Anger rumination and self-reported aggression amongst British and Hong Kong Chinese athletes: a cross cultural comparison

Previous work has determined relationships between provocation, anger rumination, and aggression in British athletes (Maxwell, 2004); however, the reliability of these findings and their generality across diverse cultures has not been examined. Therefore, a comparison of British and Hong Kong (HK) Chinese athletes’ propensity for rumination and aggression was undertaken. Provocation and thoughts of revenge were significantly associated with the self-reported aggression of both British and HK Chinese athletes. Frequency of aggression was similar across cultures except for a tendency for British male contact sport athletes to report greater frequency of aggressive behaviour. HK Chinese athletes tended to report higher frequencies of thoughts relating to understanding the causes of anger and higher incidence of perceived provocation. It was concluded that the pattern of aggressive behaviour was similar across the two cultures when opportunities for aggression are infrequent, but that HK Chinese athletes may inhibit aggressive responding even when opportunities are frequent.

Mathematical and numerical modelling of dispersion-managed solitons, autosolitons and self-similar optical pulses

This thesis presents theoretical investigation of three topics concerned with nonlinear optical pulse propagation in optical fibres. The techniques used are mathematical analysis and numerical modelling. Firstly, dispersion-managed (DM) solitons in fibre lines employing a weak dispersion map are analysed by means of a perturbation approach. In the case of small dispersion map strengths the average pulse dynamics is described by a perturbation approach (NLS) equation. Applying a perturbation theory, based on the Inverse Scattering Transform method, an analytic expression for the envelope of the DM soliton is derived. This expression correctly predicts the power enhancement arising from the dispersion management.Secondly, autosoliton transmission in DM fibre systems with periodical in-line deployment of nonlinear optical loop mirrors (NOLMs) is investigated. The use of in-line NOLMs is addressed as a general technique for all-optical passive 2R regeneration of return-to-zero data in high speed transmission system with strong dispersion management. By system optimisation, the feasibility of ultra-long single-channel and wavelength-division multiplexed data transmission at bit-rates ³ 40 Gbit s-1 in standard fibre-based systems is demonstrated. The tolerance limits of the results are defined.Thirdly, solutions of the NLS equation with gain and normal dispersion, that describes optical pulse propagation in an amplifying medium, are examined. A self-similar parabolic solution in the energy-containing core of the pulse is matched through Painlevé functions to the linear low-amplitude tails. The analysis provides a full description of the features of high-power pulses generated in an amplifying medium.

Targets and self monitoring in hypertension: randomised controlled trial and cost effectiveness analysis

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether blood pressure control in primary care could be improved with the use of patient held targets and self monitoring in a practice setting, and to assess the impact of these on health behaviours, anxiety, prescribed antihypertensive drugs, patients' preferences, and costs. DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Eight general practices in south Birmingham. PARTICIPANTS: 441 people receiving treatment in primary care for hypertension but not controlled below the target of < 140/85 mm Hg. INTERVENTIONS: Patients in the intervention group received treatment targets along with facilities to measure their own blood pressure at their general practice; they were also asked to visit their general practitioner or practice nurse if their blood pressure was repeatedly above the target level. Patients in the control group received usual care (blood pressure monitoring by their practice). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome: change in systolic blood pressure at six months and one year in both intervention and control groups. Secondary outcomes: change in health behaviours, anxiety, prescribed antihypertensive drugs, patients' preferences of method of blood pressure monitoring, and costs. RESULTS: 400 (91%) patients attended follow up at one year. Systolic blood pressure in the intervention group had significantly reduced after six months (mean difference 4.3 mm Hg (95% confidence interval 0.8 mm Hg to 7.9 mm Hg)) but not after one year (mean difference 2.7 mm Hg (- 1.2 mm Hg to 6.6 mm Hg)). No overall difference was found in diastolic blood pressure, anxiety, health behaviours, or number of prescribed drugs. Patients who self monitored lost more weight than controls (as evidenced by a drop in body mass index), rated self monitoring above monitoring by a doctor or nurse, and consulted less often. Overall, self monitoring did not cost significantly more than usual care (251 pounds sterling (437 dollars; 364 euros) (95% confidence interval 233 pounds sterling to 275 pounds sterling) versus 240 pounds sterling (217 pounds sterling to 263 pounds sterling). CONCLUSIONS: Practice based self monitoring resulted in small but significant improvements of blood pressure at six months, which were not sustained after a year. Self monitoring was well received by patients, anxiety did not increase, and there was no appreciable additional cost. Practice based self monitoring is feasible and results in blood pressure control that is similar to that in usual care.

Education and self-management for people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes: a qualitative study of patients' views.

