P. W. White sur Sunbeam [500 cmc, concurrent de la course motocycliste Paris-Nice] : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]

Référence bibliographique : Rol, 57961

List-based decision problems

When encountering a set of alternatives displayed in the form of a list, the decision maker usually determines a particular alternative, after which she stops checking the remaining ones, and chooses an alternative from those observed so far. We present a framework in which both decision problems are explicitly modeled, and axiomatically characterize a stop-and-choose rule which unifies position-biased successive choice and satisficing choice.

Drugs, schizotypy and cognition: Cognitive attenuations seem more consistently associated with substance use than schizotypal symptoms

Psychosis is a debilitating disease, causing harm to the individual and society. Since early detection of the disease is associated with a more benign course, factors are warranted that enable the early detection of psychosis. In the present thesis we will be focusing on two potential risk factors, namely schizotypy and drug use. The schizotypy concept, originally developed by Meehl (1962), states that schizophrenia symptoms exist on a spectrum, with symptoms ranging from the most severe in patients with schizophrenia to the least affected individual in the general population. Along the schizophrenia spectrum cognitive impairments are commonly found, for instance reduced hemispheric asymmetry or frontal lobe functions. The second risk factor (drug use), affects similar cognitive functions as those attenuated along the schizophrenia spectrum, and drug use is elevated in schizophrenia and people scoring high on schizotypy. Therefore, we set out to investigate whether cognitive attenuations formerly allocated to schizotypal symptoms could have been influenced by elevated substance use in this population. To test this idea, we assessed various drugs (nicotine, cannabis, mephedrone, general substance dependence) and schizotypy symptoms (O-LIFE), and measured either hemispheric asymmetry of function (left hemisphere dominance for language, and right hemisphere dominance for facial processing) or functions largely relying on the frontal lobes (such as cognitive flexibility, working memory, verbal short-term memory, verbal learning and verbal fluency). Results of all studies suggest that it is mostly drugs, and not schizotypy in general that predict cognitive functioning. Therefore, cognitive attenuations subscribed to schizotypy dimensions are likely to have been affected by enhanced drug use. Future studies should extend the list of potential risk factors (e.g. depression and IQ) to acquire a comprehensive overview of the most reliable predictors of disadvantageous cognitive profiles.

Free-and open source software for a course on network management: authoring and enactment of scripts based on collaborative learning strategies

This paper describes a Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) case study in engineering education carried out within the context of a network management course. The case study shows that the use of two computing tools developed by the authors and based on Free- and Open-Source Software (FOSS) provide significant educational benefits over traditional engineering pedagogical approaches in terms of both concepts and engineering competencies acquisition. First, the Collage authoring tool guides and supports the course teacher in the process of authoring computer-interpretable representations (using the IMS Learning Design standard notation) of effective collaborative pedagogical designs. Besides, the Gridcole system supports the enactment of that design by guiding the students throughout the prescribed sequence of learning activities. The paper introduces the goals and context of the case study, elaborates onhow Collage and Gridcole were employed, describes the applied evaluation methodology, anddiscusses the most significant findings derived from the case study.

Healthy Iowans 2010 Mid-Course Revision, July 2005

In the past century, public health has been credited with adding 25 years to life expectancy by contributing to the decline in illness and injury. Progress has been made, for example, in smoking reduction, infectious disease, and motor vehicle and workplace injuries. Besides its focus on traditional concerns such as clean water and safe food, public health is adapting to meet emerging health problems. Particular troublesome are health threats to youth: teenage pregnancies, violence, substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, and other conditions associated with high-risk behaviors. These threats add to burgeoning health care costs. A conservative estimate of $69 billion in medical spending could be averted through the impact of public health strategies aimed at heart disease, stroke, fatal and nonfatal occupational injuries, motor vehicle-related injuries, low birth weight, and violence. These strategies require the collaboration of many groups in the public and private sectors. Collaboration is the bedrock of public health and Healthy Iowans planning. At the core of Healthy Iowans 2000 and its successor, Healthy Iowans 2010, is the idea that all Iowans benefit when stakeholders decide on disease prevention and health promotion strategies and agree to work together on them. These strategies can improve the quality of life and hold down health care costs. The payoff for health promotion and disease prevention is not immediate, but it has long-lasting benefits. The Iowa plan is a companion to the national plan, Healthy People 2010. An initiative to improve the health of Americans, the national plan is the driving force for federal resource allocation for disease prevention and health promotion. The state plan is used in the same way. Both plans have received broad support from Republican and Democratic administrations. Community planners are using the state plan to help assess health needs and craft health improvement plans. Healthy Iowans 2010 was written at an unusual point in history – a new decade, a new century, a new millennium. The introduction was optimistic. “The 21st century,” it says, “promises to add life as well as years through improved health habits coupled with medical advances. Scientists have suggested that if these changes occur, the definition of adulthood will also change. An extraordinary number of people will live fuller, more active lives beyond that expected in the late 20th century.” At the same time, the country has spawned a new generation of health hazards. According to Dr. William Dietz of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it has replaced “the diseases of deficiency with diseases of excess” (Newsweek, August 2, 1999). New threats, such as childhood overweight, can reverse progress made in the last century. This demands concerted action.

