Measuring hand movements

Hand movements were classified into speech illustrators, body manipulators, and actions which convey precise symbolic information. The behavioral code noted whether the action involved the left, right, or both hands, and the manipulator code also included the part of the body manipulated. The application of this code to videotapes of conversations provided data to examine a number of methodological issues. Reliability was inspected in a number of ways; each showed high intercoder agreement. Little redundancy was found among the various hand measures, although scores for the frequency of an activity and for the duration of an activity were highly intercorrelated for most classes of hand actions. An economical method for coding hand activity was compared with the standard, more time-consuming method. Similar results were obtained, although the economical method appeared to be more vulnerable to measurement error.This research was supported by a grant from NIMH, MH 11976. The preparation of this report was supported by a grant from the Harry F. Guggenheim foundation.     

Swedish multiculturalism in a comparative European perspective

This article discusses the use of the term multiculturalism and the background of multiculturalist policies in Europe. Postwar migration within and to Europe has changed the ethnic composition of population in most European countries. The main focus is on Sweden, which more strikingly than most European countries has gone through a transformation from a relatively homogeneous society to one with a variety of ethnic and language groups. The author stresses the role of historical factors behind different countries' reception of immigrants and their attitude to programs of integration or assimilation. Parallel to xenophobix phenomena there are very decided activities from governments and organizations to counteract in Western Europe. The increasing cooperation in the economic and political field also makes the issues of immigrant, border minorities, and historic minorities relevant.     

Attitudes of nurses towards 8-h and 12-h shift systems

Twelve-hour shift schedules are becoming increasingly popular. The present study was designed to investigate the attitudes of nurses, their priorities with respect to working time and other aspects of the working conditions, and to analyse the conditions leading to a diminished satisfaction with the shift schedule and to aspirations for a change of schedule. Questionnaires were returned by 880 nurses (78% return rate) from 12 hospitals. A total of 65% worked 12-h shifts and 35% worked 8-h shifts. A considerable proportion of both groups showed a low satisfaction with their schedule and a desire to change the schedule (44% of those working 12-h shifts, 47% of those working 8-h shifts). Concerning effects of the shift schedule on work strain, continuity of service, health, family and leisure time, 8-h shifts were rated more favourably, especially by those working these shifts, but also by nurses working 12-h systems, with the exception of effects on leisure time and to some extent also on continuity of service and on family. Effects of the shift schedule on social responsibilities and leisure time activities turned out to be a major moderating variable in both groups with respect to schedule satisfaction and attitudes towards a change of schedule. Apparently neither type of shift system, traditional 12-h shift rosters or rotating 8-h shifts, is very appealing to the nurses. A stronger relationship between social consequences and health state in nurses working 12-h shifts indicates that in this group negative effects on family and leisure time might be due to an increased need for recuperation, which reduces effective leisure time.     

A Demographic Analysis of Registered Partnerships (legal same-sex unions): The Case of Norway

In 1993, Norway became the second country in the world to introduce registered partnerships. As with same-sex marriages, registered partnerships give the same rights and duties as marriages for opposite sex couples, with a few exceptions. The present article describes this ‘new’ demographic event based on Norwegian experiences. Compared to the number of new cases each year of opposite-sex marriages, registered partnerships amount to less than 1%. Gay partnerships are more common than lesbian partnerships, but the proportion of female partnerships has increased since the law came into force. In one out of five partnerships, one or both partners have been previously married to a person of the opposite sex. At the time they entered into the partnership, 24% of the women and 13 of the men had at least one child. When examining the registered partnerships entered into in Norway between 1993 and 2001 we estimated the probability of divorce to be 16% after six years. We also carried out a multivariate analysis of the divorce risk and found that the divorce risk for female partnerships is double that of the risk for male partnerships. Another high risk group is partnerships between a Norwegian and a person from a non-Nordic country.Noack T., Seierstad A. and Weedon-Fekjær H., 2005, A Demographic Analysis of Registered Partnerships (legal same-sex unions): The Case of Norway, European Journal of Population, 21: 89–109.Noack T., Seierstad A. and Weedon-Fekjær H., 2005, A Demographic Analysis of Registered Partnerships (legal same-sex unions): The Case of Norway, European Journal of Population, 21: 89–109.     

Contributions of the German “Expression Psychology” to nonverbal communication research

This is the third part of a series. Part I: Theories and Concepts appeared in Volume 3, Number 3 and Part II: The Face appeared in Volume 6, Number 4. In this part of the series a survey of the different techniques for the analysis of human movement behavior, as well as results of research and theorizing on gait, gestures, and body movement behavior is presented. It is demonstrated that Expression Psychology research of movement behavior is especially important for today's researcher because of the methods developed, while results are often anecdotal or dubious.Die Art und Weise nämlich, wie eine willkürliche Bewegung vollzogen wird, ist durch ihren Zweck nicht so genau bestimmt, dass es nicht mehrere Arten geben sollte, nach denen sie kann verrichtet werden. Dasjenige nun, was durch den Willen oder den Zweck dabei unbestimmt gelassen ist, kann durch den Empfindungszustand der Person sympathetisch bestimmt werden und also zu einen Ausdruck desselben dienenThe mode, the manner in which a voluntary movement is executed, is not a thing so exactly determined by the intention which is proposed by it that it cannot be executed in several different ways. That which the will or intention leaves undetermined can be sympathetically determined by the state of sensibility in which the person is found to be, and consequently can express this state.     

Graphical Communication of Uncertain Quantities to Nontechnical People

Nine pictorial displays for communicating quantitative information about the value of an uncertain quantity, x , were evaluated for their ability to communicate , p ( x > a ) and p ( b > x > a ) to well-educated semi-and nontechnical subjects. Different displays performed best in different applications. Cumulative distribution functions alone can severely mislead some subjects in estimating the mean. A "rusty" knowledge of statistics did not improve performance, and even people with a good basic knowledge of statistics did not perform as well as one would like. Until further experiments are performed, the authors recommend the use of a cumulative distribution function plotted directly above a probability density function with the same horizontal scale, and with the location of the mean clearly marked on both curves.