bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inherent and Organisational Stress in the SAPS: An Empirical Survey in the Western Cape
Authors: Guile Gillian , Tredoux Colin , Foster Don
Published: March 2013

Police work has been identified as a stressful occupation. Considered in the context of the South African (SA) situation, the paucity of research on the topic is cause for concern. This paper reports a preliminary exploration of stress in the South African Police Service (SAPS). Ninety-one SAPS members in the Cape Peninsula completed a questionnaire consisting of (i) Spielberger's 60-item Police Stress Survey (Spielberger, Westbury, Grier & Greenfield, 1981), and (ii) a 12-item Likert scale identifying potentially stressful areas specific to the South African context. Results show the SA sample to evidence a greater degree of stress than a USA sample. Results indicate that the way In which the police organisation operates in SA creates stress additional to the inherent pressure already existing as a result of the nature of police work. This finding indicates a potential area of intervention, and also shows that further research could profitably be conducted.
Kierkegaard's Psychological Explanation of Moral Sense and Moral Courage
Authors: du Toit A.P.
Published: March 2013

Kierkegaard's view of moral sense and moral courage has important implications for psychology. Moral sense is embedded in the existential act of choosing which in turn resides in the 'psyche'. Courage is an act of the will and of passion. Kierkegaard distinguishes between the aesthetical, ethical and religious stages of existence. Courage operates especially on the ethical and religious levels. The highest form of courage is religious courage, because it requires that the believer accept the unacceptable. Examples of Kierkegaard's influence in classical psychology are discussed and finally reasons are offered why Kierkegaard's way of thinking could contribute to contemporary psychology.
Perceptions of Family Functioning in Conduct Disordered Adolescents
Authors: Pillay Anthony L.
Published: March 2013

Adolescents with conduct disorder are known to have marked difficulties in their interpersonal relationships. In addition to such problems outside the family context, they usually have histories of family conflict as well. Considering their inability to accept responsibility for their circumstances, research into their perceptions of their family dynamics was deemed valuable. Such findings could provide useful insights for the development of intervention efforts with this group of individuals. A comparative investigation of perceived family functioning was conducted with a group of 25 adolescents diagnosed with conduct disorder and a nonclinical control group. The family variables studied were adaptability (flexibility within the family to change its rules or roles), cohesion (emotional bonding or closeness between family members), and family satisfaction (individual satisfaction with the way in which the family functions with respect to its adaptability and cohesion). The conduct disorder group experienced their families as significantly more rigid and disengaged than the control subjects and also expressed significantly less satisfaction with their family functioning. While these findings may suggest deficiencies in the families of these adolescents they may also be reflective of the negative, blaming behaviour that characterises conduct disorder.
Comprehensive Integrated Primary Mental Health Care in South Africa. The Need for a Shift in the Discourse of Care
Authors: Petersen Inge
Published: March 2013

In this article, I argue that the add on approach to Integrated primary mental health care, characterised by the training of primary health care personnel in the identification and management of psychiatric disorders, will fail to deliver the vision of comprehensive mental health care that has been struggled for over the years in South Africa. I suggest that what is needed is a paradigm shift in the dominant biomedical discourse which characterises the primary health care relationship. To this end, an alternative discourse of care, shaped by an integration of cultural and critical understandings of illness and healing, is advanced.
The Use of the Geographical Information System (GIS) to Determine Potential Access and Allocation of Public Mental Health Resources in KwaZulu-Natal
Authors: Bhana A. , Pillay Y.G.
Published: March 2013

Geographical Information System (GIS) was used to map public mental health facilities in KwaZulu-Natal. Gaps in policy and planning around mental health are identified and these are traced historically up to the current period. Given that under the previous political dispensation various departments of health were responsible for health and mental health services, where limited - if any - joint planning occurred, there is a need to locate all facilities so that planning can be done in a more rational manner. In order to accomplish this it was decided to use the Atlas-GIS to map the exact location of public mental health facilities and to determine potential access to these facilities by defining catchment areas that are relatively over-resourced and those that are relatively underresourced. The method provides a useful and important guide to the planning of mental health services not only in KwaZulu-Natal but in South Africa in general. Limitations of the study include the lack of good baseline data related to the population demographics and dynamics and the difficulty in verifying information when there are multiple sources of information for different population groups.
A Profile of Forensic Psychologists in South Africa
Authors: Louw D.A. , Allan A.
Published: March 2013