Alliance patterns over the course of short-term dynamic psychotherapy: The shape of productive relationships.

The shape of alliance processes over the course of psychotherapy has already been studied in several process-outcome studies on very brief psychotherapy. The present study applies the shape-of-change methodology to short-term dynamic psychotherapies and complements this method with hierarchical linear modeling. A total of 50 psychotherapies of up to 40 sessions were included. Alliance was measured at the end of each session. The results indicate that a linear progression model is most adequate. Three main patterns were found: stable, linear, and quadratic growth. The linear growth pattern, along with the slope parameter, was related to treatment outcome. This study sheds additional light on alliance process research, underscores the importance of linear alliance progression for outcome, and also fosters a better understanding of its limitations.

The course of inflammatory bowel disease during pregnancy and postpartum: a prospective European ECCO-EpiCom Study of 209 pregnant women.

BACKGROUND: The impact of pregnancy on the course of IBD is still controversial. AIM: To investigate the impact of pregnancy on IBD and to search for factors with potential impact on remission. METHODS: Pregnant IBD women from 12 European countries were enrolled between January 2003 and December 2006 and compared at conception (1:1) with nonpregnant IBD women. Data on disease course were prospectively collected at each trimester during pregnancy and in the postpartum (6 months) using a standardised questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 209 pregnant IBD women were included: 92 with Crohn's disease (CD; median age 31 years, range 17-40) and 117 with ulcerative colitis (UC; median age 32 years, range 19-42). No statistically significant difference in disease course during pregnancy and postpartum was observed between pregnant and nonpregnant CD women. Longer disease duration in CD and immunosuppressive therapy were found to be risk factors for activity during pregnancy. Pregnant UC women were more likely than nonpregnant UC women to relapse both during pregnancy (RR 2.19; 95% CI: 1.25-3.97, 0.004) and postpartum (RR 6.22; 95% CI: 2.05-79.3, P = 0.0004). During pregnancy, relapse was mainly observed in the first (RR 8.80; 95% CI 2.05-79.3, P < 0.0004) and the second trimester (RR 2.84, 95% CI 1.2-7.45, P = 0.0098). CONCLUSIONS: Pregnant women with Crohn's disease had a similar disease course both during pregnancy and after delivery as the nonpregnant women. In contrast, pregnant women with ulcerative colitis were at higher risk of relapse during pregnancy and in the postpartum than nonpregnant ulcerative colitis women.

Who benefits from parental leave in Spain? : a life course analysis

This paper analyses the extent to which individual and workplacecharacteristics and regional policies influence the use and duration ofparental leave in Spain. The research is based on a sample of 125,165people, and 6,959 parental leaves stemming from the ‘Sample ofWorking Life Histories’ (SWLH), 2006. The SWLH consists of administrative register data which include information from threedifferent sources: Social Security, Municipality and Income TaxRegisters. We adopt a simultaneous equations approach to analyse theuse (logistic regression) and duration (event history analysis) ofparental leave, which allows us to control for endogeneity and censoredobservations. We argue that the Spanish parental leave scheme increases gender and social inequalities insofar as reinforces genderrole specialization, and only encourages the reconciling of work andfamily life among workers with a good position in the labour market(educated employees with high and stable working status).

Sustainable and equitable retirement in a life course perspective

We argue that long term sustainability of social security systems requires not only better equilibrium between the proportion in retirement and in employment but also an equitable distribution of the additional financial burden that aging inevitably will require. We examine how a proportional fixed ratios model of burden sharing between the aged and non-aged will establish inter-generational equity. Additionally we address the question of intra-generational equity and argue that the positive association between lifetime income and longevity requires more progressive financing of pensions and of care for the elderly.

Symptoms, comorbidity, and clinical course of depression in immigrants: Putting psychopathology in context.

