Smartphone chronic gaming consumption and positive coping practice

Purpose - Chronic consumption practice has been greatly accelerated by mobile, interactive and smartphone gaming technology devices. This study explores how chronic consumption of smartphone gaming produces positive coping practice. Design/methodology/approach - Underpinned by cognitive framing theory, empirical insights from eleven focus groups (n=62) reveal how smartphone gaming enhances positive coping amongst gamers and non-gamers. Findings - The findings reveal how the chronic consumption of games allows technology to act with privileged agency that resolves tensions between individuals and collectives. Consumption narratives of smartphone games, even when play is limited, lead to the identification of three cognitive frames through which positive coping processes operate: (a) the market generated frame, (b) the social being frame, and (c) the citizen frame. Research limitations/implications – This paper adds to previous research by providing an understanding of positive coping practice in the smartphone chronic gaming consumption. Originality/value - In smartphone chronic gaming consumption, cognitive frames enable positive coping by fostering appraisal capacities in which individuals confront, hegemony, culture and alterity-morality concerns.

Film policy in practice: a case study of Scottish Screen’s funding schemes

This thesis examines cultural policy for film in Scotland, from 1997 to 2010. It explores the extent to which the industry is shaped by film policy strategies and through the agency of public funding bodies. It reflects on how Scottish Screen, Scotland’s former screen agency, articulated its role as a national institution concerned with both commercial and cultural remits, with the conflicting interests of different industry groups. The study examines how the agency developed funding schemes to fulfil policy directives during a tumultuous period in Scottish cultural policy history, following the establishment of the Scottish Parliament with the Scotland Act 1998 and preceding the Independence Referendum Act 2013. In order to investigate how policy has shaped the development of a national film industry, a further two case studies are explored. These are Tartan Shorts, Scotland’s former flagship short film scheme, and the Audience Development Fund, Scotland’s first project based film exhibition scheme. The first study explores the planning, implementation and evaluation of the scheme as part of the agency’s talent development strategy. The outcomes of this study show the potential impact of funding methods aimed at developing and retaining Scottish filmmaking talent. Thereafter, the Scottish exhibition sector is discussed; a formerly unexplored field within film policy discussions and academic debate. It outlines Scottish Screen’s legacy to current film exhibition funding practices and the practical mechanisms the agency utilised to foster Scottish audiences. By mapping the historical and political terrain, the research analyses the specificity of Scotland within the UK context and explores areas in which short-term, context-driven policies become problematic. The work concludes by presenting the advantages and issues caused by film funding practices, advocating what is needed for the film industry in Scotland today with suggestions for long-term and cohesive policy development.

Multi-Principal Agency and the Compliance with Professional Guidelines in Health Systems: Economic and Regulatory Perspectives

Amid the trend of rising health expenditure in developed economies, changing the healthcare delivery models is an important point of action for service regulators to contain this trend. Such a change is mostly induced by either financial incentives or regulatory tools issued by the regulators and targeting service providers and patients. This creates a tripartite interaction between service regulators, professionals, and patients that manifests a multi-principal agent relationship, in which professionals are agents to two principals: regulators and patients. This thesis is concerned with such a multi-principal agent relationship in healthcare and attempts to investigate the determinants of the (non-)compliance to regulatory tools in light of this tripartite relationship. In addition, the thesis provides insights into the different institutional, economic, and regulatory settings, which govern the multi-principal agent relationship in healthcare in different countries. Furthermore, the thesis provides and empirically tests a conceptual framework of the possible determinants of (non-)compliance by physicians to regulatory tools issued by the regulator. The main findings of the thesis are first, in a multi-principal agent setting, the utilization of financial incentives to align the objectives of professionals and the regulator is important but not the only solution. This finding is based on the heterogeneity in the financial incentives provided to professionals in different health markets, which does not provide a one-size-fits-all model of financial incentives to influence clinical decisions. Second, soft law tools as clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are important tools to mitigate the problems of the multi-principal agent setting in health markets as they reduce information asymmetries while preserving the autonomy of professionals. Third, CPGs are complex and heterogeneous and so are the determinants of (non-)compliance to them. Fourth, CPGs work but under conditions. Factors such as intra-professional competition between service providers or practitioners might lead to non-compliance to CPGs – if CPGs are likely to reduce the professional’s utility. Finally, different degrees of soft law mandate have different effects on providers’ compliance. Generally, the stronger the mandate, the stronger the compliance, however, even with a strong mandate, drivers such as intra-professional competition and co-management of patients by different professionals affected the (non-)compliance.

