Socializing Hungarians in Transylvania,Romania: A case of international organizational socialization

This study was the first to compare organizational socialization of Hungarians (N = 122) and Romanians (N = 193) in Transylvania. Organizational socialization content was measured with the OSI (Organizational Socialization Inventory; Taormina, 1994 Taormina, R. J. 1994. The Organizational Socialization Inventory. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 2: 133–145. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) and included four domains: training, understanding, co-worker support, and future prospects. The effectiveness of organizational socialization was expressed in terms of global job satisfaction (Rice, Gentile, & McFarlin, 1991 Rice, R. W., Gentile, D. A. and McFarlin, D. B. 1991. Facet importance and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76(1): 31–39. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). When controlling for sample characteristics other than ethnic identity, there were no differences between Hungarians and Romanians on “understanding” and “future prospects”. On the domains “training” and “co-worker support” Hungarian respondents scored lower than Romanian respondents did. In both ethnic groups, “training” and “future prospects” facilitated global job satisfaction. In addition, “understanding” was positively related to global job satisfaction in the Hungarian sample. “Co-worker support” did not predict global job satisfaction. The role of tenure in content areas of organizational socialization and global job satisfaction was explored: There were no relations. Implications for the professional field discuss the provision of training, the facilitation of co-workers to act as socializing agents, and the information on future career opportunities.     

Sustaining visual attention in the face of distraction: a novel gradual-onset continuous performance task

Sustained attention is a fundamental aspect of human cognition and has been widely studied in applied and clinical contexts. Despite a growing understanding of how attention varies throughout task performance, moment-to-moment fluctuations are often difficult to assess. In order to better characterize fluctuations in sustained visual attention, in the present study we employed a novel continuous performance task (CPT), the gradual-onset CPT (gradCPT). In the gradCPT, a central face stimulus gradually transitions between individuals at a constant rate (1,200 ms), and participants are instructed to respond to each male face but not to a rare target female face. In the distractor-present version, the background distractors consist of scene images, and in the distractor-absent condition, of phase-scrambled scene images. The results confirmed that the gradCPT taxes sustained attention, as vigilance decrements were observed over the task’s 12-min duration: Participants made more commission errors and showed increasingly variable response latencies (RTs) over time. Participants’ attentional states also fluctuated from moment to moment, with periods of higher RT variability being associated with increased likelihood of errors and greater speed–accuracy trade-offs. In addition, task performance was related to self-reported mindfulness and the propensity for attention lapses in everyday life. The gradCPT is a useful tool for studying both low- and high-frequency fluctuations in sustained visual attention and is sensitive to individual differences in attentional ability.     

The closest continuer theory of identity

A plausible principle governing identity is that whether a later individual is identical with an earlier individual cannot ever merely depend on whether there are, at the later time, any better candidates for identity with the earlier individual around. This principle has been a bone of contention amongst philosophers interested in identity for many years. In his latest book Philosophical Explanations Robert Nozick presents what I believe to be the strongest case yet made out for the rejection of this principle. My aim in this paper is to argue, with reference in particular to personal and artefact identity, that Nozick's case can be met and that a theory of identity which entails the correctness of this principle is the equal, indeed the superior, in explanatory power of the theory Nozick develops on the basis of its rejection.     

Orientation,containment and the emergence of symbolic thinking

Orientation is viewed in this paper as an important dimension of containment for the development of thinking. Orientation refers to the particular positioning in space and time of mother and infant so they can find one another and then containment can take place. Bion's container–contained model for the development of thinking is based on the capacity of the mother's mind to function as a ‘home’ for the infant's primitive projections. Containment and orientation are explored in relation to an ancient Greek object called ‘σ?μβολον’ [symbolon], which I use here as a metaphor for the early negotiation between mother and infant to achieve a correct matching to each other's orientation. This is then mobilized and re‐enacted between analyst and patient in the psychoanalytic process. Orientation as part of the container–contained model enables us to view the development of thinking from a new perspective with greater integration of cognitive and emotional aspects. The clinical implication of the concept of orientation is explored in relation to the process of engagement/disengagement between analyst and patient and is illustrated by clinical material.     

Lies,Damned Lies,and Genocide

This article analyzes the claim that “deliberate denial [of genocide] is a form of aggression that ought to be regarded as a contribution to genocidal violence in its own right.” Its objective is to demonstrate that the claim is substantially correct: there are instances of genocide negation that are genocidal acts. The article suggests that one such instance is contained in a letter sent to Professor Robert Jay Lifton by Turkey's ambassador to the United States. The article is divided into three parts. In the first part, it delineates and discusses the unexpected contents of the letter to Lifton. In the second, it primarily deals with three topics: lying, genocide, and Austinian performatives. In the third part, it takes the points made in the second part and applies them to the contents of the letter to Lifton, and demonstrates that the letter is an instance of genocide negation that is genocidal.     

Toward a New Model of the Hindu Pantheon A Report on Twenty-some Years of Feminist Reflection

This article argues that the familiar triadic model of the Hindu pantheon obscures the significance of goddesses in Hinduism by incorrectly locating the major division within the Hindu pantheon along gender lines. Instead, it will be argued that the familiar ‘moksha-dharma’ tension and synthesis be used to organise the deities into a pantheon, with both female and male deities patronising both moksha and dharma.     

Integrating Diabetes Self-Management Interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic Church Setting

Churches provide an innovative and underutilized setting for diabetes self-management programs for Latinos. This study sought to formulate a conceptual framework for designing church-based programs that are tailored to the needs of the Latino community and that utilize church strengths and resources. To inform this model, we conducted six focus groups with mostly Mexican-American Catholic adults with diabetes and their family members (N = 37) and found that participants were interested in church-based diabetes programs that emphasized information sharing, skills building, and social networking. Our model demonstrates that many of these requested components can be integrated into the current structure and function of the church. However, additional mechanisms to facilitate access to medical care may be necessary to support community members’ diabetes care.