Sex and age differences in "theory of mind" across 57 countries using the English version of the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" Test.

The "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" Test (Eyes Test) is a widely used assessment of "theory of mind." The NIMH Research Domain Criteria recommends it as one of two tests for "understanding mental states." Previous studies have demonstrated an on-average female advantage on the Eyes Test. However, it is unknown whether this female advantage exists across the lifespan and across a large number of countries. Thus, we tested sex and age differences using the English version of the Eyes Test in adolescents and adults across 57 countries. We also tested for associations with sociodemographic and cognitive/personality factors. We leveraged one discovery dataset (N = 305,726) and three validation datasets (Ns = 642; 5,284; and 1,087). The results show that: i) there is a replicable on-average female advantage in performance on the Eyes Test; ii) performance increases through adolescence and shallowly declines across adulthood; iii) the on-average female advantage is evident across the lifespan; iv) there is a significant on-average female advantage in 36 out of 57 countries; v) there is a significant on-average female advantage on translated (non-English) versions of the Eyes Test in 12 out of 16 countries, as confirmed by a systematic review; vi) D-scores, or empathizing-systemizing, predict Eyes Test performance above and beyond sex differences; and vii) the female advantage is negatively linked to "prosperity" and "autonomy," and positively linked to "collectivism," as confirmed by exploratory country-level analyses. We conclude that the on-average female advantage on the Eyes Test is observed across ages and most countries

Two-level systems: exact solutions and underlying pseudo-supersymmetry

Chains of first-order SUSY transformations for the spin equation are studied in detail. It is shown that the transformation chains are related with a olynomial pseudo-supersymmetry of the system. Simple determinant formulas for the final Hamiltonian of a chain and for solutions of the spin equation are derived. Applications are intended for a two-level atom in an electromagnetic field with a possible time-dependence of the field frequency. For a specific form of this dependence, the time oscillations of the probability to populate the excited level disappear. Under certain conditions this probability becomes a function tending monotonously to a constant value which can exceed 1/2.Comment: to be published in Ann. Phys. (NY), 6 figures, 17 page

Spectropolarimetry of the Deep Impact target comet 9P/Tempel 1 with HiVIS

High resolution spectropolarimetry of the Deep Impact target, comet 9P/ Tempel 1, was performed during the impact event on July 4th, 2005 with the HiVIS Spectropolarimeter and the AEOS 3.67m telescope on Haleakala, Maui. We observed atypical polarization spectra that changed significantly in the few hours after the impact. The polarization of scattered light as a function of wavelength is very sensitive to the size and composition (complex refractive index) of the scattering particles as well as the scattering geometry. As opposed to most observations of cometary dust, which show an increase in the linear polarization with the wavelength (at least in the visible domain and for phase angles greater than about 30%, a red polarization spectrum) observations of 9P/Tempel 1 at a phase angle of 41 degrees beginning 8 minutes after impact and centered at 6:30UT showed a polarization of 4% at 650 nm falling to 3% at 950 nm. The next observation, centered an hour later showed a polarization of 7% at 650 nm falling to 2% at 950nm. This corresponds to a spectropolarimetric gradient, or slope, of -0.9% per 1000 Angstroms 40 minutes after impact, decreasing to a slope of -2.3% per 1000 Angstroms an hour and a half after impact. This is an atypical blue polarization slope, which became more blue 1 hour after impact. The polarization values of 4% and 7% at 650nm are typical for comets at this scattering angle, whereas the low polarization of 2% and 3% at 950nm is not. We compare observations of comet 9P/Tempel 1 to that of a typical comet, C/2004 Machholz, at a phase angle of 30 degrees which showed a typical red slope, rising from 2% at 650nm to 3% at 950nm in two different observations (+1.0 and +0.9% per 1000 Angstroms).Comment: Icarus Deep Impact special issue, accepted Aug 28 200

Familial influences on sustained attention and inhibition in preschoolers

Background: In this study several aspects of attention were studied in 237 nearly 6-year-old twin pairs. Specifically, the ability to sustain attention and inhibition were investigated using a computerized test battery (Amsterdam Neuropsychological Tasks). Furthermore, the Teacher's Report Form (TRF) was filled out by the teacher of the child and the attention subscale of this questionnaire was analyzed. Methods: The variance in performance on the different tasks of the test battery and the score on the attention scale of the TRF were decomposed into a contribution of the additive effects of many genes (A), environmental effects that are shared by twins (C) and unique environmental influences not shared by twins (E) by using data from MZ and DZ twins. Results: The genetic model fitting results showed an effect of A and E for the attention scale of the TRF, and for some of the inhibition and sustained attention measures. For most of the attention variables, however, it was not possible to decide between a model with A and E or a model with C and E. Time-on-task effects on reaction time or number of errors and the delay after making an error did not show familial resemblances. A remarkable finding was that the heritability of the attention scale of the TRF was found to be higher than the heritability of indices that can be considered to be more direct measures of attention, such as mean tempo in the sustained attention task and response speed in the Go-NoGo task. Conclusion: In preschoolers, familial resemblances on sustained attention and inhibition were observed. © Association for Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2004

