Development of a social interaction questionnaire for the trainers and mothers of children with disabilities participating in Dousa-hou (Japanese psycho-rehabilitation) camps

A 12-item Social Interaction Questionnaire was developed to measure the social interactions among trainers and mothers of children with disabilities in Dousa-hou camps. Dousa-hou is a Japanese psychological rehabilitation method which is widely used for children with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and autism in Japan and other Asian countries. The primary focus of the rehabilitation method is to improve bodily movements, posture, and social support to patients and their first-degree relatives as well as promoting social interaction among participants. Two factors of interaction, (1) educational and daily life matters and (2) health and care matters, emerged through factor analysis. Cronbach coefficient alpha of the questionnaire was .91. The back-translated version of the Social Interaction Questionnaire also yielded two factors and Cronbach coefficient alpha of .87. It was found that mothers or first degree relatives (N=138; M = 43.5 yr., SD = 12.3) of the patients reported more social interaction than trainers when interacting with their child's trainer, supervisor, other trainers, and other mothers during six-day Dousa-hou camps.     

Integrating sequential arrays in visual short-term memory

Are sequential visual arrays represented as separate images or as a combined image in visual short-term memory (VSTM)? Proponents of the integration account suggest that an image of the first array is gradually formed and integrated with an image of the second to produce a combined representation. This view is evidenced by successful performance in an empty-cell detection task. In this task, on a 4 x 4 square matrix, 7 locations are occupied on a first array, followed by a variable interval, and then by 8 other occupied locations on a second array. Subjects' success in identifying the remaining empty cell has been taken as evidence for integration. In this study, we show that success in this task can be better accounted for by a convert-and-compare process than by an integration process. We conclude that VSTM only supports limited integration across sequential arrays.     

Individual Differences in Substance Preference and Substance Use

Using H. J. Eysenck's (1957, 1967) theory of temperament, this study examined the relationship between drug preference, drug use, and personality among incarcerated inmates. Analysis indicated a general preference for marijuana and alcohol over 8 other commonly used drugs across different personality types. Theoretical and clinical implications are offered.     

Examining role stress among technical students in India

Although organizational stress has been the subject of much research, role stress among professional students in India has not been well examined. This study explores the extent and types of role stresses present among the engineering and management students in India. The findings reveal that students are experiencing role overload, role stagnation and self-role distance. Male students experience higher levels of role stagnation than female students. However, no significant differences could be observed on any of the role stressors between first year students and their seniors, or between management and engineering students. The results are indicative of the social and educational environment prevailing in the country.     

Initial Development and Validation of a Measure of Intercultural Development Scale

Intercultural development in global employees will aid organizations to function successfully in the current global work scene. However, there is a need for a psychometrically valid and reliable measure, which can be used by practitioners and academics to assess the capabilities of individuals. This vignette based intercultural development scale was conceived on the basis of Bennett’s developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. The content was generated using interviews with international employees and subject matter experts. Psychometric properties were established with both qualitative and quantitative analysis. A sample of 461 international employees was used to test the validity of the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis and construct validity was established with cosmopolitanism and openness to experience scales. The study confirms the scale’s dimensionality and established convergent, discriminant and nomological validity. The applications of this scale in building capabilities, talent management and strategic decisions in both practical and theoretical assessment are outlined.     

Positive Psychology and Indian Psychology: Birds of the Same Feather

Positive psychology and Indian psychology share similar concerns regarding human life. But Indian psychology has more to offer towards our understanding of happiness and well-being than what Positive psychology can at this point of time, because of latter’s paradigmatic limitations. This commentary draws attention to certain shortcomings of the target article: (a) in presenting the contemporary Positive psychology perspective; (b) in conceptualizing IP with reference to its epistemological position; (c) and in equating certain concepts from PP and IP and their implications.     

The Five‐factor Model of Personality and Knowledge Transfer in the United Arab Emirates

Knowledge transfer has emerged as an important criterion in organizations for achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. While research has examined contextual determinants of knowledge transfer, very little research has considered the role of individual differences. In the present study, we addressed this issue by testing the relationship between the five‐factor model of personality and supervisory ratings of knowledge transfer in a sample of employees from the United Arab Emirates (N = 294). Our findings indicated that the extraversion (r = .22), conscientiousness (r = .18), and openness (r = .14) were significant predictors of knowledge transfer. Implications for knowledge management practices are discussed.     

The Significance of Three Errors in the First Chapter of Bhagavadgītā

The recognition of three errors in verses 1.10, 11, and 36 of Bhagavadgītā and the truth behind it is essential to grasp the beginning of the tread of thought developed by Vedavyāsa from the first to the last verse of the entire text spanning over 18 chapters. Generally, only the first error in verse 1.10 has received recognition, but as soon as the error is recognized there was attempt either to interpret the verse violating its syntax and semantics to make its meaning consistent with epic facts or to redraft the verse taking it as an error of a copyist, who has exchanged Bhīṣma with Bhīma and vice versa while copying the original. But, the attempt to remove the errors by interpretation or redrafting makes the interpreters ignore the significance of the errors in development in the argument and the readers become blind to the logic of thought as it is developed in Bhagavadgītā spanning over the entire text of Bhagavadgītā.