WorldWideScience

Sample records for wea helps people

  1. CanWEA policy update

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Levy, Tom; Nolet, Jean-Francois; Murphy, Brian; Rangooni, Justin; Heap, Nicholas; Moorehouse, Emilie; Smith, Scott [CanWEA (Canada)

    2011-07-01

    In a country as diverse as Canada, it is important to stay up to date with the political and economic factors that have an impact on the small wind market. In this presentation, CanWEA provides capacity, policy, and CanWEA activity updates for eight provinces as well as an overview for Canada as a whole. It was found that overall, and despite a competitive advantage that favors Canadian manufacturers, the majority of sales of small wind turbines are exports. It was also found that in order for the small wind market to grow in Canada, more incentives would need to be offered. Among incentives highlighted were the policy changes in Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia that have generated support for community-owned wind projects. CanWEA also brings focus to some of the design issues facing small wind, these include avian and bat patterns, sound modeling and measurement, and the lack of common standards.

  2. Validation of a psychophysiological waking erectile assessment (WEA) for the diagnosis of male erectile disorder

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssen, E.; Everaerd, W.; van Lunsen, R. H.; Oerlemans, S.

    1994-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to evaluate a psychophysiological waking erectile assessment (WEA). WEA was designed to elicit penile responses using visual and vibrotactile stimuli and cognitive tasks (distraction and monitoring of erections). One hundred consecutive patients with erectile

  3. Technology for helping people

    CERN Multimedia

    Rosaria Marraffino

    2014-01-01

    The first THE Port hackathon problem-solving workshop was held at CERN from 31 October to 2 November in the framework of the 60th anniversary celebrations. The aim of the event was to develop technological projects that can help to solve the day-to-day needs of people living in areas of the planet that experience conflicts or natural disasters.   Collage of shots from THE Port hackathon. Credit: THE Port association The event was dedicated to humanitarian and social topics inspired by members of non-governmental organisations‬. “There is plenty of room for technology to help in humanitarian fields. That’s why we came up with the idea of bringing people together to work on these topics,” explains Ines Knäpper, Project Manager of THE Port hackathon. “We started six months ago setting up THE Port association.* The success of the event was only possible because of the joint effort of a team of roughly twenty people. They were inspired by the aim...

  4. Responses to Change Helping People Make Transitions

    CERN Document Server

    (CCL), Center for Creative Leadership

    2011-01-01

    The ongoing state of many organizations is one of change. People who experience major change tend to exhibit one of four patterns of response: entrenched, overwhelmed, poser, or learner. As a leader, you need to understand the patterns of response that people express and to customize intervention strategies to help them make the transition. People can pass through a given response stage and move to one that is more effective--especially if you provide timely intervention and support. This guidebook will help you understand how people, including yourself, are responding to change and what you c

  5. CanWEA Pan-Canadian wind integration study paper

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tremblay, Martin [GL Garrad Hassan Canada Inc, Ottawa, ON (Canada); Gardner, Paul [GL Garrad Hassan and Partners, Glasgow (United Kingdom); Price, Doug; Le, Don [GL Garrad Hassan America, San Diego, CA (United States)

    2010-07-01

    GL Garrad Hassan has been contracted by CanWEA to undertake a scoping study for a future Pan-Canadian Wide-Scale Wind Integration Study. The scoping study provides the methodology and the rationale on which the actual wind integration study and request for proposals will be based on. Major system operators and owners of each Canadian Province along with experts involved in major US wind integration studies have been consulted and contributed to the decisional process. This paper provides a summary of the factors considered in the study and outline the actual methodology that was adopted for the future Pan-Canadian wind integration study. (orig.)

  6. Persuading people with depression to seek help: respect the boomerang.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lienemann, Brianna A; Siegel, Jason T; Crano, William D

    2013-01-01

    People with depression are likely to process information with a negative bias when confronted with self-relevant information. Accordingly, we feared exposing depressed people to a public service announcement (PSA) addressing the stigma of depression would possibly boomerang and result in less intention to seek help and in increased self-stigma. College students (N = 271; Mage  = 22.51, SD = 4.71; 63.1% female; 37.3% White, 31.9% Hispanic, 12.9% Asian, 6.8% multiethnic, 3.4% Black, 7.6% other) were randomly assigned to receive a print ad focused on depression or a nonrelevant comparison ad. A paper-and-pencil survey consisting of the Beck Depression Inventory-II, Self-Stigma of Seeking Help scale, help-seeking intentions, and demographics followed. Regression analysis indicated that viewing a depression ad caused people with greater depressive symptoms to experience greater levels of self-stigma than depressed people exposed to a nonrelevant comparison ad. Bootstrap mediation analysis showed that for individuals who viewed a depression PSA, self-stigma mediated the relationship between depressive symptoms and professional help-seeking intentions. While this current study offers no direct evidence in regard to the utility of current and past depression campaigns, results indicate a definite need for caution when developing materials targeting people with depression to seek help.

  7. Principle of Care and Giving to Help People in Need.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bekkers, René; Ottoni-Wilhelm, Mark

    2016-01-01

    Theories of moral development posit that an internalized moral value that one should help those in need-the principle of care-evokes helping behaviour in situations where empathic concern does not. Examples of such situations are helping behaviours that involve cognitive deliberation and planning, that benefit others who are known only in the abstract, and who are out-group members. Charitable giving to help people in need is an important helping behaviour that has these characteristics. Therefore we hypothesized that the principle of care would be positively associated with charitable giving to help people in need, and that the principle of care would mediate the empathic concern-giving relationship. The two hypotheses were tested across four studies. The studies used four different samples, including three nationally representative samples from the American and Dutch populations, and included both self-reports of giving (Studies 1-3), giving observed in a survey experiment (Study 3), and giving observed in a laboratory experiment (Study 4). The evidence from these studies indicated that a moral principle to care for others was associated with charitable giving to help people in need and mediated the empathic concern-giving relationship. © 2016 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology.

  8. A FIB/TEM study of butterfly crack formation and white etching area (WEA) microstructural changes under rolling contact fatigue in 100Cr6 bearing steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Evans, M.-H.; Walker, J.C.; Ma, C.; Wang, L.; Wood, R.J.K.

    2013-01-01

    Butterflies are microscopic damage features forming at subsurface material imperfections induced during rolling contact fatigue (RCF) in rolling element bearings. Butterflies can lead to degradation of the load bearing capacity of the material by their associated cracks causing premature spalling failures. Recently, butterfly formation has been cited to be related to a premature failure mode in wind turbine gearbox bearings; white structure flaking (WSF). Butterflies consist of cracks with surrounding microstructural change called ‘white etching area’ (WEA) forming wings that revolve around their initiators. The formation mechanisms of butterflies in bearing steels have been studied over the last 50 years, but are still not fully understood. This paper presents a detailed microstructural analysis of a butterfly that has initiated from a void in standard 100Cr6 bearing steel under rolling contact fatigue on a laboratory two-roller test rig under transient operating conditions. Analysis was conducted using focused ion beam (FIB) tomography, 3D reconstruction and transmission electron microscopy (STEM/TEM) methods. FIB tomography revealed an extensive presence of voids/cavities immediately adjacent to the main crack on the non-WEA side and at the crack tip. This provides evidence for a void/cavity coalescence mechanism for the butterfly cracks formation. Spherical M 3 C carbide deformation and dissolution as part of the microstructural change in WEA were observed in both FIB and STEM/TEM analyses, where TEM analyses also revealed the formation of superfine nano-grains (3–15 nm diameter) intersecting a dissolving spherical M 3 C carbide. This is evidence of the early formation of nano-grains associated with the WEA formation mechanism

  9. A FIB/TEM study of butterfly crack formation and white etching area (WEA) microstructural changes under rolling contact fatigue in 100Cr6 bearing steel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Evans, M.-H., E-mail: martin.evans@soton.ac.uk [National Centre for Advanced Tribology at Southampton (nCATS), University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom); Walker, J.C.; Ma, C.; Wang, L.; Wood, R.J.K. [National Centre for Advanced Tribology at Southampton (nCATS), University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom)

    2013-05-15

    Butterflies are microscopic damage features forming at subsurface material imperfections induced during rolling contact fatigue (RCF) in rolling element bearings. Butterflies can lead to degradation of the load bearing capacity of the material by their associated cracks causing premature spalling failures. Recently, butterfly formation has been cited to be related to a premature failure mode in wind turbine gearbox bearings; white structure flaking (WSF). Butterflies consist of cracks with surrounding microstructural change called ‘white etching area’ (WEA) forming wings that revolve around their initiators. The formation mechanisms of butterflies in bearing steels have been studied over the last 50 years, but are still not fully understood. This paper presents a detailed microstructural analysis of a butterfly that has initiated from a void in standard 100Cr6 bearing steel under rolling contact fatigue on a laboratory two-roller test rig under transient operating conditions. Analysis was conducted using focused ion beam (FIB) tomography, 3D reconstruction and transmission electron microscopy (STEM/TEM) methods. FIB tomography revealed an extensive presence of voids/cavities immediately adjacent to the main crack on the non-WEA side and at the crack tip. This provides evidence for a void/cavity coalescence mechanism for the butterfly cracks formation. Spherical M{sub 3}C carbide deformation and dissolution as part of the microstructural change in WEA were observed in both FIB and STEM/TEM analyses, where TEM analyses also revealed the formation of superfine nano-grains (3–15 nm diameter) intersecting a dissolving spherical M{sub 3}C carbide. This is evidence of the early formation of nano-grains associated with the WEA formation mechanism.

  10. Self-injury in young people and the help-negation effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frost, Mareka; Casey, Leanne M; O'Gorman, John G

    2017-04-01

    This study examined the relationship between self-injurious behavior and intentions to seek help from professionals, family and friends, technology based support and from no-one. Participants were 679 young people aged 14-25 years drawn from a larger internet survey (N =1463) on the basis of their reported self-injury. A help-negation effect was found only in relation to intentions to seek help from family and friends. That is, a higher extent or severity of self-injury was independently associated with lower intentions to seek help from family and friends. This effect remained after controlling for psychological distress and suicidal ideation. Establishing avenues for early intervention and providing access to a range of potential avenues for help-seeking may assist young people to seek support in relation to self-injury. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Do online mental health services improve help-seeking for young people? A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kauer, Sylvia Deidre; Mangan, Cheryl; Sanci, Lena

    2014-03-04

    Young people regularly use online services to seek help and look for information about mental health problems. Yet little is known about the effects that online services have on mental health and whether these services facilitate help-seeking in young people. This systematic review investigates the effectiveness of online services in facilitating mental health help-seeking in young people. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, literature searches were conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane library. Out of 608 publications identified, 18 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria of investigating online mental health services and help-seeking in young people aged 14-25 years. Two qualitative, 12 cross-sectional, one quasi-experimental, and three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were reviewed. There was no change in help-seeking behavior found in the RCTs, while the quasi-experimental study found a slight but significant increase in help-seeking. The cross-sectional studies reported that online services facilitated seeking help from a professional source for an average of 35% of users. The majority of the studies included small sample sizes and a high proportion of young women. Help-seeking was often a secondary outcome, with only 22% (4/18) of studies using adequate measures of help-seeking. The majority of studies identified in this review were of low quality and likely to be biased. Across all studies, young people regularly used and were generally satisfied with online mental health resources. Facilitators and barriers to help-seeking were also identified. Few studies examine the effects of online services on mental health help-seeking. Further research is needed to determine whether online mental health services effectively facilitate help-seeking for young people.

  12. Self-Injury, Help-Seeking, and the Internet: Informing Online Service Provision for Young People.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frost, Mareka; Casey, Leanne; Rando, Natalie

    2016-01-01

    Although increasing numbers of young people are seeking help online for self-injury, relatively little is known about their online help-seeking preferences. To investigate the perspectives of young people who self-injure regarding online services, with the aim of informing online service delivery. A mixed-methods exploratory analysis regarding the perspectives of a subsample of young people who reported a history of self-injury and responded to questions regarding preferences for future online help-seeking (N = 457). The sample was identified as part of a larger study (N = 1,463) exploring self-injury and help-seeking. Seven themes emerged in relation to preferences for future online help-seeking: information, guidance, reduced isolation, online culture, facilitation of help-seeking, access, and privacy. Direct contact with a professional via instant messaging was the most highly endorsed form of online support. Young people expressed clear preferences regarding online services for self-injury, supporting the importance of consumer consultation in development of online services.

  13. Examining Predictors of Help Giving Toward People With a Mental Illness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alyssia Rossetto

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Little is known about factors influencing helping behaviors toward a person with mental illness. This study explored a range of predictors of helping intentions and behaviors using data from a national survey of Australian adults. Participants (n = 6,019 were randomly assigned one of six vignettes and asked how they would help the character if it was someone they knew and cared about, and asked whether and how they had helped a person in real life with a similar problem. Responses were scored using a system based on the Mental Health First Aid action plan. Regression analyses examined predictors of high helping scores in relation to type of disorder and respondent demographics, mental health literacy, and experiences with mental illness. Predictors of harmful responses and seeking advice on how to help appropriately were also assessed. Significant predictors varied by vignette, with the only consistent predictor being female gender. Participants aged under 30 provided less helpful responses to people with social phobia. Mental health literacy variables were inconsistently related to helping, whereas more stigmatizing attitudes significantly predicted harmful responses and poor helping scores. Targeting males and young people may improve rates of helpful responses. Education campaigns aiming to reduce stigma and increase knowledge of schizophrenia may also minimize potentially harmful actions.

  14. An assistance device to help people with trunk impairment maintain posture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogura, Tomoka; Itami, Taku; Yano, Ken'ichi; Mori, Ichidai; Kameda, Kazuhiro

    2017-07-01

    People with trunk impairment cannot lean forward because of the dysfunction of the trunk resulting from events such as cervical cord injury (CCI). It is therefore difficult for such people to work at a table because they may easily fall from their wheelchair, and it is also hard for them to return to their original position. This limits the activities of daily living (ADLs) of people with trunk impairment. These problems can be solved to some extent with equipment such as a wheelchair belt or a spinal orthosis that can help the person to maintain his or her posture. However, people cannot move freely with this equipment. Furthermore, if this equipment is used for a long time, there is a risk of physical pain and skin issues. In this study, we developed a device that assists the trunk of people with trunk impairment when they lean forward. This device supports people with trunk impairment so that they may take their meals at the table and prevents them from falling over their wheelchair without hindering their daily performance when they are sitting normally. The effectiveness of our proposed device was verified by experiments involving having a meal, operating a wheelchair, and colliding with a curb. Our device can help people with trunk impairment by improving their ADLs and quality of life (QOL).

  15. Self-help conferences for people who stutter: a qualitative investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trichon, Mitchell; Tetnowski, John

    2011-12-01

    Self-help activities for people who stutter (PWS) have been gaining in popularity; however, there is a scarcity of evidence to support their utility in stuttering management. The purpose of this investigation was to understand the lived experience of individuals who attended a self-help conference(s) for PWS from the perspective of a PWS to learn its potential utility in stuttering management. The investigator used Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to systematically collect authentic data of this social phenomenon. Twelve participants were recruited from a self-help conference and the self-help community of PWS. Semi-structured interviews were conducted 4-18 months after each participant's last conference. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed. Themes were explained in investigator narratives and illustrated through participants' quotes. Interpreted themes of the experience of having attended a self-help conference(s) for PWS included: socializing opportunities with other PWS, affiliation, redefining oneself and post-conference disclosures. A conclusion of the study was that the experience of having attended a self-help conference(s) for PWS helped to minimize negative impact that stuttering can have on daily functioning. It appears that self-help conferences were perceived as a safer or "stutter-friendly" environment and promoted social interaction, relationship building, and community building through planned and unplanned activities. Another conclusion was that the experience of having attended self-help conferences for PWS helped participants to communicate more easily. Reported increases in social activity and an "openness" about stuttering, suggest self-help conferences' utility in stuttering management. These findings are supported by other studies about successful stuttering management and self-help activities for PWS. They have helped attendees who stutter to communicate more easily and suggest a reduction in the negative impact that

  16. The paradox of helping: Contradictory effects of scaffolding people with aphasia to communicate.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex Gillespie

    Full Text Available When interacting with people with aphasia, communication partners use a range of subtle strategies to scaffold, or facilitate, expression and comprehension. The present article analyses the unintended effects of these ostensibly helpful acts. Twenty people with aphasia and their main communication partners (n = 40 living in the UK were video recorded engaging in a joint task. Three analyses reveal that: (1 scaffolding is widespread and mostly effective, (2 the conversations are dominated by communication partners, and (3 people with aphasia both request and resist help. We propose that scaffolding is inherently paradoxical because it has contradictory effects. While helping facilitates performing an action, and is thus enabling, it simultaneously implies an inability to perform the action independently, and thus it can simultaneously mark the recipient as disabled. Data are in British English.

  17. The paradox of helping: Contradictory effects of scaffolding people with aphasia to communicate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillespie, Alex; Hald, Julie

    2017-01-01

    When interacting with people with aphasia, communication partners use a range of subtle strategies to scaffold, or facilitate, expression and comprehension. The present article analyses the unintended effects of these ostensibly helpful acts. Twenty people with aphasia and their main communication partners (n = 40) living in the UK were video recorded engaging in a joint task. Three analyses reveal that: (1) scaffolding is widespread and mostly effective, (2) the conversations are dominated by communication partners, and (3) people with aphasia both request and resist help. We propose that scaffolding is inherently paradoxical because it has contradictory effects. While helping facilitates performing an action, and is thus enabling, it simultaneously implies an inability to perform the action independently, and thus it can simultaneously mark the recipient as disabled. Data are in British English.

  18. Perceived barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking in young people: a systematic review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Griffiths Kathleen M

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Adolescents and young adults frequently experience mental disorders, yet tend not to seek help. This systematic review aims to summarise reported barriers and facilitators of help-seeking in young people using both qualitative research from surveys, focus groups, and interviews and quantitative data from published surveys. It extends previous reviews through its systematic research methodology and by the inclusion of published studies describing what young people themselves perceive are the barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for common mental health problems. Methods Twenty two published studies of perceived barriers or facilitators in adolescents or young adults were identified through searches of PubMed, PsycInfo, and the Cochrane database. A thematic analysis was undertaken on the results reported in the qualitative literature and quantitative literature. Results Fifteen qualitative and seven quantitative studies were identified. Young people perceived stigma and embarrassment, problems recognising symptoms (poor mental health literacy, and a preference for self-reliance as the most important barriers to help-seeking. Facilitators were comparatively under-researched. However, there was evidence that young people perceived positive past experiences, and social support and encouragement from others as aids to the help-seeking process. Conclusions Strategies for improving help-seeking by adolescents and young adults should focus on improving mental health literacy, reducing stigma, and taking into account the desire of young people for self-reliance.

  19. Perceived barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking in young people: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulliver, Amelia; Griffiths, Kathleen M; Christensen, Helen

    2010-12-30

    Adolescents and young adults frequently experience mental disorders, yet tend not to seek help. This systematic review aims to summarise reported barriers and facilitators of help-seeking in young people using both qualitative research from surveys, focus groups, and interviews and quantitative data from published surveys. It extends previous reviews through its systematic research methodology and by the inclusion of published studies describing what young people themselves perceive are the barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for common mental health problems. Twenty two published studies of perceived barriers or facilitators in adolescents or young adults were identified through searches of PubMed, PsycInfo, and the Cochrane database. A thematic analysis was undertaken on the results reported in the qualitative literature and quantitative literature. Fifteen qualitative and seven quantitative studies were identified. Young people perceived stigma and embarrassment, problems recognising symptoms (poor mental health literacy), and a preference for self-reliance as the most important barriers to help-seeking. Facilitators were comparatively under-researched. However, there was evidence that young people perceived positive past experiences, and social support and encouragement from others as aids to the help-seeking process. Strategies for improving help-seeking by adolescents and young adults should focus on improving mental health literacy, reducing stigma, and taking into account the desire of young people for self-reliance.

  20. Project management for humans helping people get things done

    CERN Document Server

    Harned, Brett

    2017-01-01

    Project management—it’s not just about following a template or using a tool, but rather developing personal skills and intuition to find a method that works for everyone. Whether you’re a designer or a manager, Project Management for Humans will help you estimate and plan tasks, scout and address issues before they become problems, and communicate with and hold people accountable.

  1. Altruism in the wild: when affiliative motives to help positive people overtake empathic motives to help the distressed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hauser, David J; Preston, Stephanie D; Stansfield, R Brent

    2014-06-01

    Psychological theories of human altruism suggest that helping results from an evolved tendency in caregiving mammals to respond to distress or need with empathy and sympathy. However, theories from biology, economics, and social psychology demonstrate that social animals also evolved to affiliate with and help desirable social partners. These models make different predictions about the affect of those we should prefer to help. Empathic models predict a preference to help sad, distressed targets in need, while social affiliative models predict a preference for happy, positive, successful targets. We compared these predictions in 3 field studies that measured the tendency to help sad, happy, and neutral confederates in a real-world, daily context: holding the door for a stranger in public. People consistently held the door more for happy over sad or neutral targets. To allow empathic motivations to compete more strongly against social affiliative ones, a 4th study examined a more consequential form of aid for hypothetical hospital patients in clear need. These conditions enhanced the preference to help a sad over a happy patient, because sadness made the patient appear sicker and in greater need. However, people still preferred the happy patient when the aid required a direct social interaction, attesting to the strength of social affiliation motives, even for sick patients. Theories of prosocial behavior should place greater emphasis on the role of social affiliation in motivating aid, particularly in everyday interpersonal contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved). PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  2. Trust, autonomy and relationships: the help-seeking preferences of young people in secondary level schools in London (UK).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leavey, Gerard; Rothi, Despina; Paul, Rini

    2011-08-01

    Help-seeking among young people is complicated, often determined vicariously by the ability of adults, family or professionals, to recognize, and respond to, their difficulties. We know very little about the complex concerns of teenage young people and how they impact on help-seeking preferences. We aimed to ascertain the help-seeking preferences for a range of mental health problems among adolescents attending schools in an inner-city area of London. In particular we sought to examine the relationship between such adolescents and their family doctor. Using a mixed methods approach we explored help-seeking attitudes of young people. Emotional and mental health problems are not seen by young people as the domain of General practitioners. Moreover, there is a worrying lack of confidence and trust placed in family doctor and other professionals by young people. Young people do not tend easily to trust adults to help them with emotional difficulties. Copyright © 2010 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. All rights reserved.

  3. SMART STICK DESIGN WITH OBSTACLE DETECTION AND NAVIGATION AS THE HELPING TOOL FOR BLIND PEOPLE

    OpenAIRE

    Sumar Hadi*, Susilo Adi Widyanto, Paryanto, Kurnia Chamid, Rachmat Muhamad Andika

    2018-01-01

    Smart stick designed for the blind people, this appliance can help detect obstacles with the use of infrared sensor, ultrasonic and water. The obstacles in a distance of about 3 m can be detected assistance from this sensor. In addition, we use GPS (Global Positioning System) to give the position and navigation on the stick. Using GPS (Global Positioning System) help the blind people reaches its destination. GPS (Global Positioning System) recipients to get the location of the latest and the ...

  4. [Caregivers of people with neurodegenerative diseases: from help to delegation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delzescaux, Sabine; Blondel, Frédéric

    2015-01-01

    Being a caregiver is difficult, even more so when it comes to helping people with a neurodegenerative disease. These caregivers, either family members or close friends, are confronted with an unexpected delegation which can prove to be highly complex as the pitfalls can indeed be significant. Moreover, the support the caregivers can provide depends on the support they can get for themselves. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  5. Proceedings of CanWEA's 2006 small wind conference

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-01-01

    Small wind energy systems are typically comprised of a single wind turbine for on-site power generation of between 300 watts to 100 kW. They are suited for use in remote locations, as well as on farms or for on-grid residential applications. Small wind customers are concerned about environmental issues as well as the reliability of the electric power grid. Recent increases in electricity prices have contributed to a renewed interest in small wind systems. Primary distributed wind market growth areas include residential grid-connected sites; schools, public facilities and farmer co-operatives; and farms, business and industry. Growth in small wind applications has not been matched by an increase in government incentives, and the lack of clear technical standards for wind systems may negatively impact public perceptions of the industry. This conference provided an overview of the small wind industry in Canada. The conference provided a forum for wind industry members, government agencies, and academics to explore challenges and barriers to the growth of the small wind industry. The conference, which was held as part of the larger annual CanWEA 2006 conference and trade show, was divided into 3 sessions: (1) policies to support small wind; (2) doing business with small wind; and (3) small wind technical insights. Recommendations for the certification of small wind turbines were provided, as well as a model zoning by-law. Technical issues included the development of high penetration wind/diesel systems for isolated communities in the Arctic; technical challenges with small turbines; and siting guidelines for consumers. Several small wind turbine owners reviewed some of the challenges of both buying and using wind systems. Technical and market barriers for distributed wind applications were also discussed. The conference featured 13 presentations, of which 12 were catalogued separately for inclusion in this database. refs., tabs., figs

  6. HELPing older people with very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (HELP-COPD): mixed-method feasibility pilot randomised controlled trial of a novel intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckingham, Susan; Kendall, Marilyn; Ferguson, Susie; MacNee, William; Sheikh, Aziz; White, Patrick; Worth, Allison; Boyd, Kirsty; Murray, Scott A; Pinnock, Hilary

    2015-04-16

    Extending palliative care to those with advanced non-malignant disease is advocated, but the implications in specific conditions are poorly understood. We piloted a novel nurse-led intervention, HELPing older people with very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (HELP-COPD), undertaken 4 weeks after discharge from hospital, which sought to identify and address the holistic care needs of people with severe COPD. This 6-month mixed-method feasibility pilot trial randomised (ratio 3:1) patients to HELP-COPD or usual care. We assessed the feasibility of using validated questionnaires as outcome measures and analysed the needs/actions recorded in the HELP-COPD records. Semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of patients, carers and professionals explored the perceptions of HELP-COPD. Verbatim transcriptions and field notes were analysed using Normalisation Process Theory as a framework. We randomised 32 patients (24 to HELP-COPD); 19 completed the study (death=3, ill-health=4, declined=6). The HELP-COPD record noted a mean of 1.6 actions/assessment, mostly provision of information or self-help actions: only five referrals were made. Most patients were positive about HELP-COPD, discussing their concerns and coping strategies in all domains, but the questionnaires were burdensome for some patients. Adaptation to their slowly progressive disability and a strong preference to rely on family support was reflected in limited acceptance of formal services. Professionals perceived HELP-COPD as addressing an important aspect of care, although timing overlapped with discharge planning. The HELP-COPD intervention was well received by patients and the concept resonated with professionals, although delivery post discharge overlapped with existing services. Integration of brief holistic care assessments in the routine primary care management of COPD may be more appropriate.

  7. Helping Young People Engage with Scientists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leggett, Maggie; Sykes, Kathy

    2014-01-01

    There can be multiple benefits of scientists engaging with young people, including motivation and inspiration for all involved. But there are risks, particularly if scientists do not consider the interests and needs of young people or listen to what they have to say. We argue that "dialogue" between scientists, young people and teachers…

  8. Urinary incontinence in older people living in the community: examining help-seeking behaviour.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Teunissen, T.A.M.; Weel, C. van; Lagro-Janssen, A.L.M.

    2005-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Only a small proportion of older people with urinary incontinence seek help, despite the availability of adequate treatment. AIM: To ascertain the patient- and disease-specific factors that determine whether medical care for urinary incontinence is sought by independently living older

  9. Booze, Bars, and Bystander Behavior: People Who Consumed Alcohol Help Faster in the Presence of Others

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Bommel, Marco; van Prooijen, Jan-Willem; Elffers, Henk; van Lange, Paul A.M.

    2016-01-01

    People help each other less often and less quickly when bystanders are present. In this paper, we propose that alcohol consumption could attenuate or reverse this so-called bystander effect. Alcohol impairs people cognitively and perceptually, leading them to think less about the presence of others

  10. Determinants of attitudes towards professional mental health care, informal help and self-reliance in people with subclinical depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Zoonen, Kim; Kleiboer, Annet; Cuijpers, Pim; Smit, Jan; Penninx, Brenda; Verhaak, Peter; Beekman, Aartjan

    2016-02-01

    Although little is known about which people with subclinical depression should receive care to prevent the onset of depression, it is clear that remediating symptoms of depression is important. However, depending on the beliefs people hold about help, some people will seek professional help, while others seek informal help or solve problems on their own. This study examined associations between attitudes about help and socio-demographic variables, mastery, severity of depressive symptoms, accessibility to care, and health care utilization at baseline and 4-year follow-up. Data were derived from a large cohort study, the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA). A total of 235 respondents with subclinical depression completed questionnaires at baseline and follow-up. Attitude was assessed using a short version of the 'Trust in mental health care' questionnaire. Positive attitude towards professional care was associated with being male, younger age, higher mastery and easy accessibility to care. Positive attitude towards informal help was associated with higher mastery and unemployment. Older age, less accessibility to care and lower mastery were associated with positive attitude towards self-reliance. A change in care utilization was associated with positive attitudes towards professional care at follow-up. People differ in the way they cope with symptoms which may influence their preferred care. Higher levels of mastery were positively associated with professional and informal care, but negatively associated with self-reliance. Both age and mastery showed relatively large effect sizes. © The Author(s) 2015.

  11. Incidence and seasonality of falls amongst old people receiving home help services in a municipality in northern Sweden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vikman, Irene; Nordlund, Anders; Näslund, Annika; Nyberg, Lars

    2011-04-01

    Falls among old people is a well-documented phenomenon; however, falls among people living in the community and receiving home help services have been under-researched. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence, including possible seasonal variation, circumstances and injuries related to falls among community living home help receivers, and to investigate whether fall incidence is associated with the type and amount of home help services received. Prospective cohort study. All 614 persons aged 65 and over who were living in a particular northern Swedish community and receiving municipality home help were included. Data on age, sex and home help service use were collected from home help service records, and falls were reported by staff on report forms specifically designed for the study. Results. A total number of 264 falls were recorded among 122 participants. The overall fall incidence was 626 per 1,000 PY, and incidence rate ratios were significantly correlated to the total amount of services used (pfalls reported as resulting in injury was 33%. The monthly fall incidence was significantly associated to daylight photoperiod, however it was not associated to temperature. Fall incidence among home help receivers aged 65 and over seems correlated to the amount of services they receive. This is probably explained by the fact that impairments connected to ADL limitations and home help needs also are connected to an increased risk of falls. This implies that fall prevention should be considered when planning home help care for old people with ADL limitations. Further research on the connection between daylight photoperiod and fall incidence in populations at different latitudes is needed.

  12. Comparison of Psychological, Quality of Life, Work-Limitation, and Socioeconomic Status Between Patients With Occupational Asthma and Work-Exacerbated Asthma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipszyc, Joshua C; Silverman, Frances; Holness, Dorothy Linn; Liss, Gary M; Lavoie, Kim L; Tarlo, Susan M

    2017-07-01

    The aim of this study was to compare psychological status, quality of life (QoL), work limitation, and socioeconomic status between patients with occupational asthma (OA) and work-exacerbated asthma (WEA). The following questionnaires were administered to participants: Beck anxiety and depression (II) inventories, Marks' Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire, and Work Limitations Questionnaire. Cross-sectional analyses between OA and WEA subgroups were completed. There were 77 participants. WEA subjects had a trend to higher anxiety scores (OA = 9.2 ± 8.0, WEA = 12.8 ± 8.3, P = 0.07, Cohen d = 0.4). Depression scores trended higher for those with WEA (OA = 9.6 ± 10.3, WEA = 13.4 ± 13.5, P = 0.2, Cohen d = 0.3). QoL was comparable between groups. WEA subjects had fewer work limitations (N = 50, OA = 25.1 ± 27.3, WEA = 20.6 ± 24.4, P = 0.56, Cohen d = 0.3) and OA subjects were more likely to have reduced income. In a tertiary clinic, there were some modest differences for specific variables between OA and WEA subjects that may help inform management.

  13. A helping hand

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mirjam de Klerk; Alice de Boer; Sjoerd Kooiker; Inger Plaisier; Peggy Schyns

    2014-01-01

    Original title: Hulp geboden   The help provided to people with a care need is about to undergo major changes in the Netherlands. People who need help will be expected to rely more on help from members of their network. What are the opportunities for informal carers and volunteers, and where

  14. Self-Stigma, Perceived Stigma, and Help-Seeking Communication in People with Mental Illness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jen Lee Teh

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available People with mental illness (PWMI often internalise negative beliefs (self-stigma or anticipate external sources of stigma (perceived stigma. This study examines how the two types of stigma affect the willingness to communicate for help – such communication is a vital aspect of good patient care and treatment outcome. Seventy-two participants from different ethnic backgrounds who had experienced mental illness responded to an online survey about their level of agreement with statements reflecting self- and perceived stigma and their willingness to disclose to various help sources. Face-to-face interviews with 17 of these respondents provided a deeper understanding of how stigma affected their help-seeking communication. The quantitative results seemed to suggest that self-stigma has a stronger negative correlation with willingness to seek help. Respondents preferred disclosing to friends above family members and health professionals. The results highlight the importance of building resilience to reduce self-stigma and thereby increase help seeking. Given the different ethnic backgrounds of the participants, there emerged some multicultural issues that would seem to contribute to persisting mental illness stigma. These and any cultural differences are discussed.

  15. Developing iPad-Based Physics Simulations That Can Help People Learn Newtonian Physics Concepts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Young-Jin

    2015-01-01

    The aims of this study are: (1) to develop iPad-based computer simulations called iSimPhysics that can help people learn Newtonian physics concepts; and (2) to assess its educational benefits and pedagogical usefulness. To facilitate learning, iSimPhysics visualizes abstract physics concepts, and allows for conducting a series of computer…

  16. Help-seeking, stigma and attitudes of people with and without a suicidal past. A comparison between a low and a high suicide rate country.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynders, Alexandre; Kerkhof, Ad J F M; Molenberghs, Geert; Van Audenhove, Chantal

    2015-06-01

    A significant proportion of suicidal persons do not seek help for their psychological problems. Psychological help-seeking is assumed to be a protective factor for suicide. However, different studies showed that negative attitudes and stigma related to help-seeking are major barriers to psychological help-seeking. These attitudes and stigma are not merely individual characteristics but they are also developed by and within society. The aim of this study is twofold. First, we investigate if persons with a suicidal past differ from people without a suicidal past with respect to help-seeking intentions, attitudes toward help-seeking, stigma and attitudes toward suicide. The second aim is to investigate if these attitudinal factors differ between people living in two regions with similar socio-economic characteristics but deviating suicide rates. We defined high (Flemish Community of Belgium) and low (The Netherlands) suicide regions and drew a representative sample of the general Flemish and Dutch population between 18 and 65 years. Data were gathered by means of a postal questionnaire. Descriptive statistics are presented to compare people with and without suicidal past. Multiple logistic regressions were used to compare Flemish and Dutch participants with a suicidal past. Compared to people without a suicidal past, people with a suicidal past are less likely to seek professional and informal help, perceive more stigma, experience more self-stigma (only men) and shame (only women) when seeking help and have more accepting attitudes toward suicide. In comparison to their Dutch counterparts, Flemish people with a suicidal past have less often positive attitudes toward help-seeking, less intentions to seek professional and informal (only women) help and have less often received help for psychological problems (only men). The main limitations are: the relatively low response rate; suicidal ideation was measured by retrospective self-report; and the research sample

  17. Shake Warning: Helping People Stay Safe With Lots of Small Boxes in the Ground to Warn Them About Strong Shaking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reusch, M.

    2017-12-01

    A group of people at schools are joining with the group of people in control of making pictures of the state of rocks on the ground and water in our land. They are working on a plan to help all people be safe in the case of very big ground shaking (when ground breaks in sight or under ground). They will put many small boxes all over the states in the direction of where the sun sets to look for the first shake that might be a sign of an even bigger shake to come. They tell a big computer (with much power) in several large cities in those states. These computers will decide if the first shake is a sign of a very large and close ground shake, a far-away ground shake, a small but close ground shake, or even just a sign of a shake that people wanted to make. If it is a sign of a close and really big shake, then the computers will tell the phones and computers of many people to help them take safe steps before the big shaking arrives where they are. This warning might be several seconds or maybe a couple of minutes. People will be able to hide, take cover, and hold on under tables and desks in case things fall from walls and places up high in their home and work. Doctors will be able to pause hard work and boxes that move people up and down in homes, businesses, and stores will be able to stop on the next floor and open their doors to let people out and not get stuck. It will help slow down trains to be safe and not fly off of the track as well as it will help to shut off water and air that warms homes and is used for when you make food hot. To make this plan become real, people who work for these groups are putting more small boxes in areas where there are not enough and that there are many people. They are also putting small boxes in places where there are no boxes but the big shake might come from that direction. There are problems to get past such as needing many more small boxes, more people to help with this plan, and getting all people who live in these areas to

  18. Schools as Travel Agencies: Helping People to Move Up, Down, and Sideways Through Human Culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Lee F.

    The three major objectives of intercultural education are to help people effectively manage encounters among culturally different individuals, competently move in and out of culturally diverse settings, and skillfully utilize resources of human culture in creating new settings. At present, schools and the social studies profession are not…

  19. Self-Stigma, Perceived Stigma, and Help-Seeking Communication in People with Mental Illness

    OpenAIRE

    Teh, Jen Lee; King, David; Watson, Bernadette; Liu, Shuang

    2014-01-01

    People with mental illness (PWMI) often internalise negative beliefs (self-stigma) or anticipate external sources of stigma (perceived stigma). This study examines how the two types of stigma affect the willingness to communicate for help – such communication is a vital aspect of good patient care and treatment outcome. Seventy-two participants from different ethnic backgrounds who had experienced mental illness responded to an online survey about their level of agreement with statements refl...

  20. Costs and economic consequences of a help-at-home scheme for older people in England.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauer, Annette; Knapp, Martin; Wistow, Gerald; Perkins, Margaret; King, Derek; Iemmi, Valentina

    2017-03-01

    Solutions to support older people to live independently and reduce the cost of an ageing population are high on the political agenda of most developed countries. Help-at-home schemes offer a mix of community support with the aim to address a range of well-being needs. However, not much is currently known about the costs, outcomes and economic consequences of such schemes. Understanding their impact on individuals' well-being and the economic consequences for local and central government can contribute to decisions about sustainable long-term care financing. This article presents results from a mixed-methods study of a voluntary sector-provided help-at-home scheme in England for people of 55 years and older. The study followed a participatory approach, which involved staff and volunteers. Data were collected during 2012 and 2013. Social care-related quality of life was measured with the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit for 24 service users (59% response rate) when they started using the scheme and 4-6 months later. A customised questionnaire that captured resource use and well-being information was sent to 1064 service users (63% response rate). The same tool was used in assessment with service users who started using the scheme between November 2012 and April 2013 (100% response rate). Costs of the scheme were established from local budget and activity data. The scheme was likely to achieve a mean net benefit of £1568 per person from a local government and National Health Service (NHS) perspective and £3766 from the perspective of the individual. An expenditure of £2851 per person accrued to central government for the additional redistribution of benefit payments to older people. This article highlights the potential contribution of voluntary sector-run help-at-home schemes to an affordable welfare system for ageing societies. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. The role of self-help in the treatment of mild anxiety disorders in young people: an evidence-based review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bradford S

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Debra Rickwood1,2, Sally Bradford31Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia; 2headspace: National Youth Mental Health Foundation, North Melbourne, VIC, Australia; 3Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaAbstract: Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health problems experienced by young people, and even mild anxiety can significantly limit social, emotional, and cognitive development into adulthood. It is, therefore, essential that anxiety is treated as early and effectively as possible. Young people are unlikely, however, to seek professional treatment for their problems, increasing their chance of serious long-term problems such as impaired peer relations and low self-esteem. The barriers young people face to accessing services are well documented, and self-help resources may provide an alternative option to respond to early manifestations of anxiety disorders. This article reviews the potential benefits of self-help treatments for anxiety and the evidence for their effectiveness. Despite using inclusive review criteria, only six relevant studies were found. The results of these studies show that there is some evidence for the use of self-help interventions for anxiety in young people, but like the research with adult populations, the overall quality of the studies is poor and there is need for further and more rigorous research.Keywords: adolescent, young adult, children, mental disorder, self-administered, bibliotherapy, therapist-guided

  2. Erratum to: Courses of helping alliance in the treatment of people with severe mental illness in Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Loos, Sabine; Arnold, Katrin; Slade, Mike

    2015-01-01

    with severe mental illness across Europe over a measurement period of one year. METHODS: Self-ratings of the HA by 588 people with severe mental illness who participated in a multicentre European study (CEDAR; ISRCTN75841675) were examined using latent class analysis. RESULTS: Four main patterns of alliance...... of life. CONCLUSIONS: Results support findings from psychotherapy research about a predominantly stable course of the helping alliance in patients with severe mental illness over time. Implications for research and practice indicate to turn the attention to subgroups with noticeable courses.......PURPOSE: The helping alliance (HA) between patient and therapist has been studied in detail in psychotherapy research, but less is known about the HA in long-term community mental health care. The aim of this study was to identify typical courses of the HA and their predictors in a sample of people...

  3. First aid strategies that are helpful to young people developing a mental disorder: beliefs of health professionals compared to young people and parents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wright Annemarie

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Little is known about the best ways for a member of the public to respond when someone in their social network develops a mental disorder. Controlled trials are not feasible in this area, so expert consensus may be the best guide. Methods To assess expert views, postal surveys were carried out with Australian GPs, psychiatrists and psychologists listed on professional registers and with mental health nurses who were members of a professional college. These professionals were asked to rate the helpfulness of 10 potential first aid strategies for young people with one of four disorders: depression, depression with alcohol misuse, social phobia and psychosis. Data were obtained from 470 GPs, 591 psychiatrists, 736 psychologists and 522 mental health nurses, with respective response rates of 24%, 35%, 40% and 32%. Data on public views were available from an earlier telephone survey of 3746 Australian youth aged 12–25 years and 2005 of their parents, which included questions about the same strategies. Results A clear majority across the four professions believed in the helpfulness of listening to the person, suggesting professional help-seeking, making an appointment for the person to see a GP and asking about suicidal feelings. There was also a clear majority believing in the harmfulness of ignoring the person, suggesting use of alcohol to cope, and talking to them firmly. Compared to health professionals, young people and their parents were less likely to believe that asking about suicidal feelings would be helpful and more likely to believe it would be harmful. They were also less likely to believe that talking to the person firmly would be harmful. Conclusion Several first aid strategies can be recommended to the public based on agreement of clinicians about their likely helpfulness. In particular, there needs to be greater public awareness of the helpfulness of asking a young person with a mental health problem about

  4. Who Seeks Help Online for Self-Injury?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frost, Mareka; Casey, Leanne

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this study was to identify differences between young people who seek help online for self-injury and those who self-injure but do not seek help online, in order to improve online services for young people at high risk of suicide. Young people reporting a history of self-injury (N = 679) were identified as part of larger study (N = 1,463) exploring help-seeking. One third of young people with a history of self-injury reported online help-seeking for self-injury. Online help-seekers were significantly more distressed, suicidal, and had a greater degree of self-injury compared to those who did not seek help online. The Internet provides an important form of support to the most at risk young people in this population, and may be a proximal step to face-to-face help-seeking. Further research is required to investigate the forms of support currently accessed by young people online, and their effectiveness.

  5. Getting help quickly: older people and community worker perspectives of contingency planning for falls management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charlton, Kimberly; Murray, Carolyn M; Kumar, Saravana

    2018-01-01

    Older people living in the community need to plan for getting help quickly if they have a fall. In this paper planning for falls is referred to as contingency planning and is not a falls prevention strategy but rather a falls management strategy. This research explored the perspectives of older people and community workers (CWs) about contingency planning for a fall. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, participants were recruited through a community agency that supports older people. In-depth interviews were conducted with seven older people (67-89 years of age) and a focus group was held with seven workers of mixed disciplines from the same agency. Older people who hadn't fallen were included but were assumed to be at risk of falls because they were in receipt of services. Thematic analysis and concept mapping combined the data from the two participant groups. Four themes including preconceptions about planning ahead for falling, a fall changes perception, giving, and receiving advice about contingency plans and what to do about falling. Both CWs and older people agree contingency planning requires understanding of individual identity and circumstances. CWs have limited knowledge about contingency planning and may be directive, informative, or conservative. Implications for Rehabilitation Falls can result in serious consequences for older people. There is an evidence-practice gap as availability of and access to contingency planning does not necessarily mean older people will use it in a falls emergency. Older people prefer community workers to be directive or informative about contingency planning options but they do want choice and control. Increased community workers knowledge of, and collaborative decision-making about, contingency planning may promote patient-centered services and assist in closing the evidence-practice gap.

  6. Stakeholder's perceptions of help-seeking behaviour among people with mental health problems in Uganda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ndyanabangi Sheila

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Mental health facilities in Uganda remain underutilized, despite efforts to decentralize the services. One of the possible explanations for this is the help-seeking behaviours of people with mental health problems. Unfortunately little is known about the factors that influence the help-seeking behaviours. Delays in seeking proper treatment are known to compromise the outcome of the care. Aim To examine the help-seeking behaviours of individuals with mental health problems, and the factors that may influence such behaviours in Uganda. Method Sixty-two interviews and six focus groups were conducted with stakeholders drawn from national and district levels. Thematic analysis of the data was conducted using a framework analysis approach. Results The findings revealed that in some Ugandan communities, help is mostly sought from traditional healers initially, whereas western form of care is usually considered as a last resort. The factors found to influence help-seeking behaviour within the community include: beliefs about the causes of mental illness, the nature of service delivery, accessibility and cost, stigma. Conclusion Increasing the uptake of mental health services requires dedicating more human and financial resources to conventional mental health services. Better understanding of socio-cultural factors that may influence accessibility, engagement and collaboration with traditional healers and conventional practitioners is also urgently required.

  7. Protocol for a feasibility study of a self-help cognitive behavioural therapy resource for the reduction of dental anxiety in young people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshman, Zoe; Morgan, Annie; Porritt, Jenny; Gupta, Ekta; Baker, Sarah; Creswell, Cathy; Newton, Tim; Stevens, Katherine; Williams, Christopher; Prasad, Suneeta; Kirby, Jennifer; Rodd, Helen

    2016-01-01

    Childhood dental anxiety is very common, with 10-20 % of children and young people reporting high levels of dental anxiety. It is distressing and has a negative impact on the quality of life of young people and their parents as well as being associated with poor oral health. Affected individuals may develop a lifelong reliance on general anaesthetic or sedation for necessary dental treatment thus requiring the support of specialist dental services. Children and young people with dental anxiety therefore require additional clinical time and can be costly to treat in the long term. The reduction of dental anxiety through the use of effective psychological techniques is, therefore, of high importance. However, there is a lack of high-quality research investigating the impact of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) approaches when applied to young people's dental anxiety. The first part of the study will develop a profile of dentally anxious young people using a prospective questionnaire sent to a consecutive sample of 100 young people referred to the Paediatric Dentistry Department, Charles Clifford Dental Hospital, in Sheffield. The second part will involve interviewing a purposive sample of 15-20 dental team members on their perceptions of a CBT self-help resource for dental anxiety, their opinions on whether they might use such a resource with patients, and their willingness to recruit participants to a future randomised controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the resource. The third part of the study will investigate the most appropriate outcome measures to include in a trial, the acceptability of the resource, and retention and completion rates of treatment with a sample of 60 dentally anxious young people using the CBT resource. This study will provide information on the profile of dentally anxious young people who could potentially be helped by a guided self-help CBT resource. It will gain the perceptions of dental care team members of guided self-help CBT for

  8. Incidence and seasonality of falls amongst old people receiving home help services in a municipality in northern Sweden

    OpenAIRE

    Vikman, Irene; Nordlund, Anders; Näslund, Annika; Nyberg, Lars

    2011-01-01

    Artikkelen omhandler en studie hvor hensikten var å undersøke forekomst, inkludert variasjoner ad sesonger, omstendigheter og skader relatert til fall hos eldre som bor hjemme og mottar hjemmesykepleie, samt undersøke om det er en sammenheng mellom fall og type/omfang hjelp fra hjemmesykepleien. Objectives: falls among old people is a well-documented phenomenon; however, falls among people living in the community and receiving home help services have been under-researched. The aim of this ...

  9. Why do People Help Each Other? Motivations of Volunteers Who Assisted Persons with Disabilities During World Youth Day.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janus, Edyta; Misiorek, Anna

    2018-04-20

    A growing number of researchers attempt to identify the reasons why some people become volunteers. An analysis of the motives of people who helped persons with disabilities for free during World Youth Day, a renowned religious event, may contribute to this discussion. The aim of this article is to present the results of a survey encompassing 51 volunteers who assisted persons with disabilities during the 31st World Youth Day, which was held in Poland in 2016.

  10. Using Smartphones to Help People with Intellectual and Sensory Disabilities Perform Daily Activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giulio E. Lancioni

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundPeople with mild-to-moderate intellectual disability and sensory impairments often fail to take initiative in starting and carrying out daily activities, with negative consequences for their occupational condition and social status. Their failure seems due to their inability to determine the right time for the activities and to remember all the activity steps.AimThis study assessed a smartphone intervention, which was designed to help eight participants (four presenting with intellectual disability and blindness and four presenting with intellectual disability and hearing impairment to independently start and carry out daily activities at appropriate times.MethodThe intervention was introduced according to a non-concurrent multiple baseline design across participants. During the intervention, each participant was provided with a smartphone, which was fitted with the time schedule of his or her activities and the verbal or pictorial instructions for the single steps of those activities. When the time for an activity was reached, the participant was automatically reminded to start that activity and, thereafter, he or she was presented with the instructions for it.ResultsThe use of the smartphone intervention promoted great improvement over the baseline for all participants. That is, the participants managed to (a independently start the activities at the scheduled times and (b carry out those activities with high levels of accuracy.ConclusionA smartphone intervention, such as that used in this study, may help people with mild-to-moderate intellectual disability and sensory impairments to successfully engage in daily activities.

  11. Compensatory help-seeking in young and older adults: does seeking help, help?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alea, Nicole; Cunningham, Walter R

    2003-01-01

    Asking other people for help is a compensatory behavior that may be useful across the life span to enhance functioning. Seventy-two older and younger men and women were either allowed to ask for help or were not allowed to ask for help while solving reasoning problems. Although the older adults answered fewer problems correctly, they did not seek additional help to compensate for their lower levels of performance. Younger adults sought more help. There were no age differences, however, in the types of help sought: indirect help (e.g., hints) was sought more often than direct help (e.g., asking for the answer). Exploratory analyses revealed that one's ability level was a better indicator than age of the utility of help-seeking. Findings are interpreted in the context of social and task-related influences on the use of help-seeking as a compensatory behavior across the life span.

  12. An Internet-based self-help intervention for people with HIV and depressive symptoms: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Luenen, Sanne; Kraaij, Vivian; Spinhoven, Philip; Garnefski, Nadia

    2016-03-31

    Many people living with HIV suffer from depressive symptoms. In a previous pilot study, self-help cognitive behavioral therapy (in booklet format) was found to be effective in treating depressive symptoms in people with HIV. We developed an online self-help program in Dutch and English (based on the booklet) for people with HIV and depressive symptoms. Besides the main question regarding the effectiveness of the program aimed at lowering depressive symptoms, sub-questions will focus on the moderators of treatment success (for which patients is the program especially beneficial?) and the mechanisms of change underlying the treatment outcome (which mediators affect the outcome of treatment?). In this paper, the protocol of the study will be described. The effectiveness of the program will be investigated by comparing the intervention group with a waiting list-control group in a randomized controlled design, by including a pretest and three post-tests. The self-help program contains four main components: activation, relaxation, changing maladaptive cognitions, and goal attainment. Participants with mild to moderate depressive symptoms will work on the program for 6 to 10 weeks, during which a coach will provide motivational support by telephone once a week. Participants in the control condition will receive weekly minimal support from a coach for 8 weeks, and after the second post-test, they can gain access to the self-help program. Depressive symptoms and possible mediators (e.g., activation, cognitive coping, self-efficacy, and goal adjustment) will be assessed by self-report three times during the intervention/waiting period and at the pretest and first post-test. The proposed study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an online self-help intervention for people with HIV and depressive symptoms. If the intervention is shown to be effective, the program will be implemented. Consequently, many patients with HIV could be reached, and their psychological care may be

  13. Association between recognition and help-seeking preferences and stigma towards people with mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Picco, L; Abdin, E; Pang, S; Vaingankar, J A; Jeyagurunathan, A; Chong, S A; Subramaniam, M

    2018-02-01

    The ability to recognise a mental illness has important implications as it can aid in timely and appropriate help-seeking, and ultimately improve outcomes for people with mental illness. This study aims to explore the association between recognition and help-seeking preferences and stigmatising attitudes, for alcohol abuse, dementia, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia, using a vignette-based approach. This was a population-based, cross-sectional survey conducted among Singapore Residents (n = 3006) aged 18-65 years. All respondents were asked what they think is wrong with the person in the vignette and who they should seek help from. Respondents were also administered the Personal and Perceived sub scales of the Depression Stigma Scale and the Social Distance Scale. Weighted frequencies and percentages were calculated for categorical variables. A series of multiple logistic and linear regression models were performed separately by vignette to generate odd ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the relationship between help-seeking preference, and recognition and beta coefficients and 95% confidence intervals for the relationship between stigma and recognition. Correct recognition was associated with less preference to seek help from family and friends for depression and schizophrenia. Recognition was also associated with increased odds of endorsing seeking help from a psychiatric hospital for dementia, depression and schizophrenia, while there was also an increased preference to seek help from a psychologist and psychiatrist for depression. Recognition was associated with less personal and perceived stigma for OCD and less personal stigma for schizophrenia, however, increased odds of social distancing for dementia. The ability to correctly recognise a mental illness was associated with less preference to seek help from informal sources, whilst increased preference to seek help from mental health professionals and services and less

  14. Discourse Characteristics of Self-Help Books: The Example of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

    OpenAIRE

    Nerat, Tamara

    2017-01-01

    The main purpose of the thesis was to explore the discourse characteristics in self-help books on the example of a popular classic of this genre. The aim was a discourse analysis of the self-help manual The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989) by Stephen R. Covey. The book falls under the self-help category and includes typical features which are common for the genre. The thesis presents the distinguishing characteristics and shows the conventions which make it a typical representative ...

