An intra-cultural investigation of susceptibility to 'perspective' and 'non-perspective' spatial illusions

Conventional Müller-Lyer and modified Müller-Lyer (without 'perspective' cues) illusions were presented to two samples of children aged between eight and 19, matched in education, but living in 'carpentered' and 'uncarpentered' environments in Zambia. Traditional differences in susceptibility have been obtained with both the variations of the Müller-Lyer illusion. In view of the lack of perspective cues in one of these, it is concluded that the perspective theory as presented within the 'carpentered world hypothesis' is inadequate. Since these differences are intra-cultural, they also do not support the hypothesis which suggests that cross-cultural variations in illusion susceptibility are due to genetic factors--such as macular (or retinal) pigmentation.     

Team adaptation to an unforeseen system failure: Limits of the potential aids of shared knowledge and standardized communication

The present study investigates the potential benefits of a team’s shared knowledge and standardized communication in adapting to an unforeseen change by combining literature on adaptation and team performance. Each of 20 teams performed a dynamic team task and was suddenly confronted with a simulated partial system breakdown. Results show that a methodological framework designed to describe performance adaptation to an unforeseen change in individuals can also be used to model performance adaptation in teams. The system failure was followed by a performance drop and a subsequent period of gradual performance recovery. Accuracy of teams’ shared knowledge correlated positively with performance before and after the change, confirming and extending the literature on shared mental models. However, the amount of knowledge similarity did not aid teams in adapting to the unforeseen system breakdown. In addition, improving teams’ standardized communication had no damping effect on the sudden performance drop and neither helped them during the subsequent recovery period. These results show that even though shared knowledge and efficient communication are of high value to team performance and success, these characteristics are limited in aiding adaptive team performance after unforeseen unique changes that force team members to update their strategies.     

Sikh militants’ terms of discourse: Religion,Khalistan/nation and violence*

ABSTRACT

It is an attempt to understand the terms of discourse of the Sikh militancy that assumed international proportions in the last quarter of the twentieth-century Indian Punjab. Numerous militant organizations emerged during the struggle that individually and collectively articulated their position on issues like religion, nation and violence that formed the bedrock of their movement that may be classified as religious nationalism à la Juergensmeyer. Their views have been culled from booklets, pamphlets, handouts, posters and press statements released from time to time.     

Sikh Youth Coming of Age: Reflections on the Decision to Tie a Turban

In Sikhism, the turban is a sign of adherence to faith and fighting for justice; for Sikh men, it can also be considered essential to manhood (Chanda & Ford, 2010 ). The authors provide an introduction to Sikhism and discuss the turban's importance to Sikhs. Next, they present a self‐reflective case of one individual's experience of the decision to tie a turban and discussion of that case. Finally, the authors discuss implications for counselors.     

Mazhabi Sikhs of Shillong and Guwahati (India)

This paper is a sequel to Himadri Banerjee's earlier study of 2010. It tends to describe the socio-economic profile of the Mazhabi Sikhs settled at Shillong and Guwahati for the last more than a century. These safai karamcharis (sweepers) had been keeping the two cities clean but themselves lived in worst slums. An attempt is made to understand issues of their social networks and survival strategies in a milieu hostile to ‘outsiders’. It is seen what makes them stick together, maintain their ethnic and religious identity and stay connected with Punjab as well.     

Gender‐related differences in neonatal imitation

Socio‐emotional behaviour is in part sex‐related in humans, although the contribution of the biological and socio‐cultural factors is not yet known. This study explores sex‐related differences during the earliest communicative exchange, the neonatal imitation in 43 newborn infants (3–96 hours old) using an index finger extension imitative gesture. Results showed that although the experimenter presented comparable stimuli to both sexes, and the total number of movements was similar in boys and girls, girls showed more fine motor movements, a higher number of specific imitative gestures, responded faster during the imitation and showed a higher baseline heart rate during the experiment. Newborn girls, with their faster and more accurate imitative abilities, may create a more responsive and interactive social environment, which in turn may lead to differences in socio‐emotional and cognitive development between girls and boys. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Suicide attempts and family history of suicide in three psychiatric populations

The influence of a family history of suicide on suicide attempt rate and characteristics in depression, schizophrenia, and opioid dependence was examined. One hundred sixty inpatients with unipolar depression, 160 inpatients with schizophrenia, and 160 opioid-dependent patients were interviewed. Overall, a family history of suicide was associated with a higher risk for suicide attempt, with high-lethality method, with repeated attempts, and with number of attempts, while the interaction between family history and diagnostic group was not significant. Thus, a positive family history of suicide was a risk factor for several suicide attempt characteristics independent of psychiatric diagnosis.