Childhood antecedents of serious violence in adult male offenders

Prospective longitudinal studies have shown strong predictions from conduct disorders (CDs) in childhood to antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and violence in adults. However, little is known of the childhood antecedents of serious violence nor whether these may vary depending on the context in which the violence occurs. In this study, 54 men aged 21-40 years serving prison sentences for violent crime were assessed. Standardized interviews of ASPD and violence were conducted independently of interviews covering retrospective recall of childhood psychiatric disorders and adverse experiences. Analyses of the predictors of overall violence suggested a pathway involving childhood CD and adult ASPD associated with interparental discord, and an additional pathway associated with experiencing interparental violence in childhood. Different results were however obtained when account was taken of the context of the violence. The CD-ASPD pathway was associated with social violence, but not with partner violence. Partner violence was predicted by retrospective reports of having been exposed to interparental violence during childhood but not by reports of childhood CD or adult ASPD. Thus developmental pathways to serious violence may be different depending on the social domain in which the violence occurs.     

Uncovering the structure of a memorist's superior "basic" memory capacity

After extensive laboratory testing of the famous memorist Rajan, Thompson, Cowan, and Frieman (1993) proposed that he was innately endowed with a superior memory capacity for digits and letters and thus violated the hypothesis that exceptional memory fully reflects acquired "skilled memory." We successfully replicated the empirical phenomena that led them to their conclusions. From additional analyses and new experiments, we found support for an alternative hypothesis, namely that Rajan's superior memory for digits was mediated by learned encoding techniques that he acquired during nearly a thousand hours of practice memorizing the mathematical constant pi. Our paper describes a general experimental approach for studying the structure of exceptional memory and how Rajan's unique structure is consistent with the general theoretical framework of long-term working memory (Ericsson and Kintsch, 1995).     

Science,state and violence: An indian critique reconsidered

Abstract

This paper explores the work of a specific group of Indian scholar activists who, during the 1980s, produced a body of writing critical of the Indian state's science, technology and environmental policy. They have been described variously as Luddites, anti-science cranks and polemicists (Guha, 1988 Guha, R. 1988. The alternative science movement: an interim assessment. Lokayan Bulletin, 6(3): 7–25.  [Google Scholar]; Nanda, 1991 Nanda, M. 1991. Is modern science a Western, patriarchal myth? A critique of populist orthodoxy. South Asia Bulletin, 11: 110–116.  [Google Scholar]; Baber, 1996 Baber, Z. 1996. The Science of Empire: Scientific Knowledge, Civilization and Colonial Rule in India, New York: SUNY Press.  [Google Scholar]). At the same time, they have been influential among activists critical of state development policies. This paper examines one particularly polemical set of their writings. It has three broad parts. It begins by providing some context and background and describing the methodological choices made in the acquisition and presentation of the material at hand. The second, substantial section is the exposition of the argument underlying the critique being discussed. Finally, the brief last segment explores the relevance of this work for studies of science and culture.     

Partitioned Presentation of Multicomponent Bundle Prices: Evaluation,Choice and Underlying Processing Effects

Firms may choose to present the price of a multicomponent product bundle in partitioned (separate price for each mandatory component) or consolidated (single, equivalent price) fashion. In this article, we report on 2 experiments that examined the effects of such presentations on evaluations and choices as well as the underlying processing effects. In Experiment 1, consistent with a mental accounting analysis, a multicomponent product bundle was evaluated more favorably and chosen more often when its components were presented with partitioned (vs. consolidated) prices. The effects were, however, moderated by the component partitioned. In particular, it appeared that partitioning prices altered attention paid to the components partitioned and related product features. In Experiment 2, we found that different splits of the bundle price influenced evaluations and choices depending on how the focal product price related to that of a comparison option. These price‐split effects were also moderated by the component partitioned, suggesting attention effects similar to Experiment 1. The findings show that although the effects of price partitioning were consistent with mental accounting principles, they were moderated by information processing effects related to the partitioned component.     

