Street Girls and Their Fight for Survival Across Four Developing Countries

Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative approaches this study explored the lives of 115 girls on the streets, the data were gathered from the cities of New Delhi (India), Jakarta (Indonesia), Manila (Philippines), and Pretoria (South Africa). The average age of the sample was 15.17 years and the sample comprised of family based, street based, and shelter based children. The results indicated that the girls who were street based were at maximum risk of being involved in antisocial activities with peers, being low on problem solving, and high on depression and mental health related problems. However, the sample was also high on community engagement, religiosity, and individual attributes of self esteem, self efficacy, and resilience. The results were further substantiated via protocols from the participants. Given the vulnerable position of the girl child on the streets, programs that directly address the well-being and health of the girl child, especially those who are street based, are important to be examined.     

The Scientific Study of Religion: Its Contribution to the Study of the Bhagavadgītā

Abstract. The Bhagavadg?tā is a popular Hindu text containing eighteen chapters. It begins with the hero, Arjuna, showing a marked unwillingness to engage in combat on the eve of battle. He is finally persuaded to do so by Krishna, who is an incarnation of God. Krishna actually reveals himself as such to an amazed Arjuna in the eleventh chapter. The fact that Arjuna does not immediately heed Krishna's advice to engage in battle after Krishna's sensational self‐disclosure has long puzzled students of the text. It is only at the end of the eighteenth chapter that Arjuna finally shows his readiness to fight. In this essay I argue that the discussion of the nine primary sensory states by Eugene d'Aquili may help resolve this issue and thus provide an instance of a case in which modern scientific study of religion enhances our understanding of a religious phenomenon, as a corrective to the usual charge that it must invariably diminish it.     

Functional brain activation differences in stuttering identified with a rapid fMRI sequence

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether brain activity related to the presence of stuttering can be identified with rapid functional MRI (fMRI) sequences that involved overt and covert speech processing tasks. The long-term goal is to develop sensitive fMRI approaches with developmentally appropriate tasks to identify deviant speech motor and auditory brain activity in children who stutter closer to the age at which recovery from stuttering is documented. Rapid sequences may be preferred for individuals or populations who do not tolerate long scanning sessions. In this report, we document the application of a picture naming and phoneme monitoring task in 3 min fMRI sequences with adults who stutter (AWS). If relevant brain differences are found in AWS with these approaches that conform to previous reports, then these approaches can be extended to younger populations. Pairwise contrasts of brain BOLD activity between AWS and normally fluent adults indicated the AWS showed higher BOLD activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), right temporal lobe and sensorimotor cortices during picture naming and higher activity in the right IFG during phoneme monitoring. The right lateralized pattern of BOLD activity together with higher activity in sensorimotor cortices is consistent with previous reports, which indicates rapid fMRI sequences can be considered for investigating stuttering in younger participants.Educational objectives: The reader will learn about and be able to describe the: (1) use of functional MRI to study persistent developmental stuttering; (2) differences in brain activation between persons who stutter and normally fluent speakers; and (3) potential benefit of time efficient fMRI sequences combined with a range of speech processing tasks for investigating stuttering in younger populations.     

Science teaching: science teachers in Trinidad and Tobago share their stories

Qualitative narrative inquiry using exploratory interviews with five experienced secondary school science teachers in Trinidad and Tobago were analysed to reveal what learnings can be derived from the experiences and stories shared by these individuals. The stories present science teaching as an evolutionary process, which portrays science teaching with the following attributes: a work in progress, a haven for students, a lifelong vocation, and a personal commitment. Integral elements of science teaching as a process rather than a product in an atmosphere of discipline, respect, and trustworthiness were revealed. While this work is instructive for aspiring teachers and has several implications for teacher preparation programmes, the aim in this instance is to share the stories of these five teachers, and in that regard it serves a celebratory rather than a theoretical purpose.     

Social cognition and its neural correlates in schizophrenia and autism

The study of social cognition in psychiatric disorders has become increasingly popular in recent years. This is due to the its proposed link to social functioning and the inability of general neurocognitive skills to explain the spectrum of impairments observed in patients. This article reviews research into two of the processes thought to underlie social cognition (emotion perception and theory of mind) in schizophrenia and autism. This is followed by a look at neuroimaging studies and their efforts to localize the neural correlates of emotion perception and theory of mind in the two disorders. We concluded that while a specific impairment in emotion perception and theory of mind skills cannot be generalized to all individuals with autism and schizophrenia, there are subpopulations that have lingering deficits of social cognition tasks. Neuroimaging work consistently points to the involvement of the fusiform gyrus and amygdala in emotion processing, while the medial prefrontal and frontal cortex are implicated in tasks invoking theory of mind. We propose that deficits of social cognition may benefit from cognitive remediation therapy and pharmacological cognitive enhancers.     

Understanding physical activity in individuals with prediabetes: an application of social cognitive theory

Despite well-documented evidence implicating physical activity (PA) in the prevention of type 2 diabetes, the overwhelming majority of individuals with prediabetes are not physically active enough. The purpose of this study was to investigate the applicability of the social cognitive theory (SCT) in understanding PA behaviour in individuals with prediabetes. Individuals with prediabetes (N = 232) completed a mailed questionnaire assessing demographics, self-reported PA (MET.min/wk) and SCT constructs for PA MET.min/wk. For PA MET.min/wk, scheduling and task efficacy both had significant effects on PA (β = .30 and .22, respectively). Goal formation also had a direct effect on PA for scheduling, coping and task efficacy (β = .20, .34 and .30, respectively). Task, coping and scheduling efficacy explained a significant portion of the variance in PA behaviour. Overall, SCT appears to have merit as a model for understanding PA in individuals with prediabetes. Further evaluative inquiry is needed to establish support for the use of the SCT as a framework for developing, implementing and evaluating PA behaviour change interventions in this population.     

Job Satisfaction of Child Welfare Workers in an Urban Setting: Status and Predictors

Large urban areas present many challenges to those children and adults who reside in those settings. The social service workers in urban areas have clients with complex, multiple needs. Reliable and consistent workers are essential to successfully working with these families. In the current study, the job satisfaction of 29 social service workers in an urban child welfare agency was assessed using the Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS). The JSS measures satisfaction in 7 areas of one's job (i.e., work, supervision, coworkers, pay and promotion, work environment, training, and position). Data indicated that the staff were relatively satisfied, that satisfaction did not vary by staff position (family worker vs. social worker/supervisor), and that neither demographic factors nor prior experiences were predictors of job satisfaction. Implications for agency management and the provision of social services to urban families are discussed.     

Examining the Factor Structure of the Revised Sense of Purpose Scale (SOPS-2) with Adults

Based on the multidimensional conceptualization of purpose, the sense of purpose scale is designed to measure three distinct constructs: awareness of purpose, altruistic purpose, and awakening to purpose. Building on previous work, the present study examined the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the revised sense of purpose scale (SOPS-2) and examined its associations with wellbeing among adults in three independent studies (N = 1209). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the factor structure and tests of measurement invariance were conducted across occupation (adult students and university employees) and gender (males and females). Positive correlations between sense of purpose and a number of constructs of socio-emotional wellbeing were found: positivity, humility, self-esteem, and moral identity (Study 2) and pride, compassion self-esteem, and life regret (Study 3). Taken together, findings suggest that the SOPS-2 can be used as a measure of sense of purpose in life in adults.