BACKGROUND: Migration is considered a depression risk factor when associated with psychosocial adversity, but its impact on depression's clinical characteristics has not been specifically studied. We compared 85 migrants to 34 controls, examining depression's severity, symptomatology, comorbidity profile and clinical course. METHOD: A MINI interview modified to assess course characteristics was used to assign DSM-IV axis I diagnoses; medical files were used for Somatoform Disorders. Severity was assessed with the Montgomery-Asberg scale. Wherever possible, we adjusted comparisons for age and gender using logistic and linear regressions. RESULTS: Depression in migrants was characterized by higher comorbidity (mostly somatoform and anxiety disorders), higher severity, and a non-recurrent, chronic course. LIMITATIONS: Our sample comes from a single center, and should be replicated in other health care facilities and other countries. Somatoform disorder diagnoses were solely based on file-content. CONCLUSION: Depression in migrants presented as a complex, chronic clinical picture. Most of our migrant patients experienced significant psychosocial adversity before and after migration: beyond cultural issues, our results suggest that psychosocial adversity impacts on the clinical expression of depression. Our study also suggests that migration associated with psychosocial adversity might play a specific etiological role, resulting in a distinct clinical picture, questioning the DSM-IV unitarian model of depression. The chronic course might indicate a resistance to standard therapeutic regimen and hints at the necessity of developing specific treatment strategies, adapted to the individual patients and their specific context.

Gerontology course in the nursing undergraduate curricula

Objective To explores nursing faculty members’ attitudes towards older people, their thoughts about gerontological nursing education. Method Five focus groups and a survey were used with nursing faculty members 132 at the three nursing schools to explore their attitudes towards the care of older people and the perceived status of gerontological nursing education. The survey was given to 132 faculty members, including 76 clinical instructors, 40 associate professors and 16 professors. The nursing faculty in general had a positive attitude toward older people (M=3.36, SD 0.25), and teachers’ attitudes were higher than those of their nursing students (M=3.18, SD0.29). Results This study results suggests that Saudi nursing curricula should include more extensive gerontology content and clinical experience with older people. Conclusion This is the first time in Saudi Arabia that research has listened to their voices and examined their commitments toward gerontology education.


Psychological transformations in kidney transplantation: A prospective qualitative study

The aim of this IRB-approved study was to prospectively analyze psychological transformations in ESRD patients before and after transplantation (KT). Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 30 patients (mean age = 53±10) after their inclusion on the waiting-list (Gr. A). Follow-up interviews were performed 6 months later in 15 patients still awaiting KT (Gr. B6), and in 15 patients 6 months (Gr. C6) and 12 months (Gr. C12) after KT. Qualitative analysis was performed. Gr: A:All patients underlined loss of freedom, 87% devoted much energy to maintain normality, 57% modified medical directives. All reported emotional fragility related to dialysis and loss of quality of life (QOL), negative (43%) or suicidal thoughts (20%). Professional stigma was underlined (26%). Gr: B6:40% reported no change, 60% mentioned increase of illness intrusiveness, 46% dialysis side-effects, 40% communication problems, 33% tension with medical staff and waiting list handling. Fear of emotional breakdown (40%), couple problems (47%) and worsened professional difficulties (20%) were reported. Gr: C6:All patients mentioned improved QOL and freedom recovery (87%). All expressed concerns about possible acute rejection, 73% were anxious about laboratory results, 93% experienced dependence to immunosuppressants, 47% reported difficulties in handling medication, 21% feared to forget them, 47% were concerned about side-effects, 67% had resumed work but medical constraints led to professional tension (40%). Gr: C12:All mentioned recovered QOL. Medical controls were accepted as a routine (87%) and adherence to medication was mandatory (100%). All mentioned the limited long-term graft survival and 47% were anxious about possible return to dialysis, especially younger patients (27%). Positive identity and existential changes were reported (60%). This prospective qualitative study identifies psychological modifications in the course of KT. It provides a basis to adequately address concerns, but it shows also that KT is clearly associated with positive psychological transformations.

‘Poverty…, of course we have it…’ Notes for the analysis of an institutional

Based on testimonies by Cape Verdean individuals with different social condition and institutional responsibility on one hand and, on the other hand, on the consideration of the historical burden and the policies adopted after the independence, this article is focused on the creation of a social conscience about poverty and the manifestations of micro-violence through the action of institutions and NGOs committed in the eradication of poverty and prevention of behaviors potentially generating and perpetuating micro-violence and social exclusion. The political environment and the perception of an involvement of Cape Verdeans in a common destiny are deemed crucial to the achievement of these purposes.

Improving Transition Outcomes: Resource Mapping Workshop: Resource List

Resource Mapping resources shared during the Improving Transition Outcomes Resource Mapping Workshops