Playing with Data: an Experience in Creative Infovis

Information Visualization (Infovis) methods provide an effective way to make sense of the vast amount of data flowing around our everyday experience. Using creative Infovis designs is possible to convey the mean- ing and enhance the understanding of complex topics. The purpose of this paper is to present the design method adopted in a collaboration between Polytechnic of Turin and Telecom Italia, whose goal is to devise novel and useful Infovis concepts to deal with data. Powered by the sharing of differ- ent skills and experiences, this method led to the first results presented in the paper

Does the Tripartite Influence Model of Body Image and Eating Pathology Function Similarly Across Racial/Ethnic Groups of White, Black, Latina, and Asian Women?

The tripartite influence model suggests that appearance pressures from family, peers, and the media contribute to thin-ideal internalization, which leads to increased body dissatisfaction and subsequent eating disorder pathology. The tripartite influence model was initially developed and tested among primarily White samples, and emerging research suggests racial/ethnic differences in mean levels of particular model constructs. Consequently, the model\u27s appropriateness for understanding eating disorder risk in racial/ethnic minorities warrants investigation to determine its usefulness in explicating eating disorder risk in diverse populations. Participants in the current study were White (n = 1167), Black (n = 212), Latina (n = 203), and Asian (n = 176) women from five geographically disparate college campuses in the United States. Participants completed the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4, the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire - Appearance Evaluation Subscale, and the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire. Analysis of variance was used to compare mean levels of each construct across racial/ethnic groups. Multigroup structural equation modeling was used to assess the appropriateness of the tripartite influence model for each racial/ethnic group, and to examine differences in the strength of the model pathways across groups. There were significant mean level differences across groups for most model constructs. However, results indicated similar model fit across racial/ethnic groups, with few differences in the strength of model pathways. Findings suggest that although some groups report lower levels of proposed risk factors, the sociocultural risk processes for eating pathology identified through the tripartite influence model are similar across racial/ethnic groups of young adult women. Such information can be used to inform culturally-sensitive interventions

Testing the Tripartite Influence Model Among Heterosexual, Bisexual, and Lesbian Women

This cross-sectional study explored similarities and differences between heterosexual, bisexual, and lesbian women in levels of, and relationships between, the following constructs using a Tripartite Influence Model framework: family, peer, and media appearance pressures, thin- and muscular-ideal internalization, and eating disorder (ED) pathology. Self-identified heterosexual (n = 1,528), bisexual (n = 89), and lesbian (n = 278) undergraduate women completed the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 and the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire. Sexual orientation differences in appearance pressures, appearance-ideal internalization, and ED pathology were examined via analysis of variance tests. Relationships between these variables were examined with multi-group path analyses, controlling for age, race/ethnicity, and body mass index. Compared with lesbian women, heterosexual and bisexual women reported higher levels of peer appearance pressures. Paths from peer appearance pressures and thin-ideal internalization to shape/weight overvaluation and body dissatisfaction were strongest for bisexual women. Overall, results indicate notable similarities between heterosexual, bisexual, and lesbian women. However, preliminary evidence for potential differences highlights the importance of examining variation in ED risk between sexual minority subgroups

Comparing Internalization of Appearance Ideals and Appearance-Related Pressures Among Women from the United States, Italy, England, and Australia

Researchers have observed variation in levels of body image disturbance and eating pathology among women from different Western countries. Examination of cross-cultural differences in the established risk factors (i.e., thin-ideal internalization, muscular-ideal internalization, and appearance pressures from family, peers, and media) for negative outcomes may help to elucidate the prominence of specific risk factors within a given Western society and guide associated interventions. Women from the United States (US), Italy, England, and Australia completed the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 (SATAQ-4). Analysis of covariance controlling for age and BMI indicated significant cross-country differences for all SATAQ-4 subscales. Results typically indicated higher levels of appearance-ideal internalization and appearance pressures in the US and lower levels in Italy; however, associated effect sizes were generally small. A medium effect of country was observed for peer-appearance pressures, which were highest in the US compared with all other countries. Repeated-measures analysis of variance and paired samples t tests conducted within each country identified thin-ideal internalization and media appearance pressures as the predominant risk factors for all four countries. Overall, findings suggest more cross-country similarities than differences, and highlight the importance of delivering interventions to address thin-ideal internalization and media appearance pressures among women from Western backgrounds

