Predicting ideal body mass index: what does clothing size have to do with it?

This study examined demographic and anthropometric variables as predictors of ideal body mass index (BMI) from cross-sectional, archival, self-reported data from the Psychology of Size Survey of 4014 U.S. residents collected in 2007. As hypothesized, ideal BMI can be predicted by a within gender hierarchical multiple regression analysis with the predictor variables of age, number of clothing sizes from ideal size, and current BMI; these variables account for 54.1% of variance in women's ideal BMI and 65.5% of variance in men's ideal BMI. Findings also demonstrated a logarithmic relationship between current BMI and ideal BMI, with increasing variance in ideal BMI for individuals with high current BMIs. These findings evidence the strong role of current body characteristics in the formation of ideals. Understanding how individuals conceptualize body ideals can inform researchers and practitioners alike, as this evidence has important implications related to both medical and psychological health.     

Can you see me in the snow? Action simulation aids the detection of visually degraded human motion

Using a novel paradigm, we demonstrate that action simulation can directly facilitate ongoing perception of people's movements. Point-light actors (PLAs) representing common human motions were shown embedded in a visual noise reminiscent of "TV snow". At first, the PLAs were perceived clearly, then occluded from view for a short duration, during which it was hypothesized that a real-time action simulation was generated tracking the motion's course. The PLA then reappeared in motion at variable visibility against the noise, whilst detection thresholds for the reappearance were measured. In the crucial manipulation, the test motion was either temporally congruent with the motion as it would have continued during occlusion, and thus temporally matching the simulation, or temporally incongruent. Detection thresholds were lower for congruent than for incongruent reappearing motions, suggesting that reappearing motion that temporally matched the internal action simulation was more likely to be detected.     

Measuring Health-Related Quality of Life After Stroke: A Brief Tool

Routine assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) can be time consuming and burdensome for a person with stroke. Therefore the aim of this study was to develop and test a brief instrument for assessing HRQoL among people with stroke. The Quality of Life after Stroke Scale (QLASS) was constructed from items within the Quality of Life Index-Stroke Version and the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire. It was administered to 92 people with stroke at three points in time: immediately after discharge from hospital, 6 months and 12 months later. Results suggest that the QLASS has 19 items which represent three factors: emotional functioning, mastery and fatigue which correlate with valid measures of health status and activities of daily living. The QLASS is proposed as a brief, valid HRQoL tool for use among people with stroke.     

Metaphors for retirement: Unshackled from schedules

This study uses metaphor analysis to examine the meanings of retirement for a group of 35 retired Canadian executives and managers. Our analysis identified eight metaphors relating to the meanings of retirement. The findings provide us with a range of insights into the experience of retirement, from loss of purpose and identity to liberation from the constraints of work to retirement being constructed as a new beginning or renaissance. Based on the accounts given by each manager, metaphors were collated and compared across retirees to reveal four distinct configurations that conceptualize retirement as exploring new horizons, searching for meaning, contributing on your own terms and putting your feet up. We discuss the implications of these metaphor configurations for understanding the consumer and producer-oriented meanings of retirement and challenge dominant career constructions of retirement as disengagement and decline. Our findings reveal that retirement appears to be better understood by incorporating future-focused and agentic forms that contribute to different types of identity work in retirement.     

How to Cook Rice: A Review of Ingredients for Teaching anti‐Prejudice

There is a pressing need to address prejudice, racism, and discrimination against marginalised groups in Australia. This involves change from the structural to the individual level. In this article, we discuss the merits of individual anti‐prejudice mechanisms within the Australian context. First, we expand on nine mechanisms described in a previous paper and then review five new mechanisms. We conclude that while some mechanisms are likely to be useful regardless of location, others need to be tailored to the local context. We also conclude that effective interventions need to utilise multiple mechanisms. It is hoped that the synthesis of the different mechanisms provided here will assist anti‐prejudice researchers, practitioners, and policymakers striving to improve relations among different groups in our society.     

The relationship between basic need satisfaction and emotional eating in obesity

Emotional eating has been identified as a factor that promotes the development and maintenance of obesity and hinders its treatment. This study investigated the relationship between unsatisfied basic needs and emotional eating, including the mediating factors of self‐esteem and coping strategies. The results from a survey of 136 obese individuals indicated support for a significant relationship between basic need satisfaction and emotional eating, with a mediating effect of negative coping strategies. These findings extend previous research and provide guidance on how to help individuals who engage in emotional eating by focusing on developing more adaptive coping strategies.     

Comparison of a stimulus equivalence protocol and traditional lecture for teaching single-subject designs

This study compared the effects of a computer-based stimulus equivalence protocol to a traditional lecture format in teaching single-subject experimental design concepts to undergraduate students. Participants were assigned to either an equivalence or a lecture group, and performance on a paper-and-pencil test that targeted relations among the names of experimental designs, design definitions, design graphs, and clinical vignettes was compared. Generalization of responding to novel graphs and novel clinical vignettes, as well as the emergence of a topography-based tact response after selection-based training, were evaluated for the equivalence group. Performance on the paper-and-pencil test following teaching was comparable for participants in the equivalence and lecture groups. All participants in the equivalence group showed generalization to novel graphs, and 6 participants showed generalization to novel clinical vignettes. Three of the 4 participants demonstrated the emergence of a topography-based tact response following training on the stimulus equivalence protocol.     

a review of guide to america's federal jobs: a complete directory of u.s. government career opportunities

Karol Taylor and Janet M. Ruck. (2009). Guide to America's Federal Jobs: A Complete Directory of U.S. Government Career Opportunities. Indianapolis, IN: JIST Publishing. 404 pages, $19.95 List, ISBN 978–1593576547.     

Antecedents of everyday positive emotions: An experience sampling analysis

The focus of this study is on everyday positive emotions and their relations to critical appraisal antecedents. Following from classical appraisal theory and Pekrun’s (2006) control-value theory of achievement emotions, two research questions were addressed, namely whether cognitive appraisals of control and value were related to discrete positive emotions in everyday situations and whether control and value antecedents interact in predicting these emotions. We further investigated whether control/value and positive emotion relations changed as a function of situational factors (achievement vs. non-achievement settings). 50 university freshmen (78% female) were assessed by use of the experience sampling method for a period of 1 week, with intraindividual analyses conducted using a multilevel, idiographic approach. Consistent with our hypotheses, the emotions of enjoyment, pride, and contentment were positively related to control and value appraisals. Further, control and value interacted to predict these positive emotions. The strength of appraisal/positive emotion relations was equivalent across achievement vs. non-achievement settings. Implications for future research are discussed.