A qualitative study of physical activity drivers in autistic individuals using COM-B:Autistic and non-autistic perspectives

BackgroundDespite evidence of the health benefits of physical activity in non-autistic populations and the additional benefits for autistic populations, physical activity levels remain stubbornly low in autistic individuals. Understanding the determinants of physical activity is essential in order to support intervention development.MethodsThe current research applied the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and Capability Opportunity Motivation, Behaviour (COM-B) model of behaviour to identify determinants of physical activity behaviour, mechanisms of action, and potentially efficacious behaviour change techniques. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with autistic adults (N = 4) and children (N = 2), parents of autistic children (N = 4), and stakeholders in autism care and support (N = 5). A deductive approach was taken to map themes onto TDF and COM-B.ResultsParticipants identified three overarching themes: Discordance between autistic and non-autistic perspectives; physically active environments; and autonomy and choice. Eight subthemes were identified and mapped onto COM-B and TDF. Recommendations for intervention development are made and potential behaviour change techniques are identified.ConclusionsGiven the important role of care providers, future research should focus on the attitudes and behaviours of individuals who care for and support autistic individuals to identify barriers and drivers of physical activity promotion, particularly for individuals with high support needs. An argument is made for co-design in future intervention development

Perceptual lateralisation of audio-visual stimuli.

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN014766 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Putting Proverbs to the Test:An Engaging Approach for Developing Students' Hypothesis Testing Skills

Integral to most undergraduate psychology degree programs are research methods courses. Students learn about theory, study design and hypothesis testing, and gain knowledge that is assessed by laboratory reports. We describe a problem-based learning approach with an emphasis on acquisition of study design skills. Working in small groups, students took well-known falsifiable proverbs, developed hypotheses to test them, recruited and assessed participants, analyzed the data, and presented their findings in a poster format. This approach allowed students to develop key skills to systematically experiment with an idea using proverbs as a proxy for theory. We suggest proverb testing as a useful technique to engage student-centered active learning in psychology and in the behavioral sciences more broadly

Noise mechanisms in motorcycle helmet noise

Belgium Herbarium image of Meise Botanic Garden

The impact of anxiety on postural control: CO2 challenge model

Data availability statement: The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in osf.io at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/WZS65, reference number WZS65. Appendix S1: Supporting information: Table S1 Means and Standard deviations of balance data at different time point and different inhalation condition, available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1111%2Fpsyp.14192&file=psyp14192-sup-0001-supinfo.docx (Word 2007 document , 23.1 KB). Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Anxiety and balance and postural control are linked via common neural pathways, such as the parabrachial nucleus network. A laboratory-based model of general anxiety disorder (GAD) using the CO2 challenge, has potential to be used to observe this relationship, potentially mimicking subjective, autonomic, and neuropsychological features of GAD. The current feasibility study used the CO2 challenge to explore postural control changes in healthy adults. It was predicted that during the CO2 condition, participants would show increased postural sway path length and decreased sway stability, compared with a normal air breathing condition. To assess this, heart and breathing rate, quiet standing postural sway path length, sway dynamic stability, and subjective measures of emotion were measured either before and after or during and after the inhalation conditions. Results demonstrated that CO2 inhalation led to both an increase in sway path length and reduced sway stability compared to the air breathing conditions; the effect on sway path lasted after the inhalation of CO2 had ceased. Additionally, replication of HR and subjective measures of emotion were observed when comparing air and CO2 conditions. This provides experimental evidence that CO2 inhalation can affect balance, suggestive of shared mechanisms between anxiety and balance performance, as well as indicating that the CO2 model of GAD is suitable to look at changes in balance performance in healthy adults. Future use of this model to explore factors that can reduce the influence of GAD on balance would be beneficial as would a more detailed exploration of the neural pathways associated with the associated comorbidity

Workers in the vanguard: the 1960 Industrial Relations Ordinance and the struggle for independence in Aden

The promulgation in 1960 of a new Industrial Relations Ordinance in Aden was a singular event in the history of British decolonisation because it made many forms of strike action illegal. Earlier initiatives to liberalise trade union law in the colonies were intended to channel and manage the discontent of workers; but for nationalist movements, the new order in industrial relations provided an opportunity to mobilise workers in the cause of independence. Aden, which was the location of a significant British base, a major oil refinery and a key commercial port, became the site of a bitter confrontation between the nascent trade union movement and the colonial administration. Three aspects of the conflict were of particular significance. First, Aden’s unique political status as a British colony in the Arab world and it strategic and economic value, contributed to the fractious industrial relations environment. Secondly, conflicts between workers and the colonial government demonstrate continuity with wider British efforts to suppress anti-colonial dissent and demonstrate that charges of appeasement in the last years of empire are not well founded. Lastly, the exceptional nature of the new legislation attracted the critical attention of the ILO and the major international trade union confederations, which internationalised the dispute over the IRO. An examination of the manner in which the British government sought to regulate its relations with various labour organisations, including the British TUC, the colonial ATUC and the two rival international labour confederations of the WFTU and ICFTU, demonstrates that the conduct of industrial relations in Aden was significant in the context of both the Cold War and decolonisation