Topic-focused analysis in a case of integrative psychotherapy with a father fearing his own anger

Even though evidence-based knowledge is considered the foundation of clinical practice, many clinicians question the clinical relevance of published research. Clinicians increasingly define themselves as having an integrative stance, in contrast to the tendency for most research to be based on clearly defined psychotherapies. Qualitative single case studies make it possible to generate knowledge about what actually occurs in integrative therapy. Topic change process analysis (TCPA) is used in the analysis of brief integrative therapy conducted by a very experienced psychotherapist drawing on a complex variety of therapeutic approaches. The client was a man in his late thirties, worrying about his strong anger, particularly related to one of his children. Analysis of topic areas, topic shifts, response patterns within topics and changes in perspective made it possible to identify key processes and key patterns of the therapy which resulted in a very positive outcome for the client. Implications of these findings for practice, and future research, are discussed.     

Influences on anger in German urban cyclists

Previous research shows that anger and aggression among road users lead to maladjusted driving and a higher risk of accidents. Especially cyclists as vulnerable road users have a high risk of being injured if they are involved in accidents. This paper examines reasons for cycling anger in two studies. The first study aimed at identifying anger provoking events. Seventy-three cyclists were invited to discuss anger provoking events in a focus group setting. These events were rated regarding their anger intensity, clustered within focus groups, and aggregated across all groups. The first study revealed 208 unique cycling anger provoking events of varying anger intensity that were summarized in six clusters. The second study aimed at validating these anger provoking events, the ratings, and the clusters. Here, 129 participants were asked to complete a four-time point diary study (over the course of ten days), in which they registered all anger provoking events that they experienced while cycling. The results of this study validated most of the anger provoking events of the first study. Both studies show that most anger provoking events are related to conflicts between cyclists with other road users like car drivers and pedestrians. Moreover, conflicts with car drivers seem to cause stronger anger among cyclists than conflicts with other cyclists or pedestrians. Implications for further research and the planning of road infrastructure are discussed.     

Lost in the great divide: Motivation in religious studies classrooms

One of the most illuminating finds in Barbara E. Walvoord's Teaching and Learning in College Introductory Religion Courses (2008) is what she calls “the great divide,” a mismatch between instructors’ goals for their courses, which are academic, and the students’ reasons for taking them, which relate to their personal interests and development. Motivation – or, rather, the lack thereof – is not explicitly considered as a potential victim of this mismatch. This article will turn its attention squarely to this issue. First, I will review data about the “great divide” and link them to the common practice of asking our students to bracket the personal when they take our courses. The article will juxtapose this practice with what research tell us about motivation, which will allow us to further explore why the divide Walvoord and others have identified is so problematic. The article will conclude with pedagogical strategies that can help instructors intentionally influence motivation in religion courses. Ultimately, I suggest that we may be doing students – as well as ourselves, as the purveyors of our discipline – a disservice, if we do not attend to (or, worse, if we actively avoid) what we know motivates students to learn.     

Driving at night with a cataract: Risk homeostasis?

Driving with a cataract can be dangerous, especially at night when road lighting and automotive lighting produce glare. Disability glare alters visual performance, while discomfort glare contributes to restricted mobility, with drivers avoiding driving at night. The present study was focused on the visual effects of an early cataract, and aimed at comparing three driving performance indexes at night, under glare conditions, with and without a simulated cataract. Two indexes directly referred to road safety, while a measure could be related to behavioral adaptation.Using a driving simulator, twenty-six participants were asked to drive in simulated night-time conditions, under controlled photometric conditions where the adaptation luminance and the glare level were consistent with a two-lane rural road at night with oncoming traffic. The visual effects of a bilateral cataract were simulated using goggles which were in the range of an early cataract in terms of light scattering, light transmission, visual acuity and contrast sensitivity loss. Participants were asked to avoid virtual pedestrians on the road, both with and without a simulated cataract. Three performance indexes were considered: the rate of pedestrian crashes, the distance to the pedestrian when the participant avoided the crash, and the mean speed, which allowed to control for a possible behavioral adaptation to the reduced visual performance. For a better understanding of the visual functions responsible for the degraded driving behavior, contrast sensitivity and time-to-collision performance were also measured in glare conditions.While simulated cataract resulted in slightly slower speeds, poorer driving performance was observed with the goggles than without, with more pedestrians being hit and shorter stopping distances. Time-to-collision estimates at 90 km/h were found to be predictive of stopping distances with a simulated cataract, while contrast sensitivity in glare conditions at 13 cycles per degree was found to be associated with the occurrence of a crash with cataract.The decrease in speed with a simulated cataract was real but ineffective in terms of driving safety, which suggests that the behavioral adaptation to the degraded visual performance was insufficient. The precise impact of a cataract on driving abilities remains to be further studied, to provide scientific knowledge to help practitioners determine the moment when the individuals should forego driving.     

User acceptance of automated shuttles in Berlin-Schöneberg: A questionnaire study

Automated shuttles are now in a prototyping phase in several research projects. However, there is still a paucity of knowledge on the acceptance of these shuttles. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire study among individuals (n = 384) who physically experienced an automated shuttle on an office campus in Berlin-Schöneberg. The findings indicate that the respondents were positive towards automated shuttles and could envision their use as feeders to public transport systems, in both urban and rural areas. The respondents were less satisfied with the effectiveness of the shuttle compared to their existing form of travel, the speed of the shuttle, and the space for luggage. A principal component analysis resulted in the retention of three components: (1) intention to use, (2) shuttle and service characteristics, and (3) shuttle effectiveness compared to existing transport. Older respondents expressed a higher intention to use, but found the shuttle less effective than their existing travel. We argue that automated shuttles are a valued concept, but speed and efficiency have to improve, in order for automated shuttles to become viable on a wide scale. Future research should use more objective measures and establish long-term effects in larger, more representative samples.     

