What Men Want: The Role of Reflective Opposite-Sex Normative Preferences in Alcohol Use Among College Women

Misperceptions of peer drinking norms have been found to be strongly associated with individual drinking behavior, especially for proximal reference groups such as same-sex friends. Less studied are the effects of perceived preferences from the opposite sex on alcohol use; that is, the behaviors an individual believe the opposite sex prefers from them. Research suggests that these perceived “reflective” normative preferences may be particularly salient among college women, who may drink in pursuit of intimate relationships and positive attention from male peers. Heterosexual undergraduate students from two universities participated in this project. Females answered questions regarding the amount of alcohol they believe a typical male would like his female friends, dates, or romantic partners to drink. Males answered the same questions, stating their actual preferences. Results showed that females overestimate the amount of alcohol males want their female friends, dating partners, and sexual partners to drink, and that this misperception was associated with their drinking behavior, even after controlling for perceived same-sex norms. These results suggest that reflective normative feedback may offer a powerful new tool for female-targeted interventions

Estimates and influences of reflective opposite-sex norms on alcohol use among a high-risk sample of college students: Exploring Greek-affiliation and gender effects

Reflective opposite sex norms are behavior that an individual believes the opposite sex prefers them to do. The current study extends research on this recently introduced construct by examining estimates and influences of reflective norms on drinking in a large high-risk heterosexual sample of male and female college students from two universities. Both gender and Greek-affiliation served as potential statistical moderators of the reflective norms and drinking relationship. All participants (N = 1790; 57% female) answered questions regarding the amount of alcohol they believe members of the opposite sex would like their opposite sex friends, dates, and sexual partners to drink. Participants also answered questions regarding their actual preferences for drinking levels in each of these three relationship categories. Overall, women overestimated how much men prefer their female friends and potential sexual partners to drink, whereas men overestimated how much women prefer their sexual partners to drink. Greek-affiliated males demonstrated higher reflective norms than non-Greek males across all relationship categories, and for dating partners, only Greek-affiliated males misperceived women’s actual preferences. Among women however, there were no differences between reflective norms estimates or the degree of misperception as a function of Greek status. Most importantly, over and above perceived same-sex social norms, higher perceived reflective norms tended to account for greater variance in alcohol consumption for Greeks (vs. non-Greeks) and males (vs. females), particularly within the friend and sexual partner contexts. The findings highlight that potential benefits might arise if existing normative feedback interventions were augmented with reflective normative feedback designed to target the discrepancy between perceived and actual drinking preferences of the opposite sex

Inconsistencies in Guidelines for Visual Health Surveillance of VDT Workers

Objectives: In Europe, 25% of workers use video display terminals (VDTs). Occupational health surveillance has been considered a key element in the protection of these workers. Nevertheless, it is unclear if guidelines available for this purpose, based on EU standards and available evidence, meet currently accepted quality criteria. The aim of this study was to appraise three sets of European VDT guidelines (UK, France, Spain) in which regulatory and evidence-based approaches for visual health have been formulated and recommendations for practice made. Methods: Three independent appraisers used an adapted AGREE instrument with seven domains to appraise the guidelines. A modified nominal group technique approach was used in two consecutive phases: first, individual evaluation of the three guidelines simultaneously, and second, a face-to-face meeting of appraisers to discuss scoring. Analysis of ratings obtained in each domain and variability among appraisers was undertaken (correlation and kappa coefficients). Results: All guidelines had low domain scores. The domain evaluated most highly was Scope and purpose, while Applicability was scored minimally. The UK guidelines had the highest overall score, and the Spanish ones had the lowest. The analysis of reliability and differences between scores in each domain showed a high level of agreement. Conclusions: These results suggest current guidelines used in these countries need an update. The formulation of evidence-base European guidelines on VDT could help to reduce the significant variation of national guidelines, which may have an impact on practical application.This study was supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at Work of the Spanish Work and Immigration Ministry (INSHT). Project reference: 606/UAL/PVDVIS

Impact of surface adhesion and sample heterogeneity on the multiscale mechanical characterisation of soft biomaterials

Funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/L505602/1) is gratefully acknowledged

Biomechanical Stresses in Computer-Aided Design and in Data Entry

A study of the risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) of the upper limbs was carried out on 2 populations, 1 performing a computer-aided design (CAD) task and the other performing a data entry task. A questionnaire on MSD complaints and working life was completed by a sample of each population. Biomechanical measurements of the forces, the angles, and the repetitiveness of movements of the upper limbs were carried out on some operators in each sample. It emerged that complaints of the upper limbs seem to be linked to the use of input devices. The grip forces exerted when using the keyboard and mouse were higher in CAD than in data entry

La fatigue visuelle.

Cette note constitue une revue de la littérature (283 références) concernant les travaux réalisés au cours des 10 dernières années sur la fatigue visuelle. Les principaux thèmes abordés sont les symptômes subjectifs, les modifications physiologiques (diamètre pupillaire, accommodation, mouvements oculaires, clignements, divergence et convergence, phories, fréquence critique de fusion, acuité visuelle, sensibilité au contraste, potentiels évoqués visuels), la performance visuelle, la persistance de la fatigue et les biais méthodologiques. Les résultats établis pour chaque thème sont présentés sous forme de résumés. Sur la base de ces données, la fatigue visuelle se manifeste sous des formes diverses et son apparition est dépendante de très nombreux facteurs

Incidence of Stress and Psychosocial Factors on Musculoskeletal Disorders in CAD and Data Entry

A comparative study concerning the incidence of psychosocial factors and stress on musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) was conducted on 30 males carrying out a computer-aided design (CAD) task and on 26 females carrying out a data entry task. Both populations completed a questionnaire concerning complaints of MSD, stress symptoms, psychosocial factors and working life. This study showed that the work context was more favourable to the data entry task operators than to the CAD task operators. In addition, there were relationships in CAD and in data entry between complaints of MSD and stress variables as well as between anguish and psychosocial factors. This field study has shown the importance of stress and of the work context in the occurrence of MSD in computer work