[the Teaching Of Social Sciences In Health: Between Practice And Theory].

The models of teaching social sciences and clinical practice are insufficient for the needs of practical-reflective teaching of social sciences applied to health. The scope of this article is to reflect on the challenges and perspectives of social science education for health professionals. In the 1950s the important movement bringing together social sciences and the field of health began, however weak credentials still prevail. This is due to the low professional status of social scientists in health and the ill-defined position of the social sciences professionals in the health field. It is also due to the scant importance attributed by students to the social sciences, the small number of professionals and the colonization of the social sciences by the biomedical culture in the health field. Thus, the professionals of social sciences applied to health are also faced with the need to build an identity, even after six decades of their presence in the field of health. This is because their ambivalent status has established them as a partial, incomplete and virtual presence, requiring a complex survival strategy in the nebulous area between social sciences and health.

Otoneurological Evaluation: Current Good Practice.

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[lay Agency And Healthcare: Producing Healthcare Maps].

This study aimed to characterize which regulatory logics (other than government regulation) result in healthcare output, using a two-stage qualitative study in two municipalities in the ABCD Paulista region in São Paulo State, Brazil. The first stage included interviews with strategic actors (managers and policymakers) and key health professionals. The second phase collected life histories from 18 individuals with high health-services utilization rates. An analysis of the researchers' involvement in the field allowed a better understanding of the narratives. Four regulatory systems were characterized (governmental, professional, clientelistic, and lay), indicating that regulation is a field in constant dispute, a social production. Users' action produces healthcare maps that reveal the existence of other possible health system arrangements, calling on us to test shared management of healthcare between health teams and users as a promising path to the urgent need to reinvent health.

[recommendations For Physical Exercise Practice During Pregnancy: A Critical Review].

Physical exercise is recommended for all healthy pregnant women. Regular practice of exercises during pregnancy can provide many physical and psychological benefits, with no evidence of adverse outcomes for the fetus or the newborn when exercise is performed at mild to moderate intensity. However, few pregnant women engage in this practice and many still have fears and doubts about the safety of exercise. The objective of the present study was to inform the professionals who provide care for Brazilian pregnant women about the current recommendations regarding physical exercise during pregnancy based on the best scientific evidence available. In view of the perception that few systematic models are available about this topic and after performing several studies in this specific area, we assembled practical information of interest to both the professionals and the pregnant women. We also provide recommendations about the indications, contraindications, modalities (aerobics, resistance training, stretching and pelvic floor training), frequency, intensity and duration indicated for each gestational trimester. The review addresses physical exercise recommendation both for low risk pregnant women and for special populations, such as athletes and obese, hypertensive and diabetic subjects. The advantages of an active and healthy lifestyle should be always reinforced during and after gestation since pregnancy is an appropriate period to introduce new habits because pregnant women are usually more motivated to adhere to recommendations. Thus, routine exams, frequent returns and supervision are recommended in order to provide new guidelines that will have long-term beneficial effects for both mother and child.

The Environment Of Professional Practice And Burnout In Nurses In Primary Healthcare.

to assess how nurses perceive autonomy, control over the environment, the professional relationship between nurses and physicians and the organizational support and correlate them with burnout, satisfaction at work, quality of work and the intention to quit work in primary healthcare. cross-sectional and correlation study, using a sample of 198 nurses. The tools used were the Nursing Work Index Revised, Maslach Burnout Inventory and a form to characterize the nurses. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics were applied and Spearman's correlation coefficient was used. the nurses assessed that the environment is partially favorable for: autonomy, professional relationship and organizational support and that the control over this environment is limited. Significant correlations were evidenced between the Nursing Work Index Revised, Maslach Burnout Inventory and the variables: satisfaction at work, quality of care and the intent to quit the job. the nurses' perceptions regarding the environment of practice are correlated with burnout, satisfaction at work, quality of care and the intent to quit the job. This study provides support for the restructuring of work processes in the primary health care environment and for communication among the health service management, human resources and occupational health areas.