  15. Guided self-help for mental health disorders in children and young people with chronic neurological conditions: A qualitative evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, Sophie D; Coughtrey, Anna E; Heyman, Isobel; Greally, Suzanna; Clarkson, Harriet; Bhattacharyya, Tuhina; Lewis, Corah; Varadkar, Sophia; Shafran, Roz

    2018-03-09

    Children with neurological conditions such as epilepsy are at high risk of developing mental health disorders. Guided self-help can be used to increase access to psychological therapies. When developing and evaluating interventions, it is important to obtain the views of service-users about their acceptability. A telephone-guided self-help intervention was used to treat common mental health difficulties in children and young people with neurological conditions. The intervention was not adapted in content to account for chronic illness. This study therefore reports on qualitative interviews with participants to determine the acceptability of the intervention. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 participants (25 parents and 2 young people) who had undertaken a telephone-delivered guided self-help intervention for common mental health difficulties in the context of a paediatric neurological condition. Transcripts were analysed thematically using the framework approach. Thirteen themes were extracted, organised into three main domains, which covered: the practicalities of telephone guided self-help treatment; the outcomes of the intervention; and the extent to which adaptation was needed for chronic illness. Most families found the intervention helpful in working towards their specific goals and noticed changes for the child and/or parents and family. Participants had a positive experience of the intervention and the majority of parents found the standard intervention with individualised goals sufficient to meet the young person's mental health needs. Copyright © 2018 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Older people's dependence on caregivers' help in their own homes and their lived experiences of their opportunity to make independent decisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breitholtz, Agneta; Snellman, Ingrid; Fagerberg, Ingegerd

    2013-05-01

    The aim of this study was to illuminate the meaning of older people's dependence on caregivers' help, and of their opportunity to make independent decisions. Throughout the world, the older population is growing, and in Sweden, the system of care for older people is currently undergoing change. Older people in the need of care are expected to live at home for as long as possible. A qualitative and life world approach was used. Audio-taped interviews were conducted with twelve older persons living at home, dependent on daily municipal home help service. A phenomenological hermeneutic method was utilised to disclose the meanings of lived experiences. The findings revealed three themes: being facilitated to make one's own decisions, being hindered from making one's own decisions, struggling for vs. resigning oneself to losing the opportunity to make one's own decisions. The comprehensive understanding revealed that as older people become more dependent on caregivers' help, their opportunity to self-determine is challenged and this is stressful for them. The older persons assess their opportunity to self-determine differently, depending on who they are as a person. The caregivers need an awareness of this, and further research is needed to gain knowledge and understanding of how caregivers can improve the way they support and enhance older people's opportunity to decide for themselves. The findings revealed older persons need to exercise more self-determination and caregivers' need for knowledge to enable this. Further, it indicates a move towards a person-centred approach to focus on persons as individuals and see them as interdependent. The findings contribute to improvements in similar contexts worldwide. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  17. Beyond memory problems: multiple obstacles to health and quality of life in older people seeking help for subjective memory complaints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rotenberg Shpigelman, Shlomit; Sternberg, Shelley; Maeir, Adina

    2017-08-29

    Preliminary evidence suggests that older people who seek medical help for subjective memory complaints (SMC) may be at risk for depression, poor quality of life (QoL), and functional limitations. This study aims to: (1) further investigate bio-psycho-social characteristics, participation in personally meaningful activities and QoL of help-seekers; and (2) examine the relationship of these characteristics to QoL, and explore the unique contribution of participation to QoL. Cognitive, meta-cognitive, emotional, social, participation, and QoL measures were used to compare 51 help-seekers referred from geriatric clinics to 40 age-matched controls who did not seek help for memory problems. Help-seekers exhibited lower participation and QoL, had lower mean cognitive scores, reported more memory mistakes and negative memory-beliefs, more depression, worse self-efficacy, and less positive social interaction than non-help-seekers. Quality of life in help-seekers was significantly correlated with most variables. Participation contributed to the explained variance of QoL in help-seekers, beyond that accounted for by cognition and emotional status. Help-seekers with SMC exhibited a complex health condition that includes not only SMC, but also objective memory impairment, depression, functional restrictions, negative memory beliefs, low perception of memory abilities, reduced self-efficacy and insufficient social interactions, all associated with lower QoL. This multi-faceted condition should be considered in the treatment of help-seekers. Implications for Rehabilitation Older people who seek help for subjective memory complaints may be facing a larger problem involving bio-psycho-social factors, affecting participation in meaningful activities and quality of life. Quality of life may be improved via treatment of depression, functional restrictions, memory beliefs, self-efficacy, and positive social interactions. Participation in meaningful activities is an especially important

  18. Attentional and evaluative biases help people maintain relationships by avoiding infidelity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNulty, James K; Meltzer, Andrea L; Makhanova, Anastasia; Maner, Jon K

    2018-02-12

    Two longitudinal studies of 233 newlywed couples suggest that automatic attentional and evaluative biases regarding attractive relationship alternatives can help people maintain relationships by avoiding infidelity. Both studies assessed participants' tendency to automatically disengage attention from photos of attractive, opposite sex individuals; one study assessed participants' tendency to devalue those individuals by comparing their attractiveness evaluations to evaluations made by single people, and both studies assessed infidelity and relationship status multiple times for approximately three years. Several sources of devaluation emerged, but only participants' history of short-term sex predicted both biases; having more short-term sexual partners was associated with being slower to disengage attention from attractive alternatives, and, among men, evaluating such individuals more positively. In turn, both processes exerted indirect effects on relationship dissolution by predicting infidelity; being 100 ms faster to disengage attention from attractive alternatives or rating them 2 scale points lower in attractiveness was associated with a decrease in the odds of infidelity of approximately 50%; the effect of devaluation on infidelity was stronger among participants who evidenced steeper declines in marital satisfaction. These associations emerged because unfaithful individuals took longer to disengage attention from attractive alternatives compared with other social targets and did not differ from singles in their evaluations of those alternatives. Among several other predictors of infidelity, partner attractiveness was associated with a decrease in the odds of infidelity among men but not women. These findings suggest a role for basic psychological processes in predicting infidelity, highlight the critical role of automatic processes in relationship functioning, and suggest novel ways to promote relationship success. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA

  19. People trying to lose weight dislike calorie counting apps and want motivational support to help them achieve their goals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solbrig, Linda; Jones, Ray; Kavanagh, David; May, Jon; Parkin, Tracey; Andrade, Jackie

    2017-03-01

    Two thirds of UK adults are overweight or obese and at increased risk of chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. Basic public health support for weight loss comprises information about healthy eating and lifestyle, but internet and mobile applications (apps) create possibilities for providing long-term motivational support. To explore among people currently trying to lose weight, or maintaining weight loss, (i) problems, experiences and wishes in regards to weight management and weight loss support including e-health support; (ii) reactions to Functional Imagery Training (FIT) as a possible intervention. Six focus groups ( N  = 24 in total) were recruited from a public pool of people who had expressed an interest in helping with research. The topics considered were barriers to weight loss, desired support for weight loss and acceptability of FIT including the FIT app. The focus group discussions were transcribed and thematically analysed. All groups spontaneously raised the issue of waning motivation and expressed the desire for motivational app support for losing weight and increasing physical activity. They disliked calorie counting apps and those that required lots of user input. All groups wanted behavioural elements such as setting and reviewing goals to be included, with the ability to personalise the app by adding picture reminders and choosing times for goal reminders. Participants were positive about FIT and FIT support materials. There is a mismatch between the help provided via public health information campaigns and commercially available weight-loss self-help (lifestyle information, self-monitoring), and the help that individuals actually desire (motivational and autonomous e-support), posing an opportunity to develop more effective electronic, theory-driven, motivational, self-help interventions.

  20. Psychological Help-Seeking Attitudes and Barriers to Help-Seeking in Young People in Turkey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koydemir, Selda; Erel, Ozge; Yumurtaci, Duygu; Sahin, Gozde Nur

    2010-01-01

    This qualitative research sought to understand the needs of Turkish university students related to adjustment to university, the sources they seek help from, their attitudes about and barriers to psychological help-seeking. Data analysis of interview transcriptions from 15 undergraduates identified several themes. Interpersonal problems,…

  1. Copy number variations and genetic admixtures in three Xinjiang ethnic minority groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lou, Haiyi; Li, Shilin; Jin, Wenfei; Fu, Ruiqing; Lu, Dongsheng; Pan, Xinwei; Zhou, Huaigu; Ping, Yuan; Jin, Li; Xu, Shuhua

    2015-04-01

    Xinjiang is geographically located in central Asia, and it has played an important historical role in connecting eastern Eurasian (EEA) and western Eurasian (WEA) people. However, human population genomic studies in this region have been largely underrepresented, especially with respect to studies of copy number variations (CNVs). Here we constructed the first CNV map of the three major ethnic minority groups, the Uyghur, Kazakh and Kirgiz, using Affymetrix Genome-Wide Human SNP Array 6.0. We systematically compared the properties of CNVs we identified in the three groups with the data from representatives of EEA and WEA. The analyses indicated a typical genetic admixture pattern in all three groups with ancestries from both EEA and WEA. We also identified several CNV regions showing significant deviation of allele frequency from the expected genome-wide distribution, which might be associated with population-specific phenotypes. Our study provides the first genome-wide perspective on the CNVs of three major Xinjiang ethnic minority groups and has implications for both evolutionary and medical studies.

  2. "Talking about child sexual abuse would have helped me": Young people who sexually abused reflect on preventing harmful sexual behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKibbin, Gemma; Humphreys, Cathy; Hamilton, Bridget

    2017-08-01

    Harmful sexual behavior carried out by children and young people accounts for about half of all child sexual abuse perpetration. The aim of this study was to draw on the insights of young people who had been sexually abusive to enhance the current prevention agenda. The study involved semi-structured interviews with 14 young people and six treatment-providing workers. Sampling was purposive and the young people had previously completed a treatment program for harmful sexual behaviour in Victoria, Australia. The young people were approached as experts based on their previous experience of engaging in harmful sexual behavior. At the same time, their past abusive behavior was not condoned or minimised. Constructivist Grounded Theory was used to analyse the qualitative data. Opportunities for preventing harmful sexual behavior were the focus of the interviews with young people and workers. The research identified three opportunities for prevention, which involved acting on behalf of children and young people to: reform their sexuality education; redress their victimization experiences; and help their management of pornography. These opportunities could inform the design of initiatives to enhance the prevention agenda. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Atomic scale characterization of white etching area and its adjacent matrix in a martensitic 100Cr6 bearing steel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Y.J., E-mail: y.li@mpie.de [Max-Planck Institut für Eisenforschung, Max-Planck-Str. 1, Düsseldorf D-40237 (Germany); Center for Interface-Dominated High Performance Materials, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum 44780 (Germany); Herbig, M.; Goto, S. [Max-Planck Institut für Eisenforschung, Max-Planck-Str. 1, Düsseldorf D-40237 (Germany); Raabe, D., E-mail: d.raabe@mpie.de [Max-Planck Institut für Eisenforschung, Max-Planck-Str. 1, Düsseldorf D-40237 (Germany)

    2017-01-15

    Atom probe tomography was employed to characterize the microstructure and C distribution in the white etching area (WEA) of a martensitic 100Cr6 bearing steel subjected to rolling contact fatigue. Different from its surrounding matrix where a plate-like martensitic structure prevails, the WEA exhibits equiaxed grains with a uniform grain size of about 10 nm. Significant C grain boundary enrichment (>7.5at.%) and an overall higher C concentration than the nominal value are observed in the WEA. These results suggest that the formation of WEA results from severe local plastic deformation that causes dissolution of carbides and the redistribution of C. - Highlights: •APT has been applied to characterize the microstructure of white etching area (WEA). •Quantitative analyses of C distribution indicate that carbides are dissolved on the WEA. •WEA contains equiaxed grains with a uniform grain size of 10 nm. •C segregation at grain boundaries stabilizes the nanosized grain structure. •Formation of WEA is explained by severe local plastic deformation introduced by cyclic contact loading.

  4. THE ECONOMIC ROLE OF SELF-HELP GROUP

    OpenAIRE

    Dr. S. Selvendran

    2018-01-01

    “All for all” principle behind self-help group (SHG) concept. It is mainly concerned with poor people and it is for the people, by the people and of the people gandhian sarvodaya contained with this.

  5. Self-worth therapy used to help older people manage depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-02-05

    Depression is very common in older people in western countries. It can be treated with anti-depressants but the safety of drug therapy in older people is questionable due to age-related changes in the way drugs are stored and eliminated by the body.

  6. Realising Potential: Helping Homeless and Disenchanted Young People Back into Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maxted, Peter

    This guide shows how "Foyers" (safe residences for working/learning youth) and other organizations provide routes back into learning for young people. Chapter 1, "Young People and the Current Learning Agenda," provides a summary of encouraging developments from government, ushering in new learning opportunities for young people. Chapter 2,…

  7. Increased social anhedonia and reduced helping behaviour in young people with high depressive symptomatology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Setterfield, Megan; Walsh, Mallory; Frey, Anna-Lena; McCabe, Ciara

    2016-11-15

    Social anhedonia, the decreased enjoyment of pleasant social experiences, is associated with depression. However, whether social anhedonia in depression affects prosocial behaviours is unclear. The current study aimed to examine how high levels of depressive symptomatology in young people affect responses to usually rewarding social situations, including helping behaviour. We recruited 46 females, 16 scoring high on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI scores>20, M age =19; HD) and 30 scoring low (BDIemotion task (SET), participants were presented with social scenarios and asked to rate their expected emotional responses. Subsequently, participants' helping behaviour was measured by dropping a pile of papers near them and recording their responses. Lastly, participants completed the SET again. The SET at time 1 revealed that HD individuals reported significantly stronger negative (pemotional responses to social situations than LD subjects. Additionally, all participants showed a significant increase in positive responses (pbehaviour than LD participants. Limitations of the study are that only females were tested and that no psychiatric screening interview was conducted. Our results indicate that young females with high levels of depression symptoms expect to respond less positively to social situations and engage less in helping behaviour compared to those with low depressive symptomatology. Social anhedonia in depression may thus contribute to decreased engagement in rewarding social situations. This, in turn, may lead to social withdrawal and might maintain depression symptoms though a lack of exposure to positive social feedback. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Web-Based Decision Aid to Assist Help-Seeking Choices for Young People Who Self-Harm: Outcomes From a Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Krisna; French, Rebecca S; Henderson, Claire; Ougrin, Dennis; Slade, Mike; Moran, Paul

    2018-01-01

    Background Adolescents who self-harm are often unsure how or where to get help. We developed a Web-based personalized decision aid (DA) designed to support young people in decision making about seeking help for their self-harm. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the DA intervention and the randomized controlled trial (RCT) in a school setting. Methods We conducted a two-group, single blind, randomized controlled feasibility trial in a school setting. Participants aged 12 to 18 years who reported self-harm in the past 12 months were randomized to either a Web-based DA or to general information about mood and feelings. Feasibility of recruitment, randomization, and follow-up rates were assessed, as was acceptability of the intervention and study procedures. Descriptive data were collected on outcome measures examining decision making and help-seeking behavior. Qualitative interviews were conducted with young people, parents or carers, and staff and subjected to thematic analysis to explore their views of the DA and study processes. Results Parental consent was a significant barrier to young people participating in the trial, with only 17.87% (208/1164) of parents or guardians who were contacted for consent responding to study invitations. Where parental consent was obtained, we were able to recruit 81.7% (170/208) of young people into the study. Of those young people screened, 13.5% (23/170) had self-harmed in the past year. Ten participants were randomized to receiving the DA, and 13 were randomized to the control group. Four-week follow-up assessments were completed with all participants. The DA had good acceptability, but qualitative interviews suggested that a DA that addressed broader mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and self-harm may be more beneficial. Conclusions A broad-based mental health DA addressing a wide range of psychosocial problems may be useful for young people. The requirement

  9. Wilderness Education Association certification and safety, ecological impact, and curriculum standardization of graduates

    OpenAIRE

    Detzel, David

    1985-01-01

    Graduates of the Wilderness Education Association (W.E.A.) were surveyed by mail to investigate the effects of their certification on safety, ecological impact, and curriculum standardization of their subsequent leadership activities. Self-reports showed a slight, but not statistically significant, decrease in the number of post- W.E.A. course evacuations and rescues. Graduates reported a moderate W.E.A. influence on their accident records, and knowledge of W.E.A. stan...

  10. Courses of helping alliance in the treatment of people with severe mental illness in Europe: a latent class analytic approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loos, Sabine; Arnold, Katrin; Slade, Mike; Jordan, Harriet; Del Vecchio, Valeria; Sampogna, Gaia; Süveges, Ágnes; Nagy, Marietta; Krogsgaard Bording, Malene; Østermark Sørensen, Helle; Rössler, Wulf; Kawohl, Wolfram; Puschner, Bernd

    2015-03-01

    The helping alliance (HA) between patient and therapist has been studied in detail in psychotherapy research, but less is known about the HA in long-term community mental health care. The aim of this study was to identify typical courses of the HA and their predictors in a sample of people with severe mental illness across Europe over a measurement period of one year. Self-ratings of the HA by 588 people with severe mental illness who participated in a multicentre European study (CEDAR; ISRCTN75841675) were examined using latent class analysis. Four main patterns of alliance were identified: (1) high and stable (HS, 45.6 %), (2) high and increasing (HI, 36.9 %), (3) high and decreasing (HD, 11.3 %) and (4) low and increasing (LI, 6.1 %). Predictors of class membership were duration of illness, ethnicity, and education, receipt of state benefits, recovery, and quality of life. Results support findings from psychotherapy research about a predominantly stable course of the helping alliance in patients with severe mental illness over time. Implications for research and practice indicate to turn the attention to subgroups with noticeable courses.

  11. Helping Youth Decide: A Workshop Guide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duquette, Donna Marie; Boo, Katherine

    This guide was written to complement the publication "Helping Youth Decide," a manual designed to help parents develop effective parent-child communication and help their children make responsible decisions during the adolescent years. The workshop guide is intended to assist people who work with families to provide additional information and…

  12. Getting Our Hands on History

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hindle, Rob

    2012-01-01

    Adult learning enhances, sometimes changes lives. It is therefore vital that educators do whatever it takes to enable more people from under-represented groups to get involved in learning. This is central to the Workers' Educational Association's (WEA) vision and values. Yet among its range of programmes, some subject areas remain the preserve of…

  13. Physical Activity Helps Seniors Stay Mobile

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Subscribe July 2014 Print this issue Health Capsule Physical Activity Helps Seniors Stay Mobile En español Send us your comments A carefully structured, moderate physical activity program helped vulnerable older people maintain their mobility. ...

  14. Successful aging as an oxymoron: older people – with and without home-help care – talk about what aging well means to them

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Torres

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Notions of what it means to age well or successfully are central to social gerontological research and practice. As such, one would expect that there would be consensus as to what the construct of successful aging means and/or how aging well is achieved. This is not, however, the case which is why this study explores the meanings that a group of older people (i.e. some with home-help care and some without attach to this construct. The empirical material is constituted of 16 semi-structured interviews. The findings bring to fore the different resources (such as physical, mental, psycho-social, spiritual, and financial ones that are associated with successful aging and the kind of outlook on life that is regarded as useful if one wants to age well. Differences between home-help care recipients and those that do not receive this type of care were found. Those that are managing without the help offered by home-help care services listed more resources and offered more nuanced descriptions of what successful aging means than those that receive home-help care. This suggests that receiving home-help care and/or not being able to manage primarily on one’s own might shape the manner in which older people think about what constitutes a good old age. The in-depth analysis of the notions of successful aging that were brought to the fore suggests also the paradoxical fact that the title of this article attests to; namely that some associate aging well with not aging at all and deem, in fact, the term successful aging to be an oxymoron.

  15. 6 FAQs About Helping Someone Quit Smoking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Many people want to help their friends and loved ones quit smoking. But, they often don't know how. Here are 6 frequently asked questions about how to help someone quit smoking to help you get the information you need.

  16. Home Help Service Staffs' Descriptions of Their Role in Promoting Everyday Activities Among Older People in Sweden Who Are Dependent on Formal Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cederbom, Sara; Thunborg, Charlotta; Denison, Eva; Söderlund, Anne; von Heideken Wågert, Petra

    2017-08-01

    The study aimed to explore how home help service staff described their role in improving the abilities of older people, in particular, older women with chronic pain who are dependent on formal care, to perform everyday activities. Three focus group interviews were conducted, and a qualitative inductive thematic content analysis was used. The analysis resulted in one theme: struggling to improve the care recipients' opportunities for independence but being inhibited by complex environmental factors. By encouraging the care recipients to perform everyday activities, the staff perceived themselves to both maintain and improve their care recipients' independence and quality of life. An important goal for society and health care professionals is to improve older people's abilities to "age in place" and to enable them to age independently while maintaining their quality of life. A key resource is home help service staff, and this resource should be utilized in the best possible way.

  17. Factors Influencing Professional Help-Seeking for Suicidality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Jin; Batterham, Philip J; Calear, Alison L; Randall, Rebecca

    2018-05-01

    Evidence suggests that the majority of people with suicidality do not seek help. Little systematic evaluation of factors influencing professional help-seeking has been done. To systematically evaluate the factors that influence professional help-seeking for suicidality. Published quantitative and qualitative studies in Medline and PsycInfo databases were reviewed following PRISMA. In all, 55 relevant studies were identified. Of these, 15 studies examined professional help-seeking intentions for perceived suicidal ideation, among people with or without suicidality; 21 studies examined professional help-seeking behavior among people with suicidality; and 19 studies examined suicidal decedents' health services use. Several potential important barriers were identified including high self-reliance, lack of perceived need for treatment, and stigmatizing attitudes toward suicide, toward mental health issues, and toward seeking professional treatment. The presence of suicidality and mental health issues was found to generally decrease help-seeking intentions for perceived suicidal ideation while facilitating actual service use. Social support and informal support from family and friends also played an important role in professional help-seeking. Although the majority of the included studies were of sound quality, some of the factors identified in the review were assessed in relatively few studies, and most of the included studies were conducted in industrialized countries. Further quantitative and qualitative studies examining the potential important factors in broader community samples, especially in developing countries, are needed.

  18. Living alone, receiving help, helplessness, and inactivity are strongly related to risk of undernutrition among older home-dwelling people

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomstad ST

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Solveig T Tomstad1, Ulrika Söderhamn2, Geir Arild Espnes3, Olle Söderhamn21Department of Social Work and Health Science, Faculty of Sciences and Technology Management, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway and Centre for Caring Research – Southern Norway, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, Grimstad, Norway; 2Centre for Caring Research – Southern Norway, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, Grimstad, Norway; 3Research Centre for Health Promotion and Resources HiST-NTNU, Department of Social Work and Health Science, Faculty of Social Sciences and Technology Management, NTNU, Trondheim, NorwayBackground: Being at risk of undernutrition is a global problem among older people. Undernutrition can be considered inadequate nutritional status, characterized by insufficient food intake and weight loss. There is a lack of Norwegian studies focusing on being at risk of undernutrition and self-care ability, sense of coherence, and health-related issues among older home-dwelling people.Aim: To describe the prevalence of being at risk of undernutrition among a group of older home-dwelling individuals in Norway, and to relate the results to reported self-care ability, sense of coherence, perceived health and other health-related issues.Methods: A cross-sectional design was applied. A questionnaire with instruments for nutritional screening, self-care ability, and sense of coherence, and health-related questions was sent to a randomized sample of 450 persons (aged 65+ years in southern Norway. The study group included 158 (35.1% participants. Data were analysed using statistical methods.Results: The results showed that 19% of the participants were at medium risk of undernutrition and 1.3% at high risk. Due to the low response rate it can be expected that the nonparticipants can be at risk of undernutrition. The nutritional at-risk group had lower self-care ability and weaker sense of coherence. Living alone, receiving help

  19. Does forming implementation intentions help people with mental health problems to achieve goals? A meta-analysis of experimental studies with clinical and analogue samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toli, Agoro; Webb, Thomas L; Hardy, Gillian E

    2016-03-01

    People struggle to act on the goals that they set themselves, and this gap between intention and action is likely to be exacerbated by mental health problems. Evidence suggests that forming specific if-then plans (or 'implementation intentions') can promote goal attainment and a number of studies have applied such techniques in clinical contexts. However, to date, the extent to which planning can help people with mental health problems has not been systematically examined. The present review used meta-analysis to investigate the effect of if-then planning on goal attainment among people with a DSM-IV/ICD-10 diagnosis (i.e., clinical samples) or scores above a relevant cut-off on clinical measures (i.e., analogue samples). In total, 29 experimental studies, from 18 records, met the inclusion criteria. Excluding one outlying (very large) effect, forming implementation intentions had a large-sized effect on goal attainment (d+ = 0.99, k = 28, N = 1,636). Implementation intentions proved effective across different mental health problems and goals, and in studies with different methodological approaches. Taken together, the findings suggest that forming implementation intentions can be a useful strategy for helping people with mental health problems to achieve various goals and might be usefully integrated into existing treatment approaches. However, further studies are needed addressing a wider range of mental health problems. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

  20. A framework of connections between soil and people can help improve sustainability of the food system and soil functions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ball, Bruce C; Hargreaves, Paul R; Watson, Christine A

    2018-04-01

    Globally soil quality and food security continue to decrease indicating that agriculture and the food system need to adapt. Improving connection to the soil by knowledge exchange can help achieve this. We propose a framework of three types of connections that allow the targeting of appropriate messages to different groups of people. Direct connection by, for example, handling soil develops soil awareness for management that can be fostered by farmers joining groups on soil-focused farming such as organic farming or no-till. Indirect connections between soil, food and ecosystem services can inform food choices and environmental awareness in the public and can be promoted by, for example, gardening, education and art. Temporal connection revealed from past usage of soil helps to bring awareness to policy workers of the need for the long-term preservation of soil quality for environmental conservation. The understanding of indirect and temporal connections can be helped by comparing them with the operations of the networks of soil organisms and porosity that sustain soil fertility and soil functions.

  1. Suicide-Related Internet Use Among Suicidal Young People in the UK: Characteristics of Users, Effects of Use, and Barriers to Offline Help-Seeking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Jo; Mok, Katherine; Gardiner, Eric; Pirkis, Jane

    2018-01-01

    The study replicates earlier research using a UK sample to examine differences between suicidal people who go online for suicide-related reasons and suicidal people who do not, perceived effects of suicide-related Internet use, and perceived barriers to offline help-seeking. A total of 72 UK citizens (18-24 years old) who had contemplated killing themselves or deliberately harmed themselves with the intention of dying within the past 12 months participated in an anonymous online survey. Results indicate that suicidal young people who use the Internet for suicide-related purposes are a high-risk group characterized by higher levels of social anxiety. The main purposes of suicide-related Internet use were to connect with others and seek information. Both positive and negative effects were found.

  2. Electron microscopy analysis of structural changes within white etching areas

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Diederichs, Annika Martina; Schwedt, A.; Mayer, J.

    2016-01-01

    In the present work, crack networks with white etching areas (WEAs) in cross-sections of bearings were investigated by a complementary use of SEM and TEM with the focus on the use of orientation contrast imaging and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). Orientation contrast imaging was used...... for the first time to give detailed insight into the microstructure of WEA. A significant difference between Nital-etched and polished WEA samples was observed. It was revealed that WEAs are composed of different areas with varying grain sizes. As a result of secondary transformation, needle-shaped grains were...

  3. Help-Seeking by Young People with Depressive Disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sawyer, Michael G.; Sawyer, Alyssa C. P.; La Greca, Annette M.

    2012-01-01

    Depressive disorders commonly occur for the first time during adolescence and often become a recurring source of distress and impairment. Unfortunately, only a small proportion of adolescents with depressive disorders receive help from professional services, and there is evidence that adolescents with higher levels of depressive symptoms may be…

  4. Students experienced help from preservative care. A reflective case study of two nursing students caring from a nursing framework on good care for older people

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan S. Jukema

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: The practice of nursing is shaped partly by nurses’ professional perspective of good care, guided by a nursing framework. An example is the framework of preservative care, which defines good nursing care for vulnerable older people in nursing homes. Currently we lack an understanding of how this framework could help nurses in training; it may be a useful developmental aid for undergraduate nursing students but so far there are no empirical data to support this. Aim: The purpose of this study is to explore how helpful a particular framework can be in the learning journey of two undergraduate nursing students. The study draws on narrative and reflective accounts, guided by the question: ‘How does preservative care as a framework of good care help two undergraduate nursing students develop their caring for older people?’ Methods: This was a reflective case study, in which two students – experienced registered nurses (non-graduates following a part-time education programme – reflected on their practices, using preservative care as a framework for taking care of older people. They kept reflective journals and received constructive feedback from the author of the preservative care framework (the first author. Their data were analysed in three steps. Findings: Both students reported gaining profound help from the framework in their evaluations of daily practices, although they rated the help differently in terms of demanding and rewarding experiences. The framework was particularly helpful in developing qualities in three domains: person-centredness, professional role and specific nursing competencies. Conclusions: The results of our study indicate how using a particular nursing framework made a difference to the practice of two undergraduate nursing students. Exploring the meaning and place of particular nursing frameworks in nursing education is necessary to establish their potential benefits for students. Implications for

  5. Moving On: Young People and Substance Abuse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daley, Kathryn; Chamberlain, Chris

    2009-01-01

    To help explain why some young people move from recreational drug use to substance abuse, twelve in-depth interviews were conducted with young people who had experienced problematic substance use. The data were supplemented by statistical data on 111 young people. The researchers found a variety of "structural" factors that help explain…

  6. Help-seeking behaviour among people living with chronic hip or knee pain in the community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adamson Joy

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A large proportion of people living with hip or knee pain do not consult health care professionals. Pain severity is often believed to be the main reason for help seeking in this population; however the evidence for this is contradictory. This study explores the importance of several potential risk factors on help seeking across different practitioner groups, among adults living with chronic hip or knee pain in a large community sample. Methods Health care utilization, defined as having seen a family doctor (GP during the past 12 months; or an allied health professional (AHP or alternative therapist during the past 3 months, was assessed in a community based sample aged 35 or over and reporting pain in hip or knee. Adjusted odds ratios were determined for social deprivation, rurality, pain severity, mobility, anxiety/depression, co-morbidities, and body mass index. Results Of 1119 persons reporting hip or knee pain, 52% had pain in both sites. Twenty-five percent of them had seen a doctor only, 3% an AHP only, and 4% an alternative therapist only. Thirteen percent had seen more than one category of health care professionals, and 55% had not seen any health care professional. In the multivariate model, factors associated with consulting a GP were mobility problems (OR 2.62 (1.64-4.17, urban living (OR 2.40 (1.14-5.04 and pain severity (1.28 (1.13-1.44. There was also some evidence that obesity was associated with increased consultation (OR 1.72 (1.00-2.93. Factors were similar for consultation with a combination of several health care professionals. In contrast, seeing an alternative therapist was negatively associated with pain severity, anxiety and mobility problems (adjusting for age and sex. Conclusion Disability appears to be a more important determinant of help-seeking than pain severity or anxiety and depression, for adults with chronic pain in hip or knee. The determinants of seeking help from alternative practitioners

  7. Year-round spatiotemporal distribution of harbour porpoises within and around the Maryland wind energy area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wingfield, Jessica E; O'Brien, Michael; Lyubchich, Vyacheslav; Roberts, Jason J; Halpin, Patrick N; Rice, Aaron N; Bailey, Helen

    2017-01-01

    Offshore windfarms provide renewable energy, but activities during the construction phase can affect marine mammals. To understand how the construction of an offshore windfarm in the Maryland Wind Energy Area (WEA) off Maryland, USA, might impact harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), it is essential to determine their poorly understood year-round distribution. Although habitat-based models can help predict the occurrence of species in areas with limited or no sampling, they require validation to determine the accuracy of the predictions. Incorporating more than 18 months of harbour porpoise detection data from passive acoustic monitoring, generalized auto-regressive moving average and generalized additive models were used to investigate harbour porpoise occurrence within and around the Maryland WEA in relation to temporal and environmental variables. Acoustic detection metrics were compared to habitat-based density estimates derived from aerial and boat-based sightings to validate the model predictions. Harbour porpoises occurred significantly more frequently during January to May, and foraged significantly more often in the evenings to early mornings at sites within and outside the Maryland WEA. Harbour porpoise occurrence peaked at sea surface temperatures of 5°C and chlorophyll a concentrations of 4.5 to 7.4 mg m-3. The acoustic detections were significantly correlated with the predicted densities, except at the most inshore site. This study provides insight into previously unknown fine-scale spatial and temporal patterns in distribution of harbour porpoises offshore of Maryland. The results can be used to help inform future monitoring and mitigate the impacts of windfarm construction and other human activities.

  8. Science serving people. IAEA-supported projects are helping countries apply the right tools to fight food, health, and water problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    A new booklet 'Science Serving People' features stories about how IAEA-supported projects are making a difference in many poorer countries. The stories describe applications of nuclear science and technology that are being used through technical cooperation channels to overcome challenges of water scarcity, food shortage, malnutrition, malaria, environmental degradation and many other problems. They also illustrate how the complementary development, safety, and security initiatives of the IAEA are fostering atoms for peace in the developing world. Extreme poverty and deprivation remain a problem of monumental proportions at the dawn of the 21st century, notes IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei in the booklet's Introduction. Through effective partnerships, collaborative research, and strategic direction, the IAEA is contributing to global efforts to help the poor. IAEA programmes have entered an important phase, he said, in which scientific contributions to Member States are yielding very sizeable human benefits. It's clear that science and technology must be better mobilized to meet the needs of the poor, emphasizes Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, USA, and Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The UN agencies, such as the IAEA, have a great role to play, he says in the booklet's Foreword. This is especially so, he points out, if they act as a bridge between the activities of advanced- country and developing country scientific centres, and if they help to harness the advances of world science for the poor as well as the rich. The bottom line, he concludes, is that rich countries should expand support for those United Nations organizations that can help in solving the unique problems confronting the world's poorest peoples. The booklet features stories on managing water resources, promoting food security, focusing science on health problems, new tools for environmental management, and strengthening nuclear

  9. Helping others increases meaningful work: Evidence from three experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allan, Blake A; Duffy, Ryan D; Collisson, Brian

    2018-03-01

    The aim of the current research was to examine whether manipulating task significance increased the meaningfulness of work among students (Study 1), an online sample of working adults (Study 2), and public university employees (Study 3). In Study 1, students completed a typing task for the benefit of themselves, a charity, or someone they knew would directly benefit from their work. People who worked to benefit someone else, rather than themselves, reported greater task meaningfulness. In Study 2, a representative, online sample of employees reflected on a time when they worked to benefit themselves or someone else at work. Results revealed that people who reflected on working to benefit someone else, rather than themselves, reported greater work meaningfulness. In Study 3, public university employees participated in a community intervention by working as they normally would, finding new ways to help people each day, or finding several new ways to help others on a single day. People who helped others many times in a single day experienced greater gains in work meaningfulness over time. Across 3 experimental studies, we found that people who perceived their work as helping others experienced more meaningfulness in their work. This highlights the potential mechanisms practitioners, employers, and other parties can use to increase the meaningfulness of work, which has implications for workers' well-being and productivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. The Self-help Online against Suicidal thoughts (SOS) trial

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mühlmann, Charlotte; Madsen, Trine; Hjorthøj, Carsten Rygaard

    2017-01-01

    -list assignment for 32 weeks. The primary outcomes are frequency and intensity of suicidal thoughts. Secondary outcome measures include depressive symptoms, hopelessness, worrying, quality of life, costs related to health care utilization and production loss. Number of deliberate self-harm episodes, suicides......BACKGROUND: Suicidal thoughts are common, causing distress for millions of people all over the world. However, people with suicidal thoughts might not access support due to financial restraints, stigma or a lack of available treatment offers. Self-help programs provided online could overcome...... these barriers, and previous efforts show promising results in terms of reducing suicidal thoughts. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of an online self-help intervention in reducing suicidal thoughts among people at risk of suicide. The Danish Self-help Online against Suicidal thoughts (SOS) trial...

  11. TRAVELLERS: a school-based early intervention programme helping young people manage and process change, loss and transition. Pilot phase findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dickinson, Pauline; Coggan, Carolyn; Bennett, Sara

    2003-06-01

    This paper outlines the conceptual background and findings from the pilot phase of TRAVELLERS--an early intervention programme designed to enhance protective factors for young people experiencing change, loss and transition events and early signs of emotional distress. The pilot study aimed to determine whether TRAVELLERS was a feasible, acceptable and promising intervention for young people within secondary schools in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The conceptual origins of the TRAVELLERS programme are described in terms of: adolescent mental health concerns; emerging mental health promotion theory and practice; and prevention and early intervention models. The key elements of the TRAVELLERS programme are described. The programme was piloted in two secondary schools, one rural and one urban with 34 participants (females n = 24, males n = 10). Evaluation methods included: review of programme materials; identification of potential selection tools appropriate to Year 9 students; analysis of selection questionnaire; and conduct of feedback from participants, facilitators and parents/caregivers. The TRAVELLERS programme provides a means of identifying and selecting young people who may benefit from participating in an early intervention programme. The programme has achieved a statistically significant reduction in participants' distress (p Young people were overwhelmingly enthusiastic about most aspects of TRAVELLERS. School personnel reported that TRAVELLERS was an appropriate and acceptable programme to the school. Targeted interventions provided within a supportive school environment can contribute to enhancing protective factors such as personal and interpersonal coping strategies, increased help-seeking behaviour, and young people feeling more positive about themselves and their lives. The pilot programme has been amended and prepared for a two year trial phase in 10 secondary schools during 2002-2003.

  12. Quality of life changes in an alcoholics anonymous self-help group

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    INDRĖ DIRGĖLIENĖ

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The issue of alcohol addiction is one of the most pressing in contemporary society as it causes an effect in the context of poverty, violence and suicidal behaviour. After the restoration of Lithuania‘s Independence a new helping profession such as social worker appeared: they were expected to provide professional help to people in order to help them find inner motivation for positive socialization or re-socialization. The issue of alcohol addiction/dependence was first viewed systemically, with the understanding of the need for systemic help: social, psychological, spiritual and medical. Long-term rehabilitation centres have been created and self-help groups formed: those of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA, Al-anon (self – help groups for friends and families who have relatives suffering from alcohol and ACA (Adult Children of Alcoholics self-help group. The article analyzes the quality of life changes in an Alcoholics Anonymous self-help group. Qualitative survey data are presented in this article. Six life stories of people attending Alcoholics Anonymous (AA self-help groups are provided. The age of the participants ranges from 31 to 58. The main criterion to participate in the research is: people who have or have had problems because of alcohol usage and who are Alcoholics Anonymous self-help group (AA participants that have reached Step 12. This means they are ready to spread the message about recovering from this abuse to people who suffer from it. Deep analysis interview has been used to collect the data. Interview notional blocks are: 1 childhood experiences; 2 addiction to alcohol period and crisis; 3 changes of life quality when attending AA groups. The study data have been provided using content analysis through the deduction method. The theoretical basis is a systematic approach to a person in the course of his life‘ spiritual concepts and stages of recovery (May, 2004; Linn, Linn, 2003; Kubler-Ross, 2008 and the theory of integrated

  13. New tools and strategies for the inspection of the psychosocial working environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Mette Bøgehus; Hansen, Tom; Nielsen, Klaus Tranetoft

    2011-01-01

    In 2007 the Danish Working Environment Authority launched a new strategy to strengthen and qualify primary prevention of work related stress. Part of the strategy consists of increased inspections of the psychosocial working environment as well as the development and implementation of a new...... improvement notices regarding work related stress and violence, and there has been an increasing number of notices issued on several risk factors. For some aspects, the tools have helped increase the clarity and comprehensibility of the improvement notices and reduce the WEA’s time consumption per enterprise....... The guidance tools seem to be a suitable and efficient way of assessing several health and safety risks concerning work related stress and violence thereby allowing the WEA to detect more of the existing problems. Future challenges projected for the strategy include continuously training all WEA inspectors...

  14. Natural and Professional Help during Marital Disruption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toro, Paul A.; Zax, Melvin

    Although few people bring their psychological problems to mental health professionals, research in the area of 'natural' help is rudimentary. To investigate the process and effectiveness of natural professional groups in helping individuals experiencing marital disruption, 42 helpers (14 mental health professionals, 14 divorce lawyers, and 14…

  15. Motivated mind perception: treating pets as people and people as animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epley, Nicholas; Schroeder, Juliana; Waytz, Adam

    2013-01-01

    Human beings have a sophisticated ability to reason about the minds of others, often referred to as using one's theory of mind or mentalizing. Just like any other cognitive ability, people engage in reasoning about other minds when it seems useful for achieving particular goals, but this ability remains disengaged otherwise. We suggest that understanding the factors that engage our ability to reason about the minds of others helps to explain anthropomorphism: cases in which people attribute minds to a wide range of nonhuman agents, including animals, mechanical and technological objects, and supernatural entities such as God. We suggest that engagement is guided by two basic motivations: (1) the motivation to explain and predict others' actions, and (2) the motivation to connect socially with others. When present, these motivational forces can lead people to attribute minds to almost any agent. When absent, the likelihood of attributing a mind to others, even other human beings, decreases. We suggest that understanding the factors that engage our theory of mind can help to explain the inverse process of dehumanization, and also why people might be indifferent to other people even when connecting to them would improve their momentary wellbeing.

  16. How More Data About Direct and Virtual Water Use Could Help People Understand Their Water Footprints and Save More Water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madel, R.; Olson-Sawyer, K.; Hanlon, P.; Rabin, K.

    2017-12-01

    Attari (2014) has shown through online surveys that Americans underestimate their water use, don't know what their water footprint is and don't know how much water it takes to produce food. The more people know about their water use, the better decisions they are capable of making and the more likely they are to conserve, which is especially important during periods of water stress. To increase awareness and help people decrease their daily water use, GRACE Communications Foundation created a Water Footprint Calculator [watercalculator.org] using US-oriented data and presented in US units in both English and Spanish. The calculator is based on direct water use data as well as the water consumed to create food, consumer goods and energy (also known as virtual or indirect water use). We learned that there is a lack of comparably-scaled, consumer-level virtual water research available. The direct use data gathered for the calculator came primarily from a study of residential water use in the US by Mayer et al. (1999), who conducted surveys of households in different US cities and averaged data for both inside and outside the home. The indirect use data came from various sources including the US government (USGS, EPA, EIA, NREL, Energy Star, etc.), the Water Footprint Network and the UN FAO. Much of the indirect use data was aggregated at a national level or came from combinations of various data sets. For all users, the food category accounts for the largest part of their water footprints. Gathering data of comparable scale at a personal consumption level proved to be a challenging exercise and provided several takeaways. While there is recent residential direct water use data at a consumer level, there is a lack of data at the personal, consumer level about indirect water use in manufacturing, energy production and agriculture. Because of this, we had to use national averages and generalized calculations. The resulting tool gives people a sense of the impacts of

  17. Development of whole energy absorption spectrometer for decay heat measurement on fusion reactor materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maekawa, Fujio; Ikeda, Yujiro [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

    1997-03-01

    To measure decay heat on fusion reactor materials irradiated by D-T neutrons, a Whole Energy Absorption Spectrometer (WEAS) consisting of a pair of large BGO (bismuth-germanate) scintillators was developed. Feasibility of decay heat measurement with WEAS for various materials and for a wide range of half-lives (seconds - years) was demonstrated by experiments at FNS. Features of WEAS, such as high sensitivity, radioactivity identification, and reasonably low experimental uncertainty of {approx} 10 %, were found. (author)

  18. Life or death decisions: framing the call for help.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eileen Y Chou

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Chronic blood shortages in the U.S. would be alleviated by small increases, in percentage terms, of people donating blood. The current research investigated the effects of subtle changes in charity-seeking messages on the likelihood of people responses to a call for help. We predicted that "avoid losses" messages would lead to more helping behavior than "promote gains" messages would. METHOD: Two studies investigated the effects of message framing on helping intentions and behaviors. With the help and collaboration of the Red Cross, Study 1, a field experiment, directly assessed the effectiveness of a call for blood donations that was presented as either death-preventing (losses or life-saving (gains, and as being of either more or less urgent need. With the help and collaboration of a local charity, Study 2, a lab experiment, assessed the effects of the gain-versus-loss framing of a donation-soliciting flyer on individuals' expectations of others' monetary donations as well their own volunteering behavior. Study 2 also assessed the effects of three emotional motivators - feelings of empathy, positive affect, and relational closeness. RESULT: Study 1 indicated that, on a college campus, describing blood donations as a way to "prevent a death" rather than "save a life" boosted the donation rate. Study 2 showed that framing a charity's appeals as helping people to avoid a loss led to larger expected donations, increased intentions to volunteer, and more helping behavior, independent of other emotional motivators. CONCLUSION: This research identifies and demonstrates a reliable and effective method for increasing important helping behaviors by providing charities with concrete ideas that can effectively increase helping behavior generally and potentially death-preventing behavior in particular.

  19. Life or Death Decisions: Framing the Call for Help

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chou, Eileen Y.; Murnighan, J. Keith

    2013-01-01

    Background Chronic blood shortages in the U.S. would be alleviated by small increases, in percentage terms, of people donating blood. The current research investigated the effects of subtle changes in charity-seeking messages on the likelihood of people responses to a call for help. We predicted that “avoid losses” messages would lead to more helping behavior than “promote gains” messages would. Method Two studies investigated the effects of message framing on helping intentions and behaviors. With the help and collaboration of the Red Cross, Study 1, a field experiment, directly assessed the effectiveness of a call for blood donations that was presented as either death-preventing (losses) or life-saving (gains), and as being of either more or less urgent need. With the help and collaboration of a local charity, Study 2, a lab experiment, assessed the effects of the gain-versus-loss framing of a donation-soliciting flyer on individuals’ expectations of others’ monetary donations as well their own volunteering behavior. Study 2 also assessed the effects of three emotional motivators - feelings of empathy, positive affect, and relational closeness. Result Study 1 indicated that, on a college campus, describing blood donations as a way to “prevent a death” rather than “save a life” boosted the donation rate. Study 2 showed that framing a charity’s appeals as helping people to avoid a loss led to larger expected donations, increased intentions to volunteer, and more helping behavior, independent of other emotional motivators. Conclusion This research identifies and demonstrates a reliable and effective method for increasing important helping behaviors by providing charities with concrete ideas that can effectively increase helping behavior generally and potentially death-preventing behavior in particular. PMID:23483903

  20. Comparison of projection skills of deterministic ensemble methods using pseudo-simulation data generated from multivariate Gaussian distribution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Seok-Geun; Suh, Myoung-Seok

    2017-07-01

    The projection skills of five ensemble methods were analyzed according to simulation skills, training period, and ensemble members, using 198 sets of pseudo-simulation data (PSD) produced by random number generation assuming the simulated temperature of regional climate models. The PSD sets were classified into 18 categories according to the relative magnitude of bias, variance ratio, and correlation coefficient, where each category had 11 sets (including 1 truth set) with 50 samples. The ensemble methods used were as follows: equal weighted averaging without bias correction (EWA_NBC), EWA with bias correction (EWA_WBC), weighted ensemble averaging based on root mean square errors and correlation (WEA_RAC), WEA based on the Taylor score (WEA_Tay), and multivariate linear regression (Mul_Reg). The projection skills of the ensemble methods improved generally as compared with the best member for each category. However, their projection skills are significantly affected by the simulation skills of the ensemble member. The weighted ensemble methods showed better projection skills than non-weighted methods, in particular, for the PSD categories having systematic biases and various correlation coefficients. The EWA_NBC showed considerably lower projection skills than the other methods, in particular, for the PSD categories with systematic biases. Although Mul_Reg showed relatively good skills, it showed strong sensitivity to the PSD categories, training periods, and number of members. On the other hand, the WEA_Tay and WEA_RAC showed relatively superior skills in both the accuracy and reliability for all the sensitivity experiments. This indicates that WEA_Tay and WEA_RAC are applicable even for simulation data with systematic biases, a short training period, and a small number of ensemble members.

  1. Anticipated Guilt for not Helping and Anticipated Warm Glow for Helping are Differently Impacted by Personal Responsibility to Help

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arvid Erlandsson

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available One important motivation for people behaving prosocially is that they want to avoid negative and obtain positive emotions. In the prosocial behavior literature however, the motivations to avoid negative emotions (e.g. guilt and to approach positive emotions (e.g. warm glow are rarely separated, and sometimes even aggregated into a single mood-management construct. The aim of this study was to investigate whether anticipated guilt if not helping and anticipated warm glow if helping are influenced similarly or differently when varying situational factors related to personal responsibility to help. Helping scenarios were created and pilot tests established that each helping scenario could be formulated both in a high-responsibility version and in a low-responsibility version. In Study 1 participants read high-responsibility and low-responsibility helping scenarios, and rated either their anticipated guilt if not helping or their anticipated warm glow if helping (i.e. separate evaluation. Study 2 was similar but here participants rated both their anticipated guilt if not helping and their anticipated warm glow if helping (i.e. joint evaluation. Anticipated guilt was clearly higher in the high-responsibility versions, but anticipated warm glow was unaffected (in Studies 1a and 1b, or even higher in the low-responsibility versions (Study 2. In Studies 3 (where anticipated guilt and warm glow were evaluated separately and 4 (where they were evaluated jointly, personal responsibility to help was manipulated within-subjects. Anticipated guilt was again constantly higher in the high-responsibility versions but for many types of responsibility-manipulations, anticipated warm glow was higher in the low-responsibility versions. The results suggest that we anticipate guilt if not fulfilling our responsibility but that we anticipate warm glow primarily when doing over and beyond our responsibility. We argue that future studies investigating motivations for

  2. Anticipated Guilt for Not Helping and Anticipated Warm Glow for Helping Are Differently Impacted by Personal Responsibility to Help

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erlandsson, Arvid; Jungstrand, Amanda Å.; Västfjäll, Daniel

    2016-01-01

    One important motivation for people behaving prosocially is that they want to avoid negative and obtain positive emotions. In the prosocial behavior literature however, the motivations to avoid negative emotions (e.g., guilt) and to approach positive emotions (e.g., warm glow) are rarely separated, and sometimes even aggregated into a single mood-management construct. The aim of this study was to investigate whether anticipated guilt if not helping and anticipated warm glow if helping are influenced similarly or differently when varying situational factors related to personal responsibility to help. Helping scenarios were created and pilot tests established that each helping scenario could be formulated both in a high-responsibility version and in a low-responsibility version. In Study 1 participants read high-responsibility and low-responsibility helping scenarios, and rated either their anticipated guilt if not helping or their anticipated warm glow if helping (i.e., separate evaluation). Study 2 was similar but here participants rated both their anticipated guilt if not helping and their anticipated warm glow if helping (i.e., joint evaluation). Anticipated guilt was clearly higher in the high-responsibility versions, but anticipated warm glow was unaffected (in Studies 1a and 1b), or even higher in the low-responsibility versions (Study 2). In Studies 3 (where anticipated guilt and warm glow were evaluated separately) and 4 (where they were evaluated jointly), personal responsibility to help was manipulated within-subjects. Anticipated guilt was again constantly higher in the high-responsibility versions but for many types of responsibility-manipulations, anticipated warm glow was higher in the low-responsibility versions. The results suggest that we anticipate guilt if not fulfilling our responsibility but that we anticipate warm glow primarily when doing over and beyond our responsibility. We argue that future studies investigating motivations for helping

  3. Attribution Theory Applied to Helping Behaviour towards People with Intellectual Disabilities Who Challenge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willner, Paul; Smith, Mark

    2008-01-01

    Introduction: Attribution theory posits that helping behaviour is determined in part by the potential helper's attributions and emotions regarding the behaviour that requires help. Specifically, helping is considered to be more likely if stability is perceived as low, generating optimism for change, and if controllability is perceived as low,…

  4. The sweet smell of ... implicit helping: effects of pleasant ambient fragrance on spontaneous help in shopping malls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guéguen, Nicolas

    2012-01-01

    Some studies have shown that pleasant scent encourages the prosocial behavior of people requested for help. However, the effect of pleasant ambient odor on spontaneous helping has never been tested. Male and female confederates accidentally dropped a glove on the floor while walking in places with pleasant ambient odors (e.g., pastries) and in places with no odor. The confederate continued his/her walk, seemingly unaware of his/her loss. It was found that passers-by helped the confederates more favorably in the pleasant-smelling areas. Positive mood induced by ambient smell was used to explain such results.

  5. Unpaid help: who does what?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mirjam de Klerk; Alice de Boer; Sjoerd Kooiker; Peggy Schyns

    2015-01-01

    Original title: Informele hulp: wie doet er wat? There is currently a great deal of interest in the Netherlands in people’s reliance on their own networks in times of need. What can people do for each other when someone needs help because of health problems? And what are they already

  6. Self-help and help-seeking for communication disability in Ghana: implications for the development of communication disability rehabilitation services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wylie, Karen; McAllister, Lindy; Davidson, Bronwyn; Marshall, Julie; Amponsah, Clement; Bampoe, Josephine Ohenewa

    2017-12-29

    In low and middle-income countries, such as Ghana, communication disability is poorly recognised and rehabilitation services for people with communication disability are limited. As rehabilitation services for communication disability develop, and the profession of speech-language pathology grows, it is important to consider how services can most appropriately respond to the needs and preferences of the community. Understanding the ways in which people currently self-help and seek help for communication disability is central to developing services that build on existing local practices and are relevant to the community. A qualitative descriptive survey was used to explore likely self-help and help-seeking behaviours for communication disability, in Accra, Ghana. The survey required participants to describe responses to hypothetical scenarios related to communication disability. A mix of theoretical sampling and convenience sampling was used. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse data and develop categories and subcategories of reported self-help behaviours and sources of help and advice for communication disability. One hundred and thirty-six participants completed the survey. Results indicated that community members would be likely to engage in a variety self-help strategies in response to communication disability. These included working directly with a person with a communication disability to attempt to remediate a communication impairment, altering physical and communication environments, changing attitudes or care practices, educating themselves about the communication disability, providing resources, and responding in spiritual ways. Participants indicated that they would seek help for communication disability across a range of sectors - including the Western healthcare, religious, and traditional sectors. Understanding existing community actions to self-help and help-seek may allow emerging communication rehabilitation services, including the

  7. Formal home help services and institutionalization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yamada, Yukari; Siersma, Volkert; Avlund, Kirsten

    2012-01-01

    The effect of home help services has been inconsistent. Raising the hypothesis that receiving small amounts of home help may postpone or prevent institutionalization, the aim of the present study is to analyze how light and heavy use of home help services was related to the risk...... for institutionalization. The study was a secondary analysis of a Danish intervention study on preventive home visits in 34 municipalities from 1999 to 2003, including 2642 home-dwelling older people who were nondisabled and did not receive public home help services at baseline in 1999 and who lived at home 18 months...... after baseline. Cox regression analysis showed that those who received home help services during the first 18 months after baseline were at higher risk of being institutionalized during the subsequent three years than those who did not receive such services. However, receiving home help for less than 1h...

  8. Math Is Like a Scary Movie? Helping Young People Overcome Math Anxiety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulkin, Margaret

    2016-01-01

    Afterschool teachers who tutor students or provide homework help have a unique opportunity to help students overcome the social or emotional barriers that so often block learning. They can embrace a creative and investigative approach to math learning. Margaret Kulkin's interest in being a math attitude "myth-buster" led her to apply to…

  9. Helping older adults to help themselves: the role of mental health literacy in family members.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Margaret; Casey, Leanne

    2017-11-01

    Family members may play an important role in the health and well-being of older adults. However, little is known about the factors that influence the likelihood of family members supporting older relatives to seek help from mental health professionals for mental health concerns. Mental health literacy is associated with people's help-seeking intentions regarding their own mental health concerns, and some studies have suggested it may play a role in help-seeking on behalf of others. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether mental health literacy is associated with adults' likelihood of supporting an older relative to seek professional help for mental health concerns. Two hundred and sixty-three participants completed a measure of mental health literacy and responded to a hypothetical scenario by indicating their likelihood of supporting an older relative experiencing mental health problems to seek help from various sources. Mental health literacy was positively associated with intentions to support older relative's help-seeking. Interventions to increase the mental health literacy of the relatives of older adults may lead to additional support for older adults' help-seeking for mental health concerns.

  10. Solution-Focused Self-Help for Improving University Students' Well-Being

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pakrosnis, Rytis; Cepukiene, Viktorija

    2015-01-01

    Along with positive developments in psychology, the self-help movement is becoming widespread, based on the belief that people are capable of growing and achieving positive change with only minimal help. This article addresses the potential of a solution-focused self-help tool to improve university students' well-being by comparing its outcome to…

  11. Features of the development of a welfare system for visually disabled people in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, S. Ry

    2004-01-01

    ophthalmology, formalizid welfare for blind and partially sighted people, laws and help towards welfare, obligations to visually disabled people......ophthalmology, formalizid welfare for blind and partially sighted people, laws and help towards welfare, obligations to visually disabled people...

  12. Effective Communication with Young People

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shanahan, Patrick; Elliott, David

    2009-01-01

    The Australian Government established the Office for Youth (the Office) in September 2008 in an effort to engage with the young people of Australia. The Office will work with other government agencies to help young people reach their full potential; make effective transitions to adulthood as they continue to learn, start work, make decisions that…

  13. Managing change and people in libraries

    CERN Document Server

    Massey, Tinker

    2009-01-01

    Managing Change and People in Libraries is designed to help library staff find options and compromises to personnel and management problems associated with the constant changes faced in libraries today. This text looks at theories of management, how people and processes change the stresses faced, how to analyze problems, find directions for change to be used and learn how to change negatives into positives in the workplace. The book is designed to help readers find direction and purpose in working practice.Theories explained through real life examplesAlternatives devel

  14. Pneumonia Can Be Prevented -- Vaccines Can Help

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Submit What's this? Submit Button Past Emails Pneumonia Can Be Prevented—Vaccines Can Help Language: English (US) Español (Spanish) Recommend on ... affects millions of people worldwide each year. Pneumonia can often be prevented and can usually be treated. ...

  15. Changing Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Help.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chrisler, Joan C.

    Despite the increasing acceptance of the value of psychotherapy, there are still those who think people should solve their own problems. A study was conducted to investigate the attitudes of college students toward seeking professional help before and after taking a course in abnormal psychology to determine whether exposure to the purposes and…

  16. Assessment of Offshore Wind Energy Leasing Areas for the BOEM New Jersey Wind Energy Area

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Musial, W.; Elliott, D.; Fields, J.; Parker, Z.; Scott, G.; Draxl, C.