Forensic psychology is more exposed to the scrutiny of other professionals and the media than most other fields in psychology. Unfortunately the discipline often falls short of the expectations in this regard. In order to compile a profile of forensic psychologists in South Africa 153 questionnaires were distributed to psychologists who render psycholegal services in court. Aspects covered in the questionnaire were experience and the work setting of the participants, number of reports submitted and appearance as witnesses, types of forensic activities, referral sources, qualifications, other fields of expertise, assessment techniques used by the participants, perception of the legal environment, and forensic training. The findings and implications for forensic psychology in South Africa are discussed.
The ‘Causes’ of Teenage Pregnancy: Review of South African Research — Part 2
Authors: Macleod Catriona
Published: March 2013

This article forms the second of a two-part series in which South African research on teenage pregnancy is reviewed. Part 1 of the series dealt with the consequences of teenage pregnancy; this paper reviews the ‘causes’ thereof. International literature is incorporated in the discussion by way of comparison. Contributory factors which have been investigated by South African researchers include: reproductive ignorance; the earlier occurrence of menarche; risk- taking behaviour; psychological problems; peer influence; coercive sexual relations; dysfunctional family patterns; poor health services; socio-economic status; the breakdown of cultural traditions; and the cultural value placed on children. Preston-Whyte and colleagues present a revisionist argument, stating that early pregnancy may represent a rational life choice for certain adolescent women. The article is concluded with comments on methodological problems encountered in the South African research, and a discussion on the implications in terms of policy formulation.
Child Care, Developmental Delay and Institutional Practice
Authors: Giese Sonja , Dawes Andrew
Published: March 2013

Child care, developmental delay and institutional practice This research draws on Valsiner's (1987) individual socio- ecological approach to development, and Miller and Goodnow's (1995) concept of a cultural practice. It shows how institutions for children act as cultural settings that contain child-care practices that advance or retard children's development through the forms of social exchange and activities they promote. Formal assessments of a group of institutionalised children indicated significant delay in five developmental domains. Child-care workers were observed interacting with these children in a range of activity settings within the institutional routine. Staff behaviour towards the children was found to be highly regulatory and characterised by block treatment. Interactions allowed little opportunity for the scaffolding of psychological capacities beyond those that were functional within the ideological, personnel, and material constraints of the institution. We argue that regulative styles of care-giving explain, at least in part, the developmental delays shown by the institutionalised children, and that these styles do little to address developmental problems associated with inadequate care prior to institutionalisation. It is argued that institutional culture promotes regulative care through the establishment of routines that facilitate multiple care-giving under conditions of scarce personnel resources.
The Relationship between Meaning in Life and Mental Well-Being
Authors: Moomal Zubair
Published: March 2013

A number of recent studies reported in the literature lent impetus to the research conducted for the current study. The hypothesis addressed is that meaning in life is positively associated with mental well-being irrespective of the nature or topos of the psychopathology. This hypothesis stems from an existential perspective on psychopathology (and consequently psychotherapy) which holds that a sense of meaning in life is a vital element in providing coherence to an individual's worldview and hence to his/her mental well-being. Interestingly, such an hypothesis also serves to challenge, within the existential approach, the view of one of the earliest existential psychologists, namely Victor Frankl that absence of meaning in life is associated only with a specific form of psychopathology which he termed noogenic neurosis. Correlational analyses on data, yielded from a random sample (N = 92) of South African university students at one campus, corroborated that meaning in life is associated with a wide spectrum of conventional categories of psychopathology as measured by the MMPI as well as with general neurosis measured by the revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire - statistically significant correlations were established.
A Gender and Racial Epidemiological Profile of Public Psychiatric Hospitals in the Western Cape
Authors: Strebel Anna , Msomi Nokuthula , Stacey Maria
Published: March 2013

The aim of this archival epidemiological study was to identify gender and racial patterns of psychiatric diagnosis and management in admissions to mental hospitals. The hospital records of a random, stratified sample ( N =2110) of all patients admitted to the three public psychiatric hospitals in the Western Cape for a calendar year were studied for gender and racial differences regarding demographics, admission-related variables, diagnosis and management, both during hospitalisation and on discharge. Analysis was done for race groups within females and males and differ-ences between groups were tested by chi-square tests. Consistently significant differences in psychiatric diagnosis and management across race and gender were found, many in line with other international and African studies. Anomalies of diagnosis and treatment reflect past inequities of South African society and suggest the role of both social factors and bias in psychiatric hospital practice. Implications for future mental health research, training and practice are raised.
‘Moriti Wa Letswele’ (The Shadow of the Breast) — A Stress-Related Somatoform Pain Disorder
Authors: Mogale C.C.
Published: March 2013

