Knowledge of text message abbreviations as a predictor of spelling ability

The relationships of self-reported text messaging frequency and knowledge of text message abbreviations with spelling ability were investigated. Two studies were conducted in which the college student participants provided self-reports of text messaging frequency, responded to a test of knowledge of text message abbreviations, and completed a standardized spelling test. In both studies, self-reported text messaging frequency was not predictive of scores on the spelling test. Knowledge of text message abbreviations was positively correlated with spelling scores. In the second study, spelling ability was positively correlated with processing time to identify abbreviations as real. The results were not consistent with the idea that better knowledge of text messaging is predictive of lower spelling ability. Instead, individuals with better knowledge of abbreviations tended to be better spellers.     

Difficulty processing temporary syntactic ambiguities in Lewy body spectrum disorder

While grammatical aspects of language are preserved, executive deficits are prominent in Lewy body spectrum disorder (LBSD), including Parkinson’s disease (PD), Parkinson’s dementia (PDD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). We examined executive control during sentence processing in LBSD by assessing temporary structural ambiguities. Using an on-line word detection procedure, patients heard sentences with a syntactic structure that has high-compatibility or low-compatibility with the main verb’s statistically preferred syntactic structure, and half of the sentences were lengthened strategically between the onset of the ambiguity and its resolution. We found selectively slowed processing of lengthened ambiguous sentences in the PDD/DLB subgroup. This correlated with impairments on measures of executive control. Regression analyses related the working memory deficit during ambiguous sentence processing to significant cortical thinning in frontal and parietal regions. These findings emphasize the role of prefrontal disease in the executive limitations that interfere with processing ambiguous sentences in LBSD.     

The role of nonolfactory context cues in odor identification

Odors were identified by 141 persons before and after a nonolfactory cue was presented. The context cue was a color concept, either relevant or irrelevant to the odor identity. The color concept was presented as a word or as the color itself. The familiarity of each odor was judged prior to each identification. The relevant color concepts facilitated identification to a slight, but reliable, degree. Irrelevant color concepts evoked an increase in wrong identifications. Relevant cues increased correct second identifications and increased them to an even greater degree if the odors were judged to be highly familiar.     

Loss of Discriminative “Power” of the MMPI with Older Psychiatric Patients

MMPIs were obtained from four groups of 20 hospitalized male patients which differed in age (18–28 years vs 45–59 years) and psychiatric diagnosis (schizophrenic vs nonschizophrenic). The MMPI discriminated between young schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic patients but did not discriminate between older schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic patients. The apparent loss of discriminative “power” of the MMPI with older patients was interpreted as supporting the importance of the often overlooked nonpathological characteristics of the psychological test subject.     

Psychological Skills Do Not Always Help Performance: The Moderating Role of Narcissism

Psychological skills are typically viewed as beneficial to performance in competition. Conversely, narcissists appear to thrive in competitive environments so should not need psychological skills to the same degree as less narcissistic individuals. To investigate this moderating hypothesis high-standard ice-skaters completed measures of narcissism, psychological skills, and anxiety before performing their competition routine during training. A week later, participants performed the same routine in competition. Performance was operationalized as the difference between competition and training scores. Moderated regression analyses revealed that narcissism moderated the relationship between psychological skills and performance. Psychological skill effectiveness depends on an individual's degree of narcissism.     

Working class homosexuality and HIV/AIDS prevention some recent research from Sydney,Australia

Abstract

Surveys on gay and bisexual men in Sydney and non-metropolitan New South Wales (NSW) indicate uneven patterns of HIV/AIDS knowledge and sexual behaviour change. As a follow-up action-research study, the Class, Homosexuality and AIDS Prevention (CHAP) project pursued audio-recorded, semistructured interviews with men in western Sydney and Nullangardie, a provincial city in NSW, to investigate the relationship between homosexuality and class.

One-to-one interviews with working-class, homosexually active men revealed particular patterns of homosexual initiation and sexual relationships, and a distinct culture being slowly affected by notions of being “gay” and “gay community”. This impact of modern gay life on western Sydney was different from that in the provincial city. More prominent were the effects of class—unemployment, poor education, poverty, and cultural marginalisation—on the experience and elaboration of homosexuality. Group interviews confirmed an experience of “difference” from prominent gay communities, especially Sydney's “Oxford Street” gay quarter. Working-class men offered a critique of gay community-initiated HIV/AIDS prevention strategies, pointing toward different education initiatives involving local social networks.

Case studies are presented to argue the importance of the relation between sexuality and class, and its consequences for HIV/AIDS education.     

Predicting Women's Persistence in Adult Literacy Classes with Dispositional Variables

Adult literacy programs offer individuals, particularly women, opportunities to improve their educational levels and economic circumstances; however, persistence in these programs is an issue for many. Two hundred forty five participants in a statewide adult literacy program took the Adult Education Persistence Scale, a measure of self-efficacy, resilience, attitudes toward school, and attributions, a measure we developed in an effort to identify dispositional variables that predict persistence. Results indicated that dispositional variables modestly predicted persistence, identifying high and low attendees with 69% accuracy. We recommend screening for dispositional variables to identify those at risk for dropout and to provide relevant support.