An Analysis of Factors Influencing the International Migration of Indian Nurses

Based on our survey conducted in Tamil Nadu, this paper analyses the characteristics of Indian migrant nurses and the factors influencing their migration. India is considered the second largest exporter of nurses after the Philippines. Many Indian nurses have migrated to work in OECD countries, the Gulf countries and some ASEAN countries. While Indian nurses are migrating overseas to fill shortages at their destinations, India has itself been suffering from an acute scarcity of nurses since its independence in 1947. Therefore, the large scale of nurse migration is a serious threat to the Indian healthcare system. The results of the survey imply that international migration by nurses can be explained in part by the gap between the private sector and the public sector in terms of salary and working environment. Since the impact of social status on the migration decisions of nurses has lessened, economic factors are the crucial determinant of international migration of nurses. Policy intervention in this area is the necessary first step to solving this long-standing problem. The priority in any policies formulated should be given to nurses working in the private sector whose salaries are considerably lower than those in the public sector and whose voices are unheard.     

Terminal decline of episodic memory and perceptual speed in a biracial population

We compared trajectories of terminal cognitive decline in older Black (n = 3372) and White (n = 1756) persons from a defined population who completed tests of episodic memory and perceptual speed at 3-year intervals for up to 18 years. During a mean of 9.9 years of observation, 1608 Black persons and 902 White persons died. Preterminal decline of episodic memory did not differ by race. Terminal episodic memory decline began earlier in Black persons (mean of 4.3 years before death) than in White persons (mean = 3.9 years) and progressed more slowly. By contrast, terminal decline of perceptual speed began earlier in White persons (mean = 5.0 years) than in Black persons (mean = 4.5 years). Rate of perceptual speed decline was more rapid in White persons than in Black persons in both the preterminal and terminal periods. The results indicate that terminal cognitive decline occurs in Black persons but suggest that the rate of cognitive decline during the terminal period is less rapid in Black persons than in White persons.     

Reproduction of seen actions: stimulus-selective learning

Subjects observed and reproduced abstract, irregular stimulus models generated by the steady movement of a disk across two-dimensional paths. The paths comprised 3 to 7 randomly oriented linear segments linked head-to-foot. Reproductions were expressed by moving a stylus over the surface of a graphics tablet while the disk was tracing its trajectory (concurrent reproduction), or soon after the disk had finished (delayed reproduction). For both concurrent and delayed conditions, fidelity of reproduction fell with increasing number of segments in the model. Overall quality of reproduction did not differ between the two conditions. When a few models were repeated, interspersed among non-repeated ones, performance improved but only when reproduction was delayed. This improvement was stimulus-selective, not a general improvement with practice. Two additional experiments showed that (i) memory for a seen model is well preserved for at least 6 s, with relatively modest need for rehearsal, and (ii) successful reproduction is possible with remarkably little information having been extracted from key points in the model's trajectory.     

Self-reported posttraumatic growth predicts greater subsequent posttraumatic stress amidst war and terrorism

Background and objective: This study tested three alternative explanations for research indicating a positive, but heterogeneous relationship between self-reported posttraumatic growth (PTG) and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PSS): (a) the third-variable hypothesis that the relationship between PTG and PSS is a spurious one driven by positive relationships with resource loss, (b) the growth over time hypothesis that the relationship between PTG and PSS is initially a positive one, but becomes negative over time, and (c) the moderator hypothesis that resource loss moderates the relationship between PTG and PSS such that PTG is associated with lower levels of PSS as loss increases. Design and method: A nationally representative sample (N?=?1622) of Israelis was assessed at three time points during a period of ongoing violence. PTG, resource loss, and the interaction between PTG and loss were examined as lagged predictors of PSS to test the proposed hypotheses. Results: Results were inconsistent with all three hypotheses, showing that PTG positively predicted subsequent PSS when accounting for main and interactive effects of loss. Conclusions: Our results suggest that self-reported PTG is a meaningful but counterintuitive predictor of poorer mental health following trauma.     

Expatriate and Indigenous Managers' Work Loyalty and Attitude Toward Risk

Work loyalty and attitude toward risk of expatriate and indigenous managers in the United Arab Emirates were investigated. The results indicated that foreign expatriates scored relatively higher than Arab expatriates and indigenous managers on personal loyalty and attitude toward risk. Foreign expatriates did show less attachment than their counterparts to organizational loyalty.