Age differences and transfer on control solution testing with blood glucometers

The elderly are at an increased risk for being diagnosed with diabetes. While previous studies have examined technique errors when a patient used his or her current blood glucometer or a single novel glucometer, no study has measured errors as a patient transferred to using a second, novel experimental glucometer. Results support findings that older adults perform more slowly and less accurately than younger adults when transferring between pieces of equipment. Implications for future blood glucometer design and training are discussed.     

Visual acuity's association with levels of leisure-time physical activity in community-dwelling older adults

Little is known about the effect of reduced vision on physical activity in older adults. This study evaluates the association of visual acuity level, self-reported vision, and ocular disease conditions with leisure-time physical activity and calculated caloric expenditure. A cross-sectional study of 911 subjects 65 yr and older from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Study of Aging (SOA) cohort was conducted evaluating the association of vision-related variables to weekly kilocalorie expenditure calculated from the 17-item Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire. Ordinal logistic regression was used to evaluate possible associations while controlling for potential confounders. In multivariate analyses, each lower step in visual acuity below 20/50 was significantly associated with reduced odds of having a higher level of physical activity, OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.67, 0.97. Reduced visual acuity appears to be independently associated with lower levels of physical activity among community-dwelling adults.     

Dualistic hearts: social class, education, different cultures, and lesbian love in desert hearts

Donna Deitch's Desert Hearts, one of the highest-grossing lesbian films ever made, is a groundbreaking and poignant movie about self-discovery and self-acceptance. This article focuses on the societal obstacles-such as vastly different social classes, cultures, and educational backgrounds-that Vivian and Cay must overcome in order to begin their relationship. The article also shows the taboos faced by gays in the 1950s, such as the firing of college professors in that era. The latent lesbian desire of the homophobic Frances, which is rarely addressed in criticism of the film, is discussed in detail.     

Financial Risk Attitude and Behavior: Do Planners Help Increase Consistency?

This study is the first to evaluate the effect of sources of information on households’ consistency between their risk attitude when making savings and investment decisions and risk behavior displayed when they do save and invest. As the responsibility is being shifted to individuals to save for their own financial future, it is important that individuals and households save and invest in a manner that is consistent with their financial risk tolerance. Financial planners were found to provide significant value to households on the consistency of their financial risk attitude and behavior. The implications of this work are far-reaching in the financial planning arena.     

Peer Influence on Prosocial Behavior in Adolescence

Adolescence is a time of increased sensitivity to peer influence, which creates vulnerabilities but also opportunities. In this study, we examined the influence of peers on prosocial behavior in 12‐ to 16‐year‐old adolescents (N = 197). We utilized a public goods game in which participants made decisions about the allocation of coins between themselves and the group. Participants received manipulated peer feedback on a subset of decisions. Results indicate a significant interaction between feedback condition (prosocial, antisocial, or no feedback) and allocation choices: Prosocial behavior increased after prosocial feedback and decreased after antisocial feedback. These findings support the idea that peer influence creates not only vulnerabilities, but also opportunities for healthy prosocial development and social adjustment learning.     

Feasibility and Acceptability of Smartphone Assessment in Older Adults with Cognitive and Emotional Difficulties

This feasibility study assessed perceived acceptability, adherence rates, and reasons for nonadherence to smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA). At two sites, participants (n = 103) ages 65 years or older with diagnosed anxiety or depressive disorder and cognitive concerns responded three times daily to smartphone-based EMA questions assessing clinical outcomes for two 10-day periods. Quantitative and qualitative measures followed both 10-day EMA periods. Overall, 76% of participants completed surveys on ≥ 10 of the 20 assessment days, and 70% of participants completed at least 30% of the total surveys. Reasons for nonadherence included technical, logistical, physiological, and cognitive issues. Smartphone-based EMA is feasible in older adults with cognitive and emotional difficulties. EMA tools should be responsive to the needs and preferences of participants to ensure adequate acceptability and adherence in this population. Our findings can inform the design, development, and implementation of mobile technologies in older adults in research and clinical contexts.     

Reflexive Development: A Model for Helping Social Workers Contribute to a Sustainable Global Future

It is difficult for many social work students to grasp the importance they and their traditional client base play in global environmental issues. International development generally focuses on supporting human development through the development of natural resources. However, increased human consumption everywhere in the world is disrupting the global system upon which all life depends. Continued Western consumption habits are simply unsustainable. It is therefore incumbent that any increase in consumption, even in the ‘developing’ world, be considered in terms of global environmental sustainability; change must also occur within the developed world. To address this problem, reflexive processes that support transnational analysis and action must be developed. This paper suggests classroom activities that help students analyze and problem solve around this process of Reflexive Development.     

Shapley–Shubik methods in cost sharing problems with technological cooperation

In the discrete cost sharing model with technological cooperation (Bahel and Trudeau in Int J Game Theory 42:439–460, 2013a), we study the implications of a number of properties that strengthen the well-known dummy axiom. Our main axiom, which requires that costless units of demands do not affect the cost shares, is used to characterize two classes of rules. Combined with anonymity and a specific stability property, this requirement picks up sharing methods that allow the full compensation of at most one technological contribution. If instead we strengthen the well-known dummy property to include agents whose technological contribution is offset by the cost of their demand, we are left with an adaptation of the Shapley–Shubik method that treats technologies as private and rewards their contributions. Our results provide two interesting axiomatizations for the adaptations of the Shapley–Shubik rule to our framework.     

The International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and structural adjustment: A cross-national analysis of forest loss

We test competing hypotheses drawn from neo-liberal economic theory and dependency theory regarding the effects of International Monetary Fund and World Bank structural adjustment on deforestation. In doing so, we analyze cross-national data for a sample of sixty low and middle income nations from 1990 to 2005. We find substantial support for dependency theory that both International Monetary Fund and World Bank structural adjustment lending are associated with higher rates of forest loss. We also find that a number of factors linked to other theoretical perspectives help to explain deforestation. These include non-governmental organizations, gross domestic product per capita, economic growth, primary sector economic activity, democracy, total population growth, non-dependent population growth, rural population growth, urban population growth, tropical climate, and natural forest stocks. We conclude with a discussion of the findings, theoretical implications, methodological implications, policy implications, and possible directions for future research.     

Ambivalence in Later‐Life Family Networks: Beyond Intergenerational Dyads

In later life, changing conditions related to health, partnership, and economic status may trigger not only support but also conflict and ambivalence, with the consequent renegotiation of family ties. The aim of this study is to investigate both conflict and emotional support in the family networks of older adults, taking the research beyond the level of intergenerational dyads. We used a subsample of 563 elders (aged 65 years and older) from the Swiss Vivre/Leben/Vivere survey. Multiple correspondence analysis and in‐depth case studies were used to identify the key social conditions that relate to the prevalence of conflicted and supportive dyads in family networks. Findings showed that the balance of conflict and emotional support in older adults' family networks varied according to the composition of their family network as well as their age, health, income, and gender.