To My Surprise Goffman Called Himself a Functionalist, But His Former Students Assured Me That He Was Only Playing With Us

Dr. Rachel Kahn-Hut, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of California San Francisco, prepared this memoir and approved its posting in the Erving Goffman Archives

Affective and Cognitive Empathy Deficits Distinguish Primary and Secondary Variants of Callous-Unemotional Youth

The current study examined whether a sample of detained male adolescents (n = 107; Mean age = 15.50; SD = 1.30) could be disaggregated into two distinct groups, consistent with past research on primary and secondary variants of callous-unemotional (CU) traits in adolescents. This study also sought to determine a possible explanation for the CU traits among youth in the secondary variant by examining whether they differ from primary variants on measures of cognitive and affective empathy. Using Latent Profile Analyses, two groups of adolescents high on CU traits were identified, a large group (n = 30) high on CU traits but low on anxiety (primary) and a smaller group high on both CU traits and anxiety (n = 10; secondary). Using self-report and computerized measures of affective (e.g., emotional reactivity) and cognitive empathy (e.g., affective facial recognition and theory of mind (ToM)), results revealed that the secondary variant demonstrated the lowest levels of cognitive empathy. In contrast, the primary variant demonstrated the lowest levels of self-report affective empathy, but these levels were not significantly different from the secondary variant. Multiple regression analyses testing the association among measures of empathy, CU traits, and anxiety produced a mostly consistent pattern of results. One exception was the finding of an interaction between CU traits and anxiety in the prediction of fear recognition accuracy that indicated that CU traits were positively associated with accuracy in recognizing fearful facial expressions when anxiety was low. The current study builds upon previous work examining primary and secondary variants of CU traits by suggesting that both primary and secondary variants may exhibit similar deficits in affective empathy, but that secondary variants may also exhibit deficits in cognitive empathy and perspective-taking that are not present in primary variants

The role of anger in managerial effectiveness

Bibliography: leaves 194-227.The aim of this study was to investigate the role of anger on managerial effectiveness. To this end, a sample of male managers in a South African financial organisation completed questionnaires on the experience of anger, the expression of anger, and Type A behaviour. Managerial effectiveness was assessed in terms of the behavioural dimensions of the organisation's assessment centre and performance appraisal, as well as a managerial achievement quotient. A factor analysis computed separately for the 11 assessment centre dimensions and the 11 performance appraisal criteria revealed three orthogonal factors in both analyses. Product moment correlation coefficients were calculated between all the variables, including the new factor scores. The performance appraisal factor labled "Emphasising Quality in Solution and Production" was significantly correlated with trait anger, and the performance appraisal factor labled "Maintaining Supportive Interpersonal Relationships" was significantly correlated with state anger , trait anger, anger expression , and Type A behaviour . The assessment centre factors labled "Making and Communication Decisions" and "Interpersonal Planning" correlated significantly with anger expression and trait anger, respectively. Finally, the managerial achievement quotient correlated positively and significantly with Type A behaviour. The conceptual and methodological issues confronted in the present research may provide new insight for future investigations regarding stress and organisational psychology

Psychometric properties of Basic Empathy Scale among female juvenile delinquents and school youths

Research on empathy often distinguishes between affective and cognitive empathy, but there is limited knowledge regarding the application or measurement of these two dimensions of empathy among female youth, especially forensic samples of female youth. The main aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES) among a Portuguese sample of female youths (N = 377), composed of incarcerated female juvenile offenders (n = 103) and school youths (n = 274). The two-factor structure of the BES obtained a good fit among the school sample, but the fit among the forensic sample was poor. Both samples demonstrated adequate psychometric properties in terms of Cronbach's alpha, omega coefficient, mean inter item correlations, corrected item-total correlation range, and criterion validity. However, some caution is advised when using the BES with female youth involved in the juvenile justice system, particularly with incarcerated female youth. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.European Social Fund (POPH/FSE)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Do exercisers maximize their pleasure by default? Using prompts to enhance the affective experience of exercise

Researchers and practitioners are increasingly recognizing the importance of maximizing pleasure during exercise in order to promote exercise behavior. Self-selected intensity exercise can increase pleasure during exercise, but it is not yet known whether participants maximize pleasure during self-selected intensity exercise by default. We hypothesized that prompting participants to maximize pleasure and enjoyment would result in more positive affective valence during (H1) and after (H2) exercise, greater remembered pleasure following exercise (H3), and greater enjoyment of exercise (H4). In this within-subjects experiment, 39 inactive adults completed two 10-min stationary cycling sessions at a self-selected intensity. During the experimental condition, participants were reminded (five times during the 10-min session) to maximize pleasure and enjoyment, and that they could change the intensity if they wanted. Affective valence, heart rate, and ratings of perceived exertion were measured every two minutes during exercise. Affective valence, enjoyment, and remembered pleasure were measured after each exercise session. The control condition was identical, except no prompts were provided. Each hypothesis was supported (p < .05). Prompting participants to maximize their pleasure and enjoyment resulted in increased pleasure as the exercise session progressed. After receiving prompts, participants also reported more positive post-exercise affective valence and rated the session as more pleasant and enjoyable. These results suggest that participants do not maximize pleasure and enjoyment by default (i.e., in the absence of reminders to do so). Researchers can build on these results to determine the mechanisms and whether prompting exercisers to maximize pleasure and enjoyment can promote exercise behavior