Is Sport Practice A Risk Factor For Shoulder Injuries In Tetraplegic Individuals?

A retrospective cohort. To report the incidence rates of shoulder injuries diagnosed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in tetraplegic athletes and sedentary tetraplegic individuals. To evaluate whether sport practice increases the risk of shoulder injuries in tetraplegic individuals. Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Ten tetraplegic athletes with traumatic spinal cord injury were selected among quad rugby athletes and had both the shoulders evaluated by MRI. They were compared with 10 sedentary tetraplegic individuals who were submitted to the same radiological protocol. All athletes were male with a mean age of 32.1 years (range 25-44 years, s.d.=6.44). Time since injury ranged from 6 to 17 years, with a mean value of 9.7 years and s.d. of 3.1 years. All sedentary individuals were male with a mean age of 35.9 years (range 22-47 years, s.d.=8.36). Statistical analysis showed a protective effect of sport in the development of shoulder injuries, with a weak correlation for infraspinatus and subscapularis tendinopathy (P=0.09 and P=0.08, respectively) and muscle atrophy (P=0.08). There was a strong correlation for acromioclavicular joint (ACJ) and labrum injuries (P=0.04), with sedentary individuals at a higher risk for these injuries. Tetraplegic athletes and sedentary individuals have a high incidence of supraspinatus tendinosis, bursitis and ACJ degeneration. Statistical analysis showed that there is a possible protective effect of sport in the development of shoulder injuries. Weak evidence was encountered for infraspinatus and subscapularis tendinopathy and muscle atrophy (P=0.09, P=0.08 and P=0.08, respectively). Strong evidence with P=0.04 suggests that sedentary tetraplegic individuals are at a greater risk for ACJ and labrum injuries.Spinal Cord advance online publication, 17 March 2015; doi:10.1038/sc.2014.248.

Practice of walking and its association with perceived environment among elderly Brazilians living in a region of low socioeconomic level

Background: The aim of this study was analyze associations between the practice of walking and environmental perception among elderly Brazilians in a region of low socioeconomic level. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 385 elderly people aged 60 years and over. To evaluate walking, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), long version (leisure and transport modules) was used. The environment was evaluated by means of the Neighborhood Environmental Walkability Scale (NEWS) (adapted Brazilian version). For the statistical analysis, multiple logistic regression models were created separately for men and women. The practice of at least 150 minutes a week of walking was the dependent variable, and the variables of environmental perception were the independent variables. All the models were controlled for schooling level and age. Results: The proportion of elderly people active in walking was 56.9% for the men and 26.4% for the women. The perception of the presence of soccer fields (OR = 4.12) and their proximity, within ten minutes' walk from home (OR = 3.43), were associated with the practice of walking among the men. The perception of the presence of public squares (OR = 4.70) and the proximity of primary healthcare units, within ten minutes' walk from home (OR = 3.71), were associated with the practice of walking among the women. An association with adequate perception of vehicle traffic remained at the threshold of significance for the women. Conclusion: Accessibility of leisure structures such as football fields and public squares and of health services such as primary healthcare units were important environmental variables associated with the practice of walking among elderly people living in a region of low socioeconomic level in Brazil. These variables need to be taken into consideration when aiming to promote the practice of walking among elderly people living in similar regions.

Desire, Hierarchy, and Agency: Youth, Homosexuality, and Difference Markers in Sao Paulo

In this article, we present the results of ethnographic research undertaken in areas with concentrated recreational venues frequented by diverse youth groups in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. This material is part of the larger ""Relationships between race, gender and sexuality in different national and local contexts"" research initiative. Here, we focus upon data collected through ethnographic observation and interviews conducted in various locales where young men meet to engage in homoerotic sociability, demonstrating different degrees of conviviality among groups of different socioeconomic profiles and distinct esthetic preferences, consumer habits, and body types. We explore the production of styles and body presentations that link markers of color/race, gender, and sexuality, as well as the relationships that these maintain with opening or restricting possibilities for the establishment of erotic and affective partnerships involving these boys.