Patients were identified at Ga-Rankuwa Hospital presenting the following clinical picture: pain under the left breast area as the major symptom. Other symptoms included anorexia, irritability and agitation. In the interview they reported that a faith healer or traditional healer had diagnosed ‘moriti wa letswele’ (literally, the shadow of the breast). Some of these patients had incision marks around the breast, reported to have been part of the treatment received from the traditional healers. The study aimed to identify and describe the symptomatology from the account given by the traditional healers, faith healers and patients suffering from the disorder, and the aetiological factors associated with the disorder. The findings of the study revealed that the clinical picture of ‘moriti wa letswele’ seem to fit in with the Somatoform Pain Disorder of the DSM-IV with definite cultural features associated with the disorder.
Qualitative and Statistical Impacts of Home Language on Responses to the Items of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) in South Africa
Authors: Abrahams F. , Mauer K.F.
Published: March 2013

The primary aims of the study were to compare the responses of different population groups to the items of the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire, and also to explore some of the reasons for the observed differences. One quantitative and two qualitative studies were conducted in the process. For the quantitative study, 983 students of psychology or industrial psychology from four South African universities participated in the study. For the qualitative study, two samples were used, namely 71 second-year students and 10 honours-degree students from the Department of Industrial Psychology of the University of the Western Cape. To test for statistically different response patterns between the groups on each of the items, chi-squared tests were used. The findings showed that serious problems existed as far as the comparability of the items across groups was concerned, that participants whose home language was neither English nor Afrikaans experienced critical difficulties in understanding many of the words that would, as a rule, be regarded as rudimentary by English mother-tongue speakers, and also that the manner in which the items had been constructed impeded the comprehension of respondents who did not speak English as a first language. It would appear that the observed language difficulties may be associated with a number of socio-political and educational factors, but, based on the present results, it was not possible to uncover tenable explanations of some of the differences which are not so clearly bound to language issues. Nonetheless, the nature of the findings should be interpreted to sound a clear warning against the use of the test.
Seasonal Affective Disorder and Personality, Age, and Gender
Authors: Kane Anna , Lowis Michael J.
Published: March 2013

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a recurring depression, understood as having a biological aetiology probably related to a lack of sunlight during the winter months, although a variant has also been reported to occur during the summer. This study sought to investigate the relationship between seasonal mood variations, as measured by a devised scale, and the personality aspects of neuroticism, psychoticism, and extraversion, as assessed by Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire. Gender and age were also recorded. Results from 97 participants, comprising students and adults from the community, confirmed that women were more prone to SAD than were men, but disconfirmed the generally held view that those under 40 years were the most likely age group to suffer. A significant and positive relationship was found between high scores on both the SAD and neuroticism scales, but there was an inverse correlation between SAD and psychoticism scores. The implications of these results for the diagnosis of SAD are discussed. Southern Africa would appear to be an ideal location in which to study both the winter and summer variants of the SAD syndrome.
Standardising the WAIS-III and the WMS-III for South Africa: Legislative, Psychometric, and Policy Issues
Authors: Nell Victor
Published: March 2013

The South African Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) has entered into a licencing agreement with the Psychological Corporation to norm the third revision of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-Ill) for use with South African adults. The WAIS-III was co-normed in the United States with the Wechsler Memory Scale - 3rd Revision (WMS-III). Both scales were published in 1997, and both depart in important method, content, and factor analytic respects from their predecessors, the WAIS-R and the WMS-R. This paper reviews the innovations in these scales in the light of the special needs of the developing countries on the one hand, and the resistance of many psychologists in the developing countries to intelligence testing on the other; considers data that reflect on the construct validity of the Wechsler tests in a developing country context; puts forward a methodology that will contribute to the construct validation of the WAlS-III and the WMS-III; and argues that although the HSRC does not plan to standardise the WMS-III for South Africa, co-norming should be undertaken.
Electrophysiological Concomitants of Psychometric Intelligence
Authors: Schepers J.M. , Todd A.E. , Stuart A.D.
Published: March 2013

Since Berger developed the electroencephalograph to monitor the neural activity of the central nervous system, researchers have attempted to establish a correlation between neural activity and intellectual functioning. Many different studies have been carried out over the years. Serious methodological problems existed with many of the studies. This study followed a multivariate approach in establishing the relationship between the evoked potential of the brain and psychometric intelligence. A number of different neurophysiological measures of the auditory and visual evoked potential as well as a number of different measures of psychometric intelligence were used. Multiple correlations between 0.55 and 0.60 were obtained between the neurophysiological measures on the one hand, and the psychometric measures on the other.
Evaluating HIV/STD Interventions in Developing Countries: Do Current Indicators Do Justice to Advances in Intervention Approaches?
Authors: MacPhail Catherine , Campbell Catherine
Published: March 2013

