Links between socialization goals and child‐rearing practices in Chinese and Indian mothers

Mothers of preschoolers in China and India reported on the value they accorded to items tapping two socialization goals, Filial Piety and Socioemotional Development and two parenting styles, Authoritative and Authoritarian. In both cultures, maternal valuing of Filial Piety was associated with greater exertion of parental control, whereas greater valuing of Socioemotional Development was related to more frequent use of Authoritative practices. However, patterns in relationships between Filial Piety, Socioemotional Development and Authoritative parenting differed across Chinese and Indian mothers. Positive associations were found among these three variables for Indian mothers, reflecting Hindu beliefs about young children and childhood. Among Chinese mothers, on the other hand, Filial Piety was negatively related with Socioemotional Development and the use of Authoritative practices. Our results suggest that Chinese mothers believe that the use of authoritative practices, which encourage socioemotional development in children, will inhibit achievement of filial behaviour and academic achievement. Contrasts between these two Asian cultures highlight the importance of considering parents' socialization goals and beliefs in cross‐cultural studies of child‐rearing practices. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The use of limit theorems in paired and triple comparison model building

The psychological framework proposed by Thompson and Singh (1967) is extended to obtain a statistical interpretation of the stimulus-response phenomenon permitting ties when comparing two stimuli. Using this interpretation, the generalized Bradley-Terry model (Rao and Kupper, 1967) for paired comparisons and the  and  for triple comparisons are derived as the appropriate asymptotic models for experiments permitting tied observations.     

The role of chronic hypoxia in the development of neurocognitive abnormalities in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is the most common pulmonary morbidity in preterm infants and is associated with chronic hypoxia. Animal studies have demonstrated structural, neurochemical and functional alterations due to chronic hypoxia in the developing brain. Long-term impairments in visual-motor, gross and fine motor, articulation, reading, mathematics, spatial memory and attention skills are prevalent in survivors of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and impairments appear to correlate with the severity of hypoxia. However, due to the simultaneous occurrence of multiple neurodevelopmental risk factors, a primary or potentiating role for chronic hypoxia in these impairments has yet to be conclusively established.     

Chinese Dimensions of Parenting: Broadening Western Predictors and Outcomes

This study examined perceived parental styles and psychosocial adjustment in 97 Hong Kong Chinese late adolescent girls, using culturally sensitive measures of parenting (warmth, restrictive control, and attributes related to the Chinese philosophy of guan or “training”), and of adjustment. Parenting characteristics associated with guan showed coherence, correlated significantly with parental warmth, and predicted well-being. Contrary to the suggestions of other investigators, restrictive control related negatively to self-esteem and well-being. Maternal control and paternal warmth emerged as important parent style variables in relating to adaptation, and exercized their effects on well-being partly through the mediating agency of self-esteem and relationship harmony. This preliminary study provides an empirical investigation of the impact exercized by a culturally specific dimension proposed for Chinese parenting, and highlights the importance of using culturally sensitive measures of adaptation.     

Perceptual dimensions of tactile surface texture: A multidimensional scaling analysis

The purpose of this study was to examine the subjective dimensionality of tactile surface texture perception. Seventeen tactile stimuli, such as wood, sandpaper, and velvet, were moved across the index finger of the subject, who sorted them into categories on the basis of perceived similarity. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) techniques were then used to position the stimuli in a perceptual space on the basis of combined data of 20 subjects. A three-dimensional space was judged to give a satisfactory representation of the data. Subjects’ ratings of each stimulus on five scales representing putative dimensions of perceived surface texture were then fitted by regression analysis into the MDS space. Roughness-smoothness and hardness-softness were found to be robust and orthogonal dimensions; the third dimension did not correspond closely with any of the rating scales used, but post hoc inspection of the data suggested that it may reflect the compressional elasticity (“springiness”) of the surface.     

Indian Health Care Professionals’ Attitude Towards Spiritual Healing and Its Role in Alleviating Stigma of Psychiatric Services

Persons with mental illnesses in India and rest of developing world continue to consult religious/spiritual (R/S) healers or traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) professionals prior to seeking psychiatric services that are devoid of spiritual components of care. We aim to understand TCAM and allopathic professionals’ perspectives on patients’ R/S needs within mental health services, cross-sectional study was conducted at five TCAM and two allopathic tertiary care hospitals in three different Indian states; 393 participants completed RSMPP, a self-administered, semi-structured survey questionnaire. Perspectives of TCAM and allopathic health professionals on role of spirituality in mental health care were compared. Substantial percentage, 43.7 % TCAM and 41.3 % allopathic, of participants believe that their patients approach R/S or TCAM practitioners for severe mental illness; 91.2 % of TCAM and 69.7 % of allopaths were satisfied with R/S healers (p = 0.0019). Furthermore, 91.1 % TCAM and 73.1 % allopaths (p = 0.000) believe that mental health stigma can be minimized by integrating with spiritual care services. Overall, 87 % of TCAM and 73 % of allopaths agreed to primary criterion variable: ‘spiritual healing is beneficial and complementary to psychiatric care.’ A quarter of allopaths (24.4 %) and 38 % of TCAM physicians reportedly cross-refer their grieving patients to religious/TCAM healer and psychiatrist/psychologist, respectively; on logistic regression, significant (p < 0.05) predictors were clinical interactions/references to r/s healers. Providing spiritual care within the setup of psychiatric institution will not only complement psychiatric care but also alleviate stigma against mental health services. Implications on developing spiritual care services like clinical chaplaincy are discussed.     

HIGH-Tc superconductivity in perovskite oxides of the Y─Ba─Cu─O system

Abstract

Several biphasic compositions of the type Y_3?xBa_3+xCu₆O₁₄ show an onset of superconductivity in the 90-115K range, attaining zero resistance in the 70-85K range. The phase responsible for superconductivity in these compositions is a perovskite oxide of composition YBa₂Cu₃ O₇. This oxide annealed in oxygen shows the onset of superconductivity at 120K and zero resistance at 87K. YBa₂,Cu₃O₇ shows the highest Meissner effect of all oxide superconductors. The superconducting behaviour of the two perovskite oxides, Y_0.95Ba_1.95,Cu₃O₇ and Y_1.05Ba_1.95Cu₃O₇ show interesting features; a marked decrease in resistivity is observed from room temperature itself in the former oxide with zero resistance at 89K. Electron microscopy and infrared spectra of these oxides are briefly discussed.     

On the Escaig obstacle hypothesis for cross-slip in face-centered-cubic materials

There is a significant body of literature wherein a linear approximation of Escaig's model is used to justify the large experimentally measured activation-volumes for cross-slip in face-centered-cubic copper. Here, by examining the error between the linear approximation and the original theory, we show that this explanation is not satisfactory. The calculated value for activation volume in copper, using Escaig's original equations, yields ～60b ³ (b?=?Burgers vector) while the linear approximation yields 200b ³, the latter result fortuitously matching the experimental values.