Exploring the Relationship Between Universal-Diverse Orientation and Personality

This study examined the relationship between universal-diverse orientation (UDO), a relatively new concept associated with multicultural awareness that is related to the recognition and acceptance of both similarities and differences among people (Miville et al., 1999), and personality. Participants were one hundred and one college students who completed a measure of UDO, the Miville-Guzman Universality-Diversity Scale (M-GUDS; Miville et al., 1999), and a well-established measure of normal personality, the California Psychological Inventory (CPI; Gough, 1987). Researchers hypothesized that significant relationships would exist between UDO and healthy attributes of personality. Initial results supported this hypothesis; however, post hoc analyses indicated that the demographic variables age and education were also significantly correlated with UDO, and these appear to moderate the relationship between UDO personality. Practical applications and implications for future research are offered. Vontress (1988, 1996) suggested that via the confluence of five cultures (i.e., universal, ecological, national, regional, racioethnic), human development produces includes idiographic differences as well as communal traits that transcend individual differences. Vontress went on to propose that an awareness of and appreciation for the differences and commonalities between and among cultures is important for effective human interaction. Miville et al. (1999) put a finer point on this idea. They believe that attentiveness toward and acceptance of group differences is critical for those who work with diverse persons from a variety of social-cultural backgrounds. Influenced by this Vontress, Miville et al. introduced the universal-diverse orientation (UDO) as ―an attitude toward all other persons that is inclusive yet differentiating in that similarities and differences are both recognized and accepted; the shared experience of being human results in a sense of connectedness with people and is associated with a plurality or diversity of interactions with others‖ (p. 292). Miville et al. (1999) reported that UDO is theoretically associated with personality functioning and wellness. Initial evidence has surfaced to support this link. For example, preliminary data indicate that UDO is related to attentiveness and responsiveness to others, openness to new experiences, interest and commitment to social and cultural activities of diverse people, and the ability to appreciate the impact of one\u27s own and others\u27 diversity (Constantine, et al., 2001; Thompson, Brossart, Carlozzi, & Miville, 2002; Yeh & Arora, 2003). Further, Miville et al. (1999) reported links between UDO and personality variables such as attitudes towards gender, well-being, mental health, autonomy, independence, and empathy--features that seem to be central to effectiveness in social interaction, such as is needed among counselors. Additionally, the UDO was negatively related to ratings of homophobia and dogmatism. Later, Strauss and Connerley (2003) and Thompson et al. (2002) added to the investigation of this hypothesized link. Strauss and Connerley found that the personality variables agreeableness (selflessness, tolerance, helpfulness) and openness to experience were positively and significantly associated with UDO. Thompson et al. also reported that UDO was linked to openness to experience. Together, these studies provide initial support for the Miville et al personality and UDO hypotheses. However, these studies used narrowly defined personality variables. Therefore, additional research is needed to expand and develops the UDO literature base. Because the UDO provides a framework for understanding and appreciating the foundational similarities and differences central to effective multicultural counseling, additional research is needed to evaluate this important construct. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to build upon and extend the research investigating the theorized relationship between UDO and personality. Specifically, we will examine the relationship between UDO, as measured by the Miville-Guzman Universality-Diversity Scale (M-GUDS; Miville et al., 1999) and selected variables from a well-established measure of personality traits, the California Personality Inventory (Gough, 1996) in a sample of students enrolled in courses offered in two university departments: counseling and mental health services, and psychology

Cardiac Rehabilitation Intervention and Quality of Life Indicators: A Validation Estimate of Ware's Model