HIV continues to spread unabated in many developing countries. Here we consider the interventions that are currently in place and critically discuss the methods that are being used to evaluate them as reported in the published literature. In recent years there has been a move away from highly individual-oriented interventions towards more participatory approaches that emphasise techniques such as community-led peer education and group discussions. However, this move towards more community orientated intervention techniques has not been matched by the development of evaluation methods with which to capture and explain the community and social changes which are often necessary preconditions for health-enhancing behaviour change. Evaluation research continues to rely on quantitative methodologies that fail to elucidate the complex changes that the newer interventions seek to promote within target communities. In addition, these methods of evaluation tend to rely on the use of highly individualistic and quantitative biomedical indicators such as HIV/STD rates, or knowledge, attitude, perception and behaviour (KAPB) survey questionnaires. We argue that such approaches are inadequate for the task of tracking and measuring important determinants of programme success such as psycho-social changes, features of the community-intervention interface and the degree of trust and identification with which members of target communities regard particular interventions. Rigorously conducted qualitative process evaluations taking account of the above factors could make a key contribution to the development of more successful HIV-prevention interventions.
Problem Solving: A Process of Reaching Common Understanding and Consensus
Authors: Van Vlaenderen Hilde
Published: March 2013

This article reports on a study of the local knowledge of a group of young African development activists in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa. Impetus for the study was the researcher's observation of a lack of transferability of knowledge, obtained by a group of young rural Africans from a training course in development strategies, to their everyday life. It was hypothesised that participants' notion of problem solving was different from that presented in the course. This motivated the researcher to conduct an investigation into the conceptual, procedural and epistemic knowledge of a group of young Africans from rural areas, involved in development activities. It was argued that insight into the participants' local knowledge could contribute to the development of appropriate methodologies for training in rural African settings.

Data for the study consisted of transcripts of interviews and group discussion with the research participants. An interpretive grounded theory approach was used to ascertain the participants' conceptual and procedural knowledge of the concept problem solving. A further interpretation of this data led to the elucidation of the participants' epistemic principles underlying their concept of problem solving. Congruent with a ‘situated cognition’ approach, these were contextualised within the participants' socio-cultural background.

The study revealed that the participants' perceptions of the concepts problem and problem solving were firmly embedded within the African philosophy of Ubuntu, with the notions of social harmony, holism, pursuit of practical purpose and primacy of collective reality providing the epistemics for their actions and cognitions. However, the research data showed some evidence of emerging assumptions about problem solving which deviated from the traditional African philosophy towards a more Western philosophy.
Professional Psychology: Where are We Headed?
Authors: Wilson M. , Richter L.M. , Durrheim K. , Surendorff N. , Asafo-Agyei L.
Published: March 2013

There is much debate at present around changing the professional structure of psychology to better meet the needs of South African society. In this paper this debate is assessed in terms of the requirements of the employment sector. Employment advertisements, for psychology and social and human science graduates appearing in three national weekly newspapers over 21 years, from 1976 to 1996, were analyzed. From the data it appears that the role of psychology in the ‘New South Africa’ is changing, with new opportunities opening up for graduates with broad as opposed to narrow professional qualifications. The implications of this for the professional structure of the discipline of psychology are considered.
Modernity and Subjective Well-Being in Zimbabwean College Students
Authors: Mpofu Elias
Published: March 2013

The study utilized a multiple discrepancy approach to examine modernity as a correlate of subjective well-being in a sample of 110 Zimbabwean college students (44 males; 66 females) aged 24 to 58 years. Measures of subjective well-being covered satisfaction with life, domain of life satisfaction, frequency of emotional experiences, positive and negative affect. Students gave actual and ideal ratings of their subjective well-being and with comparison to their ideal person or desirability. The Zimbabwean college students had positive perceptions of their subjective well-being, although they tended to be less happy with their lives as compared to their ideal persons in satisfaction with life, recreation, finances, frequency of emotional experience, positive, and negative affect. Students with a higher preference for modernity reported having a higher self-regard, being less fearful, experiencing more pleasant affect and feeling closer to their ideal life as compared to those with a lower endorsement of modernity. Those with a higher preference for collectivism reported a higher satisfaction with family. Younger, and female students tended to report being significantly closer to their ideal levels of well-being.
An Evaluation of the Training of Psychologists at the University of the Free State
Authors: Viljoen D.J. , Beukes R.B.I. , Louw D.A.
Published: March 2013

