Risk Perception Among Smokers: A Qualitative Study

The aim of this qualitative study is to identify the dimensions people used to assess the risk of smoking and then compare them with those used by health professionals in primary healthcare. Five discussion groups were conducted. The field work was carried out in Barcelona (Spain), from February 2005 to January 2006. Data were analyzed following a semantic‐thematic categorical content analysis (ACC‐ts). Results showed that people tend to employ stereotypical discourses when evaluating the risk of smoking. Similarly, they reassess the risk in the context of their life experience and incorporate new nuances to the arguments sustaining their behavior. Once this reassessment takes place, the decision to continue smoking emerges, and smokers come up with additional arguments justifying their habit (i.e., age, benefits related to costs). Professionals are aware of this process and its multidimensional nature. Nevertheless, their discourse loses this multidimensional feature when discussing the strategies they use at smoking cessation interventions. This qualitative study increases the understanding of various meanings that people attribute to their life experience. These assumptions may be useful for developing health practices that are closer to people. As a practical utility of these results, it would be interesting to apply a preliminary assessment of the different meanings that people attribute to smoking from their life context in risk communication.     

Young people's resilience and post-financial crisis television: allegories of economic and social survival

ABSTRACT

The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2007–2008 added significant stress and anxieties to the already precarious lives of many young people. Despite this, there is emerging evidence that young people are able to demonstrate remarkable resilience in the midst of economic uncertainties that render the trajectories of their futures uncertain. The pressure to be resilient, to find effective ways to manage the uncertainties inherent to the liberal democracies of the twenty-first century, can be significant. The consequences of failure include deteriorating health and well-being, losses in motivation and hope, economic marginalisation, and ambivalence about the markers of what is means to be an adult. In this paper we spotlight moments in post-GFC television that have drawn on these social narratives, depicting young people's experiences of resilience and uncertainties. We view these moments as more than just television or popular culture. The stories we tell are allegorical, but they are not mere fictions. We focus on the popular television comedy Broad City (2014-) that focusses on the marginalised lifeworlds of trendy, college-educated, young hipsters Ilana and Abbi who are barely getting by in New York City.     

《北美自由贸易协定》是中国的良好范例吗?——来自墨西哥和美国的经验

因为金融与粮食双重危机,中国面临着诸多挑战.中国为战胜这些挑战而做出的努力主要体现在其国际贸易谈判中,而这一谈判基于农业(农产品)贸易自由化有益于南方国家农民的理念.作为全球或地区性贸易协定范式,<北美自由贸易协定>深受美国贸易官员青睐,其在美国与墨西哥贸易中的实际影响,或许对中国未来参与双边或多边贸易,协调环境、社会、经济发展关系,正确发挥国家干预力量等能提供借鉴意义.     

Dimensions of Problem Gambling Behavior Associated with Purchasing Sports Lottery

The purpose of this study was to identify and examine the dimensions of problem gambling behaviors associated with purchasing sports lottery in China. This was accomplished through the development and validation of the Scale of Assessing Problem Gambling (SAPG). The SAPG was initially developed through a comprehensive qualitative research process. Research participants (N = 4,982) were Chinese residents who had purchased sports lottery tickets, who responded to a survey packet, representing a response rate of 91.4%. Data were split into two halves, one for conducting an EFA and the other for a CFA. A five-factor model with 19 items (Social Consequence, Financial Consequence, Harmful Behavior, Compulsive Disorder, and Depression Sign) showed good measurement properties to assess problem gambling of sports lottery consumers in China, including good fit to the data (RMSEA = 0.050, TLI = 0.978, and CFI = 0.922), convergent and discriminate validity, and reliability. Regression analyses revealed that except for Depression Sign, the SAPG factors were significantly (P < 0.05) predictive of purchase behaviors of sports lottery. This study represents an initial effort to understand the dimensions of problem gambling associated with Chinese sports lottery. The developed scale may be adopted by researchers and practitioners to examine problem gambling behaviors and develop effective prevention and intervention procedures based on tangible evidence.     

Can better parenting be achieved through short prevention programs? The challenge of universal prevention through Strengthening Families Program 11–14

With the increase in substance use by young people in recent years' there has been a growth in evidence‐based programs aimed at preventing this problem. This study aims to assess possible changes in family and parental dynamics among families taking part in a short (6‐session) universal program. These changes might act as protective factors for families in preventing substance use. A quasi‐experimental design was used' with pretest and posttest evaluations. The participating schools meeting the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. The sample was made up of 16 experimental groups and 17 control groups' with the participation of 353 parents and 289 youths. The results confirm the strengthening of the families by improving the following key components of parenting: resilience' involvement' family conflicts' and positive parenting. Reinforcing parenting skills through a short program is a good strategy to take' ensuring high levels of adherence (86.40% retention of the initial sample). Hence future universal prevention programs must not just set their sights on high levels of effectiveness' but also on efficiency.     

Tracking state trends in environmental public opinion

Trends in state-level public opinion on the environment within the U.S. are examined, using data from the General Social Survey (GSS) from 1976 to 2008. Multilevel Regression and Post-Stratification (MRP) approach estimates public support for environmental spending at the U.S. state-level over three decades. This allows for an analysis of inter-state homogeneity of environmental public opinion, over the latter half of the twenty century. The findings indicate state-level trends mirror those at the national-level, but state-level public opinion is becoming more analogous over time.     

Performance and burnout in intensive care units

Abstract

The relationship between three different performance measures and burnout was explored in 20 Dutch Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Burnout (i.e. emotional exhaustion and depersonalization) proved to be significantly related to nurses' perceptions of performance as well as to objectively assessed unit performance. Subjective performance measures relate negatively to burnout levels of nurses, whereas an objective performance measure relates positively to burnout. Furthermore, subjectively assessed personal performance (i.e. personal accomplishment) is more strongly related to burnout than subjectively assessed unit performance. A model test of the relationship between both types of subjective performance and burnout reveals that nurses' perception of unit performance is indirectly related to burnout through perception of personal performance. This model holds similarly for objectively well- and poor-performing ICUs.