Consequences and antecedents of debilitative precompetitive emotions

The consequences and antecedents of debilitative precompetitive emotions were examined in two studies. Study 1 explored the relationship between debilitative precompetitive emotions and coping effectiveness. Thirteen players from a semi-professional women's handball team filled out a diary concerning stress, emotion, and coping before and after eight competitions. Debilitative precompetitive emotions were linked negatively with coping effectiveness, as well as with subjective individual performance and objective team performance. Study 2 sought to understand the noncompetitive antecedents of debilitative precompetitive emotions. We interviewed nine players from those who participated in study 1. The main themes that emerged were the coach and the transition to elite status. According to this multi-methodological, in depth analysis, issues related to the coach and the transition to elite status lead athletes to experience precompetitive emotions that they appraise as debilitative to performance. These emotions were then linked to lowered coping effectiveness and decreased performance.     

Too individualistic for safety culture? Non-traffic related work safety among heavy goods vehicle drivers

IntroductionThis article reports on a study of non-traffic related work safety among drivers of heavy goods vehicles in Denmark. In the heavy goods vehicle transport (HGV) sector only 6.4% of workplace accidents involving drivers are traffic related. HGV work is characterised by solitary work, as drivers tend to work at a physical distance from their own company and their working environment is also influenced by the working environment of other companies e.g. the places where they deliver goods. This study focuses on an analysis of HGV drivers’ and managers’ differentiated understandings of risk and safety and its management within an organisational context. The situational focus involves viewing HGV drivers’ working environment as a part of the organisational structure as well as of other social relationships. An understanding of safety culture as practice is applied with the view of identifying values and attitudes as well as organisational and technical aspects in relation to how individualist or collectivist understandings of risk and safety influence the working environment in HGVs.MethodThe study applied a mixed methods approach and in this article the qualitative interviews conducted with drivers and managers is the primary data source.ResultsThis study suggests a widespread understanding of drivers as being individually oriented in their work, from drivers and management alike. However, the study also demonstrates that, in conducting their work, the drivers are actually interdependent, and share knowledge frequently, albeit informally. The organisational structure of the company shapes their individual attitudes towards safety but they also report being dependent on relationships with, and information from, their fellow colleagues, former colleagues and friends who shape their understandings and attitudes towards hazards and safety practices. The analysis points to risk-taking and unsafe practices as prevalent among HGV drivers, who often refer to risk as trivial and the management of such risks as one’s own responsibility. Knowledge of how to manage risks in everyday practice is shown to be principally related to personal experiences but also to the good advice and examples of fellow drivers.ConclusionsThe analysis points to interdependent and collectivist practices among HGV drivers even though they are perceived as being individualistically oriented when it comes to safety. Therefore, non-traffic related safety practices, in this case the loading and unloading of vehicles, occur in the grey zone of organisational safety management. Despite the fact that organisational safety initiatives are initiated, the management sees limited possibilities for enforcing them and hence safety practice is often left to the individual driver.Practical applicationsA safety culture perspective might enhance work safety among HGV drivers if we are able to understand workplace culture in a pluralistic way. Collectivist practice among the drivers can be utilised in order to improve knowledge sharing and situational safety practices. The informal communication identified among the drivers might offer a new model for safety initiatives based on more collectivist, albeit informal, safety culture practices on behalf of HGV companies.     

Investigating the effects of Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacons on pedestrian behavior and driver yielding on 25 mph streets: A quasi-experimental field study on a university campus

Rectangular Rapid-Flash Beacons (RRFBs) are safety measures that have become popular in recent years in the USA. Such equipment has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing vehicle speed and conflicts among road users, and increasing drivers’ yielding to pedestrians. However, RRFB effects on pedestrian behaviors are less well documented, and perhaps could produce contraindicated effects in crossing behavior. Specifically, RRFBs may give pedestrians a feeling of protection and induce them to more risk-taking when crossing the road. The current study was designed to investigate drivers and pedestrians’ reactions to a RRFB system installed at a university campus located in Virginia, USA. We deployed (a) field observation, using a multiple pretest/posttest non-equivalent control group quasi-experiment design and (b) interviews of students throughout the project’s multiple time periods. In total, 2454 pedestrians and 1312 drivers were observed and 265 students were interviewed. RRFB installations did not distinguish driver yielding likelihood between sites with or without RRFBs. However, driver yielding overall increased linearly over the five rounds of the study. Whether this was the result of the general presence of RRFBs on campus from the third round to the end of the fifth round is unknown. There is evidence from person interviews that students perceived increased safety for pedestrians over time. Being a RRFB chosen site or actual activation of the RRFBs did not have a significant relationship with pedestrian looking behavior either. The potential consequences of these results as well as the context of RRFB use on a university campus and generally low-speed roads are discussed.     

Therapist experiences of equine-assisted psychotherapy in South Africa: A qualitative study

This study examined therapists’ perceptions and experiences of equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP). Participants were 14 practising EAP therapists (females = 86%; male = 14%; age range 20 to 69 years) from across South Africa. They were interviewed utilising electronic interview media. Thematic analysis revealed therapists perceived effectiveness of EAP in providing emotional and interpersonal growth for clients. They also identified training, safety and ethical concerns with this therapeutic modality. Therapists’ experiences with EAP were influenced by their prior interaction with horses as horse owners or horse riders.     

