The Sexual Inhibition (SIS) and Sexual Excitation (SES) Scales: II. Predicting psychophysiological response pattens

This study evaluated the predictive value of a newly developed measure of the propensity for sexual inhibition and excitation; the Sexual Inhibition Sexual Excitation Scales (SIS/SES). Sexual, cardiovascular, and startle responses were measured in a group of 40 sexually functional men during the presentation of threatening and nonthreatening erotic films. Two levels of performance demand were created and two films were combined with a distraction task. Participants were assigned to high and low groups for each of the three SIS/SES scales. As predicted, men with high SES scores showed generally higher sexual responses. High and low SIS1 groups did not differ in their responses. Men with high and low SIS2 scores did not differ in their responses to nonthreatening stimuli; however, low SIS2 men showed greater genital response to the threatening stimuli. The findings provide support for the value of the SIS/SES scales in predicting sexual responses.     

Representing knowledge: instances of management information

Against the backdrop of discussions about the 'Information Society', the 'Informational Economy' and the role of IT in realizing organizational change we examine how representations of 'organizational knowledge' are constructed and used in work settings. We do this through the explication of ethnographic materials that detail the realization and use of Management Information (MI) in a major UK retail bank undergoing massive organizational change. We focus in particular on explicating how existing metric information was drawn upon to construct a representation of the work of the bank for those involved in managing that work. Systems designers have been increasingly interested in offering ways of conceptualizing the problem of 'knowledge' with a view to embedding these properties in systems. In the quest to develop representations of procedural knowledge to support work we argue that it is first necessary to understand how representations are actually created and used in work to support existing work practices.     

The expected personality characteristics of alcohol-dependent individuals

The Big Five personality factors were used as a framework for examining the expected personality characteristics of individuals who are alcohol-dependent. In an experimental study, participants used a measure of the Big Five personality factors to rate two individuals, each described with either signs of alcohol dependence or not. The ratings of the participants showed that they expected the alcohol-dependent versions of both individuals to be less agreeable and less conscientious. The participants expected the alcohol-dependent college student to be more extraverted and the alcohol-dependent lawyer-father to be more neurotic. The expected personality characteristics of the alcohol-dependent versions of the two described persons were very similar to the actual personality characteristics of alcohol-dependent individuals. The results were consistent with prior findings regarding narrow-band personality traits related to the Big Five. The results help explain prior findings about the social handicap of problem drinking with regard to making friends, dating, marriage, and working. The findings have potential use in alcohol-problem prevention and treatment.     

The lips of the dead and the "kiss of life": the contemporary deathbed and the aesthetic of CPR

Over the last four decades, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has become the medical, legal and media standard for behaviour in the face of sudden death. The key therapeutic techniques of CPR: mouth–to–mouth ventilation, external–cardiac–compressions and defibrillation – with their origins in the eighteenth century, strange peregrinations in the nineteenth, and consolidation in the twentieth – are central to what may be seen as a newly dominant form of deathbed ritual.     

Correlates of load carriage and obstacle course performance among women

To examine correlates of the speed at which female soldiers carrying loads could cover 3.2 km on foot and traverse an obstacle course, 12 volunteers (mean +/- SD: 25.3 +/- 6 years, 166 +/- 7 cm, 61.3 +/- 7 kg) were timed over 3.2 km while carrying loads of 14, 27, and 41 kg, and while traversing an obstacle course with the two lighter loads. Pearson correlations showed that absolute VO_[2 max] and 3.2 km run time without a load were the best predictors of 3.2 km load carriage time for all loads. Also, larger subjects with greater muscle mass were able to carry the heaviest load faster than smaller, less muscular subjects, likely because the 41 kg load represented a smaller percentage of the former's bodyweight. Maximum number of sit-ups and push-ups, composite score of the Army Physical Fitness Test as well as body height were positively correlated with the speed at which some course segments were traversed.     

The relationship of trauma exposure to sex offending behavior among male juvenile offenders

The most common type of adult and juvenile sex offender treatment utilizes a Relapse Prevention (RP) model. In RP clients learn about their offense cycle with an emphasis on recognizing high-risk situations and negative emotional states that can be precursors or triggers to offending behavior. This study identifies ways that traumatic experiences and trauma-associated feelings can be offense triggers for juvenile sex offenders. Researchers interviewed the treating clinicians of 40 male juvenile sex offenders who received at least six months of RP sex offender treatment. Results showed that 95% of the youths had experienced a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Criterion A traumatic event and that 65% met criteria for PTSD based on clinician judgments. Overall, clinicians identified prior trauma exposure as being related to the offense triggers in 85% of offenders. Specifically, the following trauma-related feelings were identified as offense triggers: intense fear in 37.5% of sex offenders, helplessness in 55%, and horror in 20%. Implications for sex offender treatment programs are discussed.     

Setting a trap for aging-related genes in Drosophila

In the October 2002 issue of Aging Cell, Seroude et al. used an enhancer trap technique to identify Drosophila genes whose expression changes with age. In this Perspective, the author discusses the implications of these results, including the possibility of using the enhancer trap lines to identify biomarkers of aging.