Research on the training of psychologists in South Africa has remained in abeyance for a long time. In view of the diversity of demands made on them by the South African practice, psychologists are concerned that training for the profession may no longer be adequate or relevant. Questionnaires were sent to 61 psychologists who had completed their professional training at the University of the Free State during the period 1990 to 1996 in order to determine how successfully such training had prepared them for practice. Other aspects such as training methods and training in research are also discussed. Although several aspects of the professional training of psychologists at the University of the Free State were rated as very good, there were some aspects of training participants felt that should receive more attention. The article concludes with recommendations on how to improve the professional training of psychologists.
Impacts of Exemplification and Efficacy as Characteristics of an Online Weight-Loss Message on Selective Exposure and Subsequent Weight-Loss Behavior
Authors: Knobloch-Westerwick Silvia , Sarge Melanie A.
Published: March 2013

The greatest obstacle for health campaigns is most likely a lack of adequate exposure (Hornik, 2002), as public health messages compete with a flood of alternative messages. In light of America’s obesity epidemic, the present work examines message characteristics that may foster exposure to recommendations on healthful weight management. Drawing on social cognitive theory and exemplification theory, the present three-session 2×2 experiment examined impacts of efficacy and exemplification, as characteristics of an online weight-loss message, on selective exposure and change in recommended behavior. Exposure depended on both characteristics, as the exemplar, high-efficacy version resulted in longest and the base-rate, high-efficacy version in shortest exposure, while both low-efficacy versions fell in between. Change in recommended behavior was positive and significantly higher in exemplar message groups than for base-rate version groups, where the change was negative.
Contradiction of Concordance Theory
Authors: Ali Zulfiqar
Published: March 2013

There are several theoretical frameworks proposed by a wide range of scholars to explicate and understand civil and military relations. Rebecca Schiff's concordance theory is one of the recent models in this theoretical tradition. She argues that the theory of separation of civil and military relations given by Huntington not only fails to give an adequate account of domestic military interventions in Pakistan but also attempts to impose the American model of civil and military relations on it. Given the problems and flaws of the separation model, she proposes the concordance theory in place of the separation model. Schiff claims that the concordance theory provides an appropriate model to explain and to avoid military intervention in Pakistan. She purports to demonstrate that a military coup takes place due to discordance among three partners on four indicators. This article will show through the case study of Pakistan that concordance theory fails on four accounts. First, Pakistan's military coup is not the consequence of discordance but concordance. Second, there are not three partners but two. Third, the notion of four indicators runs the risk of oversimplification. Fourth, concordance theory makes somewhat the same mistake committed by the separation model attempting to superimpose the American civil and military framework upon Pakistan. This article will demonstrate that concordance theory draws the civil and military relations upon two rival approaches: abstract theoretical and multicultural approach. By consequence it goes through the internal contradiction because of which it is fated to fail.
Generalization of Positive and Negative Attitudes Toward Individuals to Outgroup Attitudes
Authors: Stark Tobias H. , Flache Andreas , Veenstra René
Published: March 2013

The generalization of attitudes toward individual outgroup members into attitudes toward the outgroup as a whole can affect intergroup relations. However, little is known about the relative strengths of the generalization of negative and positive interpersonal attitudes into attitudes about the outgroup. The unique contribution of negative (disliking) interpersonal attitudes to intergroup attitudes was examined and its strength was compared with the effect of positive (liking) interpersonal attitudes, using cross-sectional (Study 1; N = 733, age 10-12) and longitudinal data (Study 2; N = 960, age 12-13). Disliking uniquely contributed to respondents’ outgroup attitudes. The generalization of interpersonal liking and disliking was about equally strong in both studies. This underpins the importance of examining the effects of both positive and negative intergroup contact experiences on the formation of outgroup attitudes.
Efficacy of Glutamine in the Prevention of Acute Radiation Enteritis
Authors: Vidal‐Casariego Alfonso , Calleja‐Fernández Alicia , de Urbina‐González Juan José Ortiz , Cano‐Rodríguez Isidoro , Cordido Fernando , Ballesteros‐Pomar María D.
Published: March 2013

