Copying letters to patients with cystic fibrosis (CF): Letter content and patient perceptions of benefit

Background: Copying letters involves generating an extra copy of all correspondence between healthcare professionals about the patient, to the patient.

Perceptions of exercise among people who have not attended cardiac rehabilitation following myocardial infarction.

Perceptions of exercise among nonattenders of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) were explored using semistructured interviews. Analysis indicated that participants did not recognize the cardiovascular benefits of exercise, and perceived keeping
active through daily activities as sufficient for health. Health professionals were perceived to downplay the importance of exercise and CR, and medication was viewed as being more important than exercise for promoting health. The content of CR programmes and the benefits of exercise need to be further explained to patients post-MI, and in a manner that communicates to patients that these programmes are valued by significant others, particularly health professionals.

Experiences with mephedrone pre- and post-legislative controls: Perceptions of safety and sources of supply

Background: Drug scenes within several countries have changed in recent years to incorporate a range of licit psychoactive products, collectively known as “legal highs.” Hundreds of different legal high products have been described in the literature. Many of these products contain synthetic stimulants that allegedly
“mirror” the effects of some illicit drugs. In 2009–2010, growing concern by the UK and Irish governments focused on mephedrone, a synthetic stimulant that had become embedded within several drug scenes in Britain and Ireland. In April 2010, mephedrone and related cathinone derivatives were banned under
the UK’s Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Setting aside “worse case scenarios” that have been portrayed by UK and Irish media, little is known about mephedrone use from the consumer’s perspective. The purpose of this paper was to (1) explore respondents’ experiences with mephedrone, (2) examine users’ perceptions
about the safety of mephedrone, and primarily to (3) examine sources of mephedrone supply during the pre- and post-ban periods.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 adults who had used mephedrone during 2009–2010. Data collection occurred in May and June 2010, following the ban on mephedrone. A total of 20/23 respondents had used mephedrone during the post-ban period, and the vast majority had prior
experience with ecstasy or cocaine. Respondents’ ages ranged from 19 to 51, approximately half of the sample were female and the majority (19 of 23) were employed in full- or part-time work.
Results: Most respondents reported positive experiences with mephedrone, and for some, the substance emerged as a drug of choice. None of the respondents reported that the once-legal status of mephedrone implied that it was safe to use. Very few respondents reported purchasing mephedrone from street-based
or on-line headshops during the pre-ban period, and these decisions were guided in part by respondents’ attempts to avoid “drug user” identities. Most respondents purchased or obtained mephedrone from friends or dealers, and mephedrone was widely available during the 10-week period following the ban. Respondents reported a greater reliance on dealers and a change in mephedrone packaging following the criminalisation of mephedrone.
Conclusion: The findings are discussed in the context of what appears to be a rapidly changing mephedrone market. We discuss the possible implications of criminalising mephedrone, including the potential displacement effects and the development of an illicit market.

Polish metaphorical perceptions of the translator and translation

The paper offers a comprehensive overview of the Polish metaphorics of translation. It starts by examining the Polish linguistic image of translating, followed by a survey of metaphorical descriptions of the translator and translation from the 18th century, representing the pre-scientific era in reflection on translation. Most attention is devoted to metaphors found in contemporary Polish discourse on translation, centered around: (1) the nature of translation; (2) the relationship between the source and target text, and between the author and translator; and (3) the role of the translator. It is demonstrated that the Polish context offers a rich repertoire of metaphorical depictions of translating, which reflects its distinctive historical and cultural setup.

Crossing Thresholds and Expanding Conceptual Spaces: Using Arts-Based Methods to Extend Teachers’ Perceptions of Literacy

The context for this paper is a teacher education program for adult literacy practitioners at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. This paper describes and reflects on the use of arts-based approaches to enhance these practitioners’ conceptualizations of literacy, presenting their arts-based responses and their evaluations of the methods and their contrasting definitions of literacy at the start and the end of the course. The discussion raises questions about the inclusion of visual literacy in adult literacy teacher education programmes.

Perceptions of aging across 26 cultures and their culture-level associates

College students (N = 3,435) in 26 cultures reported their perceptions of age-related changes in physical, cognitive, and socioemotional areas of functioning and rated societal views of aging within their culture. There was widespread cross-cultural consensus regarding the expected direction of aging trajectories with (a) perceived declines in societal views of aging, physical attractiveness, the ability to perform everyday tasks, and new learning; (b) perceived increases in wisdom, knowledge, and received respect; and (c) perceived stability in family authority and life satisfaction. Cross-cultural variations in aging perceptions were associated with culture-level indicators of population aging, education levels, values, and national character stereotypes. These associations were stronger for societal views on aging and perceptions of socioemotional changes than for perceptions of physical and cognitive changes. A consideration of culture-level variables also suggested that previously reported differences in aging perceptions between Asian and Western countries may be related to differences in population structure.

The effect of priming on perceptions of dog breed traits

This study examined whether priming cues embedded in mediastyle presentations shaped people's perceptions of specific dog breeds, and in particular, the German shepherd dog (GSD). Two hundred and four adult females were exposed to one of two types of media-style presentation (stories or pictures). Half of the participants in each condition were exposed to versions designed to portray the GSD in a positive light; the remainder to stimuli developed to present the same breed in a negative light. Participants subsequently rated six individual breeds of dog, including the target breed, on a number of traits (e.g., “friendliness,“ “aggression“). Analysis revealed a significant effect of priming on people's perceptions of the GSD. Participants exposed to the negative stimuli perceived this breed as significantly less approachable, and more dangerous and aggressive, than those exposed to the positive stimuli. Priming did not influence the participants' perceptions of other breeds, even those often regarded in a negative light, although there was some evidence of breed-related category-based stereotyping. Overall, results suggest that people's perceptions of dog breeds can be influenced by verbal and visual representations. The results have implications for how dogs are portrayed in the media and other publically available sources of information.