Some US researchers and practitioners are calling for the use of written codeswitching in mainstream college courses, despite a strong English-only sentiment among many teachers and the public. This paper describes the existing positions... more
Some US researchers and practitioners are calling for the use of written codeswitching in mainstream college courses, despite a strong English-only sentiment among many teachers and the public. This paper describes the existing positions in this debate and presents findings from the author's research to shed light on the debate and make recommendations for the classroom. The research describes the functions of codeswitching found in 47 personal letters exchanged between two young adults. Findings indicate that there are many similarities between the functions of informal written and oral codeswitching. Also, not all bilinguals codeswitch or do so with the same frequency. In addition, bilinguals who codeswitch in writing are more likely to do so in informal situations among other codeswitching bilinguals than in formal school environments. Written codeswitching provides an unsurpassed opportunity for bilingual students to fully express themselves, but its use in the classroom runs counter to linguistic and cultural norms and must be guided by an informed and sensitive instructor in an appropriate context.
Although male partner cooperation is often essential for successful use of the female condom, only a few studies have directly assessed men's experiences of using the device. We examined barriers to and facilitators of female condom... more
Although male partner cooperation is often essential for successful use of the female condom, only a few studies have directly assessed men's experiences of using the device. We examined barriers to and facilitators of female condom use via qualitative in-depth interviews with 38 young men (18 to 28 years) in South Africa whose partners, all university students, were enrolled in a female condom intervention trial. In all, 21 men used the female condom; the remaining 17 did not attempt use. The main facilitators to female condom use were convenience of use for men, curiosity to see how female condoms compared to male condoms, enhanced sexual sensation, and perceptions of better safety and comfort of the device compared to male condoms. The main barriers were men's limited familiarity with the device, insertion difficulties, and men's concerns about loss of control over sexual encounters. We recommend that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and condom promotion ...
People migrate to improve their well-being, whether through an expansion of economic and social opportunities or a reduction in persecution. Yet a large literature suggests that migration can be a very stressful process, with potentially... more
People migrate to improve their well-being, whether through an expansion of economic and social opportunities or a reduction in persecution. Yet a large literature suggests that migration can be a very stressful process, with potentially negative impacts on mental health reducing the net benefits of migration. However, to truly understand the effect of migration on mental health one must compare the mental health of migrants to what their mental health would have been had they stayed in their home country. The existing literature is not able to do this and typically settles for comparing the mental health of migrants to that of natives in the destination country,which takes no account of any pre-existing differences between these groups. This paper overcomes the selection problems affecting previous studies of the effect of migration on mental health by examining a migrant lottery program. New Zealand allows a quota of Tongans to immigrate each year with a lottery used to choose amo...
This study explores the long-term impact of population ageing on labour supply and human capital investment in Canada, as well as the induced effects on productive capacity. The analysis is conducted with a dynamic computable overlapping... more
This study explores the long-term impact of population ageing on labour supply and human capital investment in Canada, as well as the induced effects on productive capacity. The analysis is conducted with a dynamic computable overlapping generations model where ...
Decline in episodic memory is one of the most prominent cognitive deficits seen in late adulthood. It is therefore surprising that few studies have examined how the related capacity for episodic foresight might also be affected in this... more
Decline in episodic memory is one of the most prominent cognitive deficits seen in late adulthood. It is therefore surprising that few studies have examined how the related capacity for episodic foresight might also be affected in this age group. Preliminary evidence suggests that older adults show deficits in generating phenomenological characteristics of future events, but the critical question of whether such deficits extend to generating and executing appropriate future intentions remains to be addressed. Here, we present 2 studies. In Study 1, we report the results of our pilot testing, which was used to develop and validate stimuli for the first measure of this construct that is appropriate for use in adult populations. In Study 2, we administer this measure to 40 older and 40 younger adults. The results indicate that, relative to their younger counterparts, older adults are less likely to spontaneously acquire items that would later allow a problem to be solved, and are also ...
This study aimed to examine whether social capital (bonding and bridging social capital) attenuate the effect of low functional health literacy on health information resources, efficacy, and behaviors. In-person interviews were conducted... more
This study aimed to examine whether social capital (bonding and bridging social capital) attenuate the effect of low functional health literacy on health information resources, efficacy, and behaviors. In-person interviews were conducted with 1,000 residents in Seoul, Korea, in 2011. The authors found that respondents' functional health literacy had positive effects on the scope of health information sources and health information self-efficacy but not health information-seeking intention. Respondents' social capital had positive effects on the scope of health information sources, health information efficacy, and health information-seeking intention. The authors found (a) a significant moderation effect of bridging social capital on the relation between health literacy and health information self-efficacy and (b) a moderation effect of bonding social capital on the relation between health literacy and health information-seeking intention.
In this fMRI study we investigated functional connectivity between components of the mentalising system during a social emotion task, using psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis. Ten adults (22–32 years) and 18 adolescents (11–18... more
In this fMRI study we investigated functional connectivity between components of the mentalising system during a social emotion task, using psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis. Ten adults (22–32 years) and 18 adolescents (11–18 years) were scanned while thinking about scenarios in which a social or a basic emotion would be experienced. Unlike basic emotions (such as disgust and fear), social emotions (such as embarrassment and guilt) require the representation of another’s mental states. In both adults and adolescents, an anterior rostral region of medial prefrontal cortex (arMPFC) involved in mentalising showed greater connectivity with the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) bordering on the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and with anterior temporal cortex (ATC) during social than during basic emotion. This result provides novel evidence that components of the mentalising system interact functionally during a social emotion task. Furthermore, functional connectivity differed between adolescence and adulthood. The adolescent group showed stronger connectivity between arMPFC and pSTS/TPJ during social relative to basic emotion than did the adult group, suggestive of developmental changes in functional integration within the mentalising system.
