A Theoretical Perspective of Factors that Relate to the Functional Independence of Mature Adults

Limitations of policy makers and health care providers understanding about living conditions in later adulthood continually constrains mature adults from doing more for themselves, and society. These circumstances move society to devalue mature adults. Less valued mature adults tend to become even more dependent, that is, increasingly less willing to care for themselves, and less able to contribute to the social good. As a result, a vicious cycle was created, and it caused mature adults to live lower quality lives, and become increasingly dependent on others. To empower mature adults in later life, this study does the preliminary work to develop an instrument to discover which quality of life indicators/factors best explain Functional Independence (FI). The six indicators investigated were the (1) Activities of Daily Living Status (ADLS) or competency in the performance of essential daily tasks, (2) Physical Status (PS) or the level of physical activity, (3) Cognitive Status (CS) or good mental health, (4) Social Status (SS) or supportive relationships, (5) Environmental Status (ES) or the freedom from undue stressful life events and everyday frustrations, and (6) Health Status (HS) or the mitigation/absence of chronic diseases. Empowering mature adults to do more for themselves, and society has the potential to engender more enlightened social attitudes about later adulthood. To learn more about these six quality of life indicators, data highlighting the most relevant research studies were accumulated, and a 32-question survey was created. Administrators then were contacted from five senior citizen centers to make arrangements to administer the survey. After taking steps to protect all subjects, the survey questionnaire was piloted to a sample of 10-12 mature adults, and then completed by a total sample of 160 subjects who could be conveniently recruited at the five senior citizen centers. The data analysis reported demographics showing a majority of the sample of mature adults were female (98), Caucasian (134), over 66 (130), married (at least once) (122), and high school graduates (147). Factor analysis revealed a seven-factor solution accounting for 62.1% of the variance of FI, four of its seven factors consisting of three or more questions, and significant factor loadings for 22 of the 26 survey questions analyzed. Internal consistency reliability was measured using Cronbach\u27s alpha; based on the five inter-item subscales (ADLS, PS, CS, ES, SS) analyzed, it was found that the overall alpha for Functional Independence (FI) was .7771. In contrast, based on the 26 questions analyzed, it was found that the overall alpha for Functional Independence (FI) was .8285. Null hypotheses testing showed that significant correlations existed among each pair of quality of life variables analyzed; this was consistent with the research reviewed

A step into the other world : phenomenology of spontaneous after-death communication experiences in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand

After-death communication (ADC) is a type of spiritual experience in which a person senses the presence of somebody deceased, most commonly a deceased loved one. Research supports an association between ADC and various psychological benefits, mainly in the context of grief and bereavement. Research has also shown that people who have these types of experiences are often fearful to disclose them due to fear of ridicule or judgement. The current research aimed to provide a rich description of New Zealander’s ADC experiences, and how they may differ from other populations. A further aim of this research was to uncover the meanings and interpretations of the experiences for the participants through a qualitative research approach. There were ten participants in the study, nine of whom were female. Five of the participants identified as NZ-European; one participant identified as Māori, Celtic, English, and Fijian; and one participant identified as Māori, Cook-Island, and NZ-European. The participants reported that their experiences helped them to have certain needs met and provided them with comfort and reassurance that their loved ones were in a state of wellbeing. Their experiences impacted on and helped with their grieving process. The participants also reported that the experiences enabled them to continue to feel connected to their loved ones. The results of this study are important because they provide insight into what an ADC experience is like for a New Zealander. The findings also have important implications for the field of psychology in New Zealand because they align with other research that supports an association between ADC and positive psychological benefits. The study shows that having an ADC experience in New Zealand is beneficial. Therefore, it encourages psychologists, both in preparation and in practice within NZ, to identify strategies to help ADC experiencers to maximize the benefits of the experience for their psychological wellbeing

Empowered, excited, or disenfranchised? Unveiling issues of energy access inequality and resource dependency in The Gambia

The study assesses the impact of energy service provision in The Gambian settlement of Kartong through a qualitative study that employs immersion and mapping methods. In time for the 2013 Ramadan celebrations, the first 19 households are connected to a regional electricity grid. Shortly after a bus service is introduced that runs from Kartong to Banjul, the capital city of The Gambia. It provides a reliable alternative to so-called bush taxis that operate without a set schedule. While the provision of energy services including electricity and transport is recognized as important in supporting people’s livelihoods, it poses questions about a shift from energy self-sufficiency to increased dependency on outside resources. Locally there is also an increased emphasis regarding inequality in accessing these services. For example, grid infrastructure is currently limited to the longer established parts of Kartong, putting households on the edge of the settlement in a disadvantaged position

