Mobility as a service and sustainable travel behaviour: A thematic analysis study

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is a novel brand of transport that promises to replace private cars with multimodal personalised mobility packages enabled by a digital platform capable of integrating travel planning, booking and ticketing, and real-time information services. It is an intervention that through its digitisation, connectivity, information and sharing merits intends to inspire and support the transition to a more sustainable mobility paradigm. Recent research suggests, however, that the potential uptake of MaaS might not be overwhelming; current car drivers could face considerable difficulties in bypassing their personal car for it and, more worryingly, future MaaS users may substitute not only personal car trips but also public transport journeys with car-sharing and ride-sharing services. This means that MaaS might not be able to create travel behaviour change, and even if it does, the changes may not be always towards the right direction. Through conducting 40 semi-structured interviews in three different UK cities, namely London, Birmingham and Huddersfield, and employing a robust Thematic Analysis approach, this study explores the factors underpinning the uptake and potential success of MaaS as a sustainable travel mechanism. The challenges and opportunities reflecting and affecting potential for responsible MaaS usage refer to five core themes Car Dependence; Trust; Human Element Externalities; Value; and Cost, each of them with distinctive and diverse dimensions. Policy-makers and mobility providers should realise that MaaS success relies on changing people’s attitudes to private cars (something very challenging) and thus they should incentivise responsible MaaS use, promote public transport as its backbone, use public engagement exercises and trials to expose people to the concept and somewhat demonise private car ownership and car use.     

What do you (think you) need? Perceived vs. experienced effects of need fulfillment on well-being

We compared two approaches towards assessing inter-individual differences in the effect of satisfaction and frustration of basic needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) on well-being: perceived need effects (beliefs about the effect of need fulfillment on one’s well-being) and experienced need effects (the within-person coupling of need fulfillment and well-being). In two studies (total N = 1281), participants reported perceived need effects in a multidimensional way. In Study 2, daily need fulfillment and affective well-being were additionally assessed (daily-diary study; ten days). Associations between perceived and experienced need effects were significant (albeit small) for all three frustration dimensions, but only for one satisfaction dimension (relatedness), suggesting that they capture different constructs and might be related to different outcomes.     

Positive Affect Mediates the Relationship Between Self-efficacy and Innovative Behavior in Entrepreneurs

Innovativeness is one of the crucial factors allowing companies to grow, and innovative behavior of entrepreneurs is an important source of firm innovativeness and business success. This study aims to better understand self-regulatory mechanisms stimulating the innovative behavior of entrepreneurs. We have tested the mediation model in which work-related affect (enthusiasm, comfort, anxiety, and depression) mediates the relationship between work self-efficacy and innovative behavior. A longitudinal study with three measurement times was conducted on a sample of entrepreneurs–business owners. The mediation analysis with bias-corrected bootstrapping method confirmed that the relation between work self-efficacy and innovative behavior of entrepreneurs is mediated by their work-related positive affect—comfort and enthusiasm—but not by negative affect.     

震后儿童创伤后应激障碍的症状网络演化

本研究借助网络分析方法,探讨儿童创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)症状的演化规律。以经历汶川地震的197名儿童为研究对象,在灾后4、29、40和52个月对其PTSD症状进行了历时4年的追踪测量。网络分析结果显示,闪回的中心性一直较高,而其他高中心性的症状随时间的推移发生了变化：侵入性想法和创伤线索引发生理性反应的中心性随时间推移呈上升趋势,线索引发情感反应和未来无望的中心性随时间推移呈下降趋势。本研究拓宽了学界对儿童PTSD症状学的认识, 并为建立灾后阶段性干预模式提供启示。     

小学高年级学生创造力的发展：性别差异及学校支持的作用

对203名4年级学生进行3年追踪测试(到6年级), 采用多水平分析法考察创造力的发展趋势、性别差异以及教师/同伴支持对创造力发展的影响。结果表明：(1) 4~6年级小学生的流畅性呈线性增长趋势, 灵活性和独创性呈非线性增长趋势, 初始水平与增长速度呈正相关。(2)女生灵活性和独创性的初始水平高于男生。(3)教师支持正向预测男生灵活性的初始水平, 正向预测流畅性的初始水平和独创性的增长速度。(4)教师支持的发展正向预测流畅性的发展。     

