First record of geophagy in Jungle Babbler (Turdoides striata) prior to egg-laying: an instinct for calcium supplement

Animal Cognition - Geophagy has been documented in different animal taxa including Aves and particularly in Passeriformes. However, no geophagic activity has been reported in the genus Turdoides of...     

Workplace Spirituality and Workforce Agility: A Psychological Exploration Among Teaching Professionals

Learning organizations are in dire need of teaching professionals eager to develop and grow up fast while maintaining a positive aura around them. An agile workforce consists of upbeat, adjustable, supple, adventurous and pliant employees who perceive life optimistically and flaunt an open mind to gather wisdom for personal development; have better analytical skills; can acclimatize continuously with the changing work environment. Teachers are the soul of any academic institution, and there is an urgent need to cultivate an agile teaching workforce by assisting them to be psychologically empowered. The key purpose of the present study is to establish a relationship between workplace spirituality (WS) and workforce agility (WA) among teaching professionals. The current research article proposes a model or conceptual framework linking the components of WS, WA and psychological empowerment (PSYEMP) in educational organizations. This is an original work that proposes a model where WS has an impact upon the WA of teaching professionals through the mediating effect of PSYEMP. WS is thus an emerging paradigm for augmenting the agility of teaching workforce in educational organizations. Future implications on ways to enhance the agility of teaching professionals are further recommended.

     

A Feasibility Study of Behavioral Activation for Major Depressive Disorder in a Community Mental Health Setting

Behavioral activation (BA) is a well-supported treatment approach, but little research has been conducted on the effectiveness of this treatment within publicly funded community mental health settings. We examined the feasibility of conducting a randomized trial examining the effectiveness of nine sessions of BA as a treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) in a community mental health clinic (CMHC) setting. Following adaptation of a BA manual and training of BA therapists, 80 patients seeking treatment at a CMHC were randomized, with a 3:1 randomization rate of BA to nine sessions of treatment as usual (TAU). Feasibility assessments indicated that only one eligible patient refused randomization and, of patients who attended at least one session, the median number of sessions was six for the BA group and eight for the TAU group. Of three postbaseline monthly assessments, 71.3% (171/240) were successfully obtained. On average, patients in the BA condition completed homework assignments 83.9% of the time. Treatment fidelity ratings indicated that substantially more BA techniques were delivered in the BA group compared to the TAU group (d = 2.11). Measures of BA mechanisms improved significantly over time and these changes were significantly associated with change in depressive symptoms. These results indicate that it is feasible to conduct a randomized study of BA for MDD in a CMHC setting. In addition, the study reconfirmed the potential importance of theory-relevant BA mechanism variables. Following these findings, further investigation into the effectiveness of BA in this setting is needed.     

Long-Term Follow-Up of a Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Standard Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Anxiety and Depression

The present study represents one of the first comparisons of the long-term effectiveness of traditional cognitive behavior therapy (i.e., Beckian cognitive therapy; CT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). One hundred thirty-two anxious or depressed outpatients were randomly assigned to receive either CT or ACT, and were assessed at posttreatment (n = 90) and at 1.5-year (n = 91) follow-up. As previously reported, the two treatments were equivalently effective at posttreatment according to measures of depression, anxiety, overall (social/occupational/symptom-related) functioning, and quality of life. However, current results suggest that treatment gains were better maintained at follow-up in the CT condition. Clinical significance analyses revealed that, at follow-up, one-third more CT patients were in the clinically normative range in terms of depressive symptoms and more than twice as many CT patients were in the normative range in terms of functioning levels. The possible long-term advantage of CT relative to ACT in this population is discussed.     

Gandhi’s perspective on non-violence and animals: ethical theory and moral practice

Mahatma Gandhi’s profound theory of non-violence takes into account both human beings and animals. His fundamental thought on the subject of protecting animals is the outcome of a cluster of theories, including the non-violence of Jainism, the teachings of the Gitā, Sānkhya, Christianity, and Tolstoy. While retaining the literal meaning of non-violence i.e. non-killing, Gandhi attributes to it certain features that expand its scope and yet also determine its limitations. He suggests that non-violence does not merely imply non-hurting in thought and deed, but that it entails an extension of love and compassion. He identifies its limitation by unmistakably denying the possibility of absolute non-violence. He defends his stance on animals on the basis of a wide range of perspectives: religious, scientific, political, as well as economic. Gandhi demands protection of their lives (rights) and also enhancement of their welfare. This paper aims (a) to philosophically analyse Gandhi’s doctrine of non-violence; (b) to demonstrate how he offers solutions based on non-violence for resolving issues of animal exploitation such as human–animal conflict, meat-eating, experimentation on animals etc.; (c) to systematize his accounts of animals.     

Ethical social justice: Do the ends justify the means?

