The Importance of Restraint in Gauging the Effects of Ego Depletion on Alcohol Motivation

Despite increased awareness of complications, the use and abuse of alcohol remains a problem in the United States. With regard to drinking, individuals encounter situations in which they must maintain a balance between temptation to drink and the need to regulate alcohol intake. Maintaining this balance requires the use of self-control. For this reason, lack of self-control has been implicated a potential influence on excessive alcohol consumption. The Strength Model of Self-Control (Baumeister, Vohs, & Tice, 2007) posits that self-control draws on a limited resource that becomes depleted following repeated use. The term “ego depletion” is used to refer to this temporary loss of self-control. The current study examined the effect of ego depletion on alcohol-related cognitions to determine if the strength of alcohol-related cognitions is affected by temporary loss of self-control, as well as if its effects can be gauged using an implicit measure of alcohol motivation. There was not a significant effect of ego depletion on implicit attitudes toward alcohol. Limitations and future directions are discussed

An Evaluation of the Process Used to Develop and Administer an Employee Culture Survey in a Public Research University

In October of 2015, AROS, a faculty-supervised, student-led consulting group affiliated with the Louisiana Tech Industrial-Organizational Psychology doctoral program (arosconsulting.org), was contracted by the President and Vice President of a public research university to develop and administer a survey to gauge the climate, operations, and alignment of proceedings with the University’s strategic objectives (Valadez, Allen, Lovell, & Toaddy, 2015). AROS conducted interviews with key stakeholders and focus groups with University members (faculty, staff, and students), wrote and refined the list of survey items, programmed the survey into the online platform, and administered the survey to all faculty, staff, and students. Results were analyzed, reported, and fed back to members of the university. Feedback sessions were held with each unit leader to discuss unit-level results and action planning efforts. The current paper discusses the scientific literature that informed the process, evaluates the process, and provides suggestions for future improvements

The integration of occlusion and disparity information for judging depth in autism spectrum disorder

In autism spectrum disorder (ASD), atypical integration of visual depth cues may be due to flattened perceptual priors or selective fusion. The current study attempts to disentangle these explanations by psychophysically assessing within-modality integration of ordinal (occlusion) and metric (disparity) depth cues while accounting for sensitivity to stereoscopic information. Participants included 22 individuals with ASD and 23 typically developing matched controls. Although adults with ASD were found to have significantly poorer stereoacuity, they were still able to automatically integrate conflicting depth cues, lending support to the idea that priors are intact in ASD. However, dissimilarities in response speed variability between the ASD and TD groups suggests that there may be differences in the perceptual decision-making aspect of the task

(How) does the way maternity care is provided affect the health and well-being of young women and their babies?

Access to timely, quality maternity care improves health outcomes for mothers and babies. Inadequate antenatal care (defined as 1-5 visits) is associated with an increase in the risk of preterm birth and neonatal morbidity; even after controlling known confounders. Pregnant adolescents typically live in circumstances of socio-economic deprivation, which is exemplified by poorer general health status, domestic violence, mental health issues, inadequate nutrition, and smoking and illicit drug use. Adolescent pregnancy is associated with higher rates of preterm birth, low birth weight, and neonatal intensive care unit admission; along with lower rates of breastfeeding initiation

Sleep Characteristics in Patients with Whiplash-Associated Disorders: A Descriptive Study

Study Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore sleep habits and characteristics of patients with whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) presenting at an outpatient, chiropractic clinic using the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Sleep Scale. Methods: Fifty-one patients from an outpatient chiropractic and physical therapy clinic specializing in spinal rehabilitation participated in this cross-sectional, descriptive study. Data were collected using a descriptive survey, the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), the Neck Disability Index (NDI), and the self-administered 12-item MOS Sleep Scale. Data analysis included descriptive statistics to describe pain, disability, and sleep characteristics of the study sample, and computation of confidence intervals to determine differences in means of sleep characteristics between the non-WAD population (as determined by previous studies) and the study sample of WAD patients. Results: Results indicate that when compared to normative values of the non-WAD population, the sample of WAD patients in this study presents with significantly greater measures of neck disability (NDI), neck pain (VAS), sleep disturbance, snoring, shortness of breath and headache, sleep somnolence and sleep problems index I and II. This sample also presents with significantly lower measures of optimal sleep when compared to the general population. Conclusion: Consistent with previous research, findings from this study indicate that WAD patients have increased neck disability and pain, and poorer sleep outcomes, indicating the need for clinicians to assess sleep characteristics and incorporate interventions aimed at alleviating these symptoms when planning rehabilitation. Findings provide evidence for the need to further explore sleep disturbances among WAD patients to establish a stronger understanding of the course and prognosis of this condition

