Depression and anxiety in adolescents and adults with cystic fibrosis in the UK: A cross-sectional study

Background The International Depression/anxiety Epidemiological Study (TIDES) in the UK aimed: (i) to establish the prevalence of anxiety and depression amongst people with CF compared to a normative sample; (ii) to establish the association between mood, demographic and clinical variables; and (iii) to provide guidance for specialist-referral decision-making. Methods Patients (≥ 12 years) completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). CF-HADS scores, expressed as percentiles, were compared with a normative sample. Multiple-regression analysis explored associations between demographic, clinical and mood variables. Results Thirty-nine CF centres recruited 2065 patients. Adults with CF were similar in terms of anxiety and depression to the general population. Adolescents with CF were less anxious and depressed. For adult patients, older age, unemployment for health reasons and poor lung function were associated with disordered mood. Gender-specific CF-percentile scores were calculated. Conclusion Surveillance, with attention to gender and risk factors is advocated. This work provides unique benchmark scores to aid referral decision-making

Treating the patient not just the disease? : Delving deeper into the possible link between affective disorders and coronary heart disease through statistical analysis of a random sample of Maltese people

Background: Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of death in Males in Malta and globally. Affective disorders are the commonest psychological problem. This cross-sectional study utilizes a multiple regression model utilizing binary logistic to delve deeper into the link between affective disorders and coronary heart disease and also the link between coronary heart disease and anxiety and depression separately. Methods: The study was performed in the small Mediterranean island of Malta through the European health interview survey (EHIS), at a national level involving 5500 participants. The response rate attained in the actual field work was 72%. Statistical analysis involved performing chi-squared tests on all contributing variables and retaining those variables that were significant to both diseases. These were then placed in a multiple regression model using forward stepwise binary logistic to retain only the most significant variables. Results: Age, gender, BMI, diabetes prevalence, depression prevalence, anxiety prevalence, hypertension prevalence, affective disorders( having either anxiety or depression), smoking status, frequency of alcohol intake, and educational level all had a significance of <0.05, some; than less than 0.01. On fitting a multiple regression model, Anxiety (p=0.033), age (p=<0.001), gender (p=<0.001), hypertension (p=0.016) retained their significance in the model. Diabetes could not be analyzed due to power issues. Conclusion: BMI was not retained in the model having been replaced by associated conditions such as hypertension, together with age and gender as strongly associated risk factors. Anxiety nevertheless retained its independent association with coronary heart disease, in spite of the presence of the other stronger predictors described above.peer-reviewe

Effect of demographic variables on public attitudes towards genetically modified insulin

Earlier studies on public attitude and risk perception have concluded that the public’s attitudes towards biotechnology was primarily driven by several factors such as familiarity, perceived benefits, perceived risks, risk acceptance, moral concerns and encouragement. Demographic characteristics have been known to affect attitudes towards science. The purpose of this paper is to compare the attitude of the Malaysian public towards genetically modified (GM) insulin across several background variables such as religion, race, education level and age. A survey was carried out on 1017 respondents stratified according to various stakeholder groups in the Klang Valley region. Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) showed significant differences in the mean scores for familiarity of GM insulin across religions, races and ages but not across education levels and gender. Both perceived benefits and perceived risks were found to differ across races, education levels and gender but not across religions and ages. On the other hand, moral concern was found to differ in all four background variables except gender while risk acceptance differed across races and gender and encouragement only differed across education  levels. In conclusion, background variables do have a significant effect on some of the dimensions of Malaysians’ attitudes towards modern biotechnology. The research findings will be useful for understanding the effect of background variables on public attitudes towards the application of gene technology in medicine. More in-depth empirical studies should be carried out to understand the underlying causes behind the differences.Key words: Attitude, gene technology, medicine, GM (genetically modified) insulin, background variables, Malaysia

PERFORMANCE OF DIPLOMA OF SCIENCE STUDENTS AT UPSI IN FORCE CONCEPT INVENTORY

This study surveys understanding of force and motion concept among students taking Diploma of Science in UPSI. Their understanding were measured by Force Concept Inventory (FCI). Students understanding were compared with national level and to their demographic variables such as gender and academic background in Physics. 134 students and 2 lecturers participated in this study. t -test was used to analyze the difference of student conceptual knowledge with students demographic variables which is gender and student academic background in high school Physics. Results show that the UPSI's normalized gain is comparable to the national level. The level of students' conceptual knowledge according to the demographic variables are found significant, minima and hold strong Aristotelian beliefs about force and motion

Are Mock Jurors Influenced by the Defendants Gender, Socio-Economic Status and Emotional State in Forensic Medicine?

