Quasi-Indexicals and Knowledge Reports

We present a computational analysis of de re, de dicto, and de se belief and knowledge reports. Our analysis solves a problem first observed by Hector-Neri Castaneda, namely, that the simple rule '(A knows that P) implies P' apparently does not hold if P contains a quasi-indexical. We present a single rule, in the context of a knowledge-representation and reasoning system, that holds for all P, including those containing quasi-indexicals. In so doing, we explore the difference between reasoning in a public communication language and in a knowledge-representation language, we demonstrate the importance of representing proper names explicitly, and we provide support for the necessity of considering sentences in the context of extended discourse (e.g., written narrative) in order to fully capture certain features of their semantics.     

The Sacred Sites of Houston: A Novel Experiential Course for Undergraduate Medical Education on Religion and Spirituality

Journal of Religion and Health - Medical schools are charged to deliver a curriculum on religion and spirituality (R/S), so a novel experiential course, the Sacred Sites of Houston, was developed....     

Christians and Muslims in Nineteenth-Century China: Perspectives of Two Contemporary Journals

ABSTRACT

Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, two journals stand out as primary sources of information about China. The Chinese Repository and The Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal were edited by senior missionary scholars, who recorded observations of Chinese life and the development of the Church in China. While they make only scattered references to the Muslim population in China, these items are nevertheless significant indicators of the size, importance and nature of these Muslim communities. They also portray Christian attitudes to ‘Mohammedans’ and on occasions indicate Christian strategies of engagement with them. There was a particular burst of interest in ‘Mohammedism’ in the 1880s. However, engagement with the Muslim communities was never a priority for the Christian missionary force, as they were a distinct minority of the total Chinese population.     

The role of aggression‐related early maladaptive schemas and schema modes in aggression in a prisoner sample

Contemporary social‐cognitive aggression theory and extant empirical research highlights the relationship between certain Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMSs) and aggression in offenders. To date, the related construct of schema modes, which presents a comprehensive and integrated schema unit, has received scant empirical attention. Furthermore, EMSs and schema modes have yet to be examined concurrently with respect to aggressive behavior. This study examined associations between EMSs, schema modes, and aggression in an offender sample. Two hundred and eight adult male prisoners completed self‐report psychological tests measuring their histories of aggression, EMSs, and schema modes. Regression analyses revealed that EMSs were significantly associated with aggression but did not account for a unique portion of variance once the effects of schema modes were taken into account. Three schema modes, Enraged Child, Impulsive Child, and Bully and Attack, significantly predicted aggression. These findings support the proposition that schema modes characterized by escalating states of anger, rage, and impulsivity characterize aggressive offenders. In this regard, we call attention to the need to include schema modes in contemporary social‐cognitive aggression theories, and suggest that systematic assessment and treatment of schema modes has the potential to enhance outcomes with violent offenders.

     

The Effect of Warnings to Timeout on Child Compliance to Parental Instructions

ABSTRACT

One common component of behavioral parent training packages is the use of a warning prior to implementation of a timeout following noncompliance to parental instructions. The primary purpose of this research was to evaluate the effects of warnings on compliance. An alternating treatments design was used to evaluate compliance to warned versus unwarned timeouts with three typically developing children. All participants showed a significant increase in compliance upon implementation of the timeout package, either with or without a warning. However, compliance decreased over time in the Warning condition for two participants and increased in variability for a third. All participants had more timeouts in the No Warning condition. Results also showed preliminary evidence for parental preference of Warned timeouts. Implications are discussed.     

Decomposing the within-person and between-person sources of variation in physical activity-cognition associations for low-active older adults

Abstract

Objectives: To examine within-person and between-person sources of variation in the relationship between physical activity and cognition in older adults participating in a walking program. To explore whether demographic, health and fitness variables, and their interactions with activity, are significant predictors of cognition.

Design: Brief longitudinal burst design.

Participants: 118 participants (91 females, mean age?=?72.81?+ 5.24 years).

