Reading and writing difficulties do not always occur as the researcher expects

Making a prognosis about reading and learning difficulties is a tricky business, even if a large array of relevant variables is taken into account. The present article discusses such an endeavour, on the basis of a longitudinal four-year study which started with an orthodox intervention on linguistic awareness. However, after initial success, new groups of reading, writing and math disabled children were identified in the course of years. Membership of these groups could not always be predicted on the basis of extensive cognitive diagnostics performed during the preschool. Rather, the pupil’s adaptive behaviour while coping with the demands of school work emerges as an important prognostic factor. This was particularly evident in an interaction combining math and reading comprehension in grade 3.     

Personality characteristics in primary benzodiazepine-dependent patients: Comparison with controls and polydrug users

The present study applied Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) to study (i) if patients with benzodiazepine dependence have a characteristic personality profile, (ii) if the personality characteristics in patients with benzodiazepine dependence differ from those of polydrug users and normal controls, (iii) if differences in treatment outcome existed between the groups, and (iv) if the possible difference in treatment outcome was associated with any particular personality characteristic shown by the patients. The personality characteristics of primary benzodiazepine dependent patients (BDZ) and a group of polydrug users (MIX) were studied initially (during the first week in project as an inpatient) and approximately one year after drug discontinuation, and a comparison was made with healthy controls on both test occasions. The results showed that the personality of both groups of patients differed significantly from the Controls in the following characteristics: Detachment, Socialization, Somatic Anxiety, Muscular Tension, Psychic Anxiety, and Psychasthenia. Significant differences existed between the polydrug and benzodiazepine users in Somatic and Psychic Anxiety as well as in Socialization. The MIX group differed significantly from the BDZ group and from the Controls in Suspicion. Results of treatment outcome indicated that the benzodiazepine dependent patients were significantly more successful in quitting their drug use compared to polydrug users. Further, the results demonstrated that patients scoring high in the investigated personality characteristics are those who fail the treatment goal of quitting their drug use, especially the patients with a high level of anxiety and detachment.     

The pitch of “real” and “rhetorical” questions directed by a father to his daughter: A longitudinal case study

A longitudinal study of a father and his daughter examined pitch-variation of “real” and “rhetorical” questions. Although the father asked “real” and “rhetorical” questions from the start of the recordings, he did not distinguish them through differential pitch height until the baby was 15 months old.     

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.     

Parental Monitoring,Association with Externalized Behavior,and Academic Outcomes in Urban African‐American Youth: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

African‐American adolescents exposed to neighborhood disadvantage are at increased risk for engaging in problem behavior and academic underachievement. It is critical to identify the mechanisms that reduce problem behavior and promote better academic outcomes in this population. Based on social disorganization and socioecological theories, the current prospective study examined pathways from parental monitoring to academic outcomes via externalizing behavior at different levels of neighborhood disadvantage. A moderated mediation model employing maximum likelihood was conducted on 339 African‐American students from 9th to 11th grade (49.3% females) with a mean age of 14.8 years (SD ± 0.35). The results indicated that parental monitoring predicted low externalizing behavior, and low externalizing behavior predicted better academic outcomes after controlling for externalizing behavior in 9th grade, intervention status, and gender. Mediation was supported, as the index of mediation was significant. Conversely, neighborhood disadvantage did not moderate the path from parental monitoring to externalizing behavior. Implications for intervention at both community and individual levels and study limitations are discussed.     

低阶层者的系统合理化水平更高吗?——基于社会认知视角的考察

系统合理化理论曾提出,低阶层者比高阶层者具有更高的系统合理化水平,即更认可社会体系的合理性、更支持当前社会系统。但这一论断一直存在争议。研究引入社会认知视角,考察低阶层与高阶层者系统合理化水平的差异及其机制。两个分研究得到了共同的结果:(1)低阶层者的系统合理化水平显著低于高阶层者;(2)这一差异是通过贫富归因的中介作用实现的,低阶层者系统合理化水平较低是基于其更少地认为社会贫富差距是由个人内部因素所致;(3)这一中介作用会受到个体控制感水平的调节,当控制感较低时,上述中介作用成立;但当控制感较高时,低阶层会弥合与高阶层贫富归因的差异,中介模型不成立。这些结果支持并发展了系统合理化的认知途径解释和阶层社会认知理论这两个立足于社会认知的理论观点,显示了认知因素在此问题中的重要作用,构建了更整合的阶层—归因—合理化的逻辑,并考虑了其边界因素,对于了解低阶层者的社会心态及其形成机制,包括如何改变此状况,均有一定的现实启示意义。     

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.     

情境与互动：人际互倚及其模

人际互倚理论主要关注群体中个体之间的相互依附关系。文章介绍了互倚理论的历史发展,论述了人际互倚理论发展中研究方法的改进：从结果矩阵到转换细目表。方法的改进推动了重视情境的人际互倚情境模式的发展,使人际互倚理论从研究静态人际互倚关系转向研究动态人际互倚的转换过程。该文还对人际互倚研究进行了评价和展望