The Effects of Kenyan Child-Raising Practices on Adult Life

The study investigated the effects on adult behavior of child-raising practices in Nairobi, Kenya. The research sample consisted of 11 adult men and women from polygamous (five), monogamous (five) and single parent (one) backgrounds. Additionally, the sample included adult participants from 9 social situations and, 42 clinical interviews from a counseling center and also from participant observation. Child-rearing practices significantly impacted personal qualities in Kenyan adults. The positive effects were: respect, diligence, determination, resilience, perseverance and tolerance in relationships. Among the negative effects were: perfectionism, poor self-image, underlying anger, fear and mistrust.     

Community Counselling in African Contexts

This article explores community counselling as a form of professional practice for psychologists, with a particular focus on practices that are relevant in African contexts. The discussion identifies and discusses various models of practice identified in community psychology, including an ecological perspective, a public health and community mental health framework, interventions that focus on promoting a sense of community, indigenous approaches to community counselling and a critical or social action framework. Examples relating to each of these models of practice are drawn from various African settings, providing practitioners with some insights into how theory can be operationalised into practices that are relevant to African contexts. The article concludes with a discussion on community research, with a particular focus on ethical considerations relevant to a community approach in African contexts. The latter discussion emphasises the importance of working with the community as partners, and suggests the possibility of developing a Code of Ethics aimed specifically at guiding community counselling practice in African contexts.     

Friendship Similarity During Early Adolescence: Gender and Racial Patterns

We studied the relationship of reciprocity, gender, and racial composition (Caucasian, African American, cross-race) of adolescent friendship dyads to similarity and proximity in 136 young adolescents. We found that adolescents selected friends who were of the same gender and race and that female dyads were more similar than male dyads on verbal achievement and several personality dimensions. Caucasian dyads were more similar than African American dyads on verbal achievement, mental alertness, and dominance. African American adolescents had more contact with their best friends outside school, whereas Caucasian adolescent friends had more in-school contact. African American students had fewer reciprocal relationships than the Caucasian students. Cross-race friendships were less reciprocal than same-race friendships. Race and gender were important in determining friendship patterns. Similarity and proximity were more important than reciprocity in understanding early adolescent friendships.     

Scaling Incentives: Determining Preference and Indifference in 8- to lO-Year-Old Girls

The present study adopted procedures similar to those used by Logan (1965) to determine choice behavior in children. The objective was to provide an improved methodology in delay-of-gratification studies, thus avoiding the problems associated with scaling different kinds of rewards, and to provide approximate functions relating a delay-of-token reward to choice behavior. Thus, 7 girls aged 8 to 10 years were exposed to a choice paradigm in which a larger reward (2 tokens) was pitted against a smaller reward (1 token); access to these rewards was delayed a certain period of time. The results of this experiment showed that as the delay of the larger reward increased, preference for the smaller reward increased in an orderly fashion. The finding that delay shifted preference from the larger to the smaller reward is discussed in relation to current theory. The results of this experiment also provide evidence for the utility of tokens in scaling incentives for choice studies.     

Energetic Cost and Stability during Human Walking at the Preferred Stride Frequency

The possibility that preferred modes of locomotion emerge from dynamical and optimality constraints and the energetic and dynamical constraints on preferred and predicted walking frequency are explored in this article. Participants were required to walk on a treadmill at their preferred frequency, at a frequency predicted as the resonance of a hybrid pendulum-spring model of the legs, and at frequencies ±15%, ±25%, ±35% of the predicted frequency. Walking at the preferred and predicted frequencies resulted in minimal metabolic costs and maximal stability of the head and joint actions. Mechanical energy conservation was constant across conditions. The head was more stable than the joints. The joints appeared to be in service of the head in maintaining a stable trajectory. The major findings of this study suggest a complementary relationship between energetic (physiological) and stability constraints in the adoption of a preferred frequency of walking. Multiple subsystems may be involved in constraining observed macroscopic behavior in intact biological systems. The approach and results of the study imply that a useful tack in understanding how dynamical control structures arise is to study the potential criteria that serve to act as constraints on skilled movement patterns in unimpaired and impaired populations.     

