Inseguridad ciudadana subjetiva/miedo al delito: límites para la viabilidad de la transferencia de políticas de seguridad

Proyecto de investigación realizado a partir de una estancia en el Centre of Criminology de la University of Toronto, Canadà, entre 2006 y 2008. El miedo al delito como ámbito temático lleva 40 años de andadura y cuenta con cientos de investigaciones en su acervo. Dicha subdisciplina ha utilizado la expresión “miedo al delito” para referirse a un conjunto de conceptos académicos que ella misma va desarrollando, así como a lo que considera una experiencia subjetiva que pretende estudiar. Tanto el concepto como la experiencia han sido vagamente catalogados de respuesta emocional frente al delito o imágenes asociadas a éste. A pesar de los estudios más empíricos y de las teorías más positivistas, que tratan el miedo al delito como un fenómeno que puede ser medido y a cuyo conocimiento nos podemos ir aproximando cada vez con mayor precisión, con el trabajo de este proyecto se puede concluir que el miedo al delito constituye un elemento semántico-conceptual de las categorías académica y popular de delito. Los enfoques culturalistas o hermenéuticos han apuntado esta cuestión pero, simultáneamente, han seguido admitiendo la complementariedad entre enfoques. En principio, admitir el valor constitutivo del miedo al delito en la noción de delito parece que no excluye la necesidad de conocer si los temores a ser víctima de un delito han aumentado en nuestra ciudad, ni el saber por qué ello ha sido así. Apropiarse de tales saberes tal vez sea la única forma de aislar factores discretos que puedan ser manipulados en políticas públicas para erradicar el temor cuyo incremento se supone verificado con las mediciones. Sin embargo, puesto que lo registrado han sido actitudes cognitivas y no emociones, los eventuales programas de intervención deberían ser ideados en el mejor de los casos, con la misma complejidad que la propia formación de creencias lo que lo haría inoperativo. Acción bianual.

Changing Eating Habits - A Field Experiment in Primary Schools

We conduct a field experiment in 31 primary schools in England to test whether incentives to eat fruit and vegetables help children develop healthier habits. The intervention consists of rewarding children with stickers and little gifts for a period of four weeks for choosing a portion of fruit and vegetables at lunch. We compare the effects of two incentive schemes (competition and piece rate) on choices and consumption over the course of the intervention as well as once the incentives are removed and six months later. We find that the intervention had positive effects, but the effects vary substantially according to age and gender. However, we find little evidence of sustained long term effects, except for the children from poorer socio‐economic backgrounds.

Partner Selection into Policy Relevant Field Experiments

This study investigates the issue of self-selection of stakeholders into participation and collaboration in policy-relevant experiments. We document and test the implications of self-selection in the context of randomised policy experiment we conducted in primary schools in the UK. The main questions we ask are (1) is there evidence of selection on key observable characteristics likely to matter for the outcome of interest and (2) does selection matter for the estimates of treatment eff ects. The experimental work consists in testing the e ffects of an intervention aimed at encouraging children to make more healthy choices at lunch. We recruited schools through local authorities and randomised schools across two incentive treatments and a control group. We document the selection taking place both at the level of local authorities and at the school level. Overall we nd mild evidence of selection on key observables such as obesity levels and socio-economic characteristics. We find evidence of selection along indicators of involvement in healthy lifestyle programmes at the school level, but the magnitude is small. Moreover, We do not find signifi cant di erences in the treatment e ffects of the experiment between variables which, albeit to a mild degree, are correlated with selection into the experiment. To our knowledge, this is the rst study providing direct evidence on the magnitude of self-selection in fi eld experiments.

Can Early Intervention Policies Improve Well-being? Evidence from a randomized controlled trial

Many authors have proposed incorporating measures of well-being into evaluations of public policy. Yet few evaluations use experimental design or examine multiple aspects of well-being, thus the causal impact of public policies on well-being is largely unknown. In this paper we examine the effect of an intensive early intervention program on maternal well-being in a targeted disadvantaged community. Using a randomized controlled trial design we estimate and compare treatment effects on global well-being using measures of life satisfaction, experienced well-being using both the Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) and a measure of mood yesterday, and also a standardized measure of parenting stress. The intervention has no significant impact on negative measures of well-being, such as experienced negative affect as measured by the DRM and global measures of well-being such as life satisfaction or a global measure of parenting stress. Significant treatment effects are observed on experienced measures of positive affect using the DRM, and a measure of mood yesterday. The DRM treatment effects are primarily concentrated during times spent without the target child which may reflect the increased effort and burden associated with additional parental investment. Our findings suggest that a maternal-focused intervention may produce meaningful improvements in experienced well-being. Incorporating measures of experienced affect may thus alter cost-benefit calculations for public policies.

