Absence Of Fear Research Articles

The Song of the Nightingale: Word Play on the Road to Hades in Plato's Phaedo

Plato uses word plays in the Phaedo as a literary technique with a double purpose: to illustrate the process of recollection that moves from the sensible particulars to the intelligible ideas and to remind his readers of the ideas discussed in the dialogue, spurring their recollective associations of unseen Forms, absence of pleasure and pain, and the absence of fear, with the traditional name of Hades. The swan song of philosophy is therefore revealed to be not a nightingale's lament but rather an incantation against fear of death, a reminder of the true reality of the unseen intelligible world.

CONFLICTOLOGICAL COMPETENCE OF FUTURE SPECIALIST AS THE DEVELOPMENT FACTOR OF SANOGENIC POTENTIAL

The problem of future specialist conflictological competence formation as the development factor of sanogenic potential in the educational environment of a higher education institution is relevant and requires immediate theoretical solution. The article reveals the content of basic concepts such as “conflictological competence”, “conflictological competences” of future specialists, offers approaches to the conflictological competence development as a factor of the sanogenic potential development in the educational environment of higher education institutions. In this study “conflictological competence” is understood as a necessary part of future specialists’ professional competence, which includes the art of individual work with personality, mastery of various “keys” of communication, special methods of organizing one’s psyche, means of emotional stress and anxiety reduction with the aim to ensure one’s own mental health potential. The formation of conflictological competence is based on the following main blocks: theoretical knowledge in the field of conflictology and psychology; mastery of technologies that prevent, manage, minimize destructive conflict forms; formation of sanogenic type of thinking, which includes reflexivity, creativity, and dynamism; possession of stress-resistance technologies in conflicts, absence of fear in conflicts; adherence to professional ethics in conflicts; a high level of personal culture, which ensures the level of future specialists’ psychological health.

Nature in our lives: Examining the human need for nature relatedness as a basic psychological need

Is the need for nature relatedness a basic psychological need? Using Baumeister and Leary’s need criteria as comparators, we explored literature arcing across disciplines to find evidence that either supported or undermined our proposition that the human need for nature may be a fundamental psychological need. We found that while nature’s salubrious effects benefited humans across the lifespan, and largely transcended cultural boundaries, socioeconomic status, age, and state of health, the benefits of being in nature depended on choice, perception of safety, and absence of fear. Race, ethnicity, and gender tended to impede leisure in natural environments. In concluding that the need for nature relatedness is a basic psychological need, we discuss practical implications for leisure and recreation professionals, researchers, educators, architects, and city planners and proffer several practical interventions in several domains to benefit both the environment and humanity.

Modeling the fear effect on a stochastic prey–predator system with additional food for the predator

In the present work we have studied a prey–predator model with logistic growth of the prey in the absence of the predator. We have also considered the fear effect and have investigated the impact of fear of the predator on prey when the predator is provided additional food. Functional responses of the predator towards prey and additional food are derived in this text. Death rates of both prey and predator have been considered as stochastic parameters due to the effect of the fluctuating environment. Existence and uniqueness, boundedness and uniform continuity of the global positive solution of the proposed model have been established. The conditions for extinction and persistence of the system have been derived. In the investigation, it is found that environmental noise plays a vital role in extinction as well as in persistence. Our analytical derivations are justified through numerical simulations which show the reliability of the model from the ecological point of view. We have also investigated the impact of intense fear as well as the absence of fear on this model by numerical simulation. Several interesting numerical results have been obtained based on different fear functions.

Familiarity and Interest in Working with Livestock Decreases the Odds of Having Positive Attitudes towards Non-Human Animals and Their Welfare among Veterinary Students in Italy.