    2013-10-01

    The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), under an interagency agreement with the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), is providing technical assistance to identify and delineate leasing areas for offshore wind energy development within the Atlantic Coast Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) established by BOEM. This report focuses on NREL's development and evaluation of the delineations for the New Jersey (NJ) WEA. The overarching objective of this study is to develop a logical process by which the New Jersey WEA can be subdivided into non-overlapping leasing areas for BOEM's use in developing an auction process in a renewable energy lease sale. NREL identified a selection of leasing areas and proposed delineation boundaries within the established NJ WEA. The primary output of the interagency agreement is this report, which documents the methodology, including key variables and assumptions, by which the leasing areas were identified and delineated.

  17. Effects of castration and weaning conducted concurrently or consecutively on behaviour, blood traits and performance in beef calves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lambertz, C; Farke-Röver, A; Moors, E; Gauly, M

    2015-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of Burdizzo castration and abrupt weaning on the behaviour, blood traits and performance of beef calves when weaning was conducted concurrently or consecutively to castration. In total, 64 male beef calves aged between 6 and 7 months were assigned to a 2×2 factorial design with the following treatment groups (n=16 animals per treatment): (1) castrated and concurrently weaned in week 0 (CAS-WEA); (2) castrated in week 0 and weaned in week 4 (CAS-CON); (3) bulls weaned in week 0 (BUL-WEA); and (4) bulls weaned in week 4 (BUL-CON). The behaviour of the calves was observed for 3 days following weaning. Blood was collected weekly from weeks 0 to 5 and analysed for the acute-phase protein haptoglobin, and neutrophil and lymphocyte percentages. BW was recorded weekly from weeks 0 to 7. Animals were slaughtered at 17 months and weight, dressing percentage and carcass classifications were recorded. On day 1 after weaning, the number of vocalizations (calls/10 min) was higher in BUL-WEA (7.2) and CAS-WEA (5.4) than in calves of CAS-CON (2.8) and BUL-CON (2.9) groups (Panimals spent 20% lying on day 1 after weaning compared with 40% in CAS-WEA and BUL-WEA calves (P0.05). WEA groups showed an increased average daily gain (ADG) during weeks 0 to 3 and a reduced ADG during 4 to 7 weeks in comparison with CON animals. At slaughter, bulls were about 80 kg heavier than castrates and had a superior dressing percentage and carcass classification (P>0.05). In conclusion, weaning had a greater effect on the number of vocalizations, standing/walking and lying behaviour and ADG compared with Burdizzo castration. In comparison with undertaking the procedures separately, concurrent castration and weaning neither affected behaviour and haematological parameters nor impaired performance. There was no evidence that the concurrent application of both treatments markedly increased the stress response compared with their application at

  18. Case management helps prevent criminal justice recidivism for people with serious mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leutwyler, Heather; Hubbard, Erin; Zahnd, Elaine

    2017-09-11

    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss how case management can decrease recidivism for people with serious mental illness (SMI) because people with SMI are at high risk for incarceration and recidivism. Design/methodology/approach Examples of successful case management models for formerly incarcerated individuals with SMI found through a secondary analysis of qualitative data and an analysis of the literature are presented. Findings Currently, no international, national, or statewide guidelines exist to ensure that formerly incarcerated individuals with SMI receive case management upon community reentry despite evidence that such services can prevent further criminal justice involvement. Recommendations include establishment of and evaluation of best practices for case management. In addition, the authors recommend additional funding for case management with the goal of greatly increasing the number of individuals with SMI leaving the criminal justice system in their ability to access adequate case management. Originality/value Providing effective case management tailored to the needs of formerly incarcerated people with SMI improves their quality of life and reduces their involvement in the criminal justice system with clear positive outcomes for public safety and public health.

  19. Understanding "people" people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, Timothy; Waldroop, James

    2004-06-01

    Nearly all areas of business--not just sales and human resources--call for interpersonal savvy. Relational know-how comprises a greater variety of aptitudes than many executives think. Some people can "talk a dog off a meat truck," as the saying goes. Others are great at resolving interpersonal conflicts. Some have a knack for translating high-level concepts for the masses. And others thrive when they're managing a team. Since people do their best work when it most closely matches their interests, the authors contend, managers can increase productivity by taking into account employees' relational interests and skills when making personnel choices and project assignments. After analyzing psychological tests of more than 7,000 business professionals, the authors have identified four dimensions of relational work: influence, interpersonal facilitation, relational creativity, and team leadership. This article explains each one and offers practical advice to managers--how to build a well-balanced team, for instance, and how to gauge the relational skills of potential employees during interviews. To determine whether a job candidate excels in, say, relational creativity, ask her to describe her favorite advertising campaign, slogan, or image and tell you why she finds it to be so effective. Understanding these four dimensions will help you get optimal performance from your employees, appropriately reward their work, and assist them in setting career goals. It will also help you make better choices when it comes to your own career development. To get started, try the authors' free online assessment tool, which will measure both your orientation toward relational work in general and your interest level in each of its four dimensions.

  20. Enhanced or Weakened Western North Pacific Subtropical High under Global Warming?

    OpenAIRE

    He, Chao; Zhou, Tianjun; Lin, Ailan; Wu, Bo; Gu, Dejun; Li, Chunhui; Zheng, Bin

    2015-01-01

    The Western North Pacific Subtropical High (WNPSH) regulates East Asian climate in summer. Anomalous WNPSH causes floods, droughts and heat waves in China, Japan and Korea. The potential change of the WNPSH under global warming is concerned by Asian people, but whether the WNPSH would be enhanced or weakened remains inconclusive. Based on the multi-model climate change projection from the 5th phase of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), we show evidences that the WNPSH tends to wea...

  1. "Live Chat" Clients at Kids Help Phone: Individual Characteristics and Problem Topics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haner, Dilys; Pepler, Debra

    2016-01-01

    Young people in Canada prefer to use the Internet over face-to-face contact when seeking help for problems of daily living and mental health problems. Kids Help Phone (KHP) provides on-demand, anonymous help to young people via telephone and Live Chat technologies. Two hundred thirty-two phone clients and 230 Live Chat clients responded to a questionnaire at this otherwise anonymous service, providing previously inaccessible data about their individual characteristics and characterizations of the problems for which they sought help. There was a larger proportion of weighty problems (mental health and suicide) among chatters than callers. There were also more non-heterosexual youth, and those who identified as Asian and Black African or Caribbean, using Live Chat than phone. Implications for training Live Chat counsellors to respond effectively to chatters are discussed.

  2. Analysis of the current cost situation of wind power in Germany; Untersuchungen der aktuellen Kostensituation der Windenergienutzung in Deutschland

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rehfeldt, K. [Deutsches Windenergie-Inst. Sucursal en Espana, Pamplona (Spain); Schwenk, B. [InnoVent GmbH, Varel (Germany)

    2000-07-01

    Against the background of the discussion concerning the Reimbursement Act (StrEG) and the draft Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), the Bundesverband Windenergie e.V. (BWE) asked the Deutsches Windenergie-Institut (DEWI) to investigate the current cost situation of wind power in Germany. This involved a statistics of wind power generation cost over a period of 20 years. The data were obtained from wind power system operators, technical experts, producers of wind power systems and insurance companies. It was found that especially the cost of component replacement was higher than expected, so that long component life must be one of the main goals in the further development of wind power systems. According to the technical experts, component life today is much less than the rated life of 20 years. [German] Vor dem Hintergrund der Diskussion um das Stromeinspeisegesetz (StrEG) bzw. des Neuentwurfs zum Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz (EEG) wurde das Deutsche Windenergie-Institut (DEWI) vom Bundesverband Windenergie e.V. (BWE) beauftragt, eine Studie ueber die aktuelle Kostensituation in Deutschland zu erarbeiten. Erstmals wurden hierbei Stromerzeugungskosten aus Windenergieanlagen (WEA) ueber einen Zeitraum von 20 Jahren ermittelt. Hierbei wurden Umfrageergebnisse von Betreibern von WEA, technischen Sachverstaendigen sowie von Herstellern von WEA und Versicherungsgesellschaften verwendet, um belastbare Aussagen ueber Betriebskosten und notwendige Ersatzinvestitionen zu erhalten. Insbesondere die Aussagen ueber notwendige Ersatzinvestitionen durch die technischen Sachverstaendigen waren hoeher als erwartet, so dass es in Zukunft Ziel sein muss, insbesondere bei der Weiterentwicklung von WEA auf wesentlich laengere Lebensdauern der Bauteilkomponenten von WEA zu draengen. Nach Aussage der technischen Sachverstaendigen liegen bisher die Lebensdauern wesentlicher Bauteile der WEA, wie Rotor, Bremssystem, Pitchregelung usw., weit unter der kalkulierten Lebensdauer von 20 Jahren

  3. Effectiveness of a guided self-help manual in strengthening resilience in people diagnosed with moderate depression and their family caregivers in Thailand: a randomised controlled trial

    OpenAIRE

    McCann, Terence; Songprakun, Wallapa; Stephenson, John

    2017-01-01

    The growing incidence of depression in developing countries, such as Thailand, is placing increasing pressure on public mental health services, and those living in rural areas have limited access to mental health services and specialised support. Resilience is integral to the recovery of people with depression and to caregivers. This parallel group randomised controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of a guided self-help manual in improving resilience in adults diagnosed with moderate dep...

  4. Some behavioral aspects of energy descent: How a biophysical psychology might help people transition through the lean times ahead

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raymond eDe Young

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available We may soon face biophysical limits to perpetual growth. Energy supplies may tighten and then begin a long slow descent while defensive expenditures rise to address problems caused by past resource consumption. The outcome may be significant changes in daily routines at the individual and community level. It is difficult to know when this scenario might begin to unfold but it clearly would constitute a new behavioral context, one that the behavioral sciences least attends to. Even if one posits a less dramatic scenario, people may still need to make many urgent and perhaps unsettling transitions. And while a robust response would be needed, it is not at all clear what should be the details of that response. Since it is likely that no single response will fix things everywhere, for all people or for all time it would be useful to conduct many social experiments. Indeed, a culture of small experiments should be fostered which, at the individual and small group level, can be described as behavioral entrepreneurship. This may have begun, hidden in plain sight, but more social experiments are needed. To be of help, it may be useful to both package behavioral insights in a way that is practitioner-oriented and grounded in biophysical trends and to propose a few key questions that need attention. This paper begins the process of developing a biophysical psychology, incomplete as it is at this early stage.

  5. Some behavioral aspects of energy descent: how a biophysical psychology might help people transition through the lean times ahead.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Young, Raymond

    2014-01-01

    We may soon face biophysical limits to perpetual growth. Energy supplies may tighten and then begin a long slow descent while defensive expenditures rise to address problems caused by past resource consumption. The outcome may be significant changes in daily routines at the individual and community level. It is difficult to know when this scenario might begin to unfold but it clearly would constitute a new behavioral context, one that the behavioral sciences least attends to. Even if one posits a less dramatic scenario, people may still need to make many urgent and perhaps unsettling transitions. And while a robust response would be needed, it is not at all clear what should be the details of that response. Since it is likely that no single response will fix things everywhere, for all people or for all time, it would be useful to conduct many social experiments. Indeed, a culture of small experiments should be fostered which, at the individual and small group level, can be described as behavioral entrepreneurship. This may have begun, hidden in plain sight, but more social experiments are needed. To be of help, it may be useful to both package behavioral insights in a way that is practitioner-oriented and grounded in biophysical trends and to propose a few key questions that need attention. This paper begins the process of developing a biophysical psychology, incomplete as it is at this early stage.

  6. Some behavioral aspects of energy descent: how a biophysical psychology might help people transition through the lean times ahead

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Young, Raymond

    2014-01-01

    We may soon face biophysical limits to perpetual growth. Energy supplies may tighten and then begin a long slow descent while defensive expenditures rise to address problems caused by past resource consumption. The outcome may be significant changes in daily routines at the individual and community level. It is difficult to know when this scenario might begin to unfold but it clearly would constitute a new behavioral context, one that the behavioral sciences least attends to. Even if one posits a less dramatic scenario, people may still need to make many urgent and perhaps unsettling transitions. And while a robust response would be needed, it is not at all clear what should be the details of that response. Since it is likely that no single response will fix things everywhere, for all people or for all time, it would be useful to conduct many social experiments. Indeed, a culture of small experiments should be fostered which, at the individual and small group level, can be described as behavioral entrepreneurship. This may have begun, hidden in plain sight, but more social experiments are needed. To be of help, it may be useful to both package behavioral insights in a way that is practitioner-oriented and grounded in biophysical trends and to propose a few key questions that need attention. This paper begins the process of developing a biophysical psychology, incomplete as it is at this early stage. PMID:25404926

  7. Quantification in histopathology-Can magnetic particles help?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitchels, John; Hawkins, Peter; Luxton, Richard; Rhodes, Anthony

    2007-01-01

    Every year, more than 270,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in the UK alone; this means that one in three people worldwide contract cancer within their lifetime. Histopathology is the principle method for confirming cancer and directing treatment. In this paper, a novel application of magnetic particles is proposed to help address the problem of subjectivity in histopathology. Preliminary results indicate that magnetic nanoparticles cannot only be used to assist diagnosis through improving quantification but also potentially increase throughput, hence offering a way of dramatically reducing costs within the routine histopathology laboratory

  8. The Influence of Achievement Goals on Online Help Seeking of Computer Science Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Qiang; Barnes, Brad; Wright, Ewan; Branch, Robert Maribe

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the online help-seeking behaviors of computer science students with a focus on the effect of achievement goals. The online help-seeking behaviors investigated were online searching, asking teachers online for help, and asking peers or unknown people online for help. One hundred and sixty-five students studying computer…

  9. Healthy Places for Healthy People

    Science.gov (United States)

    Describes the Healthy Places for Healthy People technical assistance program that helps communities create walkable, healthy, economically vibrant places by engaging with local health care facility partners

  10. Celebrating the Past--Creating Our Future. Wilderness Education Association National Conference on Outdoor Leadership Proceedings (Paul Smith, New York, January 23-25, 2003).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brawdy, Paul, Ed.; Luo, Ping, Ed.

    This proceedings of the 2003 Wilderness Education Association (WEA) conference contains 10 papers and presentation summaries on outdoor leadership, wilderness programs, and related training. Following a brief history of WEA, the entries are: (1) "Adventure Education and Rock 'n Roll: Sustaining the Revolution in Post-Communist Romania" (Dawn M.…

  11. [Internet addiction: a descriptive clinical study of people asking for help in rehabilitation treatment center in Quebec: exploratory study].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dufour, Magali; Nadeau, Louise; Gagnon, Sylvie R

    2014-01-01

    To date, there is no consensus on the diagnostic criteria for Internet addiction (Hinic, 2011; Tonioni & coll., 2012; Weinstein & Lejoyeux, 2010). Nonetheless, some people consider themselves cyberdependent and request treatment services in the addiction rehabilitation centers (ARC) of the province of Quebec. These admissions have led the Health and Social Services Agency of Montreal to ask for the realization of a descriptive study on Internet addiction. 1) Describe the socio-demographical characteristics of cyberdependent individuals receiving treatment in the ARC; 2) Document their associated problems, such as problems related to alcohol and drug abuse, gambling, self-esteem, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. The study was conducted in eight ARC's of the province of Quebec. A convenience sample of 57 people was recruited over a period of 24 months, from 2010 to 2012. To participate in this study, individuals had to be 18 years or older, identify themselves as cyberdependent, and request help for an Internet addiction problem in a public ARC. The Internet Addiction Test (Young, 1998), in its validated French version (Khazaal & coll., 2008), was used to assess the severity of Internet use habits. The associated problems were assessed using the following questionnaires: the Beck Anxiety Inventory (Beck, Epstein, Brown & Steer, 1988); the Beck Depression Inventory, in its validated French version (Bourque & Beaudette, 1982); the DÉBA-Alcool/Drogues/Jeu (Dépistage-évaluation du besoin d'aide), an instrument used to screen and assess the need for help in problems related to alcohol, drugs, and gambling (Tremblay & Blanchette-Martin, 2009), and the Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965). Fifty-seven people agreed to participate in the study. A large majority of these cyberdependent individuals were male (88%), the mean age was 30 years old, had low incomes and were living with their parents. They consulted following the pressure of their entourage and

  12. Adolescents' beliefs about sources of help for ADHD and depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swords, Lorraine; Hennessy, Eilis; Heary, Caroline

    2011-06-01

    The peer group begins to become a source of support during late childhood and adolescence making it important to understand what type of help young people might suggest to a friend with an emotional or behavioral problem. Three groups of young people participated in the study with average ages of 12 (N = 107), 14 (N = 153) and 16 years (N = 133). All participants were presented with vignettes describing fictional peers, two of whom had symptoms of clinical problems (ADHD and depression) and a third comparison peer without symptoms. Results indicate that all participants distinguished between clinical and comparison vignette characters and they believed that the characters with clinical symptoms needed help. The 16-year-olds were more likely to differentiate between the two clinical vignettes in terms of the type of help suggested. The results are discussed in light of previous research on adolescents' understanding of sources of help for mental health problems. Copyright © 2010 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Developing a successful marketing plan for HELP JSC

    OpenAIRE

    Nguyen, Ke Tuong

    2010-01-01

    Health care has become an extremely important issue during the economic development. Vietnamese rapid population growth has made the service sector become overloaded. Majority of people are absorbed at work and neither do take care of their health nor do have a proper health care programme. HELP, a health care service company, has discovered general ideas of its services: brings health, joy and happiness to people. It is no later than now to develop a marketing plan, which can enhance the bu...

  14. Faculty Perceptions of Their Career-Helping Relationships. ASHE Annual Meeting Paper.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eveslage, Sonja A.; And Others

    People and relationships that have helped faculty to develop their careers were studied, along with the impact of these relationships on faculty careers. Successful faculty were asked to: identify their career helpers, assess the relative impact of various career helping relationships on their professional identities, and describe the…

  15. Young Idea People Mix with Old Idea People to Make the World Better

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, M.

    2017-12-01

    Groups of young idea people come to eat, drink, and talk about new ideas that old idea people are working on to change the world for the better. The ideas may fix our body and mind, make our lives easier or harder, and more. The young idea people lead, learn, listen and act, so they can become old idea people. The young idea people scare the old idea people because their ideas are different. And, sometimes, the young idea people have new ideas that the old idea people have not thought about. When this happens it makes the old idea people happy and better at their work. The old idea people get to go places and share their ideas around the world. They make good money and have fun lives. They write about their work and can be well known, or not. The young idea people learn from the old idea people how they can be like them. Together the young and old idea people build things and talk about crazy ideas that may come to be. Sometimes the old idea people talk too much and don't listen. They use big words that can be hard to understand. But, the young idea people help them learn to use known words so everyone learns. We know the young idea people learn and grow from this act and they grow happier about their life. We also know that the old idea people get happy that the young idea people are so bright.

  16. Social media, help or hindrance: what role does social media play in young people's mental health?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lloyd, Alfie

    2014-11-01

    Social media is a huge force in the lives of young people with wide ranging effects on their development; given the importance of adolescence in the genesis of mental illness, social media is a factor in the mental health of young people. Despite the role that social media obviously plays in the development of mental illness, little research has been done into the impact that social media has on in the mental illness of young people. In general, what research there is points towards social media having a large impact on young people in both positive and negative ways. In particular, certain studies show a greater incidence and severity of bullying online compared to offline which may contribute to the development of depression. This contrasts with the positive impact that social media seems to have for young people in minority groups (ethnic minorities and those with chronic disease or disability) by allowing them to connect with others who live similar lives despite geographical separation. This acts as a positive influence in these people's lives though a direct link to mental illness was not shown. Overall, several important issues are raised: firstly, the lack of research that has been conducted in the area; secondly, the gulf that exists between the generation of younger, 'digital native' generations and the older generations who are not as engaged with social media; and finally, the huge potential that exists for the use of social media as a protective influence for adolescents. With proper engagement, policy makers and health professionals could use social media to connect with young people on issues like mental health.

  17. Smart Cane-Assistive Cane for Visually-impaired People

    OpenAIRE

    Mohd Helmy Abd Wahab; Amirul A Talib; Herdawatie A Kadir; Ayob Johari; A Noraziah; Roslina M Sidek; Ariffin A Mutalib

    2011-01-01

    This paper reports on a study that helps visually-impaired people to walk more confidently. The study hypothesizes that a smart cane that alerts visually-impaired people over obstacles in front could help them in walking with less accident. The aim of the paper is to address the development work of a cane that could communicate with the users through voice alert and vibration, which is named Smart Cane. The development work involves coding and physical installation. A series of tests have bee...

  18. Helping Your Heart with Nuclear Imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Madsen, Michael Amdi

    2014-01-01

    The IAEA is helping in the fight against cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) by assisting its Member States in using nuclear science and technology to track and monitor CVDs. Nuclear imaging techniques allow doctors to look inside a patient’s body and see how organs function without running the risk of surgery. CVDs kill more people than just about anything else on the planet. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that roughly 30 per cent of all deaths in 2008 were caused by CVDs. That number is increasing, and by 2030 the WHO estimates that more than 23 million people will die annually from CVDs. For comparison, that is equivalent to roughly the entire population of a medium-sized country

  19. Assessment of Offshore Wind Energy Leasing Areas for the BOEM Massachusetts Wind Energy Area

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Musial, W. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Parker, Z. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Fields, M. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Scott, G. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Elliott, D. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Draxl, C. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2013-12-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), under an interagency agreement with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), is providing technical assistance to identify and delineate leasing areas for offshore wind energy development within the Atlantic Coast Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) established by BOEM. This report focuses on NREL's development of three delineated leasing area options for the Massachusetts (MA) WEA and the technical evaluation of these leasing areas. The overarching objective of this study is to develop a logical process by which the MA WEA can be subdivided into non-overlapping leasing areas for BOEM's use in developing an auction process in a renewable energy lease sale. NREL worked with BOEM to identify an appropriate number of leasing areas and proposed three delineation alternatives within the MA WEA based on the boundaries announced in May 2012. A primary output of the interagency agreement is this report, which documents the methodology, including key variables and assumptions, by which the leasing areas were identified and delineated.

  20. Validation of the Cultural Influence on Helping Scale among Chinese Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Law, Ben M. F.; Shek, Daniel T. L.

    2011-01-01

    The influence of culture on adolescent prosocial behavior is a neglected aspect in existing studies. Objectives: This study evaluates the psychometric properties of the Cultural Influence on Helping Scale (CIHS) among Chinese adolescents. CIHS is an instrument that assesses Chinese cultural influence on helping other people. Method: The CIHS was…

  1. Influence of municipal policy and individual characteristics on the use of informal and formal domestic help in the Netherlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marangos, Anna Maria; Waverijn, Geeke; de Klerk, Mirjam; Iedema, Jurjen; Groenewegen, Peter P

    2018-05-24

    The responsibility for care and social support in the Netherlands has been decentralized to the municipalities, on the assumption that they are able to organise care and social support more effectively and efficiently. Municipalities are responsible for offering citizens the social support they need. They have policy discretion to decide how and to what extent they encourage and support the use of informal help. This article explored whether the local policy focus on informal or formal help influences the actual take-up of domestic help. Data on 567 physically disabled people who use informal or formal help in the household were linked to local policy data in 167 municipalities. We performed multilevel multinomial regression analyses. Since we expected that local policy will have more influence on people with slight or moderate disabilities, cohabitees and people aged under 75, cross-level interaction terms were included between characteristics of local policy and of individuals. The findings reveal differences between municipalities in their policy on support and differences in the use of formal or informal support between municipalities. We found no relationship between local emphasis on informal help and the use of informal help. Possible explanations: some people have a small social network, people using informal help did not apply for municipality support or even do not know the possibility exists. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Development: Ages & Stages--Helping Children Manage Fears

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poole, Carla; Miller, Susan A.; Church, Ellen Booth

    2004-01-01

    By watching, listening, and offering gentle reassurance, you can help young children work through their fears. Sudden noises, movement, or unfamiliar people often frighten babies. After 12 months of nurturing experiences with familiar teachers and routines, a baby is more prepared and less easily startled. Preschoolers have a variety of fears such…

  3. Establishing a library of resources to help people understand key concepts in assessing treatment claims-The "Critical thinking and Appraisal Resource Library" (CARL).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castle, John C; Chalmers, Iain; Atkinson, Patricia; Badenoch, Douglas; Oxman, Andrew D; Austvoll-Dahlgren, Astrid; Nordheim, Lena; Krause, L Kendall; Schwartz, Lisa M; Woloshin, Steven; Burls, Amanda; Mosconi, Paola; Hoffmann, Tammy; Cusack, Leila; Albarqouni, Loai; Glasziou, Paul

    2017-01-01

    People are frequently confronted with untrustworthy claims about the effects of treatments. Uncritical acceptance of these claims can lead to poor, and sometimes dangerous, treatment decisions, and wasted time and money. Resources to help people learn to think critically about treatment claims are scarce, and they are widely scattered. Furthermore, very few learning-resources have been assessed to see if they improve knowledge and behavior. Our objectives were to develop the Critical thinking and Appraisal Resource Library (CARL). This library was to be in the form of a database containing learning resources for those who are responsible for encouraging critical thinking about treatment claims, and was to be made available online. We wished to include resources for groups we identified as 'intermediaries' of knowledge, i.e. teachers of schoolchildren, undergraduates and graduates, for example those teaching evidence-based medicine, or those communicating treatment claims to the public. In selecting resources, we wished to draw particular attention to those resources that had been formally evaluated, for example, by the creators of the resource or independent research groups. CARL was populated with learning-resources identified from a variety of sources-two previously developed but unmaintained inventories; systematic reviews of learning-interventions; online and database searches; and recommendations by members of the project group and its advisors. The learning-resources in CARL were organised by 'Key Concepts' needed to judge the trustworthiness of treatment claims, and were made available online by the James Lind Initiative in Testing Treatments interactive (TTi) English (www.testingtreatments.org/category/learning-resources).TTi English also incorporated the database of Key Concepts and the Claim Evaluation Tools developed through the Informed Healthcare Choices (IHC) project (informedhealthchoices.org). We have created a database of resources called CARL

  4. Peer Programs: An In-Depth Look at Peer Helping: Planning, Implementation, and Administration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tindall, Judith A.

    The goal of this book is to provide a program designed to teach peer helping professionals a method and rationale for training peer helpers. Peer helping programs are a major delivery system of affective education or deliberate psychological education. Peer helping programs can provide prevention, intervention, and support systems for people.…

  5. The lonely bystander: ostracism leads to less helping in virtual bystander situations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Bommel, Marco; van Prooijen, Jan-Willem; Elffers, Henk; van Lange, Paul A.M.

    2016-01-01

    People are less likely to help when they have been ostracized, or when they are in the presence of bystanders. In the current manuscript we test both these influences simultaneously. We postulated two opposing hypotheses: first, helping decreases after ostracism, even when intervention is already

  6. Bribes for Behaving: Why Behaviorism Doesn't Help Children Become Good People.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohn, Alfie

    1994-01-01

    Argues against using punishment and rewards to motivate children, maintaining that, although penalties and prizes may change behavior in the short term, they do not help children become responsible decision makers in the long term. (MDM)

  7. Responding to local needs. Self-help groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jayaseelan, J

    1993-01-01

    Pink Triangle, the only community-based group in Malaysia which works with men who have sex with men, took initial steps in August 1992 to establish a self-help project for people who are HIV-seropositive. Supporting people who are HIV-positive and fighting for their rights is new in Malaysia. The group has thus far been publicized through its public education events, hospitals, and other nongovernmental organizations. For the first time, information is being published specifically by and for people living with HIV/AIDS. The project also has a phone line to allow people to speak anonymously with someone who shares their experience. Many callers are men who have sex with men in the social context of intense prejudice and discrimination. Afraid to openly acknowledge their sexuality with strangers, the callers have yet to accede to meeting each other face-to-face in a group setting. The author notes in closing that Pink Triangle must be realistic about what can be achieved in Malaysia and allow the group to develop according to people's needs and not on the basis of a model imported from outside of the country.

  8. Help-seeking beliefs for mental disorders among medical and nursing students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Picco, Louisa; Seow, Esmond; Chua, Boon Yiang; Mahendran, Rathi; Verma, Swapna; Xie, Huiting; Wang, Jia; Chong, Siow Ann; Subramaniam, Mythily

    2018-05-09

    The current study aimed to investigate beliefs about help-seeking, treatment options and expected outcomes for people with alcohol abuse, dementia, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia, using a vignette-based approach, among a sample of nursing and medical students. This was a cross-sectional online study among medical and nursing students (n = 1002) who were randomly assigned 1 of 5 vignettes. Questions were asked about whom could best help the person in the vignette, the likely helpfulness of a broad range of interventions, and the likely outcome for the person in the vignette with and without appropriate help. A total of 45.1% of students recommended seeing a psychiatrist, which was the most common source of help reported for all 5 vignettes. Help-seeking preferences were significantly associated with age, academic year and vignette type. Respondents rated seeing a psychiatrist as the most helpful intervention (92.4%) and dealing with the problem on their own as the most harmful (68.1%). Then, 81.5% of students indicated that the condition of the person in the vignette would worsen if appropriate help was not sought. Medical and nursing students most commonly recommended seeking help from a psychiatrist for mental health-related problems, where help-seeking preferences were associated with various age, academic year and vignette type. As these students will be the future medical and nursing workforce, they need to be equipped with the skills and ability to recognize signs and symptoms of mental illness, to aid timely and appropriate treatment for people with mental illness. © 2018 The Authors Early Intervention in Psychiatry Published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  9. Sensation seeking in opium abusers compared to normal people

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2004-05-01

    Full Text Available Recent research shows that it is possible to identify people at risk of substance abuse using some personality variables. Identification of these people might help social planners to deal with these people specifically in their prevention attempts. The aim of this study was to compare the sensation seeking of opium addicted and non-addicted people using the sensation seeking scale. Such a comparison might help to identify personality variables that are effective in turning toward substance abuse. In order to measure the sensation seeking of subjects “Sensation Seeking Scale” (SSS were used. 31 opium abusers were matched to 31 normal controls according to the following variables: age, education, father and mother education. Results showed that opium abusers obtain higher scores on the total sensation seeking score ,“variety seeking” and “experience seeking” subscales.

  10. Up from Dependency: A New National Public Assistance Strategy. Supplement 3: A Self-Help Catalog.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotler, Martin; And Others

    Self-help among low-income people is vitally important. In no area is self-help more important than in overcoming poverty's burdens and energizing the escape from poverty. This document comprises an inventory of self-help and mutual-help programs that feature active involvement of members of the low-income population. The programs in this…

  11. Implicit attitudes, emotions, and helping intentions of mental health workers toward their clients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brener, Loren; Rose, Grenville; von Hippel, Courtney; Wilson, Hannah

    2013-06-01

    The attitudes of mental health care workers toward their clients may influence the quality of care they provide. There is growing recognition of the role of implicit attitudes in behavior toward people with stigmatized illnesses, such as mental illness, and of the need to measure these separately from explicit attitudes. Seventy-four mental health workers completed implicit and explicit measure of attitudes toward people with mental illness. The participants were also asked about their intention to help people with mental illness and their emotional reactions toward people with a mental illness. The findings show that the implicit attitudes of the health workers toward clients with a mental illness are somewhat negative despite the fact that their explicit attitudes are somewhat positive. Although both implicit and explicit attitudes predicted negative emotions, only implicit attitudes were related to helping intentions. This study highlights the association between implicit attitudes and behavioral intentions and confirms the importance of addressing implicit attitudes in mental health research.

  12. Online support for transgender people: an analysis of forums and social networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cipolletta, Sabrina; Votadoro, Riccardo; Faccio, Elena

    2017-09-01

    Transgender people face a range of personal and social conflicts that strongly influence their well-being. In many cases, the Internet can become the main resource in terms of finding support. The aim of this study was to understand how transgender people give and receive help online. Between 2013 and 2015, 122 online community conversations were collected on Italian forums and Facebook groups involving transgender people, and online interviews were conducted with 16 users of these communities. A qualitative content analysis was conducted by using the software package, NVivo10. The main categories that emerged were: motivations to join an online community, online help, differences between online and offline interactions, status, conflicts and professional help. Results indicate that participation in online communities often derives from the users' need for help. This help can be given by peers who have had similar experiences, and by professionals who participate in the discussions as moderator. The need to test one's own identity, to compare oneself with others and to share one's personal experiences made online communities at risk of exposing users to invalidation and transphobic messages. Administrators and moderators try to ensure the safety of users, and suggest that they ask for professional help offline and/or online when over-specific medical advice was sought. This study confirms that transgender people might find benefit from an online platform of help and support and might minimise distance problems, increase financial convenience and foster disinhibition. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Proceedings of CanWEA's 23. annual conference

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-01-01

    This conference was attended by wind turbine manufacturers, component suppliers, wind energy project developers, utilities and a broad range of service providers to the wind power industry. It provided a forum to identify key issues facing the wind power industry and the measures that must be taken if Canada is to meet the targets and objectives established for wind energy by federal and provincial governments. It is anticipated that the rapid growth in the wind power industry will help create jobs and training opportunities as well as provide economic benefits to local communities. The conference was divided into 3 streams, namely policy; business and development; and technical. Alberta policy and Quebec policy issues were discussed on the first day of the conference along with project financing issues and operations/maintenance of wind farms. Wind in cold climates was also discussed along with wind and grid reliability issues. Policy developments in western Canada, Atlantic Canada and Ontario were discussed on the second day of the conference along with wind farm siting issues, small wind projects under 10 MW, wind resource assessment, performance measurement, and advances in wind forecasting. Municipal involvement in wind projects was discussed on the final day of the conference along with wind integration with conventional grids and the need for trained service technicians in the Canadian wind industry. Forty presentations from the conference have been catalogued separately for inclusion in this database

  14. Image and Video for Hearing Impaired People

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aran Oya

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available We present a global overview of image- and video-processing-based methods to help the communication of hearing impaired people. Two directions of communication have to be considered: from a hearing person to a hearing impaired person and vice versa. In this paper, firstly, we describe sign language (SL and the cued speech (CS language which are two different languages used by the deaf community. Secondly, we present existing tools which employ SL and CS video processing and recognition for the automatic communication between deaf people and hearing people. Thirdly, we present the existing tools for reverse communication, from hearing people to deaf people that involve SL and CS video synthesis.

  15. Access to water: Technical and social solutions help communities ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Access to water: Technical and social solutions help communities make the most of available sources. 08 décembre 2010. Image. IDRC Communications. LASTING IMPACTS. IDRC-supported research engages communities, and countries, in developing durable solutions to water problems. Whatever the challenge, people ...

  16. Listening to Music: Helping Children Regulate Their Emotions and Improve Learning in the Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foran, Lucille M.

    2009-01-01

    Early education teachers are familiar with using music and rhythm as tools for learning language and building memory. However, the potential of music to help across all special education settings is largely unexplored. Work with music has been widely judged helpful in cases of psychological trauma, yet people do not know why it is helpful. The…

  17. Trends in non-help-seeking for mental disorders in Germany between 1997-1999 and 2009-2012: a repeated cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandstetter, Susanne; Dodoo-Schittko, Frank; Speerforck, Sven; Apfelbacher, Christian; Grabe, Hans-Jörgen; Jacobi, Frank; Hapke, Ulfert; Schomerus, Georg; Baumeister, Sebastian E

    2017-08-01

    This study sought to examine trends in non-help-seeking for mental disorders among persons with a prevalent mental disorder (12-month prevalence) in Germany between 1997-1999 and 2009-2012. We examined data from 1909 persons aged 18-65 years who participated in two independent, repeated cross-sectional surveys (German National Interview and Examination Study 1997-1999, German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults 2009-2012) conducted 12 years apart. Prevalent mental disorders (12-month prevalence) were determined using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, which included information on lifetime help-seeking for mental health problems. Correlates of self-reported help-seeking were analyzed according to Andersen's Behavioral Model. Multivariable Poisson regression models were used to assess time trends in the directly standardized and model-adjusted prevalence of non-help-seeking across strata of socio-economic and clinical variables. The proportion of people with a prevalent mental disorder who have never sought help in their lifetime decreased significantly from 62% (95% CI 58.7-64.7) to 57% (95% CI 52.2-60.9) between 1997-1999 and 2009-2012 in adults aged 18-65 years in Germany. Downward trends in non-help-seeking occurred in all investigated strata and reached statistical significance in women, in people who were living alone, people with medium educational level, people living in middle-sized communities, people with non-statutory health insurance, smokers, and people with co-existing somatic conditions. Despite a downward trend over the course of 12 years, a large proportion of people suffering from mental disorders are still not seeking treatment in Germany. Further efforts to increase uptake of help-seeking for mental disorders in hard-to-reach groups are warranted to continue this trend.

  18. Emergency Readiness for Older Adults and People with Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... plan for pets and service animals. Millions of people have pets and service animals that they love dearly. Owners ... support of friends and neighbors to help with pet care if local shelters are ... Americans and people with disabilities engage in emergency planning so they ...

  19. Developing a self-help guide for traumatised university students in Iraq

    OpenAIRE

    Jaber, Saad Sabet

    2012-01-01

    Background: Iraqi people have been experiencing traumatic events continually for several decades. Consequently, high prevalence rates of trauma-related symptoms have been documented. In contrast, there is a clear lack in mental health services available for traumatised people. This study aimed to screen for PTSD, depression, and anxiety, assess related variables (e.g. coping strategies, posttraumatic cognitions, and social support), and develop a self-help guide (SHG) for traumatised universi...

  20. Ombuds’ corner: A simple confidential discussion can help

    CERN Multimedia

    Vincent Vuillemin

    2011-01-01

    In this series, the Bulletin aims to explain the role of the Ombuds at CERN by presenting practical examples of misunderstandings that could have been resolved by the Ombuds if he had been contacted earlier. Please note that, in all the situations we present, the names are fictitious and used only to improve clarity.   No story this week, for a change! But I would like to convey to everyone a simple message: whatever issues you are facing, the Ombuds is here to listen to you; the Office is open for you. From time to time I hear that someone had to leave his/her workplace due to an overwhelming stress or even a depression. To get to such a point takes time and I always wonder if these people have actually looked for help, and if not maybe this increased their isolation. At CERN, several Services are available to give valuable help, including the Ombuds. It is unfortunate that these people have not at least tried this Office, as this action would have been quite common. A simple discussion som...

  1. The relationship between macroeconomic and industry-specific business cycle indicators and work-related injuris among Danish construction workers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Kent Jacob; Lander, Flemming; Lauritsen, Jens

    2015-01-01

    Objectives The current study examines and compares the relationship between both macroeconomic and industry-specific business cycle indicators, and work-related injuries among construction workers in Denmark using emergency department (ED) injury data and also officially reported injuries...... (range 0.14–0.20) and WEA injuries (range 0.13–0.36). Furthermore, although there is some variability in the strength of the relationship of the different business cycle indicators, the relationships are generally not stronger for the WEA injuries than for the ED injuries, except for general unemployment....... Similarly, no substantial differences in strength of relation between industry-specific and macroeconomic indicators were identified. Conclusions The study shows that there was no difference in the relationship between business cycle indicators, and WEA and ED injury data. This indicates that changes...

  2. WPSS: Watching people security services

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bouma, H.; Baan, J.; Borsboom, S.; Zon, K. van; Luo, X.; Loke, B.; Stoeller, B.; Kuilenburg, H. van; Dijk, J.

    2013-01-01

    To improve security, the number of surveillance cameras is rapidly increasing. However, the number of human operators remains limited and only a selection of the video streams are observed. Intelligent software services can help to find people quickly, evaluate their behavior and show the most

  3. Effectiveness of a Guided Self-help Manual in Strengthening Resilience in People Diagnosed with Moderate Depression and Their Family Caregivers in Thailand: A Randomised Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCann, Terence V; Songprakun, Wallapa; Stephenson, John

    2017-08-01

    The growing incidence of depression in developing countries, such as Thailand, is placing increasing pressure on public mental health services, and those living in rural areas have limited access to these services. Resilience is integral to the recovery of people with depression and to caregivers. This parallel-group randomised controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of a guided self-help manual in improving resilience in adults diagnosed with moderate depression and their primary caregivers in Thailand. Our findings provide preliminary evidence that the approach is an effective way of increasing resilience in adults with depression and their caregivers.

  4. Helping Young Children become Citizens of the World

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swiniarski, Louise Boyle

    2006-01-01

    Global education gives a framework for teaching children the responsibilities of being world citizen. It helps children find their place in the world community, where they accept differences among cultures and people. It should not be an add-on activity, or a once a year event, but one that integrates international themes into daily curriculum. In…

  5. The Help-line "Invito alla Vita": a new project for suicide prevention in Trentino region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Napoli, Wilma; Andreatta, Olaf

    2014-11-01

    "Invito alla Vita" is a community-based suicide prevention project that officially started in Trentino in late 2008. The project was promoted by the local Health Services, trying from the beginning to involve other community subjects, and has been working over five years and a half in different directions, particularly promoting a phone help-line. The aims of the Invito alla Vita (IaV) Help Line have been clear from the beginning: decrease the sense of loneliness, offer encouragement and support, promote engagement with health services, reduce stigma and prejudice. Contrary to popular misconceptions, talking with people about suicide will not increase suicide risk, neither will it induce patients to commit suicide.The volunteers involved in the IaV help-line offer people empathic listening without judgment and easy tips, to reduce loneliness, sadness and supply reassurance that other people care. In this study we tried to deepen our knowledges about the volunteers' motivations and necessities to use them for creating a better system of support: we realized indeed that continuous training and supervision, along with official awards given by community institutions, are basic factors to sustain the volunteers' motives to cooperate with the help line.

  6. Predicting Intentions to Seek Psychological Help Among Botswana University Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mpho M. Pheko

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The current study had two main objectives. The first was to investigate Botswana’s university students’ intentions to seek psychological help. The second was to investigate whether (a Attitude Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help (ATSPPH, (b Self-Stigma of Seeking Help (SSOSH, and (c Social Stigma of Receiving Psychological Help (SSRPH predicted the students’ intentions to seek psychological help. A total of N = 519 (283 females and 236 males students from the University of Botswana completed the survey. Results indicated that generally, the students had moderate intentions of seeking psychological help. Multiple regression analysis revealed that of the three predictors, only ATSPPH and SSRPH significantly predicted intentions to seek psychological help. The current study is important because while it has been established that university students are a high-risk population for mental health problems, there is close to nothing documented on university students in Botswana. Findings of the current study will undoubtedly increase knowledge relating to psychological help-seeking and its predictors in Botswana and may inform interventions that aim to encourage young people to seek psychological or counseling help.

  7. Cyberbullying, help-seeking and mental health in young Australians: implications for public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spears, Barbara A; Taddeo, Carmel M; Daly, Anthony L; Stretton, Alexander; Karklins, Larisa T

    2015-02-01

    To examine the relationship between young Australians' cyberbullying experiences, their help-seeking practices and associated mental well-being and social connectedness, with a view to informing national health and well-being agendas. An online survey was administered to young people aged 12-18 years (n = 2,338), recruited across Australia in year 2 of a larger 4-year study. Youth with no experience of cyberbullying had better well-being profiles and mental health overall. Conversely, cyberbully victims, had poorer well-being and mental health and tended not to engage with online support services, in spite of being more likely to be online after 11 pm. Parents and peers were identified as key sources of help for most young people when dealing with problems. Cyberbullying is a public health issue particularly for vulnerable youth whose mental health and well-being is impacted more than those not involved. As youth are spending increasing time in the 24/7 online environment, there is a need to develop initiatives that engage young people and encourage help-seeking online, whilst concomitantly building capacity of parents and peers to support their well-being.

  8. Stories of People Who Have Attended a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Support Group in a Secure Intellectual Disability Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tallentire, Liz; Smith, Matthew; David, Lee; Roberts, Adam; Bruce; Morrow, Sarah; Withers, Paul; Smith, Ian

    2016-08-31

    This research is about people who have intellectual disabilities and live in a secure hospital. It is about a group of people who meet at a support group. The support group is for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. These people with intellectual disabilities helped with planning, doing, and telling other people about the research. They told their stories about going to the support group. Their stories were joined together into a group story. The story said that the group helped people in lots of different ways. For some people going to the group was difficult at first because it was ?coming out'. This means telling other people you are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Then it got easier and people started to feel better about themselves. Then they wanted to help others and this was important in their lives. This group seemed to help people get better. We have given some ideas for setting up other groups and doing more research. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. The Human Rights Act: What are the implications for older people?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-06-01

    Help the Aged is launching a report outlining the terms of the Human Rights Act and its implications both for older people themselves and for public bodies responsible for providing services to them. Tessa Harding, head of policy at Help the Aged said: 'The Human Rights Act is an important turning point for older people. Not only does it establish key rights of individuals to freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment, to private and family life and so on; it also prohibits discrimination in accessing these rights.We expect older people and their advocates to use the Act to ensure greater fairness and equality in our society.'

  10. Sub-Saharan African migrant youths' help-seeking barriers and facilitators for mental health and substance use problems: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCann, Terence V; Mugavin, Janette; Renzaho, Andre; Lubman, Dan I

    2016-08-02

    Many young migrants and their parents are reluctant to seek help for mental health and substance use problems. Help-seeking delays can result in longer duration of untreated problems and poorer outcomes. In this study, we aimed to identify the help-seeking barriers and facilitators for anxiety, depression and alcohol and drug use problems in young people from recently established sub-Saharan African migrant communities. A qualitative study, incorporating individual, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, was undertaken in Melbourne, Australia. Twenty-eight young sub-Saharan African migrants participated in the individual interviews, and 41 sub-Saharan African-born parents and key community leaders participated in 4 focus groups. All participants were aged 16 years or over. A thematic analysis of the data was undertaken. Themes and related sub-themes were abstracted from the data, reflecting the young people's, parents' and key community leaders' beliefs about barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for mental health and substance use problems. Four help-seeking barriers were identified: stigma of mental illness, lack of mental health literacy in parents and young people, lack of cultural competency of formal help sources, and financial costs deterring access. Five help-seeking facilitators were abstracted: being open with friends and family, strong community support systems, trustworthiness and confidentiality of help-sources, perceived expertise of formal help-sources, increasing young people's and parents' mental health literacy. Programs that identify and build on help-seeking facilitators while addressing help-seeking barriers are needed to address mental health issues among young sub-Saharan African migrants. Strategies to address help-seeking barriers should consider counteracting stigma and increasing mental health literacy in sub-Saharan African communities, increasing health providers' cultural competency and perceived trustworthiness, and

  11. Asking for help online: Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans youth, self-harm and articulating the 'failed' self.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDermott, Elizabeth

    2015-11-01

    International evidence suggests that young people are less likely to seek help for mental health problems in comparison with adults. This study focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans young people who are a population group with an elevated risk of suicide and self-harm, and little is known about their help-seeking behaviour. Utilising qualitative virtual methods, lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans youth web-based discussions about seeking help for suicidal feelings and self-harming were investigated. Findings from a thematic analysis indicate that these young people wanted assistance but found it difficult to (1) ask for help, (2) articulate emotional distress and (3) 'tell' their selves as 'failed'. This analysis suggests that key to understanding these problems are emotions such as shame which arise from negotiating norms connected to heterosexuality, adolescence and rationality. I argue that these norms act to regulate what emotions it is possible to feel, what emotions it is possible to articulate and what type of young lives that can be told. The future development of health and social care interventions which aim to reduce lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans youth suicide and self-harm need to work with a nuanced understanding of the emotional life of young people if they are to be effective. © The Author(s) 2014.

  12. God Loves Us All: Helping Christians Know and Name God in a Post-Holocaust Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nienhaus, Cyndi

    2011-01-01

    Reflection on the Holocaust is still critical today to help all educators teach their students about good and evil in the world today. In particular, reflection on the Holocaust is crucial for religious educators to help people know and name God, as well as help them deal with questions of theodicy, within their everyday life experiences. This…

  13. The relationship between macroeconomic and industry-specific business cycle indicators and work-related injuries among Danish construction workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nielsen, Kent Jacob; Lander, F; Lauritsen, J M

    2015-04-01

    The current study examines and compares the relationship between both macroeconomic and industry-specific business cycle indicators, and work-related injuries among construction workers in Denmark using emergency department (ED) injury data and also officially reported injuries to the Danish Working Environment Authority (WEA). The correlations between ED and WEA injury data from the catchment area of Odense University Hospital during the period 1984-2010 were tested separately for variability and trend with two general macroeconomic indicators (gross domestic product and the Danish unemployment rate) and two construction industry-specific indicators (gross value added and the number of employees). The results show that injury rates increase during economic booms and decrease during recessions. However, the regression coefficients were generally weak for both the ED (range 0.14-0.20) and WEA injuries (range 0.13-0.36). Furthermore, although there is some variability in the strength of the relationship of the different business cycle indicators, the relationships are generally not stronger for the WEA injuries than for the ED injuries, except for general unemployment. Similarly, no substantial differences in strength of relation between industry-specific and macroeconomic indicators were identified. The study shows that there was no difference in the relationship between business cycle indicators, and WEA and ED injury data. This indicates that changes in reporting behaviour do not seem to play a major role in the relation between the business cycle and workplace injuries in a Danish context. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  14. Establishing a library of resources to help people understand key concepts in assessing treatment claims—The “Critical thinking and Appraisal Resource Library” (CARL)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chalmers, Iain; Atkinson, Patricia; Badenoch, Douglas; Oxman, Andrew D.; Austvoll-Dahlgren, Astrid; Nordheim, Lena; Krause, L. Kendall; Schwartz, Lisa M.; Woloshin, Steven; Burls, Amanda; Mosconi, Paola; Hoffmann, Tammy; Cusack, Leila; Albarqouni, Loai; Glasziou, Paul

    2017-01-01

    Background People are frequently confronted with untrustworthy claims about the effects of treatments. Uncritical acceptance of these claims can lead to poor, and sometimes dangerous, treatment decisions, and wasted time and money. Resources to help people learn to think critically about treatment claims are scarce, and they are widely scattered. Furthermore, very few learning-resources have been assessed to see if they improve knowledge and behavior. Objectives Our objectives were to develop the Critical thinking and Appraisal Resource Library (CARL). This library was to be in the form of a database containing learning resources for those who are responsible for encouraging critical thinking about treatment claims, and was to be made available online. We wished to include resources for groups we identified as ‘intermediaries’ of knowledge, i.e. teachers of schoolchildren, undergraduates and graduates, for example those teaching evidence-based medicine, or those communicating treatment claims to the public. In selecting resources, we wished to draw particular attention to those resources that had been formally evaluated, for example, by the creators of the resource or independent research groups. Methods CARL was populated with learning-resources identified from a variety of sources—two previously developed but unmaintained inventories; systematic reviews of learning-interventions; online and database searches; and recommendations by members of the project group and its advisors. The learning-resources in CARL were organised by ‘Key Concepts’ needed to judge the trustworthiness of treatment claims, and were made available online by the James Lind Initiative in Testing Treatments interactive (TTi) English (www.testingtreatments.org/category/learning-resources).TTi English also incorporated the database of Key Concepts and the Claim Evaluation Tools developed through the Informed Healthcare Choices (IHC) project (informedhealthchoices.org). Results We have

  15. EXERT Yourself and Help in the Search for an Alzheimer's Cure

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Yourself and Help in the Search for an Alzheimer’s Cure Can exercise slow or prevent cognitive decline in older people who are at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease? The EXERT Study: Building Memories Through Exercise ...

  16. Preference of the place of death among people of Pune

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Priyadarshini Kulkarni

    2014-01-01

    Conclusions: Helping people to die at their preferred place is a part of end-of-life care. Majority of people surveyed by us, prefer to die at home, where they are relatively more comfortable. Public and governmental policies should be directed toward facilitating home deaths.

  17. Young Children Help Others to Achieve Their Social Goals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beier, Jonathan S.; Over, Harriet; Carpenter, Malinda

    2014-01-01

    From early in development, humans have strong prosocial tendencies. Much research has documented young children's propensity to help others achieve their unfulfilled goals toward physical objects. Yet many of our most common and important goals are social--directed toward other people. Here we demonstrate that children are also inclined, and able,…

  18. Public attitudes toward depression and help-seeking in four European countries baseline survey prior to the OSPI-Europe intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coppens, Evelien; Van Audenhove, Chantal; Scheerder, Gert; Arensman, Ella; Coffey, Claire; Costa, Susana; Koburger, Nicole; Gottlebe, Katrin; Gusmão, Ricardo; O'Connor, Rory; Postuvan, Vita; Sarchiapone, Marco; Sisask, Merike; Székely, András; van der Feltz-Cornelis, Christina; Hegerl, Ulrich

    2013-09-05

    Stigmatizing attitudes toward depression and toward help-seeking are important barriers for people with mental health problems to obtain adequate professional help. This study aimed to examine: (1) population attitudes toward depression and toward seeking professional help in four European countries; (2) the relation between depression stigma and attitudes toward help-seeking; (3) the relation between both attitudes and socio-demographic characteristics; and (4) differences in attitudes across countries. A representative general population survey (n=4011) was conducted in Germany, Hungary, Ireland, and Portugal, assessing attitudes toward depression and toward help-seeking, and a number of socio-demographic variables. Respondents showed a moderate degree of personal stigma toward depression and a strikingly higher degree of perceived stigma. Although a substantial majority showed openness to seek professional help, only half of the people perceived professional help as valuable. More negative attitudes were found in Hungary and were associated with male gender, older age, lower educational level and living alone. Also, personal stigma was related to less openness to and less perceived value of professional treatment. The survey was cross-sectional, so no causal inferences could be drawn. Personal and perceived stigma toward depression deserves public health attention, since they impact upon the intention of people with depression to seek professional help. Public media campaigns should focus on the credibility of the mental health care sector, and target males, older people, and those with a lower educational level and living alone. The content of each campaign should be adapted to the cultural norms of the country for which it is intended. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. The cost of a "bad hire:" how search firms can help.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, S J

    1991-10-01

    What's the key to competitive advantage and total quality management? O'Connor believes it's hiring top-quality people that are a "good fit" with your organization, and he tells how a search firm can help you do just that.

  20. A grounded theory of bisexual individuals' experiences of help seeking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacKay, Jenna; Robinson, Margaret; Pinder, Sarah; Ross, Lori E

    2017-01-01

    Bisexual people constitute the largest sexual minority group in North America and experience significant mental health disparities in relation to heterosexuals, gays, and lesbians. In this article, we will examine the process and experience of help seeking among bisexuals. This was a community-based study that collected qualitative interview data from 41 diverse bisexual people from across Ontario, Canada. We analyzed the interview data using grounded theory and constructed an understanding of bisexuals' experiences of help seeking. We have conceptualized an overarching model that illustrates 4 interrelated stages: (a) the consideration of services, (b) the process of finding services, (c) barriers and facilitators to accessing services, and (d) experience of service utilization. This model is nonlinear, in that participants do not necessarily move through stages in sequence. Although many stages are experienced at the individual level, they are simultaneously informed by multiple factors at interpersonal and system levels. Our findings suggest a need for interventions at the policy, service and provider levels to improve accessibility of culturally competent services for this population. Understanding the mental health experiences of bisexual people will allow mental health professionals to build competencies working with this population and thereby contribute to a reduction in mental health disparities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  1. Storytelling: an approach that can help to develop resilience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    East, Leah; Jackson, Debra; O'Brien, Louise; Peters, Kathleen

    2010-01-01

    Stories convey values and emotions, and can reveal the differences and similarities between people's experiences. Elucidating personal stories involves sharing which can help form bonds and supportive networks. With reflection, these can help to develop resilience. While the literature recognises the potential cathartic and therapeutic benefits associated with storytelling in research, links between the development of personal resilience and storytelling for research purposes have not been drawn. This paper argues that storytelling aids the development of personal resilience and provides opportunities to celebrate the hardiness of research participants who contribute to knowledge by recounting their stories of difficulty and adversity.

  2. HBR's 10 must reads on managing people

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2011-01-01

    ... them. If you read nothing else on managing people, read these articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you maximize your employee's performance...

  3. Assessing the skills of home care workers in helping older people take their prescribed medications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smyth, Elizabeth E J

    2015-08-01

    The Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland applied a modified version of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) to assess the skills of home care workers in assisting older people taking prescribed medications. In Northern Ireland, home care workers are care workers employed by health and social care trusts or private agencies. The application of the model has developed the skills of this staff group, improved the relationship between the commissioner and provider, significantly reduced the time spent by community nurses in individual training and assessment, and enhanced the patient experience for those taking medication. Overall, the application of this model has provided assurances to the Trust board, the executive director of nursing, and operational directors that home care workers are competent in assisting older people in this high-risk activity.