OObjectives: We explored the perceptions, views and experiences of diabetes education in people with type 2 diabetes who were participating in a UK randomized controlled trial of methods of education. The intervention arm of the trial was based on DESMOND, a structured programme of group education sessions aimed at enabling self-management of diabetes, while the standard arm was usual care from general practices. Methods: Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 adult patients, of whom 19 had attended DESMOND education sessions and 17 had been randomized to receive usual care. Data analysis was based on the constant comparative method. Results: Four principal orientations towards diabetes and its management were identified: `resisters', `identity resisters, consequence accepters', `identity accepters, consequence resisters' and `accepters'. Participants offered varying accounts of the degree of personal responsibility that needed to be assumed in response to the diagnosis. Preferences for different styles of education were also expressed, with many reporting that they enjoyed and benefited from group education, although some reported ambivalence or disappointment with their experiences of education. It was difficult to identify striking thematic differences between accounts of people on different arms of the trial, although there was some very tentative evidence that those who attended DESMOND were more accepting of a changed identity and its implications for their management of diabetes. Discussion: No one single approach to education is likely to suit all people newly diagnosed with diabetes, although structured group education may suit many. This paper identifies varying orientations and preferences of people with diabetes towards forms of both education and self-management, which should be taken into account when planning approaches to education.

Experiments and analysis of combined diffraction and self diffraction effects in a nematic liquid crystal cell

The potential for nonlinear optical processes in nematic-liquid-crystal cells is great due to the large phase changes resulting from reorientation of the nematic-liquid-crystal director. Here the combination of diffraction and self-diffraction effects are studied simultaneously by the use of a pair of focused laser beams which are coincident on a homeotropically aligned liquid-crystal cell. The result is a complicated diffraction pattern in the far field. This is analyzed in terms of the continuum theory for liquid crystals, using a one-elastic-constant approximation to solve the reorientation profile. Very good comparison between theory and experiment is obtained. An interesting transient grating, existing due to the viscosity of the liquid-crystal material, is observed in theory and practice for large cell-tilt angles.

Observations of diffraction and self diffraction effects during two wave mixing in a nematic liquid crystal

We report observations of the diffraction pattern resulting when a nematic liquid crystal is illuminated with two equal power, high intensity beams of light from an Ar+ laser. The time evolution of the pattern is followed from the initial production of higher diffraction orders to a final striking display arising as a result of the self-diffraction of the two incident beams. The experimental results are described with good approximation by a model assuming a phase distribution at the output plane of the liquid crystal in the form of the sum of a gaussian and a sinusoid.

Having a word with yourself:neural correlates of self-criticism and self-reassurance

Self-criticism is strongly correlated with a range of psychopathologies, such as depression, eating disorders and anxiety. In contrast, self-reassurance is inversely associated with such psychopathologies. Despite the importance of self-judgements and evaluations, little is known about the neurophysiology of these internal processes. The current study therefore used a novel fMRI task to investigate the neuronal correlates of self-criticism and self-reassurance. Participants were presented statements describing two types of scenario, with the instruction to either imagine being self-critical or self-reassuring in that situation. One scenario type focused on a personal setback, mistake or failure, which would elicit negative emotions, whilst the second was of a matched neutral event. Self-criticism was associated with activity in lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions and dorsal anterior cingulate (dAC), therefore linking self-critical thinking to error processing and resolution, and also behavioural inhibition. Self-reassurance was associated with left temporal pole and insula activation, suggesting that efforts to be self-reassuring engage similar regions to expressing compassion and empathy towards others. Additionally, we found a dorsal/ventral PFC divide between an individual's tendency to be self-critical or self-reassuring. Using multiple regression analyses, dorsolateral PFC activity was positively correlated with high levels of self-criticism (assessed via self-report measure), suggesting greater error processing and behavioural inhibition in such individuals. Ventrolateral PFC activity was positively correlated with high self-reassurance. Our findings may have implications for the neural basis of a range of mood disorders that are characterised by a preoccupation with personal mistakes and failures, and a self-critical response to such events.

Impact of online channel use on customer revenues and costs to serve:considering product portfolios and self-selection

Developing a strategy for online channels requires knowledge of the effects of customers' online use on their revenue and cost to serve, which ultimately influence customer profitability. The authors theoretically discuss and empirically examine these effects. An empirical study of retail banking customers reveals that online use improves customer profitability by increasing customer revenue and decreasing cost to serve. Moreover, the revenue effects of online use are substantially larger than the cost-to-serve effects, although the effects of online use on customer revenue and cost to serve vary by product portfolio. Self-selection effects also emerge and can be even greater than online use effects. Ignoring self-selection effects thus can lead to poor managerial decision-making.

