Listening as Religious Practice (Part Two): Exploring Qualitative Data from an Empirical Study of the Cultural Habits of Music Fans

This article analyses qualitative data from responses to open questions addressed by 231 music users in a 2009–2010 survey. By coding and quantifying the data provided, the analysis enables the construction of four ‘acoustic axes’ (uplift–relax, inspiration–memory, energy–calm, joy/happiness–sad/sadness) which make direct use of respondent-initiated terminology and enable a means of mapping the activity which occurs for listeners in the affective space created in the listening process. Use of these axes in turn suggests, at a second level of analysis and interpretation, the construction of a musical–spiritual ‘social imaginary’ (Taylor), to grasp how music is used and understood by the music users themselves with respect to their self-understanding and life-commitments. It is concluded that, while music use cannot be referred to as religious, a religion or a form of spirituality in any direct or simplistic sense, there is evidence of the seriousness and intensity with which listeners make use of their listening practices in the activity of meaning-making.     

Yes,we can: physical activity and group identification among healthy adults

Drawing on social identity theory and social cognitive theory, this research was designed to investigate the role played by group identification, self‐efficacy and outcome expectations in physical activity behavior. Healthy adult participants (N = 130) who identified strongly with an exercise referent group reported higher levels of physical activity, and this relationship was mediated by self‐efficacy and outcome expectations. This study adds to the existing literature on the effects of social groups on health and is one of the first to examine the interplay of personal factors and group membership on physical activity.     

Getting the Picture: Effects of Sketch Plans and Photographs on Children's,Adolescents' and Adults' Eyewitness Recall

We compared the effects of three types of visual aid on free recall across three age groups in an eyewitness paradigm. Child, adolescent and adult participants (N = 144) viewed a short film depicting a non‐violent crime and, following a brief delay, gave a free‐recall account. Participants then described the event once again, with the aid of their own sketch plan, a provided sketch plan or photograph, or with no visual aid. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded for the type and accuracy of information reported. Across all age groups, relative to the control condition, all three visual aids increased the amount of new information reported during the second free‐recall account and helped participants to maintain accuracy. All three visual aids therefore had a positive effect on participants' performance; in a forensic setting, however, witnesses' own sketch plans are likely to be the safest, most easily applied and most time effective.Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conditional same/different concept learning in the short‐beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus)

Echidnas have evolved separately from other mammalian groups for around 200 million years and incorporate a mixture of reptilian and mammalian features. Because of these attributes, they have historically been considered “primitive” animals. However, they have successfully adapted to a wide variety of ecological niches and their neurophysiology demonstrates a number of unusual and apparently sophisticated characteristics, including a relatively large brain and cerebral cortex and a comparatively massive frontal cortex. Studies of learning in the echidna have thus far been limited to only a handful of experiments which demonstrated relatively basic abilities such as forming a position habit in a T‐maze, successive habit‐reversal learning, and simple visual and instrumental discrimination. This study aimed to expand on these results and test the “primitive” echidna on what are generally considered more advanced cognitive tasks—same/different and conditional same/different concept learning. The results demonstrated that echidnas are able to discriminate on the basis of a relational same/different concept, using simultaneously presented multi‐element stimuli, and transfer that discrimination to novel stimuli. After further training, they were then able to repeat the performance when the correct choice was conditional on the background color of the stimulus panels.     

Exploration of Mechanisms behind Changes after Participation in a Parenting Intervention: A Qualitative Study in a Low‐Resource Setting

Parenting interventions are effective for preventing psychological difficulties in children. However, their active ingredients have not been comprehensively explored. How do they work? What are the mechanisms operating behind changes? In 2012, a randomized controlled trial of a parenting intervention was conducted in low‐resource communities of Panama. Effects on child behavioral difficulties, parental stress, and parenting practices were large in the short and long term. This was an ideal opportunity to explore potential mechanisms operating behind effects found in this low‐resource setting. Twenty‐five parents were interviewed. Data were analyzed through an inductive semantic thematic analysis. Three themes emerged from the data: (a) psychological mechanisms behind changes, (b) behavioral changes in parent, and (c) changes in the children. Parents described that the intervention triggered changes in emotion regulation, self‐efficacy, and problem solving. Parents also reported behavioral changes such as praising their children more often, who in turn seemed more responsible and better at following instructions. The study offers participant‐driven insight into potential pathways of change after participation in this parenting intervention, pathways that are often overlooked in quantitative studies. Future studies should further explore these pathways, through mediator and moderator analyses, and determine how much is shared across interventions and across different cultural settings.     

