De vilarejo a cidade: identidade de lugar de moradores nativos de Tibau do Sul-RN

This study aimed to analyze some indicators of the restructuring process of place identity of natives resident in Tibau do Sul, a coastal town in the state of Rio Grande do Norte state, in relation to changes occurring in this locale in the last few decades. The concept of place identity a complex psychological structure in constant process of restructuring stresses the focus of this analysis on the aspects referring to the relationships of people with their physical and social environment throughout the transition process from the former village of fishermen and peasant farmers to the current growing town. Interviews with insider informants on local history were carried out as a preliminary step to getting in touch with the native participants. In total, 29 native local residents were interviewed, according to a wide range of personal and professional roles, focusing on their cognitions in regard to their past and present relationships with this context, as well as those related to expectancy for the future. The analysis focused both on the elements of distinctiveness, continuity, self-esteem and self-efficacy, and on how each of them have been valued (positive or negative). The participants evaluations of themselves and of the locale, as well as their distinctions in relation to others (people and places) were, in general, very positive. Many elements of group and place continuity, and the possibility of the satisfaction of their needs were highlighted positively, especially comparing to similar situations in the past. The development of the town, related to tourism as well as to other former economic activities, seemed to contribute to the restructuring process of place identity in a way of achieving desirable states for its structure. The broadening of the analysis to consider a wider spatial and temporal context, however, shows that such positive evaluation can be said to hinder some coping strategies of local residents faced with unsustainable economic activities, oftentimes handled to favor a minority of the population

A relação entre transtorno da insônia e funções executivas em adultos

The insomnia disorder is defined as a difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep or waking up earlier than expected unable to return to sleep, followed by a feeling of nonrestorative and poor quality sleep, present for at least three months, with consequences on daytime functioning. Studies have shown that insomnia affects cognitive function, especially executive functions. However, researches that sought to investigate the relationship between primary insomnia and executive functioning were quite inconsistent from a methodological point of view, especially in regard to the variability of the used methods, the heterogeneity of diagnostic criteria for insomnia and the control of sleep altering drugs. In this sense, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between insomnia and executive functions in adults. The participants were 29 people, from both genders, aged 20-55 years old. Participants were divided into three groups, one composed of 10 people with primary insomnia who used sleep medication (GIM), nine people with primary insomnia who did not use medication (GInM) and 10 healthy people who composed the control group (CG). The research was conducted in two stages. The first one involved a diagnostic evaluation for insomnia disorder through a clinical interview and the application of the following protocols: the Athens Insomnia Scale, the Insomnia Severity Index, Sleep Journal (for 14 days), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Stanford Sleepiness Test, depression and anxiety Beck inventories, and Lipp’s Iventory of stress symptoms for adults. After this stage, the evaluation of executive functions was performed by applying a battery of neuropsychological tests composed by the following tests: Wisconsin, Stoop Test, Colored trails Test, the Tower of London Test, Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and WAIS III subtest digit span, which measured selective attention, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, planning, problem solving, decision making and working memory, respectively. The results showed that insomniacs (GIM and GInM) showed higher sleep latency, shorter sleep duration and lower sleep efficiency compared to the CG. In regard to the performance in executive functions, no statistically significant difference between groups was observed in the evaluated modalities. However, the data show evidence that, compared to GInM and GC, the performance of GIM was lower on tasks that required quick responses and changes in attention focus. On the other hand, GInM, when compared to GIM and GC, showed a better performance on tasks involving cognitive flexibility. Furthermore, impaired sleep measures were correlated with the worst performance of insomniacs in all components evaluated. In conclusion, people with the insomnia disorder showed a performance similar to healthy people’s in components of the executive functioning. Thus, one can infer that there is a relationship between primary insomnia and executive functions in adults.