Local Dynamic Stability of the Locomotion of Lower Extremity Joints and Trunk During Backward Upslope Walking

Backward slope walking was considered as a practical rehabilitation and training skill. However, its gait stability has been hardly studied, resulting in its limited application as a rehabilitation tool. In this study, the effect of walking direction and slope grade were investigated on the local dynamic stability of the motion of lower extremity joints and trunk segment during backward and forward upslope walking (BUW/FUW). The local divergence exponents (λ_S) of 16 adults were calculated during their BUW and FUW at grades of 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%. Mean standard deviation over strides (MeanSD) was analyzed as their gait variability. Backward walking showed larger λ_S for the abduction-adduction and rotational angles of knee and ankle on inclined surface than forward walking, while λ_S for hip flexion-extension angle at steeper grades was opposite. No grade effect for any joint existed during BUW, while λ_S increased with the increasing grade during FUW. As to the trunk, walking direction did little impact on λ_S. Still, significant larger λ_S for its medial-lateral and vertical motion were found at the steeper grades during both FUW and BUW. Results indicate that during BUW, the backward direction may influence the stability of joint motions, while the trunk stability was challenged by the increasing grades. Therefore, BUW may be a training tool for the stability of both upper and lower body motion during gait.     

Short-Term Effect of Crural Fasciotomy on Kinematic Variability and Propulsion During Level Locomotion

Treadmill locomotion can be characterized by consistent step-to-step kinematics despite the redundant degrees of freedom. The authors investigated the effect of disrupting the crural fascia in decerebrate cats to determine if the crural fascia contributed to kinematic variability and propulsion in the limb. Crural fasciotomy resulted in statistically significant decreases in velocity and acceleration in the joint angles during level walking, before, during, and after paw-off, particularly at the ankle. A further finding was an increase in variance of the limb segment trajectories in the frontal plane. The crural fascia therefore provides force transmission and reduction in kinematic variability to the limb during locomotion.     

Philosophy Unbound: The Idea of Global Philosophy

The future of philosophy is moving towards “global philosophy.” The idea of global philosophy is the view that different philosophical approaches may engage more substantially with each other to solve philosophical problems. Most solutions attempt to use only those available resources located within one philosophical tradition. A more promising approach might be to expand the range of available resources to better assist our ability to offer more compelling solutions. This search for new horizons in order to improve our clarity about philosophical issues is at the heart of global philosophy. The idea of global philosophy encourages us to look beyond our traditions to improve our philosophical problem‐solving by our own lights. Global philosophy is a new approach whose time is coming. This essay offers the first account of this approach and an assessment of its future promise.     

Trying to be happier really can work: Two experimental studies

Does the explicit attempt to be happier facilitate or obstruct the actual experience of happiness? Two experiments investigated this question using listening to positive music as a happiness-inducing activity. Study 1 showed that participants assigned to try to boost their mood while listening to 12?min of music reported higher positive mood compared to participants who simply listened to music without attempting to alter mood. However, this effect was qualified by the predicted interaction: the music had to be positively valenced (i.e. Copland, not Stravinsky). In Study 2, participants who were instructed to intentionally try to become happier (vs. not trying) reported higher increases in subjective happiness after listening to positively valenced music during five separate lab visits over a two-week period. These studies demonstrate that listening to positive music may be an effective way to improve happiness, particularly when it is combined with an intention to become happier.     

The moderator role of followers’ personality traits in the relations between leadership styles,two types of task performance and work result satisfaction

Authentic leadership is changing our understanding of what makes good leadership. However, few studies have explored how followers’ individual differences and the nature of the task they perform affect its relation to followers’ work outcomes. We examine the moderator role of two core task types (intellective vs. generative) and two personality traits (conscientiousness and emotional stability) in the relationship between two leadership feedback styles (authentic vs. transactional) and task performance or work result satisfaction in a two-wave experiment. The sample consisted of 228 participants enrolled in an organizational psychology course, 34% of whom had work experience. Our results show that over time the effect of an authentic feedback style on task performance became stronger for those participants who previously scored very low on intellective tasks or very high on generative tasks. Furthermore, a significant three-way interaction between these two traits and our leadership feedback styles indicates that the effect of authentic feedback conforms different patterns depending on the followers’ personality traits and the type of task they perform. Moreover, authentic feedback had a stronger effect on participants’ work result satisfaction. Participants with low levels of either conscientiousness or emotional stability displayed higher levels of satisfaction in the authentic feedback condition.     

