The Evolution of a Pauline Toxic Text

The earliest followers of Jesus authored their identity narrative within the metanarrative of Jewish faith, thereby creating a new Jewish-Jesus sect. The Christian identity narrative arose as a new story and could not call upon either a Jewish or a Pagan metanarrative for its justification. It was a new creation inspired by the Spirit and authored by Paul. With his guidance, the Pagan followers of Jesus, Christians, articulated their personal and communal experiences of empowerment by the Spirit in a new identity narrative that would in time establish itself as the dominant metanarrative for Western civilization. Members of the Jewish-Jesus community in Jerusalem immediately denied the validity of the Christian narratives. They sought to subjugate the new story to their official and dominant story: that one had to be Jewish in order to follow Jesus. Paul urges the Christians to remain faithful to their personal stories of empowerment by the Spirit. Unfortunately, he also resorts to the use of toxic texts to disenfranchise his Jewish opponents.     

The European Early Promotion Project: A new primary health care service to promote children's mental health

The number of children in Europe with significant psychologic and social problems is large and increasing. This article describes an innovative crosscultural method of working with families to promote the psychosocial well being of children and prevent the development of psychologic and social problems. A study designed to evaluate the effects of the service is also presented. Primary health care workers in five European countries have been trained to conduct promotional interviews with all prospective mothers in their area one month before and one month after birth. They have also been taught to work with mothers identified as in need of support as a parent by using a specific counselling model to try to prevent the onset of child mental health difficulties. Effects of the intervention on children's psychologic development and family adaptation are being evaluated at two years in comparison with matched groups not receiving the intervention. ©2002 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

Parental reports of executive dysfunction in adolescents with bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness that affects children and adolescents at a rate similar to that seen in adults. Extremely little is known, however, about cognitive functioning in childhood and adolescent BPD. The present study represents an initial effort to examine executive functioning in adolescents with BPD who are in a manic or mixed mood state, by collecting data from caregivers about the participants' performance on everyday tasks thought to be mediated by executive functioning abilities, using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. In comparison to healthy volunteers, adolescents with BPD exhibited significant elevations across all of the measured functional domains. These elevations were evident even in adolescents with BPD who did not have comorbid ADHD, although they were most prominent in those with comorbidity. The findings suggest that adolescents with BPD have functional deficits on tasks requiring executive functioning skills that are not explicable solely on the basis of comorbid ADHD.     

Messages about sex in the workplace: A content analysis of primetime television

Because television has the potential to shape cultural beliefs about both sexual norms and appropriate workplace behavior, it seems important to examine TV’s portrayal of “sexual etiquette” in the workplace. In a content analysis of two episodes of every primetime comedy aired on all broadcast and cable networks during fall 2000, we coded every sexual remark and behavior made in a workplace scene. Across all networks, 85 percent of programs and one in four workplace interactions contained some type of sexual content. Overall, a viewer is likely to hear eleven sexual remarks and see two to three sexual behaviors in a workplace setting per hour; this jumps to twenty-three remarks and nine behaviors on cable networks. Sexual remarks were mostly explicit, made in an office setting, by White men, and were rarely (1.4%) about sexual harassment or discrimination. Although sexual content in the workplace was generally less common on broadcast than cable networks, a broadcast network (Fox) actually had the highest overall rate, with sexual content in 38 percent of workplace scenes. Given that research suggests that TV teaches youth about sexuality and cultivates sexual attitudes and beliefs consistent with televised portrayals, it is alarming that youth may learn from television that sex in the workplace is not only commonplace, but also to be tolerated and enjoyed.     

Children's understanding of the pretence–reality distinction: a review of current theory and evidence

This paper provides an update on the current status of theory and evidence relating to children's understanding of the pretence–reality distinction. The paper starts by highlighting the striking paradox between children's early competence in pretence and their experiences of pretence–reality confusions as late as middle childhood. This is followed by a detailed review of various theories that have been offered to explain this phenomenon. Specifically, theories attributing the paradoxical findings to methodological differences between studies are reviewed and dismissed before considering the transmigration and availability hypotheses ( Harris, Brown, Marriott, Whittall & Harmer, 1991 ; Johnson & Harris, 1994 ), the role of context and the child's emotional involvement in the pretence, and the pretence continuation account ( Golomb & Galasso, 1995 ). It is argued that none of these theories alone can explain pretence–reality confusions and that these are best explained in terms of the combined influences of cognitive availability, empirical evidence of reality, context, affect and individual differences. Further research is necessary to fully explore the nature, cause and developmental trajectory of individual differences in this domain.     

The Effect of Gender and Self‐Care Behaviors on Counselors' Perceptions of Colleagues With Depression

This study examined the effects of gender and self‐care behaviors on counselors' perceptions of depressed colleagues. Three hundred and six respondents completed 1 of 8 versions of vignettes describing either a male or female counselor responding to his or her depressive symptoms through the use of antidepressants, counseling, alternative therapies, or no course of action. Target counselors who took antidepressants were perceived as more competent than counselors who practiced holistic measures and those who chose no course of action. Target counselors who sought personal counseling were perceived as more ethical than those choosing no course of action.     

Behavioral strategies for reducing disease transmission in the workplace

The coronavirus pandemic highlighted that workplaces may serve as a hub of disease transmission if proper precautions are not enacted. The Centers for Disease Control recommends several strategies for decreasing the spread of illnesses in the workplace, including a) promoting proper hand hygiene, b) cleaning and sanitizing the work area, c) encouraging sick employees to stay home, d) personal protective equipment, and, e) social distancing. Research suggests that instructions are often not sufficient to change work behaviors, and behavioral interventions may be needed. Thus, the present paper reviews existing research that informs the implementation of behavioral strategies to reduce the spread of disease in the workplace, and makes recommendations for organizations to protect employees, clients, and customers. Intervention components such as training, prompts, the reduction of response effort, clear workplace policies, feedback, and consequences are discussed, and practical recommendations and suggestions for future research are provided.