Measuring patients' communication apprehension about interacting with physicians: Instrument development

The purpose of these studies was to develop an instrument to measure patients' perceived communication apprehension in patient/physician interactions. In the first stydy, a five item Patients' Report of Communication Apprehension with Physicians (PRCAP) was developed. The scale appears to be a reliable, unidimensional scale which shows a moderate positive correlation with the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA), a moderate negative correlation with willingness to communicate (WTC), and a moderate negative correlation with self‐perceived communication competence (SPCC). In the second study, designed to assess the predictive validity of the PRCAP, those who scored one standard deviation above the mean on the PRCAP reported being less satisfied with their interactions with physicians than those who scored one standard deviation below the mean on the PRCAP. It appears the PRCAP is a reliable and valid instrument that can be employed to pursue issues involving the role of CA in patient/physician interactions.     

Can classroom emotional support enhance prosocial development among children with depressed caregivers?

Preschool children from economically disadvantaged families often experience difficulties in developing prosocial behavior. Risk associated with depressive symptomatology in caregivers (parents and guardians) may further compound these difficulties. The overall objective of the present study was to examine the compensatory effect of Head Start classroom environments on the development of prosocial behavior among children with caregivers high in depressive symptomatology. We initially examined the association between caregiver depressive symptoms and children's starting levels of prosocial behavior and then tested classroom emotional support as a moderator of the relation between caregivers’ depressive symptoms and children's prosocial behavior development during the school year. The sample of 194 Head Start preschoolers in 28 classrooms was part of a larger study designed to test the effects of an emotion-based prevention program. As expected, caregivers’ levels of depressive symptoms predicted lower starting levels of prosocial behavior. However, classroom emotional support promoted improvements in prosocial behavior for the children of the caregivers high in depressive symptomatology. The implications of these findings for the development of preventive interventions are discussed.     

Emotions and reflexivity in feminised education action research

The paper addresses contemporary relations between emotions, gender and feminist action research. Starting from analysis of the increasing emotionalisation of everyday life, it explores the quasi‐feminist—or what the author calls ‘feminised’—forms of incitement to reflexive confession that are increasingly gaining favour within professional and higher educational contexts and draws on literatures and sets of debates that inform education action research, including: childhood and governmentality; feminist research; and international development critiques. The author proposes that reflexivity as an educational and research practice has come to stand in for, and thereby limits, the contemporary focus on ‘participation’ to reduce its radical collaborative and action agenda and instead incite researchers to work on ourselves, and only on ourselves. The paper warns against underestimating the speed and flexibility by which neo‐liberalism absorbs and co‐opts creative strategies—such as reflexivity—for its subversion, and returns them to old‐style individualism.     

Does emotional intelligence predict student teachers' performance?

There are good theoretical grounds for seeing emotional intelligence (EI) as important in the teachers' skill set. Yet there is a lack of data on whether student teachers' levels of EI are associated with their teaching performance. This question was addressed, with gender and prior academic attainment also being explored as possible contributors to teaching performance. No association between the three independent variables and teaching performance was found. This raises serious questions for our understanding of emotions and teaching.     

Gain-scheduled control of PVTOL aircraft dynamics with parameter-dependent disturbance

This paper presents a gain-scheduled control approach for the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. The non-linear aircraft dynamics are formulated as a linear parameter varying (LPV) system with external parameter-dependent disturbance, which arisen from the equilibrating between gravity force and nozzles thrust. The disturbance is dependent on the system varying parameter, roll angle, and a constant parameter denoting the normalized gravity force. The controllers are designed in terms of mixed optimization of H^∞ performance for disturbance attenuation and relative stability for tracking position command in pitch-yaw plane. The characteristics of the parameter-dependent disturbance are described by an equality condition with a defined annihilation matrix. By exploring the parameter-dependence condition on disturbance into the controller design algorithms based on linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), it is showed that a better performance can be achieved than simply considering it as an external disturbance. The design results are demonstrated by time response simulations.     

在实体与虚拟馆藏资源中多层面揭示文本

本文探索如何将实体和虚拟馆藏中现代文学资源进行归纳和综合,提取词的多种意义,分析意象、引申和感情色彩,揭示文本的多层面,从而加工成数字资源和文本检索工具书,以便提供给读者作选用的参考依据。     

Pathways from childhood sexual abuse to trait anxiety

BackgroundChildren exposed to sexual abuse are at risk for developing several psychological and behavioral difficulties during adulthood. Here, direct and indirect effects of family conflict, insecurity within the family system (manifested as disengagement and/or preoccupation), and negative feelings provoked by childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on trait anxiety scores were analyzed with structural equation modeling. Both Finkelhor and Browne’s traumagenic dynamics model and Davies and Cummings Emotional Security Theory were applied.MethodsA total of 168 female college student survivors of CSA participated in this study. Information regarding each participant’s abuse was obtained from a self-reported questionnaires. Emotional security was assessed with the Security in the Family System scale. To assess negative feelings regarding abuse and trait anxiety, Children’s Impact of Traumatic Events Scale-Revised and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were applied, respectively.ResultsLevel of family conflict was found to directly relate to emotional insecurity and trait anxiety. In addition, preoccupation strategies were found to be directly related to trait anxiety. Conversely, disengagement strategies were indirectly related to anxiety through the negative feelings provoked by abuse. Experience with other types of abuse and/or neglect was also related to emotional insecurity and feelings provoked by CSA. Meanwhile, continuity of abuse only correlated with feelings provoked by abuse.ConclusionsStrong relationships between family conflict, emotional insecurity, negative feelings provoked by CSA and trait anxiety were observed. These results suggest that treatment of CSA survivors should focus on improving security within the survivors’ family system and reducing negative feelings provoked by abuse.     

Emotional reactions and coping responses of employees to a cyber-attack: A case study

Cybersecurity is a serious threat to information technology (IT) systems, with most organisations now relying on their IT systems to function day-to-day. Therefore, it is crucial that organisations ensure they are protected. This research investigates the emotional and coping responses of employees towards a cyber-attack. Data was collected through an in-depth case study approach (24 semi-structured interviews) conducted at a global manufacturing company, along with primary observations and a corpus of secondary materials. Our data analysis applied a grounded approach which was then refined using an emotion theoretic lens with the application of Technology Threat Avoidance Theory (TTAT). Drawing on structural appraisal theory, our findings indicate the IT security team in the case study oscillated between positive problem-focused coping and negative emotion-focused coping. A key explanatory feature or turnaround mechanism that mediated this oscillation was senior management empathy and resource mobilization. Building on the analyses, a conceptual model is developed called the Transformation of Coping through Empathic Leadership (T-CEL). The research suggests the crucial role that senior management play in transforming the emotional and coping capabilities of employees through their intervention and support. The study extends the IS Security theoretical background through a TTAT-lens for the analysis of cyber-attack incidents.     

Emotions Management Skills and Barriers with Library Staff: A Correlational Survey of Agriculture Students

The literature has identified barriers with library staff as one of the important barriers affecting academic activities of students and also recognized the relationship of various academic and demographic characteristics of students with it. The emotions management skills of students may be one of the possible correlates of the barriers with library staff. This study was designed to investigate the levels of barriers with library staff and emotions management skills as well as their possible correlation using two standardized scales. The data were collected from the final year undergraduate agriculture students. The results confirmed the existence of barriers with library staff among the participants of both genders experiencing the same level of anxiety. The participants scored 3.75 (average) on the emotions management scale. The results also revealed significantly negative correlation between emotions management skills and barriers with library staff among these students. These results have many practical implications in the sphere of academic librarianship.