Effects of at-work exercises on computer operators

At-work exercises are commonly recommended for computer operators. This randomized control trial assessed adherence, pain and satisfaction after 4 weeks of at-work exercise. Subjects (n=72) were randomized into 3 groups: resistance exercise, stretching, and control. Outcomes included a satisfaction survey, a visual analogue pain scale (VAS), a pain drawing, and the Neck Disability Index (NDI). The VAS, the drawing, and NDI were analyzed together as a composite variate referred to as Pain Impact. Exercise frequency was similar across the 3 groups (median=1.5 times per day). No differences were found between groups on Pain Impact p=0.714) or individual pain variables. Most satisfaction survey item scores did not differ between groups. However, a significant difference between groups on the survey item related to discomfort. The resistance and stretching group differed from the control group with regard to their perception that the exercises were helpful in reducing discomfort in the back and neck (p<0.001). We conclude that most subjects found the resistance and the stretching exercises easy to do, performed them 1 to 2 times daily, and said they reduced discomfort. To determine optimal type and frequency of at-work exercises, further study is needed.     

Examining the correlates of engagement and disengagement coping among help-seeking battered women

This study examined several potential correlates of engagement and disengagement coping, including abuse-related factors, socioeconomic and social coping resources, and childhood trauma variables among a sample of battered women (N = 388). Relationship abuse frequency, particularly psychological aggression, and peritraumatic dissociation were the strongest positive predictors of the use of disengagement coping. Social coping resources, including tangible support and appraisals of social support and belonging, were associated with higher engagement coping and lower disengagement coping. A positive association was also found between interparental domestic violence and disengagement coping, and negative associations were found between both childhood physical and sexual abuse and engagement coping. Results suggest that coping strategies used by battered women are multidetermined and deserve further exploration.     

Comparison style, physical self-perceptions, and fitness among older women

This study examined the relationships between older women's comparison styles, physical self-perceptions, and functional fitness. Participants were community-dwelling women (N = 102, age 65-99) living in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Individuals were categorized as relying primarily on social comparisons, temporal comparisons, or a combination of both styles. Also of interest was whether individuals evaluated themselves positively or negatively when making comparisons. Participants who evaluated themselves positively as compared with others were found to have higher levels of physical self-perception. Analyses revealed that women who relied primarily on temporal comparisons had higher self-perceptions of their functional ability than those who relied on a combination of comparison styles. An avoidance of both temporal and social comparisons was also related to higher levels of physical self-perception.     

The Research Environment Norm Inventory (RENI): a study of integrity in research administrative systems

University research administrators have been generally ignored in basic studies of research integrity. Hensley noted that research administrators are "essential... to the achievement of the specific missions of postsecondary institutions... and to science and the academic infrastructure". The following study sought to extend the scope of research on research integrity to research administrative structures with a new instrument called the Research Environment Norm Inventory or RENI. University research administrators and their professional association were targeted for data collection. Evidence suggested that research administration in the United States supports integrity in the research environment through: (1) respect for community; (2) respect for institutional boundaries; (3) professionalism; (4) respect for authority structures; (5) sensitivity to system conflicts. The study suggested that integrity structures are dictated largely by the institutional settings and environments.     

Camera-Related Behaviors during Video Recorded Medical Interactions

Video recording provides an objective record of the content of medical interactions. However, there is concern that cameras may be reactive measurement devices that alter what normally transpires during interactions. This study addressed potential reactivity of cameras in medical interactions. Interactions between 45 patients and 14 medical oncologists were video recorded and coded for camera-related behaviors. Eleven of 45 patients performed none of the behaviors. Among the other patients, camera-related behaviors were infrequent and, on average, constituted about 0.1% (one-tenth of one percent) of total interaction time. Behaviors occurred most often in very early stages of interactions, and when physicians were absent from the room. Seven physicians showed camera-related behaviors, comprising less than 0.1% of the time they were in the interaction. Results suggest video recording can provide nonreactive means of studying medical interactions.

Foreign-born emigration: A new approach and estimates based on matched CPS files

The utility of postcensal population estimates depends on the adequate measurement of four major components of demographic change: fertility, mortality, immigration, and emigration. Of the four components, emigration, especially of the foreign-born, has proved the most difficult to gauge. Without "direct" methods (i.e., methods identifying who emigrates and when), demographers have relied on indirect approaches, such as residual methods. Residual estimates, however are sensitive to inaccuracies in their constituent parts and are particularly ill-suited for measuring the emigration of recent arrivals. Here we introduce a new method for estimating foreign-born emigration that takes advantage of the sample design of the Current Population Survey (CPS): repeated interviews of persons in the same housing units over a period of 16 months. Individuals appearing in a first March Supplement to the CPS but not the next include those who died in the intervening year, those who moved within the country, and those who emigrated. We use statistical methods to estimate the proportion of emigrants among those not present in the follow-up interview. Our method produces emigration estimates that are comparable to those from residual methods in the case of longer-term residents (immigrants who arrived more than 10 years ago), but yields higher--and what appear to be more accurate--estimates for recent arrivals. Although somewhat constrained by sample size, we also generate estimates by age, sex, region of birth, and duration of residence in the United States.