Linking Distributive and Procedural Justice to Employee Engagement Through Social Exchange: A Field Study in India

Research linking justice perceptions to employee outcomes has referred to social exchange as its central theoretical premise. We tested a conceptual model linking distributive and procedural justice to employee engagement through social exchange mediators, namely, perceived organizational support and psychological contract, among 238 managers and executives from manufacturing and service sector firms in India. Findings suggest that perceived organizational support mediated the relationship between distributive justice and employee engagement, and both perceived organizational support and psychological contract mediated the relationship between procedural justice and employee engagement. Theoretical and practical implications with respect to organizational functions are discussed

“Help! I Need Somebody”: Music as a global resource for obtaining wellbeing goals in times of crisis

Health and self-regulatio

Gendering the careers of young professionals: some early findings from a longitudinal study. in Organizing/theorizing: developments in organization theory and practice

Wonders whether companies actually have employees best interests at heart across physical, mental and spiritual spheres. Posits that most organizations ignore their workforce – not even, in many cases, describing workers as assets! Describes many studies to back up this claim in theis work based on the 2002 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference, in Cardiff, Wales

Global surveillance of cancer survival 1995-2009: analysis of individual data for 25,676,887 patients from 279 population-based registries in 67 countries (CONCORD-2)

BACKGROUND: Worldwide data for cancer survival are scarce. We aimed to initiate worldwide surveillance of cancer survival by central analysis of population-based registry data, as a metric of the effectiveness of health systems, and to inform global policy on cancer control. METHODS: Individual tumour records were submitted by 279 population-based cancer registries in 67 countries for 25·7 million adults (age 15-99 years) and 75,000 children (age 0-14 years) diagnosed with cancer during 1995-2009 and followed up to Dec 31, 2009, or later. We looked at cancers of the stomach, colon, rectum, liver, lung, breast (women), cervix, ovary, and prostate in adults, and adult and childhood leukaemia. Standardised quality control procedures were applied; errors were corrected by the registry concerned. We estimated 5-year net survival, adjusted for background mortality in every country or region by age (single year), sex, and calendar year, and by race or ethnic origin in some countries. Estimates were age-standardised with the International Cancer Survival Standard weights. FINDINGS: 5-year survival from colon, rectal, and breast cancers has increased steadily in most developed countries. For patients diagnosed during 2005-09, survival for colon and rectal cancer reached 60% or more in 22 countries around the world; for breast cancer, 5-year survival rose to 85% or higher in 17 countries worldwide. Liver and lung cancer remain lethal in all nations: for both cancers, 5-year survival is below 20% everywhere in Europe, in the range 15-19% in North America, and as low as 7-9% in Mongolia and Thailand. Striking rises in 5-year survival from prostate cancer have occurred in many countries: survival rose by 10-20% between 1995-99 and 2005-09 in 22 countries in South America, Asia, and Europe, but survival still varies widely around the world, from less than 60% in Bulgaria and Thailand to 95% or more in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the USA. For cervical cancer, national estimates of 5-year survival range from less than 50% to more than 70%; regional variations are much wider, and improvements between 1995-99 and 2005-09 have generally been slight. For women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2005-09, 5-year survival was 40% or higher only in Ecuador, the USA, and 17 countries in Asia and Europe. 5-year survival for stomach cancer in 2005-09 was high (54-58%) in Japan and South Korea, compared with less than 40% in other countries. By contrast, 5-year survival from adult leukaemia in Japan and South Korea (18-23%) is lower than in most other countries. 5-year survival from childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is less than 60% in several countries, but as high as 90% in Canada and four European countries, which suggests major deficiencies in the management of a largely curable disease. INTERPRETATION: International comparison of survival trends reveals very wide differences that are likely to be attributable to differences in access to early diagnosis and optimum treatment. Continuous worldwide surveillance of cancer survival should become an indispensable source of information for cancer patients and researchers and a stimulus for politicians to improve health policy and health-care systems