Association between Depressive Symptoms,Perceived Partner Emotional Expression,and Marital Quality

Previous studies have explored the direct association between mental health and marital quality; however, the processes moderating that association are not yet well understood. The present study examined associations between depressive symptoms, perceived partner emotional expression, and marital quality among 462 married individuals. Findings suggest that (a) low commitment, low satisfaction, and marital instability may be symptomatic of mental well-being; (b) individuals experiencing depressive symptoms are more inclined to have negative views of their relationships; and (c) perceptions of their partners’ expressions of gratitude and understanding serve as a buffer against the negative association between depressive symptoms and marital quality. Thus, perceptions of positive emotional expressiveness may serve as a resource facilitating marital quality when individuals are experiencing depressive symptoms.     

The reversal of the gender gap in education and relative divorce risks: A matter of alternatives in partner choice?

Recent evidence from the United States suggests that the reversal of the gender gap in education was associated with changes in relative divorce risks: hypogamous marriages, where the wife was more educated than the husband, used to have a higher divorce risk than hypergamous marriages, where the husband was more educated, but this difference has disappeared. One interpretation holds that this may result from cultural change, involving increasing social acceptance of hypogamy. We propose an alternative mechanism that need not presuppose cultural change: the gender-gap reversal in education has changed the availability of alternatives from which highly educated women and men can choose new partners. This may have lowered the likelihood of women leaving husbands with less education and encouraged men to leave less educated spouses. We applied an agent-based model to twelve European national marriage markets to illustrate that this could be sufficient to create a convergence in divorce risks.     

Harassment Patterns and Risk Profile in Spanish Trans Persons

This article describes the harassment patterns and the risk profile in trans people living in Spain. A sample of 212 trans persons, aged 10–62, participated in this cross-sectional study. Results showed a high percentage of harassment (59.9%) and frequency of daily harassment (12.6%), especially verbal attacks (59%) that occurred in public spaces (49.1%) and within educational contexts (46.2%). Harassment is more prevalent in trans women than men. Those who disclose their gender identities at a younger age experience higher percentages and frequency of harassment than those who disclose at an older age. They also suffer more harassment of different types. The risk profile of harassment indicates that older trans women are more likely to suffer harassment than younger ones, and the risk decreases each year they delay their gender identity disclosure. The elimination of transphobic attitudes and the promotion of gender justice should be priority strategies in Spain.     

Exploring the Complex Associations Among Social Determinants of Health in Andalusia After the 2008 Financial Crisis

Social Indicators Research - In this study, we disentangle the complex relationship between structural and intermediary social determinants of health in Andalusia (Spain) after the period of...     

The potential role of physical activity on driving performance and safety among older adults

The elderly represent the fastest growing driving population. Older drivers have a high crash rate per distance traveled, a high risk of injury or death in traffic accidents, and are commonly found to be ‘at fault’ in crashes. This reality has focused more interest on issues associated with the fitness to drive and the safety of older drivers. Many older adults depend greatly on their personal vehicle for transportation and suffer a marked loss of quality of life when, as a consequence of no longer being able or permitted to drive, their mobility becomes significantly restricted. The reasons for the deterioration of driving performance that occur during the aging process are multi-factorial and a great deal of research has focused on the identification of those factors. Nevertheless, some studies incorporating training programs have tried, with some success, to improve the driving-related abilities of older drivers. It has been demonstrated that physical activity can promote several skills that are associated with driving performance in older drivers. Few studies, though, have conducted exercise interventions among older drivers intended to enhance their driving-related abilities and promote road safety. In this context, the purpose of this work consists of examining the perceptual, cognitive, health, and physical factors related to fitness to drive in older adults and identifying possible strategies that can enhance their driving-related abilities. Moreover, potential mechanisms underlying the relationship among physical activity, driving ability, and road safety are discussed.     

The Treaty of Nice and qualified majority voting

We analyse and evaluate three decision rules for the Council of Ministers of the EU, which are prescribed by the `definitive form' of the Treaty of Nice. The first will apply from 2005 to the present 15-member EU, if it will not have been enlarged by then. The second or third will apply to an enlarged 27-member EU. We conclude that the first of these is an improvement on the current decision rule; but the other two have extremely undesirable features. Received: 23 February 2001/Accepted: 26 March 2001     

Incremental cost sharing: Characterization by coalition strategy-proofness

Each one of n users consumes an idiosyncratic commodity produced in indivisible units. The n commodities are jointly produced by a central facility and total cost must be shared by the users.  A “sequential stand alone mechanism” shares costs incrementally according to a fixed ordering of the users: the first user always pays stand alone cost, the second pays the stand alone cost of the first two users minus that of the first and so on. If the second derivatives of costs are of a constant sign, such a method yields a unique strong equilibrium at every profile of convex preferences in the game where each user chooses his own demand. This equilibrium, in turn, defines a coalition strategy-proof social choice function.  Under decreasing marginal costs and submodular costs, the sequential stand alone mechanisms are almost characterized by these properties; the only exception is the binary demand case (each agent consumes zero or one unit) where a rich family of cost sharing methods (the Shapley value among them) yields a coalition strategy-proof equilibrium selection. Under increasing marginal costs and supermodular costs, coalition strategy-proofness characterizes a richer family of cost sharing methods: they give out one unit at a time while charging marginal costs, with the users taking turns according to a sequence fixed in advance. These methods contain serial cost sharing as a limit case. Received: 8 July 1997/Accepted: 22 January 1998     

The specification of personalised insoles using additive manufacturing

Research has been conducted to explore a process that delivers insoles for personalised footwear for the high street using additive manufacturing (AM) and to evaluate the use of such insoles in terms of discomfort. Therefore, the footwear personalisation process was first identified: (1) foot capture; (2) anthropometric measurements; (3) insole design; and (4) additive manufacturing. In order to explore and evaluate this process, recreational runners were recruited. They had both feet scanned and 15 anthropometric measurements taken. Personalised insoles were designed from the scans and manufactured using AM. Participants were fitted with footwear under two experimental conditions: personalised and control, which were compared in terms of discomfort. The mean ratings for discomfort variables were generally low for both conditions and no significant differences were detected between conditions. In general, the personalisation process showed promise in terms of the scan data, although the foot capture position may not be considered 'gold standard'. Polyamide, the material used for the insoles, demonstrated positive attributes: visual inspection revealed no signs of breaking. The footwear personalisation process described and explored in this study shows potential and can be considered a good starting point for designer and researchers.     

Analysis of the compensatory postures adopted by day caregivers through OWAS-Ovako Working Posture Analysing System

The Ergonomic Work Analysis reports that there are many activities performed by the professional caregivers and that they are exposed to physical and psychological overload. This situation favors the emergence of pain which influences the quality of life in the work place. In this way, the objective of this study was to verify the main postural constraints adopted by caregivers in public day cares. Visits were conducted in 28 day cares aiming at performing an interview to 126 caregivers who have been working for more than 4 years. From the questionnaire it was found that 80% of the participants refer some sort of pain, being 42% in the trunk, 33% in the shoulder and 25% in the lower limbs. The data from OWAS method showed that from the total of 30 postures performed during the work One could see that the main postures adopted by the caregivers were: flexion, lateral inclination and rotation of the trunk and most of the time they are standing. These movements, when bad performed, can lead to injuries in the lower limbs, upper limbs and trunk. It's necessary more attention to these workers.Thought preventive ergonomic actions to reduce pain symptoms and promote a work in health and safety.