Observations of diffraction and self diffraction effects during two wave mixing in a nematic liquid crystal

We report observations of the diffraction pattern resulting when a nematic liquid crystal is illuminated with two equal power, high intensity beams of light from an Ar+ laser. The time evolution of the pattern is followed from the initial production of higher diffraction orders to a final striking display arising as a result of the self-diffraction of the two incident beams. The experimental results are described with good approximation by a model assuming a phase distribution at the output plane of the liquid crystal in the form of the sum of a gaussian and a sinusoid.

Experiments and analysis of combined diffraction and self diffraction effects in a nematic liquid crystal cell

The potential for nonlinear optical processes in nematic-liquid-crystal cells is great due to the large phase changes resulting from reorientation of the nematic-liquid-crystal director. Here the combination of diffraction and self-diffraction effects are studied simultaneously by the use of a pair of focused laser beams which are coincident on a homeotropically aligned liquid-crystal cell. The result is a complicated diffraction pattern in the far field. This is analyzed in terms of the continuum theory for liquid crystals, using a one-elastic-constant approximation to solve the reorientation profile. Very good comparison between theory and experiment is obtained. An interesting transient grating, existing due to the viscosity of the liquid-crystal material, is observed in theory and practice for large cell-tilt angles.

Professional Services in the EU Internal Market: Quality Regulation and Self-Regulation, by T. Heremans (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012, ISBN 9781849462402); xxii+366pp., £75.00 hb.

Book review

On the compatibility of benevolence and self-interest:philanthropy and entrepreneurial orientation

This article explores the philanthropy of owner–managers of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) investigating whether and why more entrepreneurially oriented SMEs are also more likely to engage in philanthropic activities. We find support for a positive link between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and philanthropy in a representative sample of 270 Lithuanian SMEs controlling for alternative explanations. We highlight that philanthropy is relatively common among SME owner–managers and thus complement existing research which views philanthropy as sequentially following wealth generation. In line with our theorizing, further qualitative findings point to drivers of philanthropy beyond those considered in the dominant strategic-instrumental perspective. Building on social-psychological theories of motivation, we argue and confirm that philanthropy can also be an expression of owner–managers’ altruistic values; these values can be compatible and even mutually reinforcing with entrepreneurship. Our study is set in a transition economy, Lithuania, facilitating the analysis of heterogeneity in attitudes toward philanthropy.

A modelling and simulation environment for self-aware and self-expressive systems

Self-awareness and self-expression are promising architectural concepts for embedded systems to be equipped with to match them with dedicated application scenarios and constraints in the avionic and space-flight industry. Typically, these systems operate in largely undefined environments and are not reachable after deployment for a long time or even never ever again. This paper introduces a reference architecture as well as a novel modelling and simulation environment for self-aware and self-expressive systems with transaction level modelling, simulation and detailed modelling capabilities for hardware aspects, precise process chronology execution as well as fine timing resolutions. Furthermore, industrial relevant system sizes with several self-aware and self-expressive nodes can be handled by the modelling and simulation environment.

The handbook of engineering self-aware and self-expressive systems

When faced with the task of designing and implementing a new self-aware and self-expressive computing system, researchers and practitioners need a set of guidelines on how to use the concepts and foundations developed in the Engineering Proprioception in Computing Systems (EPiCS) project. This report provides such guidelines on how to design self-aware and self-expressive computing systems in a principled way. We have documented different categories of self-awareness and self-expression level using architectural patterns. We have also documented common architectural primitives, their possible candidate techniques and attributes for architecting self-aware and self-expressive systems. Drawing on the knowledge obtained from the previous investigations, we proposed a pattern driven methodology for engineering self-aware and self-expressive systems to assist in utilising the patterns and primitives during design. The methodology contains detailed guidance to make decisions with respect to the possible design alternatives, providing a systematic way to build self-aware and self-expressive systems. Then, we qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated the methodology using two case studies. The results reveal that our pattern driven methodology covers the main aspects of engineering self-aware and self-expressive systems, and that the resulted systems perform significantly better than the non-self-aware systems.

Gender, borrowing patterns and self-employment:some evidence for England

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we try to identify whether women have different borrowing patterns from men when trying to get into self-employment along with the factors that explain these different propensities. Second, we try to quantify the impact of these differences in borrowing propensity on women's willingness to become self-employed. The empirical analysis is carried out on a sample of individuals drawn from the English Household Survey of Entrepreneurship, 2003. Our results show that (1) women are less likely than men to seek external finance and that (2) gender differences in access to finance are affecting adversely the transition into self-employment. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.