The aim of this study was to investigate whether mock jurors’ decisions were affected by the defendant’s gender, socio-economic status and emotional state in mock cases. The implications are far reaching, especially in trials that involve forensic medicine. An experimental design was used where a total of 24 participants from Bournemouth University took part, and were assigned to one of four groups. In these groups, the three independent variables were manipulated. Participants were presented with two murder/manslaughter cases. The results suggest male defendants received harsher judgements than female defendants. More female defendants were found not guilty than male defendants. Male defendants from a high socio-economic background received harsher judgements than male defendants from a low socio-economic background. Female defendants from a low socio-economic background received harsher judgements than female defendants from a high socio-economic background. Female defendants were found to be more trustworthy than male defendants. These findings are discussed are discussed in the context of the jury’s verdict, sentence length and personal opinion of the defendant

Student progression in upper secondary education: The effect of academic ability, gender, and schools

This paper studies how students’ prior academic ability, gender, and family background affect performance in upper secondary schools in terms of lack of progression and dropout probability. The link between dropout and lack of progression in post-compulsory schooling is important as graduating from upper secondary school is a prerequisite to attend universities and other higher education institutions. Using an extremely rich data set from Norway covering all students starting upper secondary school education in the fall 2002, we find that earlier school performance is the main predictor of dropout and lack of progression. This holds controlling for a number of family background variables, study tracks and a full set of school fixed effects.

Assessing the approaches to learning of twinning programme students in Malaysia

The study set out to examine the psychometric properties of the scores obtained on the modified 20-item Revised Two Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F). The study also investigated the relationship between scores on the R-SPQ-2F and students’ learning-related outcomes. In addition, it also examined for any relationships among student’s background variables of gender, choice of academic discipline, age, English language competency, approaches to learning, and learning-related outcomes. Data based on responses of 368 Malaysian students undertaking the twinning mode of study showed the modified R-SPQ-2F to be reliable and factorially valid. The findings also found deep approaches to learning were positively related to students’ learning-related outcomes, while surface approaches to learning were negatively associated.Students’ background characteristics such as choice of academic discipline and English language competency, and approaches to learning were good predictors of students’ learning-related outcomes

Teachers' recognition of school bullying according to background variables and type of bullying

How teachers identify and judge school bullying may affect their willingness to intervene in bullying situations and influence their strategies for doing so. This study aimed to investigate whether there were significant differences in teachers' identification of bullying incidents according to background variables (gender, teaching experience, and education level). The participants of this study were 150 primary school and middle school teachers in Taiwan, A 24-item Recognition of Bullying incidents Questionnaire (RBIQ) was used in this study to explore whether teachers can identify physical, verbal, and relational scenarios as bullying or non-bullying incidents. A mixed-model two way ANOVA was used to analyze this data. Results revealed that teachers' teaching experiences significantly interacted with behavioral types, and teachers' education levels also sigm candy interacted with behavioral types. In addition, no gender differences in the identification of bullying were observed. Overall, teachers were more likely to identifi physical bullying incidents than relational ones. The results of this study suggest that teachers should participate in training to help them identify bullying incidents, particularly when these involve relational bullying

ANALISIS PENGARUH DIVERSITAS DEWAN DIREKSI DAN DEWAN KOMISARIS DAN KARAKTERISTIK PERUSAHAAN TERHADAP LUAS PENGUNGKAPAN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE (Studi Empiris Bank Syariah)

This study aims to analyze the factors that affect the extensive disclosure of corporate governance to sharia commercial bank in Indonesia. This study is a replication from the study of Salim Darmadi. The difference of this study with previous study is in this study adds the variable of gender diversity and educational background, blockholder ownership, and profitability. Salim Darmadi only explains how the implementation of corporate governance practices in sharia commercial bank without analyzing the factors that affect the extensive disclosure of corporate governance. The independent variables that using in this study are gender diversity from board of commissioner and directors, educational background diversity from board of commissioner and directors, blockholder ownership, and profitability, while the dependent variables are the extensive disclosure of corporate governance. Company size, company age, and public accounting firm are control variable. The population of this research is the sharia commercial bank in Indonesia among period of year 2008-2012. The gathering for sample uses pooling technique. This study obtains samples from 40 companies using pooling data method. The method of analysis that using to test the effect of independent variables on the dependent variable is the Ordinary Least Square (OLS). The results of this study find the influence of gender diversity of board of directors and educational background diversity with the extensive disclosure of good corporate governance. As for the variable gender diversity of the board of commissioners, blockholder ownership, and profitability do not have any influence the extensive disclosure of good corporate governanc

The role of negative mood states and consequences of hypersexual behaviours in predicting hypersexuality among university students

Background and Aims: The issue of whether hypersexual behaviours exist among university students is controversial because many of these individuals engage in sexual exploration during their time at university. To date, little is known about the correlates of hypersexual behaviours among university students in the UK. Therefore, the aims of this exploratory study were two-fold. Firstly, to explore and establish the correlates of hypersexual behaviours, and secondly, to investigate whether hypersexuality among university students can be predicted by variables relating to negative mood states (i.e., emotional dysregulation, loneliness, shame, and life satisfaction) and consequences of hypersexual behaviour. Methods: Survey data from 165 British university students was analysed using regression analyses. Results: The full regression model significantly predicted hypersexual behaviours. However, only a small number of predictor variables (i.e., gender, consequences of hypersexual behaviours, life satisfaction and emotional dysregulation) accounted for the significant unique influence on hypersexual behaviours among the sample. Conclusions: The study empirically supported the concept of hypersexual disorder. The implications of these findings are also discussed