Psychodynamic interventions in cancer care I: psychometric results of a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of psychodynamic interventions in cancer care. METHODS: Between 2006 and 2009, each consecutive outpatient of the Oncology Center of the University Hospital of Lausanne was invited to participate in a trial evaluating the effects of psychological support. Accepting patients were randomly assigned to an immediate intervention or a delayed intervention [4-month waiting list]. Patients who declined support were asked to participate in an observational group [OG]. Socio-demographic and medical data, anxiety, and depression [HADS], psychological distress [SCL-90], alexithymia [TAS] and quality of life [EORTC] were recorded at baseline, and at 1, 4, 8, and 12-months follow-up. RESULTS: Of the 1973 approached patients, 1057 were excluded, 530 refused, and 386 were included with 196 of them participating in the OG. Of the patients in the intervention group [IG] [N = 190], 94 were randomized to the immediate intervention and 96 to the delayed intervention group (dIG). IG patients were younger, predominantly female, and had more psychological symptoms compared with those in the OG. Although patients of the IG and OG showed significant improvement in quality of life from baseline to 12-months follow-up, other outcomes [anxiety, depression, psychological distress, and alexithymia] remained unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention was not effective with regards to psychometric outcome. The results have to be interpreted in light of the study design [untargeted intervention], the low levels of psychiatric symptoms, dropout of symptomatic patients, and the high prevalence of alexithymia.

Anàlisi socio-ambiental de les bordes de la Vall d'Estaon (Pallars Sobirà) i de la biodiversitat associada

Aquest projecte ha estat desenvolupat entre l’octubre de 2008 i el juliol de 2009 per un equip d’estudiants de Ciències Ambientals de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. L’objecte d’estudi principal han estat les bordes, construccions agroramaderes utilitzades tradicionalment per a emmagatzemar l’herba i estabular-hi el bestiar. D’altra banda, pel que fa la biodiversitat, s’ha realitzat un estudi de la vegetació de pedra seca, i una primera aproximació a l’estudi dels rat-penats, espècies protegides que utilitzen les bordes com a refugi. L’àmbit d’estudi ha estat la Vall d'Estaon dins el municipi de Vall de Cardós, a la comarca del Pallars Sobirà, Catalunya. Tota la superfície d’estudi es troba dins de l’àmbit del Parc Natural de l’Alt Pirineu (PNAP) i, per tant, sota la seva protecció. Per a la realització d’aquest estudi, s’ha utilitzat la metodologia emprada en el projecte del Bosc de Virós (Mestres et al.,2007). S’elabora un inventari de bordes i un altre de biodiversitat a partir de les dades recopilades amb la observació al camp i es realitzen entrevistes als gestors de la zona, antics i nous propietaris. En l’anàlisi dels resultats, s’observa que les bordes han perdut la seva funcionalitat tradicional i moltes d’elles s’han abandonat. Aquests fets provoquen la degradació d’aquestes construccions i la conseqüent pèrdua de patrimoni. D’altra banda la idea de recuperar les activitats tradicionals esdevé poc realista i es combina amb la impossibilitat d’aplicar nous usos per la protecció que exerceix la figura de Parc Natural. Així doncs, les bordes es troben enmig d’una situació estàtica i paradoxal entre la voluntat i desig de conservació i l'imminent i accelerat procés d’abandonament i degradació.

Predictors of weight change in sedentary smokers receiving a standard smoking cessation intervention