Juror Decision‐making in Death Penalty Sentencing when Presented with Defendant's History of Child Abuse or Neglect

Previous studies have found aggravating, mitigating, and null effects of defendant histories of abuse and neglect on punishment preferences in capital sentencing. Perceiving these defendants as more dangerous, jurors may be more likely to favor the death penalty when such evidence is presented. This is counter to the intuition that abuse or neglect reduces culpability, and therefore mitigates the severity of punishment. We investigated the effect of defendant childhood physical abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect on the probability of a prospective juror preferring the death penalty in an between‐subject experimental design. Using vignettes and two large samples (students and jurors), defendant histories were found to mitigate the probability that the hypothetical defendant received the death penalty, with sexual abuse having the most salient effect. Further, the effects were conditioned by preference for the death penalty – larger mitigating effects were observed among individuals who favor the death penalty. These findings suggest that initial judgments of abuse and neglect are related to juror leniency, and further research on the interaction of jury instructions and defendant histories is needed. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Global cognitive function before,surrounding, and after ischemic stroke: the role of risk and protective factors varies with time among ischemic stroke survivors

An estimated 65% of individuals demonstrate multidomain cognitive impairment poststroke, although little is known about the varying role of cognitive risk and protective factors in preischemic, peri-ischemic, and postischemic stroke phases. Longitudinal changes in global cognitive function after ischemic stroke are not well characterized, especially in older adults over age 80. We examined global cognitive function trajectories in these three phases across a mean follow-up of 8.12 (2.30) years in 159 female stroke survivors aged 65–79 at baseline using linear mixed models with change points. In separate models controlling for demographic variables, we tested the interaction of baseline risk and protective factors with stroke phase on global cognitive function. None of the prestroke global cognitive function means or trajectories differed significantly. At the time of ischemic stroke, higher body mass index (BMI), the presence of hypertension (HTN), low optimism, and higher physical function were all associated with significantly greater mean decreases in global cognition (all p’s <.0.0001), but were not significantly different from the contrasting level (all p’s >0.05). Higher BMI, the presence of HTN, low optimism, and higher physical function were in turn protective of global cognitive decline postischemic stroke (all contrasting p values <.01). Baseline factors may play either a risk or a protective role in global cognitive function depending on the phase of ischemic stroke.     

Nursing students’ reflections on an interprofessional placement in ambulatory care

Reflection has been identified as key to interprofessional education as it facilitates a focus on interprofessional communication, collaborative practice and professional roles, while contributing to debunking ingrained understandings of roles and behaviours. The aim of this study is to explore the written reflections of nursing students following an interprofessional placement in ambulatory care. A deductive analysis of nursing student reflective journal entries mapped against the university interprofessional framework was conducted. A purposeful sample of 19 graduate entry Master of Nursing Science students participating in a two-week interprofessional educational placement completed a reflective journal relating to an interprofessional placement in ambulatory care. The analysis of the journals found that all students were able to reflect on their interprofessional clinical experience, but the ability to reflect varied between students. Despite the challenges that some nursing students experienced in achieving deep levels of reflection, the study demonstrated the usefulness of incorporating reflective journals into nursing curriculums and as part of interprofessional practicums.     

Health-Related Quality of Life,Functioning and Social Experiences in People with Psychotic Disorders

Applied Research in Quality of Life - To inform development of a model for health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with psychotic disorders, we aimed to assess correlations between...