  4. Depression, help-seeking perceptions, and perceived family functioning among Spanish-Dominant Hispanics and Non-Hispanic Whites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keeler, Amanda R; Siegel, Jason T

    2016-09-15

    Guided by Beck's (1967) cognitive theory of depression, we assessed whether perceived family functioning (PFF) mediated the relationship between depressive symptomatology and help-seeking inclinations. Study 1 included 130 Spanish-Dominant Hispanics and Study 2 included 124 Non-Hispanic Whites obtained using online crowd sourcing. Participants completed measures of depressive symptomatology, PFF, and several scales measuring aspects of help seeking inclinations and self-stigma. Study 2 also included an experiment. With an eye toward potential future interventions, we assessed the malleability of PFF. Specifically, participants were randomly assigned to recall positive or negative family experiences and then PFF was measures for a second time. Both studies found PFF mediates the relationship between depressive symptomatology and the help seeking scales. Among non-depressed people, the positive manipulation improved PFF; however, among participants with elevated depressive symptomatology, writing about a positive family experience worsened PFF. With the exception of the experiment, most of the data were cross-sectional. For the experiment, it is possible that different manipulations or primes could have different effects. Whether investigating responses from Spanish-Dominant Hispanics or Non-Hispanic Whites, PFF mediates the negative relationship between heightened depressive symptomatology and familial help-seeking beliefs, as well as self-stigma. However, even though the mediation analysis offers preliminary support that increasing PFF can potentially increase help-seeking behaviors of Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White people with depression, the results of the interaction analysis, specifically the negative impact of writing about positive family memories on people with elevated depression, illustrates the challenges of persuading people with depression. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. NICHD Research Networks Help Piece Together the Puzzle of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Print NICHD research networks help piece together the puzzle of polycystic ovary syndrome Many people think that ... more like putting together a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle. Except that you can’t check the cover ...

  6. Measuring the Self-Stigma Associated with Seeking Psychological Help

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vogel, David L.; Wade, Nathaniel G.; Haake, Shawn

    2006-01-01

    Self-stigma is an important factor in people's decisions not to engage in therapy. To measure this construct, the authors developed the 10-item Self-Stigma of Seeking Help (SSOSH) scale. In Study 1 (n = 583), the SSOSH had a unidimensional factor structure and good reliability (0.91) among participants. Study 2 (n = 470) confirmed the factor…

  7. Self-help groups and mental health/substance use agencies: the benefits of organizational exchange.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, Thomas; Perron, Brian Edward

    2010-02-01

    Self-help groups benefit clients by linking them to people who have "been there" and are successfully coping with their situations. Mental health/substance use agencies can increase access to evidence-based benefits of self-help groups by engaging them in organizational exchanges. Organizational theories are used to frame beneficial exchanges with self-help groups. Adaptational theory is used to frame exchanges with self-help groups and various service agency subunits, e.g., board, practitioner, and client units. Institutional theory is used to frame joint agency/self-help initiatives to promote community acceptance of self-help groups, which in turn may enhance the credibility of the professional agency.

  8. Helping or punishing strangers: neural correlates of altruistic decisions as third-party and of its relation to empathic concern.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Yang; Strang, Sabrina; Weber, Bernd

    2015-01-01

    Social norms are a cornerstone of human society. When social norms are violated (e.g., fairness) people can either help the victim or punish the violator in order to restore justice. Recent research has shown that empathic concern influences this decision to help or punish. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we investigated the neural underpinnings of third-party help and punishment and the involvement of empathic concern. Participants saw a person violating a social norm, i.e., proposing unfair offers in a dictator game, at the expense of another person. The participants could then decide to either punish the violator or help the victim. Our results revealed that both third-party helping as well as third-party punishing activated the bilateral striatum, a region strongly related with reward processing, indicating that both altruistic decisions share a common neuronal basis. In addition, also different networks were involved in the two processes compared with control conditions; bilateral striatum and the right lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC) during helping and bilateral striatum as well as left lPFC and ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) during punishment. Further we found that individual differences in empathic concern influenced whether people prefer to help or to punish. People with high empathic concern helped more frequently, were faster in their decision and showed higher activation in frontoparietal regions during helping compared with punishing. Our findings provide insights into the neuronal basis of human altruistic behavior and social norm enforcement mechanism.

  9. The Self-help Online against Suicidal thoughts (SOS) trial : Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mühlmann, Charlotte; Madsen, Trine; Hjorthøj, Carsten; Kerkhof, Ad; Nordentoft, Merete; Erlangsen, Annette

    2017-01-01

    Background: Suicidal thoughts are common, causing distress for millions of people all over the world. However, people with suicidal thoughts might not access support due to financial restraints, stigma or a lack of available treatment offers. Self-help programs provided online could overcome these

  10. Enablement, Constraint, and "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People."

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlone, David

    2001-01-01

    Uses interviews to examine how the self-help book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" shapes the identity of organization members who read and use the book. Suggests that such people are simultaneously enabled and constrained as they confront tensions between individualism and community, competition and cooperation, and domination and…

  11. Attitudes and stigma in relation to help-seeking intentions for psychological problems in low and high suicide rate regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynders, A; Kerkhof, A J F M; Molenberghs, G; Van Audenhove, C

    2014-02-01

    Accessibility and availability of mental health care services are necessary but not sufficient for people to seek help for psychological problems. Attitudes and stigma related to help seeking also determine help seeking intentions. The aim of this study is to investigate how cross-national differences in attitudes and stigma within the general population are related to professional and informal help seeking intentions in low and high suicide rate regions. By means of a postal structured questionnaire, data of 2999 Dutch and Flemish respondents between 18 and 65 years were gathered. Attitudes toward help seeking, perceived stigma, self-stigma, shame and intention to seek help were assessed. People in the Netherlands, where suicide rates are low, have more positive attitudes toward help seeking and experience less self stigma and shame compared to the people in Flanders, where suicide rates are relatively high. These attitudinal factors predicted professional as well as informal help seeking intentions. Perceived stigma was negatively associated with informal help seeking. Shame was positively associated with higher intention to use psychotropic drugs and perceived stigma was negatively associated with the intention to seek help from a psychotherapist in Flanders but not in the Netherlands. Help seeking for psychological problems prevent these problems to aggravate and it is assumed to be a protective factor for suicide. Our results stress the importance of the promotion of positive attitudes and the reduction of stigma within the general population to facilitate help seeking from professional providers and informal networks. Focusing on these attitudinal factors is believed to be a key aspect of universal mental health and suicide prevention policies.

  12. Drug use among homeless young people in Los Angeles and Melbourne.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenthal, Doreen; Mallett, Shelley; Milburn, Norweeta; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane

    2008-09-01

    To examine the effect of time spent homeless on young people's substance use and use of drug and alcohol services in two countries with contrasting policy and service environments. A crossnational survey was conducted of recently homeless and experienced homeless young people in Melbourne (N = 674) and Los Angeles (N = 620). Questions were asked about alcohol and drug use in the past 3 months, frequency of use, injecting drug use, drug dependency, and perceived need for, and use of, drug and alcohol services. Data were analyzed using logistic regression. Substantial numbers of young people reported use of alcohol and drugs. More Australians than Americans and more experienced than newly homeless reported drug use, although there were no differences in frequency of use in the past 3 months. Polydrug use was common, as were injecting drugs and responses that signified drug dependency. All were more common among Australians and experienced homeless young people. A substantial number of young people had "ever" taken part in a drug or alcohol program, but only a minority believed that they needed help from services. Of these, only a minority had sought help. This was particularly so among those who were classified as drug dependent. Reasons for failure to seek help varied. Substance use is alarmingly high compared to national samples of young people, especially among those who had been homeless for longer periods. Programs to reduce substance use must take account of the prevailing drug cultures, as well as different subgroups of the population.

  13. Motivation for helping behavior after the floods in 2014: The role of personality and national identity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Otašević Biljana

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The severe floods, which struck Serbia in May 2014, inflicted enormous material damage and forced tens of thousands of people to leave their homes. The goal of this research was to investigate the motivation of citizens who helped, i.e. to establish the predictors of the motivation for helping behavior as well as its effects on different ways of providing help. Volunteer Functions Inventory, National Identity Scale, Big Five Inventory, and Helping Behavior Questionnaire were applied to the sample of 183 people who provided the flood victims with help. Multivariate analysis of covariance, where the predictors were gender, the prior acquaintance with the victims, six volunteer functions (Social, Understanding, Protective, Enhancement, Values, Career, age, education and financial status, while the criteria were dimensions of helping behavior, shows that the model provides statistically significant explanation of all dimensions of helping behavior, where the Social Motives and Understanding have significant multivariate effects. MANCOVA was used for establishing the predictors of helping motivation. Along with the control variables from the first analysis, the predictors were Big Five personality traits and national identity, and the criteria were 6 volunteer functions. The results showed significant multivariate effects of Openness, Agreeableness, Extraversion and national identity. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

  14. Public attitudes toward depression and help-seeking in four European countries baseline survey prior to the OSPI-Europe intervention

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Coppens, E.C.; van Audenhove, C.; Scheerder, G.; Arensman, E.; Coffey, C.; Costa, S.; Koburger, N.; Gottlebe, K.; Gusmão, R.; O'Connor, R.; Postuvan, V.; Sarchiapone, M.; Sisask, M.; Székely, A.; van der Feltz-Cornelis, C.M.

    2013-01-01

    Background Stigmatizing attitudes toward depression and toward help-seeking are important barriers for people with mental health problems to obtain adequate professional help. This study aimed to examine: (1) population attitudes toward depression and toward seeking professional help in four

  15. Agents That Negotiate Proficiently with People

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraus, Sarit

    Negotiation is a process by which interested parties confer with the aim of reaching agreements. The dissemination of technologies such as the Internet has created opportunities for computer agents to negotiate with people, despite being distributed geographically and in time. The inclusion of people presents novel problems for the design of autonomous agent negotiation strategies. People do not adhere to the optimal, monolithic strategies that can be derived analytically, as is the case in settings comprising computer agents alone. Their negotiation behavior is affected by a multitude of social and psychological factors, such as social attributes that influence negotiation deals (e.g., social welfare, inequity aversion) and traits of individual negotiators (e.g., altruism, trustworthiness, helpfulness). Furthermore, culture plays an important role in their decision making and people of varying cultures differ in the way they make offers and fulfill their commitments in negotiation.

  16. Young People's Conversations about Environmental and Sustainability Issues in Social Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersson, Erik; Öhman, Johan

    2017-01-01

    Young people's conversations about environmental and sustainability issues in social media and their educational implications are under-researched. Understanding young people's meaning-making in social media and the experiences they acquire could help teachers to stage pluralistic and participatory approaches to classroom discussions about the…

  17. Management Mangrove Experiences Form Coastal People

    Science.gov (United States)

    Indah, P. N.; Radianto, I.; Abidin, Z.; Amir, I. T.; Pribadi, D. U.

    2018-01-01

    The mangrove area has an important meaning in beach ecosystem, both from ecological and economical aspects. For this, the rehabilitation of mangrove forest is done as one effort that aims to maintain and return the mangrove forest function as one of life system supporters, especially in beach area. The most respondent ages of coast people of Gending, Pajarakan, dan Kraksaan districts, Probolinggo Regency are between 30 to 59 years old, i.e. as 86 people or 95.55% indicates that coast people are productive ages so they can be hoped very potential for having role in supporting mangrove ecosystem management of Probolinggo Regency coast. The average respondent educational rates are mostly Elementary School to Senior High School, i.e. as 76 people. Generally, human resources of coast people have relatively good education level. Thereby, it can be hoped to have positive potencies for the role of coast people themselves toward the mangrove ecosystem management support of Probolinggo Regency coast. The average most respondents have family burdens two and three people as six people or 6.67 percent. But, there are still three respondents who have not have family burdens. Generally, more and more members help in respondent’s jobs. The mangrove ecosystem management strategy of Probolinggo Regency coast is by involving people role (people and people figures) and governmental supports through the models of mangrove forest management strategy, the model of embankment cultivation management by entering mangrove as input resources of production facilities, and ecotourism management by the purpose of improving people income.

  18. Seeking help for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD): a qualitative study of the enablers and barriers conducted by a researcher with personal experience of OCD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Karen J; Rose, Diana; Salkovskis, Paul M

    2017-06-01

    Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) can be hugely disabling. Although very effective psychological treatments exist, many people delay years before seeking help or never seek treatment. There have been clinical observation and short questionnaire studies on why people delay, but little qualitative research exists on this complex subject. The present qualitative study aimed to identify the barriers to seeking treatment and the factors that encourage or push people to seek help for their OCD (positive and negative enablers). A qualitative, exploratory study using in-depth, individual, semi-structured interviews was conducted by a researcher with personal experience of OCD. Seventeen people with OCD, contacted through the charity OCD-UK, were interviewed about the factors that impacted on their decision to seek help or not. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Barriers identified were stigma, 'internal / cognitive' factors, not knowing what their problem was, factors relating to their GP or treatment, and fear of criminalisation. Positive enablers identified were being supported to seek help, information and personal accounts of OCD in the media, and confidence in their GP. Negative enablers were reaching a crisis point and for some participants (whose intrusive thoughts were about harming children) feeling driven to seek treatment because of the nature of the thoughts, that is, seeking help to prevent the 'harm' they feared they were capable of doing. Participants identified a range of barriers and enablers that impacted on their decision to seek help or not. These give important indicators about the likely causes for delayed help seeking in OCD and ways in which people might be encouraged to seek help earlier. People with OCD may face a wide range of barriers to seeking help, including concern about the reaction of health professionals. The level of awareness, kindness, and understanding shown by first-line practitioners can be very important to

  19. What would encourage help-seeking for memory problems among UK-based South Asians? A qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukadam, Naaheed; Waugh, Amy; Cooper, Claudia; Livingston, Gill

    2015-09-11

    People from Minority Ethnic groups tend to present late to dementia services, often in crisis. Culture-specific barriers to help-seeking seem to underlie this. We sought to determine these barriers to timely help-seeking for dementia among people from South Asian backgrounds and what the features of an intervention to overcome them would be. Qualitative study to delineate barriers to and facilitators of help-seeking for South Asian adults with dementia through focus groups and individual interviews. Community settings in and around Greater London. To achieve a maximum variation sample, we purposively recruited 53 English or Bengali speaking South Asian adults without a known diagnosis of dementia through community centres and snowballing. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 83 years, were mostly female and were 60% Bangladeshi. We recruited people from different religions and occupational backgrounds and included those with experience of caring for someone with dementia as well as those without this experience. Participants identified four main barriers to timely diagnosis: barriers to help-seeking for memory problems; the threshold for seeking help for memory problems; ways to overcome barriers to help-seeking; what features an educational resource should have. We have identified the features of an intervention with the potential to improve timely dementia diagnosis in South Asians. The next steps are to devise and test such an intervention. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  20. Ageing, Leisure, and Social Connectedness : How could Leisure Help Reduce Social Isolation of Older People?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Toepoel, Vera|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304576034

    2013-01-01

    This study investigates the relation between leisure activities and the social status of the elderly based on a heterogeneous sample of the Dutch population. Close relationships are also analyzed to identify which people could serve as successful stimulators of leisure participation. The social

  1. Ageing, leisure, and social connectedness : How could leisure help reduce social isolation of older people?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Toepoel, V.

    2013-01-01

    This study investigates the relation between leisure activities and the social status of the elderly based on a heterogeneous sample of the Dutch population. Close relationships are also analyzed to identify which people could serve as successful stimulators of leisure participation. The social

  2. Seven Billion People: Fostering Productive Struggle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murawska, Jaclyn M.

    2018-01-01

    How can a cognitively demanding real-world task such as the Seven Billion People problem promote productive struggle "and" help shape students' mathematical dispositions? Driving home from school one evening, Jaclyn Murawska heard a commentator on the radio announce three statements: (1) experts had determined that the world population…

  3. Research with and by people with learning disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durell, Shirley

    Many people with learning disabilities are frequently excluded from active involvement in research and, as a result, along with researchers, have questioned research processes. These discussions have influenced how research is undertaken by, and with, people who have learning disabilities. Learning disability research is now increasingly framed as inclusive. This article explores the development of inclusive learning disability research by tracing its background and influences, identifying key characteristics and highlighting some of the challenges in its application. It demonstrates how inclusive research can give people with learning disabilities a voice that will help to inform practice.

  4. Resourcefulness, positive cognitions, relocation controllability and relocation adjustment among older people: a cross-sectional study of cultural differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bekhet, Abir K; Zauszniewski, Jaclene A

    2013-09-01

    The population of older people in both the United States and Egypt is expected to double by the year 2030. With ageing, chronic illnesses increase and many older people need to relocate to retirement communities. Research has shown that positive cognitions and resourcefulness are positively correlated with adaptive functioning and better adjustment. The purpose of this study was to examine and compare relocation controllability, positive cognitions, resourcefulness and relocation adjustment between American and Egyptian older people living in retirement communities. The purpose of this cultural comparison is to gain insight into influencing factors in each culture that might lead to interventions to help relocated older adults in both cultures adjust to their new surroundings. A cross-sectional, descriptive design was used to compare relocation controllability, positive cognitions, resourcefulness and relocation adjustment of a convenience sample of American older people (n = 104) and a convenience sample of Egyptian older people (n = 94). The study was a secondary analysis of two studies of older people residing in six retirement communities in Northeast Ohio and in five retirement communities in Alexandria, Egypt. Examination of mean scores and standard deviations on the measure of positive cognitions using independent sample t-tests indicated that on average, the American older people reported more positive cognitions (t (131.16) = 11.29, P difference between Egyptians and Americans in resourcefulness (t (174.16) = -0.97, P > 0.05). The results provide direction for the development of positive cognition interventions and engaging older people in the decision-making process to help them to adjust to relocation. Implications for practice.  Positive thinking and resourcefulness training interventions can be used by nurses to help relocated older people to adjust to the stress of relocation to retirement communities. These interventions can be used on primary

  5. Effectiveness of online self-help for suicidal thoughts: results of a randomised controlled trial.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bregje A J van Spijker

    Full Text Available Many people with suicidal thoughts do not receive treatment. The Internet can be used to reach more people in need of support.To test the effectiveness of unguided online self-help to reduce suicidal thoughts.236 adults with mild to moderate suicidal thoughts were randomised to the intervention (n=116 or a waitlist control group (n=120. Assessments took place at baseline, and 2, 4 and 6 weeks later. Primary outcome was suicidal thoughts. Secondary outcomes were depressive symptoms, anxiety, hopelessness, worry, and health status.The intervention group showed a small significant effect in reducing suicidal thoughts (d=0.28. Effects were more pronounced for those with a history of repeated suicide attempts. There was also a significant reduction in worry (d=0.33. All other secondary outcomes showed small but non-significant improvements.Although effect sizes were small, the reach of the internet could enable this intervention to help many people reduce their suicidal thoughts.Netherlands Trial Register NTR1689.

  6. [Smoking and young people; effectiveness of smoking prevention and cessation programmes].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monshouwer, K; Onrust, S; Rikkers-Mutsaerts, E; Lammers, J

    2017-01-01

    - In this article, we discuss the scientific knowledge on the effects of interventions that help young people to quit smoking and interventions that should prevent young people from starting to smoke.- We also describe the interventions in the Netherlands that, after a quality assessment, have been included in the database of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) Centre for Healthy Living.- Interventions have varying degrees of success in helping young people to quit smoking. There are only indications of a modest effect of behavioural interventions.- Preventive interventions mostly occur in a school setting and are making a modest contribution to the reduction of the number of young people that start smoking.- There are preliminary indications of the effectiveness of interventions in a medical setting. However, research into this is rare and there is no insight in long-term effects.- The database of the RIVM Centre for Healthy Living includes mainly preventive interventions in a school setting and only one smoking cessation intervention.

  7. Wind energy analysis system

    OpenAIRE

    2014-01-01

    M.Ing. (Electrical & Electronic Engineering) One of the most important steps to be taken before a site is to be selected for the extraction of wind energy is the analysis of the energy within the wind on that particular site. No wind energy analysis system exists for the measurement and analysis of wind power. This dissertation documents the design and development of a Wind Energy Analysis System (WEAS). Using a micro-controller based design in conjunction with sensors, WEAS measure, calcu...

  8. How people with cognitive disabilities experience electronic planning devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adolfsson, Päivi; Lindstedt, Helena; Janeslätt, Gunnel

    2015-01-01

    People with cognitive disabilities have difficulties in accomplishing everyday tasks. Electronic planning devices (EPDs) may compensate for the gap between a person's capacity and everyday challenges. However, the devices are not always used as intended. Despite that, cognitive assistive technology has been investigated in several studies, knowledge regarding when and what makes adults decide to use EPDs is incomplete. The aim was to explore the subjective experiences of people with cognitive disabilities in relation to the use of EPDs. A qualitative approach was applied with a qualitative content analysis. Twelve respondents were interviewed with support from a study specific guide. A model representing the respondents' experiences in the use of EPDs, comprising one theme, Possibility to master my daily life, four categories, Degree of fit to my needs, I am aware of my cognitive disability, I get help to structure my everyday life and The EPD improves my volition and ten subcategories, was developed. EPDs allow people with cognitive disabilities the possibility to deal with daily challenges; those who find EPDs beneficial tend to use them. EPDs can help people with cognitive disabilities in organisation, managing time and improve volition.

  9. Pesticide-exposure Matrix helps identify active ingredients in pesticides used in past years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pesticide-exposure Matrix was developed to help epidemiologists and other researchers identify the active ingredients to which people were likely exposed when their homes and gardens were treated for pests in past years

  10. Mental Health and Wellbeing and Lifelong Learning for Older People. NIACE Briefing Sheet 92

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, 2009

    2009-01-01

    This briefing sheet is about lifelong learning for people aged 50+ years and how participation in learning can help maintain and improve mental health and wellbeing in later life. There is no commonly agreed definition of "older" people, and clearly people age at different rates. However, by the mid 50s, for most people retirement is…

  11. The Quality of Social Networks: Its Determinants and Impacts on Helping and Volunteering in Macao

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tong, Kwok Kit; Hung, Eva P. W.; Yuen, Sze Man

    2011-01-01

    Pro-social behaviors serve essential societal functions. This study examines the factors affecting the quality of social networks, in terms of network size and perceived respect. It further explores the role of social networks in enhancing helping intention and helping behaviors. Eight hundred and eighty people were randomly interviewed by phone.…

  12. Attitudes and stigma in relation to help-seeking intentions for psychological problems in low and high suicide rate regions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reynders, A.; Kerkhof, A.; Molenberghs, G.; Van Audenhove, C.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Accessibility and availability of mental health care services are necessary but not sufficient for people to seek help for psychological problems. Attitudes and stigma related to help seeking also determine help seeking intentions. The aim of this study is to investigate how cross-national

  13. Forming a new clinical team for frail older people: can a group development model help?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Elizabeth Susan; Pollard, Lorraine; Conroy, Simon; Clague-Baker, Nicola

    2014-03-01

    Integrated services which utilise the expertise of team members along care pathways are evolving. Changes in service structure and subsequent team working arrangements can be a challenge for practitioners expected to redefine how they work with one another. These services are particularly important for the care of frail older people. This exploratory study of one newly forming team presents the views of staff involved in establishing an interprofessional healthcare advisory team for older people within an acute hospital admissions unit. Staff experiences of forming a new service are aligned to a model of team development. The findings are presented as themes relating to the stages of team development and identify the challenges of setting up an integrated service alongside existing services. In particular, team process issues relating to the clarity of goals, role clarification, leadership, team culture and identity. Managers must allow time to ensure new services evolve before setting up evaluation studies for efficiency and effectiveness which might prove against the potential for interprofessional teamworking.

  14. Keyword: help! Online resources for disaster preparedness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hart, Amadie H; Cushman, Margaret J

    2002-01-01

    Health care organizations such as home care agencies should have post-disaster contingency plans in place that include contacts with the local, county, or state emergency management office, local branch of the Red Cross, and a clearly identified point person within the agency to coordinate disaster response efforts. Home care agencies must plan for the far-reaching effects that disasters can have on people in the community. This article provides some online resources to help you, your organization, and your family prepare for unexpected events.

  15. Influences of satisfaction with telecare and family trust in older Taiwanese people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Chung-Hung; Kuo, Yu-Ming; Uei, Shu-Lin

    2014-01-27

    The level of trust given towards telecare by the family members of older people using the service is extremely important. Family trust may be an influential factor in deciding whether to use such services. This study focuses on older people's satisfaction with telecare and examines their family's trust in telecare services. Influences on intention to continue using telecare services are also explored. A questionnaire-based survey on 60 communities dwelling older people who had been receiving telecare services in the past two years was employed. This study developed a satisfaction and trust scale based on previous studies. Our results show that older people's satisfaction with telecare services and families' trust were influential in decided whether to continue to use of telecare services. These findings can help medical institutions to better insight into the user experience of telecare to help them provide future services that better comply with clients' desires and requirements.

  16. Parents of young people with self-harm or suicidal behaviour who seek help - a psychosocial profile.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Morgan, Sophia

    2013-04-23

    Deliberate Self-Harm (DSH) is a common problem among children and adolescents in clinical and community populations, and there is a considerable amount of literature investigating factors associated with DSH risk and the effects of DSH on the child. However, there is a dearth of research examining the impact of DSH on parents, and there are few support programmes targeted at this population. This cross-sectional study examines the profile of a sample of parents of young people with DSH who participated in a support programme (Supporting Parents and Carers of young people with self-harm: the SPACE programme), with the goal of investigating pre-test parental well-being, family communication, parental satisfaction, perceived parental social support, and child strengths and difficulties.

  17. People trying to lose weight dislike calorie counting apps and want motivational support to help them achieve their goals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda Solbrig

    2017-03-01

    Conclusion: There is a mismatch between the help provided via public health information campaigns and commercially available weight-loss self-help (lifestyle information, self-monitoring, and the help that individuals actually desire (motivational and autonomous e-support, posing an opportunity to develop more effective electronic, theory-driven, motivational, self-help interventions.

  18. Laypersons can seek help from their Facebook friends regarding medical diagnosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Folkestad, Lars; Brodersen, Jacob Broder; Hallas, Peter

    2011-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: In contrast to Internet search engines, social media on the Internet such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. reach a large number of people, who are ready to help answering questions. This type of information aggregation has been dubbed "crowdsourcing" i.e. outsourcing a task to a large group...

  19. An experimental model of an indigenous BCI based system to help disabled people to communicate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kabir, Kazi Sadman; Rahman, Chowdhury M. Abid; Farayez, Araf; Ferdous, Mahbuba

    2017-12-01

    In this paper a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) system has been proposed to help patients suffering from motor disease, paralysis or locked in syndrome to communicate via eye blinking. In this proposed BCI system EEG data is fetched by NeuroSky Headset and then analyzed by the help of WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) based serial monitor to detect the EEG signal when the eye gives a blink. This detection of eye blinking can be used to select predefined texts and those texts can be converted to speech. The experimental result shows that this system can be used as an effective and efficient tool to communicate through brain.

  20. Listening to young people with special needs: the influence of group activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, Peter

    2005-12-01

    The article reports on the experiences of group activities within an area of Yorkshire that helped young people with special needs to express their views and opinions. Significant issues were raised by the ethics of undertaking work with young people and these are reviewed. The young people involved in the research reported that their participation in the groups developed their self-confidence and advocacy skills. This led them to be more confident in expressing their needs at school and in the community. To establish wider generalizability for the study findings, the Yorkshire group activities were compared with another similar group in London where further data were collected from the young people involved. In facilitating group activities, willing staff were an important addition to the group because their presence provided and encouraged positive reactions to the distinctive achievements of the young people themselves. In both groups, members were committed to participation in project-based activities that raised their self-esteem and helped establish a sense of their own identity and purpose.

  1. How Iconicity Helps People Learn New Words: Neural Correlates and Individual Differences in Sound-Symbolic Bootstrapping

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gwilym Lockwood

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Sound symbolism is increasingly understood as involving iconicity, or perceptual analogies and cross-modal correspondences between form and meaning, but the search for its functional and neural correlates is ongoing. Here we study how people learn sound-symbolic words, using behavioural, electrophysiological and individual difference measures. Dutch participants learned Japanese ideophones —lexical sound- symbolic words— with a translation of either the real meaning (in which form and meaning show cross-modal correspondences or the opposite meaning (in which form and meaning show cross-modal clashes. Participants were significantly better at identifying the words they learned in the real condition, correctly remembering the real word pairing 86.7% of the time, but the opposite word pairing only 71.3% of the time. Analysing event-related potentials (ERPs during the test round showed that ideophones in the real condition elicited a greater P3 component and late positive complex than ideophones in the opposite condition. In a subsequent forced choice task, participants were asked to guess the real translation from two alternatives. They did this with 73.0% accuracy, well above chance level even for words they had encountered in the opposite condition, showing that people are generally sensitive to the sound-symbolic cues in ideophones. Individual difference measures showed that the ERP effect in the test round of the learning task was greater for participants who were more sensitive to sound symbolism in the forced choice task. The main driver of the difference was a lower amplitude of the P3 component in response to ideophones in the opposite condition, suggesting that people who are more sensitive to sound symbolism may have more difficulty to suppress conflicting cross-modal information. The findings provide new evidence that cross-modal correspondences between sound and meaning facilitate word learning, while cross-modal clashes make word

  2. Integration of disabled people in an automated work process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jalba, C. K.; Muminovic, A.; Epple, S.; Barz, C.; Nasui, V.

    2017-05-01

    Automation processes enter more and more into all areas of life and production. Especially people with disabilities can hardly keep step with this change. In sheltered workshops in Germany people with physical and mental disabilities get help with much dedication, to be integrated into the work processes. This work shows that cooperation between disabled people and industrial robots by means of industrial image processing can successfully result in the production of highly complex products. Here is described how high-pressure hydraulic pumps are assembled by people with disabilities in cooperation with industrial robots in a sheltered workshop. After the assembly process, the pumps are checked for leaks at very high pressures in a completely automated process.

  3. What makes people read an online review? The relative effects of posting time and helpfulness on review readership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jung

    2013-07-01

    This study explores the factors that make online customers select which reviews to read among the various ones on the Web. While most of literature on online consumer reviews has conveniently assumed that more helpful reviews would be read by more customers, no empirical study has tested whether the helpfulness assessment actually increases readership. Hence, this study explores various factors affecting consumer review readership and proposes that although helpfulness assessment promotes the readership of a review, the most dominant factor contributing to readership is the time of posting. A review posted late loses a significant chance of being read by consumers even if it is assessed as helpful by other readers. The hypotheses are tested using the data collected from Amazon.com , and the result of the study advises practitioners to display reviews in a manner that lessens the impact of posting time while enhancing the helpfulness voting systems.

  4. Can I help you? Information sharing in online discussion forums by people living with a long-term condition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carol S Bond

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Background Peer-to-peer health care is increasing, especially amongst people living with a long-term condition. How information is shared is, however, sometimes of concern to health care professionals. Objective This study explored what information is being shared on health-related discussion boards and identified the approaches people used to signpost their peers to information. Methods This study was conducted using a qualitative content analysis methodology to explore information shared on discussion boards for people living with diabetes. Whilst there is debate about the best ethical lens to view research carried out on data posted on online discussion boards, the researchers chose to adopt the stance of treating this type of information as “personal health text”, a specific type of research data in its own right. Results Qualitative content analysis and basic descriptive statistics were used to analyse the selected posts. Two major themes were identified: ‘Information Sharing from Experience’ and ‘Signposting Other Sources of Information’. Conclusions People were actively engaging in information sharing in online discussion forums, mainly through direct signposting. The quality of the information shared was important, with reasons for recommendations being given. Much of the information sharing was based on experience, which also brought in information from external sources such as health care professionals and other acknowledged experts in the field. With the rise in peer-to-peer support networks, the nature of health knowledge and expertise needs to be redefined. People online are combining external information with their own personal experiences and sharing that for others to take and develop as they wish.

  5. Supporting people with diabetes related\\ud stress and depression

    OpenAIRE

    Gillibrand, Warren P.; Holdich, Phil

    2010-01-01

    Diabetes can have a significant detrimental impact on wellbeing and psychological functioning. Warren Gillibrand and Phil Holdich explain how practice nurses can help people with diabetes deal with stress or depressive illness

  6. Of saints and sinners: How collective pride and guilt affect outgroup helping.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Leeuwen, E.; van Dijk, W.W.; Kaynak, Ü

    2013-01-01

    We examined how appeals to collective guilt and pride can motivate people to help members of a disadvantaged outgroup. Results from two experiments supported the prediction that appeals to collective pride are more effective than appeals to collective guilt in prompting high identifying group

  7. SELF HELP GROUPS (SHGS: MICRO FINANCE IN INDIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shivam SAKSHI

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Micro finance in India has developed in decades from an idea to implementation to many success stories to an overall success. The early dawn of the idea of micro financing was to provide the capital to the population which was considered the bottom of socio economic pyramid so as to carry out the small household business and this idea has gradually grown up to become the way to help improve the socio standards of the poor people. India is the country of villages, more than 70% of the nation’s population resides in the rural areas of the country and 60% of this rural population depends on agriculture for living. In such situation the micro financing can play a vital role in making the rural people’s life easy. In a developing country like India with a lot of people residing in rural areas, micro finance is undoubtedly the best implementation. Self Help Groups of India has emerged as the world’s largest and most successful network of Community Based Organisations. The main goal of an SHG is to elevate the living conditions of the rural poor with a maximum emphasize on women. The present paper’s objective is to explain the situation of micro finance in India and to explain the main channel of micro finance in India which is SHGs and the details of the SHGs.

  8. Public attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities: a qualitative comparison of white British & South Asian people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coles, Sarah; Scior, Katrina

    2012-03-01

    National and international polices promote the acceptance, integration and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities into mainstream society. However, there is little systematic research into general population attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities, and even less research, which considers the impact of culture on attitudes. The aim of this study was to explore how young people from White British and South Asian backgrounds differ in their attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities and above all, how they arrive at their beliefs. A qualitative design utilizing focus groups and individual interviews with White British and South Asian adolescents aged 16-19 years (N = 61) was employed. Questionnaire data were collected to compare this sample to findings from a larger study run concurrently (Attitudes to people with intellectual disabilities: a cross cultural study. Thesis, University College London). Interview and focus group data were analysed using thematic analysis. Thematic analysis yielded five themes and pointed to widespread confusion about the concept of 'intellectual disability', not helped by the continuing invisibility of people with intellectual disabilities in the media. Participants expressed many positive beliefs, yet closer analysis revealed that underlying these may be more ambivalent or even hostile attitudes. Key differences between the two cultural groups are discussed. The findings highlight the need for raising public awareness and the importance of culturally sensitive support. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  9. Systematic reviews: guidance relevant for studies of older people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shenkin, Susan D; Harrison, Jennifer K; Wilkinson, Tim; Dodds, Richard M; Ioannidis, John P A

    2017-09-01

    Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are increasingly common. This article aims to provide guidance for people conducting systematic reviews relevant to the healthcare of older people. An awareness of these issues will also help people reading systematic reviews to determine whether the results will influence their clinical practice. It is essential that systematic reviews are performed by a team which includes the required technical and clinical expertise. Those performing reviews for the first time should ensure they have appropriate training and support. They must be planned and performed in a transparent and methodologically robust way: guidelines are available. The protocol should be written-and if possible published-before starting the review. Geriatricians will be interested in a table of baseline characteristics, which will help to determine if the studied samples or populations are similar to their patients. Reviews of studies of older people should consider how they will manage issues such as different age cut-offs; non-specific presentations; multiple predictors and outcomes; potential biases and confounders. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses may provide evidence to improve older people's care, or determine where new evidence is required. Newer methodologies, such as meta-analyses of individual level data, network meta-analyses and umbrella reviews, and realist synthesis, may improve the reliability and clinical utility of systematic reviews. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society.

  10. TEM/SEM investigation of microstructural changes within the white etching area under rolling contact fatigue and 3-D crack reconstruction by focused ion beam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grabulov, A.; Ziese, U.; Zandbergen, H.W.

    2007-01-01

    The white etching area (WEA) surrounding the cracks formed under high-cycle rolling contact fatigue was investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Dual Beam (scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/focused ion beam). SEM revealed the initiation of cracks formed around artificially introduced Al 2 O 3 inclusions in the model steel (composition similar to SAE 52100). TEM investigations showed a microstructural difference between the WEA (formation of nanocrystalline ferrite) and the steel matrix (tempered martensitic structure). A three-dimensional image of the crack reconstructed from ∼400 Dual Beam cross-section images is reported

  11. Barriers in Access to the Treatment for People with Gambling Disorders. Are They Different from Those Experienced by People with Alcohol and/or Drug Dependence?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dąbrowska, Katarzyna; Moskalewicz, Jacek; Wieczorek, Łukasz

    2017-06-01

    A prevalence of gambling disorders is diversified depending on the region of the world. Almost three quarters of pathological gamblers had never sought a professional treatment as well as an assistance in self-help groups. Reasons why they do not initiate a treatment are complex. The aim of the article is to compare barriers to the treatment for people with gambling disorders found in presented study and barriers to alcohol and drug treatment identified in the available literature. The semi structured interviews were applied and conducted with people with gambling disorders, social workers, therapists employed in the addiction treatment facilities, General Practitioners and psychiatrists. Selection of the respondents was based on purposive sampling. In total, 90 interviews were completed. Respondents identified individual barriers as well as structural ones. Individual barriers include internal resistance and a fear of the treatment. In turn structural barriers apply to the organization of the therapy, infrastructure, personnel, and the therapeutic program. A comparison of barriers experienced by people with gambling disorders and substance use disorders showed that they are largely similar, but people with gambling disorders also experience specific barriers. Empirical studies focused specifically on treatment needs of people experiencing gambling disorders may improve an offer of help for them. More adequate treatment options could contribute to the increasing in the number of people who start the treatment. It can result in improving their quality of life and may have positive impact on public health.

  12. Social welfare as small-scale help: evolutionary psychology and the deservingness heuristic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petersen, Michael Bang

    2012-01-01

    Public opinion concerning social welfare is largely driven by perceptions of recipient deservingness. Extant research has argued that this heuristic is learned from a variety of cultural, institutional, and ideological sources. The present article provides evidence supporting a different view: that the deservingness heuristic is rooted in psychological categories that evolved over the course of human evolution to regulate small-scale exchanges of help. To test predictions made on the basis of this view, a method designed to measure social categorization is embedded in nationally representative surveys conducted in different countries. Across the national- and individual-level differences that extant research has used to explain the heuristic, people categorize welfare recipients on the basis of whether they are lazy or unlucky. This mode of categorization furthermore induces people to think about large-scale welfare politics as its presumed ancestral equivalent: small-scale help giving. The general implications for research on heuristics are discussed.

  13. Modifying patterns of movement in people with low back pain -does it help? A systematic review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laird Robert A

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Physiotherapy for people with low back pain frequently includes assessment and modification of lumbo-pelvic movement. Interventions commonly aim to restore normal movement and thereby reduce pain and improve activity limitation. The objective of this systematic review was to investigate: (i the effect of movement-based interventions on movement patterns (muscle activation, lumbo-pelvic kinematics or postural patterns of people with low back pain (LBP, and (ii the relationship between changes in movement patterns and subsequent changes in pain and activity limitation. Methods MEDLINE, Cochrane Central, EMBASE, AMI, CINAHL, Scopus, AMED, ISI Web of Science were searched from inception until January 2012. Randomised controlled trials or controlled clinical trials of people with LBP were eligible for inclusion. The intervention must have been designed to influence (i muscle activity patterns, (ii lumbo-pelvic kinematic patterns or (iii postural patterns, and included measurement of such deficits before and after treatment, to allow determination of the success of the intervention on the lumbo-pelvic movement. Twelve trials (25% of retrieved studies met the inclusion criteria. Two reviewers independently identified, assessed and extracted data. The PEDro scale was used to assess method quality. Intervention effects were described using standardised differences between group means and 95% confidence intervals. Results The included trials showed inconsistent, mostly small to moderate intervention effects on targeted movement patterns. There was considerable heterogeneity in trial design, intervention type and outcome measures. A relationship between changes to movement patterns and improvements in pain or activity limitation was observed in one of six studies on muscle activation patterns, one of four studies that examined the flexion relaxation response pattern and in two of three studies that assessed lumbo-pelvic kinematics or

  14. Modifying patterns of movement in people with low back pain -does it help? A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laird, Robert A; Kent, Peter; Keating, Jennifer L

    2012-09-07

    Physiotherapy for people with low back pain frequently includes assessment and modification of lumbo-pelvic movement. Interventions commonly aim to restore normal movement and thereby reduce pain and improve activity limitation. The objective of this systematic review was to investigate: (i) the effect of movement-based interventions on movement patterns (muscle activation, lumbo-pelvic kinematics or postural patterns) of people with low back pain (LBP), and (ii) the relationship between changes in movement patterns and subsequent changes in pain and activity limitation. MEDLINE, Cochrane Central, EMBASE, AMI, CINAHL, Scopus, AMED, ISI Web of Science were searched from inception until January 2012. Randomised controlled trials or controlled clinical trials of people with LBP were eligible for inclusion. The intervention must have been designed to influence (i) muscle activity patterns, (ii) lumbo-pelvic kinematic patterns or (iii) postural patterns, and included measurement of such deficits before and after treatment, to allow determination of the success of the intervention on the lumbo-pelvic movement. Twelve trials (25% of retrieved studies) met the inclusion criteria. Two reviewers independently identified, assessed and extracted data. The PEDro scale was used to assess method quality. Intervention effects were described using standardised differences between group means and 95% confidence intervals. The included trials showed inconsistent, mostly small to moderate intervention effects on targeted movement patterns. There was considerable heterogeneity in trial design, intervention type and outcome measures. A relationship between changes to movement patterns and improvements in pain or activity limitation was observed in one of six studies on muscle activation patterns, one of four studies that examined the flexion relaxation response pattern and in two of three studies that assessed lumbo-pelvic kinematics or postural characteristics. Movement

  15. OLDER PEOPLE AND SPORT, LOOKING BEYOND THE HEALTH PERSPECTIVE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva VONCK

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores some important theoretical questions on the relationship between sports and older people, beyond the health perspective. Sport has been attributed numerous social functions and meanings. Also policymakers have experimented with the use of sport for social purposes. However, both research and poli cy initiatives are in general cons idered from a functional and instrumental point of view. Especially considering older people sport is mainly approached from a health perspective. A combination of insights from gerontology and sport sciences should help us gain a better view on how sport can contribute to the social integration of older people. This paper offers an extensive literature review focusing on formulating opportunities for further research about sport participation among older people.

  16. Taking care of one's brain : how manipulating the brain changes people's selves

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brenninkmeijer, Jonna

    The increasing attention to the brain in science and the media, and people's continuing quest for a better life, have resulted in a successful self-help industry for brain enhancement. Apart from brain books, foods and games, there are several devices on the market that people can use to stimulate

  17. Distance Education for People with Visual Impairments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liakou, Maria; Manousou, Evaggelia

    2015-01-01

    This paper studies the standards of higher Distance Education, focusing on the Hellenic Open University, for people who have visual impairments, so that it becomes fully accessible and thus helps reduce social exclusion. Specifically, it aims to study the operational context of Distance Education, the possibilities that modern technology provides…

  18. People of Samoa: Building Bridges of Understanding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT. Language Research Center.

    The purpose of this communication learning aid is to help Americans become more effective in understanding and communicating with people of another culture. This publication discusses some differences encountered in Samoa in such things as food, laws, customs, religion, language, dress and basic attitudes. It is designed to prepare the traveller…

  19. Helping behavior in a rural and an urban setting: professional and casual attire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Shauna B; Kennedy, Janice H

    2006-02-01

    This study assessed differences in helping behavior in a rural versus an urban location when directed toward either a professionally or a casually dressed woman. Convenience samples included 40 men and 40 women (10 people of each sex assigned to each condition: rural and professional, rural and casual, urban and professional, and urban and casual). A 21-yr.-old female confederate dropped an envelope near each target helper individually and recorded number of seconds for the target helper to retrieve or point out the dropped item. Analysis indicated significantly faster helping occurred in the rural than in the urban location and that men helped the confederate more often than women. No difference in frequencey of help was related to kind of attire.

  20. The structure of social exchange in self-help support groups: development of a measure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Louis D; Tang, Xiaohui; Hollman, Ruth L

    2014-03-01

    Self-help support groups are indigenous community resources designed to help people manage a variety of personal challenges, from alcohol abuse to xeroderma pigmentosum. The social exchanges that occur during group meetings are central to understanding how people benefit from participation. This paper examines the different types of social exchange behaviors that occur during meetings, using two studies to develop empirically distinct scales that reliably measure theoretically important types of exchange. Resource theory informed the initial measurement development efforts. Exploratory factor analyses from the first study led to revisions in the factor structure of the social exchange scales. The revised measure captured the exchange of emotional support, experiential information, humor, unwanted behaviors, and exchanges outside meetings. Confirmatory factor analyses from a follow-up study with a different sample of self-help support groups provided good model fit, suggesting the revised structure accurately represented the data. Further, the scales demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity with related constructs. Future research can use the scales to identify aspects of social exchange that are most important in improving health outcomes among self-help support group participants. Groups can use the scales in practice to celebrate strengths and address weaknesses in their social exchange dynamics.

  1. Care adjustments for people with learning disabilities in hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blair, Jim

    2011-12-01

    Health inequalities start early in life for people with learning disabilities. In the UK, they can arise from various barriers that people experience when trying to access care that should be appropriate, timely and effective. Inequalities in health care are likely to result in many NHS organisations breaching their legal responsibilities, as outlined in the Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005, the Equality Act 2010 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (Emerson and Baines 2010). This article seeks to help nurses, healthcare professionals and hospital managers ensure that better services are delivered by encouraging them to explore how reasonable adjustments can improve outcomes for people with learning disabilities.

  2. Water security at local government level. What do people think it means in eThekwini?

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Meissner, Richard

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available aspects Negative aspects Helping municipalities to help themselves Working together we can secure our water future Diverse - from national government to local community and NGO People should get involved in securing their own water, for example... secure future Scientists from government, NGO's academia Good water quality will ensure healthy people, environments and livelihoods for now and in the future Surely mines can't use good quality water More for some (forever?) A water supply...

  3. Eliciting Help Without Pity: The Effect of Changing Media Images on Perceptions of Disability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamenetsky, Stuart B; Dimakos, Christina; Aslemand, Asal; Saleh, Amani; Ali-Mohammed, Saamiyah

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated whether newer, more positive disability charity images can elicit helping behavior without producing pity. One hundred sixty-one university undergraduate students were presented with 35 older (1960-1990) and newer (1991-2010) disability charity images and completed a questionnaire about each image. Results indicate that overall, identification with depicted individuals was low; positive attitudes and perceptions of capabilities were moderate to high. Newer images led to more positive responses, but no significant difference in willingness to help. Eliciting pity through negative depictions of disability appears not to be a necessary precondition for eliciting helping behavior toward people with disabilities.

  4. [Vocational Training and Job Placement for People with Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Business Sector].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzuki, Keita

    2015-01-01

    Kaien was founded in 2009 in order to help people with autism spectrum disorders work by leveraging their unique capabilities. Our four offices are all located in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Our services include job training and placement for adults, career awareness programs for college students, and career experience programs for teens with autism spectrum disorders. Currently, we help over 100 people on a daily basis. We believe that two factors play important roles when we provide job training programs for people. Firstly, they usually find it difficult to identify their occupational "fit" by themselves due to their weakness regarding imagination. It is not a good idea to convince them only through counseling. Rather, when we take their weaknesses into consideration, multiple trial sessions in the work environment are key because even people without imagination can understand their occupational "fit" once they try. The other aspect is to articulate communication as much as possible. In this case, it is also true that words are not enough to help people fully develop the communication skills necessary in an office. Thus, our trainers intervene very frequently in the job programs in order for trainees to get feedback at the right time on the spot. In other words, our five-year experience at Kaien has revealed that our "Here and Now" approach in the quasi-work environment is the most effective way. Most of our trainers do not have medical or social welfare backgrounds. This fact has revealed huge possibilities when it comes to helping people with autism spectrum disorders to get a job. That is, in many cases, autism experts may not be mandatory, and supervisors or colleagues, who work with people with autism every day, can become "job supporters" with a little knowledge and some training. Some estimates indicate that the prevalence rate of autism spectrum disorders is above one in one hundred, and might be as high as five or six percent. This number is daunting

  5. How do people define moderation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    vanDellen, Michelle R; Isherwood, Jennifer C; Delose, Julie E

    2016-06-01

    Eating in moderation is considered to be sound and practical advice for weight maintenance or prevention of weight gain. However, the concept of moderation is ambiguous, and the effect of moderation messages on consumption has yet to be empirically examined. The present manuscript examines how people define moderate consumption. We expected that people would define moderate consumption in ways that justified their current or desired consumption rather than view moderation as an objective standard. In Studies 1 and 2, moderate consumption was perceived to involve greater quantities of an unhealthy food (chocolate chip cookies, gummy candies) than perceptions of how much one should consume. In Study 3, participants generally perceived themselves to eat in moderation and defined moderate consumption as greater than their personal consumption. Furthermore, definitions of moderate consumption were related to personal consumption behaviors. Results suggest that the endorsement of moderation messages allows for a wide range of interpretations of moderate consumption. Thus, we conclude that moderation messages are unlikely to be effective messages for helping people maintain or lose weight. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Justifiability and Animal Research in Health: Can Democratisation Help Resolve Difficulties?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-01-01

    Simple Summary Scientists justify animal use in medical research because the benefits to human health outweigh the costs or harms to animals. However, whether it is justifiable is controversial for many people. Even public interests are divided because an increasing proportion of people do not support animal research, while demand for healthcare that is based on animal research is also rising. The wider public should be given more influence in these difficult decisions. This could be through requiring explicit disclosure about the role of animals in drug labelling to inform the public out of respect for people with strong objections. It could also be done through periodic public consultations that use public opinion and expert advice to decide which diseases justify the use of animals in medical research. More public input will help ensure that animal research projects meet public expectations and may help to promote changes to facilitate medical advances that need fewer animals. Abstract Current animal research ethics frameworks emphasise consequentialist ethics through cost-benefit or harm-benefit analysis. However, these ethical frameworks along with institutional animal ethics approval processes cannot satisfactorily decide when a given potential benefit is outweighed by costs to animals. The consequentialist calculus should, theoretically, provide for situations where research into a disease or disorder is no longer ethical, but this is difficult to determine objectively. Public support for animal research is also falling as demand for healthcare is rising. Democratisation of animal research could help resolve these tensions through facilitating ethical health consumerism or giving the public greater input into deciding the diseases and disorders where animal research is justified. Labelling drugs to disclose animal use and providing a plain-language summary of the role of animals may help promote public understanding and would respect the ethical beliefs of

  7. Police Contact with People with an Intellectual Disability: The Independent Third Person Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spivak, B. L.; Thomas, S. D. M.

    2013-01-01

    Background: A number of jurisdictions have instituted legislation requiring an independent person to be present during police interviews with vulnerable people. In Victoria, Australia, a group of volunteers known as Independent Third Persons help to fulfil this role with people who present with cognitive impairment arising from their mental…

  8. Nurturing a Self-Help Group

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marsha A. Schubert

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available In April 1987, the parent of a child who was both learning disabled and intellectually gifted and talented and a professional educator (the author founded Parents of Gifted and Learning-Disabled Students of Northern Virginia, a self-help group for people who were dealing with the challenges posed by such children. The article begins with a background explaining the need for such a group followed by a history of the group and a description of how it functioned. It then details ways in which the author and the group interacted over the course of 5 years. A major component of this interaction was the members’ partnering in a research study with the author—a process now known as participatory action research (PAR—and the outcomes of that partnership.

  9. Children's early helping in action: Piagetian developmental theory and early prosocial behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammond, Stuart I

    2014-01-01

    After a brief overview of recent research on early helping, outlining some central problems, and issues, this paper examines children's early helping through the lens of Piagetian moral and developmental theory, drawing on Piaget's "Moral Judgment of the Child" (Piaget, 1932/1997), "Play, Dreams, and Imitation in Childhood" (Piaget, 1945/1951), and the "Grasp of Consciousness" (Piaget, 1976). Piaget refers to a level of moral development in action that precedes heteronomous and autonomous moral reasoning. This action level allows children to begin to interact with people and objects. In his later work, Piaget explores the gradual construction of understanding from this activity level. Taken together, these elements of Piagetian theory provide a promising conceptual framework for understanding the development of early helping.

  10. Redesign of the IS/ICT Help Desk at a Spanish Public University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulchand-Gidumal, Jacques; Melian-Gonzalez, Santiago

    2010-01-01

    Faculty, administrative staff and students constantly demand more IS/ICT services in higher education institutions. Specifically, they demand high-quality user support from the university's help desk. Good service means, first of all, having enough people to provide the service. Responding to the dilemma of not being able to deliver these services…

  11. DefenseLink Special: U.S. Forces Help Afghan Soldiers Train for Future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Us Afghanistan, U.S. Forces Help Afghan Soldiers Train for Future 'Forces of Freedom, Decency Will people, defend our freedom, and send a clear message to the extremists: The forces of freedom and decency will prevail," he said in a speech at Latvia University. Story U.S. Soldiers Work With Afghan Army

  12. Document recognition serving people with disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fruchterman, James R.

    2007-01-01

    Document recognition advances have improved the lives of people with print disabilities, by providing accessible documents. This invited paper provides perspectives on the author's career progression from document recognition professional to social entrepreneur applying this technology to help people with disabilities. Starting with initial thoughts about optical character recognition in college, it continues with the creation of accurate omnifont character recognition that did not require training. It was difficult to make a reading machine for the blind in a commercial setting, which led to the creation of a nonprofit social enterprise to deliver these devices around the world. This network of people with disabilities scanning books drove the creation of Bookshare.org, an online library of scanned books. Looking forward, the needs for improved document recognition technology to further lower the barriers to reading are discussed. Document recognition professionals should be proud of the positive impact their work has had on some of society's most disadvantaged communities.

  13. [An Occupational Therapy Intervention for People With Dementia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ke, Hung-Hsun

    2018-02-01

    The percentage of individuals with dementia worldwide is increasing with the continued trend toward global trend overall. As options for the medical treatment of dementia remain limited, combined, non-pharmacological interventions are necessary to maintain and slow the degeneration of functional capabilities. Additionally, there is a need to help caregivers develop better patterns of care and methods to reduce the burden of care. Therefore, occupational therapists play an important role in the dementia care team. This article introduces how occupational therapists help dementia patient maintain their functional capabilities and delay degeneration and help caregivers reduce their burden of care. Both activities are based on the concept of occupational therapy, which includes three important components: people, activities, and the environment.

  14. Will online chat help alleviate mood loneliness?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Mu

    2009-04-01

    The present study examines the relationship between social Internet use and loneliness and reviews the studies about this topic from both social psychology and computer-mediated communication literature, as a response to the call for interdisciplinary research from scholars in these two areas. Two hundred thirty-four people participated in both the survey testing trait loneliness and a 5-condition (face-to-face chatting, instant message chatting, watching video, writing assignments, and "do nothing") experiment. Participants reported increase of mood loneliness after chatting online. The level of mood loneliness after online chat was higher than that in face-to-face communication. For people with high trait loneliness, the mood loneliness increase in the computer-mediated communication condition was significantly higher than in the face-to-face communication condition. The author of the current study hopes to help clarify the mixed research findings in previous social Internet use literature about this topic and reminds communication researchers of the need to explore the constructs included in "psychological well-being" in terms of their nature, mechanism, causes, consequences, and furthermore, how they are related to communication.

  15. SELF HELP GROUPS (SHGS): MICRO FINANCE IN INDIA

    OpenAIRE

    Shivam SAKSHI; Pető KÁROLY

    2018-01-01

    Micro finance in India has developed in decades from an idea to implementation to many success stories to an overall success. The early dawn of the idea of micro financing was to provide the capital to the population which was considered the bottom of socio economic pyramid so as to carry out the small household business and this idea has gradually grown up to become the way to help improve the socio standards of the poor people. India is the country of villages, more than 70% of the nation’s...

  16. Canadian small wind market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moorhouse, E.

    2010-01-01

    This PowerPoint presentation discussed initiatives and strategies adopted by the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) to support the development of Canada's small wind market. The general public has shown a significant interest in small wind projects of 300 kW. Studies have demonstrated that familiarity and comfort with small wind projects can help to ensure the successful implementation of larger wind projects. Small wind markets include residential, farming and commercial, and remote community applications. The results of CanWEA market survey show that the small wind market grew by 78 percent in 2008 over 2007, and again in 2009 by 32 percent over 2008. The average turbine size is 1 kW. A total of 11,000 turbines were purchased in 2007 and 2008. Global small wind market growth increased by 110 percent in 2008, and the average turbine size was 2.4 kW. Eighty-seven percent of the turbines made by Canadian mid-size wind turbine manufacturers are exported, and there is now a significant risk that Canada will lose its competitive advantage in small wind manufacturing as financial incentives have not been implemented. American and Canadian-based small wind manufacturers were listed, and small wind policies were reviewed. The presentation concluded with a set of recommendations for future incentives, educational programs and legislation. tabs., figs.

  17. People, Place, and Time: How Structural Fieldwork Helps World-Systems Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul K. Gellert

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Some of the most insightful work in the political economy of the world-system area has been produced by researchers whose extensive fieldwork offers them deep familiarity with people and locales. Few other methods are as useful to understand the impacts of structural change on daily life and the ways agents resist, alter, and shape emerging structures. Yet such structural fieldwork is marginalized by the over-reliance of pedagogical materials on social constructionist, social psychological, or interactionist perspectives and also in world-systems research and writing by the privileging of long durée historical or quantitative cross-national methods. This paper introduces the concept of structural fieldwork to describe a qualitative field methodology in which the researcher is self-consciously guided by considerations emerging out of macro-sociological theories. We identify four advantages of structural fieldwork: the illumination of power’s multiple dimensions; examination of agency and its boundaries or limitations within broad political and economic structures; attention to nuances of change and durability, spatial and temporal specificities, and processes of change and durability; and challenging and extending social theory. These advantages are illustrated in select examples from existing literature and by discussion of the two author’s fieldwork-based research. The paper concludes that explicit attention to fieldwork may strengthen political economy and world-systems research and also de-marginalize political economy informed by structural fieldwork.

  18. Help Helps, but Only so Much: Research on Help Seeking with Intelligent Tutoring Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aleven, Vincent; Roll, Ido; McLaren, Bruce M.; Koedinger, Kenneth R.

    2016-01-01

    Help seeking is an important process in self-regulated learning (SRL). It may influence learning with intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs), because many ITSs provide help, often at the student's request. The Help Tutor was a tutor agent that gave in-context, real-time feedback on students' help-seeking behavior, as they were learning with an ITS.…

  19. Dine College Students Research Diabetes for Their People.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ambler, Marjane

    1999-01-01

    Summarizes Dine College's (New Mexico) leading role in researching diabetes and other Navajo health problems, and its employment of students to help conduct research. States that because of an intimate understanding of their people, students can research topics that outside researchers would not or could not choose. (VWC)

  20. “Disabled People Are Sexual Citizens Too”: Supporting Sexual Identity, Well-being, and Safety for Disabled Young People

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonali Shah

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Disabled young people are sexual beings, and deserve equal rights and opportunities to have control over, choices about, and access to their sexuality, sexual expression, and fulfilling relationships throughout their lives. This is critical to their overall physical, emotional, and social health and well-being. However, societal misconceptions of disabled bodies being non-normative, other, or deviant has somewhat shaped how the sexuality of disabled people has been constructed as problematic under the public gaze. The pervasive belief that disabled people are asexual creates barriers to sexual citizenship for disabled young people, thereby causing them to have lower levels of sexual knowledge and inadequate sex education compared to their non-disabled peers. As a consequence, they are more vulnerable to “bad sex”—relationships, which are considered to be exploitative and disempowering in different ways. Access to good sex and relationships education for disabled young people is, therefore, not only important for them to learn about sexual rights, sexual identity, and sexual expression but also about how to ensure their sexual safety. In so doing, it will contribute to the empowerment and societal recognition of disabled people as sexual beings, and also help them resist and report sexual violence. Therefore, it is critical that parents, educationalists, and health and social care professionals are aware and appropriately equipped with knowledge and resources to formally educate disabled young people about sexuality and well-being on par to their non-disabled peers.

  1. Extending Justice: a rights-based account of our obligations to distant people

    OpenAIRE

    Fitzgerald, John

    2012-01-01

    This thesis examines a prima facie tension between the narrow scope of social justice proposed by many liberal, rights-based accounts, and the intuition that we have a strong obligation to help distant people who are in great need. 'Distant people' in this instance are people who do not share our nationality, or those who will come to exist as members of future generations. Ways in which liberal, right-based theories of political philosophy can resolve this tension are examined, and the thesi...

  2. Data for global solutions: How new technologies can help people to re-imagine the future of cities and more

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tewksbury, J.; Gaffney, O.; Young, D.

    2016-12-01

    People are more willing to accept and act on the science surrounding global environmental change when they can see themselves in that change - or when they can understand how global processes like climate change impact their lives in concrete and intimate ways. The digital revolution presents unique opportunities to make those sorts of connections. We will explore how new technologies can help to immerse users in the challenges of global sustainability and deepen their sense of personal involvement. We will draw on case studies from the Future Earth Media Lab, a communications and research initiative that was formed by Future Earth, the International Council for Science (ICSU) and Globaïa in 2015. The Media Lab was set up to bring together partners from science, technology, art and design to co-create products and experiences that can change the way we communicate the challenges of the world's most intractable problems, with the potential to shift mindsets and behaviours. We are at the very beginning of this 10-year project to explore how advances in virtual reality, augmented reality, data visualization and artificial intelligence will reshape how non-scientific audiences engage with science. The session will focus on results of the most recent projects launched in 2016: a hackathon series with the Iris.AI artificial intelligence project to test the limits of AI for searches based on framed research questions; a global hackathon series around using virtual reality to communicate global change challenges and an immersive space co-created with data visualization experts at the UN's biggest conference on sustainable urbanization at Quito, Ecuador.

  3. Online Social Support for Young People: Does It Recapitulate In-person Social Support; Can It Help?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, David A; Nick, Elizabeth A; Zelkowitz, Rachel L; Roeder, Kathryn M; Spinelli, Tawny

    2017-03-01

    As social media websites have grown in popularity, public concern about online victimization has grown as well; however, much less attention has focused on the possible beneficial effects of online social networks. If theory and research about in-person social networks pertain, then online social relationships may represent an important modern source of or vehicle for support. In a study of 231 undergraduates, three major findings emerged: (1) for people with weaker in-person social support, social media sites provide a source of social support that is less redundant of the social support they receive in person; (2) in ways that were not redundant of each other, both online and in-person social support were associated with lower levels of depression-related thoughts and feelings, and (3) the beneficial effects of online social support (like in-person social support) offset some of the adverse effects of peer victimization. The study suggests that augmenting social relations via strategic use of social media can enhance young people's social support systems in beneficial ways.

  4. Games people play the psychology of human relationships

    CERN Document Server

    Berne, Eric

    2010-01-01

    The bestselling Games People Play is the book that has helped millions of people understand the dynamics of relationships, by psychiatrist Eric Berne.We all play games. In every encounter with other people we are doing so. The nature of these games depends both on the situation and on who we meet.Eric Berne's classic Games People Play is the most accessible and insightful book ever written about the games we play: those patterns of behaviour that reveal hidden feelings and emotions. Wise and witty, it shows the underlying motivations behind our relationships and explores the roles that we try to play - and are forced to play.Games People Play gives you the keys to unlock the psychology of others - and yourself. You'll become more honest, more effective, and a true team player.'A brilliant, amusing, and clear catalogue of the psychological theatricals that human beings play over and over again' Kurt VonnegutEric Berne was a prominent psychiatrist and bestselling author.After inventing his groundbreaking Transa...

  5. Socially smart software agents entice people to use higher-order theory of mind in the Mod game

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Veltman, Kim; de Weerd, Harmen; Verbrugge, Rineke

    2017-01-01

    In social settings, people often need to reason about unobservable mental content of other people, such as their beliefs, goals, or intentions. This ability helps them to understand, to predict, and even to influence the behavior of others. People can take this ability further by applying it

  6. The Search for Extension: 7 Steps to Help People Find Research-Based Information on the Internet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Paul; Rader, Heidi B.; Hino, Jeff

    2012-01-01

    For Extension's unbiased, research-based content to be found by people searching the Internet, it needs to be organized in a way conducive to the ranking criteria of a search engine. With proper web design and search engine optimization techniques, Extension's content can be found, recognized, and properly indexed by search engines and…

  7. Worldwide Discoveries Help People Everywhere

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... and is recommended for treatment of every American child with diarrhea. Breast Cancer Nigeria—High fatality rates and ineffectiveness of treatment of African women with breast cancer, compared with Caucasian women ...

  8. KALMAN FILTER BASED FEATURE ANALYSIS FOR TRACKING PEOPLE FROM AIRBORNE IMAGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Sirmacek

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Recently, analysis of man events in real-time using computer vision techniques became a very important research field. Especially, understanding motion of people can be helpful to prevent unpleasant conditions. Understanding behavioral dynamics of people can also help to estimate future states of underground passages, shopping center like public entrances, or streets. In order to bring an automated solution to this problem, we propose a novel approach using airborne image sequences. Although airborne image resolutions are not enough to see each person in detail, we can still notice a change of color components in the place where a person exists. Therefore, we propose a color feature detection based probabilistic framework in order to detect people automatically. Extracted local features behave as observations of the probability density function (pdf of the people locations to be estimated. Using an adaptive kernel density estimation method, we estimate the corresponding pdf. First, we use estimated pdf to detect boundaries of dense crowds. After that, using background information of dense crowds and previously extracted local features, we detect other people in non-crowd regions automatically for each image in the sequence. We benefit from Kalman filtering to track motion of detected people. To test our algorithm, we use a stadium entrance image data set taken from airborne camera system. Our experimental results indicate possible usage of the algorithm in real-life man events. We believe that the proposed approach can also provide crucial information to police departments and crisis management teams to achieve more detailed observations of people in large open area events to prevent possible accidents or unpleasant conditions.

  9. Data versus Spock: lay theories about whether emotion helps or hinders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karnaze, Melissa M; Levine, Linda J

    2018-05-01

    The android Data from Star Trek admired human emotion whereas Spock viewed emotion as irrational and maladaptive. The theory that emotions fulfil adaptive functions is widely accepted in academic psychology but little is known about laypeople's theories. The present study assessed the extent to which laypeople share Data's view of emotion as helpful or Spock's view of emotion as a hindrance. We also assessed how help and hinder theory endorsement were related to reasoning, emotion regulation, and well-being. Undergraduates (N = 630) completed a stressful timed reasoning task and questionnaires that assessed their theories of emotion, emotion regulation strategies, happiness, and social support. Overall, participants viewed emotion more as a help than a hindrance. The more they endorsed the view that emotion helps, the better their reasoning scores. Endorsing a help theory also predicted the use of reappraisal which, in turn, predicted greater happiness and social support. In contrast, endorsing the view that emotion hinders was associated with emotion suppression and less social support. Thus, people's theories about the functionality of emotion may have important implications for their reasoning and emotional well-being.

  10. Comparison of Six- and Eight-Session Cognitive Guided Self-Help for Bulimia Nervosa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furber, Gareth; Steele, Anna; Wade, Tracey D.

    2004-01-01

    A previous case-series evaluation of a six-session guided self-help (GSH) approach with 15 people with bulimia nervosa (BN) showed significant reductions across all measures, including binge eating, self-induced vomiting, weight concern, shape concern and dietary restraint. However, the reduction of binge eating and self-induced vomiting was…

  11. Managing Data in Help4Mood

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria K. Wolters

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Help4Mood is a system that supports the treatment of people with depression in the community. It collects rich cognitive, psychomotor, and motor data through a Personal Monitoring System and a Virtual Agent, which is then analysed by a Decision Support System; analysis results are fed back to patients and their treating clinicians. In this paper, we describe how the complex data is managed and discuss ethical issues. Data is stored in functional units that correspond to treatment relevant entities. Custom XML DTDs are defined for each unit, which are used to exchange information between system components. As far as possible, observations and findings are coded using SNOMED CT to ensure interoperability with other applications such as Electronic Health Records.

  12. Analysis of syntax and word use to predict successful participation in guided self-help for anxiety and depression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zinken, Jörg; Zinken, Katarzyna; Wilson, J. Clare

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated whether an analysis of narrative style (word use and cross-clausal syntax) of patients with symptoms of generalised anxiety and depression disorders can help predict the likelihood of successful participation in guided self-help. Texts by 97 people who had made contact...... with a primary care mental health service were analysed. Outcome measures were completion of the guided self-help programme, and change in symptoms assessed by a standardised scale (CORE-OM). Regression analyses indicated that some aspects of participants' syntax helped to predict completion of the programme...

  13. Help seeking for cancer 'alarm' symptoms: a qualitative interview study of primary care patients in the UK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitaker, Katriina L; Macleod, Una; Winstanley, Kelly; Scott, Suzanne E; Wardle, Jane

    2015-02-01

    Delay in help seeking for cancer 'alarm' symptoms has been identified as a contributor to delayed diagnosis. To understand people's help-seeking decision making for cancer alarm symptoms, without imposing a cancer context. Community-based, qualitative interview study in the UK, using purposive sampling by sex, socioeconomic status, and prior help seeking, with framework analysis of transcripts. Interviewees (n = 48) were recruited from a community-based sample (n = 1724) of adults aged ≥50 years who completed a health survey that included a list of symptoms. Cancer was not mentioned. Participants reporting any of 10 cancer alarm symptoms (n = 915) and who had consented to contact (n = 482) formed the potential pool from which people were invited to an interview focusing on their symptom experiences. Reasons for help seeking included symptom persistence, social influence, awareness/fear of a link with cancer, and 'just instinct'. Perceiving the symptom as trivial or 'normal' was a deterrent, as was stoicism, adopting self-management strategies, and fear of investigations. Negative attitudes to help seeking were common. Participants did not want to be seen as making a fuss, did not want to waste the doctor's time, and were sometimes not confident that the GP could help. Decision making about cancer alarm symptoms was complex. Recognition of cancer risk almost always motivated help seeking (more so than the fear of cancer being a deterrent), assisted by recent public-awareness campaigns. As well as symptom persistence motivating help seeking, it could also have the reverse effect. Negative attitudes to help seeking were significant deterrents. © British Journal of General Practice 2015.

  14. Volunteering for Clinical Trials Can Help Improve Health Care for Everyone | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... very important for healthy people to help," says Melanie Modlin about clinical trials. "We have a role ... that can save lives." Photo: Fran Sandridge For Melanie Modlin, volunteering to take part in a clinical ...

  15. Older people going online: its value and before-after evaluation of volunteer support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Ray B; Ashurst, Emily J; Atkey, Jo; Duffy, Barbara

    2015-05-18

    Although Internet usage can benefit older people by reducing social isolation, increasing access to services, and improving health and well-being, only a minority are online. Barriers to Internet uptake include attitude and a lack of knowledge and help. We have evaluated volunteer support in helping older people go online. Knowing what value the Internet has been to older people who have just gone online should guide how it is "sold" to those remaining offline. Objectives of this study are (1) to assess the feasibility of recruiting volunteers aged 50 years and older and supporting them in helping people (ie, beneficiaries) aged 65 years and older go online, (2) to assess the impact of beneficiaries using the Internet on contacts with others, loneliness, and mental health, and (3) to assess the perceived value to beneficiaries of going online. Beneficiaries received help in using the Internet from 32 volunteers in one of two ways: (1) one-on-one in their own homes, receiving an average of 12 hours of help over eight visits, or (2) in small group sessions, receiving 12 hours of help over six visits. We assessed, at registration and follow-up, the number of contacts with others, using Lubben's 6-item Lubben Social Network Scale (LBNS-6), loneliness, using De Jong Gierveld's 6-item De Jong Gierveld loneliness scale (DJG-6), and mental well-being, using Tennant's Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS). We also assessed how beneficiaries valued going online using a Social Return on Investment (SROI) approach by postal survey. A total of 144 beneficiaries were recruited with the aim of helping them go online via one-on-one (n=58) or small group (n=86) sessions. Data through to follow-up were available on 76.4% (110/144) of participants. From baseline to follow-up, the number of contacts with others was significantly increased-LBNS-6, mean 13.7 to mean 17.6-loneliness scores were reduced-DJG-6, mean 2.38 to mean 1.80-and mental well-being improved

  16. Perceptions of disaster preparedness among older people in South Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoo, Myoungran; Lee, Mijung; Tullmann, Dorothy

    2016-03-01

    Older people are a major vulnerable population. During disasters, given their physical frailty, lower social status, loss of medications and medical care, the vulnerability of older people increases. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of older people in Korea on various aspects of disaster preparedness to better understand their special needs and to facilitate appropriate disaster planning. The study was qualitative and used focus group interviews with 12 older people in one major city and one rural area of South Korea. Four themes were identified by the analysis of the interviews: defenceless state, reality of accepting limitations, strong will to live, importance of disaster preparedness governmental efforts for the older people. Findings indicated that preparation of shelters and transportation was critical to help older people survive in times of disasters and suggested that there should be active involvement of the government in terms of disaster planning, managing and preparing older people for disasters. In addition, healthy older people can be assets to disaster relief efforts by providing practical and emotional support for the most fragile older people. Older people can also provide knowledge of their special needs to the government to improve their disaster response policy. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Nutritional strategies to reduce falls risk in older people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nash, Louise; Bergin, Nick

    2018-03-23

    A literature review found an association between increased falls risk and malnutrition, sarcopenia, vitamin D deficiency and dehydration. Strategies to identify, prevent and treat these conditions can help to reduce falls risk in at-risk groups such as frail, older people. Nurses can reduce falls risk in older people by raising awareness of risk factors and embedding nutritional strategies in local falls reduction strategies. ©2018 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.

  18. Type 2 diabetes: how do Thai Buddhist people with diabetes practise self-management?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lundberg, Pranee C; Thrakul, Supunnee

    2012-03-01

    This paper is a report of a study of how Thai Buddhist people with type 2 diabetes practice self-management. The importance of diabetes self-management is recognized in the literature. However, research on self-care management in Thailand, in particular concerning Buddhist people with type 2 diabetes, is scarce. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted. Purposive convenience sampling was used, and thirty men and women with diabetes, aged 28-79 years, participated. Data were collected from June to August 2009 and analysed by use of manifest and latent content analysis. Five themes of self-management among Thai Buddhist people with type 2 diabetes were identified: cultural influence on disease control, Buddhism and Thai culture, struggle for disease control, family support and economy a high priority. Even though the Buddhist people with diabetes had certain self-management capabilities, many had poor control of their blood sugar levels and needed assistance. Reference to Buddhist moderation can be an effective means of helping the people with diabetes better manage their disease and change their lifestyles. In addition to cultural and religious traditions, family, economy and social environment should be taken into account both in the care and in interventions aimed at helping people with diabetes cope and empowering them to control their disease. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  19. NIDCD: Celebrating 25 Years of Research Helping People with Communication Disorders | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... including the areas of the brain involved in dyslexia, aphasia (loss of the ability to use or ... laid the foundation for Early Hearing Detection and Intervention programs in all 50 states, which help ensure ...

  20. "The Love Games People Play" Survey: Using Research Methods to Examine Gendered Scripts and Stereotypes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucas, Kristen

    2011-01-01

    Every day people are bombarded with information about romantic relationships. Magazine articles offer how-to advice on flirting, dating, and fixing relationship problems. Advertisements--from billboards to radio commercials to email marketing campaigns--feature products that promise to help people attract a special someone. Television and movie…

  1. Finding Objects for Assisting Blind People

    OpenAIRE

    Yi, Chucai; Flores, Roberto W.; Chincha, Ricardo; Tian, YingLi

    2013-01-01

    Computer vision technology has been widely used for blind assistance, such as navigation and wayfinding. However, few camera-based systems are developed for helping blind or visually-impaired people to find daily necessities. In this paper, we propose a prototype system of blind-assistant object finding by camera-based network and matching-based recognition. We collect a dataset of daily necessities and apply Speeded-Up Robust Features (SURF) and Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) featu...

  2. Leveraging federal science data and tools to help communities & business build climate resilience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herring, D.

    2016-12-01

    Decision-makers in every sector and region of the United States are seeking actionable science-based information to help them understand and manage their climate-related risks. Translating data, tools and information from the domain of climate science to the domains of municipal, social, and economic decision-making raises complex questions—e.g., how to communicate causes and impacts of climate variability and change; how to show projections of plausible future climate scenarios; how to characterize and quantify vulnerabilities, risks, and opportunities facing communities and businesses; and how to make and implement "win-win" adaptation plans. These are the types of challenges being addressed by a public-private partnership of federal agencies, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and private businesses that are contributing to the development of the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit (toolkit.climate.gov), a new website designed to help people build resilience to extreme events caused by both natural climate variability and long-term climate change. The site's Climate Explorer is designed to help people understand potential climate conditions over the course of this century. It offers easy access to downloadable maps, graphs, and data tables of observed and projected temperature, precipitation and other decision-relevant climate variables dating back to 1950 and out to 2100. Of course, climate change is only one of many variables affecting decisions about the future so the Toolkit also ties climate information to a wide range of other relevant tools and information to help users to explore their vulnerabilities and risks. In this session, we will describe recent enhancements to the Toolkit, lessons learned from user engagements, and evidence that our approach of coupling scientific information with actionable decision-making processes is helping Americans build resilience to climate-related impacts.

  3. "If you don't believe it, it won't help you": use of bush medicine in treating cancer among Aboriginal people in Western Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bessarab Dawn

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Little is known about the use of bush medicine and traditional healing among Aboriginal Australians for their treatment of cancer and the meanings attached to it. A qualitative study that explored Aboriginal Australians' perspectives and experiences of cancer and cancer services in Western Australia provided an opportunity to analyse the contemporary meanings attached and use of bush medicine by Aboriginal people with cancer in Western Australia Methods Data collection occurred in Perth, both rural and remote areas and included individual in-depth interviews, observations and field notes. Of the thirty-seven interviews with Aboriginal cancer patients, family members of people who died from cancer and some Aboriginal health care providers, 11 participants whose responses included substantial mention on the issue of bush medicine and traditional healing were selected for the analysis for this paper. Results The study findings have shown that as part of their healing some Aboriginal Australians use traditional medicine for treating their cancer. Such healing processes and medicines were preferred by some because it helped reconnect them with their heritage, land, culture and the spirits of their ancestors, bringing peace of mind during their illness. Spiritual beliefs and holistic health approaches and practices play an important role in the treatment choices for some patients. Conclusions Service providers need to acknowledge and understand the existence of Aboriginal knowledge (epistemology and accept that traditional healing can be an important addition to an Aboriginal person's healing complementing Western medical treatment regimes. Allowing and supporting traditional approaches to treatment reflects a commitment by modern medical services to adopting an Aboriginal-friendly approach that is not only culturally appropriate but assists with the cultural security of the service.

  4. Structural Equation Modeling on Life-world Integration in People with Severe Burns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gyeong Suk Lee, PhD, RN

    2013-09-01

    Conclusion: Physical function should be directly improved to adjust to life-world integration. A comprehensive integration approach is also necessary to help people with severe burns successfully return to society.

  5. Public health for paediatricians: engaging young people from marginalised groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rigby, Emma; Starbuck, Lindsay

    2017-08-10

    Young people from marginalised groups can be excluded from health services because of reduced access, increased stigma and health inequalities. In addition, the stress associated with discrimination and stigma can have serious effects on individual health. This article explores how stigma affects young people's access to services and how health professionals can improve their practice and support for marginalised young people to achieve the best possible health outcomes. A better understanding of local populations of young people and their needs is key to improving services and support. Working in partnership with voluntary and community sector organisations is also important. In addition, improvements can be made by promoting better communication with young people and providing extra support to help them follow treatment plans. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  6. A smart multisensor approach to assist blind people in specific urban navigation tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ando, B

    2008-12-01

    Visually impaired people are often discouraged in using electronic aids due to complexity of operation, large amount of training, nonoptimized degree of information provided to the user, and high cost. In this paper, a new multisensor architecture is discussed, which would help blind people to perform urban mobility tasks. The device is based on a multisensor strategy and adopts smart signal processing.

  7. RUDO: A Home Ambient Intelligence System for Blind People.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudec, Milan; Smutny, Zdenek

    2017-08-22

    The article introduces an ambient intelligence system for blind people which besides providing assistance in home environment also helps with various situations and roles in which blind people may find themselves involved. RUDO, the designed system, comprises several modules that mainly support or ensure recognition of approaching people, alerting to other household members' movement in the flat, work on a computer, supervision of (sighted) children, cooperation of a sighted and a blind person (e.g., when studying), control of heating and zonal regulation by a blind person. It has a unified user interface that gives the blind person access to individual functions. The interface for blind people offers assistance with work on a computer, including writing in Braille on a regular keyboard and specialized work in informatics and electronics (e.g., programming). RUDO can complement the standard aids used by blind people at home, it increases their independence and creates conditions that allow them to become fully involved. RUDO also supports blind people sharing a home with sighted people, which contributes to their feeling of security and greater inclusion in society. RUDO has been implemented in a household for two years, which allows an evaluation of its use in practice.

  8. A qualitative study: experiences of stigma by people with mental health problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huggett, Charlotte; Birtel, Michèle D; Awenat, Yvonne F; Fleming, Paul; Wilkes, Sophie; Williams, Shirley; Haddock, Gillian

    2018-01-18

    Prior research has examined various components involved in the impact of public and internalized stigma on people with mental health problems. However, studies have not previously investigated the subjective experiences of mental health stigma by those affected in a non-statutory treatment-seeking population. An in-depth qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis to investigate the experiences of stigma in people with mental health problems. Eligible participants were recruited through a local mental health charity in the North West of England. The topic of stigma was examined using two focus groups of thirteen people with experience of mental health problems and stigma. Two main themes and five subthemes were identified. Participants believed that (1) the 'hierarchy of labels' has a profound cyclical impact on several levels of society: people who experience mental health problems, their friends and family, and institutional stigma. Furthermore, participants suggested (2) ways in which they have developed psychological resilience towards mental health stigma. It is essential to utilize the views and experiences gained in this study to aid understanding and, therefore, develop ways to reduce the negative impact of public and internal stigma. People referred to their mental health diagnosis as a label and associated that label with stigmatizing views. Promote awareness and develop improved strategies (e.g., training) to tackle the cyclical impact of the 'hierarchy of labels' on people with mental health problems, their friends and family, and institutional stigma. Ensure the implementation of clinical guidelines in providing peer support to help people to combat feeling stigmatized. Talking about mental health in psychological therapy or health care professional training helped people to take control and develop psychological resilience. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

  9. Helping You Help Me: The Role of Diagnostic (In)congruence in the Helping Process within Organizations

    OpenAIRE

    Fisher, Colin M.; Pillemer, Julianna; Amabile, Teresa M.

    2014-01-01

    Through an inductive, multi-method field study at a major design firm, we investigated the helping process in project work and how that process affects the success of a helping episode, as perceived by help-givers and/or -receivers. We used daily diary entries and weekly interviews from four project teams, and a separate sample of critical incident interviews, to induce process models of successful and unsuccessful helping episodes. We found that, in unsuccessful episodes, help-givers and -re...

  10. Three-Dimensional Wind Profiling of Offshore Wind Energy Areas With Airborne Doppler Lidar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koch, Grady J.; Beyon, Jeffrey Y.; Cowen, Larry J.; Kavaya, Michael J.; Grant, Michael S.

    2014-01-01

    A technique has been developed for imaging the wind field over offshore areas being considered for wind farming. This is accomplished with an eye-safe 2-micrometer wavelength coherent Doppler lidar installed in an aircraft. By raster scanning the aircraft over the wind energy area (WEA), a three-dimensional map of the wind vector can be made. This technique was evaluated in 11 flights over the Virginia and Maryland offshore WEAs. Heights above the ocean surface planned for wind turbines are shown to be within the marine boundary layer, and the wind vector is seen to show variation across the geographical area of interest at turbine heights.

  11. Helping HELP with limited resources: the Luquillo experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    F.N. Scatena; JR Ortiz-Zayas; J.F. Blanco-Libreros

    2008-01-01

    By definition the HELP approach involves the active participation of individuals from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds, including representatives of industry, academics, natural resource managers, and local officials and community leaders. While there is considerable enthusiasm and support for the integrated HELP approach, a central problem for all HELP...

  12. The MATISSE study: a randomised trial of group art therapy for people with schizophrenia

    OpenAIRE

    Crawford, M. J.; Killaspy, H.; Kalaitzaki, E.; Barrett, B.; Byford, S.; Patterson, S.; Soteriou, T.; O Neill, F. A.; Clayton, K.; Maratos, A.; Barnes, T. R.; Osborn, D.; Johnson, T.; King, M.; Tyrer, P.

    2010-01-01

    Background: Art Therapy has been promoted as a means of helping people who may find it difficult to express themselves verbally engage in psychological treatment. Group Art Therapy has been widely used as an adjunctive treatment for people with schizophrenia but there have been few attempts to examine its effects and cost effectiveness has not been examined. The MATISSE study aims to evaluate the clinical and cost effectiveness of group Art Therapy for people with schizophrenia.Method/Design:...

  13. Social Loafing in the Refugee Crisis: Information about Existing Initiatives Decreases Willingness to Help

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon Schindler

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available In light of the European refugee situation, we investigate how information about others’ support influences individuals’ willingness to help. When individuals see information about other people supporting refugees, they may either be influenced by a descriptive norm, and act accordingly. Alternatively, they may perceive that others are already doing the job, and thus engage in social loafing. In an experiment (N = 132, we tested these competing predictions. Specifically, participants were exposed to a map of Germany that either indicated many or few helping initiatives across the country. In a control group, no map was shown. Subsequently, participants were asked about their willingness to help. While there was no effect between the two map conditions, results revealed that participants reported lower willingness to help in both map conditions, compared with the control group. Thus, providing information about helping projects results in social loafing, jeopardizing widespread communication strategies to increase solidarity.

  14. Inclusive HRM and employment security for disabled people: An interdisciplinary approach

    OpenAIRE

    Borghouts - van de Pas, Irmgard; Freese, Charissa

    2017-01-01

    Many countries struggle with non-participation of vulnerable groups. Countries give priority to Active Labour Market Policies (ALMP) to help unemployed and disabled people get back to work, preferably in regular employment. In recent years, some innovative policies have tried to involve employers. There seems to be a paradox between desired social policy outcomes, such as getting people out of social security into regular jobs, and preferred Strategic HRM outcomes, such as being a highly prod...

  15. Self-management in Chinese people with schizophrenia and their caregivers: a qualitative study on facilitators and barriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Haiou; Li, Zheng; Arthur, David; Wang, Hongxing

    2014-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore facilitators and barriers of self-management from the viewpoint of Chinese people with schizophrenia and their caregivers. A qualitative study using the individual interview method was used. Twenty-one people with schizophrenia and 14 caregivers were interviewed. Three facilitators were identified: family and peer support, positive relationships with health professionals, and positive attitudes towards self-management. Four barriers were identified: lack of knowledge and skills, financial constraint, social stigma, and uncoordinated mental health services. The findings from this study should help nurses to recognize the factors that influence self-management and provide direction for nurses and other health professionals involved in initiating and implementing family-based self-management programmes for people with schizophrenia. The findings also call for the development of antistigma programmes, which are needed to help reduce prejudice and discrimination towards individuals with schizophrenia in China. The study also provides information for health policy makers in China to help them make potential changes in mental health services, which can better meet the needs of Chinese people with schizophrenia. © 2013 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

  16. Perceived Barriers and Enablers of Help-Seeking for Substance Use Problems During Adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berridge, Bonita J; McCann, Terence V; Cheetham, Ali; Lubman, Dan I

    2018-01-01

    Receiving professional help early can reduce long-term harms associated with substance use. However, little is known about the factors that influence help-seeking for substance use problems during early-mid adolescence, prior to the emergence of disorder. Given that beliefs regarding help-seeking are likely to develop early, understanding adolescent views of help-seeking during this period is likely to provide important information for prevention and intervention efforts. The current study identifies perceptions that would facilitate or prevent adolescents from seeking support for substance use problems from formal and informal help sources. Thirty-four 12- to 16-year-olds from two schools in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, were recruited. A qualitative interpretative design was used, incorporating semistructured, audio-recorded interviews. Three overlapping themes that reflected barriers or enablers to help-seeking were identified: approachability, confidentiality and trustworthiness, and expertise. Help-seeking was facilitated when adolescents believed that the help source would be supportive and understanding, would keep information confidential, and had expertise in the alcohol and drug field. Conversely, adolescents were reluctant to seek help from sources they believed would be judgmental, lacked expertise, or would inform their parents. These findings highlight perceptions that may influence help-seeking for alcohol and drug problems during adolescence. Further research is needed to determine if help-seeking can be facilitated by improving parents' and peers' knowledge and promoting health professionals' expertise in working with young people's alcohol and drug issues.

  17. Getting Help

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Parents & Students Home > Special Features > Getting Help Getting Help Resources from NIAAA Treatment for Alcohol Problems: Finding ... and find ways to make a change. Professional help Your doctor. Primary care and mental health practitioners ...

  18. Small portion sizes in worksite cafeterias: do they help consumers to reduce their food intake?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vermeer, W.M.; Steenhuis, I.H.M.; Leeuwis, F.H.; Heijmans, M.W.; Seidell, J.C.

    2011-01-01

    Background:Environmental interventions directed at portion size might help consumers to reduce their food intake.Objective:To assess whether offering a smaller hot meal, in addition to the existing size, stimulates people to replace their large meal with a smaller meal.Design:Longitudinal randomized

  19. Critical Time Intervention for Homeless People Making the Transition to Community Living: A Randomized Controlled Trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vet, R. de; Beijersbergen, M.D.; Jonker, I.E.; Lako, D.A.M.; Hemert, A.M. van; Herman, D.B.; Wolf, J.R.L.M.

    2017-01-01

    To help create an evidence base in Europe for effective interventions that improve the well-being of homeless people, we tested whether critical time intervention (CTI), a time-limited intervention developed to support vulnerable people during times of transition, is effective outside the United

  20. What can the chronobiologist do to help the shift worker?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monk, T H

    2000-04-01

    This article is composed of a review of how the increasing numbers of people working abnormal hours (referred to as "shift workers") can best be helped by the science of chronobiology. While recognizing that chronobiologists can give much general advice regarding such things as diet, sleep hygiene, cardiovascular health, and the need to address social and domestic tensions, this article will focus specifically on the advice that can be given to employers and employees, which is directly rooted in our knowledge of chronobiology.

  1. Children’s early helping in action: Piagetian developmental theory and early prosocial behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammond, Stuart I.

    2014-01-01

    After a brief overview of recent research on early helping, outlining some central problems, and issues, this paper examines children’s early helping through the lens of Piagetian moral and developmental theory, drawing on Piaget’s “Moral Judgment of the Child” (Piaget, 1932/1997), “Play, Dreams, and Imitation in Childhood” (Piaget, 1945/1951), and the “Grasp of Consciousness” (Piaget, 1976). Piaget refers to a level of moral development in action that precedes heteronomous and autonomous moral reasoning. This action level allows children to begin to interact with people and objects. In his later work, Piaget explores the gradual construction of understanding from this activity level. Taken together, these elements of Piagetian theory provide a promising conceptual framework for understanding the development of early helping. PMID:25101027

  2. 'Sharing things with people that I don't even know': help-seeking for psychological symptoms in injured Black men in Philadelphia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacoby, Sara F; Rich, John A; Webster, Jessica L; Richmond, Therese S

    2018-04-01

    Psychological distress is common in survivors of traumatic injury, yet across United States' trauma systems, it is rare that standard injury care integrates psychological evaluation and professional mental healthcare. The purpose of this study was to explore help-seeking for psychological symptoms in injured Black men living in Philadelphia. A subset of a cohort of 551 injured Black men admitted to a Trauma Center in Philadelphia participated in qualitative interviews that explored their perceptions of psychological symptoms after injury and the factors that guided their decision to seek professional mental health help. Data from 32 participants were analyzed for narrative and thematic content. Three overarching themes emerged: (1) facilitators of help-seeking, (2) barriers to help-seeking, and (3) factors underlying the decision not to consider professional help. Five participants felt that their injury-related psychological distress was severe enough to merit professional help despite any perceived barriers. Seventeen participants identified systemic and interpersonal obstacles to professional help that prevented them from seeking this kind of care. These included: financial constraints, limited access to mental healthcare services, and fear of the judgments of mental healthcare professionals. Ten participants would not consider professional help; these men perceived a lack of need and sufficiency in their existing social support networks. Research is needed to inform or identify interventions that diminish the impact of barriers to care, and identify from whom, where, and how professional mental health help might be more effectively offered to injured Black men in recovery environments like Philadelphia.

  3. What Works for Disconnected Young People: A Scan of the Evidence. MDRC Working Paper

    Science.gov (United States)

    Treskon, Louisa

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this paper was to conduct a scan of the current state of the evidence regarding what works in helping disconnected young people, defined as the population of young people ages 16 to 24 who are not connected to work or school. The following four main research questions were investigated: (1) What local, state, and federal policies…

  4. Financial motivation to work among people with psychiatric disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serowik, Kristin L; Rowe, Michael; Black, Anne C; Ablondi, Karen; Fiszdon, Joanna; Wilber, Charles; Rosen, Marc I

    2014-08-01

    Supported employment is an effective intervention for people with serious mental illnesses (SMI) but is underutilized. Clients' desire to work might be heightened by programs that provide counseling about managing one's funds, since money management helps people become more aware of the advantages of having money. To analyze the thoughts of recently homeless or hospitalized persons with SMI concerning their personal finances and employment. We interviewed 49 people with SMI about their finances, reviewed transcripts and analyzed their baseline characteristics. Twenty of the 49 participants spontaneously expressed a desire to work in order to earn more money. Those who expressed a desire to work managed their money significantly better than those who did not. Discussion of finances, such as that fostered by money management programs, may promote engagement in vocational rehabilitation and working for pay.

  5. Optimising nutrition for older people with dementia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, Delwyn

    This article explores interventions that can be undertaken to establish and maintain adequate nutritional intake in older people with dementia. This is often a problem, particularly in the later stages of the disease. A literature review was conducted, which identified 12 articles for inclusion. Most of these articles described interventions to maintain adequate nutritional intake in older adults with dementia. Although no standardised intervention was reported, some approaches did appear to be more successful than others. Further research is required on how nurses and nursing assistants can help older people with dementia to maintain adequate nutrition. Staff need more time and training to improve nutritional intake in this group of patients. In addition, enhanced vigilance with respect to eating difficulties and food consumption is necessary.

  6. Empathic Concern and the Desire to Help as Separable Components of Compassionate Responding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ministero, Lauren M; Poulin, Michael J; Buffone, Anneke E K; DeLury, Shane

    2018-04-01

    When do people experience versus regulate responses to compassion-evoking stimuli? We hypothesized that compassionate responding is composed of two factors-empathic concern and the desire to help-and that these would be differentially affected by perspective taking and self-affirmation. Exploratory (Study 1) and confirmatory (Study 2) factor analyses indicated that a compassion measure consisted of two factors corresponding to empathic concern and the desire to help. In Study 1 ( N = 237), participants with high emotion regulation ability reported less empathic concern for multiple children than for one, but perspective taking prevented this effect. In Study 2 ( N = 155), participants reported less desire to help multiple children, but only in the presence of self-affirmation. In both the studies, empathic concern predicted greater distress while the desire to help predicted greater chances of donating. Compassionate responding may consist of two separable facets that collapse under distinct conditions and that predict distinct outcomes.

  7. Communicating with people with dementia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James McKillop

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available It can be very difficult to communicate with people with dementia. Each case requires its own unique handling. Not every scenario is covered, as many times your own judgment is what will work, best according to the circumstances. These can change from dawn to evening and from day to day. Never assume things will be the way they were the last time you communicated. Be on your guard. Be adaptable. The article will help get you started to think of your own ways to communicate.

  8. The things we learned on Liberty Island: designing games to help people become competent game players

    OpenAIRE

    Pelletier, Caroline

    2005-01-01

    Although interest in the use of games to support education is growing (e.g. Dawes & Dumbleton, 2001; McFarlane et al, 2002; Mitchell & Savill-Smith, 2004), there is relatively little research into how people learn to play games. This is surprising, since VanDeventer and White (2002) have demonstrated that game players demonstrate characteristics of expert behaviour and Gee (2003) argues that highly successful implicit theories of learning are embedded in well-designed games. In spite ...

  9. Diagnosing cancer in the bush: a mixed-methods study of symptom appraisal and help-seeking behaviour in people with cancer from rural Western Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emery, Jon D; Walter, Fiona M; Gray, Vicky; Sinclair, Craig; Howting, Denise; Bulsara, Max; Bulsara, Caroline; Webster, Andrew; Auret, Kirsten; Saunders, Christobel; Nowak, Anna; Holman, C D'Arcy

    2013-06-01

    Previous studies have focused on the treatment received by rural cancer patients and have not examined their diagnostic pathways as reasons for poorer outcomes in rural Australia. To compare and explore symptom appraisal and help-seeking behaviour in patients with breast, lung, prostate or colorectal cancer from rural Western Australia (WA). A mixed-methods study of people recently diagnosed with breast, lung, prostate or colorectal cancer from rural WA. The time from first symptom to diagnosis (i.e. total diagnostic interval, TDI) was calculated from interviews and medical records. Sixty-six participants were recruited (24 breast, 20 colorectal, 14 prostate and 8 lung cancer patients). There was a highly significant difference in time from symptom onset to seeking help between cancers (P = 0.006). Geometric mean symptom appraisal for colorectal cancer was significantly longer than that for breast and lung cancers [geometric mean differences: 2.58 (95% confidence interval, CI: 0.64-4.53), P = 0.01; 3.97 (1.63-6.30), P = 0.001, respectively]. There was a significant overall difference in arithmetic mean TDI (P = 0.046); breast cancer TDI was significantly shorter than colorectal or prostate cancer TDI [mean difference : 266.3 days (95% CI: 45.9-486.8), P = 0.019; 277.0 days, (32.1-521.9), P = 0.027, respectively]. These differences were explained by the nature and personal interpretation of symptoms, perceived as well as real problems of access to health care, optimism, stoicism, machismo, fear, embarrassment and competing demands. Longer symptom appraisal was observed for colorectal cancer. Participants defined core characteristics of rural Australians as optimism, stoicism and machismo. These features, as well as access to health care, contribute to later presentation of cancer.

  10. Peer Communication in Online Mental Health Forums for Young People: Directional and Nondirectional Support

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanley, Terry; Ujhelyi, Katalin

    2017-01-01

    Background The Internet has the potential to help young people by reducing the stigma associated with mental health and enabling young people to access services and professionals which they may not otherwise access. Online support can empower young people, help them develop new online friendships, share personal experiences, communicate with others who understand, provide information and emotional support, and most importantly help them feel less alone and normalize their experiences in the world. Objective The aim of the research was to gain an understanding of how young people use an online forum for emotional and mental health issues. Specifically, the project examined what young people discuss and how they seek support on the forum (objective 1). Furthermore, it looked at how the young service users responded to posts to gain an understanding of how young people provided each other with peer-to-peer support (objective 2). Methods Kooth is an online counseling service for young people aged 11-25 years and experiencing emotional and mental health problems. It is based in the United Kingdom and provides support that is anonymous, confidential, and free at the point of delivery. Kooth provided the researchers with all the online forum posts between a 2-year period, which resulted in a dataset of 622 initial posts and 3657 initial posts with responses. Thematic analysis was employed to elicit key themes from the dataset. Results The findings support the literature that online forums provide young people with both informational and emotional support around a wide array of topics. The findings from this large dataset also reveal that this informational or emotional support can be viewed as directive or nondirective. The nondirective approach refers to when young people provide others with support by sharing their own experiences. These posts do not include explicit advice to act in a particular way, but the sharing process is hoped to be of use to the poster. The

  11. Peer Communication in Online Mental Health Forums for Young People: Directional and Nondirectional Support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prescott, Julie; Hanley, Terry; Ujhelyi, Katalin

    2017-08-02

    The Internet has the potential to help young people by reducing the stigma associated with mental health and enabling young people to access services and professionals which they may not otherwise access. Online support can empower young people, help them develop new online friendships, share personal experiences, communicate with others who understand, provide information and emotional support, and most importantly help them feel less alone and normalize their experiences in the world. The aim of the research was to gain an understanding of how young people use an online forum for emotional and mental health issues. Specifically, the project examined what young people discuss and how they seek support on the forum (objective 1). Furthermore, it looked at how the young service users responded to posts to gain an understanding of how young people provided each other with peer-to-peer support (objective 2). Kooth is an online counseling service for young people aged 11-25 years and experiencing emotional and mental health problems. It is based in the United Kingdom and provides support that is anonymous, confidential, and free at the point of delivery. Kooth provided the researchers with all the online forum posts between a 2-year period, which resulted in a dataset of 622 initial posts and 3657 initial posts with responses. Thematic analysis was employed to elicit key themes from the dataset. The findings support the literature that online forums provide young people with both informational and emotional support around a wide array of topics. The findings from this large dataset also reveal that this informational or emotional support can be viewed as directive or nondirective. The nondirective approach refers to when young people provide others with support by sharing their own experiences. These posts do not include explicit advice to act in a particular way, but the sharing process is hoped to be of use to the poster. The directive approach, in contrast, involves

  12. Feasibility of a psychosis information intervention to improve mental health literacy for professional groups in contact with young people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutton, Marie; O'Keeffe, Donal; Frawley, Timothy; Madigan, Kevin; Fanning, Felicity; Lawlor, Elizabeth; Roche, Eric; Kelly, Aine; Turner, Niall; Horenstein, Arielle; O'Callaghan, Eadbhard; Clarke, Mary

    2018-04-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of a psychosis information intervention for professionals in contact with young people in Ireland. A quasi-experimental pre- and post-intervention design was used. One thousand and thirty-two professionals received an information intervention designed to improve mental health literacy (MHL) and confidence in providing help to people with psychosis. Seven hundred and fifty-five participants completed the Psychosis Information and Confidence Questionnaire pre- and post-intervention. The information intervention significantly improved participants': (1) knowledge of psychosis; (2) ability to recognize signs and symptoms of psychosis; (3) awareness of how to access services; and (4) confidence in providing help to people experiencing psychosis. Findings provide promising support for the intervention's feasibility and acceptability. The intervention enhanced MHL regarding psychosis among professionals in contact with young people. Further research assessing if such improvements translate to the facilitation of appropriate help seeking, the enhanced early detection of psychosis and a reduction of the duration of untreated psychosis is required. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  13. Proceedings of CanWEA's 2006 conference and trade show

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-01-01

    The Canadian wind energy industry is experiencing rapid and unprecedented growth. The year 2006 saw the installation of 534 MW of wind energy across Canada, representing approximately $1 billion in new investment. It is anticipated that the wind energy industry will help to create jobs and training opportunities for many Canadians, as well as provide ongoing economic benefits to local communities through municipal tax and land lease payments. However, many challenges remain if Canada is to meet, or exceed, its objective of a total of 10,000 MW in installed wind energy by 2015. This conference provided a forum for wind industry member, academics and representatives of both governmental and non-governmental agencies to discuss issues related to wind energy development. The conference was divided into 3 streams. The policy stream examined issues related to the Canadian Wind Power Production Incentive (WPPI) program, as well as various federal policies regarding environmental assessments and avian monitoring. Industry Canada initiatives to promote the Canadian wind industry were reviewed, and human resources challenges related to the anticipated labour shortage were discussed. Various provincial policy updates were presented, and issues concerning Crown lands and Aboriginal consultation processes were reviewed. New wind projects owned and operated by various Aboriginal groups were also presented. The business and development stream examined landowner-wind developer relations, as well as legal issues related to wind farm stakeholders. Issues related to the development and financing of wind power projects were also discussed, and partnership agreements in the wind energy industry were reviewed. The technical stream presented new techniques in wind power production forecast performance, and examined issues related to the verification of numerical weather predictions. New technologies for high resolution wind forecasting were presented along with wind resource maps

  14. World Class: USBBY's Outstanding International Books for Young People

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angus, Carolyn

    2009-01-01

    Some of the world's best children's book artists got together to help Amnesty International celebrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights' 60th anniversary in "We Are All Born Free," one of the 42 titles recommended by the fourth annual United States Board on Books for Young People's (USBBY) Outstanding International Books…

  15. Stigma towards people with mental illness in developing countries in Asia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauber, Christoph; Rössler, Wulf

    2007-04-01

    There is a wide range of literature on stigmatization and discrimination of people with mental illness. Most studies, however, derive from Western countries. This review aims at summarizing results from developing countries in Asia published between 1996-2006. Medline search focusing on English-speaking literature. Comparable to Western countries, there is a widespread tendency to stigmatize and discriminate people with mental illness in Asia. People with mental illness are considered as dangerous and aggressive which in turn increases the social distance. The role of supernatural, religious and magical approaches to mental illness is prevailing. The pathway to care is often shaped by scepticism towards mental health services and the treatments offered. Stigma experienced from family members is pervasive. Moreover, social disapproval and devaluation of families with mentally ill individuals are an important concern. This holds true particularly with regards to marriage, marital separation and divorce. Psychic symptoms, unlike somatic symptoms, are construed as socially disadvantageous. Thus, somatisation of psychiatric disorders is widespread in Asia. The most urgent problem of mental health care in Asia is the lack of personal and financial resources. Thus, mental health professionals are mostly located in urban areas. This increases the barriers to seek help and contributes to the stigmatization of the mentally ill. The attitude of mental health professionals towards people with mental illness is often stigmatizing. This review revealed that the stigmatization of people with mental illness is widespread in Asia. The features of stigmatization-beliefs about causes of and attitudes towards mental illness, consequences for help-seeking-have more commonalities than differences to Western countries.

  16. Mental health first aid for the elderly: A pilot study of a training program adapted for helping elderly people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svensson, Bengt; Hansson, Lars

    2017-06-01

    Epidemiological studies have shown a high prevalence of mental illness among the elderly. Clinical data however indicate both insufficient detection and treatment of illnesses. Suggested barriers to treatment include conceptions that mental health symptoms belong to normal aging and lack of competence among staff in elderly care in detecting mental illness. A Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training program for the elderly was developed and provided to staff in elderly care. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in knowledge in mental illness, confidence in helping a person, readiness to give help and attitudes towards persons with mental illness. Single group pre-test-post-test design. The study group included staff in elderly care from different places in Sweden (n = 139). Significant improvements in knowledge, confidence in helping an elderly person with mental illness and attitudes towards persons with mental illness are shown. Skills acquired during the course have been practiced during the follow-up. The adaption of MHFA training for staff working in elderly care gives promising results. Improvements in self-reported confidence in giving help, attitudes towards persons with mental illness and actual help given to persons with mental illness are shown. However, the study design allows no firm conclusions and a randomized controlled trail is needed to investigate the effectiveness of the program. Outcomes should include if the detection and treatment of mental illness among the elderly actually improved.

  17. Exploring the nature of stigmatising beliefs about depression and help-seeking: Implications for reducing stigma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christensen Helen

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In-depth and structured evaluation of the stigma associated with depression has been lacking. This study aimed to inform the design of interventions to reduce stigma by systematically investigating community perceptions of beliefs about depression according to theorised dimensional components of stigma. Methods Focus group discussions were held with a total of 23 adults with personal experience of depression. The discussions were taped, transcribed and thematically analysed. Results Participants typically reported experiencing considerable stigma, particularly that others believe depressed people are responsible for their own condition, are undesirable to be around, and may be a threat. Participants expressed particular concerns about help-seeking in the workplace and from mental health professionals. Conclusion Findings indicate that interventions to reduce the stigma of depression should target attributions of blame; reduce avoidance of depressed people; label depression as a 'health condition' rather than 'mental illness'; and improve responses of help-sources (i.e. via informing professionals of client fears.

  18. A Collaborative Action Research about Making Self-Advocacy Videos with People with Intellectual Disabilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ann-Louise Davidson

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This article presents the results of a collaborative action research conducted with people living with intellectual disabilities (ID who were going through a community integration process. To be successfully integrated into a community, they need to develop basic life skills as much as they need to learn to use mobile technologies for authentic interactions (Davidson, 2012 and to be self-advocates online (Davidson, 2009a. This study used the Capability Approach pioneered by Sen (1992 and Nussbaum (2000, which focusses on what people can do rather than on their deficiencies. I recruited a group of eight people with ID who wished to set goals, engage in developing new capabilities, share their goals and act as models for others with ID who want to learn to live on their own. In this article, I examine the process of developing self-advocacy videos with mobile technologies using the Capability Approach and I analyze the inventory of capabilities collected through this study. I provide recommendations for intervention through mobile technologies with the long term-goal of helping people with ID to become contributing citizens. I discuss the innovative action research methodology I used to help people with ID become self-advocates and take control of the messages they give through producing their own digital resources.

  19. "Give, but Give until It Hurts": The Modulatory Role of Trait Emotional Intelligence on the Motivation to Help.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agnoli, Sergio; Pittarello, Andrea; Hysenbelli, Dorina; Rubaltelli, Enrico

    2015-01-01

    Two studies investigated the effect of trait Emotional Intelligence (trait EI) on people's motivation to help. In Study 1, we developed a new computer-based paradigm that tested participants' motivation to help by measuring their performance on a task in which they could gain a hypothetical amount of money to help children in need. Crucially, we manipulated participants' perceived efficacy by informing them that they had been either able to save the children (positive feedback) or unable to save the children (negative feedback). We measured trait EI using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF) and assessed participants' affective reactions during the experiment using the PANAS-X. Results showed that high and low trait EI participants performed differently after the presentation of feedback on their ineffectiveness in helping others in need. Both groups showed increasing negative affective states during the experiment when the feedback was negative; however, high trait EI participants better managed their affective reactions, modulating the impact of their emotions on performance and maintaining a high level of motivation to help. In Study 2, we used a similar computerized task and tested a control situation to explore the effect of trait EI on participants' behavior when facing failure or success in a scenario unrelated to helping others in need. No effect of feedback emerged on participants' emotional states in the second study. Taken together our results show that trait EI influences the impact of success and failure on behavior only in affect-rich situation like those in which people are asked to help others in need.

  20. "Give, but Give until It Hurts": The Modulatory Role of Trait Emotional Intelligence on the Motivation to Help.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio Agnoli

    Full Text Available Two studies investigated the effect of trait Emotional Intelligence (trait EI on people's motivation to help. In Study 1, we developed a new computer-based paradigm that tested participants' motivation to help by measuring their performance on a task in which they could gain a hypothetical amount of money to help children in need. Crucially, we manipulated participants' perceived efficacy by informing them that they had been either able to save the children (positive feedback or unable to save the children (negative feedback. We measured trait EI using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF and assessed participants' affective reactions during the experiment using the PANAS-X. Results showed that high and low trait EI participants performed differently after the presentation of feedback on their ineffectiveness in helping others in need. Both groups showed increasing negative affective states during the experiment when the feedback was negative; however, high trait EI participants better managed their affective reactions, modulating the impact of their emotions on performance and maintaining a high level of motivation to help. In Study 2, we used a similar computerized task and tested a control situation to explore the effect of trait EI on participants' behavior when facing failure or success in a scenario unrelated to helping others in need. No effect of feedback emerged on participants' emotional states in the second study. Taken together our results show that trait EI influences the impact of success and failure on behavior only in affect-rich situation like those in which people are asked to help others in need.

  1. A Postcolonial Approach to the Problem of Subalternity in Toni Morrison's God Help the Child

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sahar Abdelkarim Asad Mashaqi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study focuses on the different forms of subalternity, the effect of marginalizing subaltern characters, and the postcolonial discourse among characters coming from different backgrounds in Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child (2015. A close reading of this novel shows how subalternity shapes the novel as a whole, both in its form and content. The title, language, tone, multiple points of view, and characters, all form a postcolonial frame and setting to the whole novel which highlights the problems of racism and child abuse in the United States of America in the twenty-first century. The novel is mainly about a dark child named Bride. She is born in a white family and represents children’s marginalization in a white society because of a very long history of discrimination against black people. In addition to Bride, the study shows many other examples of racism and child abuse. So, one can argue that postcolonialism is one of the best approaches that can help the reader better understand the marginalized characters. A postcolonial approach will shed more light on the suffering of all these people and help the reader find out the victim and the victimizer. As a whole, God Help the Child necessitates a totally different approach to the problem of subalternity. Instead of Spivak’s view that the subaltern cannot speak, it is possible to anticipate a near future in which the subaltern might be able to speak.

