Physiological, experiential & cognitive consequences of suppression, reappraisal & acceptance during emotional arousal : a comparative analysis : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

This study investigated the experiential, physiological, and memory effects of three emotion regulation strategies: acceptance, suppression, and reappraisal. Eighty female university students were exposed to a two minute standardised film designed to evoke feelings of sadness, while under instructions to either (a) push away emotions that arose (suppression), (b) view the film in an objective detached way (reappraisal), (c) accept emotions that arose without judgement (acceptance), or (d) simply watch the film (control group). Participants rated the intensity of emotions experienced both prior to and during the film. Heart rate and skin conductance were measured prior to, during, and following the film, and participants' incidental recognition memory (visual and verbal) and subjective confidence in memory were assessed post film. No significant differences were found between the mean scores of the four instructional conditions for any of the main dependent variables (possibilities regarding why this was so are discussed in this thesis). However, analysis of mean and effect size revealed trends that were supportive of several hypotheses. None of the emotion regulation strategies were found to be effective for alleviating either physiological or subjective responses to the film. However, reappraisal and acceptance participants did rate the emotive stimulus as more positive/pleasant than control participants. Clear differences also emerged with respect to incidental verbal recognition memory. Acceptance participants were the only group to achieve higher scores than control participants on this measure. These findings suggest different emotion regulation strategies may have different adaptive consequences depending on their emphasis on emotional control

Development and evaluation of an ACT-based lifestyle education intervention for patients with pre-diabetes : a randomised controlled trial : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Type 2 diabetes is a potentially debilitating health condition, and rising prevalence rates of both diabetes and pre-diabetes (the precursor to diabetes) globally and in New Zealand has made prevention an important research focus. Early research indicated dramatic reductions in modifiable diabetes risks factors through the provision of lifestyle education interventions for those with pre-diabetes. However, the time and resource intensive nature of these interventions presented challenges for their implementation, and studies employing briefer more pragmatic interventions produced less compelling results. Incorporating a psychological component into lifestyle education interventions has been highlighted as a possible avenue for enhancing outcomes. This thesis describes the development/adaptation of two intervention approaches for patients with pre-diabetes; lifestyle education alone and lifestyle education combined with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The goal of the ACT/Education approach was to connect participants’ lifestyle goals to personally meaningful values, and equip them with skills to deal with difficult emotions that can function as barriers to goal attainment. A randomised controlled design was used to compare the effectiveness of these approaches with the provision of standard medical care. Results indicated the presence of significant cumulative intervention effects over time for HbA1c, BMI, waist circumference, saturated fat intake, life satisfaction, anxiety, and pre-diabetes knowledge; and education alone was more effective than standard care for reducing total cholesterol and waist circumference. However, results indicated that incorporating an ACT approach was no more beneficial than education alone or standard care across any of the outcome measures. Limitations related to statistical power, participant characteristics and methodology makes definitive interpretations of these results difficult. Addressing these limitations in future research may produce more meaningful outcomes

Liberal Education – Perceptions of New Zealand Practicing Accountants

During the 1990s the value to an intending professional accountant of undertaking a period of liberal (general) studies was promoted internationally by a number of individuals and organisations, including the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (the “Institute”). The Institute significantly changed its admissions policy for Chartered Accountants in 1996 and one change was to require four years of degree level study with a compulsory liberal studies component. This study surveys the perceptions of New Zealand accounting practitioners on the impact of this compulsory liberal component. The results of this study demonstrate that there is little support from accounting practitioners for IFAC’s claim that liberal education “can contribute significantly to the acquisition of professional skills”, including intellectual, personal and communication skills. In addition, the majority of respondents did not perceive any improvements in the professional skills of the staff that had qualified under the Institute’s current admissions policy. However, any perceived improvements were mainly attributed to the Institute’s policy change. Notwithstanding the lack of support for the assertion that liberal education develops professional skills, there is a strong belief by respondents in the value of liberal education for intending professional accountants