Cognitive function and young drivers: The relationship between driving,attitudes, personality and cognition

Young drivers (aged 17–25 years) are the highest risk age group for driving crashes and are over-represented in car crash statistics in Australia. A relationship between cognitive functioning and driving in older drivers (60 years and older) has been consistently supported in previous literature, however, this relationship has been neglected in research regarding younger drivers. The role of cognitive functioning in young people’s driving was investigated both independently and within a current model of younger peoples driving performance. With young drivers as participants, driving behaviour, attitudes, personality and cognitive functioning were tested and driving performance was operationalised through two measures on a driving simulator, speeding and lane deviations. Cognitive functioning was found to contribute to driving behaviour, along with driving attitudes and personality traits, in accounting for young people’s driving performance. The young drivers who performed better on cognitive functioning tasks engaged in less speeding behaviour and less lane deviation on the driving simulator than those who performed worse on these tasks. This result was found independent of the role of driving behaviour, driving attitudes and personality traits, accounting for unique variance in driving ability.     

Effect of electronic device use while driving on cardiovascular reactivity

Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death in people ages 5–34 in the US, and secondary task engagement, such as talking on a cell phone, is a leading contributor to motor vehicle collisions. The negative effects of secondary task engagement on driving performance has become a prominent recent topic of study given the increasing amount of time drivers engage in distracted driving. However, few studies have examined the effects of secondary task engagement while driving on health related outcomes such as cardiovascular reactivity. Cardiovascular reactivity, as measured by heart rate and blood pressure, has been used in previous studies as a means of measuring effort in task engagement as well as a means to predict cardiovascular disease and stroke. This study investigates the effect of secondary task (talking on a cell phone, texting, and driving with no task) while driving in a simulator on cardiovascular reactivity. Using difference scores between baseline (a period of inactivity) and stimulus (driving with no task and driving with secondary tasks), a repeated measures analysis of variance using a mixed model approach was used to determine the effect of secondary task on cardiovascular reactivity. Findings indicated that talking on a cell phone while driving significantly increased cardiovascular reactivity via heart rate and blood pressure compared to driving with no task. Texting while driving did not differ significantly from driving with no task. This study demonstrates the need for more research on the long term effects of secondary tasks while driving on cardiovascular reactivity and for assessing the risks associated with secondary task use while driving on developing cardiovascular disease or stroke.     

Investigating the effectiveness of perceptual treatments on a crest vertical curve: A driving simulator study

Rural roads are characterized by a high percentage of run-off-the-road accidents and head-on collisions, mainly caused by inappropriate speeds and failure to maintain a proper lateral position along the roadway alignment. Among several road safety treatments, low-cost perceptual measures are considered an effective tool, as they generally increase the risk perceived by drivers, or even alter the drivers’ speed perception, and consequently tempting them to decrease their speeds. Their effectiveness has been widely recognized in a number of studies, especially with respect to road intersections and curves.The overall aim of this study is to investigate the effects of different perceptual treatments on driving speed, along a crest vertical curve of an existing two-lane rural road, in order to identify the most effective measure to reduce speed and define its subsequent implementation in the field. Three perceptual treatments were tested using a driving simulator: white peripheral transverse bars, red peripheral transverse bars and optical speed bars, with each one being painted along the approaching tangent to the crest vertical curve. The effects of these speed-reducing measures were investigated using a sample of forty-four participants, by comparing the driving speeds with those recorded under a baseline condition (without a treatment); these were also used to validate the driving simulator’s speed measurements with those found in the field. Moreover, subjective measures were collected, consisting of the driver’s static evaluation of the desired speed, risk perception and markings comprehension, based on screen shot pictures that represented the simulated configurations of the treatments.The findings demonstrated an overall effectiveness of the perceptual treatments, although only the red peripheral transverse bars were found to significantly reduce the driving speeds (−6 km/h). The analysis of the questionnaire yielded interesting information and demonstrated the importance of performing driving simulation tests for evaluating the effectiveness of perceptual treatments.Finally, the results confirmed the enormous potential of using driving simulators to pinpoint a number of speed-reducing measures, and consequently select the most effective one that reduces cost and promotes safety before its actual implementation in the field.     

Positive mental health moderates the association between depression and suicide ideation: A longitudinal study

Background/Objective: Depression and suicide ideation regularly occur together. Yet, little is known about factors that buffer individuals against the development of suicide ideation. The present study investigated, whether positive mental health buffers the association between depression and suicide ideation in a longitudinal study design. Methods: A total of 207 German students (70.3% female; age: M = 26.04, SD = 5.33) were assessed at a baseline evaluation and again twelve months later. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires. Linear hierarchical regression analysis was used to analyze the data. Positive mental health was considered to moderate the impact of depression on suicide ideation – controlling for age and gender. Results: Positive mental health was shown to moderate the impact of depression on suicide ideation: in those students who reported higher levels of positive mental health, depression severity showed no association with suicide ideation over time. Conclusion: Positive mental health seems to confer resilience and should be taken into account, when assessing individuals for suicide risk.