L'arrêt de la cigarette est généralement associé à une prise de poids. Celle-ci peut menacer la motivation des fumeurs à s'engager dans un processus d'arrêt du tabac et constitue un motif de rechute. L'ordre de grandeur et la cinétique de la prise de poids liée à une tentative d'arrêt chez les fumeurs pris en charge selon les recommandations cliniques actuelles est peu décrite dans la littérature médicale. Le but de cette étude était de quantifier cette prise de poids, d'en déterminer la cinétique ainsi que les facteurs qui l'influencent, chez des fumeurs sédentaires bénéficiant d'une intervention d'aide à l'arrêt du tabac individualisée, composée de conseils individuels et d'une substitution nicotinique associant plusieurs modes d'administration. Nous avons analysé des données récoltées durant un essai clinique randomisé contrôlé au cours duquel était étudié l'impact d'une activité physique modérée sur les taux d'arrêt du tabac après un an chez des fumeurs sédentaires. Nous avons modélisé l'évolution du poids de l'ensemble des participants au cours du temps, selon la technique statistique des « modèles mixtes longitudinaux ». En séparant les périodes d'abstinence de la cigarette de celles de rechute et de l'utilisation reportée de substituts nicotiniques. Cette approche nous a permis de prendre en compte chaque participant à l'étude, par opposition à un modèle plus simple qui séparerait les sujets abstinents de ceux qui rechutent à n'importe quel moment de la période de suivi. Nous avons également ajusté ces modèles pour l'âge, le sexe, le niveau de dépendance à la nicotine et le niveau de formation des participants. Parmi l'ensemble des participants, nous avons noté une augmentation du poids durant les trois premiers mois de l'intervention, suivie d'une stabilisation. Au total, la prise de poids moyenne s'est élevée à 3.3 kg pour les femmes et 3.9 kg pour les hommes. Durant les périodes d'abstinence, les caractéristiques suivantes étaient associées à la prise de poids : sexe masculin et forte dépendance nicotinique. Un âge supérieur à 43 ans était associé à une prise de poids également durant les périodes de rechute. Nous avons observé une tendance, non statistiquement significative, vers une réduction de la prise des poids avec l'utilisation de substituts nicotiniques. Notre étude apporte de nouvelles données sur l'évolution du poids chez les fumeurs sédentaires qui bénéficient d'une intervention d'aide à l'arrêt du tabac. Ils prennent donc du poids, de manière modérée et limitée aux premiers mois. Parmi eux, les hommes, les individus les plus dépendants à la nicotine et les plus âgés doivent s'attendre à une prise de poids supérieure à la moyenne.

Socio-demographic predictors of high support needs in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.

GRIESSER A.-C., VLASTOS G., MOREL L., BEAUME C., SAPPINO A.-P. & HALLER G. (2010) European Journal of Cancer Care Socio-demographic predictors of high support needs in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients This study aimed to identify high support needs and their socio-demographic predictors to improve supportive care for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. A cross-sectional study measured patients' needs and unsatisfied support needs by the supportive care needs survey (SCNS-34), administered after surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Socio-demographic, disease and treatment characteristics completed data collection. A total of 308 questionnaires were completed with a response rate of 88%. The most frequent support needs (73.3% of patients) related to information and the highest unsatisfied support needs to the management of emotions and daily life (36.3-39.6% of patients). Younger age predicted high and dissatisfied support needs (P < 0.05). Patients born outside Switzerland or with a lower level of education had more needs in daily living and psychological domains (P < 0.05). Being born outside Switzerland also predicted dissatisfaction with information provided. Being parent was a predictor of significant needs in the daily living domain after adjusting for disease and treatment characteristics (P= 0.01). Therefore, information, psychological and daily living support for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients should be strongly reinforced, particularly in patients being born outside Switzerland, those with children or being younger. For the latter, support in sexuality domain should also be emphasised.

Communication during brief intervention, intention to change, and outcome.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the relationship between patient's intention to change regarding future alcohol consumption following brief alcohol intervention (BAI) and changes in alcohol consumption 12-months later and the communication characteristics between patient and counselor during BAI. DESIGN, SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Data from 367 patients (experimental arm) of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial were used to assess the effectiveness of BAI among hazardous drinkers attending an Emergency Department (Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland). Alcohol outcome measures at baseline and 12 months follow-up included usual number of drinks per week, monthly frequency of heavy episodic drinking (5 or more standard drinks for men; 4 or more for women), and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score. In addition, the communication characteristics between patient and counselor were analyzed via tape recordings using the Motivational Interviewing Skill Code (MISC) from 97 participants. Patient readiness and importance to change on a 10-point Likert scale (readiness/importance to change ruler) was asked during BAI, and patient intention to change alcohol consumption (yes/no) was asked at the last step. Differences in alcohol outcome at follow-up between the 367 patients who did or did not have an intention to change consumption at baseline were compared, as were differences between these two groups in communication characteristics for the 97 who completed tape recordings. RESULTS: Patients with an intention to decrease alcohol consumption reduced alcohol use and related problems more often, and reported higher levels of importance and readiness to change than did their counterparts. Analyses of MISC-coded data showed a significantly higher use of MI-consistent skills among those with a moderation intention, but no group differences on the 8 other counselor communication skills measures were found. Analyses of patient speech during the intervention indicated that those with an intention to change their alcohol consumption significantly more often self-explored personal ambivalence towards alcohol, expressed more intensely their ability, commitment, desire, need and reason to change their alcohol use than did those in the no decrease group. CONCLUSIONS: The intention expressed by hazardous drinkers when concluding BAI is associated with both patient change talk during BAI and drinking outcome 12 months later, but is mainly independent of counselor communication skills. This intention may be an important clinical indicator of which hazardous drinkers are most likely to improve after BAI.