How do obese individuals perceive and respond to the different types of obesity stigma that they encounter in their daily lives? A qualitative study

Obesity stigma exists within many institutions and cultural settings. Most studies suggest that stigmatising experiences have a negative impact on individuals' health and social behaviours and outcomes. However, some studies indicate that obesity stigma can motivate individuals to lose weight. Limited research has examined weight-based stigma from the perspective of obese individuals, including their perceptions of, and responses to, the different types of weight-based stigma they face in their daily lives. This study advances knowledge about weight-based stigma by documenting how obese adults (mostly female) described the different types of obesity stigma that they faced, how they responded to this stigma, and how different types of stigma impact on health and social wellbeing. Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted between April 2008 and March 2009 with a diverse sample of 141 obese Australian adults. Guided by Link and Phelan's (2006) categorisation of different types of discrimination, participants' experiences could be grouped into three distinct types of stigma: 1) Direct (e.g. being abused when using public transport); 2) Environmental (e.g. not being able to fit into seats on planes); and 3) Indirect (e.g. people staring at the contents of their supermarket trolley). Participants described that more subtle forms of stigma had the most impact on their health and social wellbeing. However, it was the interaction between direct, environmental and indirect stigma that created a barrier to participation in health-promoting activities. Participants rarely challenged stigma and often blamed themselves for stigmatising experiences. They also avoided situations where they perceived they would be stigmatised and constantly thought about how they could find a solution to their obesity.

Understanding the needs of female prisoners in South Australia

Women represent the fastest growing section of the prison population, not only in South Australia but across the Western world. And yet despite notable differences between the genders in the types of offence that result in imprisonment and the unique pathways into criminal behaviour, service responses have, to date, primarily been informed by knowledge about male prisoners. The aim of this report is to understand more about the specific needs of female prisoners in South Australia in a way that can inform their effective management and successful rehabilitation. It does this in three ways: Firstly, by reviewing the published literature and documenting what is known about the needs of female offenders, both in Australia and internationally; secondly, through a file review of all prisoners held in the Adelaide Women’s Prison; and finally, through a survey of a sample of prisoners to determine self-identified areas of need as well as satisfaction with the services that are currently provided. This information is then collated to identify a number of directions for the development of high quality and gender-responsive programs and services in the South Australian correctional system

Revisiting the mediating role of trust in transformational leadership effects: Do different types of trust make a difference?

This study examines the mediating effects of cognitive and affective trust on the relationship between follower perceptions of transformational leadership behavior and their work outcomes. Using data obtained from 318 supervisor-subordinate dyads from a manufacturing organization located in mainland China, structural equation modeling results revealed that affective trust fully mediated the relationships between transformational leadership and the work outcomes of followers, including their affective organizational commitment, organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), and job performance. In contrast, cognitive trust negatively mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and follower job performance, and had insignificant effects on their affective organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behaviors. These findings highlight the importance of affective trust as a mechanism which translates transformational leadership into positive work outcomes for the organization. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.

The fallacy of punishing offenders for the deeds of others: an argument for abolishing offence prevalence as a sentencing aggravating consideration

Sentencing outcomes are often marked by a considerable degree ofunpredictability. A key reason for this is the large number of aggravating andmitigating considerations, some of which have unstable questionablefoundation. This article argues that one well-established aggravating factor —offence prevalence — should be abolished. Pragmatically, the courts have notestablished workable criteria or a process for establishing whether an offence isprevalent. From a normative perspective, increasing the penalty for prevalentoffences is unsound because defendants should be punished for their acts, notthose of other offenders. Further, on close analysis, all of the rationales (in theform of general deterrence, denunciation and specific deterrence) invoked tojustify offence prevalence do not do so. Abolishing one sentencing variable willnot make sentencing a significantly more coherent or predictable discipline, butthe methodology applied in this article can be used to assess the viability ofother sentencing considerations.

A discrete choice experiment to examine the preferences of patients with cancer and their willingness to pay for different types of health care appointments

BACKGROUND: This study sought to understand the preferences of patients with cancer and the trade-offs between appointment attributes using discrete choice experiment (DCE). METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Patients with cancer at 3 hospitals completed a self-administered DCE. Each scenario described 6 attributes: expertise of health care professionals (HCPs), familiarity of doctors with patients' medical history, waiting time, accompaniment by family/friends, travel time, and out-of-pocket costs. Patient preferences were estimated using logistic regression. Willingness to pay (WTP) estimates were derived from regression coefficients. RESULTS: Of 512 patients contacted, 185 returned the questionnaire. The mean age was 61 years, and 60% of respondents were female. The mean time since cancer diagnosis was 34 months, 90% had received treatment; and 61% had early-stage disease. The most important attributes were expertise and familiarity of doctors with patients' medical history; distance traveled was least likely to influence patient preferences. The WTP analysis estimated that patients were willing to pay $680 (95% CI, 470-891) for an appointment with a specialist, $571 (95% CI, 388-754) for doctors familiar with their history, $422 (95% CI, 262-582) for shorter waiting times, $399 (95% CI, 249-549) to be accompanied by family/friends, and $301 (95% CI, 162-441) for shorter traveling times. Male patients had a stronger preference for accompaniment by family/friends. The expertise of HCP was the most important attribute for patients regardless of geographic remoteness. CONCLUSIONS: Our study can assist the development of patient-centered health care models that improve patient access to experienced HCPs, support the role of primary care providers during the cancer journey, and educate patients about the roles of non-oncology HCPs to cope with increasing demand for cancer care.