Simple SummaryVeterinary students are the future generation of veterinary practitioners. Therefore, their attitudes towards non-human animals and animal welfare have a substantial impact on animal welfare itself. This study investigated the attitudes of veterinary students in Italy. The findings suggest that factors such as female gender, familiarity with pets, or the intention to work with pet species, as well as an animal-free diet, and membership in an animal rights association are the predictors of a very positive attitude towards animals and their welfare. Familiarity and intention to work with livestock is instead associated with a less positive attitude. Students also considered the freedom to express normal behaviours and the freedom from fear and distress to be less important for livestock than for pets. Veterinary curricula should take these findings into account to improve the attitudes of students in order to improve animal welfare, especially the welfare of livestock.We investigated the attitudes of veterinary students towards animals and their welfare in Italy. Regression analyses revealed predictors that are significant in differentiating students’ scoring tendency based on their gender, familiarity, and intention to work with a specific animal species, type of diet, and membership in an animal rights association. Female students, who were mostly familiar with pets and aspired to work with species other than livestock, following an animal-free diet and being a member of an animal rights association, had a significantly greater odds of having a high Animal Attitude Scale score (AAS), i.e., very positive attitude towards animals, versus a less positive attitude. Conversely, the familiarity with livestock and preference for working with livestock significantly increased the odds of a low AAS. Overall, students considered all of the Brambell Report’s Five Freedoms important for animal welfare protection. However, students scored higher for companion animals than for livestock, particularly regarding the freedom to express normal behaviour and the absence of fear and distress. This study suggests that veterinary students place less importance on the psychological aspects of welfare for livestock, and there is a tendency for students who are mostly familiar, or aspire to work, with livestock to have a less positive attitude towards non-human animals and their welfare. These findings should be considered within the veterinary educational curriculum due to their potential impact on animal welfare.

Which Spanish Living Kidney Donors Fear Post Donation Kidney Failure?

PI15/00550 - Characterization of the fear of kidney failure in the living kidney donor. Background The impact of fearing the failure of the non-donated kidney is unknown in Spanish donors. For this reason, we aimed at assessing the validity of the Spanish version of the Fear of Kidney Failure Questionnaire (FKF), along with characterizing living donors with higher fear of kidney failure. Methods 205 living kidney donors (LKDs) were randomly selected and stratified by year of donation (2005-2015). 139 general population participants without history of, or a current renal disease and/or without first-degree relatives suffering a renal disease were recruited as comparison group. Reliability of the FKF was assessed. The FKF criterion validity was evaluated by calculating its linear relationship with anxiety, depression, and fear-related personality dimensions. Divergent validity was verified by assessing whether the FKF was unrelated to personality dimensions non-relevant for fear states. LKDs were grouped by Cluster Analysis of the FKF scores. Clusters were compared on demographic and clinical variables to describe those LKDs with higher scores in the FKF, which were further characterized by calculating the most specific logistic regression model. Results The internal consistency of the FKF was acceptable for the whole sample (α=0.95), and the LKDs (α=0.91) and general population (α=0.94) subsamples. Temporal stability of the FKF was acceptable (ICC=0.93). Factor analysis showed that the FKF was composed by a single factor explaining 83.5% of variance. Both for the whole sample and the LKDs and general population subsamples, the FKF was positively correlated with depressive and anxiety symptoms, and neuroticism (convergent validity). The FKF was unrelated to extroversion, openness to experience and conscientiousness (divergent validity). Fear of Kidney Failure in the general population subsample almost doubled the mean of the LKDs subsample. The FKF Cluster Analysis classified LKDs in three groups: absence of fear (68%), moderate fear (20%), and high fear of kidney failure (12%). Groups did not differ in demographics or donation outcomes. No differences were observed between groups in regret for having donated. However, higher FKF scorers were somewhat less satisfied with the experience of donation. This subgroup also showed a higher percentage of potential cases of depressive (16%) and anxiety disorders (20%), a worse quality of life, and higher scores in neuroticism. A higher percentage of these donors (20%) were followed both by the Nephrologist and the Family Doctor. Multivariate logistic regression showed that, once controlled the effect of presenting a potential depressive or anxiety disorder, FKF higher scorers were best characterized by higher scores in neuroticism. Conclusions Post donation fear of kidney failure is infrequent in Spanish LKDs. However, a subgroup of them, best characterized by a higher neuroticism, shows elevated FKF scores, a worse quality of life, and might present with anxiety and depressive disorders. This work has been funded by the project PI15/00550, integrated in the Plan Nacional I+D+I and co-funded by ISCIII-Subdirección General de Evaluación and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Experience and Expectations of Ovarian Cancer Patients in Australia.

