A Group of Sexually Abused Adolescents' Perceptions of their Future Life-Roles: An Exploratory Study

Sexual abuse of adolescents can have detrimental effects on their perceptions of their different future life-roles. We investigated such perceptions of students with a history of sexual abuse (n=163) as well as typically developing others (n=237). Participants completed the Life-role Inventory of the then called Human Sciences Research Council (Langley, 1990). Between-group comparisons were carried out. Adolescents with a history of sexual abuse reported negative perceptions of themselves fulfilling some of their roles in the future, being committed to these roles and attaching value to them, compared to typically developing others.     

Lay Perceptions of Psychotherapists in South Africa

The study investigated South African layperson perceptions of psychotherapists. Participants were 10 males and 25 females (Whites = 23, Blacks = 10, Coloreds = 2; age range 20 to 59). Semi structured interviews were used to study expectations, attitudes and stereotypical beliefs and behavior towards psychotherapists. Laypersons perceived psychotherapists negatively, and would personally not want any assistance from psychotherapists.     

Function of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier and selected biochemical cerebrospinal fluid components in senile dementias of various types

Some selected CSF and serum components were determined in demental patients classified by the Hachinski test into vascular and primary-degenerative groups. As for the vascular group, the frequency distribution of the serum/CSF albumin ratios characterizing the barrier function corresponds to that of controls, in primary-degenerative cases, however, it is shifted to higher values. In vascular dementia higher CSF LAP activities pointing to actual cell damaging processes in the CNS were found. The concentrations of lactate and some trace metals in CSF and serum are not suitable for differential diagnostic purposes.     

Understanding the Linguistic Turn and the Quest for Meaning: Historical Perspectives and Systematic Considerations

Although the linguistic turn is usually described in historical terms this article aims at combing the significant historical transitions with systematic philosophical considerations. Against the background of earlier rationalistic and empiricist trends particular attention is given to the successive epistemic ideals manifest in the conceptual rationalism of the Enlightenment, followed by the historicism of the 19 ^th century and subsequently by the linguistic turn. An assessment of these transitions will explore systematic issues, in particular the relationship between universality and what is individual, the difference between functional laws and type laws, and regarding the limits of concept formation the distinction between conceptual knowledge and concept-transcending knowledge. This distinction enables the introduction of a new understanding of the difference between rationalism and irrationalism. Apart from Dilthey the linguistic turn penetrated also the thought of thinkers such as Freud, Wittgenstein, Frankl, Heidegger, Habermas, Dooyeweerd and Gadamer, all of them (implicitly or explicitly) elaborated the initial criticism raised by Herder, Jacobi, Hamann, Heidegger and Gadamer against Kant‘s Critique of Pure Reason for neglecting language. After briefly referring to the connection between the linguistic turn and the idea of the meaningful construction of reality, the article ends with a concluding remark emphasizing the fact that no single concept-transcending usage of modal (aspectual) terms should be elevated above others or employed at the cost of other equally legitimate idea-statements.     

Assessment Center Practices in South Africa

Despite the popularity of assessment centers (AC) in South Africa, no recent study exists that describes AC practices in that region. Given this research gap, we conducted a survey study that analyzes the development, execution, and evaluation of ACs in N=43 South African organizations. We report findings regarding AC design, job analysis and job requirements assessed, target groups and positions of the participants after the AC, number and kind of exercises used, additional diagnostic methods used, assessors and characteristics considered in constitution of the assessor pool, observational systems and rotation plan, characteristics, contents, and methods of assessor training, types of information provided to participants, data integration process, use of self‐ and peer‐rating, characteristics of the feedback process, and features after the AC. Finally, we compare the results with professional suggestions to identify pros and cons in current South African AC practices and offer suggestions for improvement.     

“From war to peace”: Military festival visitors’ quality-of-life

The Voortrekker Monument Military festival is one of several military festivals held in South Africa. This study sought to determine the travel motives and life domain effects on the quality-of-life of visitors. Data were gathered from 330 visitors on their travel motives, overall life domains, and quality-of-life. Structural Equation Modelling analysis indicated a positive linear relationship between the visitors’ travel motives, life domains (social-life, leisure-life, and self-life), life domains overall, and quality-of-life; all of which attained good reliabilities. The findings indicate that a visit to a military heritage festival has a positive effect on visitors’ quality-of-life. This research adds to literature in the social sciences, positive psychology, and quality-of-life.     

Eyewitness Recall and Duration Estimates in Field Settings1

Witnesses were tested for either interrogative recall or narrative recall of a young woman to whom they had spoken for approximately 15 s, 2 min earlier. Interrogative responses were more complete and more accurate, but also more error prone than narrative responses. Men and women showed similar performance on most characteristics, but men were more confident in their responses. A negative correlation was found between age of witnesses and accuracy of recall. Women made significantly longer duration estimates of the target-witness encounters than did men. However, both men and women were relatively accurate in duration estimates when they used mental imagery rehearsal prior to giving duration judgments. The results were interpreted in terms of their forensic significance.     

Cancer Patients' Illness Experiences During a Group Intervention

The study used secondary data analysis to explore cancer patients' illness experiences during a listening group intervention. Participants were 12 patients (age range 22 to 62 years in age; males = 4; females = 8). Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Analysis of the data yielded twelve prevalent themes namely, support, perspectives and experiences in medical context, perspectives on life and death, emotional experiences, religiosity, role of knowledge and information pertaining to cancer, finances, concern for others, loss, desire for survival, humour, and physical symptoms. A framework suggesting possible moderating factors that could influence cancer patients' illness experiences and outcomes are proposed. The results of the study emphasise how stressful and complex living with cancer can be. However, many cancer patients developed alternative perspectives on life which also seem to bring about personal growth. It is suggested that further research regarding the development of a survivorship care programme within the South African context be undertaken.     

Primitive terms and the limits of conceptual understanding

Ignoring primitive terms leads to an infinite regress. The alternative is to account for an intuitive understanding (immediate insight) into the meaning of such terms. The current investigation proceeds on the basis of an idea of the structure of the various modes of being (modi/modalities) within which concrete (natural and social) entities function. Examples of primtive terms are given from disciplines such as mathematics, physics and logic and they are related to the general idea of a modal aspect. It is argued that primitive terms are not isolated but reveal their meaning only through their interconnections with other primitive terms that are embedded in other modal aspects. However, although primitive terms are found within the various aspects, the meaning of an aspect only comes to expression through its coherence with other aspects, evinced in modal analogies that are qualified by the core meaning of an aspect. There appears to be two options, either reduce what is irreducible or merely provide (partial) synonymous terms for given primitives. The former happens when other unique (primitive) terms are used to define a specific one and the latter when the attempted ‘definitions’ revert to terms with which the original terms could be meaningfully replaced. It is been pointed out that the coherence between primitives invites every academic discipline to account for the meaning attached to the analogies of primitive terms it is employing, without exploring this additional theme any further.