Conversation analysis at work: detection of conflict in competitive discussions through semi-automatic turn-organization analysis

This study proposes a semi-automatic approach aimed at detecting conflict in conversations. The approach is based on statistical techniques capable of identifying turn-organization regularities associated with conflict. The only manual step of the process is the segmentation of the conversations into turns (time intervals during which only one person talks) and overlapping speech segments (time intervals during which several persons talk at the same time). The rest of the process takes place automatically and the results show that conflictual exchanges can be detected with Precision and Recall around 70% (the experiments have been performed over 6 h of political debates). The approach brings two main benefits: the first is the possibility of analyzing potentially large amounts of conversational data with a limited effort, the second is that the model parameters provide indications on what turn-regularities are most likely to account for the presence of conflict.     

Estimation and representation of head size (people overestimate the size of their head – evidence starting from the 15th century)

The head is a special part of our body since we do not see it directly. Four experiments were conducted to verify what healthy people know about the size of their head. As a control, we used the accuracy in estimating other people's heads (in all the experiments) and the estimation of the size of another part of the body, the hand (in Experiment 4). Results showed that people overestimate their own head size compared to its actual size when visual information is not provided (Experiments 1–4). They also overestimate their head size compared to the heads of others whether viewed directly (Experiment 1) or from memory (Experiment 2). Overestimation with respect to the actual size is reduced when visual information is provided (Experiments 1 and 4) and when proprioception is (presumably) increased by wearing a headband (Experiment 3). Overestimation with respect to actual size is not found for hands (Experiment 4). In the final study evidence emerged of head size overestimation in self‐portraits as compared to portraits of others.     

Cannabis use and the risk behavior syndrome in Italian university students: are they related to suicide risk?

The aim of this study was to examine the association of cannabis use with risky behaviors and suicide risk in university students. A convenience sample of 246 students was recruited from four universities in Rome during the 2004 academic year. Participants completed the Zung scales for anxiety and depression, the Suicide Score Scale, and an ad hoc questionnaire assessing risky behaviors. The findings indicated a widespread use of cannabis among students and its association with risky behaviors, anxiety and depression, and suicide risk. A regression tree analysis resulted in 3 splits indicating that the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale is a good predictor of suicide risk, discriminating individuals at lower risk from those at higher risk. Individuals at higher risk for suicide could also be discriminated by self-reported lifetime drug use. Limitations of the study are related to the small sample size and use of a convenience sample.     

Detection of convexity and concavity in context

Sensitivity to shape changes was measured, in particular detection of convexity and concavity changes. The available data are contradictory. The author used a change detection task and simple polygons to systematically manipulate convexity/concavity. Performance was high for detecting a change of sign (a new concave vertex along a convex contour or a new convex vertex along a concave contour). Other things being equal, there was no evidence of an advantage for detecting a new concavity compared with a new convexity, for detecting a change of angle to a concave vertex compared with a convex vertex, for detecting a change within a concave region compared with a change within a convex region, or for an interaction between convexity and concavity and changes affecting or not affecting a vertex. The author concludes that change detection is affected by changes of sign of curvature (leading to changes in part structure). However, contrary to previous proposals, there is no special role for negative curvature or minima of curvature in guiding attention.     

Cynicism: a differential coping strategy as a function of gender

The main objective of the present study is to analyse the role of cynicism as a coping strategy in the process of burnout, considering gender as a key variable in this process. The sample comprised 555 teachers from Spanish primary and secondary schools. A two-wave panel study was carried out: data were gathered during the first term and again during the third and last term of the academic year. Several t-tests for independent samples and moderated hierarchical regression analysis were carried out. Results showed that women have a higher level of exhaustion than men, whereas men have a higher level of cynicism than women. Furthermore, cynicism has a direct and positive effect on exhaustion for women. In the case of men, cynicism is not an effective coping strategy but it has some buffering effect on exhaustion. Thus, a high level of cynicism seems to lead to a lower increase of exhaustion. Results, contributions, and limitations of the present study are discussed.