Background: Acute radiation enteritis is a common adverse effect related to radiotherapy (RT). Glutamine is an immune modulator and antioxidant amino acid that can exert a protective role in patients receiving abdominal or pelvic radiation. The aim of this study was to test if glutamine prevents radiation enteritis during RT. Materials and Methods: Double‐blind, randomized, controlled trial including 69 patients who needed RT because of pelvic or abdominal malignancies and received glutamine (30 g/d) or placebo (casein, 30 g/d). Enteritis was evaluated according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group scale, intestinal inflammation using fecal calprotectin, and gut integrity with citrulline. The incidence of enteritis was analyzed by Kaplan‐Meier curves, and the hazard ratio (HR) was calculated using Cox regression. Results: Patients were predominantly male (65.2%), with an average (SD) age of 66.6 (9.9) years, with urologic (44.9%), rectal (24.6%), or gynecological cancer (23.1%). More patients developed enteritis with glutamine than with the placebo (55.9% vs 22.0%; P = .002), with an HR of 1.59 (95% confidence interval, 0.62–4.05). There were no differences in final calprotectin levels (glutamine, 57.9 [85.8] mg/kg vs placebo, 54.0 [57.7] mg/kg; P = .182) or the number of patients with values >50 mg/kg (glutamine, 58.1% vs placebo, 54.6%; P = .777). Final citrulline levels were similar between groups (glutamine, 26.31 [10.29] mmol/L vs placebo, 27.69 [12.31] mmol/L; P = .639), without differences in the number of patients with <20 mmol/L (glutamine, 24.1% vs placebo, 25.0%; P = .938). Citrulline concentration was reduced during RT with placebo but remained unchanged with glutamine. Conclusion: Glutamine does not prevent the development of enteritis during RT.
Willing and Able
Authors: van Dijke Marius , De Cremer David , Brebels Lieven , Van Quaquebeke Niels
Published: March 2013

Existing justice theory explains why fair procedures motivate employees to adopt cooperative goals, but it fails to explain how employees strive toward these goals. We study self-regulatory abilities that underlie goal striving, abilities that should thus affect employees’ display of cooperative behavior in response to procedural justice. Building on action control theory, we argue that employees who display effective self-regulatory strategies (action-oriented employees) display relatively strong cooperative behavioral responses to fair procedures. A multisource field study and a laboratory experiment support this prediction. A subsequent experiment addresses the process underlying this effect by explicitly showing that action orientation facilitates attainment of the cooperative goals that people adopt in response to fair procedures, thus facilitating the display of actual cooperative behavior. This goal striving approach better integrates research on the relationship between procedural justice and employee cooperation in the self-regulation and the work motivation literature. It also offers organizations a new perspective on making procedural justice effective in stimulating employee cooperation by suggesting factors that help employees reach their adopted goals.
Framing Adoption
Authors: Jacobson Heather
Published: March 2013

How is international adoption framed in the popular press? Do those framings shape adoption decision making? Using a multimethod approach of content analysis of newspaper reportage and in-depth interviews with international adoptive parents, this article examines the past two decades of popular press stories on international adoption and explores links between media frames and adoption decision making. Findings reveal that, although the majority of media frames on international adoption are negative, variations exist depending on the sending country profiled. Reportage on Russia adoption consists of more negative frames, whereas China adoption is more likely to be framed positively. These differences in media framings on Russia and China, the two most popular countries for international adoption into the United States from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, emerged in adoptive parents’ narratives of adoption decision making.
Educational Aspirations, Expectations, and Realities for Middle-Income Families
Authors: Napolitano Laura J. , Pacholok Shelley , Furstenberg Frank F.
Published: March 2013

Although most Americans agree that postsecondary education is the clearest path to later financial security, many families have trouble saving money to help their children in this process. This article focuses on the struggles of middle-income families as they attempt to negotiate their daily financial realities with their aspirations for their children’s postsecondary education. In particular, the article examines the discord between the high educational aspirations these middle-income families have for their children and their daily financial constraints. We do so by analyzing in-depth interviews with 31 middle-income families living in the greater Philadelphia area. The middle-income parents in our sample are acutely aware of the importance of college for their children’s upward mobility, and they ideally would like to support their children in this pursuit. However, their current financial insecurity, their lack of government support, and the rising costs of college make preparing for this dream increasingly difficult.
Communicative Capacity
Authors: Bartels Koen P. R.
Published: March 2013

Questions have arisen about the added value of public encounters for participatory democracy: Do problems with living up to its promises occur because of or despite public professionals and citizens coming together? This article presents the findings of a study that examined their public encounters, or communicative “in-between,” in participatory projects in three European cities. A narrative analysis revealed how the communicative capacity of public professionals and citizens is imperative and yet largely overlooked, that is, their ability to recognize and break through dominant communicative patterns by constantly adapting the nature, tone, and conditions of conversations to the situation at hand. Less time, energy, and resources will be lost if they pay more attention to how they communicate (process) rather than what they talk about (substance). As this proves to be inherently difficult in everyday practice, researchers could play an important role in cultivating communicative capacity.
Comparative evaluation of a novel TaqMan real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction assay for hepatitis A virus detection
Authors: Qiu Feng , Zheng Huihui , Yi Yao , Jia Zhiyuan , Cao Jingyuan , Bi Shengli
Published: March 2013

Objective

To develop and evaluate a novel system for detecting and quantifying hepatitis A virus (HAV) nucleic acid.