In the eye of the storm : the Italian economy and the eurozone crisis

The eurozone crisis had a more significant and longer-lasting impact on Italy than on virtually any other member state, with the effects still visible a decade after. The extent of the shock was surprising in view of progress Italy had apparently made in the 1990s in terms of enhancing its capacity to meet the demands of European Monetary Union. The explanation for this traumatic economic experience lies in Italy’s deep, long-term, structural tensions which were placed under severe pressure during the 1990s and which were cracked open by the 2011 sovereign debt crisis. These have had long-standing economic effects as well as political ramifications in terms of a significant change in the Italy–EU relationship

Economic downturn results in tick-borne disease upsurge

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The emergence of zoonoses is due both to changes in human activities and to changes in their natural wildlife cycles. One of the most significant vector-borne zoonoses in Europe, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), doubled in incidence in 1993, largely as a consequence of the socio-economic transition from communism to capitalism and associated environmental changes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To test the effect of the current economic recession, unemployment in 2009 and various socio-economic indices were compared to weather indices (derived from principal component analyses) as predictors for the change in TBE case numbers in 2009 relative to 2004-08, for 14 European countries.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Greatest increases in TBE incidence occurred in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (91, 79 and 45%, respectively). The weather was rejected as an explanatory variable. Indicators of high background levels of poverty, e.g. percent of household expenditure on food, were significant predictors. The increase in unemployment in 2009 relative to 2008 together with 'in-work risk of poverty' is the only case in which a multivariate model has a second significant term.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Background socio-economic conditions determine susceptibility to risk of TBE, while increased unemployment triggered a sudden increase in risk. Mechanisms behind this result may include reduced resistance to infection through stress; reduced uptake of costly vaccination; and more exposure of people to infected ticks in their forest habitat as they make greater use of wild forest foods, especially in those countries, Lithuania and Poland, with major marketing opportunities in such products. Recognition of these risk factors could allow more effective protection through education and a vaccination programme targeted at the economically most vulnerable.</p

Eating disorder symptoms and the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism: Mixed perfectionism is the most maladaptive combination

Purpose: The 2 × 2 model of perfectionism (Gaudreau & Thompson, 2010) represents an important addition to the perfectionism literature, but so far has not been studied in relation to disordered eating. Method: Using the 2 × 2 model as analytic framework, this study examined responses from a convenience sample of 716 participants aged 19-68 years (71% female) investigating how self-oriented perfectionism (SOP) and socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) predicted individual differences in eating disorder symptoms, additionally controlling for body mass index, gender, and age. Results: Results showed a significant SOP × SPP interaction indicating that the combination of high SOP and high SPP--called “mixed perfectionism”--was associated with the highest levels of eating disorder symptoms. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate the utility of the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism as an analytic framework for examining perfectionism and disordered eating. Moreover, they suggest that mixed perfectionism is the most maladaptive form of perfectionism, when it comes to disordered eating, such that having high levels of SPP combined with high levels of SOP represents the most maladaptive combination of perfectionism in terms of risk of eating disorder

Exercise caution: Over-exercise is associated with suicidality among individuals with disordered eating

We conducted four studies to examine the relationship between over-exercise and suicidality. Study 1 investigated whether over-exercise predicted suicidal behavior after controlling for other eating disorder behaviors in a patient sample of 204 women (144 with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) Bulimia Nervosa [BN]). Study 2 tested the prospective association between over-exercise and acquired capability for suicide (ACS) in a sample of 171 college students followed for 3–4 weeks. Study 3 investigated whether pain insensitivity accounted for the relationship between over-exercise and ACS in a new sample of 467 college students. Study 4 tested whether ACS accounted for the relationship between over-exercise and suicidal behavior in a sample of 512 college students. In Study 1, after controlling for key covariates, over-exercise was the only disordered eating variable that maintained a significant relationship with suicidal behavior. In Study 2, Time 1 over-exercise was the only disordered eating behavior that was associated with Time 2 ACS. In Study 3, pain insensitivity accounted for the relationship between over-exercise and ACS. In Study 4, ACS accounted for the relationship between over-exercise and suicidal behavior. Over-exercise appears to be associated with suicidal behavior, an association accounted for by pain insensitivity and the acquired capability for suicide; notably, this association was found across a series of four studies with different populations