Author Institution: Dept. of Counseling & Mental Health Services, University of Toledo, OHAuthor Institution: Dept. of Educational Foundations & Leadership, University of Akron, OHAuthor Institution: Dept. of Counseling, Summa Health System, University of Akron, OHAuthor Institution: Cardiac Rehabilitation Institute, Summa Health System, University of Akron, OHThe present study tests Ware’s (1987, 1990) prediction that patient evaluations of quality of life (QOL) are related to physical ability. QOL data from 302 patients were collected prior to initiation and upon completion of a 12-week cardiac rehabilitation program. Physical ability was measured in metabolic equivalents (METS). Pearson product moment correlation coefficients were calculated for the variables under study. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to test these relationships covarying patient diagnosis, and pre-treatment QOL score and patient demographics. Significant improvements from pre- to post-CR were found for METs and all QOL variables. Improvements in physical ability were significantly correlated with improvements in physical health related QOL indices, but not with mental health QOL indices. These relationships were present even when moderating variables were co-varied. Improvements in physical ability were predictive of decreased expectations that physical health would interfere with work or other daily activities. As the physical capabilities of our patients increased, they reported feeling less physical pain and were less limited by any pain they did experience. And, increased physical ability was associated with a brighter outlook on current and expected future health status. These findings provide support for Ware’s theory of QOL

Is Counseling Ready for Rational Suicide? A Study of Perceived Competence

Many counselors believe suicidal ideation in a terminally ill client can be rational (Rogers et al, 2001). One hundred and fifty-three counselors rated their perceived competence to counsel individuals who are rationally suicidal. Data were analyzed with non-parametric statistics. Findings suggest participants with more education, more years of service, and more experience with terminally ill clients rated themselves more competent to work with rationally suicidal clients. Implications for counselors and counselor educators are discussed

Development and Validation of the Mental Health Professionals\u27 Attitude Towards People Living with HIV/AIDS Scale (MHP-PLHIV-AS)

This study focused on the creation and validation of an instrument to measure mental health professionals\u27 attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS. Rasch analyses (Rash, 1960, 1980) provided evidence to support a two-dimensional (societal and personal dimensions) measurement of this attitude construct

Patterns of Multimorbidity in the Aged Population. Results from the KORA-Age Study

Multimorbidity is a common problem in aged populations with a wide range of individual and societal consequences. The objective of the study was to explore patterns of comorbidity and multimorbidity in an elderly population using different analytical approaches. Data were gathered from the population-based KORA-Age project, which included 4,127 persons aged 65–94 years living in the city of Augsburg and its two surrounding counties in Southern Germany. Information on the presence of 13 chronic conditions was collected in a standardized telephone interview and a self-administered questionnaire. Patterns of comorbidity and multimorbidity were analyzed using prevalence figures, logistic regression models and exploratory tetrachoric factor analysis. The prevalence of multimorbidity (≥2 diseases) was 58.6% in the total sample. Hypertension and diabetes (Odds Ratio [OR] 2.95, 99.58% confidence interval [CI] [2.19–3.96]), as well as hypertension and stroke (OR 2.00, 99.58% CI [1.26–3.16]) most often occurred in combination. This association was independent of age, sex and the presence of other conditions. Using factor analysis, we identified four patterns of multimorbidity: the first pattern includes cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, the second includes joint, liver, lung and eye diseases, the third covers mental and neurologic diseases and the fourth pattern includes gastrointestinal diseases and cancer. 44% of the persons were assigned to at least one of the four multimorbidity patterns; 14% could be assigned to both the cardiovascular/metabolic and the joint/liver/lung/eye pattern. Further common pairs were the mental/neurologic pattern combined with the cardiovascular/metabolic pattern (7.2%) or the joint/liver/lung/eye pattern (5.3%), respectively. Our results confirmed the existence of co-occurrence of certain diseases in elderly persons, which is not caused by chance. Some of the identified patterns of multimorbidity and their overlap may indicate common underlying pathological mechanisms

Overview of the coordinated ground-based observations of Titan during the Huygens mission

Coordinated ground-based observations of Titan were performed around or during the Huygens atmospheric probe mission at Titan on 14 January 2005, connecting the momentary in situ observations by the probe with the synoptic coverage provided by continuing ground-based programs. These observations consisted of three different categories: (1) radio telescope tracking of the Huygens signal at 2040 MHz, (2) observations of the atmosphere and surface of Titan, and (3) attempts to observe radiation emitted during the Huygens Probe entry into Titan's atmosphere. The Probe radio signal was successfully acquired by a network of terrestrial telescopes, recovering a vertical profile of wind speed in Titan's atmosphere from 140 km altitude down to the surface. Ground-based observations brought new information on atmosphere and surface properties of the largest Satumian moon. No positive detection of phenomena associated with the Probe entry was reported. This paper reviews all these measurements and highlights the achieved results. The ground-based observations, both radio and optical, are of fundamental imnortance for the interpretatinn of results from the Huygens mission

A large genome-wide association study of age-related macular degeneration highlights contributions of rare and common variants.

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng.3448Advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly, with limited therapeutic options. Here we report on a study of >12 million variants, including 163,714 directly genotyped, mostly rare, protein-altering variants. Analyzing 16,144 patients and 17,832 controls, we identify 52 independently associated common and rare variants (P < 5 × 10(-8)) distributed across 34 loci. Although wet and dry AMD subtypes exhibit predominantly shared genetics, we identify the first genetic association signal specific to wet AMD, near MMP9 (difference P value = 4.1 × 10(-10)). Very rare coding variants (frequency <0.1%) in CFH, CFI and TIMP3 suggest causal roles for these genes, as does a splice variant in SLC16A8. Our results support the hypothesis that rare coding variants can pinpoint causal genes within known genetic loci and illustrate that applying the approach systematically to detect new loci requires extremely large sample sizes.We thank all participants of all the studies included for enabling this research by their participation in these studies. Computer resources for this project have been provided by the high-performance computing centers of the University of Michigan and the University of Regensburg. Group-specific acknowledgments can be found in the Supplementary Note. The Center for Inherited Diseases Research (CIDR) Program contract number is HHSN268201200008I. This and the main consortium work were predominantly funded by 1X01HG006934-01 to G.R.A. and R01 EY022310 to J.L.H

Bypassing cellular EGF receptor dependence through epithelial-to-mesenchymal-like transitions

Over 90% of all cancers are carcinomas, malignancies derived from cells of epithelial origin. As carcinomas progress, these tumors may lose epithelial morphology and acquire mesenchymal characteristics which contribute to metastatic potential. An epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) similar to the process critical for embryonic development is thought to be an important mechanism for promoting cancer invasion and metastasis. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions have been induced in vitro by transient or unregulated activation of receptor tyrosine kinase signaling pathways, oncogene signaling and disruption of homotypic cell adhesion. These cellular models attempt to mimic the complexity of human carcinomas which respond to autocrine and paracrine signals from both the tumor and its microenvironment. Activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been implicated in the neoplastic transformation of solid tumors and overexpression of EGFR has been shown to correlate with poor survival. Notably, epithelial tumor cells have been shown to be significantly more sensitive to EGFR inhibitors than tumor cells which have undergone an EMT-like transition and acquired mesenchymal characteristics, including non-small cell lung (NSCLC), head and neck (HN), bladder, colorectal, pancreas and breast carcinomas. EGFR blockade has also been shown to inhibit cellular migration, suggesting a role for EGFR inhibitors in the control of metastasis. The interaction between EGFR and the multiple signaling nodes which regulate EMT suggest that the combination of an EGFR inhibitor and other molecular targeted agents may offer a novel approach to controlling metastasis

The Role of Information and Financial Reporting in Corporate Governance and Debt Contracting

We review recent literature on the role of financial reporting transparency in reducing governance-related agency conflicts among managers, directors, and shareholders, as well as in reducing agency conflicts between shareholders and creditors, and offer researchers some suggested avenues for future research. Key themes include the endogenous nature of debt contracts and governance mechanisms with respect to information asymmetry between contracting parties, the heterogeneous nature of the informational demands of contracting parties, and the heterogeneous nature of the resulting governance and debt contracts. We also emphasize the role of a commitment to financial reporting transparency in facilitating informal multiperiod contracts among managers, directors, shareholders, and creditors