Exercise self-regulation among older women participating in a heart disease-management intervention

Using behavioral self-regulation processes may facilitate exercise among older women with heart disease. Data from women in a heart disease-management program (n = 658, mean 73 years), was used to explore associations among exercise self-regulation components (i.e., choosing to improve exercise and observing, judging, and reacting to one's behavior) and exercise capacity. General linear models showed that choosing exercise predicted higher exercise self-regulation scores postprogram and 8 months later. In turn, these scores predicted greater improvements in exercise capacity concurrently and 8 months later. Interaction analyses revealed that the effect of self-regulation on exercise capacity was stronger among women who chose to work on exercise.     

Prevalence of clinical autistic traits within a homeless population: barriers to accessing homeless services

ABSTRACT

Recent research suggests a high prevalence rate of Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) amongst the homeless population. Although, it is well-documented that autistic people experienced many barriers to accessing health services, little is known about their challenges in accessing homeless services. Thus, the present study aimed to measure prevalence of high levels of autistic traits, and to identify barriers that prevent autistic people accessing homeless services. Participants recruited from homeless services (n?=?65) completed the Autism Quotient-10 (AQ-10) alongside a questionnaire regarding perceived accessibility of homeless services. Results revealed that 18.5% of participants scored Above the Clinical Threshold of the AQ-10 (ACT-AQ). Moreover, the ACT-AQ group reported that encountering big groups in shared accommodation represent a significant barrier to engaging with homeless services. Further research is needed to identify the full degree of ASC representation and the factors that might prevent autistic homeless people accessing homeless services, and thus overcoming homelessness.     

Professional Help-Seeking for Gambling Problems: Awareness,Barriers and Motivators for Treatment

Despite the negative consequences associated with gambling, few problem gamblers seek professional help. This study aimed to examine awareness of professional sources of help and help-seeking behaviour amongst regular and problem gamblers. Australian gamblers (N = 730) were recruited from the general population, multicultural gambling venues, and gambling helplines and treatment services. Surveys measured awareness of professional help services, help-seeking behaviour and motivators and barriers to seeking help. Gamblers demonstrated low awareness of professional help services. Problem gamblers born in Australia or who were divorced were more likely to seek help. Problem gamblers who were reluctant to seek help due to a desire solve the problem on their own and feeling ashamed for themselves or their family pride were more likely to have overcome these barriers to seek help. However, significant barriers related to denial of problem severity and concerns about the ability to access low cost services that cater for multicultural populations predicted a lower likelihood of having sought help. Public education should aim to de-mystify the treatment process and educate gamblers about symptoms of problem gambling to reduce shame, stigma, and denial and encourage help-seeking. Ongoing education and promotion of help services is required to increase awareness of the resources available, including targeted promotions to increase awareness of relevant services among specific populations.     

Effects of urbanization on breeding birds in European towns: Impacts of species traits

Urbanization acts as a filter on bird species behavioral traits so that only few species can tolerate urban constraints. We analyzed how behavioral traits (nesting, feeding, and migratory habits) of breeding bird species affect their frequency of occurrence in the urban centers of 38 European towns. We used binary logistic regression analysis to predict the bird species traits belonging to each trait group. A total of 108 species (21% of the European breeding bird species) were found to breed in the European town centers. According to our broad-scale analyses the bird species most frequently breeding in town centers nest in buildings and/or buildings have diverse diets, in trees (40%) and are resident omnivores, or relied on seeds or fruits as their sources of food. However, almost all bird species also fed on arthropods (92%) during the breeding season. Only a few urban bird species bred on the ground. Four out of the studied 108 species were non-native and five species were predators. Our broad-scale results from Europe indicate that bird species with different behavioral traits can respond differently to urbanization. Bird species that nest in cavities/buildings have diverse diets, that benefit a resident way-of-life, may have an advantage in living and settling in European town centers. Our results from Europe may provide insights related to the development of bird assemblages in the urban core areas of the New World.     

Mindful Leadership: Sind achtsame F��hrungskr?fte leistungsf?higere F��hrungskr?fte?

In the last years, mindfulness became the focus of increasing research interest in the health sciences. More than hundred studies highlight the positive impact of mindfulness based interventions on a variety of health relevant parameters. Mindfulness became a well-established intervention in clinical and non-clinical contexts such as stress prevention, substance abuse treatment or relationship counselling in couples. The concept has until now not received much attention in business contexts; implications and applications in this field are highlighted in this article. In particular, it is described how mindfulness may help leaders and managers to perform their tasks more successfully and in a much more relaxed way.     

A Bayesian model for longitudinal count data with non-ignorable dropout

Asthma is an important chronic disease of childhood. An intervention programme for managing asthma was designed on principles of self-regulation and was evaluated by a randomized longitudinal study.The study focused on several outcomes, and, typically, missing data remained a pervasive problem. We develop a pattern-mixture model to evaluate the outcome of intervention on the number of hospitalizations with non-ignorable dropouts. Pattern-mixture models are not generally identifiable as no data may be available to estimate a number of model parameters. Sensitivity analyses are performed by imposing structures on the unidentified parameters.We propose a parameterization which permits sensitivity analyses on clustered longitudinal count data that have missing values due to non-ignorable missing data mechanisms. This parameterization is expressed as ratios between event rates across missing data patterns and the observed data pattern and thus measures departures from an ignorable missing data mechanism. Sensitivity analyses are performed within a Bayesian framework by averaging over different prior distributions on the event ratios. This model has the advantage of providing an intuitive and flexible framework for incorporating the uncertainty of the missing data mechanism in the final analysis.     

Conspiracies beyond Fake News. Produsing Reinformation on Presidential Elections in the Transnational Hybrid Media System

As presidential elections carry the promise of distilling the contested and elusive “will of the people,” the protracted media event intensifies the public demand for exposing the transgressions of the aspiring political elite. This expectation provides fertile ground for investigative journalism, ultrapartisan smear campaigns, fake news, and full-fledged conspiracy theories that are sometimes difficult to differentiate from one another in a hybridized media space. We compare three unique conspiracy stories—Macronleaks, Pizzagate, and Voter fraud—emerging during the previous French and American elections. We assess the divergent strategies of social action that contribute to the stories’ dissimilar patterns for intervening the political news cycle with the “reinformative toolkit” and deconstruct the common conspiratorial “masterplot” for “reinforming” the public. Focusing on online “produsers”—media users functioning as (dis)information producers—we analyze how the grassroots level participated in shaping the conspiracy stories’ synopses and channeling news-framed, conspiratory content between mainstream and “countermedia” outlets.     

Exercise Self-Regulation Among Older Women Participating in a Heart Disease-Management Intervention

Using behavioral self-regulation processes may facilitate exercise among older women with heart disease. Data from women in a heart disease-management program (n = 658, mean 73 years), was used to explore associations among exercise self-regulation components (i.e., choosing to improve exercise and observing, judging, and reacting to one's behavior) and exercise capacity. General linear models showed that choosing exercise predicted higher exercise self-regulation scores postprogram and 8 months later. In turn, these scores predicted greater improvements in exercise capacity concurrently and 8 months later. Interaction analyses revealed that the effect of self-regulation on exercise capacity was stronger among women who chose to work on exercise.