Effects of joint immobilization on standing balance

We investigated the effect of joint immobilization on the postural sway during quiet standing. We hypothesized that the center of pressure (COP), rambling, and trembling trajectories would be affected by joint immobilization. Ten young adults stood on a force plate during 60 s without and with immobilized joints (only knees constrained, CK; knees and hips, CH; and knees, hips, and trunk, CT), with their eyes open (OE) or closed (CE). The root mean square deviation (RMS, the standard deviation from the mean) and mean speed of COP, rambling, and trembling trajectories in the anterior–posterior and medial–lateral directions were analyzed. Similar effects of vision were observed for both directions: larger amplitudes for all variables were observed in the CE condition. In the anterior–posterior direction, postural sway increased only when the knees, hips, and trunk were immobilized. For the medial–lateral direction, the RMS and the mean speed of the COP, rambling, and trembling displacements decreased after immobilization of knees and hips and knees, hips, and trunk. These findings indicate that the single inverted pendulum model is unable to completely explain the processes involved in the control of the quiet upright stance in the anterior–posterior and medial–lateral directions.     

Development and validation of a vocational interests questionnaire revised: the CIP 4

The "Cuestionario de Intereses Profesionales (CIP, Vocational Interests Questionnaire)" was developed by Fogliatto et al in three different versions: a paper and pencil-based one, a computer-based one, and a revised form. The instrument was originally created for the assessment of vocational interests of adolescents assisting the last years of the secondary school in Argentina. The aim of the present study was to adapt the inventory for the adolescents coursing the initial period of the secondary school. Psychometric studies analyzing the factorial structure of the instrument and internal consistence of their scales were accomplished. Additionally, evidences of criterion validity concerning to a specialized field of the secondary school and career choice intentions were analyzed. Results bring initial validity evidence of this new version of the CIP, which its main utility is career counseling applied to late-adolescence. Further studies are required in order to validate this instrument for being utilized in counseling of adolescent facing decisions related to specialty choice of the secondary school.     

Racial microaggressions in everyday life: implications for clinical practice

Racial microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color. Perpetrators of microaggressions are often unaware that they engage in such communications when they interact with racial/ethnic minorities. A taxonomy of racial microaggressions in everyday life was created through a review of the social psychological literature on aversive racism, from formulations regarding the manifestation and impact of everyday racism, and from reading numerous personal narratives of counselors (both White and those of color) on their racial/cultural awakening. Microaggressions seem to appear in three forms: microassault, microinsult, and microinvalidation. Almost all interracial encounters are prone to microaggressions; this article uses the White counselor--client of color counseling dyad to illustrate how they impair the development of a therapeutic alliance. Suggestions regarding education and training and research in the helping professions are discussed.     

Personality differences between alcohol abusers and matched controls: Relation to frontal symptoms and subtypes of addicts

Epidemiological studies usually show a link between personality disorders and addictions. Dimensional models of personality, such as that of Cloninger, are able to diagnose and discriminate between transient dysfunctional behavior styles and relatively more stable traits. Certain brain areas have been proposed, as trait locations, based on their activation. This paper explores differences in personality traits among a sample of alcohol abusers (N= 95) and a control group of non-clinical population (N= 95), matched in sociodemographic variables, using the TCI-R-67 and the FrSBe-Sp. It is hypothesized that such differences are associated with frontal symptomatology. The existence of different subgroups of addicts based on certain combinations of traits is also analyzed. Results showed significant differences in two temperament traits (Novelty Seeking and Harm Avoidance) and a characterial trait (Self-Direction). We also found a correlation with a large effect size between these traits and frontal symptomatology. Cluster analysis classified the participants into several subtypes with different combinations of traits that matched diverse frontal symptomatology. Possible neurobiological explanations of these differences and their importance in the clinical practice are discussed.     

The Political Philosophy of Science and the Problem of Rationality

The present article offers an introductory vision to the political philosophy of science. The political philosophy of science is a new field of study where the philosophy of science and political philosophy converge. We will see the main contents of this field. We will also note that it depends on the construction of a model of rationality where science and politics can meet each other. Finally, the article tries to outline such a model of rationality. In order to do so, we will review the relationship between Karl Popper’s scientific and political philosophy. I suggest to read Popper’s critical rationalism in terms of a kind of prudential rationality.     

What is a Non-truth-functional Logic?

What is the fundamental insight behind truth-functionality? When is a logic interpretable by way of a truth-functional semantics? To address such questions in a satisfactory way, a formal definition of truth-functionality from the point of view of abstract logics is clearly called for. As a matter of fact, such a definition has been available at least since the 70s, though to this day it still remains not very widely well-known.A clear distinction can be drawn between logics characterizable through: (1) genuinely finite-valued truth-tabular semantics; (2) no finite-valued but only an infinite-valued truthtabular semantics; (3) no truth-tabular semantics at all. Any of those logics, however, can in principle be characterized through non-truth-functional valuation semantics, at least as soon as their associated consequence relations respect the usual tarskian postulates. So, paradoxical as that might seem at first, it turns out that truth-functional logics may be adequately characterized by non-truth-functional semantics. Now, what feature of a given logic would guarantee it to dwell in class (1) or in class (2), irrespective of its circumstantial semantic characterization?The present contribution will recall and examine the basic definitions, presuppositions and results concerning truth-functionality of logics, and exhibit examples of logics indigenous to each of the aforementioned classes. Some problems pertaining to those definitions and to some of their conceivable generalizations will also be touched upon.     

Referential and Non-referential Uses of the Third Person Pronominal Subject in Spanish

This paper studies the role of two different types of motivation that have been proposed to explain the use of subject personal pronouns in Spanish, namely their function as indications for the addressee to identify the subject’s referent, and their suitability for expressing informational values such as contrastiveness or focus. This study focuses exclusively on third-person forms and relies on conversational data. The distribution of third-person pronouns is analysed combining qualitative and quantitative approaches. It will be argued that the informational and referential properties of subject personal pronouns are by themselves insufficient to account for their expression, their occurrence depending crucially on their activation through the previous use of units of the same type.     

Examining the Effects of Social Bonds and Shame on Drug Recovery within an On-Line Support Community

Past research has demonstrated the utility of on-line support groups for individuals to form relationships and make connections. Additionally, some on-line communities have expanded to provide various types of support, particularly for deviant behavior. These virtual communities may be particularly indispensable to individuals who, out of fear of condemnation, are reluctant to seek traditional forms of social support. For purposes of this study, we examined how members of a substance abuse recovery on-line support group expressed feelings pertaining to their own substance abuse, as well as their processes of attempted or successful recovery. Using an inductive approach for our preliminary analysis, we first assessed which theories were most prevalent throughout the writers’ journals. We then used these theories, both Hirschi’s theory of social control and Braithwaite’s theory of reintegrative shaming, as frameworks to explore the differences between those who were in recovery and those who were still using.