Growing Up in the New South Africa

This book presents a qualitative research conducted in the Fish Hoek valley in South Africa with a view to understanding the challenges in the transitions into adulthood in South Africa

Consolidation whole abdomen irradiation following adjuvant carboplatin-paclitaxel based chemotherapy for advanced uterine epithelial cancer: feasibility, toxicity and outcomes

Background: To evaluate feasibility and preliminary outcomes associated with sequential whole abdomen irradiation (WAI) as consolidative treatment following comprehensive surgery and systemic chemotherapy for advanced endometrial cancer. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients treated at our institution from 2000 to 2011. Inclusion criteria were stage III-IV endometrial cancer patients with histological proof of one or more sites of extra-uterine abdomen-confined disease, treated with WAI as part of multimodal therapy. Endpoints were feasibility, acute toxicity, late effects, recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). Twenty patients were identified. Chemotherapy consisted of 3 to 6 cycles of a platinum-paclitaxel regimen in 18 patients. WAI was delivered using conventional technique to a median total dose of 27.5 Gy. Results: No grade 4 toxicities occurred during chemotherapy or radiotherapy. No radiation dose reduction was necessary. Three patients developed small bowel obstruction, all in the context of recurrent intraperitoneal disease. Kaplan-Meier estimates and 95% confidence intervals for RFS and OS at one year were 63% (38–80%) and 83% (56-94%) and at 3 years 57% (33-76%) and 62% (34-81%), respectively. On univariate Cox analysis, stage IVB and serous papillary (SP) histology were found to be statistically significantly (at the p = 0.05 level) associated with worse RFS and OS. The peritoneal cavity was the most frequent site of initial failure. Conclusions: Consolidative WAI following chemotherapy is feasible and can be performed without interruption with manageable acute and late toxicity. Patients with endometrioid adenocarcinoma, especially stage FIGO III, had favorable outcomes possibly meriting prospective evaluation of the addition of WAI following chemotherapy in selected patients. Patients with SP do poorly and do not routinely benefit from this approach

A retrospective study on how psychopathic traits differentiate recidivists from first-time female youth offenders in juvenile detention centers

The aim of the present study was to analyze the relation between recidivism and self-reported psychopathic traits, more specifically the callous-unemotional, impulsivity, and nar- cissism dimensions of the psychopathy construct among female juvenile delinquents. The Antisocial Process Screening Device–Self-Report (APSD-SR) and other self-report psycho- metric instruments (i.e., Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits [ICU], Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, version 11 [BIS-11], Narcissistic Personality Inventory-13 [NPI-13]) independently measuring the different dimensions of psychopathy were com- pleted by a sample of incarcerated female juvenile offenders (N = 81) that were retrospectively classified as first-time offen- ders versus recidivists. The only statistically significant relation between recidivism and psychopathic traits found was with narcissism, namely with the Grandiose/Exhibitionism and the Entitlement/Exploitativeness dimensions of the NPI-13. Our results argue for some utility of self-reported psychopathic traits in retrospectively predicting recidivism among female juvenile delinquents.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT; Grant SFRH/BPD/86666/2012), with cofinancing of the European Social Fund (POPH/FSE), the Portuguese Ministry of Science (MCTES), and the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (UID/PSI/01662/2013

Hydrodynamic guiding for addressing subsets of immobilized cells and molecules in microfluidic systems

BACKGROUND: The interest in microfluidics and surface patterning is increasing as the use of these technologies in diverse biomedical applications is substantiated. Controlled molecular and cellular surface patterning is a costly and time-consuming process. Methods for keeping multiple separate experimental conditions on a patterned area are, therefore, needed to amplify the amount of biological information that can be retrieved from a patterned surface area. We describe, in three examples of biomedical applications, how this can be achieved in an open microfluidic system, by hydrodynamically guiding sample fluid over biological molecules and living cells immobilized on a surface. RESULTS: A microfluidic format of a standard assay for cell-membrane integrity showed a fast and dose-dependent toxicity of saponin on mammalian cells. A model of the interactions of human mononuclear leukocytes and endothelial cells was established. By contrast to static adhesion assays, cell-cell adhesion in this dynamic model depended on cytokine-mediated activation of both endothelial and blood cells. The microfluidic system allowed the use of unprocessed blood as sample material, and a specific and fast immunoassay for measuring the concentration of C-reactive protein in whole blood was demonstrated. CONCLUSION: The use of hydrodynamic guiding made multiple and dynamic experimental conditions on a small surface area possible. The ability to change the direction of flow and produce two-dimensional grids can increase the number of reactions per surface area even further. The described microfluidic system is widely applicable, and can take advantage of surfaces produced by current and future techniques for patterning in the micro- and nanometer scale