Psychological contract breach,affective commitment to organization and supervisor,and newcomer adjustment: A three-wave moderated mediation model

This study examines the relationship of psychological contract breach to newcomer adjustment outcomes using affective commitments to organizations and supervisors as mediators and also looks at the moderating role of affective commitment to supervisors. Drawing from data collected at three points in time among a sample of newcomers (N = 224), we found that Time 2 affective organizational commitment mediated a positive relationship between Time 1 psychological contract breach and Time 3 turnover intention and emotional exhaustion. Moreover, affective commitment to supervisors interacted with organizational commitment such that the latter was more negatively related to Time 3 outcomes at low levels of commitment to supervisors. Similarly, the indirect relationships of psychological contract breach to Time 3 outcomes were stronger and negative at low levels of commitment to supervisors. Affective commitment's role in the psychological contract breach-outcome relationships during the entry period is discussed.     

大学生的冒险性与创业意向的关系：感知的创业文化的调节作用

为探讨大学生的冒险性、感知的创业文化与创业意向之间的关系,采用Kogan-Wallach困境选择问卷(CDQ)、感知的创业文化问卷和大学生创业意向量表调查了996名大一至大四年级学生。结果表明:男大学生的创业目标意向和创业执行意向水平均显著高于女大学生;冒险性、感知的创业文化能够直接正向预测大学生的创业目标意向;感知的创业文化能够调节冒险性与创业目标意向之间的关系,具体来讲,对于感知的创业文化水平较高的大学生,冒险性能够积极预测创业目标意向,而对于感知的创业文化水平较低的大学生,冒险性与创业目标意向之间不存在联系。     

社会服务实践对中学生公民行动意向的影响——社会服务观念的中介作用

本研究对6203名参与过不同形式的社会服务实践的中学生进行调查,考察了中学生参与社会服务实践的现状及其对公民行动意向的影响机制。结果发现:(1)我国中学社会服务实践的质量各维度差异较大,内外调控、深化与拓展、课程关联和自主性得分依次显著降低。(2)中学生参与的社会服务实践在城乡、学校类型、年级上存在显著差异,学校类型和年级的交互作用显著。城市、示范学校、低年级的学生参与的社会服务实践的质量较好,示范学校的优势主要体现在低年级阶段。(3)中学生的社会服务实践经历影响其公民行动意向,而社会服务观念在其中起到部分中介作用。高质量的社会服务实践经历有助于改进中学生的社会服务观念,进而增强其公民行动意向。     

Habit as both a direct cause of intention to use a condom and as a moderator of the attitude-intention and subjective norm-intention relations

Abstract

Undergraduates at an American university were asked questions about their attitudes, subjective norms, habits, and intentions towards using a condom during sexual intercourse. Consistent with previous research (Chan and Fishbein, 1993; Trafimow, 1994), intentions were well predicted by attitudes and subjective norms (r = 0.88 and r = 0.73, p < 0.01 in both cases). Intentions were also well predicted by habits (r = 0.77, p < 0.01). More interestingly, however, for participants who were in the habit of using condoms, attitudes and subjective norms were not significant predictors of intentions to use condoms in the future (r = 0.18 and r = 0.10, p<0.1 in both cases). In contrast, attitudes and subjective norms were strong predictors for participants who were not in the habit of using condoms (r = 0.81 and r = 0.61, p < 0.01 in both cases). These findings were replicated in a second study.     

From health beliefs to self-regulation: Theoretical advances in the psychology of action control

Abstract

The paper reviews the theoretical concepts included in a range of social cognitive models which have identified psychological antecedents of individual motivation and behaviour. Areas of correspondence are noted and core constructs (derived primarily from the theory of planned behaviour and social cognitive theory) are identified. The role of intention formation, self-efficacy beliefs, attitudes, normative beliefs and self-representations are highlighted and it is argued that these constructs provide a useful framework for modelling the psychological prerequisites of health behaviour. Acknowledging that intentions do not translate into action automatically, recent advances in our understanding of the ways in which prior planning and rehearsal can enhance individual control of action and facilitate the routinisation of behaviour are considered. The importance of engaging in preparatory behaviours for the achievement of many health goals is discussed and the processes by which goals are prioritised, including their links to self-representations, are explored. The implications of social cognitive and self-regulatory theories for the cognitive assessment of individual readiness for action and for intervention design in health-related settings are highlighted.