Another analytic view about quantifying social forces

Montroll had considered a Verhulst evolution approach for introducing a notion he called "social force", to describe a jump in some economic output when a new technology or product outcompetes a previous one. In fact, Montroll's adaptation of Verhulst equation is more like an economic field description than a "social force". The empirical Verhulst logistic function and the Gompertz double exponential law are used here in order to present an alternative view, within a similar mechanistic physics framework. As an example, a "social force" modifying the rate in the number of temples constructed by a religious movement, the Antoinist community, between 1910 and 1940 in Belgium is found and quantified. Practically, two temple inauguration regimes are seen to exist over different time spans, separated by a gap attributed to a specific "constraint", a taxation system, but allowing for a different, smooth, evolution rather than a jump. The impulse force duration is also emphasized as being better taken into account within the Gompertz framework. Moreover, a "social force" can be as here, attributed to a change in the limited need/capacity of some population, coupled to some external field, in either Verhulst or Gompertz equation, rather than resulting from already existing but competing goods as imagined by Montroll.Comment: 4 figures, 29 refs., 15 pages; prepared for Advances in Complex System

マルサスと穀物法

1. 貿易制限を支持する有力な議論 2. マルサスの穀物法擁護論一1814年論文に於ける4つの論点　3. 穀物法廃止が所得分配にもたらす効果一1815年論文に於ける議論

European women's dresses in nineteenth-century New Zealand

Dress encodes complex cultural information and operates as an aesthetic sign system, indicating ideas about status, wealth, and taste. Fashionable women's day dresses of the mid to late nineteenth century in Western culture were a potent symbol of women's place in society. One hundred and sixty two nineteenth-century dresses from museum collections in New Zealand were investigated, using a material history research method. Estimated dates of the dresses ranged from 1828 to 1914. Major fibre types and fabric structures used in their construction were identified, and design and assembly techniques described. A total of 115 factors was recorded for each dress. The data were analysed in two ways. Dated groups were formed, then each factor was tested Chi-square tests. To determine if the differences observed among various groups were statistically significant, Tukey's test was used on transformed group proportions. Grouping the data according to factors common among dresses was also carried out using block clustering. Aspects of colour, fibre and fabric content, bodice, sleeve and skirt construction, and garment dimensions differed over time. Prevailing European fashions of fabric, design and construction were exhibited in these dresses. Despite their perceived impracticality for the physical conditions in a developing colony, the dresses followed fashionable styles. Analysis using clustering techniques showed dresses of similar estimated dates to have common characteristics. It indicated some revivals of earlier fashions amongst later-dated dresses, and produced a cluster of dresses whose designs were based on a nineteenth century nostalgia for eighteenth century fashions. Overall, the analysis indicates that conformity to fashion was more important than adaptation to one's surroundings. These dresses reflect the aspirations of New Zealand settlers in their expression of genteel or middle-class values. Effects of biases in the survival of these dresses are acknowledged. Evidence from written sources was used in the interpretation of statistical results. Using both material and written records it was possible to suggest that the dress reform movement in New Zealand had little immediate impact. Waistlines were small in the 1890s dresses and skirts continued to hamper the legs. It was also suggested that many of the dresses in this sample were probably made by dressmakers, although this could not be be proven, since most dressmakers did not label their work. Dressmakers actively advertised for customers from the earliest days of settlements. They operated in a variety of ways, setting up shops themselves, working in the shops of others, or the homes of their clients, and later in the expanding workrooms of department stores. New Zealand women were quick to adopt new technology in their dressmaking. Sewing machines were used to stitch most dresses from the 1870s, but the earliest machine stitching occurs in a dress of estimated date of 1850s. Sewing machines became readily available from the 1860s, and more affordable in the 1870s. Adoption of changing sewing techniques indicates that education about sewing practices could be readily disseminated. The effectiveness of methods of using material artifacts as an historical resource combined with documentary evidence, and of using statistical techniques not commonly used in historical research, to analyse the data was demonstrated. Such a dual investigation has proved that in this sample of fashionable dresses, analysed in a depth not achieved before, there is no indication of adaptation to the colonial environment

Competition Among Companies: Coexistence and Extinction

We study a spatially homogeneous model of a market where several agents or companies compete for a wealth resource. In analogy with ecological systems the simplest case of such models shows a kind of "competitive exclusion" principle. However, the inclusion of terms corresponding for instance to "company efficiency" or to (ecological) "intracompetition" shows that, if the associated parameter overcome certain threshold values, the meaning of "strong" and "weak" companies should be redefined. Also, by adequately adjusting such a parameter, a company can induce the "extinction" of one or more of its competitors.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures include