Turning to the Internet for Help on Sensitive Medical Problems

The purpose of the present study was to examine how members of an online bulletin board group concerned with sleep paralysis (SP) use the Internet to establish what it means to experience the symptoms associated with a mysterious sleep disorder. Data from 646 posts to the bulletin board, and from ten in- depth interviews with select bulletin board users, revealed that board participants constructed their disorder in three different ways: while some considered it a purely physiological problem, others believed it to be a demonic attack or a paranormal phenomenon. Results indicated that people suffering from SP are driven to the Internet by their desire to make sense of their terrifying nocturnal experiences. Rather than dispelling the myths surrounding this sleep disorder, the Internet in this study was, however, found to reinforce them by offering a forum for the discussion of alternative explanatory frameworks.     

STEREOTYPE OR TRANSGRESSION?

Through a four-pronged methodology which includes textual analyses of the films, film reviews, and interviews with Rosie Perez as well as possible spectatorship positions to Rosie Perez films, the author examines the construction of Latinas in Hollywood film, especially in regard to traditional ethnic stereotypes. In addition, the author ventures into an understudied area of scholarship—namely the consideration of active audience and Latinas/Latinos. This combined methodology which examines both representation and interpretations—that is the production of meaning both at the sending and reception of popular culture—allows for a complicated reading of what Rosie Perez might mean to different segments of the audience.     

Sensitivity analysis and choosing between alternative polytomous IRT models using Bayesian model comparison criteria

Polytomous Item Response Theory (IRT) models are used by specialists to score assessments and questionnaires that have items with multiple response categories. In this article, we study the performance of five model comparison criteria for comparing fit of the graded response and generalized partial credit models using the same dataset when the choice between the two is unclear. Simulation study is conducted to analyze the sensitivity of priors and compare the performance of the criteria using the No-U-Turn Sampler algorithm, under a Bayesian approach. The results were used to select a model for an application in mental health data.     

Intergenerational Coresidence and Mothers’ Body Weight at Midlife

Population Research and Policy Review - Midlife mothers report their children returning to the maternal home after departing (i.e., boomerang children) and remaining in the maternal home longer...     

Nonverbal Synchrony and Complementarity in Unacquainted Same-Sex Dyads: A Comparison in a Competitive Context

Research on interpersonal synchronization deals with the coordination of behavior, cognition and affect within interacting individuals. The phenomenon of synchronization has been explored in many settings and numerous definitions have emerged. The purpose of this study was to compare nonverbal synchrony (based on overall body movement) with the concept of complementarity (based on interpersonal theory) in a competitive context. We examined 40 previously unacquainted same-sex dyads (21 female, 19 male; mean age = 22.81). Dyads underwent a 15-min videotaped competitive role-play. Nonverbal synchrony was quantified by a frame-differencing method, and complementarity by a joystick tracking method. Results revealed that dyads behaved in a synchronous and complementary manner. We found that nonverbal synchrony was positively correlated with affiliation complementarity, but not dominance complementarity. The present study compared nonverbal synchrony with complementarity. The link between the two concepts was small, as indicated by rather weak correlations between nonverbal synchrony and affiliation complementarity. Our results reinforce the view that competitive behavior depends on complex dyadic interactions, including nonverbal and verbal behavior.     

Das Zürcher Ressourcen Modell und die Theorie der Persönlichkeits-System-Interaktionen in der Laufbahnberatung

Requirements to employees rise because of the changes in the working environment during the last decades. Thus, topics like flexibility, openness and adaptability are to be facilitated more and more in the career counseling. It isn’t sufficient to advise and to find a fitting profession. Often the work with the Personality Systems Interaction Theory und the Zurich Resource Model (ZRM) is than advisable. This article illustrates with a case study the work with self-monitoring competencies during a career counseling process.     

Economic Dependency and HIV/AIDS Prevalence in the Developing World: A Comparative,Longitudinal Analysis

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has plagued global society for over three decades. While breakthroughs in antiretroviral treatments (ART) have proven effective in suppressing the virus and HIV/AIDS intervention outreach have widened, epidemic control remains unevenly achieved among countries. At least 95 percent of HIV/AIDS sufferers originate from developing countries. Dependency theory suggests that developing countries' reliance on debt, trade, and foreign investments pose negative effects on their populations' health. Guided by dependency theory's propositions, this cross‐national study assesses whether increasing dependence on trade, debt, and foreign direct investment potentially increases adult HIV prevalence in developing countries from 1989 to 2012. Using a sample of over 80 nations, we perform a two‐way fixed‐effects OLS regression to evaluate the impact of increasing debt, trade, and foreign investment on adult HIV prevalence. Total debt, short‐term debt, external debt, and GDP were found to increase HIV prevalence. The findings for debt support dependency theory's predictions concerning the ramifications of global economic inequality on HIV/AIDS prevalence.