This article offers an ethical decision‐making model, informed by community psychology values, as a means for guiding psychologists when engaging in social justice‐oriented work. The applicability of this model is demonstrated through a case analysis elucidating how America's psychologists individually and collectively arrived at the decision to endorse torture—ostensibly as a means for preventing terrorism. Critics have wondered how the American Psychological Association succumbed to these involvements, and how to prevent such ethical lapses in the future. Unfortunately, the American Psychological Association's ethical codes fail to provide explicit guidance for psychologists' involvement in social justice work that impacts communities and systems. To address this gap, we present a values‐driven, ethical decision‐making framework that may be used to guide psychologists' future practices. This framework infuses fundamental community psychology values (i.e., caring and compassion; health; self‐determination and participation, human diversity, social justice; and critical reflexivity) into a 9‐step model.     

Emotional intelligence and employee innovation: Sequential mediating effect of person-group fit and adaptive performance

IntroductionHow emotional intelligence interrelates with employee innovation becomes a timely and crucial topic for research, for human resource and organizational psychology practitioners and academicians alike.ObjectiveThe study examined the mediating effect of person-group fit and adaptive performance on employee innovation. A sequential mediation framework explaining the relationship between emotional intelligence and employee innovation was constructed. This study differentiates itself from other similar studies on emotional intelligence and employee innovation since it suggests a novel approach to enhance employee innovation.MethodsElectronic as well as paper-based surveys were conducted to collect the data and the analysis of 417 responses revealed that the hypotheses were strongly supported by the data.ResultsWe found that a sequential mediation effect exists between person-group fit and adaptive performance. The findings offer a significant contribution to the field of human resources, since prior research has examined neither the simple mediating effect nor the sequential mediating effect of person-group fit and adaptive performance between emotional intelligence and employee innovation.ConclusionThe theoretical and practical implications of the findings were explored which have substantial value for human resources especially, for recruitment and training teams.     

I am going to gag: Disgust cognitions in spider and blood–injury–injection fears

There is mounting evidence that disgust plays an important role in certain anxiety disorders, yet little is known about disgust's cognitive component. The current study introduces a measure of cognitions associated with disgust and contamination to assess the role of disgust-specific primary and secondary appraisals in phobic responding. A multi-modal assessment of blood–injury–injection (BII) and spider phobia was conducted using BII (N=29) and spider (N=30) fearful groups, and a non-fearful control group (N=30). The Disgust Cognitions scale showed good reliability and validity, and distinguished among the groups. For example, relative to the other groups, the spider fear group reported higher disgust cognitions following presentation of a live spider, whereas the BII Fear group reported higher disgust cognitions following a surgery video. Moreover, the scale was associated with multiple phobic indicators (behavioural avoidance, subjective distress, symptom endorsement), suggesting cognitions may be critical to understanding how disgust contributes to anxiety disorders.     

A scale to measure wisdom

Abstract

The present study's purpose was to refine and test a newly developed self‐report instrument to assess wisdom. The empirical study was based on a sample of undergraduates recruited at two universities and Buddhists recruited at two temples. This sample filled out 23 items of the wisdom scale and, in addition, several other psychological self‐report scales. Items from the wisdom scale were factor analyzed and the following seven factors emerged: Balance/Harmony, Flow, Spirituality, Warmth, Care for Environment, Appreciation, and Intelligence. These dimensions were statistically significantly related to various outcome measures such as depression, perceived stress, and optimism scales. Statistically significant differences were found between various religious and socio‐demographic groups on the different factor scores. This study suggests that wisdom is a multidimensional and complex construct worthy of scientific investigation.     

Animal Welfare and Animal Rights: an Examination of some Ethical Problems

The spectacle of the relentless use and abuse of animals in various human enterprises led some human beings to formulate animal welfare policies and to offer philosophical arguments on the basis of which the humane treatment of animals could be defended rationally. According to the animal welfare concept, animals should be provided some comfort and freedom of movement in the period prior to the moment when they are killed. This concept emphasizes the physiological, psychological, and natural aspects of animal life with the focus on freedom. Ironically, however it is not concerned with the rights of animals; nor is it interested in their remaining alive. So, animals are least benefitted by such provisions, which is the major concern for those who defend animal rights. It seems dubious to demand comfort for a being in life, but not security for its actual life, since rights and freedom are essential for the maintenance of a normal life. This paper aims to (a) critically analyze the animal welfare system, which prioritizes only freedom; (b) to demonstrate how animal welfare is incomplete without animal rights and how they are closely related to each other; and (c) to bridge the gap between animal welfare and animal rights. The underlying principle of animal welfare concept is restricted by its anthropocentric framework with the result that the ethical element is missing. Mere ‘freedom’ is not sufficient for constituting an ideal animal welfare domain. In order to achieve real animal well-being, it is necessary to consider both the rights as well as the welfare of animals.