An evaluation of a biomass stove safety protocol used for testing household cookstoves, in low-middle income countries

To mitigate the impact of: excess pollution, deforestation and injuries attributable to cookstoves in low-middle income countries, humanitarian and private sector organisations have made a commitment to distribute 100 million improved cookstoves (ICS) by 2020. In order to evaluate the safety of these ICS for the end users, a ten test ‘Biomass Stove Safety Protocol’ (BSSP) has been developed by the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (GACC). However, there is no published evidence that this protocol has been independently assessed or benchmarked. This study aimed to determine whether the BSSP is fit for purpose such that, it will produce repeatable safety ratings for a range of cookstoves when performed by different testers. Results indicated that the scores for each stove varied considerably between each of the six testers with only one of five ICS receiving the same overall safety rating. While individually some tests produced relatively coherent scores, others led to large discrepancies. We conclude that although BSSP is an important starting point in highlighting the need for stove safety assessment, there are some aspects of the protocol that require further development to ensure that it can be reliably replicated by different testers

Companies and cars The way forward

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The plane truth Aviation and the environment

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Data from: The effect of nitrogen availability and water conditions on competition between a facultative CAM plant and an invasive grass

Abstract Plants with crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) are increasing their abundance in drylands worldwide. The drivers and mechanisms underlying the increased dominance of CAM plants and CAM expression (i.e., nocturnal carboxylation) in facultative CAM plants, however, remain poorly understood. We investigated how nutrient and water availability affected competition between Mesembryanthemum crystallinum (a model facultative CAM species) and the invasive C3 grass Bromus mollis that co-occur in California's coastal grasslands. Specifically we investigated the extent to which water stress, nutrients, and competition affect nocturnal carboxylation in M. crystallinum. High nutrient and low water conditions favored M. crystallinum over B. mollis, in contrast to high water conditions. While low water conditions induced nocturnal carboxylation in 9-week-old individuals of M. crystallinum, in these low water treatments, a 66% reduction in nutrient applied over the entire experiment did not further enhance nocturnal carboxylation. In high water conditions M. crystallinum both alone and in association with B. mollis did not perform nocturnal carboxylation, regardless of the nutrient levels. Thus, nocturnal carboxylation in M. crystallinum was restricted by strong competition with B. mollis in high water conditions. This study provides empirical evidence of the competitive advantage of facultative CAM plants over grasses in drought conditions and of the restricted ability of M. crystallinum to use their photosynthetic plasticity (i.e., ability to switch to CAM behavior) to compete with grasses in well-watered conditions. We suggest that a high drought tolerance could explain the increased dominance of facultative CAM plants in a future environment with increased drought and nitrogen deposition, while the potential of facultative CAM plants such as M. crystallinum to expand to wet environments is expected to be limited

The effect of nitrogen availability and water conditions on competition between a facultative CAM plant and an invasive grass.

Plants with crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) are increasing their abundance in drylands worldwide. The drivers and mechanisms underlying the increased dominance of CAM plants and CAM expression (i.e., nocturnal carboxylation) in facultative CAM plants, however, remain poorly understood. We investigated how nutrient and water availability affected competition between Mesembryanthemum crystallinum (a model facultative CAM species) and the invasive C3 grass Bromus mollis that co-occur in California's coastal grasslands. Specifically we investigated the extent to which water stress, nutrients, and competition affect nocturnal carboxylation in M. crystallinum. High nutrient and low water conditions favored M. crystallinum over B. mollis, in contrast to high water conditions. While low water conditions induced nocturnal carboxylation in 9-week-old individuals of M. crystallinum, in these low water treatments, a 66% reduction in nutrient applied over the entire experiment did not further enhance nocturnal carboxylation. In high water conditions M. crystallinum both alone and in association with B. mollis did not perform nocturnal carboxylation, regardless of the nutrient levels. Thus, nocturnal carboxylation in M. crystallinum was restricted by strong competition with B. mollis in high water conditions. This study provides empirical evidence of the competitive advantage of facultative CAM plants over grasses in drought conditions and of the restricted ability of M. crystallinum to use their photosynthetic plasticity (i.e., ability to switch to CAM behavior) to compete with grasses in well-watered conditions. We suggest that a high drought tolerance could explain the increased dominance of facultative CAM plants in a future environment with increased drought and nitrogen deposition, while the potential of facultative CAM plants such as M. crystallinum to expand to wet environments is expected to be limited

Companies and cars Improving the environmental impact and efficiency of company cars and travel

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Nitrogen experiment data

Nitrogen experiment dat