  2. What needs to be done to make wind power a thriving business

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gallagher, F.

    2004-01-01

    The use of wind power around the world is growing at a rate of about 30 per cent per year with over 40,000 MW of installed capacity. Canada has 434 MW of installed capacity, of which half has been installed since 2002. The author claims that the reason for this slower start compared to other countries is due to the abundance of low cost hydrocarbons and water resources and little incentives for renewable energy resources. The federal government has recently implemented its Wind Power Production Incentive (WPPI) to help develop this valuable renewable resource. A series of provincial incentives are also in place. The author states that wind energy has the potential to supply about 30 per cent of Canada's electricity supply. The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) has set a goal to develop 10,000 MW of electricity by 2010. CanWEA expects that 30,000 MW are achievable by 2020 despite the challenges facing this growing industry. Some of the barriers that impede progress revolve around interconnection challenges, transmission, and access to markets. Until these factors are addressed and a permanent industrial complex of wind energy has been established, higher costs for wind power should be expected. These challenges may affect the market success in the near term, but wind power is expected to be a major contributor to Canada's energy supply in the long term. tabs., figs

  3. Developing an integrated, Internet-based self-help programme for young people with depression and alcohol use problems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark Deady

    2014-07-01

    Overall, the DEAL Project programme was well-received and provides an innovative new platform for the treatment of co-occurring depression and alcohol use problems in young people. The next phase will include an evaluation of programme efficacy. If found to be efficacious, the programme has the potential to improve outcomes, reduce disease burden, and increase treatment uptake in this vulnerable group.

  4. Going Online: Helping Technical Communicators Help Translators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flint, Patricia; Lord van Slyke, Melanie; Starke-Meyerring, Doreen; Thompson, Aimee

    1999-01-01

    Explains why technical communicators should help translators. Offers tips for creating "translation-friendly" documentation. Describes the research and design process used by the authors to create an online tutorial that provides technical communicators at a medical technology company the information they need to help them write and…

  5. Help and Care Seeking for Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Youth in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

    OpenAIRE

    Newton-Levinson, Anna; Leichliter, Jami S.; Chandra-Mouli, Venkatraman

    2017-01-01

    Background The ability to seek help or medical care for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is vital for sexually active youth; yet, their needs are often unmet. Methods We conducted a qualitative systematic review of studies to assess youth and provider views about the behaviors of young people in help seeking and care seeking for STI services in low- and middle-income countries. We searched peer-reviewed literature for studies published between 2001 and 2014 with a study population of yo...

  6. Adolescents' Help-Seeking Behavior and Intentions Following Adolescent Dating Violence: A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bundock, Kerrie; Chan, Carmen; Hewitt, Olivia

    2018-01-01

    The review aimed to systematically identify and summarize empirical work examining adolescent victims' help-seeking behaviors and intentions in relation to their own experience of adolescent dating violence (ADV) and to critically evaluate the literature. Three main objectives were addressed: identify factors associated with help seeking, identify help-seeking source (who adolescents disclose to), and explore the barriers and facilitators for help seeking. Results were separated into actual help seeking and help-seeking intentions. A systematic search was conducted via an electronic search on February 10, 2017. Studies were identified by systematically searching the following electronic databases: Amed, BNI, CINAHL, EMBASE, Health Business Elite, HMIC, Medline, PsychINFO, and PubMed. Nineteen studies were included in the review. Adolescents were more likely to go to informal sources of support, with friends being the most commonly reported source. The majority of studies found females were more likely than males to seek help; however, inconsistencies in gender differences emerged. The variation in measurement and definition of ADV and help seeking included in this review impacts on its conclusions. Adolescents identify a number of barriers to help seeking for ADV. Emotional factors were identified as important barriers to seeking help; however, very little research in this review explored this area. Further research is required on age and cultural differences, use of the Internet, and preference for different sources for different types of abuse. There is a need for a greater focus on help seeking to ensure government campaigns are appropriately meeting the needs of young people experiencing ADV.

  7. Service user and carer experiences of seeking help for a first episode of psychosis: a UK qualitative study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raine Rosalind

    2011-09-01

    stigma associated with psychosis and community education regarding symptoms and services, targeting not only young people developing illness but also a range of people in their networks, including staff in educational and community organisations. Initiatives to enhance the effective involvement of staff in community organisations working with young people in promoting help-seeking merit research.

  8. The Prevalence of Rough Sleeping and Sofa Surfing Amongst Young People in the UK

    OpenAIRE

    Clarke, Anna

    2016-01-01

    Whilst data on statutory homelessness is well recorded in the UK, there is a lack of data on informal homelessness (such as ‘sofa surfing’) and rough sleeping, other than that which relies on partial information and street counts. This paper presents findings from a recent online survey of young people and helps to fill this gap. It found that rates of sofa surfing and rough sleeping among young people were much higher than previously thought. Twenty-six percent of young people (aged 16–25) h...

  9. Impact of national policy on the health of people seeking asylum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joels, Claire

    Recent Department of Health policy has modified the stage in the application process that people seeking asylum are entitled to free NHS health care. This has caused confusion, not only among asylum seekers and settled refugees, but also among healthcare professionals. In turn, this has led to increased difficulty for people seeking asylum in accessing healthcare services. This article identifies when in the process asylum seekers are entitled to free NHS care. It considers how current legislation and the government stance on immigration are having a negative effect on the health of people seeking asylum while they are in the U.K., and to what extent nurses and other health professionals can help.

  10. When Ideals Get in the Way of Self-Care: Perfectionism and Self-Stigma for Seeking Psychological Help among High School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeifman, Richard J.; Atkey, Sarah K.; Young, Rebecca E.; Flett, Gordon L.; Hewitt, Paul L.; Goldberg, Joel O.

    2015-01-01

    In the current study, we investigated whether adolescents high in perfectionism are prone to experiencing self-stigma for seeking psychological help. This work is based on the premise that the need to seek help for psychological difficulties is not consistent with idealistic personal goals of perfectionistic young people and their desire to retain…

  11. Design of An Electronic Narrator on Assistant Robot for Blind People

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ardiansyah Rizqi Andry

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Many personal service robot is developed to help blind people in daily life, such as room cleaning, for navigating, object finding, reading and other activities. In this context, the present work focuses the development of an image-to-speech application for the blind. The project is called Design of An Electronic Narrator on Assistant Robot for Blind People, and the final purpose is the design of an electronic narrator application on personal service robot that helps to narrate a text on a book, magazine, a sheet of paper etc to a blind person. To achieve that, a Raspberry pi board, a light sensor, OpenCV computer vision library, Tesseract OCR (Optical Character Recognition library, eSpeak Text-to-Speech Synthesizer (TTS library are integrated, which is enables the blind person to hear a narration from text on a book, magazine, a sheet etc.

  12. Neuroimaging studies in people with gender incongruence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreukels, Baudewijntje P C; Guillamon, Antonio

    2016-01-01

    The current review gives an overview of brain studies in transgender people. First, we describe studies into the aetiology of feelings of gender incongruence, primarily addressing the sexual differentiation hypothesis: does the brain of transgender individuals resemble that of their natal sex, or that of their experienced gender? Findings from neuroimaging studies focusing on brain structure suggest that the brain phenotypes of trans women (MtF) and trans men (FtM) differ in various ways from control men and women with feminine, masculine, demasculinized and defeminized features. The brain phenotypes of people with feelings of gender incongruence may help us to figure out whether sex differentiation of the brain is atypical in these individuals, and shed light on gender identity development. Task-related imaging studies may show whether brain activation and task performance in transgender people is sex-atypical. Second, we review studies that evaluate the effects of cross-sex hormone treatment on the brain. This type of research provides knowledge on how changes in sex hormone levels may affect brain structure and function.

  13. Materialism, empathy and willingness to help as correlates of university and faculty selection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabina Kołodziej

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The article presents results of two studies on the issue of individual characteristics as factors related to the choice of the type of university or faculty. The study 1 is focused on the level of materialism as well as the definition of a life success formulated by private and state university students. The study 2 analyses the propensity to help other people and the level of empathy among pedagogics and business students. Studies were conducted with DSM (Górnik-Durose, 2002 scale measuring materialism and designed life- success questionnaire (study 1 or IRI scale developed by Davis (1980 measuring the level of empathy (study 2. The sample amounted to 92 respondents in both studies. Results show that private university students are characterized by a higher level of materialism than public university students. Students from private university, in comparison with state university students, also score higher success in life of a person with higher income. According to the results of study 2, students of pedagogics declare higher willingness to help than business students and are characterized as experiencing more positive feelings for other people who are in a difficult situation

  14. Wind energy in Canada: an action plan to 2000

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-02-01

    The role of the CanWEA (Canadian Wind Energy Association) is to promote the development and application of wind energy technology, products and services. CanWEA has established targets with regard to the future development of wind energy. Present targets include (1) the installation of 500 MW of wind generated electric capacity by the year 2000, and at least 5,000 MW by the year 2010, (2) the installation or export of 15,000 wind powered water pumping systems by the year 2000, (3) the installation of 2,500 micro-wind systems by the year 2000, and (4) the development of a Canadian wind energy industry which generates $200 million in annual sales by the year 2000

  15. An Alternative Option to Dedicated Braille Notetakers for People with Visual Impairments: Universal Technology for Better Access

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Sunggye

    2012-01-01

    Technology provides equal access to information and helps people with visual impairments to complete tasks more independently. Among various assistive technology options for people with visual impairments, braille notetakers have been considered the most significant because of their technological innovation. Braille notetakers allow users who are…

  16. Conceptual measurement framework for help-seeking for mental health problems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rickwood D

    2012-12-01

    providing much needed conceptual consistency. Results will then be able to be compared across studies and population groups, and this will significantly benefit understanding of policy and practice initiatives aimed at improving access to and engagement with services for people with mental health concerns.Keywords: help-seeking, mental health problem, mental disorder, service use, measurement, systematic review

  17. European obesity and the radiology department. What can we do to help?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buckley, O.; Ward, E.; Colin, Walsh; Snow, A.; Ryan, A.; Torreggiani, W.C.

    2009-01-01

    Obesity is a chronic disease that is now a global epidemic. The numbers of obese people are exponentially rising in Europe, and it is projected that in Europe by 2010 there will be 150 million obese people. The obesity-related health crisis does not only affect adults, with one in four European children now overweight. Radiologists, both adult and paediatric, need to be aware of the magnitude of the problem, and obese patients cannot be denied radiologic evaluation due to their size. Missed diagnosis, appointment cancellation and embarrassing situations for patients when they are referred for a radiological examination for which they are not suitable are all issues that can be avoided if careful provision is made to accommodate the needs of the obese patient requiring radiologic evaluation. This paper will discuss the epidemiology of obesity and the role of radiology in the assessment of obesity and disorders of fat metabolism. The limitations obesity poses to current radiological equipment and how the radiologist can optimise imaging in the obese patient will be described. Dose reference levels and dose control are discussed. Examples of how obesity both hinders and helps the radiologist will be illustrated. Techniques and pre-procedural preparation to help the obese patient in the interventional suite are discussed. (orig.)

  18. European obesity and the radiology department. What can we do to help?

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Buckley, O

    2012-02-01

    Obesity is a chronic disease that is now a global epidemic. The numbers of obese people are exponentially rising in Europe, and it is projected that in Europe by 2010 there will be 150 million obese people. The obesity-related health crisis does not only affect adults, with one in four European children now overweight. Radiologists, both adult and paediatric, need to be aware of the magnitude of the problem, and obese patients cannot be denied radiologic evaluation due to their size. Missed diagnosis, appointment cancellation and embarrassing situations for patients when they are referred for a radiological examination for which they are not suitable are all issues that can be avoided if careful provision is made to accommodate the needs of the obese patient requiring radiologic evaluation. This paper will discuss the epidemiology of obesity and the role of radiology in the assessment of obesity and disorders of fat metabolism. The limitations obesity poses to current radiological equipment and how the radiologist can optimise imaging in the obese patient will be described. Dose reference levels and dose control are discussed. Examples of how obesity both hinders and helps the radiologist will be illustrated. Techniques and pre-procedural preparation to help the obese patient in the interventional suite are discussed.

  19. European obesity and the radiology department. What can we do to help?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Buckley, O.; Ward, E.; Colin, Walsh; Snow, A. [Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Department of Radiology, Dublin (Ireland); Ryan, A. [Waterford Regional Hospital Co, Department of Radiology, Waterford (Ireland); Torreggiani, W.C. [Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Department of Radiology, Dublin (Ireland)]|[AMNCH, Dublin 24 (Ireland)

    2009-02-15

    Obesity is a chronic disease that is now a global epidemic. The numbers of obese people are exponentially rising in Europe, and it is projected that in Europe by 2010 there will be 150 million obese people. The obesity-related health crisis does not only affect adults, with one in four European children now overweight. Radiologists, both adult and paediatric, need to be aware of the magnitude of the problem, and obese patients cannot be denied radiologic evaluation due to their size. Missed diagnosis, appointment cancellation and embarrassing situations for patients when they are referred for a radiological examination for which they are not suitable are all issues that can be avoided if careful provision is made to accommodate the needs of the obese patient requiring radiologic evaluation. This paper will discuss the epidemiology of obesity and the role of radiology in the assessment of obesity and disorders of fat metabolism. The limitations obesity poses to current radiological equipment and how the radiologist can optimise imaging in the obese patient will be described. Dose reference levels and dose control are discussed. Examples of how obesity both hinders and helps the radiologist will be illustrated. Techniques and pre-procedural preparation to help the obese patient in the interventional suite are discussed. (orig.)

  20. Association between mental health-related stigma and active help-seeking: systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnyder, Nina; Panczak, Radoslaw; Groth, Nicola; Schultze-Lutter, Frauke

    2017-04-01

    Background Mental disorders create high individual and societal costs and burden, partly because help-seeking is often delayed or completely avoided. Stigma related to mental disorders or mental health services is regarded as a main reason for insufficient help-seeking. Aims To estimate the impact of four stigma types (help-seeking attitudes and personal, self and perceived public stigma) on active help-seeking in the general population. Method A systematic review of three electronic databases was followed by random effect meta-analyses according to the stigma types. Results Twenty-seven studies fulfilled eligibility criteria. Participants' own negative attitudes towards mental health help-seeking (OR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.73-0.88) and their stigmatising attitudes towards people with a mental illness (OR = 0.82, 95% CI 0.69-0.98) were associated with less active help-seeking. Self-stigma showed insignificant association (OR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.76-1.03), whereas perceived public stigma was not associated. Conclusions Personal attitudes towards mental illness or help-seeking are associated with active help-seeking for mental problems. Campaigns promoting help-seeking and fighting mental illness-related stigma should target these personal attitudes rather than broad public opinion. © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2017.

  1. Motivating People To Be Physically Active. Physical Activity Intervention Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcus, Bess H.; Forsyth, LeighAnn H.

    This book describes proven methods for helping people change from inactive to active living. The behavior change methods are useful for healthy adults as well as individuals with chronic physical and psychological conditions. The book describes intervention programs for individuals and groups and for workplace and community settings. Part 1,…

  2. Prevalence of risk factors for falls among elderly people living in long-term care homes

    OpenAIRE

    Pradnya Dhargave, PhD; Ragupathy Sendhilkumar, MSc, MPT

    2016-01-01

    Background: Falls are common among the geriatric population, causing frequent morbidity and mortality. There is an increased risk of fall among older people living in long-term care homes. Identifying risk factors for falls among older people living in old-age homes can help in the care and prevention of falls in this population. Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of various risk factors for falls among older people living in long-term care homes. Methods: A total of 163 elderly men and wo...

  3. Religion, faith and the empowerment process: stories of Iranian people with diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdoli, Samereh; Ashktorab, Tahereh; Ahmadi, Fazlollah; Parvizy, Soroor; Dunning, Trisha

    2011-06-01

    Empowerment concerning people with diabetes is well researched. However, few researchers specifically focus on the barriers to and facilitators of empowerment in Iranian people with diabetes. Understanding the factors could help health professionals facilitate self-empowerment more effectively. This study aims to determine the barriers to and facilitators of empowerment in Iranian people with diabetes. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted using in-depth interviews to collect the data from 11 women and men in 2007. Themes were identified using constant comparative analysis method. Common barriers to empowerment were similar to other chronic diseases: prolonged stress, negative view about diabetes, ineffective health-care systems, poverty and illiteracy. Diabetes education, fear of diabetes' complications, self-efficacy and hope for a better future emerged as being crucial to empowerment. Facilitators specific to Iranians were: the power of religion and faith, the concept of the doctor as holy man, accepting diabetes as God's will, caring for the body because it was God's gift and support from families especially daughters. Empowerment was strongly influenced by cultural and religious beliefs in Iran and the power of faith emerged as an important facilitator of diabetes empowerment. The findings will help health professionals understand how Iranian people with diabetes view life and the factors that facilitate empowerment. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  4. Prevalence of Work-Related Asthma and its Impact in Primary Health Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vila-Rigat, Rosa; Panadès Valls, Rafael; Hernandez Huet, Enric; Sivecas Maristany, Joan; Blanché Prat, Xavier; Muñoz-Ortiz, Laura; Torán Monserrat, Pere; Rabell Santacana, Ventura

    2015-09-01

    To determine the prevalence of occupational asthma (OA) and work-exacerbated asthma (WEA) among asthmatic patients diagnosed in Primary Health Care (PHC). To analyze the impact at PHC level caused by under-diagnosis and inappropriate referral of OA. A descriptive, cross-sectional multicenter study in patients aged between 16 and 64years diagnosed with asthma, according to their medical record; all were working or had worked, and were assigned to one of 16 PHC centers in a healthcare district. Based on the responses to the questionnaire completed at the study visit, which included a thorough review of the subject's entire working history, patients were classified into three categories by an expert in occupational asthma: OA, WEA or common asthma (CA). Three hundred and sixty-eight patients completed the questionnaire. The prevalence of OA was 18.2% (25% in men and 14.6% in women, P=.046), and 54 patients (14.7%) were classified as WEA. The proportion of patients with work-related asthma (WRA) was therefore 32.9%. Asthmatic patients with WRA took more sick leave than CA patients (P<.001). A high prevalence of WRA was found, mostly treated in PHC. Under-diagnosis of WRA is widespread in PHC. Copyright © 2014 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  5. Help-Seeking and Help-Giving for Teen Dating Violence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weisz, Arlene N.; Black, Beverly M.

    2009-01-01

    This article is based on numerous research projects conducted by the authors on adolescent dating violence. It reviews the results of those projects as they relate to how teens seek help for dating violence and how teens provide help to their friends in violent dating relationships. It concludes with helpful strategies for adults who work with…

  6. Gore offers to help drug companies pursue research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1996-03-08

    A meeting convened between Vice President Al Gore and executives of leading pharmaceutical companies to determine means of accelerating efforts to develop vaccines, therapeutics, and microbicides for people with HIV. Gore explained that the administration will work with pharmaceutical companies to determine the long-term effectiveness of drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), work with international groups to increase investment in vaccine development, help develop new microbicides for women with HIV, and identify promising areas of AIDS research. According to advocates, the Clinton Administration has made great strides in improving and accelerating the FDA's drug approval process. The next goal of the pharmaceutical research agenda should be to include consumer advocates in the decision-making process.

  7. Young people's mental health first aid intentions and beliefs prospectively predict their actions: findings from an Australian National Survey of Youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yap, Marie Bee Hui; Jorm, Anthony Francis

    2012-04-30

    Little is known about whether mental health first aid knowledge and beliefs of young people actually translate into actual behavior. This study examined whether young people's first aid intentions and beliefs predicted the actions they later took to help a close friend or family member with a mental health problem. Participants in a 2006 national survey of Australian youth (aged 12-25 years) reported on their first aid intentions and beliefs based on one of four vignettes: depression, depression with alcohol misuse, psychosis, and social phobia. At a two-year follow-up interview, they reported on actions they had taken to help any family member or close friend with a problem similar to the vignette character since the initial interview. Of the 2005 participants interviewed at follow-up, 608 reported knowing someone with a similar problem. Overall, young people's first aid intentions and beliefs about the helpfulness of particular first aid actions predicted the actions they actually took to assist a close other. However, the belief in and intention to encourage professional help did not predict subsequent action. Findings suggest that young people's mental health first aid intentions and beliefs may be valid indicators of their subsequent actions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. People's Education (for People's Power

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thokozani Mathebula

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The central feature of Athenian citizens' rights, that is, people's participation in government, is also enshrined in the South African Constitution. This article argues for the Athenian style of participatory democracy as a viable model of participation in governing South African schools. The author claims that 'people's education', which had its origins in the principles of the Freedom Charter¹ - was diluted during the negotiationsfor South Africa's new democratic government. As a result, the political and educational ideal of 'people's education for 'people's power' has given way to democratic elitism in post-apartheid South African schools.

  9. The role of internet technology and social branding in improving the mental health and wellbeing of young people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholas, Jonathan

    2010-03-01

    With large numbers of young people experiencing mental health difficulties but not seeking help, there is a need to develop not only innovative but also well-promoted strategies that are appealing to this population and reduce barriers to help seeking. Reach Out! (http://www.reachout.com.au) is presented as a case study, demonstrating an internet-based initiative that sucessfully incorporates technology and social branding to provide a service that promotes the mental health and wellbeing of young people in Australia aged 16 to 25. With over seven million visits since its launch in 1998 and one in three young Australians aware of the website, Reach Out! is a trusted service that young people in Australia use when going through a tough time. Online user profiling suggests that after visiting Reach Out!, 38% of young people contact a mental health professional. The implications of these results will be discussed. Reach Out! can serve as a model for the social sector to utilize technology and social branding to enhance existing community-based services and promote the mental health and wellbeing of young people.

  10. Community Forestry as Perceived by Local People Around Cross River National Park, Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ezebilo, Eugene E.

    2012-01-01

    The prior identification of local people's preferences for conservation-development projects will help gear nature-conservation strategies toward the needs of different groups of local people. This will help policy-makers in designing a more acceptable and effective conservation strategy. This article reports a study of local perceptions of a community forestry project that aims to help improve the design as well as local acceptance of the project. The data originated from personal interviews conducted in communities around Okwangwo Division of the Cross River National Park in southeast Nigeria and were analysed using ordered logit and binary logit models. The results showed that >50% of the respondents were satisfied with the community forestry project. The respondents' perceptions were mainly influenced by education, age, gender, and willingness to contribute money to tourism as well as the contributions of cocoa, banana, and afang ( Gnetum africanum) to the respondents' income. The results from this study have important implications for nature conservation in Nigeria and potentially other conservation contexts across the developing world.

  11. Elements of person knowledge: Episodic recollection helps us to identify people but not to recognize their faces

    OpenAIRE

    MacKenzie, Graham; Donaldson, David I.

    2016-01-01

    Faces automatically draw attention, allowing rapid assessments of personality and likely behaviour. How we respond to people is, however, highly dependent on whether we know who they are. According to face processing models person knowledge comes from an extended neural system that includes structures linked to episodic memory. Here we use scalp recorded brain signals to demonstrate the specific role of episodic memory processes during face processing. In two experiments we recorded Event-Rel...

  12. Reactions of teachers versus non-teachers toward people who stutter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jian; Arnold, Hayley S

    2015-01-01

    The primary purpose of this study was to assess whether kindergarten through twelfth grade teachers differ from people in non-teaching occupations in their reactions to people who stutter (PWS). Taking differences in age and education into account, we compared reactions to PWS between 263 teachers and 1336 non-teachers in the United States based on their responses on the Public Opinion Survey on Human Attributes-Stuttering (POSHA-S, St. Louis, 2012). Findings indicated that teachers use a greater number and variety of information sources about PWS than the general public and that male teachers do so even more than female teachers. With regard to the other POSHA-S components, accommodating/helping, knowledge/experience, and sympathy/social distancing of PWS, teachers' responses were not significantly different from their non-teaching counterparts. Regardless of occupation, women reported reactions to PWS that are considered more accommodating and helpful to PWS than the reported reactions of men. Readers should be able to: (1) identify the challenges that students who stutter encounter in the K-12 school setting, (2) identify recommended ways teachers can react to their students who stutter, (3) summarize findings regarding teachers' reactions to people who stutter (PWS), and (4) identify key variables that are associated with reactions to PWS. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Learning to (Dis)Engage? The Socialising Experiences of Young People Living in Areas of Socio-Economic Disadvantage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, Carolynne; Cremin, Hilary; Warwick, Paul; Harrison, Tom

    2011-01-01

    Young people are increasingly required to demonstrate civic engagement in their communities and help deliver the aspirations of localism and Big Society. Using an ecological systems approach this paper explores the experiences of different groups of young people living in areas of socio-economic disadvantage. Using volunteering as an example of…

  14. The development and initial validation of a questionnaire to measure help-seeking behaviour in patients with new onset rheumatoid arthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stack, Rebecca J; Mallen, Christian D; Deighton, Chris; Kiely, Patrick; Shaw, Karen L; Booth, Alison; Kumar, Kanta; Thomas, Susan; Rowan, Ian; Horne, Rob; Nightingale, Peter; Herron-Marx, Sandy; Jinks, Clare; Raza, Karim

    2015-12-01

    Early treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is vital. However, people often delay in seeking help at symptom onset. An assessment of the reasons behind patient delay is necessary to develop interventions to promote rapid consultation. Using a mixed methods design, we aimed to develop and test a questionnaire to assess the barriers to help seeking at RA onset. Questionnaire items were extracted from previous qualitative studies. Fifteen people with a lived experience of arthritis participated in focus groups to enhance the questionnaire's face validity. The questionnaire was also reviewed by groups of multidisciplinary health-care professionals. A test-retest survey of 41 patients with newly presenting RA or unclassified arthritis assessed the questionnaire items' intraclass correlations. During focus groups, participants rephrased questions, added questions and deleted items not relevant to the questionnaire's aims. Participants organized items into themes: early symptom experience, initial reactions to symptoms, self-management behaviours, causal beliefs, involvement of significant others, pre-diagnosis knowledge about RA, direct barriers to seeking help and relationship with GP. The test-retest survey identified seven items (out of 79) with low intraclass correlations which were removed from the final questionnaire. The involvement of people with a lived experience of arthritis and multidisciplinary health-care professionals in the preliminary validation of the DELAY (delays in evaluating arthritis early) questionnaire has enriched its development. Preliminary assessment established its reliability. The DELAY questionnaire provides a tool for researchers to evaluate individual, cultural and health service barriers to help-seeking behaviour at RA onset. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Finding Objects for Assisting Blind People.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, Chucai; Flores, Roberto W; Chincha, Ricardo; Tian, Yingli

    2013-07-01

    Computer vision technology has been widely used for blind assistance, such as navigation and wayfinding. However, few camera-based systems are developed for helping blind or visually-impaired people to find daily necessities. In this paper, we propose a prototype system of blind-assistant object finding by camera-based network and matching-based recognition. We collect a dataset of daily necessities and apply Speeded-Up Robust Features (SURF) and Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) feature descriptors to perform object recognition. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our prototype system.

  16. A mediation model of professional psychological help seeking for suicide ideation among Asian American and white American college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Joel; Brownson, Chris; Rutkowski, Leslie; Nguyen, Chi P; Becker, Marty Swanbrow

    2014-01-01

    This study examined professional psychological help seeking among 1,045 white American and Asian American students from 70 U.S. colleges and universities who had seriously considered attempting suicide. The authors found that Asian American college students had lower rates of professional psychological help seeking for their suicide ideation than White American college students. Guided by social network perspectives on professional psychological help seeking, the authors also tested mediators of this racial disparity. Relative to white Americans, Asian Americans were advised by fewer people (especially fewer family members) to seek professional help, which was, in turn, associated with lower rates of professional psychological help seeking for suicide ideation. These findings underscore the importance of gatekeeping as a suicide prevention strategy for Asian American college students.

  17. Laypersons can seek help from their Facebook friends regarding medical diagnosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Folkestad, Lars; Brodersen, Jacob Broder; Hallas, Peter

    2011-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: In contrast to Internet search engines, social media on the Internet such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. reach a large number of people, who are ready to help answering questions. This type of information aggregation has been dubbed "crowdsourcing" i.e. outsourcing a task to a large group...... of people or community (a crowd) through an open call. Our aim was to explore whether laypersons via Facebook friends could crowd source their way to a medical diagnosis based on a brief medical history, posted as a status update on Facebook. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The participants posted a brief case story...... to very silly diagnostic suggestions. CONCLUSION: Based on this study, we believe that laypersons can use his or her »Facebook friends" to identify the need to see a doctor for their symptoms rather than relying on them to give them a specific diagnosis for their symptoms....

  18. Leading and Managing Continuing Professional Development: Developing People, Developing Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Earley, Peter; Bubb, Sara

    2004-01-01

    This book has been written for those who lead and manage continuing professional development (CPD). Continuing professional development co-coordinators hold a key role and one that needs to be developed further in many schools. This book is intended to help people think more deeply about the professional development and training of staff--all…

  19. Psychosis and help-seeking behavior in rural KwaZulu Natal: unearthing local insights

    OpenAIRE

    Labys, Charlotte A.; Susser, Ezra; Burns, Jonathan K.

    2016-01-01

    Background Growing interest in strategies regarding early intervention for psychosis has led to a parallel interest in understanding help-seeking behavior, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Nevertheless, few LMIC studies have examined individuals with psychosis in non-urban, non-hospital settings. Using the perspective of formal and informal community service providers, we aimed to uncover descriptions of people with psychosis in a rural South African community and illum...

  20. Using self-efficacy theory to develop interventions that help older people overcome psychological barriers to physical activity: a discussion paper.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ling-Ling; Arthur, Antony; Avis, Mark

    2008-11-01

    Only a fifth of older people undertake a level of physical activity sufficient to lead to health benefit. Misconceptions about the ageing process and beliefs about the costs and benefits of exercise in late life may result in unnecessary self-imposed activity restriction. Thus, adhering to a physical activity can be difficult particularly when the benefits of exercise are often not immediate. Many of the barriers to engaging in physical activity among older people are attitudinal. It is therefore important to take account of the non-physical aspects of physical activity intervention programmes, such as increasing confidence. Self-efficacy is a widely applied theory used to understand health behaviour and facilitate behavioural modification, such as the increase of physical activity. This paper aims to examine the ways in which self-efficacy theory might be used in intervention programmes designed to overcome psychological barriers for increasing physical activity among older people. A number of studies have demonstrated that exercise self-efficacy is strongly associated with the amount of physical activity undertaken. Evidence from some trials supports the view that incorporating the theory of self-efficacy into the design of a physical activity intervention is beneficial. Physical activity interventions aimed at improving the self perception of exercise self-efficacy can have positive effects on confidence and the ability to initiate and maintain physical activity behaviour. There are a number of ways for nurses to facilitate older people to draw on the four information sources of self-efficacy: performance accomplishments, vicarious learning, verbal encouragement, and physiological and affective states. Research challenges that future studies need to address include the generalisability of exercise setting, the role of age as an effect modifier, and the need for more explicit reporting of how self-efficacy is operationalised in interventions.

  1. Paravaulting as a possibility of integration in the sport of people with disabilities

    OpenAIRE

    Sklenaříková, Jana

    2014-01-01

    Adapted physical activity, from an education perspective is entered process of integration especially in the education of people with special needs of all ages. The aim of this work is to analyze the issue of the integration of children and young people with disabilities in sport competition environment with a focus on public perceptions. Educational goal for children with disabilities is helping a harmonious development of their personality, how is it possible under the circumstances and thi...

  2. Coping experience of health concerns and physical disability for older Chinese people: A qualitative, descriptive study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mei, He; Turale, Sue

    2017-12-01

    In this qualitative, descriptive study, we explored the perspectives of older, community-dwelling Chinese people regarding their experiences of coping with a physical disability and their health concerns. Twenty participants were interviewed in-depth, and data were analyzed using content analysis. Five themes with 13 subthemes emerged that described older people's experiences of coping with health concerns and disability: (i) ignoring health concerns; (ii) managing self; (iii) seeking medical help; (iv) living with physical disability; and (v) relying on limited resources. Most participants did not have sufficient access to health services due to physical disability and financial deficits, so they tended to ignore their health conditions or tackle them independently before seeking medical help. At the same time, they were impacted on by social and cultural factors. Policies are required that offer more resources to community-dwelling people with disabilities in China. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  3. Unhealthy Lifestyle Behaviors in Korean People with Metabolic Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, Seongmi

    2017-01-01

    This study identified factors associated with unhealthy lifestyle behaviors in people with metabolic syndrome in South Korea. The sample consisted of 1,207 subjects with metabolic syndrome from the Sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2014. High-risk alcohol consumption, smoking, aerobic physical activity, leisure physical activity, excessive carbohydrate intake, and fat intake were measured. A secondary data analysis was performed using chi-square tests and logistic regression. Gender was associated with all unhealthy behaviors. The number of metabolic syndrome components, a poor perceived health status, and attempts to control weight were associated with physical inactivity. Those findings may be helpful to develop a tailored lifestyle modification programs for people with metabolic syndrome.

  4. Reaction to the Special Issue on Centralizing the Experiences of LGB People of Color in Counseling Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zea, Maria Cecilia

    2010-01-01

    This reaction article comments on the Major Contribution "Centralizing the Experiences of LGB People of Color in Counseling Psychology." The content analysis of the published literature on lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people of color from 1998 to 2007 provides much-needed information that will help psychologists set future research agendas and…

  5. Help Me Please!: Designing and Developing Application for Emergencies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Ng Ken; Hafit, Hanayanti; Wahid, Norfaradilla; Kasim, Shahreen; Yusof, Munirah Mohd

    2017-08-01

    Help Me Please! Application is an android platform emergency button application that is designed to transmit emergency messages to target receivers with real time information. The purpose of developing this application is to help people to notify any emergency circumstances via Short Message Service (SMS) in android platform. The application will receive the current location from Global Positioning System (GPS), will obtain the current time from the mobile device and send this information to the receivers when user presses the emergency button. Simultaneously, the application will keep sending the emergency alerts to receivers and will update to database based on the time interval set by user until user stop the function. Object-oriented Software Development model is employed to guide the development of this application with the knowledge of Java language and Android Studio. In conclusion, this application plays an important role in rescuing process when emergency circumstances happen. The rescue process will become more effective by notifying the emergency circumstances and send the current location of user to others in the early hours.

  6. Effects of Support, Counselling and Therapy Before and After the Loss: Can we Really Help Bereaved People?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Henk Schut

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Can other persons, personally or professionally, help bereaved individuals deal with the loss of a loved one? An increasing number of empirical studies, as well as qualitative and quantitative reviews, have addressed this question. Here, the main findings are summarised and implications for researchers and practitioners considered. First, provision of help from the informal social network and volunteers/professionals in the post-loss period is examined. Second, and uniquely in this research area, examination is extended to the efficacy of intervention for family members prior to their bereavement (i.e., in the context of palliative/end-of-life care. To what extent do the pre-loss patterns mirror those for post-bereavement intervention efficacy? A main conclusion is that intervention is not effective for bereaved persons in general, either when this is provided before or after the actual loss. It is important to identify and target high-risk persons. Further scientific and clinical implications of the patterns of results are discussed.

  7. Tablets Helping Elderly and Disabled People

    OpenAIRE

    Castro, Mercedes de; Ruiz-Mezcua, Belén; Sánchez-Pena, José Manuel; García-Crespo, Ángel; Iglesias, Ana; Pajares, José Luis

    2012-01-01

    Proceedings of: Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme Forum 2011 (AAL JP Forum 2011), Lecce (Italy), September 26-28, 2011 The article introduces the basics by which tablets are considered as appropriate tools for integration and promotion of the elderly in the digital world. To prove this, the paper presents three research projects carried out by CESyA that integrate Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Voice Synthesis, subtitling, audiodescription or audio navigation tools into tablets ...

  8. Driven-Walking for Visually Impaired/Blind People through WiMAX

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Panagiotis GIOANNIS

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available It is known that people who are blind/visually impaired find it difficult to move, especially in unknown places. Usually the only help they have is their walking stick (white cane, a guide dog and sometimes special warning sounds or road signals at specific positions. Material and Method: In this paper we are trying to find a solution on how to build an appropriate navigating system for blind people. Results: Based on benefits of powerful properties of mobile WiMAX standard we suggest an important navigate application which can translate a digital visual environment properly for blind/visually impaired users through a plethora of combinations such as voice, brain or tongue signals. Conclusions: We believe that such an idea will be an initial point for a plethora of applications which will eliminate walking disabilities of blind/visually people.

  9. Perceptions of Help Given to Healthy Older Mothers by Adult Daughters: Ways of Initiating Help and Types of Help Given

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martini, Tanya S.; Grusec, Joan E.; Bernardini, Silvia Cortese

    2003-01-01

    Older mother-adult daughter dyads (N = 43) addressed two issues pertaining to the ways in which help is initiated (offered, requested, and imposed help) and type of help given (instrumental help, advice, and emotional support) a) mothers' reasoning about these aspects of help, and b) daughters' understanding of mothers' feelings. Both groups noted…

  10. Analysis of trace elements in scalp hair for long-lived people, hypertensives and healthy students

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu Xiaofeng; Zhang Yurong; Zhang Longxing; Zhang Agen

    1989-01-01

    The XRF method was used to analyse nine kinds of trace elements in hair samples for three groups of people. While the information on long-lived people is used to explore the secret of long life, the work on hypertensives helps understand the effect of some trace elements on the disease. The normal values of trace elements for university students have been also set up

  11. Health-Related Quality of Life in People with Severe Aphasia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilari, Katerina; Byng, Sally

    2009-01-01

    Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQL) measures are increasingly used to help us understand the impact of disease or disability on a person's life and to measure the effectiveness of interventions. A small number of studies have looked at perceived HRQL in people with mild or moderate aphasia. They report that reduced HRQL is associated…

  12. Willingness to pay for flexible working conditions of people with type 2 diabetes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nexo, M A; Cleal, B; Hagelund, Lise

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The increasing number of people with chronic diseases challenges workforce capacity. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) can have work-related consequences, such as early retirement. Laws of most high-income countries require workplaces to provide accommodations to enable people with chronic...... disabilities to manage their condition at work. A barrier to successful implementation of such accommodations can be lack of co-workers' willingness to support people with T2D. This study aimed to examine the willingness to pay (WTP) of people with and without T2D for five workplace initiatives that help...... individuals with type 2 diabetes manage their diabetes at work. METHODS: Three samples with employed Danish participants were drawn from existing online panels: a general population sample (n = 600), a T2D sample (n = 693), and a matched sample of people without diabetes (n = 539). Participants completed...

  13. Social Influences of Help-Seeking Behaviour Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Low, Lee Lan; Tong, Seng Fah; Low, Wah Yun

    2016-01-01

    This qualitative study aimed to explore the influence of social networks such as family members, friends, peers, and health care providers toward the help-seeking behaviour (HSB) of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the public and private primary care settings. In-depth interviews of 12 patients, 9 family members, and 5 health care providers, as well as 3 focus groups among 13 health care providers were conducted. All interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim for qualitative analysis. Social influences play a significant role in the help-seeking process; once diagnosed, patients source information from people around them to make decisions. This significant influence depends on the relationship between patients and social networks or the level of trust, support, and comforting feeling. Thus, the impacts on patients' help-seeking behavior are varied. However, the help-seeking process is not solely an individual's concern but a dynamic process interacting with the social networks within the health care system. © 2015 APJPH.

  14. Coaching mental health peer advocates for rural LGBTQ people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willging, Cathleen E; Israel, Tania; Ley, David; Trott, Elise M; DeMaria, Catherine; Joplin, Aaron; Smiley, Verida

    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) people are affected by mental health disparities, especially in rural communities. We trained peer advocates in rural areas in the fundamentals of mental health, outreach, education, and support for this population. The peer advocates were coached by licensed mental health professionals. We evaluated this process through iterative qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews and written logs from coaches and advocates. The six major themes comprising the results centered on (1) coaching support, (2) peer advocate skills and preparation, (3) working with help seekers, (4) negotiating diversity, (5) logistical challenges in rural contexts, and (6) systemic challenges. We concluded that peer advocacy for LGBTQ people with mental distress offers an affirmative, community-based strategy to assist the underserved. To be successful, however, peer advocates will likely require ongoing training, coaching, and infrastructural support to negotiate contextual factors that can influence provision of community resources and support to LGBTQ people within rural communities.

  15. A view from the field: phone help line in India helps indentify HIV risk behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandiramani, R

    1998-01-01

    TARSHI, a confidential phone help line in India, provides sexuality information, counseling, and referrals in English and Hindi. About 80% of callers are men and 70% are in the 15-30 year age group. An analysis of the subject matter of these calls indicates widespread ignorance about HIV transmission, a cultural belief that masturbation is an unacceptable way to satisfy sexual desires, lack of awareness of the connection between sexually transmitted diseases and HIV, exposure to misleading Westernized images of sexuality through the mass media, clandestine premarital sexual activity engineered to protect the hymen, lack of knowledge about conception, the belief that women who appear respectable and healthy could not be HIV-infected, societal dismissal of the reality of homosexual relationships in India, unprotected intercourse with commercial sex workers, women's fears of insisting on protected sex, child sexual abuse, the widespread practice of sexual relations between young men and older women, and the emergence of advertisements for sexual services. It is essential that HIV/AIDS prevention programs in India recognize these factors and address people's needs in a clear, nonjudgmental manner.

  16. Evaluating and Using Literature Including People with Disabilities in All Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oslick, Mary Ellen; Pearson, Mary

    2016-01-01

    To help students see their worlds differently and to expand those views beyond their own backyards, educators can expose them to quality multicultural children's literature. In this article, we focus on a subtopic within the genre of multicultural children's literature: literature including people with disabilities. We chose seven recent texts…

  17. WPSS: watching people security services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouma, Henri; Baan, Jan; Borsboom, Sander; van Zon, Kasper; Luo, Xinghan; Loke, Ben; Stoeller, Bram; van Kuilenburg, Hans; Dijk, Judith

    2013-10-01

    To improve security, the number of surveillance cameras is rapidly increasing. However, the number of human operators remains limited and only a selection of the video streams are observed. Intelligent software services can help to find people quickly, evaluate their behavior and show the most relevant and deviant patterns. We present a software platform that contributes to the retrieval and observation of humans and to the analysis of their behavior. The platform consists of mono- and stereo-camera tracking, re-identification, behavioral feature computation, track analysis, behavior interpretation and visualization. This system is demonstrated in a busy shopping mall with multiple cameras and different lighting conditions.

  18. [Gerontology in rural and mountains regions aged people in the country and in mountain regions (author's transl)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gsell, O

    1977-04-01

    The gerontologic problems of people living in the country and in mountain regions always were neglected in comparison to those of townsmen. In the last decade an important structural change has happened, caused on the one side by the fact that more and more people leave the country for the towns, and by the problem of overaged persons in the country; on the other side this change is a consequence of improvement by modern technical acquisitions (more agricultural machines, silos), living hygiene and the tourism. The living conditions in the past and today in Switzerland are shown, referring to various publications. The ecological change also hits the aged people, financially by revenues, completion of private help organizations, rebuilding of homes for the aged persons in every village and regional nursing home, as well as household helps for those elderly people who still live in the country in their own houses. The qualitative differences between living conditions in the country and in town will in the near future be equalized--which is especially mentionned.

  19. Barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking for young elite athletes: a qualitative study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gulliver Amelia

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Adolescents and young adults experience a high level of mental disorders, yet tend not to seek help. Research indicates that there are many barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for young people in the general community. However there are limited data available for young elite athletes. This study aims to determine what young elite athletes perceive as the barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for common mental health problems. Methods Fifteen elite athletes aged 16–23 years each participated in one of three focus group discussions. In addition to written data, verbal responses were audio taped, transcribed and thematically analysed. Results Participants’ written and verbal data suggested that stigma was the most important perceived barrier to seeking help for young elite athletes. Other notable barriers were a lack of mental health literacy, and negative past experiences of help-seeking. Facilitators to help-seeking were encouragement from others, having an established relationship with a provider, pleasant previous interactions with providers, the positive attitudes of others, especially their coach, and access to the internet. Conclusions Intervention strategies for improving help-seeking in young elite athletes should focus on reducing stigma, increasing mental health literacy, and improving relations with potential providers.

  20. Polymorphisms of the OXTR gene explain why sales professionals love to help customers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verbeke, Willem; Bagozzi, Richard P; van den Berg, Wouter E; Lemmens, Aurelie

    2013-01-01

    Polymorphisms of the OXTR gene affect people's social interaction styles in various social encounters: carriers of the OXTR GG, compared to the OXTR AA/AG in general, are more motivated to interact socially and detect social salience. We focus on sales professionals operating in knowledge intensive organizations. Study 1, with a sample of 141 sales people, shows that carriers of the OXTR GG allele, compared to the OXTR AA/AG allele, are more motivated to help customers than to manipulatively impose goods/services on them. Study 2, using genomic functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on a sample of 21 sales professionals processing facial pictures with different emotional valences, investigates key nuclei of social brain regions (SBRs). Compared to OXTR AA/AG carriers, OXTR GG carriers experience greater effective connectivity between SBRs of interest measured by Granger causality tests using univariate Haugh tests. In addition, the multivariate El-Himdi and Roy tests demonstrate that the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and pars opercularis (inferior frontal gyrus) play key roles when processing emotional expressions. The bilateral amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) show significantly greater clout-influence on other brain regions-for GG allele carriers than non-carriers; likewise, the bilateral pars opercularis, left amygdala, and left mPFC are more receptive to activity in other brain regions among GG allele carriers than AG/AA allele carriers are. Thus, carriers of the OXTR GG allele are more sensitive to changes in emotional cues, enhancing social salience. To our knowledge, this is the first study on how insights from imaging genetics help understanding of the social motivation of people operating in a professional setting.

  1. Polymorphisms of the OXTR gene explain why sales professionals love to help customers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verbeke, Willem; Bagozzi, Richard P.; van den Berg, Wouter E.; Lemmens, Aurelie

    2013-01-01

    Polymorphisms of the OXTR gene affect people's social interaction styles in various social encounters: carriers of the OXTR GG, compared to the OXTR AA/AG in general, are more motivated to interact socially and detect social salience. We focus on sales professionals operating in knowledge intensive organizations. Study 1, with a sample of 141 sales people, shows that carriers of the OXTR GG allele, compared to the OXTR AA/AG allele, are more motivated to help customers than to manipulatively impose goods/services on them. Study 2, using genomic functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on a sample of 21 sales professionals processing facial pictures with different emotional valences, investigates key nuclei of social brain regions (SBRs). Compared to OXTR AA/AG carriers, OXTR GG carriers experience greater effective connectivity between SBRs of interest measured by Granger causality tests using univariate Haugh tests. In addition, the multivariate El-Himdi and Roy tests demonstrate that the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and pars opercularis (inferior frontal gyrus) play key roles when processing emotional expressions. The bilateral amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) show significantly greater clout—influence on other brain regions—for GG allele carriers than non-carriers; likewise, the bilateral pars opercularis, left amygdala, and left mPFC are more receptive to activity in other brain regions among GG allele carriers than AG/AA allele carriers are. Thus, carriers of the OXTR GG allele are more sensitive to changes in emotional cues, enhancing social salience. To our knowledge, this is the first study on how insights from imaging genetics help understanding of the social motivation of people operating in a professional setting. PMID:24348351

  2. A systematic review of help-seeking interventions for depression, anxiety and general psychological distress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gulliver Amelia

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Depression and anxiety are treatable disorders, yet many people do not seek professional help. Interventions designed to improve help-seeking attitudes and increase help-seeking intentions and behaviour have been evaluated in recent times. However, there have been no systematic reviews of the efficacy or effectiveness of these interventions in promoting help-seeking. Therefore, this paper reports a systematic review of published randomised controlled trials targeting help-seeking attitudes, intentions or behaviours for depression, anxiety, and general psychological distress. Methods Studies were identified through searches of PubMed, PsycInfo, and the Cochrane database in November 2011. Studies were included if they included a randomised controlled trial of at least one intervention targeting help-seeking for depression or anxiety or general psychological distress, and contained extractable data on help-seeking attitudes or intentions or behaviour. Studies were excluded if they focused on problems or conditions other than the target (e.g., substance use, eating disorder. Results Six published studies of randomised controlled trials investigating eight different interventions for help-seeking were identified. The majority of trials targeted young adults. Mental health literacy content was effective (d = .12 to .53 in improving help-seeking attitudes in the majority of studies at post-intervention, but had no effect on help-seeking behaviour (d = −.01, .02. There was less evidence for other intervention types such as efforts to destigmatise or provide help-seeking source information. Conclusions Mental health literacy interventions are a promising method for promoting positive help-seeking attitudes, but there is no evidence that it leads to help-seeking behaviour. Further research investigating the effects of interventions on attitudes, intentions, and behaviour is required.

  3. Proceedings of CanWEA 2009 : infinite possibilities : the 25. annual CanWEA conference and exhibition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-01-01

    This annual conference and exhibition drew more than 2,300 attendees, 230 exhibitors and more than 100 speakers. As Canada's largest wind energy event, it provided an opportunity to review recent advances in wind resource development, including global trends and their impact on Canada's wind industry. Issues regarding deployment and operation of wind-diesel, wind-hydrogen and storage systems for northern and remote communities were discussed along with siting issues in terms of environmental and human considerations. The conference was divided in several sessions that focused on a variety of issues, including wind resource assessment; small projects under 25 MW, and how to make them work; building community support; interconnection and grid codes; the integration of growing amounts of wind into the grid; the operation and maintenance of wind farms; and wind energy extraction. Twenty of the presentations from this conference have been catalogued separately for inclusion in this database. tabs., figs.

  4. Enhancing early engagement with mental health services by young people

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burns J

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Jane Burns, Emma Birrell Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre, Abbotsford, VIC, Australia Abstract: International studies have shown that the prevalence of mental illness, and the fundamental contribution it make to the overall disease burden, is greatest in children and young people. Despite this high burden, adolescents and young adults are the least likely population group to seek help or to access professional care for mental health problems. This issue is particularly problematic given that untreated, or poorly treated, mental disorders are associated with both short- and long-term functional impairment, including poorer education and employment opportunities, potential comorbidity, including drug and alcohol problems, and a greater risk for antisocial behavior, including violence and aggression. This cycle of poor mental health creates a significant burden for the young person, their family and friends, and society as a whole. Australia is enviably positioned to substantially enhance the well-being of young people, to improve their engagement with mental health services, and – ultimately – to improve mental health. High prevalence but potentially debilitating disorders, such as depression and anxiety, are targeted by the specialized youth mental health service, headspace: the National Youth Mental Health Foundation and a series of Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centres, will provide early intervention specialist services for low prevalence, complex illnesses. Online services, such as ReachOut.com by Inspire Foundation, Youthbeyondblue, Kids Helpline, and Lifeline Australia, and evidence-based online interventions, such as MoodGYM, are also freely available, yet a major challenge still exists in ensuring that young people receive effective evidence-based care at the right time. This article describes Australian innovation in shaping a comprehensive youth mental health system, which is informed by an evidence

  5. Fear of intimacy with helping professionals and its impact on elderly Chinese.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Ying; Chow, Aloysius; Chan, Sally; Wang, Wenru

    2014-04-01

    The present study aimed to investigate the attitudes of Chinese older adults toward seeking help from healthcare professionals, and its impact on their self-care ability and medication adherence. A cross-sectional study using a questionnaire survey was carried out. A convenience sample of 301 older adults was recruited from six health centers in Macao, People's Republic of China. The Chinese versions of Fear of Intimacy with Helping Professionals (C-FIHP), Exercise of Self-care Agency (C-ESCA) and Morisky 4-Item Self-Report Measure of Medication-Taking Behavior (C-MMAS) were used to measure the study variables. Chinese older adults who were married and had comorbidity with arthritis showed significantly negative attitudes toward seeking help form healthcare professional than those who were not married (P Chinese older adults' fear of intimacy with helping professionals impacts their perceived self-care ability and medication adherence. The three predictive factors identified in the present study might provide useful pointers for healthcare professionals to customize an effective approach to encourage and engage older adults. This might improve the self-care ability and medication adherence of older adults, which will result in a better quality of life and psychosocial well-being. © 2013 Japan Geriatrics Society.

  6. How does social comparison within a self-help group influence adjustment to chronic illness? A longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dibb, Bridget; Yardley, Lucy

    2006-09-01

    Despite the growing popularity of self-help groups for people with chronic illness, there has been surprisingly little research into how these may support adjustment to illness. This study investigated the role that social comparison, occurring within a self-help group, may play in adjustment to chronic illness. A model of adjustment based on control process theory and response shift theory was tested to determine whether social comparisons predicted adjustment after controlling for the catalyst for adjustment (disease severity) and antecedents (demographic and psychological factors). A sample of 301 people with Ménière's disease who were members of the Ménière's Society UK completed questionnaires at baseline and 10-month follow-up assessing adjustment, defined for this study as functional and goal-oriented quality of life. At baseline, they also completed measures of the predictor variables i.e. the antecedents (age, sex, living circumstances, duration of self-help group membership, self-esteem, optimism and perceived control over illness), the catalyst (severity of vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss and fullness in the ear) and mechanisms of social comparison within the self-help group. The social comparison variables included the extent to which self-help group resources were used, and whether reading about other members' experiences induced positive or negative feelings. Cross-sectional results showed that positive social comparison was indeed associated with better adjustment after controlling for all the other baseline variables, while negative social comparison was associated with worse adjustment. However, greater levels of social comparison at baseline were associated with a deteriorating quality of life over the 10-month follow-up period. Alternative explanations for these findings are discussed.

  7. Help with Hives

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Help With Hives KidsHealth / For Kids / Help With Hives What's in this article? What Are ... about what happened. The doctor can try to help figure out what might be causing your hives, ...

  8. How People with Depression Receive and Perceive Mental Illness Information: Findings from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graham, Annette L; Hasking, Penelope; Clarke, David; Meadows, Graham

    2015-11-01

    Despite the recognised importance of accurate mental illness information in help-seeking and improving recovery, little is known about the dissemination of such information to people with depression. With a view to informing effective communication to those most in need, we explored the extent to which mental illness information is received by people with depression, its perceived helpfulness and we characterise those who do not receive such information. Using data from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing we observed that mental illness information was received by 54.7 % of those with depression. Most (76.7 %) found it helpful. Pamphlets were the most frequently cited source of information. People who did not receive information were less educated, unlikely to have accessed mental health services and unlikely to believe they had mental health needs. Targeted information campaigns which shape perceptions of need in relation to depression have the potential to reduce the resultant disease burden.

  9. Don't Want to Look Dumb? The Role of Theories of Intelligence and Humanlike Features in Online Help Seeking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sara; Zhang, Ke; Park, Daeun

    2018-02-01

    Numerous studies have shown that individuals' help-seeking behavior increases when a computerized helper is endowed with humanlike features in nonachievement contexts. In contrast, the current research suggests that anthropomorphic helpers are not universally conducive to help-seeking behavior in contexts of achievement, particularly among individuals who construe help seeking as a display of incompetence (i.e., entity theorists). Study 1 demonstrated that when entity theorists received help from an anthropomorphized (vs. a nonanthropomorphized) helper, they were more concerned about negative judgments from other people, whereas incremental theorists were not affected by anthropomorphic features. Study 2 showed that when help was provided by an anthropomorphized (vs. a nonanthropomorphized) helper, entity theorists were less likely to seek help, even at the cost of lower performance. In contrast, incremental theorists' help-seeking behavior and task performance were not affected by anthropomorphism. This research deepens the current understanding of the role of anthropomorphic computerized helpers in online learning contexts.

