Designing Mobile Systems in Highly Dynamic Scenarios: The WORKPAD Methodology

The design of interactive systems to be used in mobile and pervasive scenarios, such as emergency management, requires novel methodologies which combine user-centred design approaches and software engineering approaches tailored for distributed architectures. In this paper, the methodology adopted in a successful research project is presented together with a case study.

Y haplogroups and aggressive behavior in a Pakistani ethnic group

Studies show that personality dimensions such as aggression are influenced by genetic factors and that allelic variants located on the Y chromosome influence such behavior. We investigated polymorphisms on the male-specific region of the human Y chromosome in 156 unrelated males from the same ethnic background, who were administered the Punjabi translation of the Buss and Perry Aggression Questionnaire that measures four aspects that constitute aggressive behavior, i.e. physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility. A value of .85 for Cronbach's coefficient alpha indicates considerable internal consistency and suggests that the psychometric properties of the aggression questionnaire can be adapted for the Pakistani population. A mean score+/-SD of 69.70+/-19.95 was obtained for the questionnaire. Each individual was genotyped following a phylogenetic hierarchical approach to define evolutionary Y haplogroups. Five Y haplogroups that are commonly found in Eurasia and Pakistan comprised 87% (n=136) of the population sample, with one haplogroup, R1a1, constituting 55% of the sampled population. A comparison of the total and four subscale mean scores across the five common Y haplogroups that were present at a frequency > or =3% in this ethnic group revealed no overall significant differences. However, effect-size comparisons allowed us to detect an association of the haplogroups R2 (Cohen's d statistic=.448-.732) and R1a1 (d=.107-.448) with lower self-reported aggression mean scores in this population.     

Psychological distress, loneliness and disability in old age

With the growth in the number of older people, an increase of mental health problems might be expected. Reducing the amount of suffering and dependence due to poor mental health in old age is a priority requiring a good understanding of the determinants of psychological distress. The objectives were: (a) to measure the prevalence of psychological distress and loneliness in old men and women, living in the community, (b) to clarify the association between psychological distress, health and other explanatory variables and (c) to determine relationship between loneliness and psychological distress. We performed a cross-sectional study of 999 people aged 65+. The variables studied were psychological distress (GHQ-12) and self-reported loneliness. The prevalence of psychological distress was 20%. Illness and disability are related to psychological distress in old age; the feeling of loneliness is the single most important predictor of psychological distress, and not knowing neighbours increases the probability of depression. Attempts to improve detection and management of psychological distress in sick older people, in those who appear isolated and express loneliness should be evaluated.     

Strength and safety in numbers: considering the social implications of regulatory focus

The present article examines how individual and situational differences in individuals' regulatory focus on nurturance and gain (promotion) and on security and safety (prevention) may have significant, and distinct, social and interpersonal implications. We first review recent research examining how significant others affect goal pursuit and how individual differences in regulatory focus may moderate the various behavioral, evaluative, and experiential manifestations of social identification. We then consider how regulatory focus moderates the way in which people "size up" their social world in terms of the efficiency in which they identify and appraise motivationally relevant aspects of their social environment. Finally, we explore how regulatory focus moderates people's deliberate and automatic reactions to the beliefs, expectations, behavior, and emotions of other individuals and social groups.     

Operant conditioning of an in vitro CNS-pneumostome preparation of Lymnaea

Operant conditioning of aerial respiratory behaviour and its consolidation into long-term memory in Lymnaea has been previously studied in both intact, freely moving snails and in in vitro preparations made from previously trained snails. Here, we show in previously untrained semi-intact in vitro Lymnaea preparations that aerial respiratory behaviour can also be operantly conditioned. Neither yoked control nor 'run-down' control procedures in these in vitro preparations result in an alteration of aerial respiratory behaviour. Memory in the operantly trained semi-intact preparations persists for at least 1h after training. Intracellular recordings made from RPeD1, one of the 3-CPG neurons and the neuron that initiates CPG activity; show that there are specific changes in central excitatory input to this neuron concurrent with learning and its consolidation into memory. In addition following the acquisition of learning and its consolidation into memory the ability of RPeD1 and VI/J neurons when depolarized to cause a pneumostome opening is significantly decreased. Thus, previously untrained in vitro semi-intact preparations can be used to study changes in neuronal activity in a neuron known to be both necessary for the behaviour and for memory formation.     

Teachers'' ratings of social competence of children with high versus low levels of depressive symptoms

This study examined the relationship between children's self-ratings of depressive symptoms on the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and teachers' ratings of the situational social competence of these children based on the Taxonomy of Problematic Social Situations (TOPS). Children in the high CDI group showed significantly higher teacher ratings (indicating lower social competence) than children in the low CDI group on four TOPS scales: peer group entry, response to provocation, response to success, and teacher expectations. Of the children in the high CDI group, 85% could be correctly classified with a discriminant analysis on the basis of TOPS ratings; of the children in the low CDI group, 77% were correctly classified. Implications of these findings, as well as limitations of the study, are discussed.     

The Relationship Between General Population Suicide Rates and Educational Attainment: A Cross‐National Study

Suicides are associated with both high and low levels of intelligence and educational attainment in both individual‐level and aggregate‐level studies. A cross‐national study examining the relationship between general population suicide rates (y) and educational attainment (x) was undertaken with the a priori hypothesis that the relationship would be curvilinear and follow a U‐shaped curve with the quadratic equation Y = A + BX + CX², where A, B, and C are constants. Data on suicide rates and the Education Index (a proxy measure of educational attainment) were ascertained from the World Health Organization and the United Nations Web sites, respectively. The main finding was the predicted curvilinear relationship between general population suicide rates, in both sexes, and the Education Index fit the above quadratic equation. Given the cross‐sectional study design, a causal relationship cannot be assumed. The impact of educational attainment on general population suicide rates may occur through interaction with other factors, mediation of the effects of other factors, or by its effects being mediated by other factors, and require further study.     

National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: Tobacco intervention practices in outpatient clinics

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death. The outpatient medical clinic represents an important venue for delivering evidence-based interventions to large numbers of tobacco users. Extensive evidence supports the effectiveness of brief interventions. In a retrospective database analysis of 11,827 adult patients captured in the 2005 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (of which 2,420 were tobacco users), we examined the degree to which a variety of patient demographic, clinical and physician-related variables predict the delivery of tobacco counseling during a routine outpatient visit in primary care settings. In 2005, 21.7% of identified tobacco users received a tobacco intervention during their visit. The probability of receiving an intervention differed by gender, geographic region and source of payment. Individuals presenting with tobacco-related health conditions were more likely to receive an intervention. Most physicians classified as specialists were less likely to intervene. The provision of tobacco intervention services appears to be increasing at a modest rate, but remains well below desirable levels. It is a priority that brief interventions be routinely implemented to reduce the societal burden of tobacco use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Sex Reassignment Technology: The Dilemma of Transsexuals in Islam and Christianity

The birth of people with confused or ambiguous sex makeup as a biological fact since the annals of history has posed the challenge of accommodating them within the binary gender of sociocultural systems. In this process, the role of religion as a defining factor in social engineering has been paramount. Major religions, such as Islam and Christianity, have addressed this issue within the frame of their God-ordained laws by devising a set of moral and legal imperatives specific to the “third gender.” Modern developments in medicine and biology, however, have made sex reassignment possible for this category of people, today called transsexuals. The question is: How do Islam and Christianity respond to it. After presenting an analytical view of both Muslim scholars and Christian religious authorities on the legitimacy of sex reassignment for transsexuals, this paper attempts to explore if such a dilemma can be resolved.