International standards highlight the steps required by risk assessment and involving first hazard identification, then risk evaluation and finally, if necessary, risk assessment. To check approach appropriateness to "risk... more
International standards highlight the steps required by risk assessment and involving first hazard identification, then risk evaluation and finally, if necessary, risk assessment. To check approach appropriateness to "risk evaluation" from manual patient handling through MAPO, a cross study was carried out in view of checking relationship between this new risk assessment model and occurrence of acute low back pain. After proper training the MAPO screening method was assessed in 31 wards, 411 exposed subjects of geriatric hospitals. At the same time health data were collected on occurrence of low back pain episodes during the last year both in the exposed subjects' group and the external reference group (n�237). Risk and clinical assessment data were tutored and checked by EPM research unit. The logistic analysis was used as a method to evaluate the relationship between risk index and acute low back pain. Investigating relationship between acute low back pain episodes a...
Despite the dominant role of the hormone oxytocin (OT) in social behavior, little is known about the role of OT in the perception of social relationships. Furthermore, it is unclear whether there are sex differences in the way that OT... more
Despite the dominant role of the hormone oxytocin (OT) in social behavior, little is known about the role of OT in the perception of social relationships. Furthermore, it is unclear whether there are sex differences in the way that OT affects social perception. Here, we employed a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design to investigate the effect of OT on accurate social perception. Following treatment, 62 participants completed the Interpersonal Perception Task, a method of assessing the accuracy of social judgments that requires identification of the relationship between people interacting in real life video clips divided into three categories: kinship, intimacy and competition. The findings suggest that OT had a general effect on improving accurate perception of social interactions. Furthermore, we show that OT also involves sex-specific characteristics. An interaction between treatment, task category and sex indicated that OT had a selective effect on improving kinship ...
The aim of the present study was to examine an adapted integrated psycho-social model to predict sport injury rehabilitation adherence. A longitudinal prospective design was used whereby 70 patients attending private physiotherapy clinics... more
The aim of the present study was to examine an adapted integrated psycho-social model to predict sport injury rehabilitation adherence. A longitudinal prospective design was used whereby 70 patients attending private physiotherapy clinics completed a battery of questionnaires both pre- and post-rehabilitation treatment based on the adapted framework. All participants were receiving treatment for tendonitis-related injuries. Adherence was monitored prospectively over the entire rehabilitation program using an observational measure of clinic adherence, a self-report measure of home-based adherence, in addition to monitoring attendance at rehabilitation sessions. In the initial phase of rehabilitation learning goal orientation, attitudes and perceived severity were found to predict rehabilitation intention. Intentions were also found to mediate the relationship between the aforementioned variables and clinic rehabilitation. Self-efficacy and self-motivation were predictors of clinic rehabilitation and attendance but not home rehabilitation. During the maintenance phase of rehabilitation coping ability and social support were predictors regarding all three measures of adherence. Implications for practitioners rehabilitating injured athletes are discussed.
The purpose of this study was to examine the influences of a carbohydrate (CHO) mouth rinse on self-selected running speeds during a 30-min treadmill run. Ten endurance-trained men performed 2 trials, each involving a 10-min warm-up at... more
The purpose of this study was to examine the influences of a carbohydrate (CHO) mouth rinse on self-selected running speeds during a 30-min treadmill run. Ten endurance-trained men performed 2 trials, each involving a 10-min warm-up at 60% VO2max followed by a 30-min run. The run was performed on an automated treadmill that allowed the spontaneous selection of speeds without manual input. Participants were asked to run at speeds that equated to a rating of perceived exertion of 15, mouth rinsing with either a 6% CHO or taste-matched placebo (PLA) solution. In addition to recording self-selected speeds and total distance covered the authors assessed the runners' subjective feelings. The total distance covered was greater during the CHO than during the PLA trial (p < .05). Faster speeds selected during the first 5 min of exercise corresponded with enhanced feelings of pleasure when mouth rinsing with the CHO solution. Mouth rinsing with a CHO solution increased total distance c...
"If our church doesn't get more young people soon, we're going to die," blurted the head deaconess during my pastoral interview. I looked around the room at the dedicated group of 60- and 70-year-old church leaders. I respected their... more
"If our church doesn't get more young people soon, we're going to die," blurted the head deaconess during my pastoral interview. I looked around the room at the dedicated group of 60- and 70-year-old church leaders. I respected their openness about the reality in their church (and many other churches in North America).
When you don't have many, or any, young adults in your church, what do you do?
Here are four things that ANYONE in ANY CHURCH can do to activate young adults in your church whether you don't have many or any.
Empathy can be defined as the ability to understand and connect with the emotional state and frame of mind of another. Establishing connections with others is a crucial skill for veterinarians who must earn the trust and compliance of... more
Empathy can be defined as the ability to understand and connect with the emotional state and frame of mind of another. Establishing connections with others is a crucial skill for veterinarians who must earn the trust and compliance of their clients to provide quality care for their patients. This is a longitudinal study using the Davis Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) to assess changes in veterinary students' self-reported empathy as they progressed through the didactic portion of the DVM program at Colorado State University. The IRI consists of four subscales that measure cognitive and affective components of empathy: Perspective Taking, Fantasy, Emphatic Concern, and Personal Distress. Data were collected at three time points, corresponding to the start of the first year, the fourth semester (second year), and the fifth semester (third year). Results showed an overall decline in Perspective Taking scores, with a significant decrease between first and second year. There was...