Child sexual abuse and literacy achievement in a sample of South African primary school children

This study investigated child sexual abuse (CSA) and literacy achievement among South African primary school children. Data on self-reported experience of CSA and actual literacy achievement were collected from a convenience sample of 160 learners from a Soweto school in Johannesburg. The literacy tests measured five domains of reading and spelling competencies. The results show a statistically significant relationship between CSA and literacy scores, with learners who were sexually abused scoring significantly lower on the literacy tests used in this study. Specifically, learners with CSA experience performed noticeably lower in the real word test, followed by spelling, words spelt correctly, reading fluency, and non-word spelling. School psychologists could adopt a social justice framework in providing psychological and literacy support for children who are sexually abused.     

Between critics and caretakers: current introductions to Islam

Among a general abundance of literature on Islam, a number of books by scholars of religion and Islamicists have now found regular use in religious-studies programs. This article examines recent introductions to Islam, written by academics, and distinguishes between introductory books in general and textbooks that share more specific features. All books undergo assessment with respect to such qualities as accessibility, structure, and content. Moreover, two broader approaches come into view: some books seek to counter “misrepresentations” of Islam by extremists and the media and try to present a more sympathetic picture of “true” Islam, while others place a stronger focus on the constructed nature of Islam and follow a more critical approach. The books reviewed thus reflect reactions to current developments and discourses as well as the plurality of academic approaches to the field. Aside from more critical assessments, this article contends that some excellent and useful works introduce newcomers not only to Islam itself, but also to the academic study of Islam and religion more generally.     

The relationship between childhood adversity,psychiatric disorder and clinical severity: results from a multi-centre study

Although several studies have shown a clear association between childhood adversities and later development of a number of psychiatric disorders, a number of recent reports have cast doubts regarding the aetiological role played by abuse, neglect and loss, arguing that they are neither necessary nor sufficient to account for the development of subsequent psychopathology. In this study, we aimed to investigate the associations and predictive power of childhood adversities on later onset of Axis-I &-II psychiatric conditions and the impact on severity of psychiatric presentation in a large sample of patients. This cross-sectional multi-centre study evaluated patients (N = 1136) recruited in fourteen NHS psychotherapy departments in the UK. Patients were assessed using a number of rater-based questionnaires and self-rated measures. Multiple regression analyses showed that childhood experiences of loss and physical abuse were predictive of severe personality disorder and borderline personality disorder, but not of other less severe PD and Axis-I diagnoses. Sexual abuse predicted later onset of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. In addition, we found that childhood abusive experiences were strongly associated with severity of psychiatric distress, interpersonal problems and global functioning. Having experienced two or more childhood adversities significantly increased severity of psychiatric distress, interpersonal malfunctioning and CORE scores.     

Predicting remembering and forgetting of autobiographical memories in children and adults: a 4-year prospective study

Preservation and loss to forgetting of autobiographical memories is a focus in both the adult and developmental literatures. In both, there are comparative arguments regarding rates of forgetting. Children are assumed to forget autobiographical memories more rapidly than adults, and younger children are assumed to forget more rapidly than older children. Yet few studies can directly inform these comparisons: few feature children and adults, and few prospectively track the survival of specific autobiographical memories over time. In a 4-year prospective study, we obtained autobiographical memories from children 4, 6, and 8 years, and adults. We tested recall of different subsets of the events after 1, 2, and 3 years. Accelerated rates of forgetting were apparent among all child groups relative to adults; within the child groups, 4- and 6-year-olds had accelerated forgetting relative to 8-year-olds. The differences were especially pronounced in open-ended recall. The thematic coherence of initial memory reports also was a significant predictor of the survival of specific memories. The pattern of findings is consistent with suggestions that the adult distribution of autobiographical memories is achieved as the quality of memory traces increases (here measured by thematic coherence) and the rate of forgetting decreases.     

Blame Game and Rotten Apples in Private Investigation Reports: The Case of Hadeland and Ringerike Broadband in Norway

Blame game is a term often used to describe a phenomenon that happens in groups of people when something goes wrong. The blame game hypothesis postulates that private investigators may be misled in their search for suspects and that suspected individuals do not necessarily become subject to a fair investigation by financial crime specialists and fraud examiners. The rotten apple hypothesis postulates that it is comforting to assume that one bad apple within an organisation is essentially responsible for the crime that is all too prevalent. The rotten apple view of white‐collar crime is a comfortable perspective to apply to business and public organisations as it allows them to look no further than suspect a single individual. Based on a case study of the Norwegian company Hadeland and Ringerike Broadband, this paper discusses blame game and rotten apple issues in an internal investigation report written by an external financial crime specialist. The study finds support for both hypotheses, as blame is mainly isolated to the criminal and his superior, and both board and top management are protected from scrutiny. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.