Five personality traits and interpersonal citizenship behaviour (ICB), researchers have suggested that Big‐Five traits are associated with such helping‐related behaviour in interactive rather than direct fashion. This study investigated empathy as a potential moderator of Big‐Five trait – ICB relations. Hypotheses were tested with data obtained from employees of a youth treatment facility and their supervisors. Results provided evidence that empathy interacts with three Big‐Five personality traits, suggesting traits functioning at conceptually different hierarchical levels may jointly explain specific behaviours. Empathy could play an important role in understanding connections between these Big‐Five traits and ICB.     

Competency,and other constructs,in right to die cases

Subjects had to make a “remove” or “do not remove” life-sustaining measures decision in three right to die cases where the patients differed in competence; for half the subjects, a living will was present in all the cases, whereas, for the other half, it was not. Subjects also gave their determinative reasons for their decisions. Support for the right to die varied by case, but not by competency, or by the presence of a living will. The subjects' reasons were highly predictive of their decisions, and related to the way case-specific facts were construed, revealing a number of disparities between the way courts and citizens construe whether the patient's condition is “terminal,” “irreversible,” and “painful,” or not. Beyond construing facts differently, the results also revealed a disparity between evolving case law and the community's “common sense justice” over a fundamental belief: whether dying is seen as private matter, outside the bounds of State intervention, or not.     

Neurophysiology and neuroanatomy of reflexive and voluntary saccades in non-human primates

A multitude of cognitive functions can easily be tested by a number of relatively simple saccadic eye movement tasks. This approach has been employed extensively with patient populations to investigate the functional deficits associated with psychiatric disorders. Neurophysiological studies in non-human primates performing the same tasks have begun to provide us with insights into the neural mechanisms underlying many cognitive functions. Here, we review studies that have investigated single neuron activity in the superior colliculus (see glossary), frontal eye field, supplementary eye field, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate (see glossary) cortex and lateral intraparietal area associated with the performance of visually guided saccades, anti-saccades and memory-guided saccades in awake behaving monkeys.     

Contemplation: Beyond and Behind

This essay seeks to explore contemplation as it features in Christian theology and philosophy, both ancient and modern. Contemplation, in ancient philosophy, is transformed in Christian theology; nonetheless, it has the structure of what Jean Wahl calls ‘transascendance’, a rising to the heights. Although contemplation remains as a theme in modern Christian theology, it drops out in modern philosophy: that is, post-Renaissance philosophy. And yet it returns, both in analytic and continental philosophy, in the twentieth century. It returns, however, in the mode of ‘transdescendance’: by way of conditions of possibility, and fundamental orientations.     

Racial Microaggressions Against Black Americans: Implications for Counseling

Racial microaggression themes were identified using a focus‐group analysis of self‐identified Black participants. Six categories of demeaning and invalidating messages reflected beliefs of White supremacy that were unintentionally conveyed by perpetrators. Implications for counselors and the counseling process are discussed.     

Modular Organization of Exploratory Force Development Under Isometric Conditions in the Human Arm

Muscle coordination of isometric force production can be explained by a smaller number of modules. Variability in force output, however, is higher during exploratory/transient force development phases than force maintenance phase, and it is not clear whether the same modular structure underlies both phases. In this study, eight neurologically-intact adults isometrically performed target force matches in 54 directions at hands, and electromyographic (EMG) data from eight muscles were parsed into four sequential phases. Despite the varying degree of motor complexity across phases (significant between-phase differences in EMG-force correlation, angular errors, and between-force correlations), the number/composition of motor modules were found equivalent across phases, suggesting that the CNS systematically modulated activation of the same set of motor modules throughout sequential force development.     

Predictors and outcomes of workplace violence and aggression

The authors developed and assessed the psychometric properties of an instrument measuring risk for workplace violence and expanded a model linking (a) risk and experience of violence and aggression from the public and (b) experience of aggression from coworkers to emotional well-being, psychosomatic well-being, affective commitment, and turnover intentions. Using data from 254 employees representing 71 different occupations, the measure demonstrated acceptable within-occupation and 1-month test-retest reliability. The data supported the model and showed that public-initiated violence and aggression and coworker-initiated aggression were differentially associated with personal and organizational outcomes.     

Employment of persons with disabilities in information technology jobs: literature review for "IT works"

This article reviews relevant literature as to the labor pool of qualified individuals with disabilities and employment in information technology (IT) sector jobs. First, the article reviews the empirical literature on barriers to employment in IT for persons with disabilities. The examination then is extended to studies of barriers to employment for individuals with disabilities in other employment sectors. Findings illustrate the limited experiences that IT and non-IT companies have in employing and accommodating employees with disabilities. Implications are discussed for enhancing the employment of qualified workers with disabilities in IT through research, education, training, and mentoring programs.