Slavery on the Frontier

Abstract

This document is a report sent in 1654 by Jean Le Vacher, member of the Congregation of the Mission, vicar apostolic of the Holy See and acting French consul in Tunis, to the cardinals of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, in Rome. It describe his missionary work in and around Tunis. Le Vacher’s letter focuses on the life and conditions of the Christian slaves (mostly Catholic, but Protestant too) in the region and on his efforts to provide spiritual and material assistance to them. It offers insights into early modern slavery in North Africa, the efforts of the Catholic Church to strengthen its presence in the area, and the culture and organisation of societies on the border between Islam and Christianity. This presentation includes the full text of Le Vacher’s report in the original Italian and in English translation, together with an introduction, commentary, and editorial notes.     

Sex stereotypes in occupational choice: The case for college women

The choice of a male dominated occupation rather than a traditionally feminine one is the single occupational variable which meaningfully divides a class of women who were studied intensively over the 4 yr of college. Women who choose occupations which employ largely men differ predictably from women who select feminine occupations in terms of familial influence, work values, work experience, role model influence and some collegiate activities. The two groups do not differ appreciably in sociability experiences or in relationships with parents, so it cannot be argued that the work plans of the pioneer women stem from social isolation, rejection, or lack of appropriate feminine socialization.     

Dry-bed training: rapid elimination of childhood enuresis

Enuresis has been treated with moderate effectiveness by the urine-alarm method which requires many weeks of training. The present procedure used a urine-alarm apparatus but added such features as training in inhibiting urination, positive reinforcement for correct urinations, training in rapid awakening, increased fluid intake, increased social motivation to be nonenuretic, self-correction of accidents, and practice in toileting. After one all-night training session, the 24 enuretic children averaged only two bedwettings before achieving fourteen consecutive dry nights and had no major relapses. Little or no reduction in bedwetting occurred within the first two weeks for matched-control enuretics who were given the standard urine-alarm training. The results of a control-procedure showed that the new procedure did not involve Pavlovian conditioning. The new method appears to be a more rapid, effective and different type of treatment for enuresis.     

Content analysis of the strong vocational interest blank for women

The content of each of the Occupational and Nonoccupational scales on the Strong Vocational Interest Blank for Women (SVIB-W; Form TW398) was described in terms of the categories used for the Basic Interest scales. The number of common items scored on the Occupational or Nonoccupational scales and the Basic scales was cross-tabulated for each pair of scales. A variety of interest factors was represented on each of the Occupational and Nonoccupational scales. Several shortcomings of the SVIB-W (e.g., restricted range of interests represented in item pool, no Occupational scale for “outdoors” occupations, and questionable validity of Diversity scale) were noted.     

Consistent occupational preferences,vocational maturity,and academic achievement

This study explored the differences in vocational maturity, academic aptitude, and achievement variables among female sorority students who made congruent, incongruent, and undecided occupational choices. The variables were operationally defined by the Career Maturity Inventory, the American College Test Battery, and a self-report questionnaire. Congruent, incongruent, and undecided current occupational choice groups were defined operationally using the Self-Directed Search. The analysis of variance revealed the main effect of groups to be significant for two variables. The findings suggest that students in the congruent female group tend to be more vocationally mature than students in the incongruent and undecided groups.     

The effects of censorship and attractiveness of the censor on attitude change

The effects of censoring a communication, overriding the censor, and the attractiveness of the censor on the potential audience's attitude and desire to hear the communication were studied. Subjects were told that a speech which they were to have heard had been censored by a positively, negatively, or neutrally evaluated group. Some subjects were told that the experimenter had decided to override the censor and that they would hear the communication. Other subjects were told they would not hear the censored communication. The results indicated that censorship, regardless of the attractiveness of the censor, caused the potential audience to change their attitudes toward the position to be advocated by the communication and to increase their desire to hear that communication. These effects were interpreted as resulting from the arousal of psychological reactance. When the censor was overriden and the audience felt that they would hear the communication, their desire to hear it decreased. Further, subjects who had been told that a positively evaluated group had censored the speech changed their attitudes away from the position to be advocated by the communication while subjects who believed that a negative group had censored the speech changed their attitudes toward the position of the communication. These results were interpreted as evidence of cognitive balancing.     

The measurement of cognitive vocational maturity

This report describes an instrument that was designed to measure an individual's level of cognitive vocational maturity in six areas: Fields of Work, Job Selection, Work Conditions, Education Required, Attributes Requited, and Duties. Procedures used in developing the item analysis research form and the final form of the instrument are described. Sample items from each subtest are presented. Kuder-Richardson reliability estimates for each of the six area subtests are presented for grades 6–9. Both criterion-related and construct validity data are presented. Pupils whose vocational choices were in agreement with their field of interest and their ability level scored higher on all subtests than pupils whose choices agreed neither with their interests nor with their ability level. Mean scores on all area subtests increase across grades levels, thus providing support for the claim that vocational maturity behaviors are developmental ones.