Emotion in inter-group relations

The study of inter-group relations has seen a renewed emphasis on emotion. Various frameworks converge on the general conceptualisation of group-level emotions, with respect to their antecedent appraisals and implications for inter-group relations. However, specific points of divergence remain unresolved regarding terminology and operationalisation, as well as the role of self-relevance (e.g., self-categorisation, in-group identification) in moderating the strength of emotion that individuals feel about groups and their inter-relations. In this chapter we first present a typology of group-level emotions in order to classify current conceptual and empirical approaches, differentiating them along the dimensions of the (individual or group) subject and object of emotion. The second section reviews evidence for the claim that individuals feel stronger group-level emotions about things that are relevant to their self-concept, with emphasis on three indicators of self-relevance: domain relevance, self-categorisation as an in-group member, and in-group identification. Implications for, and future directions in, the study of emotion in inter-group relations are discussed.     

Menstruation and suicide: an exploratory study

Previous research has reported mixed findings on the effect of the menstrual cycle on suicidal behavior. The contribution of menstruation to completed suicide is also controversial, though the studies are very limited and have not been carefully designed. To explore the relationship, 217 autopsies on completed suicides were performed, matched to a control group at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. The results show that 54.46% of people who died by suicide were menstruating (results excluded pregnancies), compared to 6.75% of the control group. Menstruation in those who completed suicide, compared to a control group, appeared to have an association with suicide. More research is warranted.     

Application of local linear embedding to nonlinear exploratory latent structure analysis

In this paper we discuss the use of a recent dimension reduction technique called Locally Linear Embedding, introduced by Roweis and Saul, for performing an exploratory latent structure analysis. The coordinate variables from the locally linear embedding describing the manifold on which the data reside serve as the latent variable scores. We propose the use of semiparametric penalized spline methods for reconstruction of the manifold equations that approximate the data space. We also discuss a crossvalidation strategy that can guide in selecting an appropriate number of latent variables. Synthetic as well as real data sets are used to illustrate the proposed approach. A nonlinear latent structure representation of a data set also serves as a data visualization tool.     

Multilevel Perspectives on Community Intervention: An Example from an Indo-US HIV Prevention Project in Mumbai, India

This paper explores the meaning and applicability of multilevel interventions and the role of ethnography in identifying intervention opportunities and accounting for research design limitations. It utilizes as a case example the data and experiences from a 6-year, NIMH-funded, intervention to prevent HIV/STI among married men in urban poor communities in Mumbai, India. The experiences generated by this project illustrate the need for multilevel interventions to include: (1) ethnographically driven formative research to delineate appropriate levels, stakeholders and collaborators; (2) identification of ways to link interventions to the local culture and community context; (3) the development of a model of intervention that is sufficiently flexible to be consistently applied to different intervention levels using comparable culturally congruent concepts and approaches; (4) mechanisms to involve community residents, community based organizations and community-based institutions; and (5) approaches to data collection that can evaluate the impact of the project on multiple intersecting levels.     

The criterion‐related validity of a short commensurate measure of personality‐based person‐organization fit

Our goal was to develop a commensurate measure of personality‐based person‐organization fit and examine its criterion‐related validity for two retention‐related attitudes: job satisfaction and intention to stay. At T0, 637 employees completed our questionnaire. Two years later, at T1, 171 of the original respondents completed our questionnaire again. Results showed that the organizational personality perceptions are relatively stable. Polynomial regression analyses and surface plots revealed that job satisfaction and intention to stay are higher when there is perfect fit between the person and the organization compared to when the person and the organization differ in traits. However, in most cases, we found the work attitudes to be maximized when both the person and the organization score high on the personality traits.     

Picture this: emotional and political responses to photographs of the Kenneth Bigley kidnapping

The use of photographs to augment media reports of kidnapping victims in Iraq has sparked debates over the effects of such images on the public and, ultimately, the politics surrounding the event. We considered the effects of such images in a sample of British university students during the 2004 kidnapping of British citizen Kenneth Bigley. Drawing on emotions theory, we examined the effects of graphic images on emotional reactions and attitudes towards negotiations. Half of the participants were exposed to photographs of the victim that had recently been published in a national newspaper. The other half were not shown any images. As predicted, the photographs increased fear reactions amongst participants compared to no photograph controls. Fear and sympathy, but not anger, predicted attitudes towards negotiation. The photographs used in this study thus indirectly increased participants' support for negotiating with and submitting to the demands of the captors. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The 9th annual INDUS-EM 2013 Emergency Medicine Summit, “Principles,Practices, and Patients,” a level one international meeting,Kerala University of Health Sciences and Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute,Thrissur, Kerala,India, October 23–27, 2013

INDUS-EM is India’s only level one conference imparting and exchanging quality knowledge in acute care. Specifically, in general and specialized emergency care and training in trauma, burns, cardiac, stroke, environmental and disaster medicine. It provides a series of exchanges regarding academic development and implementation of training tools related to developing future academic faculty and residents in Emergency Medicine in India. The INDUS-EM leadership and board of directors invited scholars from multiple institutions to participate in this advanced educational symposium that was held in Thrissur, Kerala in October 2013.