Ghummakkads, a woman's place, and the LTC-walas: towards a critical history of 'home', 'belonging' and 'attachment'

This article seeks to re-think the perspective within South Asian studies that speaks of the fixity of home and belonging in the Indian context. Accumulated scholarly wisdom frequently points to the singularity and transparency of ideas of attachment to ‘native places’ and ‘ancestral villages’. Through a consideration of a range of material, the paper explores how specific but far more complex ideas of home and belonging circulate in Indian society. The material analysed includes Hindi travel literature and fictional material, official developmental discourse, PWD reports, scholarly writing, Bollywood cinema, and the rules regarding travel perks for government service.

The ultrasound appearance of the patellar tendon attachment to the tibia in young athletes is conditional on gender and pubertal stage

This cross-sectional study investigated the imaging appearance of the previous termpatellarnext term tendon attachment to the tibia in young male and female tennis players of different ages and pubertal status. Forty-four competitive young players, who had been playing tennis at least for 2 years, were recruited from a tennis school and local tennis clubs. All subjects had bilateral ultrasound imaging of the previous termpatellarnext term tendon attachment to the tibia. Standard anthropometric measurements, pubertal status and injury history were recorded. Ultrasound appearance of the previous termpatellarnext term tendon attachment was categorised into three stages: cartilage attachment, insertional cartilage and mature attachment. Cartilage attachment was more prevalent in boys (32%) and extended further into puberty (until Tanner stage 4) compared to girls (6% and Tanner stage 1). Tendons with Osgood–Schlatter Disease symptoms (n = 3) did not have a cartilage attachment. Imaging appearance commonly seen in young active athletes, consistent with a clinical diagnosis of OSD, was more common in boys and in the pre- and peri-pubertal stages.

A search for sources of preferential attachment phenomena in e-business

This paper presents and empirical study in which we examine the process of preserential attachment as it applies to business enterprises on the World Wide Web.  Using randomly selected business Web pages as nodes and their inbound links as edges, we explre the role of parked domain names in link creation and preferential attachment at very granular levels.  Our research leads us to the conclusion that the abundance of parked domain name sites does not present a plausible explanation for preferential attachment.

The associations between attachment style and leadership behaviours

Research has suggested that effective leadership, specifically the use of transformational and transactional leadership behaviours is heavily embedded in a leader’s interpersonal abilities. However, few studies have investigated the interpersonal factors that drive the appropriate use of transformational and transactional leadership behaviour in leader-follower settings. Attachment theory provides an appropriate framework in which to understand the epigenesis of leadership behaviours and the impact of these behaviours on followers. In this preliminary study, 31 manager-non manager dyads recruited from a Victorian education institution and a national telecommunications company (managers – Mean age = 48.32 years, SD = 7.59; non-managers –Mean age = 44.44 years, SD = 9.56) took part in an online questionnaire. As part of the online questionnaire, participants completed self-report measures of attachment, leadership behaviour and employee outcomes. Analyses revealed that managers’ attachment style made a significant contribution to their use of transformational and transactional leadership, which in turn, was associated with follower’s satisfaction and effectiveness ratings of their managers. Correlations between leader and follower ratings revealed that managers and non-managers held distinct perceptions of leadership performance. These findings are discussed within the context of attachment theory and the personal relationships literature.

Disorganized attachment and reproductive strategies

Del Giudice provides an extension of the life history theory of attachment that incorporates emerging data suggestive of sex differences in avoidant male and preoccupied female attachment patterns emerging in middle childhood. This commentary considers the place of disorganized attachment within this theory and why male children may be more prone to disorganized attachment by drawing on Trivers’s parental investment theory.

Dislodgment and attachment strength of the intertidal macroalga Hormosira banksii (Fucales, Phaeophyceae)

Hormosira banksii is a dominant intertidal alga characterised by limited dispersal of propagules, yet it has a broad distribution throughout temperate Australasia. However, the high abundance of beach wrack of H. banksii on sandy beaches along southwest Victoria, the frequency of frond dislodgment and the force required to break it from the substratum remain unknown. Dislodgment of macroalgae has been shown to influence dispersal processes; therefore, we tested the model that long-distance dispersal of H. banksii is facilitated by weak attachment to the substratum and frequent dislodgment of fertile fronds. We monitored the dislodgment of H. banksii individuals and conducted in situ pull tests to determine the attachment strength of fronds of H. banksii. We further tested whether thallus size or pull direction influenced attachment strength of H. banksii. We found that breakage of vesicles and fronds was a regular event during the survey period and that the mean attachment strength of fronds of H. banksii was weak compared to other intertidal algae. Furthermore, we found that thallus size did not influence the force required to break fronds of H.banksii from the substratum but that the direction that fronds were pulled from the substratum did. We suggest that fronds of H. banksii do drift frequently and that long-distance dispersal is likely to be an important mechanism for the distributional success of this species.

Adults with arthritic conditions and care-seeking in an attachment framework

This thesis investigated the role of care-seeking amongst adults with arthritis, using an attachment framework to help explain the inconsistent results of previous studies in regard to psychological adjustment to a chronic illness. The results highlight the importance of attachment processes in partially influencing care-seeking and coping strategies that shape psychological adjustment. The portfolio addresses the frequent co-occurence of depression with chronic medical disorders. This impacts the ability for chronic, medically ill adults to engage in self-management strategies. Four case studies are presented.

Internet child pornography : an examination of attachment and intimacy deficits

This study found that Internet child pornographers (ICP) reported significantly less optimal attachment than non-offenders, matched child and matched adult sexual offenders. ICP also reported a more negative view of self than non-offenders and the matched sexual offender groups. Finally, the ICP group reported more social avoidance and distress than non-offenders. The portfolio explores the influence of treatment readiness on the best practice principles when working with violent offenders in relation to their assessment, and subsequent treatment recommendations. The importance of treatment readiness and its utility in relation to these principles is highlighted in four case studies.