Some of the most significant advances in ovarian cancer treatment have been those that result in improvements in progression-free survival (PFS); however there is little research to understand the value that patients place on accessing therapies that result in PFS as a clinical outcome related to survivorship. This study therefore aimed to understand the experience and expectations of women with ovarian cancer in Australia in relation to quality of life (QoL) and treatment options. An online survey collected demographic information and 13 investigator-derived structured interview questions were developed to understand the experience of women with ovarian cancer, their understanding of terminology associated with their condition, and expectations of future treatment. This study demonstrated that ovarian cancer patients equate PFS with being in remission and that patients expect QoL during that time to be good to excellent. Women in this study described excellent QoL as feeling positive and happy and not worrying about cancer, feeling fit and healthy without side effects, and being able to live life as they did before their diagnosis, including the absence of fear of progression or recurrence. It is therefore suggested that there is a positive relationship between PFS and QoL. While it is difficult to quantify QoL and further research is needed, the results of this study suggest that the minimum time that women with ovarian cancer expect in relation to treatments that result in PFS is approximately six months. In the absence of this information, decision-makers are left to make assumptions about the value women place on access to therapeutics that increase PFS, which for this type of cancer is an important aspect of survivorship.

Gangs in School: Exploring the Experiences of Gang-Involved Youth

This study explores three questions: (1) What are the criteria that current or formerly gang-involved youth use to identify the presence of gangs in school? (2) Do gang activities produce incivilities and victimizations within the school context? and (3) What is the impact of a gang presence on youth in the school, specifically with respect to the presence or absence of fear? We examine the influence of gangs in schools through qualitative analysis of 180 in-depth semistructured interviews. The sample includes youth with varying levels of gang involvement who attended schools across the United States. Youth relied on personal knowledge and visual cues to identify gangs in their school. Despite the occurrence of vicarious victimizations and incivilities at the hands of gang youth, respondents indicated that gangs did not impact their school life. These youth frequently used normalization and delimitation processes to deal with gangs in their school.

The Durand Adaptive Psychopathic Traits Questionnaire: Development and Validation

ABSTRACTAlthough the term psychopathy is embedded with negativity, evidence points to the existence of another form of psychopathy, which involves adaptive traits such as stress and anxiety immunity, remarkable social skills, noteworthy leadership ability, and an absence of fear. The newly developed Durand Adaptive Psychopathic Traits Questionnaire (DAPTQ) aims to assess adaptive traits known to correlate with the psychopathic personality. Validation of the questionnaire among 765 individuals from the community gave support to a 9-factor solution: Leadership, Logical Thinking, Composure, Creativity, Fearlessness, Money Smart, Focus, Extroversion, and Management. The DAPTQ and its 9 subscales demonstrated good internal consistency reliability in a community sample (.68–.88). Convergent validity and divergent validity were supported by administering the DAPTQ alongside established measures of the psychopathic personality. Overall, these findings support the potential of the DAPTQ as an instrument for measuring psychopathy-associated adaptive traits. Limitations of this study and potential directions for future research are also discussed. Further studies are needed to validate the DAPTQ and its subscales against a wider range of personality traits and behaviors.

Peace:An Emotion through Indian Lenses

Peace is freedom from troubling or abusive contemplations or feelings and amicability in personal relations. By peace I mean the inward peace for what we as a whole continue to strive at each spur of time. Some believe this internal peace can be strengthened through our association with the Divine. Inner peace includes peace of mind and absence of fear. Inner peace (or peace of mind) refers to a condition of being rationally and profoundly settled, with enough information and comprehension to keep oneself strong in the face of discord or stress. In this paper, I am attempting to examine about the same and the way it can be attained or experienced.

Fear of crime and participation in associational life

Fear of crime is studied extensively as a potential contributor to the decline of a community. People who fear crime are expected to stay indoors and seek shelter, which then encourages more crime, setting in motion a vicious cycle that ultimately bodes ill for community engagement. However, there is little research that examines directly the relationship between fear of crime and participation. We explore such a relationship with Canadian survey data by looking at whether fear of crime can explain participation in a variety of associational activities. Our models show a relationship between fear of crime and participation, but the nature of that relationship varies according to the type of activity. A high level of fear, as well as reciprocity, explain participation in “vertical” associational life, while the absence of fear explains participation in “horizontal” associational life, although this latter pattern is mediated through reciprocity.

