A device for rapid recording of positioning responses in two dimensions

A device for rapid recording of positioning responses is described. It utilizes an extremely simple, low-cost position transducer and two digital voltmeters or their equivalent. The device has the advantages of rapid, accurate measurement, reliability, ease of reading, and the potential for automatic recording of positional data in two dimensions.     

Behavior in a novel situation as influenced by the immediately preceding environment

Behavior in a novel situation, which basically represented an increase in complexity for some Ss and a decrease in complexity for others, was sampled by the use of an exhaustive list of response categories at 5-sec intervals for 24 min. Wide behavioral differences are described. In addition, the feasibility of the time-sampling technique for the study of animal behavior is further demonstrated, and its more general use is advocated.     

Spaces of the Religious Economy: Negotiating the Regulation of Religious Space in Singapore

Over the past three decades, the theory of religious economy has been established, applied, debated, developed, and rejected. It has proven to be as divisive as any "general theory" of religion should be, and yet its core tenets continue to engage and unite scholars around the world. In response to broader shifts within the sociology of religion, this article reframes religious economy by advancing a spatial approach to its theorization. A spatial approach can help develop new perspectives on the regulation of religion, and the resistant agency of religious groups. With a focus on the "secular monopoly" of Singapore, it demonstrates how the restricted supply of land for religious purposes increases competition between religious groups. To overcome restrictions, religious groups pursue strategies of spatial and organizational boundary crossing. This has led to the closer regulation of space, and highlights the recursive interplay between the regulation and praxis of religion in Singapore.     

Religious Affiliation,Religiosity, and Spirituality in Pediatric Residents: Effects on Communication and Self-Efficacy with Adolescents in a Clinical Setting

Religion and spirituality are known influences on medical providers’ care of patients, but no studies have assessed resident beliefs related to patient perception of clinical care. The main objective of our study was to assess resident religious affiliation, religiosity, and spirituality in relation to self-efficacy and communication with patients during adolescent clinic visits. We found that religious affiliation and religiosity appear to affect patient perception of communication with residents during adolescent visits; spirituality had little noted effect. Further research is warranted, especially regarding resident and patient gender correlations and differences in religious affiliation effects on patient perception of care.     

On the dynamics of work identity in atypical employment: setting out a research agenda

Starting from the notion that work is an important part of who we are, we extend existing theory making on the interplay of work and identity by applying them to (so called) atypical work situations. Without the contextual stability of a permanent organizational position, the question “who one is” will be more difficult to answer. At the same time, a stable occupational identity might provide an even more important orientation to one’s career attitudes and goals in atypical employment situations. So, although atypical employment might pose different challenges on identity, identity can still be a valid concept to assist the understanding of behaviour, attitudes, and well-being in these situations. Our analysis does not attempt to “reinvent” the concept of identity, but will elaborate how existing conceptualizations of identity as being a multiple (albeit perceived as singular), fluid (albeit perceived as stable), and actively forged (as well as passively influenced) construct that can be adapted to understand the effects of atypical employment contexts. Furthermore, we suggest three specific ways to understand the longitudinal dynamics of the interplay between atypical employment and identity over time: passive incremental, active incremental, and transformative change. We conclude with key learning points and outline a few practical recommendations for more research into identity as an explanatory mechanism for the effects of atypical employment situations.     

Extending Conceptualization and Measurement of Narrative Engagement After-the-Fact: Parasocial Relationship and Retrospective Imaginative Involvement

Engagement with narratives and identification with narrative characters is usually conceptualized as occurring during the narrative experience itself. However, much involvement with a story world and narrative characters may occur retrospectively and imaginatively. The present study, using a cross-sectional survey quota-sampled to represent U.S. demographic norms, provides conceptualization and measurement of parasocial relationships (PSR) that is clearly retrospective and conceptually distinct from parasocial interaction (PSI). Moreover, we distinguish PSR from another concept introduced and operationalized here, retrospective imaginative involvement (RII), and provide evidence for validity of these measures. We compare them to the related concepts of transportability and boundary expansion, and assess fit using measurement models and confirmatory factor analysis, refining measurement on half the data set and confirming fit on the other half. We demonstrate predictive validity with respect to a measure of self-reported effects of narratives on beliefs and behavior, controlling for these various related measures, and also validate short versions of these measures for greater ease of research use     

Growth curve models in retrospective memory and prospective memory: the relationship between prediction and performance with task experience

Older adults commonly experience declines in episodic memory that affect their daily lives. The aim was to examine whether the acquired metacognitive awareness that comes with task experience, indexed by meta-retrospective memory (meta-RM)/meta-prospective memory (meta-PM), influences how older adults predict performance on later trials. Participants were 178 community-dwelling older adults. RM performance and predictions were measured using a multi-trial word-list learning task. Predictions and performance for PM were measured using a PM paradigm. Change in RM/PM performance and predictions over the trials/blocks were modelled using latent growth curve analyses. For RM, both predictions and performance increased with task experience. However, for PM, neither performance nor predictions changed with task experience. Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that metacognitive awareness acquired during the RM and PM tasks influenced how older adults’ modified their predictions of subsequent task performance. Findings are consistent with [Toglia and Kirk’s (2000). Understanding awareness deficits following brain injury. NeuroRehabilitation, 15(1), 57–70] hypothesis that individuals compare ongoing performance to expectations based on metacognitive knowledge, such that a discrepancy between actual and expected performance may influence emergent awareness.