Methods

Real-time TaqMan® reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedures were established, based on amplification of the highly conserved 5′-non-coding region. Synthetic single-stranded RNA transcripts synthesized in vitro were used as the quantification standard. Ten-fold dilutions were prepared from HAV strain stock suspension to determine precision, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. In addition, serum specimens from patients with acute HAV underwent clinical evaluation.

Results

The novel assay had a detection limit for HAV RNA of 10 TCID50/ml (where TCID50 is median tissue culture infective dose). It was more sensitive and specific than the commercial quantitative PCR kit manufactured by Shanghai Zhijiang Bio-Tech. However, the Artus HAV RT–PCR kit (Qiagen) had the best performance of the three assays and had a detection limit of 5 TCID50/ml. The new HAV real-time PCR detection system was also successfully applied in 90 serum specimens from patients with confirmed acute HAV infection.

Conclusion

Considering its high reproducibility, sensitivity, specificity and simplicity, this novel amplification system may be suitable for wide clinical application as a diagnostic tool, and for the surveillance and investigation of infectious diseases in developing countries where HAV is endemic.
Acute cerebral ischaemia: Relationship between serum and cerebrospinal fluid orexin-A concentration and infarct volume
Authors: Kotan Dilcan , Deniz Orhan , Aygul Recep , Yıldırım Abdulkadir
Published: March 2013

Objective

Orexins are hypothalamic neuropeptides that are involved in feeding, neuroendocrine regulation, sleep-wakefulness and sleep disorders (such as narcolepsy). This study investigated the relationship between serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) orexin-A concentrations and infarct volume, in patients with ischaemic stroke.

Methods

Serum and CSF concentrations of orexin-A were determined 48–72 h after the onset of ischaemic stroke in patients, then compared with those of healthy control subjects of comparable age. Infarct volumes were measured using computerized tomography, 48–72 h after hospitalization.

Results

Mean serum and CSF orexin-A concentrations were significantly lower among ischaemic stroke patients ( n = 29) compared with control subjects ( n = 13). There was a significant inverse correlation between infarct volumes and CSF orexin-A concentrations in patients with ischaemic stroke.

Conclusion

These data show that serum and CSF orexin-A concentrations decrease after cerebral ischaemia and may play a role in the development of brain injury. The orexin-A concentration in the CSF might be a useful biomarker for the assessment of progression of brain tissue damage during the early stages of ischaemic stroke.
Strategic targeted exercise for preventing falls in elderly people
Authors: Zheng Jiejiao , Pan Yujian , Hua Yinghui , Shen Haimin , Wang Xueqiang , Zhang Ying , Fan Yujing , Yu Zhuowei
Published: March 2013

Objective

Randomized, controlled, blinded trial to evaluate the effectiveness of strategic targeted exercise for preventing falls in elderly people.

Methods

Elderly people were randomly allocated to either a control group that received conventional exercise, or a training group that received conventional exercise plus proprioception and cognitive exercises. Subjects were asked to exercise three times a week (40 min per session) for 8 weeks. In the pre- and post-training sessions, all participants were assessed using a static postural control test with eyes open and closed, the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and the joint position sense test of the lower limbs.

Results

After 8 weeks, there were statistically significant improvements in the training group ( n = 50) compared with the control group ( n = 50) for mediolateral sway distance with eyes open and eyes closed, anteroposterior sway distance with eyes open but not with eyes closed, BBS scores and joint position sense test for the left but not the right knee.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that strategic targeted exercise could produce more beneficial effects on balance and proprioception function than conventional exercise alone, in elderly people.
Comparative Analysis of Recidivism Outcomes Following Drug Treatment Court in Vancouver, Canada
Authors: Somers Julian M. , Rezansoff Stefanie N. , Moniruzzaman Akm
Published: March 2013

Drug Treatment Courts (DTCs) integrate therapeutic interventions for substance using offenders with the administration of justice. Available evidence indicates that DTCs are effective at reducing recidivism, but it is not yet established whether they are equally effective for all subgroups of offenders. The current study investigates the comparative effectiveness of a Canadian DTC among subgroups defined by ethnicity, gender, prior offending, and the presence of a co-occurring mental disorder. Results indicate greater reductions in recidivism among female and Aboriginal participants, and no differences in recidivism associated with the presence or absence of co-occurring mental disorders or the number of prior convictions. Longer duration of involvement with the DTC program was positively associated with reduced recidivism. The effectiveness of DTCs with distinct subpopulations may be related to their composition and inclusion of expertise relevant to the needs of diverse participants.
Political geography I
Authors: Mountz Alison
Published: March 2013