Critical reflection in midwifery practice: the protection motivation theory

Background: The aim of this paper is to shed light on the notion of fear and inter-personal working relationships, and to promote safe midwifery practice, by critically reflecting on our practice and being aware of fear appeals and the protection motivation theory (PMT).Theory: PMT provides a general account of the impact of persuasive communication, emphasising the cognitive processes that mediate behaviour change and questions whether ‘fear appeals’ could influence behaviour. Discussion: It is possible that when a midwife decides on a particular care pathway, she determines the degree and perception of the four elements of the PMT; severity, vulnerability, response-efficacy and self-efficacy. If the midwife decides that both the degree of severity and her perception of vulnerability are high, whereas response and self-efficacy perceptions are low, she will probably decide against her original care pathway. For the PMT to be used safely, an appropriate judgement call is required and is based on full understanding of the situation, effective communication with the multidisciplinary team, full knowledge of the proposed care, and competence and confidence in the proposed care. Conclusion: By critically reflecting on their practice and using the PMT, the author believes that midwives will be able to work in partnership with obstetricians to provide safe and effective care within their sphere of practice and in the absence of fear.

An experiment to classify the clinical fear seen during aerobic movement acquisition in adults with visual impairment.

[Purpose] This study aimed to classify the fear that occurs during the process of a squat-like movement by persons with visual impairment. [Subjects and Methods] Fifteen persons with a visual impairment, 45 years and older, who were independent in daily living were recruited for the study. The study utilized a field experiment design. The setting was the Kusatsumachi Welfare Center, and the study period was from March through August 2015. Outcome measures included the presence or absence of fear during attempt of a squat-like movement on a force plate. Metrics included the ratio of low and high frequency components of heart rate variability spectra (cm2/Hz) based on resting rate intervals (ActiGraph wGT3X-BT, USA). Autonomic hyperactivity was defined as the occurrence of objective fear with LF/HF ratio of over 2.0. Statistics included Fischer’s exact test. [Results] Four fear types included the combination of danger and objective fear factors. The frequencies of occurrence of clinically categorized subjective fear across the four fear types were two (danger, fear), seven (no danger, fear), six (danger, no fear), and zero (no danger, no fear) persons. [Conclusion] This procedure of classifying fear might be feasible during evaluation of a squat-like movement by persons with a visual impairment.

“I did not die, nor did I stay alive:” The Dark Grace of Nonexistence in <i>Inferno</i> XXXIV

In the final canto of Inferno, Dante confronts Dis, “la creatura ch’ebbe il bel sembiante” (XXXIV.18). In response, the poet declares: “Io non mori’ e non rimasi vivo; / pensa oggimai per te, s’hai fior d’ingegno, / qual io divenni, d’uno e d’altro privo.” (XXXIV.22-27) Beneath this apparently innocuous proclamation is a metaphysical “event” unique among Western letters, as the poet arrogates godly power and bestows on the pilgrim the experience of “existence” beyond the divine will. By this gracious gift of non-existence, the Pilgrim surpasses the mere corruption of Satan and his kingdom, and enters into a state of uncreation. Evidence of this unparalleled passage is found in the pilgrim’s absence of fear during his remaining time in hell.

Courage is not the absence of fear: responding to the Ebola outbreak in Liberia.

Courage is not the absence of fear: responding to the Ebola outbreak in Liberia.

Socio-economic reintegration of former LTTE combatants in Sri Lanka: self-employment, sustainable incomes and long-term peace

Based on individual interviews with male and female ex-combatants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who have reintegrated into society through a Sri Lankan government sponsored self-employment loan scheme, this study evaluates the success of these ex-combatants in adapting to their new way of life. The paper fills a significant gap in international literature on self-employed ex-combatants and is one of the first studies on ex-combatants of the LTTE after the end of the war in May 2009. The study finds that the ex-combatants have largely been unable to improve their economic wellbeing, and therefore experience economic difficulties. Many have been unable to undertake their micro-businesses successfully due to injuries, poor skills, and inadequate access to markets and loans for other purposes. Though most were happier than they were during their time with the LTTE due to the ‘absence of fear’ and improved family life, they were dissatisfied with their current economic situation. Importantly, the study found a strong correlation between economic wellbeing and their perception of long-term peace. Thus, the paper recommends that more effort be made to ensure that economic difficulties are dealt with to ensure sustainable peace in the country.