  10. People

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-01-01

    Thrilled at @Bristol Kathy Sykes in conversation with Liz Whitelegg. Kathy Sykes is Senior Science Consultant at @Bristol - a new area on Bristol's Harbourside with a Science Centre Explore, a Wildlife Centre Wildscreen, with sculptures and fountains. Kathy was one of five people in 1999 to be awarded an IOP Public Awareness of Physics award. Dr Kathy Sykes What attracted you to Physics in the first place? It was really when I discovered that Physics was all about making models of the world, because then suddenly the ability to be creative became important. I liked the idea that you could have a picture of the world that might work quite well but you could always replace that with a better one. That was what made science come alive and make it seem like something that I'd really love to be involved in, rather than science as a stale body of facts that I needed to learn. I was much more interested in ideas than in facts. I think that finding out about 'models' happened around the time I was discovering quantum mechanics and how the act of observing something can actually affect the outcome. I found it incredibly exciting - especially how that changed the whole philosophy of science. I also had a fantastic teacher in physics and I owe an awful lot to him. He just swooped in at the last moment when I was considering giving it up so that made an enormous difference. After my degree I went to teach maths and physics A-level in Zimbabwe with the VSO, and it was partly wanting to share my excitement with other people about physics that made me want to go and teach abroad. When I came back and began my PhD in Physics at Bristol University, I missed teaching and thought it was important to get the public more involved in science and debates about science. My supervisor, Pete Barham, was doing lots of this himself, and he helped and encouraged me enormously. I can't thank him enough. Did you consider teaching as a career? Well I like having the carpet whipped away from

  11. Autism awareness in children and young people: surveys of two populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dillenburger, K; Jordan, J-A; McKerr, L; Lloyd, K; Schubotz, D

    2017-08-01

    Increasingly, pupils on the autism spectrum are educated in inclusive mainstream classrooms. However, they often experience social isolation and bullying, and raising the awareness of autism in peers has been suggested as a remedy. In order to assess autism awareness in peers, autism-related questions were included in two large-scale surveys: the Kids Life and Times survey for 11-year olds and the Young Life and Times survey for 16-year olds; a total of n = 3353 children and young people completed the surveys. Autism awareness was higher for the teenagers (80%) than for the younger children (50%). Many of the children knew someone with autism (50%) and generally reported positive and supportive attitudes. Self-reported prevalence of autism was 3.1% for teenagers and 2.7% for the younger children. Peers recognised bullying as a problem and were willing to help. Children and young people have good levels of awareness and knowledge about autism and reported positive attitudes towards peers with autism and are willing to help those who are bullied. A higher than expected number of children and young people self-reported being on the autism spectrum. These findings bode well for peer-mediated support strategies for inclusive education. © 2017 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Reducing perceived stigma: Work integration of people with severe mental disorders in Italian social enterprise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villotti, Patrizia; Zaniboni, Sara; Corbière, Marc; Guay, Stéphane; Fraccaroli, Franco

    2018-06-01

    People with mental illnesses face stigma that hinders their full integration into society. Work is a major determinant of social inclusion, however, people with mental disorders have fewer opportunities to work. Emerging evidence suggests that social enterprises help disadvantaged people with their work integration process. The purpose of this study is to enhance our understanding about how perceptions of stigma can be decreased for people with mental disorders throughout their work experience in a social enterprise. Using a longitudinal study design, 310 individuals with mental disorders employed in Italian social enterprises completed a battery of questionnaires on individual (e.g., severity of symptoms; occupational self-efficacy) and environmental (e.g., social support; organizational constraints) variables. Of the 223 individuals potentially eligible at the 12-month follow up, 139 completed a battery of questionnaires on social and working skills, perceived work productivity and perceived stigma. Path analyses were used to test a model delineating how people with mental disorders working in social enterprises improve social and work outcomes (i.e., motivation, skills and productivity), and reduce the perception of being stigmatized. Working in a social enterprise enhances working social skills, which leads to a perception of higher productivity and, consequently, the perception of being discriminated against and stigmatized is reduced. Social enterprise provides a context in which people with mental disorders reach a sense of work-related and social competence. This sense of competence helps them to reduce perceived stigma, which is a crucial step toward social inclusion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Negative and positive externalities in intergroup conflict: exposure to the opportunity to help the outgroup reduces the inclination to harm it.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weisel, Ori

    2015-01-01

    Outgroup hate, in the context of intergroup conflict, can be expressed by harming the outgroup, but also by denying it help. Previous work established that this distinction-whether the externality on the outgroup is negative or positive-has an important effect on the likelihood of outgroup hate emerging as a motivation for individual participation in intergroup conflict. The current work uses a within-subject design to examine the behavior of the same individuals in intergroup conflict with negative and positive externalities on the outgroup. Each participant made two choices, one for each type of externality, and the order was counter balanced. The main results are that (1) behavior is fairly consistent across negative and positive externalities, i.e., the tendency to display outgroup hate by harming the outgroup is correlated with the tendency to display outgroup hate by avoiding to help the outgroup; (2) People are reluctant to harm the outgroup after being exposed to the opportunity to help it; (3) Groupness-the degree to which people care about their group and its well-being-is related to outgroup hate only when participants encounter the opportunity to harm the outgroup first (before they encounter the opportunity to help it). In this setting the relationship between groupness and outgroup hate spilled over to the subsequent interaction, where it was possible to help the outgroup. When the opportunity to help the outgroup was encountered first, groupness was not related to outgroup hate.

  14. Negative and positive externalities in intergroup conflict: Exposure to the opportunity to help the outgroup reduces the inclination to harm it

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ori eWeisel

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Outgroup hate, in the context of intergroup conflict, can be expressed by harming the outgroup, but also by denying it help.Previous work established that this distinction---whether the externality on the outgroup is negative or positive---has an important effect on the likelihood of outgroup hate emerging as a motivation for individual participation in intergroup conflict.The current work uses a within-subject design to examine the behaviour of the same individuals in intergroup conflict with negative and positive externalities on the outgroup.Each participant made two choices, one for each type of externality, and the order was counter balanced.The main results are that(1 behaviour is fairly consistent across negative and positive externalities, i.e., the tendency to display outgroup hate by harming the outgroup is correlated with the tendency to display outgroup hate by avoiding to help the outgroup; (2 People are reluctant to harm the outgroup after being exposed to the opportunity to help it; (3 emph{Groupness}---the degree to which people care about their group and its well-being---is related to outgroup hate only when participants encounter the opportunity to harm the outgroup first (before they encounter the opportunity to help it. In this setting the relationship between groupness and outgroup hate spilled over to the subsequent interaction, where it was possible to help the outgroup. When the opportunity to help the outgroup was encountered first, groupness was not related to outgroup hate.

  15. Why do different people choose different university degrees? Motivation and the choice of degree

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anya eSkatova

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Different people choose which undergraduate degree to study at the university for different reasons. To date, there have been limited attempts to identify individual differences in motivation that drive the undergraduate degree choice. We identified that people choose university degrees for four reasons: career concerns (Career, intrinsic interest (Interest in the subject, an opportunity to help others (Helping and because they are looking for an easy option into higher education (Loafing. We investigated whether these motivation apply to the choice of undergraduate degree in two samples: (1 undergraduate (N = 989 and (2 prospective (N = 896 students. We developed the Motivations Influencing Course Choice (MICC questionnaire to measure these motivations. Scales of Helping, Career, Loafing and Interest showed good psychometric properties, showed validity with respect to general life goals and personality traits, and predicted actual and prospective degree choices. We demonstrated that medical degrees were chosen due to a mixture of Helping and Career, while engineering degrees were associated with Career and low interest in the degree. The choice of art and humanities degrees was driven by Interest and low concern about future career, accompanied with high Loafing. We also demonstrated gender differences: females were high in Helping (both samples and Interest (only in undergraduate sample motivation, while males scored higher in Career (only in undergraduate sample and Loafing (both samples. The findings can feed into both theoretical accounts of proximal motivation as well as help to improve degree programmes at universities and provide better career advice.

  16. Why do different people choose different university degrees? Motivation and the choice of degree.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skatova, Anya; Ferguson, Eamonn

    2014-01-01

    Different people choose undergraduate degrees to study at university for different reasons. To date, there have been limited attempts to identify individual differences in motivation that drive undergraduate degree choice. We identified that people choose university degrees for four reasons: career concerns (Career), intrinsic interest in the subject (Interest), an opportunity to help others (Helping) and because they are looking for an easy option to get into higher education (Loafing). We investigated whether these motivations apply to the choice of undergraduate degree in two samples: (1) undergraduate (N = 989) and (2) prospective (N = 896) students. We developed the Motivations Influencing Course Choice (MICC) questionnaire to measure these motivations. Scales of Helping, Career, Loafing, and Interest showed good psychometric properties, showed validity with respect to general life goals and personality traits, and predicted actual and prospective degree choices. We demonstrated that medical degrees were chosen due to a mixture of Helping and Career, while engineering degrees were associated with Career and low Interest in the degree. The choice of arts and humanities degrees was driven by Interest and low concern about future career, accompanied with high Loafing. We also demonstrated gender differences: females were high in Helping (both samples) and Interest (only in the undergraduate sample) motivation, while males scored higher in Career (only in the undergraduate sample) and Loafing (both samples). The findings can feed into both theoretical accounts of proximal motivation as well as provide help to improve degree programmes at universities and support better career advice.

  17. WE-H-201-01: The Opportunities and Benefits of Helping LMICs: How Helping Them Can Help You

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pollard, J.

    2016-01-01

    The desperate need for radiotherapy in low and mid-income countries (LMICs) has been well documented. Roughly 60 % of the worldwide incidence of cancer occurs in these resource-limited settings and the international community alongside governmental and non-profit agencies have begun publishing reports and seeking help from qualified volunteers. However, the focus of several reports has been on how dire the situation is and the magnitude of the problem, leaving most to feel overwhelmed and unsure as to how to help and why to get involved. This session will help to explain the specific ways that Medical Physicists can uniquely assist in this grand effort to help bring radiotherapy to grossly-underserved areas. Not only can these experts fulfill an important purpose, they also can benefit professionally, academically, emotionally and socially from the endeavor. By assisting others worldwide with their skillset, Medical Physicists can end up helping themselves. Learning Objectives: Understand the need for radiotherapy in LMICs. Understand which agencies are seeking Medical Physicists for help in LMICs. Understand the potential research funding mechanisms are available to establish academic collaborations with LMIC researchers/physicians. Understand the potential social and emotional benefits for both the physicist and the LMIC partners when collaborations are made. Understand the potential for collaboration with other high-income scientists that can develop as the physicist partners with other large institutions to assist LMICs. Wil Ngwa - A recent United Nations Study reports that in developing countries more people have access to cell phones than toilets. In Africa, only 63% of the population has access to piped water, yet, 93% of Africans have cell phone service. Today, these cell phones, Skype, WhatsApp and other information and communication technologies (ICTs) connect us in unprecedented ways and are increasingly recognized as powerful, indispensable to global

  18. WE-H-201-01: The Opportunities and Benefits of Helping LMICs: How Helping Them Can Help You

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pollard, J. [MD Anderson Cancer Center (United States)

    2016-06-15

    The desperate need for radiotherapy in low and mid-income countries (LMICs) has been well documented. Roughly 60 % of the worldwide incidence of cancer occurs in these resource-limited settings and the international community alongside governmental and non-profit agencies have begun publishing reports and seeking help from qualified volunteers. However, the focus of several reports has been on how dire the situation is and the magnitude of the problem, leaving most to feel overwhelmed and unsure as to how to help and why to get involved. This session will help to explain the specific ways that Medical Physicists can uniquely assist in this grand effort to help bring radiotherapy to grossly-underserved areas. Not only can these experts fulfill an important purpose, they also can benefit professionally, academically, emotionally and socially from the endeavor. By assisting others worldwide with their skillset, Medical Physicists can end up helping themselves. Learning Objectives: Understand the need for radiotherapy in LMICs. Understand which agencies are seeking Medical Physicists for help in LMICs. Understand the potential research funding mechanisms are available to establish academic collaborations with LMIC researchers/physicians. Understand the potential social and emotional benefits for both the physicist and the LMIC partners when collaborations are made. Understand the potential for collaboration with other high-income scientists that can develop as the physicist partners with other large institutions to assist LMICs. Wil Ngwa - A recent United Nations Study reports that in developing countries more people have access to cell phones than toilets. In Africa, only 63% of the population has access to piped water, yet, 93% of Africans have cell phone service. Today, these cell phones, Skype, WhatsApp and other information and communication technologies (ICTs) connect us in unprecedented ways and are increasingly recognized as powerful, indispensable to global

  19. Occupational Therapy: Meeting the Needs of Families of People With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuhaneck, Heather Miller; Watling, Renee

    2015-01-01

    Occupational therapy has much to offer to families of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, people outside the profession may be unaware of occupational therapy's breadth and scope. It is our responsibility and our duty to express the full range of occupational therapy services through research, clinical practice, advocacy, and consumer education. This special issue of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, with its focus on autism, embarks on this endeavor by highlighting research and theoretical articles that address the various aspects of occupational therapy practice that can help to fully meet the needs of people with ASD and their families. Copyright © 2015 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

  20. Symptoms of Mental Health Problems: Children's and Adolescents' Understandings and Implications for Gender Differences in Help Seeking

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacLean, Alice; Hunt, Kate; Sweeting, Helen

    2013-01-01

    Amidst concerns that young people's mental health is deteriorating, it is important to explore their understandings of symptoms of mental health problems and beliefs around help seeking. Drawing on focus group data from Scottish school pupils, we demonstrate how they understood symptoms of mental health problems and how their characterisations of…

  1. The importance of music for people with dementia: the perspectives of people with dementia, family carers, staff and music therapists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDermott, Orii; Orrell, Martin; Ridder, Hanne Mette

    2014-01-01

    Despite the popularity of music-based interventions in dementia care, there is a limited knowledge of how and why people with dementia find music beneficial for their well-being. A qualitative study was conducted to develop further insights into the musical experiences of people with dementia and explore the meaning of music in their lives. Separate focus groups and interviews with (1) care home residents with dementia and their families, (2) day hospital clients with dementia, (3) care home staff, and (4) music therapists, were conducted. The findings of the thematic analysis were investigated further in the light of psychosocial factors with the aim of developing a theoretical model on music in dementia. Six key themes were identified. The accessibility of music for people at all stages of dementia, close links between music, personal identity and life events, the importance of relationship-building through music making were particularly highlighted as valuable. The psychosocial model of music in dementia was developed. The model revealed the importance of music to support the personal psychology of people with dementia and the social psychology of the care home environment. The effects of music go beyond the reduction of behavioural and psychological symptoms. Individual preference of music is preserved throughout the process of dementia. Sustaining musical and interpersonal connectedness would help value who the person is and maintain the quality of their life.

  2. Alcohol and older people: A systematic review of barriers, facilitators and context of drinking in older people and implications for intervention design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Sarah; Olanrewaju, Olawale; Cowan, Andy; Brayne, Carol; Lafortune, Louise

    2018-01-01

    Harmful alcohol consumption in older people has increased and effective approaches to understanding and addressing this societal concern are needed. Systematic review of qualitative studies in older populations (55+ years) to identify barriers, facilitators or context of drinking in older people. Multiple databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, CENTRAL, Social Sciences Citation Index, York Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, Cochrane database and grey literature) were searched from 2000 to February 2017 for studies in English, from OECD countries using MeSH terms and text words relating to alcohol combined with older age terms. Study quality was assessed using NICE methodology. The review is reported according to PRISMA. Drinking in older people is strongly linked to social engagement and there is scepticism about the health risks of alcohol. Drinking was also linked to difficulties such as social isolation, illness or bereavement. Alcohol can be related to routines and identity. However, older people often regulate their own drinking and strategies that emphasise the life experience of older people to drink wisely could be helpful. To be effective societal approaches need to take into account contexts of risks for harmful drinking. The evidence supports a strong social role for drinking alcohol which should be taken into account in any policy development with the potential benefits of social participation for cognitive health. Approaches to reducing alcohol use in older people need to avoid paradoxical harm, with a need for approaches that reduce harm from drinking alcohol but retain the benefit of socialising.

  3. Alcohol and older people: A systematic review of barriers, facilitators and context of drinking in older people and implications for intervention design.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah Kelly

    Full Text Available Harmful alcohol consumption in older people has increased and effective approaches to understanding and addressing this societal concern are needed.Systematic review of qualitative studies in older populations (55+ years to identify barriers, facilitators or context of drinking in older people. Multiple databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, CENTRAL, Social Sciences Citation Index, York Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, Cochrane database and grey literature were searched from 2000 to February 2017 for studies in English, from OECD countries using MeSH terms and text words relating to alcohol combined with older age terms. Study quality was assessed using NICE methodology. The review is reported according to PRISMA.Drinking in older people is strongly linked to social engagement and there is scepticism about the health risks of alcohol. Drinking was also linked to difficulties such as social isolation, illness or bereavement. Alcohol can be related to routines and identity. However, older people often regulate their own drinking and strategies that emphasise the life experience of older people to drink wisely could be helpful.To be effective societal approaches need to take into account contexts of risks for harmful drinking. The evidence supports a strong social role for drinking alcohol which should be taken into account in any policy development with the potential benefits of social participation for cognitive health. Approaches to reducing alcohol use in older people need to avoid paradoxical harm, with a need for approaches that reduce harm from drinking alcohol but retain the benefit of socialising.

  4. Can a brief biologically-based psychoeducational intervention reduce stigma and increase help-seeking intentions for depression in young people? A randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, Kerry A; Griffiths, Kathleen M; McKetin, Rebecca; Ma, Jennifer

    2018-05-01

    There is disagreement in the literature as to whether biological attribution increases or decreases stigma. This study investigated the effect of an online biological intervention on stigma and help-seeking intentions for depression among adolescents. A three-arm, pre-post test, double-blind randomised controlled trial (RCT) was used to compare the effects of a biological and a psychosocial intervention delivered online. Participants comprised secondary school students (N = 327) aged 16-19 years. Outcome measures included anticipated self-stigma for depression (primary), personal stigma, help-seeking intention for depression, and biological and psychosocial attribution. Neither the biological nor the psychosocial educational intervention significantly reduced anticipated self-stigma or personal stigma for depression relative to the control. However, a small increase in help-seeking intention for depression relative to the control was found for the biological educational condition. The study was undertaken over a single session and it is unknown whether the intervention effect on help-seeking intentions was sustained or would translate into help-seeking behaviour. A brief online biological education intervention did not alter stigma, but did promote a small increase in help-seeking intentions for depression among adolescents. This type of intervention may be a practical means for facilitating help-seeking among adolescents with current or future depression treatment needs.

  5. Student's corner: potential implications of registered nurse attitudes towards caring for older people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Lynette C

    2010-01-01

    In discussing the potential implications of the attitudes of the registered nurse towards the work of caring for older people, it was helpful to highlight why this work is important, gain some understanding of quality care and how it can be facilitated or hindered. Patient centred care is essential as there is great diversity found amongst older people. It was found that attitudes held by registered nurses and students towards older people have a direct impact on the quality of care provided. Negative attitudes and stereotyping get in the way of quality care while positive attitudes enabled quality care. In identifying the factors that influence these attitudes, registered nurses can take on a leadership role in promoting positive attitudes and challenging negative attitudes towards the care of older people with the goal of providing patient centre care.

  6. How a moderated online discussion forum facilitates support for young people with eating disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kendal, Sarah; Kirk, Sue; Elvey, Rebecca; Catchpole, Roger; Pryjmachuk, Steven

    2017-02-01

    Young people with eating disorders are at risk of harm to their social, emotional and physical development and life chances. Although they can be reluctant to seek help, they may access social media for information, advice or support. The relationship between social media and youth well-being is an emotive subject, but not clearly understood. This qualitative study aimed to explore how young people used a youth-orientated, moderated, online, eating disorders discussion forum, run by an eating disorders charity. We applied a netnographic approach involving downloading and thematically analysing over 400 messages posted August-November 2012. Data analysis generated five themes: Taking on the role of mentor; the online discussion forum as a safe space; Friendship within the online forum; Flexible help; and Peer support for recovery and relapse prevention. Forum moderation may have influenced the forum culture. Our findings are consistent with literature about youth preferences for mental health self-care support. A young person's decision to use this discussion forum can be construed as pro-active self-care. A moderated online discussion forum can make a positive contribution to support for youth with eating disorders, countering negative media perceptions of online groups. This study adds to knowledge about how young people access support via social media. Online discussion forums can be safe and acceptable spaces for youth to access help. Further research could provide insights into the impact of forum moderation. © 2016 The Authors. Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. People with chemical addiction and the features of their life orientations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Makashova O.V.

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available according to the author, modern rehabilitation facilities do not have psychological tool that helps people with chemical addictions to optimize their life orientations. The research methods: analysis of psychological literature on this subject; testing; method of mathematical data processing (Mann-Whitney U test, correlation analyses of data. Dependent persons have lowered indicators of reason to live and meaningful orientations. Their personal development is hampered because of a lower level of perception of the integral time of their life. They have higher level of such destructive orientations as confrontational coping, running away from a problem and higher level of constructive orientations – orientation on the solution of the problem, acceptance of responsibility and a positive reassessment of the situation. Sometimes constructive coping is associated with indicators related to the difficulties of personal development. Addicted persons’ tendency toward prosocial behavior is high. At the same time, the helping behavior is more pronounced, when the respondents believe in themselves and in people less. Based on the findings, the Program of Measures, accompanying the rehabilitation of dependent persons, has been compiled.

  8. Experiences of deafblind people about health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-Valderas, Carmen; Macías-Seda, Juana; Gil-García, Eugenia

    Deafblindness is a disability resulting from the combination of visual and auditory sensory impairments, which can manifest in different levels causing special communication problems. Deafblind people have special needs that derive from difficulties in sensing, understanding, attention and a lack of the skills required to function effectively in society. Deafblindness requires specialized services, personnel specifically trained in its care and special methods for communication. The main objective of this study is to explore the experiences of deafblind people in relation to health care throughout their lives. This study was developed at the St. Angela de la Cruz Centre, belonging to the Association of Parents of Deafblind People in Spain. Phenomenological qualitative study, through semi-structured interviews with deafblind people at the St. Ángela de la Cruz Centre, Salteras (Seville), carried out in 2015, with the help of interpreters in Spanish sign language. Topics covered in the interviews refer to facilities, human resources, time waiting and health care. Coinciding statements were obtained, where the participants point out architectural and educational barriers in health care and stand out better if the professionals know sign language. It can be highlighted that healthcare professionals lack knowledge of all aspects of deafblindness, sign language in particular, and there is a shortage of signs and information for the deafblind. Moreover, alternatives are required to reduce waiting times and improve direct communication with health professionals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  9. A palliative care resource for professional carers of people with learning disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reddall, C

    2010-07-01

    People with learning disabilities who have a life-threatening illness, are as entitled as other members of the population to receive good palliative care in their home of choice. However, professional carers of people with learning disability are generally unaware of the meaning of palliative care, and how they can access palliative care support. More importantly, they may feel they are not capable of caring for a resident with a life-threatening illness in the home environment. This article uses a case study to help illustrate the value of compiling a resource booklet for professional carers of people with learning disabilities. By providing information on palliative care, that is easy to understand and easily accessible, professional carers of these people can have a valuable resource which will enable them to provide general palliative care when needed. (I use the term professional carers to refer to carers who are paid to look after people with learning disabilities either in care homes, or in supported living homes in the general community).

  10. Depressed mood as a risk factor for unprotected sex in young people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Adrienne; Yung, Alison; Cosgrave, Elizabeth; Killackey, Eóin; Buckby, Joe; Stanford, Carrie; Godfrey, Katherine; McGorry, Patrick

    2006-09-01

    Young people may place themselves and others at risk of sexually transmitted infections (STI) and/or the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) through engaging in unprotected sex. Mental health problems may play an important role in sex-related risk behaviour. The current research was an investigation of depressed mood and condom use in a help-seeking sample of young people in Melbourne, Australia. The sample comprised 76 sexually active young people aged 15-24 years who were referred to ORYGEN Youth Health, a public mental health service in Melbourne, Australia. Controlling for demographic characteristics and substance use, multivariate logistic regression examined depressed mood as a predictor of condom use at last sexual intercourse. Half of the sample reported condom use the last time they had sexual intercourse. Depressed mood, female gender and unemployment increased the likelihood that participants engaged in unprotected sex. A high proportion of young people, particularly those who are depressed, are failing to protect themselves from STI/HIV. Mental health services working with young people have the opportunity to implement initiatives aimed at reducing risk of STI/HIV infection.

  11. A qualitative study of young people's perspectives on receiving psychiatric services via televideo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boydell, Katherine M; Volpe, Tiziana; Pignatiello, Antonio

    2010-02-01

    It is critical to consult young people about their experiences. This study addresses the paucity of research on the perspective of young people in general, and in paediatric telepsychiatry specifically. The goal is to understand the experience of young people receiving telepsychiatry. Interpretive interactionism (Denzin, 1989) was used to interview 30 young people; immediately following the consultation and four to six weeks later. Analysis occurred via a series of steps in keeping with the interpretive interactionist framework. Four themes arose repeatedly: the encounter with the psychiatrist and experience of having others in the room; the helpfulness of the session; a sense of personal choice during the consultation; and, the technology. Participants highlighted the importance of their relationship with the psychiatrist. Participant's narratives were replete with examples of ways that they actively took responsibility and exerted control within the session itself. Young people have a significant role to play in their own care. It is critical that telepsychiatry recommendations be explained and opportunities for young people to express their concerns and discuss alternatives are provided. Further efforts to include young people may include ensuring offering alternate treatments and/or negotiated when recommended treatments are unacceptable and/or resisted.

  12. WORKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE: A MODEL OF SOCIAL INTERVENTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dovilė Lisauskienė

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Social workers, working with young people ought to be aware of the values, needs and problems of contemporary young people. Therefore, it is necessary to develop study programmes of Social Work that would reflect the current situation of modern youth and be oriented towards effective techniques for working with young people. The most common methods described in the literature are counseling, supervision, case management, self-reflection. The article highlights the method of social intervention, which objectively and fully assesses the problem situation and establishes the connections and relationships between the young man and his relatives, friends or authorities. This method helps to enable young people to solve their own problems. The aim of the research is to analyze the application features of the social intervention model when working with young people. The objectives are to discuss the activities of youth organizations in the field of social 99SOCIALINIO TINKLO INTERVENCIJOS MODELIO TAIKYMAS DIRBANT SU JAUNIMU work; to highlight the methods of social workers‘ practice; to investigate the application of social intervention model, enabling young people to solve their own problems. The methods applied include comparative analysis of scientific literature, monitoring, social intervention model. The survey revealed that when social workers enable young people to solve their own problems, a model of social intervention allows to evaluate not only the relationships of close people or family members, but also highlights the roles of youth organizations or social workers and their positive effect on the customer‘s actions. Thus, when applying the method of social intervention, social workers play an important role, as well as their professional knowledge and skills to establish the connection with the client are extremely important in order to promote the client‘s reflection.

  13. Migrant Sexual Health Help-Seeking and Experiences of Stigmatization and Discrimination in Perth, Western Australia: Exploring Barriers and Enablers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josephine Agu

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Increasing HIV notifications amongst migrant and mobile populations to Australia is a significant public health issue. Generalizations about migrant health needs and delayed or deterred help-seeking behaviors can result from disregarding the variation between and within cultures including factors, such as drivers for migration and country of birth. This study explored barriers and enablers to accessing sexual health services, including experiences of stigma and discrimination, within a purposive sample of sub-Saharan African, Southeast Asian, and East Asian migrants. A qualitative design was employed using key informant interviews and focus group discussions. A total of 45 people with ages ranging from 18 to 50 years, participated in focus group discussions. Common barriers and enablers to help seeking behaviors were sociocultural and religious influence, financial constraints, and knowledge dissemination to reduce stigma. Additionally, common experiences of stigma and discrimination were related to employment and the social and self-isolation of people living with HIV. Overcoming barriers to accessing sexual health services, imparting sexual health knowledge, recognizing variations within cultures, and a reduction in stigma and discrimination will simultaneously accelerate help-seeking and result in better sexual health outcomes in migrant populations.

  14. Migrant Sexual Health Help-Seeking and Experiences of Stigmatization and Discrimination in Perth, Western Australia: Exploring Barriers and Enablers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agu, Josephine; Lobo, Roanna; Crawford, Gemma; Chigwada, Bethwyn

    2016-05-11

    Increasing HIV notifications amongst migrant and mobile populations to Australia is a significant public health issue. Generalizations about migrant health needs and delayed or deterred help-seeking behaviors can result from disregarding the variation between and within cultures including factors, such as drivers for migration and country of birth. This study explored barriers and enablers to accessing sexual health services, including experiences of stigma and discrimination, within a purposive sample of sub-Saharan African, Southeast Asian, and East Asian migrants. A qualitative design was employed using key informant interviews and focus group discussions. A total of 45 people with ages ranging from 18 to 50 years, participated in focus group discussions. Common barriers and enablers to help seeking behaviors were sociocultural and religious influence, financial constraints, and knowledge dissemination to reduce stigma. Additionally, common experiences of stigma and discrimination were related to employment and the social and self-isolation of people living with HIV. Overcoming barriers to accessing sexual health services, imparting sexual health knowledge, recognizing variations within cultures, and a reduction in stigma and discrimination will simultaneously accelerate help-seeking and result in better sexual health outcomes in migrant populations.

  15. Translation of Culture-Specific Items in Self-Help Literature: A Study on Domestication and Foreignization Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Volga Yılmaz-Gümüş

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available The last two decades have witnessed a boom in self-help materials in both global and local markets. This self-help trend, growing rapidly in our modern day, should be an area of interest for Translation Studies as an increasing number of self-help materials have been translated particularly from English every year. Self-help books involve a great deal of references to the material and social culture of the original country. One of the key issues in the translation of self-help books is the choice between foreignizing and domesticating these culture-specific items. This paper aims to discuss the procedures used for the translation of culture-specific items with regard to the particular function that these books assume in the target society. The analysis on the example of Outliers, a self-help book of sorts written by Malcolm Gladwell, has shown that the translator mostly adopted foreignizing strategies in translating the text into Turkish. The study also discusses whether these foreignizing strategies contribute to the fulfillment of target-text function, which is to provide quick-fix remedies to people struggling with modern-day challenges and demands.

  16. Improvement in the physiological function and standing stability based on kinect multimedia for older people

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Chih-Chen

    2016-01-01

    [Purpose] The increase in the Taiwanese older population is associated with age-related inconveniences. Finding adequate and simple physical activities to help the older people maintaining their physiological function and preventing them from falls has become an urgent social issue. [Subjects and Methods] This study aimed to design a virtual exercise training game suitable for Taiwanese older people. This system will allow for the maintenance of the physiological function and standing stabili...

  17. Why People Apply to Medical School in Iraq?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nesif Al-Hemiary

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: The motivations behind why people choose to study medicine in Iraqi medical schools are unknown. Such information could help school pupils to make more informed career decisions and assist medical schools in enhancing the student selection process. Aims: To investigate why people choose to study medicine in Iraq. Subjects and methods: The first-year students admitted on the academic year 2015-2016 to Baghdad College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, were invited to complete a structured questionnaire, which was administered through the college electronic education portal. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 21 software. Results: A total of 152 (50% response rate students responded. Women constituted 69.1% of respondents. Most students (61.8% had made their choice by themselves without family pressure. The most frequent reasons that affected this choice were “humanitarian reasons and a wish to provide help to others” as well as “childhood dream,” “positive community appraisal of doctors,” and “ready availability of work for physicians.” About three-quarters (73.6% of the students made some inquiry about medical school before making their choice, and the people asked were most frequently a medical student or a doctor. Information provided by the consulted parties was regarded as satisfactory by 64.2% of the surveyed students, had a positive value in 47.2%, and affected their decision in 34.9%. The highest proportion (42.2% of the study sample was thinking about studying medicine since primary school. In addition, students with personal preference made their choice at a significantly younger age. Conclusions: Reasons to apply for medical schools in Iraq are similar to those in many countries. Most of the students who inquired about studying medicine had not contacted the medical school itself.

  18. Why People Apply to Medical School in Iraq?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Hemiary, Nesif; Al-Nuaimi, Ahmed Sameer; Al-Saffar, Hilal; Randall, Ian

    2017-01-01

    The motivations behind why people choose to study medicine in Iraqi medical schools are unknown. Such information could help school pupils to make more informed career decisions and assist medical schools in enhancing the student selection process. To investigate why people choose to study medicine in Iraq. The first-year students admitted on the academic year 2015-2016 to Baghdad College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, were invited to complete a structured questionnaire, which was administered through the college electronic education portal. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 21 software. A total of 152 (50% response rate) students responded. Women constituted 69.1% of respondents. Most students (61.8%) had made their choice by themselves without family pressure. The most frequent reasons that affected this choice were "humanitarian reasons and a wish to provide help to others" as well as "childhood dream," "positive community appraisal of doctors," and "ready availability of work for physicians." About three-quarters (73.6%) of the students made some inquiry about medical school before making their choice, and the people asked were most frequently a medical student or a doctor. Information provided by the consulted parties was regarded as satisfactory by 64.2% of the surveyed students, had a positive value in 47.2%, and affected their decision in 34.9%. The highest proportion (42.2%) of the study sample was thinking about studying medicine since primary school. In addition, students with personal preference made their choice at a significantly younger age. Reasons to apply for medical schools in Iraq are similar to those in many countries. Most of the students who inquired about studying medicine had not contacted the medical school itself.

  19. When being narrow minded is a good thing: locally biased people show stronger contextual cueing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellaera, Lauren; von Mühlenen, Adrian; Watson, Derrick G

    2014-01-01

    Repeated contexts allow us to find relevant information more easily. Learning such contexts has been proposed to depend upon either global processing of the repeated contexts, or alternatively processing of the local region surrounding the target information. In this study, we measured the extent to which observers were by default biased to process towards a more global or local level. The findings showed that the ability to use context to help guide their search was strongly related to an observer's local/global processing bias. Locally biased people could use context to help improve their search better than globally biased people. The results suggest that the extent to which context can be used depends crucially on the observer's attentional bias and thus also to factors and influences that can change this bias.

  20. Effectiveness of interventions to promote help-seeking for mental health problems: systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Ziyan; Huang, Fangfang; Kösters, Markus; Staiger, Tobias; Becker, Thomas; Thornicroft, Graham; Rüsch, Nicolas

    2018-06-01

    Help-seeking is important to access appropriate care and improve mental health. However, individuals often delay or avoid seeking help for mental health problems. Interventions to improve help-seeking have been developed, but their effectiveness is unclear. A systematic review and meta-analysis were therefore conducted to examine the effectiveness of mental health related help-seeking interventions. Nine databases in English, German and Chinese were searched for randomised and non-randomised controlled trials. Effect sizes were calculated for attitudes, intentions and behaviours to seek formal, informal and self-help. Ninety-eight studies with 69 208 participants were included. Interventions yielded significant short-term benefits in terms of formal help-seeking, self-help, as well as mental health literacy and personal stigma. There were also positive long-term effects on formal help-seeking behaviours. The most common intervention types were strategies to increase mental health literacy, destigmatisation (both had positive short-term effects on formal help-seeking behaviours) as well as motivational enhancement (with positive long-term effects on formal help-seeking behaviours). Interventions improved formal help-seeking behaviours if delivered to people with or at risk of mental health problems, but not among children, adolescents or the general public. There was no evidence that interventions increased the use of informal help. Few studies were conducted in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study provides evidence for the effectiveness of help-seeking interventions in terms of improving attitudes, intentions and behaviours to seek formal help for mental health problems among adults. Future research should develop effective interventions to improve informal help-seeking, for specific target groups and in LMICs settings.

  1. Medicalizing versus psychologizing mental illness: what are the implications for help seeking and stigma? A general population study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pattyn, E; Verhaeghe, M; Sercu, C; Bracke, P

    2013-10-01

    This study contrasts the medicalized conceptualization of mental illness with psychologizing mental illness and examines what the consequences are of adhering to one model versus the other for help seeking and stigma. The survey "Stigma in a Global Context-Belgian Mental Health Study" (2009) conducted face-to-face interviews among a representative sample of the general Belgian population using the vignette technique to depict schizophrenia (N = 381). Causal attributions, labeling processes, and the disease view are addressed. Help seeking refers to open-ended help-seeking suggestions (general practitioner, psychiatrist, psychologist, family, friends, and self-care options). Stigma refers to social exclusion after treatment. The data are analyzed by means of logistic and linear regression models in SPSS Statistics 19. People who adhere to the biopsychosocial (versus psychosocial) model are more likely to recommend general medical care and people who apply the disease view are more likely to recommend specialized medical care. Regarding informal help, those who prefer the biopsychosocial model are less likely to recommend consulting friends than those who adhere to the psychosocial model. Respondents who apply a medical compared to a non-medical label are less inclined to recommend self-care. As concerns treatment stigma, respondents who apply a medical instead of a non-medical label are more likely to socially exclude someone who has been in psychiatric treatment. Medicalizing mental illness involves a package deal: biopsychosocial causal attributions and applying the disease view facilitate medical treatment recommendations, while labeling seems to trigger stigmatizing attitudes.

  2. O'odham I:waki. Wild Greens of the Desert People. Sourcebook.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meals for Millions/Freedom from Hunger Foundation, Tucson, AZ.

    I:waki are what the O'odham (Papago and Pima People) call young green leafy plants that they eat as cooked "greens" and serve as an important part of the traditional Papago diet. Sketches of five different kinds of i:waki are presented in the booklet to help identify the "greens." Names of each of the "greens" are…

  3. Coral Reefs and People in a High-CO2 World: Where Can Science Make a Difference to People?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pendleton, Linwood; Comte, Adrien; Langdon, Chris; Ekstrom, Julia A; Cooley, Sarah R; Suatoni, Lisa; Beck, Michael W; Brander, Luke M; Burke, Lauretta; Cinner, Josh E; Doherty, Carolyn; Edwards, Peter E T; Gledhill, Dwight; Jiang, Li-Qing; van Hooidonk, Ruben J; Teh, Louise; Waldbusser, George G; Ritter, Jessica

    2016-01-01

    Increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere put shallow, warm-water coral reef ecosystems, and the people who depend upon them at risk from two key global environmental stresses: 1) elevated sea surface temperature (that can cause coral bleaching and related mortality), and 2) ocean acidification. These global stressors: cannot be avoided by local management, compound local stressors, and hasten the loss of ecosystem services. Impacts to people will be most grave where a) human dependence on coral reef ecosystems is high, b) sea surface temperature reaches critical levels soonest, and c) ocean acidification levels are most severe. Where these elements align, swift action will be needed to protect people's lives and livelihoods, but such action must be informed by data and science. Designing policies to offset potential harm to coral reef ecosystems and people requires a better understanding of where CO2-related global environmental stresses could cause the most severe impacts. Mapping indicators has been proposed as a way of combining natural and social science data to identify policy actions even when the needed science is relatively nascent. To identify where people are at risk and where more science is needed, we map indicators of biological, physical and social science factors to understand how human dependence on coral reef ecosystems will be affected by globally-driven threats to corals expected in a high-CO2 world. Western Mexico, Micronesia, Indonesia and parts of Australia have high human dependence and will likely face severe combined threats. As a region, Southeast Asia is particularly at risk. Many of the countries most dependent upon coral reef ecosystems are places for which we have the least robust data on ocean acidification. These areas require new data and interdisciplinary scientific research to help coral reef-dependent human communities better prepare for a high CO2 world.

  4. Coral Reefs and People in a High-CO2 World: Where Can Science Make a Difference to People?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linwood Pendleton

    Full Text Available Increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere put shallow, warm-water coral reef ecosystems, and the people who depend upon them at risk from two key global environmental stresses: 1 elevated sea surface temperature (that can cause coral bleaching and related mortality, and 2 ocean acidification. These global stressors: cannot be avoided by local management, compound local stressors, and hasten the loss of ecosystem services. Impacts to people will be most grave where a human dependence on coral reef ecosystems is high, b sea surface temperature reaches critical levels soonest, and c ocean acidification levels are most severe. Where these elements align, swift action will be needed to protect people's lives and livelihoods, but such action must be informed by data and science.Designing policies to offset potential harm to coral reef ecosystems and people requires a better understanding of where CO2-related global environmental stresses could cause the most severe impacts. Mapping indicators has been proposed as a way of combining natural and social science data to identify policy actions even when the needed science is relatively nascent. To identify where people are at risk and where more science is needed, we map indicators of biological, physical and social science factors to understand how human dependence on coral reef ecosystems will be affected by globally-driven threats to corals expected in a high-CO2 world. Western Mexico, Micronesia, Indonesia and parts of Australia have high human dependence and will likely face severe combined threats. As a region, Southeast Asia is particularly at risk. Many of the countries most dependent upon coral reef ecosystems are places for which we have the least robust data on ocean acidification. These areas require new data and interdisciplinary scientific research to help coral reef-dependent human communities better prepare for a high CO2 world.

  5. Doppler Radar and Analysis for Climate Model Verification and Numerical Weather Prediction

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Xu, Qin

    1998-01-01

    ... (Qiu and Xu, 1996, Mon. Wea. Rev., 1132-1144). The LS method was further upgraded to including background wind fields and used to improve the initial condition for the ARPS model's short-term prediction...

  6. New Vaccines for the World's Poorest People.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hotez, Peter J; Bottazzi, Maria Elena; Strych, Ulrich

    2016-01-01

    The 2000 Millennium Development Goals helped stimulate the development of life-saving childhood vaccines for pneumococcal and rotavirus infections while greatly expanding coverage of existing vaccines. However, there remains an urgent need to develop new vaccines for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as for respiratory syncytial virus and those chronic and debilitating (mostly parasitic) infections known as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The NTDs represent the most common diseases of people living in extreme poverty and are the subject of this review. The development of NTD vaccines, including those for hookworm infection, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, and Chagas disease, is being led by nonprofit product development partnerships (PDPs) working in consortia of academic and industrial partners, including vaccine manufacturers in developing countries. NTD vaccines face unique challenges with respect to their product development and manufacture, as well as their preclinical and clinical testing. We emphasize global efforts to accelerate the development of NTD vaccines and some of the hurdles to ensuring their availability to the world's poorest people.

  7. Mediating Tragedy: Facebook, Aboriginal Peoples and Suicide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bronwyn Lee Carlson

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Some Australian Aboriginal communities experience suicide rates that are among the highest in the world. They are also, however, avid social media users—approximately 20% higher than the national average. This article presents some preliminary findings from a current national study, funded by the Australian Research Council, titled Aboriginal identity and community online: a sociological exploration of Aboriginal peoples’ use of online social media. The purpose of the study is to gain insights into how Aboriginal peoples utilise and interact on social media, and how these technologies can assist with suicide prevention strategies. It found that Aboriginal people are engaging with Facebook to both seek and offer help for issues relating to suicide and self-harm. An existing continuum of suicide prevention strategies was evident—from light emotional support to direct suicide intervention involving health services. These strategies can be leveraged to implement effective and appropriate suicide prevention programs.

  8. Helping for Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neuringer, Allen; Oleson, Kathryn C.

    2010-01-01

    In "Helping for Change," Allen Neuringer and Kathryn Oleson describe another strategy that individuals can use to achieve their green goals. You might ask, "How can helping someone else help me change when I'm in the habit of not fulfilling my own promises?" The authors answer that question by explaining how the social reinforcement in a helping…

  9. Older people's experience of falls: understanding, interpretation and autonomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roe, Brenda; Howell, Fiona; Riniotis, Konstantinos; Beech, Roger; Crome, Peter; Ong, Bie Nio

    2008-09-01

    This paper is a report of a study to explore the experiences of older people who suffered a recent fall and identify possible factors that could contribute to service development. Falls in older people are prevalent and are associated with morbidity, hospitalization and mortality, personal costs to individuals and financial costs to health services. A convenience sample of 27 older people (mean age 84 years; range 65-98) participated in semi-structured taped interviews. Follow-up interviews during 2003-2004 were undertaken to detect changes over time. Data were collected about experience of the fall, use of services, health and well-being, activities of daily living, informal care, support networks and prevention. Thematic content analysis was undertaken. Twenty-seven initial interviews and 18 follow-up interviews were conducted. The majority of people fell indoors (n = 23) and were alone (n = 15). The majority of falls were repeat falls (n = 22) and five were a first-ever fall. People who reflected on their fall and sought to understand why and how it occurred developed strategies to prevent future falls, face their fear, maintain control and choice and continue with activities of daily living. Those who did not reflect on their fall and did not know why it occurred restricted their activities and environments and remained in fear of falling. Assisting people to reflect on their falls and to understand why they happened could help with preventing future falls, allay fear, boost confidence and aid rehabilitation relating to their activities of daily living.

  10. Focus on People: Rethinking the Power and Potential of Personal Health Records - Part 2

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    Dr. Patricia Brennan discusses how Project HealthDesign is working to enhance the utility and flexibility of personal health records as a critical tool to help people take action to improve their health and improve the health care of all Americans.

  11. Focus on People: Rethinking the Power and Potential of Personal Health Records - Part 1

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    Dr. Patricia Brennan discusses how Project HealthDesign is working to enhance the utility and flexibility of personal health records as a critical tool to help people take action to improve their health and improve the health care of all Americans.

  12. Implementation of the Enhanced Moderated Online Social Therapy (MOST+) Model Within a National Youth E-Mental Health Service (eheadspace): Protocol for a Single Group Pilot Study for Help-Seeking Young People.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rice, Simon; Gleeson, John; Leicester, Steven; Bendall, Sarah; D'Alfonso, Simon; Gilbertson, Tamsyn; Killackey, Eoin; Parker, Alexandra; Lederman, Reeva; Wadley, Greg; Santesteban-Echarri, Olga; Pryor, Ingrid; Mawren, Daveena; Ratheesh, Aswin; Alvarez-Jimenez, Mario

    2018-02-22

    There is a substantial need for youth electronic mental health (e-mental health) services. In addressing this need, our team has developed a novel moderated online social therapy intervention called enhanced moderated online social therapy (MOST+). MOST+ integrates real-time, clinician-delivered Web chat counseling, interactive user-directed online therapy, expert and peer moderation, and private and secure peer-to-peer social networking. MOST+ has been designed to give young people immediate, 24-hour access to anonymous, evidence-based, and short-term mental health care. The primary aims of this pilot study were to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of the intervention. Secondary aims were to assess prepost changes in key psychosocial outcomes and collect qualitative data for future intervention refinement. MOST+ will be embedded within eheadspace, an Australian youth e-mental health service, and will be evaluated via an uncontrolled single-group study. Approximately 250 help-seeking young people (16-25 years) will be progressively recruited to the intervention from the eheadspace home page over the first 4 weeks of an 8-week intervention period. All participants will have access to evidence-based therapeutic content and integrated Web chat counseling. Additional access to moderated peer-to-peer social networking will be granted to individuals for whom it is deemed safe and appropriate, through a three-tiered screening process. Participants will be enrolled in the MOST+ intervention for 1 week, with the option to renew their enrollment across the duration of the pilot. Participants will complete a survey at enrollment to assess psychological well-being and other mental health outcomes. Additional assessment will occur following account deactivation (ie, after participant has opted not to renew their enrollment, or at trial conclusion) and will include an online survey and telephone interview assessing psychological well-being and experience of

  13. Mental health help seeking patterns and associations among Australian same sex attracted women, trans and gender diverse people: a survey-based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNair, Ruth P; Bush, Rachel

    2016-07-04

    Same sex attracted women (SSAW) are disproportionately affected by depression and anxiety, due to experiences of sexuality and gender based discrimination. They access mental health services at higher rates than heterosexual women, however with lower levels of satisfaction. This study examined the range of professional and social help seeking by same-sex attracted women, and patterns according to sexual orientation and gender identity subgroup. Eight key stakeholders were interviewed, and a convenience sample of 1628 Australian SSAW completed an online survey in 2015. This included several scales to measure mental health, community connectedness and resilience; and measured past 12 month help seeking behaviour, enablers, barriers and preferences for mental health care. Chi-square analyses and binary logistic regression analyses examined demographic associations with mental health. Correlations between help seeking, mental and physical health, and connectedness were run. A high proportion (80 %) of the total sample had perceived mental health problems over the past 12 months. Over half had depression, and over 96 % had anxiety. Trans and gender diverse participants were twice as likely as female participants to have mental health problems, and lesbians were least likely. High levels of past 12 month help seeking included 74.4 % seeing a GP, 44.3 % seeing a psychologist/counsellor, 74.7 % seeking family/friends support and 55.2 % using internet based support. Professional help was prioritised by those with higher mental health need. Trans participants were most likely to have sought professional help and participated in support groups, but least likely to have sought help from friends or family. The most common barriers to help seeking were discrimination and lack of LGBTI sensitivity of services, particularly for gender diverse, queer and pansexual participants. Enablers included mainstream community connectedness, having a trustworthy GP, and

  14. Paying it forward: How helping others can reduce the psychological threat of receiving help

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Alvarez, K.; van Leeuwen, E.

    2015-01-01

    This paper shows that receiving help could be psychologically harmful for recipients, and passing on help to others after receiving help ("helping forward") is a good strategy to improve and restore help recipients' self-competence. Participants (N=87) received autonomy- or dependency-oriented help

  15. Smartphones as assistive technology following traumatic brain injury: a preliminary study of what helps and what hinders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Dana; Sinclair, Kelly; Seabrook, Elizabeth; McKay, Adam; Ponsford, Jennie

    2017-11-01

    Smartphones have great potential as a convenient, multifunction tool to support cognition and independence following traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, there has been limited investigation of their helpful and less helpful aspects for people with TBI. We aimed to investigate patterns of smartphone use amongst individuals with TBI, identify potential barriers to use, and examine the relationships between smartphone use and daily functioning. Twenty-nine participants with TBI and 33 non-injured participants completed the Smartphone Survey, and measures of subjective and objective cognitive functioning, mood, and community integration. Smartphone use was equally common in both groups, and patterns of app use were similar. More participants with TBI than the comparison group listed using their smartphone as a memory aid as its main benefit. Difficulty in learning how to use the smartphone was identified by participants with TBI, however only 10% had been shown how to use it by a clinician. Those with poorer subjective cognitive function used memory/organisational apps more frequently; and higher communication app use with better social integration, in participants with TBI. These findings suggest that smartphones have potential in improving independence following TBI, but receiving support in using them is vital. Implications for Rehabilitation Smartphones are accessible, acceptable, convenient devices for most individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI), and are perceived as a useful memory and organizational aid as well as having multiple other helpful functions. Use of communication apps such as text messages and social media is associated with better social and community integration in people with TBI. Direct instruction on how to use smartphone apps is more important for people with TBI than for non-injured individuals. Developers of apps designed for this population should prioritize ease of app use, large displays, and availability of technical support

  16. Skin conductance response to the pain of others predicts later costly helping.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grit Hein

    Full Text Available People show autonomic responses when they empathize with the suffering of another person. However, little is known about how these autonomic changes are related to prosocial behavior. We measured skin conductance responses (SCRs and affect ratings in participants while either receiving painful stimulation themselves, or observing pain being inflicted on another person. In a later session, they could prevent the infliction of pain in the other by choosing to endure pain themselves. Our results show that the strength of empathy-related vicarious skin conductance responses predicts later costly helping. Moreover, the higher the match between SCR magnitudes during the observation of pain in others and SCR magnitude during self pain, the more likely a person is to engage in costly helping. We conclude that prosocial motivation is fostered by the strength of the vicarious autonomic response as well as its match with first-hand autonomic experience.

  17. Preparing non-government organization workers to conduct health checks for people with serious mental illness in regional Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Martin; Kruger, Mellissa; Walsh, Sandra M

    2016-06-01

    WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: People diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder have a life expectancy 10-15 years less than the general population. In rural and remote Australia, there is a shortage of health care professionals to provide physical health care for people living with a serious mental illness (SMI). A large proportion of the care for people living with a SMI is provided by non-government organizations (NGOs), often employing workers without formal qualifications. There has been minimal research regarding the experiences of NGO workers who have been trained to complete health checks to help people living with SMI to access primary care services. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: This is the first study to examine the experiences of preparing NGO workers to use the health improvement profile (HIP) to support the physical health of people with SMI. It builds on previous studies that examined the use of the HIP by trained/qualified staff. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: This study highlights that NGO employees may have an important role in helping people with a SMI to address their physical health. Engaging lay workers to use the HIP increases their awareness of the importance of providing good physical health care for people with SMI. The use of a tool, such as the HIP, prepares NGO workers to support the physical health needs and enables them to describe meaningful improvements in the health of people with a SMI. Background The life expectancy of people living with a serious mental illness (SMI) is up to 10-15 years less than the general population. They experience difficulties in accessing timely and appropriate physical health care. People with SMI living in regional Australia experience additional barriers to accessing services. This is in part due to the difficulties associated with recruiting and retaining health professionals in regional Australia. Aim To explore the regional non-government organization (NGO

  18. Helping Your Child through Early Adolescence -- Helping Your Child Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Bibliography Acknowledgements Tips to Help Your Child through Early Adolescence No Child Left Behind Printable ... Information About... Transforming Teaching Family and Community Engagement Early Learning Helping Your Child Our mission is to promote student achievement and ...

  19. Instructions to mimic improve facial emotion recognition in people with sub-clinical autism traits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Michael B; Dunn, Emily

    2017-11-01

    People tend to mimic the facial expression of others. It has been suggested that this helps provide social glue between affiliated people but it could also aid recognition of emotions through embodied cognition. The degree of facial mimicry, however, varies between individuals and is limited in people with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). The present study sought to investigate the effect of promoting facial mimicry during a facial-emotion-recognition test. In two experiments, participants without an ASC diagnosis had their autism quotient (AQ) measured. Following a baseline test, they did an emotion-recognition test again but half of the participants were asked to mimic the target face they saw prior to making their responses. Mimicry improved emotion recognition, and further analysis revealed that the largest improvement was for participants who had higher scores on the autism traits. In fact, recognition performance was best overall for people who had high AQ scores but also received the instruction to mimic. Implications for people with ASC are explored.

  20. Help-seeking, stigma and attitudes of people with and without a suicidal past. A comparison between a low and a high suicide rate country

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reynders, A.; Kerkhof, A.; Molenberghs, G.; Van Audenhove, C.

    2015-01-01

    Background A significant proportion of suicidal persons do not seek help for their psychological problems. Psychological help-seeking is assumed to be a protective factor for suicide. However, different studies showed that negative attitudes and stigma related to help-seeking are major barriers to

  1. Young people's perception of sexual and reproductive health services in Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godia, Pamela M; Olenja, Joyce M; Hofman, Jan J; van den Broek, Nynke

    2014-04-15

    Addressing the Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) needs of young people remains a big challenge. This study explored experiences and perceptions of young people in Kenya aged 10-24 with regard to their SRH needs and whether these are met by the available healthcare services. 18 focus group discussions and 39 in-depth interviews were conducted at health care facilities and youth centres across selected urban and rural settings in Kenya. All interviews were tape recorded and transcribed. Data was analysed using the thematic framework approach. Young people's perceptions are not uniform and show variation between boys and girls as well as for type of service delivery. Girls seeking antenatal care and family planning services at health facilities characterise the available services as good and staff as helpful. However, boys perceive services at health facilities as designed for women and children, and therefore feel uncomfortable seeking services. At youth centres, young people value the non-health benefits including availability of recreational facilities, prevention of idleness, building of confidence, improving interpersonal communication skills, vocational training and facilitation of career progression. Providing young people with SRH information and services through the existing healthcare system, presents an opportunity that should be further optimised. Providing recreational activities via youth centres is reported by young people themselves to not lead to increased uptake of SRH healthcare services. There is need for more research to evaluate how perceived non-health benefits young people do gain from youth centres could lead to improved SRH of young people.

  2. The importance of music for people with dementia: the perspectives of people with dementia, family carers, staff and music therapists

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDermot, Orii; Orrell, Martin; Ridder, Hanne Mette

    2014-01-01

    Objectives Despite the popularity of music-based interventions in dementia care, there is a limited knowledge of how and why people with dementia find music beneficial for their well-being. A qualitative study was conducted to develop further insights into the musical experiences of people with dementia and explore the meaning of music in their lives. Method Separate focus groups and interviews with (1) care home residents with dementia and their families, (2) day hospital clients with dementia, (3) care home staff, and (4) music therapists, were conducted. The findings of the thematic analysis were investigated further in the light of psychosocial factors with the aim of developing a theoretical model on music in dementia. Results Six key themes were identified. The accessibility of music for people at all stages of dementia, close links between music, personal identity and life events, the importance of relationship-building through music making were particularly highlighted as valuable. The psychosocial model of music in dementia was developed. The model revealed the importance of music to support the personal psychology of people with dementia and the social psychology of the care home environment. Conclusion The effects of music go beyond the reduction of behavioural and psychological symptoms. Individual preference of music is preserved throughout the process of dementia. Sustaining musical and interpersonal connectedness would help value who the person is and maintain the quality of their life. PMID:24410398

  3. 'I am not a depressed person': how identity conflict affects help-seeking rates for major depressive disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farmer, Caroline; Farrand, Paul; O'Mahen, Heather

    2012-10-02

    There is a significant treatment gap for patients with depression. A third of sufferers never seek help, and the vast majority of those who do only do so after considerable delay. Little is understood regarding poor help-seeking rates amongst people with depression, with existing research mainly focussed on the impact of barriers to treatment. The current study explored psychological factors affecting help-seeking behaviour in clinically depressed individuals. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 current or previously clinically depressed participants who either had or had not sought professional help. Thematic analysis was used to analyse results. The onset of depressive symptoms created conflict with participants' identity and personal goals. Delays in seeking help were primarily attributed to the desire to protect identity and goals from the threat of depressive symptoms. Participants used avoidance strategies to reduce the perceived threat of depressive symptoms on identity. These strategies interfered with help-seeking. Help-seeking was only undertaken once participants reached a point of acceptance and began to make concessions in their identity and goals, at which time they reduced their use of avoidance. Difficulties resolving conflict between identity and depressive symptoms may account for significant delays in seeking help for depression. The results have implications for predicting health behaviour and improving treatment uptake for depression, and may inform existing help-seeking models.

