Consumer Advisory: Social Media Safety & Security, October 2013

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Disordered eating behaviors: what about boys?

PURPOSE: To determine the characteristics specific to boys with disordered eating behaviors (DEB) and the general context in which these DEB occur. METHOD: Data were drawn from the SMASH02 database, a survey carried out among post-mandatory school students in Switzerland aged 16-20 years in 2002. Only males (N=3890) were included, and were classified into into one of four groups based on their level of concern about weight/food and on their eating behaviors, as follows: group 1: one concern without behavior (N=862); group 2: more than one concern without behavior (N=361); group 3: at least one behavior (N=798); and a control group (N=1869), according to previously validated items. Groups were compared for personal, family, school, experience of violence, and health-compromising behaviors variables on the bivariate level. All significant variables were included in a multinomial logistic regression using Stata 9 software. RESULTS: About one-half of the boys reported either a concern or unhealthy eating behavior. Compared with the control group, boys from the three groups were more likely to be students and to report a history of sexual abuse, delinquency, depression, and feeling fat. In addition, boys from group 3 were more likely to report a history of dieting, early puberty, peer teasing, having experienced violence, frequent inebriation, and being overweight. CONCLUSION: DEB concern adolescent males more frequently than thought and seem to be integrated in a general dysfunctional context, in which violence is predominant. Adolescent males also need to be screened for DEB. Moreover, prevention programs should target the increasing social and media pressure regarding boys ideal body shape and raise public consciousness about this phenomenon.

Dynamics of flow: a nonlinear perspective

The aims of this study are to consider the experience of flow from a nonlinear dynamics perspective. The processes and temporal nature of intrinsic motivation and flow, would suggest that flow experiences fluctuate over time in a dynamical fashion. Thus it can be argued that the potential for chaos is strong. The sample was composed of 20 employees (both full and part time) recruited from a number of different organizations and work backgrounds. The Experience Sampling Method (ESM) was used for data collection. Once obtained the temporal series, they were subjected to various analyses proper to the com- plexity theory (Visual Recurrence Analysis and Surrogate Data Analysis). Results showed that in 80% of the cases, flow presented a chaotic dynamic, in that, flow experiences delineated a complex dynamic whose patterns of change were not easy to predict. Implications of the study, its limitations and future research are discussed.

Psychology in Catalonia: 1996-2002

En aquest article es presenta el resum del Report de la Recerca en Psicologia a Catalunya durant el període 1996-2002, publicat l'any 2004 per l'Institut d'Estudis Catalans. A partir de informacions diverses, procedents especialmentd'institucions educatives de nivell universitari, Administració de Catalunya (Departament d'Universitats, Recercai Societat de la Informació, DURSI), i els propis coordinadors de Grups de Recerca -prèviament detectats mitjançant laelaboració d'un qüestionari ad hoc-, s'ha perfilat un mapa de la recerca en Psicologia a Catalunya durant el períodeestudiat, el qual inclou investigadors procedents de les sis Universitats catalanes en les quals s'imparteixen estudis dePsicologia (o, en el cas de la Universitat de Lleida, de Psicopedagogia). Els eixos organitzadors de la informació hanestat les Àrees de Coneixement i les Universitats. La informació recollida s'ha articulat al voltant de diversesqüestions cabdals relatives als Grups de Recerca: Projectes de recerca obtinguts per part de diversos organismes subvencionants, la productivitat contemplada des de la vessant de la publicació d'articles científics, el finançament obtingut per part de diverses Administracions i entitats privades, la infrastructura amb la que compten, les característiques d'arranjament d'aquests Grups, i, finalment, les condicions, valoracions, expectatives i gestió dels recursos dels Grups de Recerca.

Valoriser le géopatrimoine par la médiation indirecte et la visualisation des objets géomorphologiques