Main Outcome Measures: Cognition, self-reported moderate-to-vigorous walking and self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were assessed at baseline and 6, 9, 12 and 16 weeks follow-up. Attendance at weekly walks was also recorded.

Results: Within-persons, changes in physical activity were related to select measures of executive functioning, with increased activity predictive of better cognition (three of four cognitive functions, p<.05). Between-persons, activity was also associated with cognition (two of four cognitive functions, p<.05). Younger age and higher education were related to better cognition. Interactions of demographic, health, and fitness variables with changes in within-person activity were generally non-significant.

Conclusion: The results highlight the importance of distinguishing within- from between-person effects in longitudinal analyses of the association between physical activity and cognition. This stringent within-person test of association underscores the potential value of simple physical activity interventions for improving cognitive function.     

Increasing calcium intake in young women through gain-framed,targeted messages: A randomised controlled trial

Background: Adequate calcium consumption during early adulthood can help prevent osteoporosis in women.

Purpose: The effects of gain-framed, targeted messaging on calcium intake were examined over 12 months.

Methods: Young women (18–19 years) not consuming sufficient calcium were randomly assigned to receive standard care materials (control) or gain-framed, targeted materials (experimental). Health belief model (HBM) constructs, calcium intake and markers of bone formation, resorption and bone mineral density were assessed at various time points throughout the year.

Results: Calcium intake increased significantly more in the experimental versus the control condition (p?<?0.01). Self-efficacy was the only HBM construct to improve significantly more in the experimental condition versus control (p?=?0.05). The HBM did not mediate changes in calcium intake. Measures of bone health did not differ between conditions by the end of this nonpharmacological intervention (p's?>?0.05).

Conclusions: It is possible to increase young women's calcium consumption through gain-framed, targeted messages.     

Antecedents of children's physical activity intentions and behaviour: Predictive validity and longitudinal effects

Abstract

This study examined the predictive validity and time-lagged relationships in a model of children's physical activity intentions, attitudes, perceived behavioural control (PBC), behaviour and past behaviour using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1985) as a framework. In Study 1, 386 children aged 12–14 years completed measures of intentions, attitudes, subjective norm, PBC and past behaviour. Their physical activity behaviour was assessed one week later. Structural equation analyses supported the construct and predictive validity of the TPB with the exception of subjective norms which did not predict intentions. In Study 2,70 children completed measures of their physical activity attitudes, intentions, PBC and past behaviour. Attitudes, intentions, PBC and recent behaviour were re-assessed five weeks later. The cognitions demonstrated a moderate degree of stability over time and there were some cross-lagged effects between attitudes and PBC. Past behaviour demonstrated additive rather than attenuating effects. These results support the use of the TPB cognitions and past behaviour as a framework to examine children's physical activity behaviour.     

The Attachment and Clinical Issues Questionnaire (ACIQ): Scale Development

In line with dynamic systems and dialectical theories of development, it was theorized that a psychopathology such as an addiction could have several causes (equifinality) and that more specific diagnoses and treatments of the most salient clinical issues for individuals coming from different developmental paths could increase the success rates of most therapies. Further, the issues from a developmental dynamic systems perspective should include not only individual clinical issues, but also relational, familial, peer, and organizational functioning. The Attachment and Clinical Issues Questionnaire (ACIQ) was developed as a research and clinical instrument relevant to these concerns. The 29 scales were based on naturalistic observations of patients in treatment and 12-step groups, attachment theory, and the clinical literature dealing with the addictions. The attachment scales were taken from classic attachment theory but, in line with more recent formulations, included relations to mother, father, and partner. Study 1 found the ACIQ to have good coefficient alphas (.79), and factor analyses revealed that the eight factors loaded on different attachment figures and sets of clinical issues rather than attachment styles per se. Study 2 found test–retest reliability to be, on average, .79. The results were in line with the developmental hypothesis that partner and father attachments are different than attachments to mother, and that family and peer relations as well as clinical issues need to be considered separately.