Identities, cultural capital, educational choices and post-communist transition: an ethnographic study of Georgian youth

This paper summarizes a qualitative study of the educational decision-making of adolescents with diverse backgrounds in the post-Soviet republic of Georgia. The results suggest that a set of institutional factors force young people with certain backgrounds to drop out of school at an early stage, even when alternative education or labour market options are not available for them. The absence of fear of downward mobility among some parents may be helping to increase educational inequality. Parental motivation can be seen as a form of capital that is particularly valued by teachers, who attenuate aspirations of those students whose parents lack it and encourage them to leave the system.

EVALUATION OF THE PROPOSED SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER SPECIFIER CHANGE FOR DSM-5 IN A TREATMENT-SEEKING SAMPLE OF ANXIOUS YOUTH

The current proposal for the DSM-5 definition of social anxiety disorder (SAD) is to replace the DSM-IV generalized subtype specifier with one that specifies fears in performance situations only. Relevant evaluations to support this change in youth samples are sparse. The present study examined rates and correlates of the DSM-IV and proposed DSM-5 specifiers in a sample of treatment-seeking children and adolescents with SAD (N = 204). When applying DSM-IV subtypes, 64.2% of the sample was classified as having a generalized subtype of SAD, with the remaining 35.2% classifying as having a nongeneralized subtype SAD. Youth with generalized SAD, relative to those with nongeneralized SAD, were older, had more clinically severe SAD, showed greater depressive symptoms, and were more likely to have a comorbid depressive disorder. No children in the current sample endorsed discrete fear in performance situations only in the absence of fear in other social situations. The present findings call into question the meaningfulness of the proposed changes in treatment-seeking youth with SAD.

Behavioural, neurochemical and neuroendocrine effects of the endogenous β-carboline harmane in fear-conditioned rats

The putative endogenous imidazoline binding site ligand harmane enhances neuronal activation in response to psychological stress and alters behaviour in animal models of anxiety and antidepressant efficacy. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying harmane's psychotropic effects are poorly understood. We investigated the effects of intraperitoneal injection of harmane (2.5 and 10 mg/kg) on fear-conditioned behaviour, hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, and monoaminergic activity within specific fear-associated areas of the rat brain. Harmane had no significant effect on the duration of contextually induced freezing or 22 kHz ultrasonic vocalisations and did not alter the contextually induced suppression of motor activity, including rearing. Harmane reduced the duration of rearing and tended to increase freezing in non-fear-conditioned controls, suggesting potential sedative effects. Harmane increased plasma ACTH and corticosterone concentrations, and serotonin (in hypothalamus, amygdaloid cortex, prefrontal cortex and hippocampus) and noradrenaline (prefrontal cortex) content, irrespective of fear-conditioning. Furthermore, harmane reduced dopamine and serotonin turnover in the PFC and hypothalamus, and serotonin turnover in the amygdaloid cortex in both fear-conditioned and non-fear-conditioned rats. In contrast, harmane increased dopamine and noradrenaline content and reduced dopamine turnover in the amygdala of fear-conditioned rats only, suggesting differential effects on catecholaminergic transmission in the presence and absence of fear. The precise mechanism(s) mediating these effects of harmane remain to be determined but may involve its inhibitory action on monoamine oxidases. These findings support a role for harmane as a neuromodulator, altering behaviour, brain neurochemistry and neuroendocrine function.

Effects of Age on the Types and Severity of Excessive Fear or the Absence of Fear in Children and Young Adults With Autism

This study identified (a) patterns of fearful stimuli for children and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), (b) the severity of the fear, and (c) whether excessive fear or the absence of fear negatively affected the participant's quality of life. A web-based survey was used to distribute a modified and extended version of the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (Ollendick, 1983) to 328 families with children with ASD. Sixty respondents completed the survey, representing a cross section of individuals with ASD from 3 to 22 years old. Responses were analyzed using both descriptive and multivariate statistical analyses for the total sample and the 3 age groups: 3–7, 8–13, and 14–22 years old. The overall severity of fears decreased and the types of stimuli feared changed from concrete (getting a shot, going to the dentist) to more socially based (being evaluated, being teased) with increasing age. Thus, although the severity of fears may decrease throughout childhood and into early adulthood, the fears that are present may actually have a greater negative effect on daily life functioning and thus warrant prevention attempts to reduce the probability that fears will become more debilitating and restrict their vocational and recreational activities. Results are discussed in terms of early intervention and potential prevention of excessive fears in ASD.