  4. Vocational Counseling of HIV-infected People: A Role for Nurses in HIV Care

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    L.M. Kleijn; Dr. P.D.D.M. Roelofs; Dr. H.S. Miedema; Dr. M.N. Wagener; E.C.M. van Gorp

    2015-01-01

    People living with HIV (PLWH) face various workrelated problems, such as stigma and physical difficulties. Health care professionals can help improve the employment situation of PLWH. Nurses who work in HIV care play a central role in the care of PLWH in the Netherlands. The aim of this

  5. Help seeking in older Asian people with dementia in Melbourne: using the Cultural Exchange Model to explore barriers and enablers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haralambous, Betty; Dow, Briony; Tinney, Jean; Lin, Xiaoping; Blackberry, Irene; Rayner, Victoria; Lee, Sook-Meng; Vrantsidis, Freda; Lautenschlager, Nicola; Logiudice, Dina

    2014-03-01

    The prevalence of dementia is increasing in Australia. Limited research is available on access to Cognitive Dementia and Memory Services (CDAMS) for people with dementia from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities. This study aimed to determine the barriers and enablers to accessing CDAMS for people with dementia and their families of Chinese and Vietnamese backgrounds. Consultations with community members, community workers and health professionals were conducted using the "Cultural Exchange Model" framework. For carers, barriers to accessing services included the complexity of the health system, lack of time, travel required to get to services, language barriers, interpreters and lack of knowledge of services. Similarly, community workers and health professionals identified language, interpreters, and community perceptions as key barriers to service access. Strategies to increase knowledge included providing information via radio, printed material and education in community group settings. The "Cultural Exchange Model" enabled engagement with and modification of the approaches to meet the needs of the targeted CALD communities.

  6. Understanding factors influencing vulnerable older people keeping warm and well in winter: a qualitative study using social marketing techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tod, Angela Mary; Lusambili, Adelaide; Homer, Catherine; Abbott, Joanne; Cooke, Joanne Mary; Stocks, Amanda Jayne; McDaid, Kathleen Anne

    2012-01-01

    To understand the influences and decisions of vulnerable older people in relation to keeping warm in winter. A qualitative study incorporating in-depth, semi-structured individual and group interviews, framework analysis and social marketing segmentation techniques. Rotherham, South Yorkshire, UK. 50 older people (>55) and 25 health and social care staff underwent individual interview. The older people also had household temperature measurements. 24 older people and 19 health and social care staff participated in one of the six group interviews. Multiple complex factors emerged to explain whether vulnerable older people were able to keep warm. These influences combined in various ways that meant older people were not able to or preferred not to access help or change home heating behaviour. Factors influencing behaviours and decisions relating to use of heating, spending money, accessing cheaper tariffs, accessing benefits or asking for help fell into three main categories. These were situational and contextual factors, attitudes and values, and barriers. Barriers included poor knowledge and awareness, technology, disjointed systems and the invisibility of fuel and fuel payment. Findings formed the basis of a social marketing segmentation model used to develop six pen portraits that illustrated how factors that conspire against older people being able to keep warm. The findings illustrate how and why vulnerable older people may be at risk of a cold home. The pen portraits provide an accessible vehicle and reflective tool to raise the capacity of the NHS in responding to their needs in line with the Cold Weather Plan.

  7. Prevention Research Matters: Fitness for People with Mental Illness Who are Overweight

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    2017-12-14

    People with serious mental illness who are overweight or obese can benefit from taking part in a fitness program called InSHAPE where they receive help with fitness, weight loss, and even grocery shopping on a budget.  Created: 12/14/2017 by Prevention Research Centers Program.   Date Released: 12/14/2017.

  8. Selective Attention in Web Forms: An Exploratory Case Study with Older People

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sayago, Sergio; Guijarro, Jose-Maria; Blat, Josep

    2012-01-01

    This article reports on an exploratory study aimed to identify which ways of marking required and optional fields help older people fill in web forms correctly. Drawing on a pilot study and selective attention research in ageing, modified versions of widely used forms were created, in which standard asterisks were replaced with one of three…

  9. Geo-localization system for people with cognitive disabilities

    OpenAIRE

    Ramos, João Ricardo Martins; Ricardo, Anacleto; Novais, Paulo; Figueiredo, Lino; Almeida, Ana; Neves, José

    2013-01-01

    Technology is present in almost every simple aspect of the people’s daily life. As an instance, let us refer to the smartphone. This device is usually equipped with a GPS module which may be used as an orientation system, if it carries the right functionalities. The problem is that these applications may be complex to operate and may not be within the bounds of everybody. Therefore, the main goal here is to develop an orientation system that may help people with cognitive di...

  10. Helping decision makers frame, analyze, and implement decisions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Runge, Michael C.; McDonald-Madden, Eve

    2018-01-01

    All decisions have the same recognizable elements. Context, objectives, alternatives, consequences, and deliberation. Decision makers and analysts familiar with these elements can quickly see the underlying structure of a decision.There are only a small number of classes of decisions. These classes differ in the cognitive and scientific challenge they present to the decision maker; the ability to recognize the class of decision leads a decision maker to tools to aid in the analysis.Sometimes we need more information, sometimes we don’t. The role of science in a decision-making process is to provide the predictions that link the alternative actions to the desired outcomes. Investing in more science is only valuable if it helps to choose a better action.Implementation. The successful integration of decision analysis into environmental decisions requires careful attention to the decision, the people, and the institutions involved.

  11. Interpersonal Sources of Conflict in Young People with and without Mild to Moderate Intellectual Disabilities at Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larkin, P.; Jahoda, A.; MacMahon, K.; Pert, C.

    2012-01-01

    Background: Interpersonal conflict is a source of stress and contributes to poor mental health in people with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities. Understanding the contexts in which conflict typically occurs can better equip services to help people with such difficulties. However, existing studies into the contexts of conflict have…

  12. THE ACTIVE FUTURE OF THE AGED PEOPLE IN SPAIN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ANTONIO GUTIÉRREZ RESA

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available In the following article we try to establish the foundations that support “the active future of the aged people in Spain”. We base our work on data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE, the Statistics Annuary of Spain, the Information System of the System for Autonomy and Dependency Caring (SISAAD and the Aged People Observatory-Institute of Aged People and Social Services (IMSERSO. Actually, one can notice that, if human beings are linked to production and utility, after 65–70 years of age, the possibilities of happiness can be accomplished now. We try to show that, with the number of people aged over 65 (8 million people in Spain increasing more than any other group and in acceptable health conditions, the context is more reasonable and facilitates an active future of the aged people. That is, the development of a process of optimization of health, participation and security opportunities, aiming at bettering the quality of life according as people age. We maintain that aging is not necessarily negative, the chronological age being a more and more unsatisfactory criterion. In the following pages we show the undeniable reality that we are going to live longer and probably in better conditions. Nevertheless, according to our data, it is convenient to distinguish from now on between people of 65 to 79 years and people of 80 and more. This stems, above all, from the domination of the dependency situations which go unsolved in Spain, despite the Law No. 6 of 2006. The article presents those services (IMSERSO which promote the active ageing: nurseries and clubs, vacations and thermal therapy, universities for aged people, accessibility programs and telealarms. Also presented are those services of familial solidarity promotion and maintaining: home help, residences, day nurseries and familial support services. The available data show the insufficiency of the aforementioned services in Spain. Therefore, we can say that the clearly pro

  13. Children's Recognition of Pride and Guilt as Consequences of Helping and Not Helping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shorr, David N.; McClelland, Stephen E.

    1998-01-01

    Investigated the relationship between young children's age and their recognition that helping or choosing not to help can cause feelings of pride or guilt. Found age differences in identifying helping-action or inaction as causes, but little support for the hypothesis that identification of guilt as a consequence of not helping would…

  14. Shame, perceived knowledge and satisfaction associated with mental health as predictors of attitude patterns towards help-seeking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rüsch, N; Müller, M; Ajdacic-Gross, V; Rodgers, S; Corrigan, P W; Rössler, W

    2014-06-01

    Aims. To examine stigma- and knowledge-related barriers to help-seeking among members of the general population. Methods. In a representative survey of young to middle-aged Swiss adults (n = 8875), shame about a potential own mental illness, perceived knowledge about and satisfaction with one's mental health, psychiatric symptoms and attitudes towards help-seeking were assessed. Results. A latent profile analysis of all participants yielded two groups with different attitudes towards help-seeking. Relative to the majority, a one-in-four subgroup endorsed more negative attitudes towards seeking professional help, including psychiatric medication, and was characterized by more shame, less perceived knowledge, higher satisfaction with their mental health, younger age, male gender and lower education. Among participants with high symptom levels (n = 855), a third subgroup was reluctant to seek help in their private environment and characterized by high symptoms as well as low satisfaction with their mental health. Conclusions. Shame as an emotional proxy of self-stigma as well as poor subjective mental health literacy may be independent barriers to help-seeking. Interventions to increase mental health service use could focus on both variables and on those individuals with more negative views about professional help, in the general public as well as among people with a current mental illness.

  15. Co-production in practice: how people with assisted living needs can help design and evolve technologies and services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wherton, Joseph; Sugarhood, Paul; Procter, Rob; Hinder, Sue; Greenhalgh, Trisha

    2015-05-26

    The low uptake of telecare and telehealth services by older people may be explained by the limited involvement of users in the design. If the ambition of 'care closer to home' is to be realised, then industry, health and social care providers must evolve ways to work with older people to co-produce useful and useable solutions. We conducted 10 co-design workshops with users of telehealth and telecare, their carers, service providers and technology suppliers. Using vignettes developed from in-depth ethnographic case studies, we explored participants' perspectives on the design features of technologies and services to enable and facilitate the co-production of new care solutions. Workshop discussions were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. Analysis revealed four main themes. First, there is a need to raise awareness and provide information to potential users of assisted living technologies (ALTs). Second, technologies must be highly customisable and adaptable to accommodate the multiple and changing needs of different users. Third, the service must align closely with the individual's wider social support network. Finally, the service must support a high degree of information sharing and coordination. The case vignettes within inclusive and democratic co-design workshops provided a powerful means for ALT users and their carers to contribute, along with other stakeholders, to technology and service design. The workshops identified a need to focus attention on supporting the social processes that facilitate the collective efforts of formal and informal care networks in ALT delivery and use.

  16. Electronics technician Bill Clark assembling a cannon plug with the help of Jim Lewis

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-01-01

    There is always something needed for a NASA aircraft before a research flight can take place. This photo shows William J. Clark working on one of those 'somethings' while Jimmie C. Lewis watches ready to help. Working on a research project is a challenge, for there is no set pattern to follow. From the drawings to the final product there are many people who contribute to that final product -- the flight. The electronic technicians in the Instrumentation Laboratory at NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility are no exception. Bill Clark is busy creating a cannon plug to be used on the CV-990. He is soldering wires in the appropriate order so the plug will transmit electrical currents correctly when installed in the airplane. Jim stands by to give help and support on the project.

  17. Focus on People: Rethinking the Power and Potential of Personal Health Records - Q and A

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    Dr. Patricia Brennan discusses how Project HealthDesign is working to enhance the utility and flexibility of personal health records as a critical tool to help people take action to improve their health and improve the health care of all Americans.

  18. Does therapeutic writing help people with long-term conditions? Systematic review, realist synthesis and economic considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyssen, Olga P; Taylor, Stephanie J C; Wong, Geoff; Steed, Elizabeth; Bourke, Liam; Lord, Joanne; Ross, Carol A; Hayman, Sheila; Field, Victoria; Higgins, Ailish; Greenhalgh, Trisha; Meads, Catherine

    2016-04-01

    Writing therapy to improve physical or mental health can take many forms. The most researched model of therapeutic writing (TW) is unfacilitated, individual expressive writing (written emotional disclosure). Facilitated writing activities are less widely researched. Databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Linguistics and Language Behaviour Abstracts, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, were searched from inception to March 2013 (updated January 2015). Four TW practitioners provided expert advice. Study procedures were conducted by one reviewer and checked by a second. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomised comparative studies were included. Quality was appraised using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. Unfacilitated and facilitated TW studies were analysed separately under International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision chapter headings. Meta-analyses were performed where possible using RevMan version 5.2.6 (RevMan 2012, The Cochrane Collaboration, The Nordic Cochrane Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark). Costs were estimated from a UK NHS perspective and three cost-consequence case studies were prepared. Realist synthesis followed Realist and Meta-narrative Evidence Synthesis: Evolving Standards guidelines. To review the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of TW for people with long-term conditions (LTCs) compared with no writing, or other controls, reporting any relevant clinical outcomes. To conduct a realist synthesis to understand how TW might work, and for whom. From 14,658 unique citations, 284 full-text papers were reviewed and 64 studies (59 RCTs) were included in the final effectiveness reviews. Five studies examined facilitated TW; these were extremely heterogeneous with unclear or high risk of bias but suggested that facilitated TW interventions may be beneficial in individual LTCs. Unfacilitated expressive writing was examined in 59 studies of variable

  19. Helping To Integrate The Visually Challenged Into Mainstream Society Through A Low-Cost Braille Device

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Desirée Jordan

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The visually challenged are often alienated from mainstream society because of their disabilities. This problem is even more pronounced in developing countries which often do not have the resources necessary to integrate this people group into their communities or even help them to become independent. It should therefore be the aim of governments in developing countries to provide this vulnerable people group with access to assistive technologies at a low cost. This paper describes an ongoing project that aims to provide low-cost assistive technologies to the visually challenged in Barbados. As a part of this project a study was conducted on a sample of visually challenged members of the Barbados Association for the Blind and Deaf to determine their ICT skills, knowledge of Braille and their use of assistive technologies. An analysis of the results prompted the design and creation of a low-cost Braille device prototype. The cost of this prototype was about one-half that of a commercially available device and can be used without a screen reader. This device should help create equal opportunities for the visually challenged in Barbados and other developing countries. It should also allow the visually challenged to become more independent.

  20. Natural hazards and motivation for mitigation behavior: people cannot predict the affect evoked by a severe flood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegrist, Michael; Gutscher, Heinz

    2008-06-01

    Past research indicates that personal flood experience is an important factor in motivating mitigation behavior. It is not fully clear, however, why such experience is so important. This study tested the hypothesis that people without flooding experience underestimate the negative affect evoked by such an event. People who were affected by a severe recent flood disaster were compared with people who were not affected, but who also lived in flood-prone areas. Face-to-face interviews with open and closed questions were conducted (n= 201). Results suggest that people without flood experience envisaged the consequences of a flood differently from people who had actually experienced severe losses due to a flood. People who were not affected strongly underestimated the negative affect associated with a flood. Based on the results, it can be concluded that risk communication must not focus solely on technical aspects; in order to trigger motivation for mitigation behavior, successful communication must also help people to envisage the negative emotional consequences of natural disasters.

  1. Supporting narrative retells for people with aphasia using augmentative and alternative communication: photographs or line drawings? Text or no text?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffith, Julie; Dietz, Aimee; Weissling, Kristy

    2014-05-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine how the interface design of an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device influences the communication behaviors of people with aphasia during a narrative retell task. A case-series design was used. Four narratives were created on an AAC device with combinations of personally relevant (PR) photographs, line drawings (LDs), and text for each participant. The narrative retells were analyzed to describe the expressive modality units (EMUs) used, trouble sources experienced, and whether trouble sources were repaired. The researchers also explored the participants' perceived helpfulness of the interface features. The participants primarily used spoken EMUs to retell their narratives. They relied on PR photographs more frequently than LDs; however, they reported both picture types to be equally helpful. Text was frequently used and reported as helpful by all 4 people with aphasia. Participants experienced similar rates of trouble sources across conditions; however, they displayed unique trends for successful repairs of trouble sources. For narrative retells, LDs may serve as an effective visual support when PR photographs are unavailable. Individual assessment is necessary to determine the optimum combination of supports in AAC systems for people with aphasia.

  2. Receipt and Perceived Helpfulness of Mental Illness Information: Findings from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graham, Annette L; Brooker, Joanne; Hasking, Penelope; Clarke, David; Meadows, Graham

    2017-10-20

    The distribution of mental illness information is a crucial element of mental health promotion initiatives. We assessed the receipt and perceived helpfulness of such information in Australia. Data from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing indicated that, during the year prior to the survey, 33.7% of Australians received mental illness information; of these, 51.2% found it helpful. Among people with a mental disorder, 46.1% received information; of these, 67.4% found it helpful. Non-English speakers and the socially disadvantaged were less likely to receive mental illness information. Older and less educated respondents were less likely to both receive mental illness information and find it helpful. Mental health service users were more likely to receive mental illness information perceived as helpful than those who had not accessed such services. Better targeted information interventions are required to ensure those most likely to benefit receive mental illness-related information.

  3. Asking for Help: A Relational Perspective on Help Seeking in the Workplace

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Rijt, Janine; Van den Bossche, Piet; van de Wiel, Margje W. J.; De Maeyer, Sven; Gijselaers, Wim H.; Segers, Mien S. R.

    2013-01-01

    In the context of the complexity of today's organizations, help seeking behavior is considered as an important step to problem solving and learning in organizations. Yet, help seeking has received less attention in organizational literature. To increase the potential impact of help seeking on learning, it is essential to understand which…

  4. Designing with users to meet people needs: a teaching model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anselmi, Laura; Canina, Marita; Coccioni, Elisabetta

    2012-01-01

    Being in a context of great transformations of the whole system company-product-market, design becomes interpreter of the society and strategic key-point for production realities. Design must assume an ergonomic approach and a methodology oriented to product innovation where people are the main focus of the system. Today it is visible the need for a methodological approach able to include the context of use employing user's "creative skills". In this scenario, a design educational model based only on knowledge doesn't seem to be fulfilling; the traditional "deductive" method doesn't meet the needs of new productive assets, here the urgency to experiment within the "inductive" method for the development of a method where to know and to know how, theory and practice, act synergistically. The aim is to teach a method able to help a young designer to understand people's needs and desires considering both the concrete/cognitive level and the emotional level. The paper presents, through some case studies, an educational model developed combining theoretical/conceptual and practical/applicatory aspects with user experiential aspects. The proposed approach to design enables the students to investigate users' needs and desires and helps them proposing innovative ideas and projects better fitting today's market realities.

  5. Winter weather demand considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-04-01

    Winter weather has varied effects on travel behavior. Using 418 survey responses from the Northern Virginia : commuting area of Washington, D.C. and binary logit models, this study examines travel related changes under : different types of winter wea...

  6. Lessons Learned from Two Usability Studies of Digital Skiing Game with Elderly People in Finland and Japan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aung Pyae

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Physical decline is associated with old age. Engagement in regular physical exercises can help elderly people improve their physical functionalities, as well as cognitive abilities. Among modern technologies, digital games have the potential to promote elderly people’s engagement in physical exercises through fun and enjoyable gameplay. Although commercial digital games show promise, most of them are not senior-friendly. The literature also suggests that more studies need to be undertaken to understand the usability and usefulness of digital games for elderly people. Hence, in this study, we designed and developed a digital game-based Skiing activity for elderly people. Then, we evaluated it with the Finnish and Japanese elderly participants in Finland and Japan to investigate their feedback towards the usability and usefulness of the game. The findings from both studies show that digital games are useful for promoting elderly people’s engagement in physical activities. While digital games are promising to be used as an alternative solution for promoting the Japanese elderly participant’s physical activities, the Finnish elderly participants recommend to use it when they don’t have access to non-digital physical exercises. The lessons learned from this study can help researchers and practitioners gain insights into game design and development for elderly people and their physical activities.

  7. Public policy and employment of people with disabilities: exploring new paradigms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Judith A; Burke, Jane

    2002-01-01

    A "sea change" in public attitudes, legislation, and political power at the end of the 20th century in the United States has helped set the stage in the early 21st century for the entry of people with disabilities into the labor force. Major pieces of federal legislation have altered national policy with the intention of maximizing the work force participation of people with disabilities. At the same time, a new theoretical paradigm of disability has emerged, which emphasizes community inclusion, accommodation, and protection of civil rights. This "New Paradigm" of disability can be applied in concert with rigorous behavioral science methodologies to shed light on the outcomes of recent federal policy changes regarding the labor force participation of people with disabilities. In so doing, social science can be used in more meaningful ways to understand both the intended and unintended consequences of federal policy. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. Disposable inkjet-printed electrochemical platform for detection of clinically relevant HER-2 breast cancer biomarker.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carvajal, Susanita; Fera, Samantha N; Jones, Abby L; Baldo, Thaisa A; Mosa, Islam M; Rusling, James F; Krause, Colleen E

    2018-05-01

    Rapidly fabricated, disposable sensor platforms hold tremendous promise for point-of-care detection. Here, we present an inexpensive (Receptor 2 (HER-2). Capture antibodies were bound to a chemically modified surface on the WEA and placed into a microfluidic device. A full sandwich immunoassay was constructed following a simultaneous injection of target protein, biotinylated antibody, and polymerized horseradish peroxide labels into the microfluidic device housing the WEA. With an ultra fast assay time, of only 15mins a clinically relevant limit of detection of 12pgmL -1 was achieved. Excellent reproducibility and sensitivity were observed through recovery assays preformed in human serum with recoveries ranging from 76% to 103%. These easily fabricated and scalable electrochemical sensor platforms can be readily adapted for multiplex detection following this rapid assay protocol for cancer diagnostics. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. "Let the Circle be Unbroken" helps African-Americans prevent teen pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okwumabua, T M; Okwumabua, J O; Elliott, V

    1998-01-01

    Strategies must be developed to address the high rate of adolescent pregnancy among Blacks in the US and the adverse consequences of premature parenting. A number of programs and strategies have been developed and are being implemented in various sites across the US. The "Let the Circle Be Unbroken: Rites of Passage" program is an effort to incorporate an Afrocentric conceptual model into a prevention program. It involves adapting socialization processes often observed in African cultures, which openly acknowledge the need to formally help adolescents during their transition from childhood to adulthood. That socialization process tends to be a cultural experience which requires that ideology, education, training, and culture be taught before an activity or celebration marking the successful transition from one stage of development to another. The "Rites of Passage" approach follows these basic premises to teach adolescents the knowledge and skills needed to become responsible community members and spiritually mature adults. It is specifically designed to help young people build self-esteem; enhance self-image; develop leadership skills, cultural awareness, and appreciation; and make healthy, productive, and self-affirming life choices.

  10. Free to help? An experiment on free will belief and altruism.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Job Harms

    Full Text Available How does belief in free will affect altruistic behavior? In an online experiment we undermine subjects' belief in free will through a priming task. Subjects subsequently conduct a series of binary dictator games in which they can distribute money between themselves and a charity that supports low-income people in developing countries. In each decision task, subjects choose between two different distributions, one of which is more generous towards the charity. In contrast to previous experiments that report a negative effect of undermining free will on honest behavior and self-reported willingness to help, we find an insignificant average treatment effect. However, we do find that our treatment reduces charitable giving among non-religious subjects, but not among religious subjects. This could be explained by our finding that religious subjects associate more strongly with social norms that prescribe helping the poor, and might therefore be less sensitive to the effect of reduced belief in free will. Taken together, these findings indicate that the effects of free will belief on prosocial behavior are more nuanced than previously suggested.

  11. Free to help? An experiment on free will belief and altruism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harms, Job; Liket, Kellie; Protzko, John; Schölmerich, Vera

    2017-01-01

    How does belief in free will affect altruistic behavior? In an online experiment we undermine subjects' belief in free will through a priming task. Subjects subsequently conduct a series of binary dictator games in which they can distribute money between themselves and a charity that supports low-income people in developing countries. In each decision task, subjects choose between two different distributions, one of which is more generous towards the charity. In contrast to previous experiments that report a negative effect of undermining free will on honest behavior and self-reported willingness to help, we find an insignificant average treatment effect. However, we do find that our treatment reduces charitable giving among non-religious subjects, but not among religious subjects. This could be explained by our finding that religious subjects associate more strongly with social norms that prescribe helping the poor, and might therefore be less sensitive to the effect of reduced belief in free will. Taken together, these findings indicate that the effects of free will belief on prosocial behavior are more nuanced than previously suggested.

  12. Should visually impaired people drive slow motorised vehicles? : Evaluation of driving safety in mobility scooters

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cordes, Christina; Melis-Dankers, Bart; Heutink, Joost; Brookhuis, Karel; Brouwer, Wiebo

    2015-01-01

    Background: Mobility scooters may help people with motor impairments maintain independent mobility. However, many users have comorbid disorders that can influence their ability to drive safely. Over the past few years, the media have drawn much attention to mobility scooter safety. Visual disorders

  13. Toddlers Help a Peer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hepach, Robert; Kante, Nadine; Tomasello, Michael

    2017-09-01

    Toddlers are remarkably prosocial toward adults, yet little is known about their helping behavior toward peers. In the present study with 18- and 30-month-old toddlers (n = 192, 48 dyads per age group), one child needed help reaching an object to continue a task that was engaging for both children. The object was within reach of the second child who helped significantly more often compared to a no-need control condition. The helper also fulfilled the peer's need when the task was engaging only for the child needing help. These findings suggest that toddlers' skills and motivations of helping do not depend on having a competent and helpful recipient, such as an adult, but rather they are much more flexible and general. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  14. The Mentoring Effect: Young People's Perspectives on the Outcomes and Availability of Mentoring. A Report for Mentor: The National Mentoring Partnership

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruce, Mary; Bridgeland, John

    2014-01-01

    This report shares the findings from the first nationally representative survey of young people's perspectives on mentoring. While mentoring is needed and wanted by young people to help them stay on the path to high school graduation, college success, and productive adulthood, a significant mentoring gap exists in America, especially for at-risk…

  15. Willingness to pay for flexible working conditions of people with type 2 diabetes: discrete choice experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nexo, M A; Cleal, B; Hagelund, Lise; Willaing, I; Olesen, K

    2017-12-15

    The increasing number of people with chronic diseases challenges workforce capacity. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) can have work-related consequences, such as early retirement. Laws of most high-income countries require workplaces to provide accommodations to enable people with chronic disabilities to manage their condition at work. A barrier to successful implementation of such accommodations can be lack of co-workers' willingness to support people with T2D. This study aimed to examine the willingness to pay (WTP) of people with and without T2D for five workplace initiatives that help individuals with type 2 diabetes manage their diabetes at work. Three samples with employed Danish participants were drawn from existing online panels: a general population sample (n = 600), a T2D sample (n = 693), and a matched sample of people without diabetes (n = 539). Participants completed discrete choice experiments eliciting their WTP (reduction in monthly salary, €/month) for five hypothetical workplace initiatives: part-time job, customized work, extra breaks with pay, and time off for medical consultations with and without pay. WTP was estimated by conditional logits models. Bootstrapping was used to estimate confidence intervals for WTP. There was an overall WTP for all initiatives. Average WTP for all attributes was 34 €/month (95% confidence interval [CI]: 27-43] in the general population sample, 32 €/month (95% CI: 26-38) in the T2D sample, and 55 €/month (95% CI: 43-71) in the matched sample. WTP for additional breaks with pay was considerably lower than for the other initiatives in all samples. People with T2D had significantly lower WTP than people without diabetes for part-time work, customized work, and time off without pay, but not for extra breaks or time off with pay. For people with and without T2D, WTP was present for initiatives that could improve management of diabetes at the workplace. WTP was lowest among people with T2D. Implementation of these

  16. Did you get any help? A post-hoc secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of psychoeducation for patients with antisocial personality disorder in outpatient substance abuse treatment programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thylstrup, Birgitte; Schrøder, Sidsel; Fridell, Mats; Hesse, Morten

    2017-01-09

    People in treatment for substance use disorder commonly have comorbid personality disorders, including antisocial personality disorder. Little is known about treatments that specifically address comorbid antisocial personality disorder. Self-rated help received for antisocial personality disorder was assessed during follow-ups at 3, 9 and 15 months post-randomization of a randomized trial of psychoeducation for people with comorbid substance use and antisocial personality disorder (n = 175). Randomization to psychoeducation was associated with increased perceived help for antisocial personality disorder. Perceived help for antisocial personality disorder was in turn associated with more days abstinent and higher treatment satisfaction at the 3-month follow-up, and reduced risk of dropping out of treatment after the 3-month follow-up, and perceived help mediated the effects of random assignment on days abstinent at 3-month. Brief psychoeducation for antisocial personality disorder increased patients' self-rated help for antisocial personality disorder in substance abuse treatment, and reporting having received help for antisocial personality disorder was in turn associated with better short-term outcomes, e.g., days abstinent, dropout from treatment and treatment satisfaction. ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN67266318 , retrospectively registered 17/7/2012.

  17. Preference of the place of death among people of pune.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulkarni, Priyadarshini; Kulkarni, Pradeep; Anavkar, Vrushali; Ghooi, Ravindra

    2014-05-01

    Provision of end-of-life care requires that we have adequate information about the preferred place of death in the population. Since no such study is reported in India, this study was taken up in and around Pune, a large cosmopolitan city. A questionnaire was designed in three parts and distributed among the people above the age of 18 in and around Pune. The questionnaire had three parts the first being a consent form, followed by one for collection of personal information and lastly questions specific to the subject matter. Filled forms were screened for inconsistencies, gaps of information and errors. The population survey was mixed, both urban and rural, men and women, educated and uneducated, young and old. Despite this heterogeneity, the results were consistent to the point that most of the people surveyed preferred home as the place of death. This preference cuts across all barriers, the only difference being that women had a stronger preference for home death compared to men. Helping people to die at their preferred place is a part of end-of-life care. Majority of people surveyed by us, prefer to die at home, where they are relatively more comfortable. Public and governmental policies should be directed toward facilitating home deaths.

  18. Three Principles to REVISE People's Unethical Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayal, Shahar; Gino, Francesca; Barkan, Rachel; Ariely, Dan

    2015-11-01

    Dishonesty and unethical behavior are widespread in the public and private sectors and cause immense annual losses. For instance, estimates of U.S. annual losses indicate $1 trillion paid in bribes, $270 billion lost due to unreported income, and $42 billion lost in retail due to shoplifting and employee theft. In this article, we draw on insights from the growing fields of moral psychology and behavioral ethics to present a three-principle framework we call REVISE. This framework classifies forces that affect dishonesty into three main categories and then redirects those forces to encourage moral behavior. The first principle, reminding, emphasizes the effectiveness of subtle cues that increase the salience of morality and decrease people's ability to justify dishonesty. The second principle, visibility, aims to restrict anonymity, prompt peer monitoring, and elicit responsible norms. The third principle, self-engagement, increases people's motivation to maintain a positive self-perception as a moral person and helps bridge the gap between moral values and actual behavior. The REVISE framework can guide the design of policy interventions to defeat dishonesty. © The Author(s) 2015.

  19. Robots and people with dementia: Unintended consequences and moral hazard.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Brolcháin, Fiachra

    2017-01-01

    The use of social robots in elder care is entering the mainstream as robots become more sophisticated and populations age. While there are many potential benefits to the use of social robots in care for the older people, there are ethical challenges as well. This article focuses on the societal consequences of the adoption of social robots in care for people with dementia. Making extensive use of Alasdair MacIntyre's Dependent Rational Animals to discuss issues of unintended consequences and moral hazard, we contend that in choosing to avoid the vulnerability and dependency of human existence, a society blinds itself from the animal reality of humankind. The consequence of this is that a flourishing society, in which each individual is helped to develop the virtues essential to her flourishing, becomes harder to achieve.

  20. Content and implementation of clinical decisions in the routine care of people with severe mental illness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Konrad, Jana; Loos, Sabine; Neumann, Petra

    2015-01-01

    with severe mental illness across Europe over a measurement period of one year. METHODS: Self-ratings of the HA by 588 people with severe mental illness who participated in a multicentre European study (CEDAR; ISRCTN75841675) were examined using latent class analysis. RESULTS: Four main patterns of alliance...... of life. CONCLUSIONS: Results support findings from psychotherapy research about a predominantly stable course of the helping alliance in patients with severe mental illness over time. Implications for research and practice indicate to turn the attention to subgroups with noticeable courses.......PURPOSE: The helping alliance (HA) between patient and therapist has been studied in detail in psychotherapy research, but less is known about the HA in long-term community mental health care. The aim of this study was to identify typical courses of the HA and their predictors in a sample of people...

  1. Older Chinese people's views on food: implications for supportive cancer care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Payne, Sheila Alison; Seymour, Jane E; Chapman, Alice; Holloway, Margaret

    2008-11-01

    As people face cancer and the end of life, the social, cultural and therapeutic role of food takes on an increasing significance. As part of a larger study involving older Chinese people resident in the UK, we investigated their beliefs about the influence of food on cancer and its role in supportive cancer care. A two-phase qualitative research study involved older Chinese people identified via Chinese community groups. In phase one, 46 older Chinese people participated in seven focus group discussions. In phase two, semi-structured interviews were conducted in Cantonese or Mandarin with 46 different older Chinese people to elicit their understandings of the role of food in health and illness generally and specifically for those with cancer. The analyses revealed four main themes: (1) food as 'therapeutic'; (2) food as 'risky'; (3) food as supportive and comforting; and (4) beliefs about the lack of culturally appropriate and acceptable food in hospitals. Expectations about the lack of Chinese food and the poor quality and perceived unsuitability of 'western' food were regarded as major concerns in relation to hospital admission. Understanding the perceived cultural and therapeutic significance of food and its functions in social exchange is one important aspect of promoting supportive and end-of-life cancer care for minority communities. These views helped explain the diversity and salience of food use in illness for older Chinese people resident in the UK.

  2. Elder people and ICT. A commitment to bridging the digital divide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margarita Rosa Pino Juste

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available With increasing life expectancy and growth of knowledge and information, ICT enable elderly people to increase and improve their individual and social development and optimize their quality of life from a technical, economic, political and cultural viewpoint.The present study aims to analyze the use that elderly people make of ICT. The method used for the study is descriptive using the questionnaire technique to verify the knowledge that elderly people have on ICT, interest, tools and difficulties of access.Results show that elderly people consider poor their ICT skills, using them primarily to communicate with friends and family. Most of them can use the e-mail, can open, print and attach a file and use Internet search engines to find information, the lowest values are associated with spreadsheets, databases and statistical packages. They consider ICT as being useful to help building communication, developing integration, generating information among people and improving intergenerational relationship, gathering information not readily accessible by other means and learning new skills. They have no fear when using them, consider attainable their learning and see many possibilities in its use and therefore worth spending time and effort but feel that society is too dependent on computers. In conclusion, we consider essential to improve access for elderly people to ICT as an important tool for improving their quality of life and there are no major difficulties for effective management.

  3. 'Help me! I'm old!' How negative aging stereotypes create dependency among older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coudin, Genevieve; Alexopoulos, Theodore

    2010-07-01

    This study examined the effects of negative aging stereotypes on self-reported loneliness, risk-taking, subjective health, and help-seeking behavior in a French sample of older adults. The aim of this study was to show the detrimental effects of negative aging stereotypes on older adults' self-evaluations and behaviors, therefore contributing to the explanations of the iatrogenic effect of social environments that increase dependency (e.g., health care institutions). In the first experiment conducted on 57 older adults, we explored the effects of positive, neutral, or negative stereotype activation on the feeling of loneliness and risk taking decision. The second experiment (n = 60) examined the impact of stereotype activation on subjective health, self-reported extraversion as well as on a genuine help-seeking behavior, by allowing participants to ask for the experimenter's help while completing a task. As predicted, negative stereotype activation resulted in lower levels of risk taking, subjective health and extraversion, and in higher feelings of loneliness and a more frequent help-seeking behavior. These findings suggest that the mere activation of negative stereotypes can have broad and deleterious effects on older individuals' self-evaluation and functioning, which in turn may contribute to the often observed dependency among older people.

  4. Mental disorders in Australian 4- to 17- year olds: Parent-reported need for help.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Sarah E; Lawrence, David; Sawyer, Michael; Zubrick, Stephen R

    2018-02-01

    To describe the extent to which parents report that 4- to 17-year-olds with symptoms meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition criteria for mental disorders need help, the types of help needed, the extent to which this need is being met and factors associated with a need for help. During 2013-2014, a national household survey of the mental health of Australia's young people (Young Minds Matter) was conducted, involving 6310 parents (and carers) of 4- to 17-year-olds. The survey identified 12-month mental disorders using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children - Version IV ( n = 870) and asked parents about the need for four types of help - information, medication, counselling and life skills. Parents of 79% of 4- to 17-year-olds with mental disorders reported that their child needed help, and of these, only 35% had their needs fully met. The greatest need for help was for those with major depressive disorder (95%) and conduct disorder (93%). Among these, 39% of those with major depressive disorder but only 19% of those with conduct disorder had their needs fully met. Counselling was the type of help most commonly identified as being needed (68%). In multivariate models, need for counselling was higher when children had autism or an intellectual disability, in blended families, when parents were distressed, and in the most advantaged socioeconomic areas. Many children and adolescents meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition criteria for mental disorders have a completely unmet need for help, especially those with conduct disorders. Even with mild disorders, lack of clinical assessment represents an important missed opportunity for early intervention and treatment.

  5. Losing connections and receiving support to reconnect: experiences of frail older people within care programmes implemented in primary care settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bindels, Jill; Cox, Karen; De La Haye, Jean; Mevissen, Ger; Heijing, Servé; van Schayck, Onno C P; Widdershoven, Guy; Abma, Tineke A

    2015-09-01

    The objective of this study was to evaluate whether care provided in the care programmes matched the needs of older people. Care programmes were implemented in primary-care settings in the Netherlands to identify frail older people and to prevent further deterioration of health. In total, 23 older people participated in in-depth interviews. Within this study, three older people participated as co-researchers; they gathered and analysed the data together with the academic researchers. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. Two categories emerged from the data: 'Losing connections' and 'Receiving support to reconnect.' 'Losing connections' reflects the needs of older people and 'Receiving support to reconnect' reflects their experience and the appreciated aspects of the provided care. A relationship of trust with the practice nurse (PN) appeared to be an important aspect of care, as it fostered the sharing of feelings and issues other than physical or medical problems that could not be shared with the general practitioner. The PNs are experienced as connectors, who help to restore feelings of connectedness and older peoples' access to resources in the community. The relationship with the PN was experienced as valuable because of the feelings of 'connectedness' it created. Through this connectedness, older people could discuss feelings of loneliness, depression and frustration in receiving and acquiring the appropriate resources and services with the PNs. Furthermore, the relationship with the PN helped the older people to gain access to other health professionals and services. The results imply that care for frail older people should include an awareness of the importance of the trusting relationship. Nurses can play a vital role in creating a trusting relationship and are able to bridge the gap between older people and other professionals and services. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Scope insensitivity in helping decisions: Is it a matter of culture and values?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kogut, Tehila; Slovic, Paul; Västfjäll, Daniel

    2015-12-01

    The singularity effect of identifiable victims refers to people's greater willingness to help a single concrete victim compared with a group of victims experiencing the same need. We present 3 studies exploring values and cultural sources of this effect. In the first study, the singularity effect was found only among Western Israelis and not among Bedouin participants (a more collectivist group). In Study 2, individuals with higher collectivist values were more likely to contribute to a group of victims. Finally, the third study demonstrates a more causal relationship between collectivist values and the singularity effect by showing that enhancing people's collectivist values using a priming manipulation produces similar donations to single victims and groups. Moreover, participants' collectivist preferences mediated the interaction between the priming conditions and singularity of the recipient. Implications for several areas of psychology and ways to enhance caring for groups in need are discussed. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  7. Coral Reefs and People in a High-CO2 World: Where Can Science Make a Difference to People?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langdon, Chris; Ekstrom, Julia A.; Cooley, Sarah R.; Suatoni, Lisa; Beck, Michael W.; Brander, Luke M.; Burke, Lauretta; Cinner, Josh E.; Doherty, Carolyn; Edwards, Peter E. T.; Gledhill, Dwight; Jiang, Li-Qing; van Hooidonk, Ruben J.; Teh, Louise; Waldbusser, George G.; Ritter, Jessica

    2016-01-01

    Reefs and People at Risk Increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere put shallow, warm-water coral reef ecosystems, and the people who depend upon them at risk from two key global environmental stresses: 1) elevated sea surface temperature (that can cause coral bleaching and related mortality), and 2) ocean acidification. These global stressors: cannot be avoided by local management, compound local stressors, and hasten the loss of ecosystem services. Impacts to people will be most grave where a) human dependence on coral reef ecosystems is high, b) sea surface temperature reaches critical levels soonest, and c) ocean acidification levels are most severe. Where these elements align, swift action will be needed to protect people’s lives and livelihoods, but such action must be informed by data and science. An Indicator Approach Designing policies to offset potential harm to coral reef ecosystems and people requires a better understanding of where CO2-related global environmental stresses could cause the most severe impacts. Mapping indicators has been proposed as a way of combining natural and social science data to identify policy actions even when the needed science is relatively nascent. To identify where people are at risk and where more science is needed, we map indicators of biological, physical and social science factors to understand how human dependence on coral reef ecosystems will be affected by globally-driven threats to corals expected in a high-CO2 world. Western Mexico, Micronesia, Indonesia and parts of Australia have high human dependence and will likely face severe combined threats. As a region, Southeast Asia is particularly at risk. Many of the countries most dependent upon coral reef ecosystems are places for which we have the least robust data on ocean acidification. These areas require new data and interdisciplinary scientific research to help coral reef-dependent human communities better prepare for a high CO2 world. PMID:27828972

  8. European network for promoting the physical health of residents in psychiatric and social care facilities (HELPS): background, aims and methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiser, Prisca; Becker, Thomas; Losert, Carolin; Alptekin, Köksal; Berti, Loretta; Burti, Lorenzo; Burton, Alexandra; Dernovsek, Mojca; Dragomirecka, Eva; Freidl, Marion; Friedrich, Fabian; Genova, Aneta; Germanavicius, Arunas; Halis, Ulaş; Henderson, John; Hjorth, Peter; Lai, Taavi; Larsen, Jens Ivar; Lech, Katarzyna; Lucas, Ramona; Marginean, Roxana; McDaid, David; Mladenova, Maya; Munk-Jørgensen, Povl; Paziuc, Alexandru; Paziuc, Petronela; Priebe, Stefan; Prot-Klinger, Katarzyna; Wancata, Johannes; Kilian, Reinhold

    2009-01-01

    Background People with mental disorders have a higher prevalence of physical illnesses and reduced life expectancy as compared with the general population. However, there is a lack of knowledge across Europe concerning interventions that aim at reducing somatic morbidity and excess mortality by promoting behaviour-based and/or environment-based interventions. Methods and design HELPS is an interdisciplinary European network that aims at (i) gathering relevant knowledge on physical illness in people with mental illness, (ii) identifying health promotion initiatives in European countries that meet country-specific needs, and (iii) at identifying best practice across Europe. Criteria for best practice will include evidence on the efficacy of physical health interventions and of their effectiveness in routine care, cost implications and feasibility for adaptation and implementation of interventions across different settings in Europe. HELPS will develop and implement a "physical health promotion toolkit". The toolkit will provide information to empower residents and staff to identify the most relevant risk factors in their specific context and to select the most appropriate action out of a range of defined health promoting interventions. The key methods are (a) stakeholder analysis, (b) international literature reviews, (c) Delphi rounds with experts from participating centres, and (d) focus groups with staff and residents of mental health care facilities. Meanwhile a multi-disciplinary network consisting of 15 European countries has been established and took up the work. As one main result of the project they expect that a widespread use of the HELPS toolkit could have a significant positive effect on the physical health status of residents of mental health and social care facilities, as well as to hold resonance for community dwelling people with mental health problems. Discussion A general strategy on health promotion for people with mental disorders must take into

  9. Social marketing strategies for reaching older people with disabilities: findings from a survey of centers for independent living participants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moone, Rajean Paul; Lightfoot, Elizabeth

    2009-01-01

    Centers for independent living (CILs) provide critical supports, services, and advocacy for assisting people with disabilities in living independently. As there is a rapidly increasing population of older people with disabilities, many CILs are now considering how to actively engage older adults in their organizations. This study utilized a survey of older people with disabilities to help identify social marketing techniques that community organizations like CILs can use to effectively reach older people with disabilities. Utilizing the components of the social marketing mix in designing outreach efforts, including a critical examination of product, place, price, participants, and partnering, CILs and other community agencies can better reach older adults with disabilities.

  10. Optimizing a Retention Strategy with Young People for BRIGHTLIGHT, a Longitudinal Cohort Study Examining the Value of Specialist Cancer Care for Young People.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Rachel M; Aslam, Natasha; Lea, Sarah; Whelan, Jeremy S; Fern, Lorna A

    2017-09-01

    To maximize retention of participants in a longitudinal cohort study, we sought to understand young peoples' views about barriers and facilitators to continuing study participation. Ten young people with a previous cancer diagnosis aged 15-24 participated in a 1 day workshop. The workshop used participatory methodology consisting of three exercises as follows: role play/scene setting; force field analysis of research participation in small groups; and focus group discussion. A final prioritization exercise was administered individually after the workshop. Twenty-four barriers to maintaining participation were summarized in five themes as follows: life commitments; concerns specific to the study; emotional barriers; practical barriers; and other reasons. The top 3 specific barriers were as follows: not a priority/other things are more important; too time consuming; and forgetting/memory. The top 3 facilitators for participation were as follows: wishing to help other young people; giving back to the cancer community; and honoring an initial commitment to participation. The top 3 suggested solutions to encourage continued participation were as follows: reminder text message or email before each survey to check preferred method of delivery; breaking up the online survey into modules to make completion less overwhelming; and consolidation of study information in one location. Involving young people in designing a retention strategy for young people with cancer has informed the BRIGHTLIGHT retention strategy. Patient and public involvement is imperative for successful research but measuring impact is challenging. The success of implementing the changes to optimize retention was shown in the increase in retention in Wave 3 from 30% to final participation of 58%.

  11. Training staff to empower people with long-term conditions to undertake self care activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowler, Mandy

    Self care can help people with long-term conditions take control of their lives. However, their interest and ability to engage with it may fluctuate over the course of an illness and many need support to undertake self care activities. A team of community matrons in NHS South of Tyne and Wear helped to develop and pilot an e-learning tool for staff, to remind them of the importance of self care and give advice on ways to support patients. The tool has since been rolled out to all staff groups.

  12. Social adaptation following intestinal stoma formation in people living at home: a longitudinal phenomenological study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thorpe, Gabrielle; McArthur, Maggie

    2017-11-01

    Intestinal stoma formation profoundly changes the relationship between a person and their social world. The aim of this study was to understand the experience of living with a new stoma; this paper explores the theme "disrupted social world," highlighting how stoma-forming surgery impacts on individuals' abilities to participate and interact socially over time. A longitudinal phenomenological approach. Twelve participants with a new stoma were recruited using purposeful sampling. Data were collected at three, nine and 15 months following surgery through in-depth, unstructured interviews and analysed using a bespoke iterative framework. Three categories were identified: participation in the social environment; interpersonal relationships: changes and challenges; and setting and achieving goals. Stoma-forming surgery changes the ways people relate to their social environment and connect with others, creating self-consciousness and impeding social confidence and autonomy. Understanding the social implications of stoma-forming surgery can help clinicians to provide responsive and appropriate support to facilitate social rehabilitation. Implications for Rehabilitation Assisting people with a stoma to develop competent stoma self-care skills will promote social adaptation and self-acceptance. Clinicians should promote access to others with a stoma, an important source of support for many people adjusting to a new stoma. Graded exposure to social participation can engender feelings of control and confidence for people with a stoma. Clinicians can help individuals with a stoma to set realistic goals for their recovery, while encouraging a range of positive coping strategies.

  13. People with learning disabilities who have cancer: an ethnographic study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuffrey-Wijne, Irene; Bernal, Jane; Hubert, Jane; Butler, Gary; Hollins, Sheila

    2009-07-01

    Cancer incidence among people with learning disabilities is rising. There have been no published studies of the needs and experiences of people with learning disabilities and cancer, from their own perspective. To provide insight into the experiences and needs of people with learning disabilities who have cancer. Prospective qualitative study, using ethnographic methods. Participants' homes, hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices in London and surrounding areas. The participants were 13 people with learning disabilities ranging from mild to severe, who had a cancer diagnosis. The main method of data collection was participant observation (over 250 hours). The median length of participation was 7 months. Participants' cancer experiences were shaped by their previous experience of life, which included deprivation, loneliness, and a lack of autonomy and power. They depended on others to negotiate contact with the outside world, including the healthcare system. This could lead to delayed cancer diagnosis and a lack of treatment options being offered. Most participants were not helped to understand their illness and its implications. Doctors did not make an assessment of capacity, but relied on carers' opinions. Urgent action is warranted by findings of late diagnosis, possible discrimination around treatment options, and lack of patient involvement and assessment of capacity in decision making. There are significant gaps in knowledge and training among most health professionals, leading to disengaged services that are unaware of the physical, emotional, and practical needs of people with learning disabilities, and their carers.

  14. Care planning at home: a way to increase the influence of older people?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helene Berglund

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Care-planning meetings represent a common method of needs assessment and decision-making practices in elderly care. Older people's influence is an important and required aspect of these practices. This study's objective was to describe and analyse older people's influence on care-planning meetings at home and in hospital. Methods: Ten care-planning meetings were audio-recorded in the older people's homes and nine were recorded in hospital. The study is part of a project including a comprehensive continuum-of-care model. A qualitative content analysis was performed.  Results: Care-planning meetings at home appeared to enable older people's involvement in the discussions. Fewer people participated in the meetings at home and there was less parallel talking. Unrelated to the place of the care-planning meeting, the older people were able to influence concerns relating to the amount of care/service and the choice of provider. However, they were not able to influence the way the help should be provided or organised.  Conclusion: Planning care at home indicated an increase in involvement on the part of the older people, but this does not appear to be enough to obtain any real influence. Our findings call for attention to be paid to older people's opportunities to receive care and services according to their individual needs and their potential for influencing their day-to-day provision of care and service.

  15. 78 FR 16806 - The Commercial Mobile Alert System

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-19

    ... performs the various functions associated with the authentication, management and dissemination of WEA... transceivers and perform functions associated with authentication of interactions with the Mobile Device. (j... Type; Area Affected; Recommended Action; Expiration Time (with time zone); and Sending Agency. This...

  16. Public stigma and self-stigma: differential association with attitudes toward formal and informal help seeking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pattyn, Elise; Verhaeghe, Mieke; Sercu, Charlotte; Bracke, Piet

    2014-02-01

    Individuals in need of psychiatric treatment often avoid seeking help because of stigma. This study examined the impact of two stigma dimensions on help-seeking attitudes. Perceived public stigma refers to discrimination and devaluation by others, and anticipated self-stigma refers to internalization of negative stereotypes about people who seek help. Data were from the 2009 Stigma in a Global Context-Belgian Mental Health Study, in which face-to-face interviews were conducted with a representative sample of the general Belgian population. The study reported here included 728 respondents who received a vignette depicting major depression or schizophrenia. Perceived public stigma and anticipated self-stigma were measured with validated instruments. Respondents' attitudes toward help seeking were measured by the importance they assigned to care from formal and informal providers: general practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists, family members, or friends. Multiple linear regression models were estimated. Respondents with higher levels of anticipated self-stigma attached less importance to care provided by general practitioners or psychiatrists, and those with higher levels of perceived public stigma rated informal help seeking as less important. The gender and the ethnicity of the person and respondents' sociodemographic characteristics had relatively little effect on help-seeking attitudes. Anticipated self-stigma and perceived public stigma appeared to have a differential impact on attitudes toward formal and informal help seeking. Internalization of negative stereotypes was negatively associated with the perceived importance of care from medical providers (general practitioners and psychiatrists). Awareness of stereotypes held by others deterred respondents from acknowledging the importance of informal care.

  17. Informal care giving to more disabled people with multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchanan, Robert J; Radin, Dagmar; Chakravorty, Bonnie J; Tyry, Tuula

    2009-01-01

    About 30% of the people with multiple sclerosis (MS) require some form of home care assistance and 80% of that assistance is provided by informal or unpaid care givers. This study focusses on the care givers for 530 more disabled people with MS, with the objective of learning more about informal care giving to people with greater dependency and need for assistance. The data presented in this study were collected in a national survey of 530 people who provided informal care to more disabled people with MS. Almost half of these care givers reported that they provided more than 20 h of care per week to the person with MS, with more than 9 in 10 shopping for groceries, doing indoor housework, preparing meals or providing transportation for the person with MS. More than 4 in 10 employed care givers reduced the amount of time worked in the previous 12 months because of their care giving responsibilities. Although more than half of the MS care givers in our study reported that care giving was demanding, time consuming or challenging, about 90% of these MS care givers were happy that they could help. About two in three of these MS care givers found that care giving was rewarding, with more than 8 in 10 proud of the care they provided. More than a quarter of the informal care givers to people with MS thought they would benefit from treatment or counselling provided by mental health professionals. Not only it is necessary to provide access to mental health services for people with MS, but it is also important to assure that their informal care givers also have access to appropriate mental health care, given the scope of their care giving responsibilities.

  18. With a Little Help from the People?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Anne; Mäder, Lars; Reher, Stefanie

    2018-01-01

    Recent years have witnessed an increased interest in research on advocacy success, but limited attention has been paid to the role of public opinion. We examine how support from the public affects advocacy success, relying on a new original data set containing information on public opinion, advoc...

  19. Do stock prices drive people crazy?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chung-Liang; Chen, Chin-Shyan; Liu, Tsai-Ching

    2015-03-01

    This is the first research to examine a potential relation between stock market volatility and mental disorders. Using data on daily incidences of mental disorders in Taiwan over 4000 days from 1998 through 2009 to assess the time-series relation between stock price movements and mental disorders, we observe that stock price fluctuation clearly affects the hospitalization of mental disorders. We find that during a 12-year follow-up period, a low stock price index, a daily fall in the stock price index and consecutive daily falls in the stock price index are all associated with greater of mental disorders hospitalizations. A 1000-point fall in the TAIEX (Taiwan Stock Exchange Capitalization Weighted Stock Index) increases the number of daily mental disorders hospitalizations by 4.71%. A 1% fall in the TAIEX in one single day increases daily hospitalizations for mental disorders by 0.36%. When the stock price index falls one consecutive day, it causes a daily increase of approximately 0.32% hospitalizations due to mental disorders on that day. Stock price index is found to be significant for both gender and all age groups. In addition, daily change is significant for both gender and middle-age groups, whereas accumulated change is significant for males and people aged 45-64. Stockholdings can help people accumulate wealth, but they can also increase mental disorders hospitalizations. In other words, stock price fluctuations do drive people crazy. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2014; all rights reserved.

  20. Waterlust - An Example of How Online Video Can Help Scientists and Educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rynne, P.; Graham, F.; Caster, J.; Adler, J.

    2014-12-01

    Online videos and the social networks used to disseminate them provide scientists, educators, and students an opportunity to reach new audiences on a global scale. The ability to inspire people to think about a given subject that are not otherwise engaged is an important strategy in growing the societal impact of your work. Especially to those working in the field of physical science as it relates to environmental conservation and preservation, targeting new audiences helps avoid "preaching to the choir." Towards this goal, three graduate students at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science began an online film project in 2011 aimed at motivating the general public to think about their relationship with water and the marine environment. Here we present lessons from our first three years that include: tips for making an engaging video, promoting creativity and self-expression in science, video editing tips 101, getting the most out of your GoPro, and how to get your video seen by more people. For more information about our work, visit www.waterlust.org