Résumé: Valoriser le géopatrimoine par la médiation indirecte et la visualisation des objets géomorphologiques Le géopatrimoine regroupe des objets géologiques lato sensu auxquels certaines valeurs sont attribuées, en fonction de leur intérêt pour la science, de leur rareté, de leurs particularités culturelles ou écologiques, etc. Valoriser le géopatrimoine signifie avant tout faire partager cette approche aux non-spécialistes, en expliquant ce qui fait la valeur de ces objets. Cette valorisation peut s'effectuer, entre autres, sous la forme d'une activité touristique et contribuer ainsi au développement régional. Faire comprendre l'origine, la singularité et la valeur des formes du relief implique le recours à une communication éducative, désignée par le terme de médiation. Les implications de la dimension éducative du processus, comme la prise en compte des connaissances et attentes du public, la création d'un environnement favorable à l'apprentissage ou l'attractivité du contenu, sont souvent négligées. Du point de vue conceptuel, un modèle de la médiation indirecte (c'est-à-dire au moyen de supports médiatiques) a été proposé et appliqué au développement empirique de produits de médiation et à leur évaluation. Ce modèle ne garantit pas la réussite de la communication éducative, mais contribue à créer un cadre favorable au processus. De plus, plusieurs lignes directrices pour le choix du type de média et sa mise en forme ont été définies sur la base d'une compilation de résultats de la psychologie cognitive sur l'usage des médias pour l'apprentissage. Des méthodes qualitatives et quantitatives variées ont été mobilisées : enquêtes par questionnaire ex situ et in situ, auprès des visiteurs de géomorphosites de montagne, réalisation de médias interactifs testés ensuite auprès de divers publics (parcours enregistré, pré- et post-questionnaires) et entretiens collectifs. Les résultats obtenus éclairent divers aspects de la problématique. L'étude du public a montré, par exemple, que le géotourisme possède un réel public parmi les visiteurs des sites de montagnes : trois-quarts d'entre eux expriment de l'intérêt pour des explications sur la géologie et l'évolution du paysage. Cette thèse a exploré ces aspects liés au processus d'apprentissage en se focalisant sur les médias visuels, surtout interactifs. La plupart des médias visuels couramment utilisés en géomorphologie ont été considérés. Le développement de versions interactives de ces médias sous forme d'applications web a fourni un aperçu concret des possibilités des nouvelles technologies. Les utilisateurs apprécient en particulier a richesse du contenu, le haut degré d'interactivité et la variété de ces applications. De tels médias incitent à visiter le site naturel et semblent aussi répondre aux intérêts de publics variés. Abstract: Geoheritage promotion through non-personal interpretation and visualisation of geomorphological features Geoheritage concerns all geological features lato sensu to which some values are attributed, according to their scientific interest, their rarity, their cultural or ecological dimensions, etc. Geoheritage promotion implies sharing this point of view with non-specialists, explaining what gives value to those objects. Geotourism is one of the many ways to achieve geoheritage promotion, while contributing also to regional development. In order to make non-specialists understand the origin, the specificity and the value of landforms, educational communication is needed, that is called interpretation (French: médiation). This education dimension has several, and often neglected, implications, like taking into account public's knowledge and expectations, creating a favourable learning environment, attractive design, etc. From the conceptual point of view, a model for non-personal interpretation has been proposed and applied for the empirical development and for the assessment of interpretive products. This model does not guarantee success of educational communication, but help creating a favourable environment for this process. Moreover, some guidelines were defined from a compilation of several results of cognitive psychology on media use for learning. They guide the choice of the kind of media and its design. Several qualitative and quantitative methods were applied: survey questionnaires ex situ and in situ by mountain geomorphosites visitors, interactive medias developed and then tested by different kinds of users (with usertracking, pre- and post-survey questionnaires), group interviews. The results answered different aspects of the research questions. Visitor surveys revealed for example that geotourism could attract many visitors of mountain areas: three quarters of them say they are interested in getting explanations about geology and landscape (in particular its dynamic dimensions). This thesis examined those aspects with a focus on visual medias, both statics and interactive. Most of currently used medias in geomorphology were considered. Interactive versions of those medias were developed in web applications; they gave a concrete overview on the opportunities that new technologies offer. The content richness, the high interaction level and the diversity of the applications are the most liked aspects by the users. Such medias drive to visit the natural site and seem to correspond to the interests of various kinds of publics. Zusammenfassung: Aufwertung des erdwissenschaftlichen Erbes durch mediale Vermittlung und Visualisierung von geomorphologischen Objekten Das erdwissenschaftliche Erbe besteht aus geologischen Gegebenheiten lato sensu, denen entsprechend ihrer Bedeutung für die Wissenschaft, ihrer Seltenheit, ihrer kulturellen oder ökologischen Besonderheiten usw. bestimmte Werte zugeordnet werden. Das erdwissenschaftliche Erbe aufzuwerten bedeutet in erster Linie, diesen Ansatz Nichtspezialisten näher zu bringen, indem ihnen erklärt wird, was den Wert dieser Gegebenheiten ausmacht. Dies kann etwa im Rahmen eines touristischen Angebots geschehen und so die regionale Entwicklung unterstützen. Um Entstehung, Besonderheit und Wert von Geländeformen verständlich zu machen, wird eine pädagogische Kommunikationsform verwendet, die als mediale Vermittlung (franz. médiation) bezeichnet wird. Die Bedeutung der pädagogischen Dimension des Vermittlungsprozesses wie etwa der Einbezug des Wissens und der Erwartungen des Publikums, die Gestaltung eines positiven Lernklimas oder die Attraktivität des Inhalts wird oft vernachlässigt. Auf konzeptueller Ebene wurde ein Modell der indirekten Interpretation erarbeitet (d. h. anhand von Medien), das bei der empirischen Entwicklung der Interpretationsprodukte und ihrer Evaluation Anwendung fand. Dieses Modell garantiert zwar nicht den Erfolg der pädagogischen Kommunikation. Es trägt aber dazu bei, einen für den Prozess günstigen Kontext zu schaffen. Des Weiteren wurden mehrere Richtlinien für die Wahl des Medientyps und dessen Ausgestaltung anhand einer Zusammenstellung von Resultaten der kognitiven Psychologie über den Gebrauch von Medien in Lernprozessen definiert. Es wurden verschiedene qualitative und quantitative Methoden eingesetzt: Befragung mittels Fragebogen der Besucher von geomorphologischen Geotopen im Gebirge - ex situ und in situ -, Erarbeitung von interaktiven Medien, die anschliessend anhand verschiedener Zielgruppen gestestet wurden (Aufnahme des Besuchparcours, Vor- und Nachfragebögen) sowie kollektive Interviews. Die Ergebnisse geben Aufschluss zu verschiedenen Aspekten der Fragestellung. Die Befragung des Publikums hat zum Beispiel deutlich gemacht, dass der Geotourismus unter den Besuchern von Berggebieten tatsächlich auf eine Nachfrage stösst: drei Viertel von ihnen zeigen ein Interesse für Erläuterungen zur Geologie und der Landschaftsentwicklung. Die vorliegende Doktorarbeit hat die genannten Aspekte der Lernprozesse untersucht, wobei der Fokus auf visuellen, insbesondere interaktiven Medien lag. Die meisten gängigen visuellen Medien der Geomorphologie wurden berücksichtigt. Die Entwicklung von interaktiven Versionen dieser Medien in Form von Web-Anwendungen hat die Möglichkeiten der neuen Technologien veranschaulicht. Die Benutzer schätzten insbesondere die Vielfalt des Inhalts, die hohe Interaktivität und die Diversität dieser Anwendungen. Solche Medien laden dazu ein, ein Naturgebiet zu besuchen und scheinen den Interessen der verschiedenen Publikumsgruppen entgegenzukommen.