概化理论方差分量及其变异量估计:跨分布的模拟研究

为考察概化理论中方差分量及其变异量估计的准确性,采用模拟研究的方法,探究Traditional法、Jackknife法、Bootstrap法和MCMC法在p×i×h和p×(i:h)2种双侧面设计和正态、二项、多项、偏态分布4种数据类型下的表现。结果显示:(1)4种方法均能准确估计方差分量;(2)估计方差分量的标准误时,若数据正态分布,Traditional法最优,非正态分布时Bootstrap法最优;(3)估计方差分量的90%置信区间时,Bootstrap法在不同分布的数据下表现稳定,但容易受到侧面水平数的影响。综合来说,若数据呈正态分布,建议选用Traditional法; 若数据呈非正态分布,建议选用Bootstrap法。     

Validation of the Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire in adults with a same-sex partner

Background/ObjectiveThe Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire (IEMSSQ) is one of the few instruments that has been developed from a theoretical model and assess sexual satisfaction. In addition, it has been successfully validated in Spanish heterosexual population. The objective of this study is to adapt and examine its psychometric properties (reliability, evidence of validity, and measurement invariance across sexual orientation and sex) in gay people in a relationship. Method: A sample of 1,820 adults, of whom 50% are gay people and 55% men, answered the Spanish version of the IEMSSQ. In addition, subjects with gay orientation answered the Massachusetts General Hospital-Sexual Functioning Questionnaire and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Results: When comparing by sex and sexual orientation, the IEMSSQ has a strict invariant structure. Its reliability is good, and the evidence of construct and concurrent validity is adequate. However, the components of equality are moderate. Conclusions: The IEMSSQ makes it possible to compare the sexual satisfaction between gay/heterosexual men and women, presenting good psychometric properties in gay people, constituting an useful instrument in the clinical and research field.     

Prevalence and treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and co-morbid severe health anxiety

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is a debilitating condition that affects 0.2–0.4% of the population. Health focussed anxiety is common across medical conditions, and may be relevant in CFS/ME. This study sought to identify the prevalence and impact of health anxiety (HA) in CFS/ME and evaluate the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for HA in CFS/ME. Cross-sectional questionnaire methods and case-series design were used to achieve study aims. Analysis indicated that 41.9% of the CFS/ME clinic sample experienced threshold levels of health anxiety, which was associated with elevated symptom severity across several dimensions. Stepwise multiple regression indicated physical functioning and depression accounted for 23.8% of variance in fatigue; depression, fatigue and HA, accounted for 32.9% of variance in physical functioning. Large effect sizes and clinically significant changes were generated in the treatment study. HA is common in CFS/ME and likely to exacerbate fatigue and physical functioning. This study identifies HA as an important target for treatment, trial findings should be further replicated on a larger scale.     

Measuring stress in clinical and nonclinical subjects using a German adaptation of the Perceived Stress Scale

Background/Objective: Stress is perceived differently across individuals, which might be particularly true for nonclinical and clinical subjects. For this reason, we tested a German adaption of the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) for model fit and measurement invariance in a big nonclinical and clinical sample. Method: We (1) conducted multiple confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in 1,248 nonclinical subjects and 575 outpatients, (2) measurement invariance with multigroup CFA, (3) assessed correlations with relevant constructs and (4) calculated internal consistencies for overall stress and the subscales Helplessness and Self-efficacy. Results: In both samples, CFA revealed a robust two-factorial structure with an excellent model fit. Group comparisons revealed strict measurement invariance. Correlations with associated measures support validity. Internal consistencies were good to very good. Conclusions: We show highly satisfactory psychometric properties of the German PSS-10 for nonclinical and clinical individuals. Measurement invariance analyses demonstrated that varying stress levels of people with a different mental health status are due to true interindividual differences.     

A comparison between American and Chinese college students on suicide-related behavior parameters

Background/ObjectiveThe United States (US) and China are the two largest economies, but recent and directly comparable studies on suicide-related behaviors in the two countries are lacking. By using the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), item-level comparison was performed in assessing self-reported suicide-related behaviors between the US and Chinese undergraduates.MethodThis study involved a total of 3,185 college students aged between 18 to 24 years (1,185 US college students, and 2,000 Chinese students who were randomly selected from a large sample of 11,806 Chinese college students). Participants filled out the 4-item SBQ-R.ResultsParticipants’ responses were compared by country and sex. There was a higher overall risk of suicide-related behaviors among US students (24.3%) compared to Chinese students (17.0%). US students also reported higher lifetime attempt, past-year ideation, and lifetime threat. US female college students reported the highest suicide-related behaviors compared to other sub-groups.ConclusionsThere is a need to tailor specific interventions to alleviate college students’ suicide-related behaviors in the US and China, with a particular focus on US females.