This first of three progress reports on the subdiscipline of political geography reviews recent scholarship on the transformation of geographies of sovereignty. The piece offers a review of major analytical themes that have emerged in recent geographical analyses of sovereignty. These themes include the design of spatial metaphors through which to conceptualize sovereignty, US exceptionalism and the influence of Agamben’s work, productive blurring of onshore and offshore operations and productions of sovereign power, and debate about the kinds of power operating through these newly constituted global topographies of power. The text also visits five kinds of sites where contemporary struggles over sovereignty manifest: prison, island, sea, body, and border. After reviewing recent trends, themes, and locations in studies of sovereign power, recommendations for future research topics are made.
Where is historical biogeography going? The evolution of the discipline in the first decade of the 21st century
Authors: Posadas Paula , Grossi Mariana A. , Ortiz-Jaureguizar Edgardo
Published: March 2013

It has been argued that historical biogeography, the study of how processes that occur over long periods of time influence the distribution of life forms, is in the midst of a scientific revolution. The aim of this paper is to analyze the evolution of historical biogeography during the first decade of the 21st century and to identify major trends for the near future. We constructed a database containing all articles which dealt with historical biogeography published in the Journal of Biogeography during 1998–2010. The database included 610 contributions. Our results indicated that historical biogeography is going through a growth period. The papers analyzed were written by 2018 authors, with a mean of 3.3 authors per paper. Authors from 62 countries were involved, and most of them worked in Europe or North America. The Palearctic was the most analyzed region. Most contributions dealt with terrestrial habitats and were devoted to animal (especially Chordata) and plant taxa. Phylogeography was the most used approach (35%), followed by biota similarity and PAE (13%) and molecular biogeography (12%), with cladistic biogeography and event-based methods at 6% each. Some of the future challenges that historical biogeography faces are summarized: (1) to increase the study of taxa which are underrepresented according to the segment of biodiversity they represent; (2) to balance the amount of work devoted to different biogeographical regions; (3) to increase biogeographical knowledge of aquatic habitats; (4) to maintain the diversity of approaches, preventing the reduction of time, spatial, and taxonomic scales addressed by the discipline; and (5) to continue integrating historical biogeography along with other sources of information from other disciplines (e.g. ecology, paleontology, geology, isotope chemistry, remote sensing) into a richer context for explaining past, present, and future patterns of biodiversity on Earth.
How Attractive Are Sexist Intimates to Adolescents? The Influence of Sexist Beliefs and Relationship Experience
Authors: Montañés Pilar , Lemus Soledad de , Moya Miguel , Bohner Gerd , Megías Jesús L.
Published: March 2013

The emergence of heterosexual intimate relationship experiences has been described as central to the development of ambivalent sexist attitudes during adolescence. The quality of these relationships might be largely determined by the perceived attractiveness and expectancies about potential partners also in ideological terms. In a questionnaire study, 262 Spanish adolescents reported their attraction toward various sexist (hostile, benevolent, and ambivalent) and non-sexist profiles of other-sex targets as potential friends and intimate partners. Relationships between attraction judgments and participants' own sexist beliefs as well as their experiences in romantic relationships were examined. Results show that young women considered benevolent sexist young men to be most attractive and young men considered ambivalent sexist young women to be most attractive. Congruency effects were found between these preferences and participants’ own sexist attitudes. In addition, young women’s experiences in romantic relationships significantly predicted their preference for benevolent sexist young men. Discussion focuses on the importance of socialization in the development of such preferences and on the endorsement of benevolent sexism in female and male adolescents. More generally, theoretical and applied implications of these results in relation to ambivalent sexism theory are discussed.
Sit Big to Eat Big
Authors: Allen Jill , Gervais Sarah J. , Smith Jessi L.
Published: March 2013

Body image concern has long been linked with unhealthy restrained eating patterns among women, yet scant research has examined factors to disrupt this process. At the same time, feminine stereotypes prescribe that women should be small, restrict their movements, speak softly, and limit their food intake (e.g., through dieting). Here, we examined whether women’s postural constriction or expansion moderated the relation between body shape concern and restrained eating, predicting that expansive postures would interrupt this robust relation. As a secondary aim, we investigated whether women spontaneously adopted constrictive postures and to what extent postures contributed to restrained eating under baseline conditions. Specifically, women’s postural position (constricted, expanded, or baseline posture) was manipulated and restrained eating was measured. Results showed that at high levels of body shape concern, women sitting in expansive postures restrained their eating less compared to women in constrictive postures. Further, spontaneously expansive (vs. spontaneously constrictive) postures were associated with less restrained eating among women. Thus, postural expansion attenuated the link between body shape concern and restrained eating whereas postural constriction exacerbated the link. Implications for gender performativity and possible interventions for restrained eating are discussed.