Churches as organisations: towards a virtue ecclesiology for today

This article is an attempt to offer insights from organisation studies to ecclesiology. To do so it draws particularly on the work of the moral philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre to offer a virtue ecclesiology for today. The application of MacIntyre's conceptual framework of practices, institutions, goods and virtues to all kinds of organisations, which already exists in the field of organisation studies, is extended to the church as an organisation. It suggests that the church may be re-described as an organisation in which the practices of faith are housed within the institution of the church. On this understanding, the gift of the church to the world is not simply the practices of faith but the manner in which they are institutionalised.     

Effectiveness of a Hearing Conservation and Vocal Hygiene Program for Kindergarten Children

Abstract

Noise-induced hearing loss and disorders of the voice are two potentially preventable communication disorders. This study sought to determine if young children's knowledge regarding potentially abusive hearing and voice behaviors can be changed through education. An interactive educational program-“Ears for Listening, Voice for Speaking” (ELVS)-was presented to 66 kindergarten students. A questionnaire, testing the students' knowledge regarding anatomy, abusive behaviors, and conservation practices, was administered pre- and post-ELVS participation. A statistically significant increase was found in the students' knowledge post-ELVS participation. Scores on the voice questions were lower than hearing, and, although the difference was not statistically significant, girls scored higher than boys, both pre- and post-ELVS participation. This study highlights the importance of early intervention through education in preventing noise-induced hearing loss and voice disorders.     

情绪劳动的效应、影响因素及作用机制

情绪劳动是指员工遵照一定的组织规则, 在工作场所与顾客互动过程中进行的情绪调节。研究证明情绪劳动对组织情境中一系列结果变量影响显著, 既有积极影响也有消极影响, 作用对象包括施动者员工、受动者顾客和规则制定者组织。情绪劳动与结果变量的关系受多个员工、工作和顾客特征变量的影响。资源保存理论为情绪劳动的作用机制提供了一种有力的解释。即时、短期与长期效应的整合、指向内部顾客的情绪劳动以及组织氛围的影响是未来研究值得关注的方向。     

Sufi practices as the cause of spiritual,mental and physical healing at Chishti shrines in Pakistan

The article’s main focus is the performance of Sufi rituals at the Sufi Dargahs (shrines) and the objectives behind that recital. The study tries to locate the reasons behind the visitation of Sufi Dargahs. It is an attempt to find out the reasons devotees visit Sufi Dargahs and conduct Sufi practices and explores the ways the rituals become a source of peace for them. To get the actual findings, anthropological research was conducted and most of the data were collected while visiting the two prominent Chishti Sufi Dargahs of West Punjab, Pakistan: Dargahs of Baba Farid Ganj Shakar and Khawaja Shams ud Din Sialvi. The study is an effort to find out how the culture of Dargah influences the local community actions.     

Testing Practices and Attitudes Toward Tests and Testing: An International Survey

On behalf of the International Test Commission and the European Federation of Psychologists' Associations a world-wide survey on the opinions of professional psychologists on testing practices was carried out. The main objective of this study was to collect data for a better understanding of the state of psychological testing worldwide. These data could guide the actions and measures taken by ITC, EFPA, and other stakeholders. A questionnaire was administered to 20,467 professional psychologists from 29 countries. Five scales were constructed relating to: concern over incorrect test use, regulations on tests and testing, internet and computerized testing, appreciation of tests, and knowledge and training relating to test use. Equivalence across countries was evaluated using the alignment method, four scales demonstrated acceptable levels of invariance. Multilevel analysis was used to determine how scores were related to age, gender, and specialization, as well as how scores varied between countries. Although the results show a high appreciation of tests in general, the appreciation of internet and computerized testing is much lower. These scales show low variability over countries, whereas differences between countries on the other reported scales are much greater. This implies the need for some overarching improvements as well as country-specific actions.