Diabetes and pre-diabetes are associated with cardiovascular risk factors and carotid/femoral intima-media thickness independently of markers of insuline resistance and adiposity

Background Impaired glucose regulation (IGR) is associated with detrimental cardiovascular outcomes such as cardiovascular disease risk factors (CVD risk factors) or intima-media thickness (IMT). Our aim was to examine whether these associations are mediated by body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (waist) or fasting serum insulin (insulin) in a population in the African region. Methods Major CVD risk factors (systolic blood pressure, smoking, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol,) were measured in a random sample of adults aged 25-64 in the Seychelles (n=1255, participation rate: 80.2%). According to the criteria of the American Diabetes Association, IGR was divided in four ordered categories: 1) normal fasting glucose (NFG), 2) impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and normal glucose tolerance (IFG/NGT), 3) IFG and impaired glucose tolerance (IFG/IGT), and 4) diabetes mellitus (DM). Carotid and femoral IMT was assessed by ultrasound (n=496). Results Age-adjusted levels of the major CVD risk factors worsened gradually across IGR categories (NFG < IFG/NGT < IFG/IGT < DM), particularly HDL-cholesterol and blood pressure (p for trend <0.001). These relationships were marginally attenuated upon further adjustment for waist, BMI or insulin (whether considered alone or combined) and most of these relationships remained significant. With regards to IMT, the association was null with IFG/NGT, weak with IFG/IGT and stronger with DM (all more markedly at femoral than carotid levels). The associations between IMT and IFG/IGT or DM (adjusted by age and major CVD risk factors) decreased only marginally upon further adjustment for BMI, waist or insulin. Further adjustment for family history of diabetes did not alter the results. Conclusions We found graded relationships between IGR categories and both major CVD risk factors and carotid/femoral IMT. These relationships were only partly accounted for by BMI, waist and insulin. This suggests that increased CVD-risk associated with IGR is also mediated by factors other than the considered markers of adiposity and insulin resistance. The results also imply that IGR and associated major CVD risk factors should be systematically screened and appropriately managed.

Self-potentials in partially saturated media: the importance of explicit modeling of electrode effects

Self-potential (SP) data are of interest to vadose zone hydrology because of their direct sensitivity to water flow and ionic transport. There is unfortunately little consensus in the literature about how to best model SP data under partially saturated conditions, and different approaches (often supported by one laboratory data set alone) have been proposed. We argue that this lack of agreement can largely be traced to electrode effects that have not been properly taken into account. A series of drainage and imbibition experiments were considered in which we found that previously proposed approaches to remove electrode effects were unlikely to provide adequate corrections. Instead, we explicitly modeled the electrode effects together with classical SP contributions using a flow and transport model. The simulated data agreed overall with the observed SP signals and allowed decomposing the different signal contributions to analyze them separately. After reviewing other published experimental data, we suggest that most of them include electrode effects that have not been properly taken into account. Our results suggest that previously presented SP theory works well when considering the modeling uncertainties presently associated with electrode effects. Additional work is warranted to not only develop suitable electrodes for laboratory experiments but also to assure that associated electrode effects that appear inevitable in longer term experiments are predictable, so that they can be incorporated into the modeling framework.