Person perception effects of computer-simulated male and female head movement

Sixteen male and sixteen female student observers were shown computer-simulated sequences of male and female head movement based on time-series protocols of real-life interactions and were asked to rate their impressions of the computer actors on the screen. While in one experimental condition the sex of the movement origin matched the sex of the computer model, the movement protocols were exchanged in the second condition. Impression formation effects were analyzed in a three-factorial ANOVA design, with the independent factors (1) sex of observer, (2) sex of computer model, and (3) sex of movement origin. The results point to strong main effects of the sex of movement origin. Male behavior was perceived as more active and mobile, whether displayed by a male or female computer model. However, three-way interactions indicate that male and female head movement was evaluated differently by male and female observers depending on the sex of the computer model. Counterintuitively, female computer models scored higher in male observers' judgments of friendliness and attractiveness when displaying male head movement.     

Psychoanalytic Challenges: A Contribution to the New Sexual Agenda

Behind its conservative facade and the rigidityof much of its clinical practice, psychoanalysis retainsa disruptive attitude toward conventional discourses ongender and sexuality. This attitude derives from psychoanalysis capacity to look awry atexperience and consequently to undermine notions offixed identity, including sexual identity. Incontemporary work, much of the debate on psychoanalysisdisruptive consciousness, particularly among feminists,has centered on the contribution of Lacanian thinkingand in particular on the question of whether Lacanoffers a more rigorous alternative to object relational accounts of gender identity and sexualdifference. In this paper, the debate on psychoanalysiscontribution to the new sexual agenda isintroduced and furthered by exploration of the notion ofidentification as used first in some non-Lacanian work byJessica Benjamin, and then in a classic seminar of Lacans. It is suggested that both Benjamin and Lacan offerinsights into the provisional nature ofadoption of specific sexual identities and that acontinuing critical contribution from psychoanalysis canbe found in this work.     

Peach Trees Grow in the Spaces Between People: Counselling Practices in the Territory of Violence

In this paper the authors reflect on how therapeutic practices wove a community of care and concern with a young man in South Africa who was at risk of anger ruling his life. A counselor and outsider witnesses participated in responding to the problems the young man and his family faced. The authors discuss the steps they took in the therapeutic journey and describe how their personal and professional lives were shaped by this collaboration. This work inspires and sustains their enthusiasm in seeking to understand how to best respond when positioned to counsel.     

Mental Health Needs Assessment of a Major Urban University

Abstract

A questionnaire surveying mental health needs was administered in class to 1,412 Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) students, and a service utilization questionnaire was administered to 154 students applying for mental health services at four campus-based agencies. The nature of the specific problems of concern to students tended to remain stable over the course of a semester. Study habits and grades was the most frequently cited problem area on the needs survey, though help was sought most frequently for physically oriented concerns. Students lacking important sources of social support reported the most difficulties. Students who sought help had more problems and higher levels of concern than those not seeking help. A comparison of the two data sources indicated a slight but significant tendency for agencies to deal with the greatest areas of need at the severity levels indicated in the needs survey.     

The relationship between unit diversity and perceptions of organizational performance in the military

Structural equation modeling techniques are used to examine the relationship between demographic diversity and perceptions of organizational performance in military units. Analyzing data from the Military Equal Opportunity Climate Survey reveals higher female and minority representation reduces females’ and minorities’ perceptions of organizational effectiveness, respectively. Identical factors appear to influence the perceptions of organizational performance across these two subgroups of employees. The results demonstrate the importance of conducting separate analyses for subgroups in examining the effects of demographic diversity on organizational performance.     

Chronic strain,daily work stress and pain among workers with rheumatoid arthritis: Does job stress make a bad day worse?

The structure of the job and the daily experience of work are challenges for workers with rheumatoid arthritis. Yet little is known about how these two factors interact to put workers with chronic pain at risk for worse pain on a given day. This exploratory 20 workday diary study of 27 workers with rheumatoid arthritis used hierarchical linear modelling to examine how the structure of the job and neuroticism moderate the relationship between daily undesirable work events (daily stressors), and pain reports within a day. On days with more undesirable work events compared to days with fewer events, individuals with jobs associated with job ‘strain’ (high demand/low control) reported greater midday pain, irrespective of neuroticism and negative mood, than workers with other combinations of demand and control. These findings demonstrate the utility of analysing fluctuating within-person relationships among pain, mood and daily work stressors within the context of the structure of the job, and helps to explain why daily work stressors result in worse health outcomes for some but not all workers with RA.