‘You Don’t Have to Speak German to Work on the German Law Journal’: Reflections on Being a Student Editor While Being a Law Student

By taking a backstage look at our experiences as student editors on the German Law Journal, we reflect on what being a student editor can add to a legal education. In order to rebut criticisms of student participation on law journals, we first argue that being a student editor provides students with invaluable skills and experiences that cannot be replicated it the classroom. Working on a journal not only allows students to refine their editing and research skills, but compels students to connect the technical knowledge learned in class with an understanding of the complexities and legacy of law as a project and a discipline. Secondly, we canvas the different forms of journal organization and student participation on law journals in different countries and argue that critics of student participation have ignored this wide spectrum. We conclude that just as the German Law Journal benefits from the involvement of English speaking student editors, new to European and international law, legal publications are far richer and more insightful the more they involve of fresh minds

Factors associated with intimate partner violence among college students

The purpose of this study is to explore what individual factors are associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) experiences among college students. Intimate partner violence is a huge problem among college students both male and female of all ethnicities, socio-economic classes, sexual orientation, and social class. This study focused on alcohol consumption and attitudes and beliefs of students to see it those two variables played a role in contributing to the rate of IPV occurring among college students

A Site of Resistance and/or Reclamation? The Role of the Black Church in the Charter School Movement

The struggle for equitable educational opportunities for students of color and those from low income families began well before the seminal Brown case, and continues with each new wave of education reform. The charter school movement is one such reform rapidly expanding across the United States and often targeting students from low-income communities of color (Berends, 2013; Reardon, 2011). Black churches have traditionally played a significant role in the education of African Americans (Billingsley, 1999; Lincoln & Mamiya, 1990; Pinn & Pinn, 2002), and have become increasingly involved in the charter movement. To date, there has been little scholarly investigation into the nature of this involvement.  Through a set of three studies, this dissertation examines nine predominantly Black churches and the ways they have mobilized as sites of resistance and/or reclamation of Black education through the charter school movement. Article 1 examines the types of Black church participation in the charter movement, and Article 2 examines discursive claims around their reasons and motivations for becoming involved. Finally, Article 3, a related case study, examines a coalition of Black clergy that mobilized politically to defeat legislation that would have expanded the reach of charter schools in Georgia. Preliminary findings suggest that Black church participation in the charter movement falls into four categories: political mobilization, parent and community education, creation and engagement of school choice-related coalitions, and “birthing” and/or supporting charter schools. There appear to be two emerging discourses regarding motivations for becoming involved in the charter school movement: health of the church and community revitalization. These discourses are not currently included in the literature on African-Americans’ motivations for supporting school choice, and further research is necessary to determine the extent to which they are pervasive across Black faith communities. Finally, the related case study reveals that key strategies of Black church political mobilization in the charter school movement include data mining and problem identification, resource employment, coalition building, and celebration, debriefing, and re-engagement.Doctor of Philosoph

Resin Infiltration Therapy: A Micro-Invasive Approach to Treat White Spot Lesions in Dentistry

Esthetic dentistry is on the rise and new treatments are evolving for treating white spot lesions. Resin infiltration is a micro-invasive procedure used to treat demineralized white spot lesions on the enamel surface. This technique involves placing a low viscosity resin with the active ingredient, triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) on the lesion. Resin infiltration aids in protecting the enamel from further demineralization while preserving its natural appearance. Resin infiltration with TEGDMA penetrates the hypomineralized enamel, masks the white spot lesion, and decreases the visible differences between the white spot lesion and sound enamel. This treatment was previously used to treat interproximal incipient carious lesions; however, it is now being marketed for esthetic purposes. Studies have found that resin infiltration using TEGDMA is effective in treating mild to moderate fluorosis and white spot lesions that may be seen post orthodontic treatment. For example, an in-vitro study by Subramaniam et al. shows resin infiltration’s ability to occlude enamel micro-porosities and mask white spot lesions. Furthermore, in 2019, Garg, et al. analyzed three cases of mild to moderate fluorosis treated with resin infiltration using TEGDMA. In this study, 18 fluorosed spots were measured using visual assessment with digital photographs, a colorimeter and spectrophotometer at different stages. Results of this study showed that 78% (n=14) of the fluorosed lesions treated with resin infiltration using TEGDMA demonstrated a significant improvement (p<0.001) indicating successful masking of demineralized areas. Resin infiltration provides a micro-invasive treatment for masking white spot lesions, which has the ability to bridge the gap between preventive and restorative therapy