The effectiveness of educational practice in diabetic foot: a view from Brazil

Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevention and self-inspection behavior of diabetic subjects with foot at ulcer risk, no previous episode, who participated in the routine visits and standardized education provided by the service and who received prescribed footwear. This evaluation was carried out using a questionnaire scoring from 0-10 (high scores reflect worse practice compliance). Results: 60 patients were studied (30 of each sex); mean age was 62 years, mean duration of the disease was 17 years. As for compliance, 90% showed a total score <= 5, only 8.7% regularly wore the footwear supplied; self foot inspection 65%, 28,3% with additional familiar inspection; creaming 77%; proper washing and drying 88%; proper cutting of toe nails 83%; no cuticle cutting 83%; routine shoe inspection 77%; no use of pumice stones or similar abrasive 70%; no barefoot walking 95%. Conclusion: the planned and multidisciplinary educational approach enabled high compliance of the ulcer prevention care needed in diabetic patients at risk for complications. In contrast, compliance observed for the use of footwear provided was extremely low, demonstrating that the issue of its acceptability should be further and carefully addressed. In countries of such vast dimensions as Brazil multidisciplinary educational approaches can and should be performed by the services providing care for patients with foot at risk for complications according to the reality of local scenarios. Furthermore, every educational program should assess the learning, results obtained and efficacy in the target population by use of an adequate evaluation system.

The practice of Information Architecture of websites in Brazil

The project of Information Architecture is one of the initial stages of the project of a website, thus the detection and correction of errors in this stage are easier and time-saving than in the following stages. However, to minimize errors for the projects of information architecture, a methodology is necessary to organize the work of the professional and guarantee the final product quality. The profile of the professional who works with Information Architecture in Brazil has been analyzed (quantitative research by means of a questionnaire on-line) as well as the difficulties, techniques and methodologies found in his projects (qualitative research by means of interviews in depth with support of the approaches of the Sense-Making). One concludes that the methodologies of projects of information architecture need to develop the adoption of the approaches of Design Centered in the User and in the ways to evaluate its results.

Intercepting moving targets: does memory from practice in a specific condition of target displacement affect movement timing?

This investigation aimed at assessing the extent to which memory from practice in a specific condition of target displacement modulates temporal errors and movement timing of interceptive movements. We compared two groups practicing with certainty of future target velocity either in unchanged target velocity or in target velocity decrease. Following practice, both experimental groups were probed in the situations of unchanged target velocity and target velocity decrease either under the context of certainty or uncertainty about target velocity. Results from practice showed similar improvement of temporal accuracy between groups, revealing that target velocity decrease did not disturb temporal movement organization when fully predictable. Analysis of temporal errors in the probing trials indicated that both groups had higher timing accuracy in velocity decrease in comparison with unchanged velocity. Effect of practice was detected by increased temporal accuracy of the velocity decrease group in situations of decreased velocity; a trend consistent with the expected effect of practice was observed for temporal errors in the unchanged velocity group and in movement initiation at a descriptive level. An additional point of theoretical interest was the fast adaptation in both groups to a target velocity pattern different from that practiced. These points are discussed under the perspective of integration of vision and motor control by means of an internal forward model of external motion.

Amplification and diffusion of manual preference from lateralized practice in children

The effect of lateralized practice on manual preference was investigated in right-handed children. Probing tasks required reaching and grasping a pencil at distinct eccentricities in the right and left hemifields (simple), and its transportation and insertion into a small hole (complex). During practice, the children experienced manipulative tasks different from that used for probing, using the left hand only. Results showed that before practice the children used almost exclusively the right hand in the right hemifield and at the midline position. Following lateralized practice frequency of use of the left hand increased in most lateral positions. A more evident effect of lateralized practice on shift of manual preference was detected in the complex task. Implications for lateralization of behavior in a developmental timescale are discussed on the basis of the proposition of amplification and diffusion of manual preference from lateralized practice. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 52: 723-730, 2010.