Reactions to the Fairness of Promotion Methods: Procedural justice and job satisfaction

Fairness in promotions is a core issue for organizations as it is directly related to some of the most important organizational outcomes. However, the majority of the existing research about this question has been focused on entry‐level selection, and there is a gap in knowledge in the context of promotions. This paper focuses on how workers’ perceptions of promotion systems affect organizational justice and job satisfaction. In the present study, 213 employees and supervisors from 31 different private sector organizations complete a survey regarding procedural justice (PJ), job satisfaction, transparency, promotion systems, and some demographic variables. The results show that participants who perceived organizational promotion methods as transparent reported a high level of perceived PJ, and that the methods they see as fairer are those based on assessment of performance. In addition, transparency is considered as an important antecedent of PJ. Moreover, the interaction between organizational rank and gender moderates the relationship between transparency and promotion systems with PJ. Finally, organizational justice is strongly related with job satisfaction.     

Blood magic in the age of psychopathy,mass shootings and ecological catastrophe*

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis - This paper is an effort to locate blood magic in the age of psychopathy. Taking as a starting point Michael Eigen’s observation that psychopathic...     

Developing Faith-Based Health Promotion Programs that Target Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer Risk Factors

Journal of Religion and Health - The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a faith-based health promotion program on the ideal health behaviors shared between cardiovascular...     

Ideal Objects for Set Theory

Journal of Philosophical Logic - In this paper, we argue for an instrumental form of existence, inspired by Hilbert’s method of ideal elements. As a case study, we consider the existence of...     

Congestive Heart Failure and Quality of Life

Our study aimed to assess the quality of life (QoL) of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) and to correlate the different aspects of QoL with relevant socio-demographic variables, CHF severity, somatic comorbidities, other clinical variables and depressive symptomatology. In a cross-sectional study design, a community sample of 103 adult patients with CHF (mean age 68 years, 73 % male) was recruited from an outpatient cardiology practice. CHF severity was assessed with physician ratings of the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class and measurement of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels. The psychometric evaluation of quality of life was made using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36) and the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ). The Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II) assessed depressive symptoms. Using multiple linear regression, predictors of poorer QoL included being a female, being older, living alone, NYHA functional class ≥ II, higher levels of BNP comorbidity (such as renal insufficiency and cerebrovascular disease), fluid retention, depressive symptomatology (assessed by BDI-II) and treatment with anti-dyslipidemics, diuretics and β-blockers. Among these correlates, psychological distress was the most strongly related to QoL. Also, functional status measured by NYHA demonstrated a high impact on QoL. Our findings suggest the need to address such factors in developing effective care to improve psychological and functional status in order to enhance QoL in these patients.     

Modeling the Neurological Control of Human Movements

Although computer models have been extensively used in recent years to understand the way physical systems operate and interact, the enormous power of mathematical modeling and computer simulations has been difficult to implement for the benefit of neuroscientists studying the human motor control system. Nevertheless, homeomorphic models are now being used to explain and predict the neural and biomechanical aspects of different human movements. This paper argues for the importance of regarding model simulations as a supplementary approach to traditional methods of experimental investigation by drawing examples from both the experimental and the modeling literature. The discussion focuses on studies of the triphasic control signal for fast, goal-directed movements and on aspects of sampled data control for slow, tracking movements. The aim of this viewpoint article is to promote a more widespread use of modeling and simulation in the field of motor control.     

Psychopathology, characteristics of violence and dropout in male batterers treatment programs: results of an intervention service

This paper deals with male violence toward female partners and the analysis of some variables related to this aggressive behavior. We study the type of violence perpetrated and some indicators of psychopathology, such as personality disorders, previous psychiatric or psychological care, substance abuse and jealous behavior, among others. In addition, we examine the relationship between these variables and the fact that the men do not complete the treatment program. For this purpose, we employed a sample of 118 men who voluntarily participated in an intervention service, and we carried out an ex post facto analysis. With regard to possible relations of dependence or independence among the variables considered, the results show dependence between the possibility of dropping out of the treatment and the presence of psychological or psychiatric history, and patterns of alcohol consumption and consumption of other drugs. In contrast, the existence of personality disorders, jealous behavior, type of violence used, onset or duration of violent behavior are independent of the possibility of dropping out of the treatment program.     

Emotion and recognition memory: the discrimination of negative information as an adaptive process

We studied the effect of emotion generated by IAPS (International Affective Picture System) pictures on incidental recognition of these pictures for short retention periods (15 min). Memorization distraction tasks and reaction time tasks were used together with short exposure times (2 seconds per picture) in order to prevent a high recognition rate that would impede testing for the effect of emotion on discrimination parameters (A′) and response bias (B′′D) (ceiling effect). We used 80 pictures representing the medium and high levels of two-dimensional emotional space. The results showed greater discrimination and a more conservative response style to unpleasant and medium arousal level pictures. These pictures produced higher confidence and lower response times in the recognition phase. The results can be explained by the negative content of the pictures and activation level effects on attentional processing and memory, and can be interpreted as a phenomenon that is evolutionarily adaptive.