The characteristics and effects of motivational music in exercise settings: The possible influence of gender, age, frequency of attendance, and time of attendance

Background: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the characteristics and effects of motivational music in British gymnasia. The secondary purpose was to determine whether the characteristics and effects of motivational music were invariant in relation to gender, age, frequency of gymnasium attendance, and the time of day at which exercise participants attended gymnasia. Methods: Participants (n=532) from 29 David-Lloyd exercise facilities across Britain responded to a questionnaire that was designed to assess music preferences during exercise via two open-ended questions and one scaled-response item. Results: A content analysis of the questionnaire data yielded 45 analytic properties that were grouped into the following categories: Specific music factors, general music factors, music programme factors, delivery factors, televisual factors, personal factors, contextual factors, and psychophysical response factors. The relative incidence of these analytic properties across gender groups (male/female), age groups (16-26 yrs., 27-34 yrs., 35-45 yrs., 46+ yrs.), frequency of attendance groups (low, medium, high), and time of attendance groups (morning, afternoon, evening) was tested by use of 2 analyses. Of the personal variables tested, age exerted the greatest influence on musical preference during exercise; older participants expressed a preference for quieter, slower, and generally less overtly stimulative music. Conclusions: Music programmes that are prescribed to accompany exercise should be varied in terms of musical idiom and date of release. Such programmes will account for the preferences of different groups of exercise participants that attend gymnasia at different times of the day. Further, the music chosen should be characterised by a strong rhythmical component

Collaborative Documentation for Behavioral Healthcare Providers: An Emerging Practice

This article considers the practice of collaborative documentation (CD) for behavioral healthcare providers; the legislative, technological, and philosophical milieu in which it developed; the attributed benefits for providers and clients; and the peer-reviewed research supporting its use. Collaborative documentation has emerged following significant legislative and technological changes in healthcare delivery and shifts toward client-centered healthcare practices including more shared decision-making between clients and practitioners

The Color Ceiling: African Americans Still Fighting for Equity and Equality

There currently exists a unique ceiling-effect that has plagued the African American community for a number of years but due to the group being placed under the Glass Ceiling umbrella, the true nature of their issues have been vastly overlooked. To bring to light the true nature of these issues, the author created the term, Color Ceiling. The Color Ceiling refers to the invisible barriers that impede financial equity, employment equity, and promotional advancement for African Americans in the workplace specifically higher education

Problem-Based Learning in Human Growth & Development Counselor Education

As a core curricular standard that applies to all Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP, 2015) accredited programs, human growth and development can present unique challenges for the teaching professional. In this article, we present an in-class activity grounded in problem-based learning that uniquely lends itself to the task of supporting medium-to-large classrooms in learning about human growth and development

Narrating Supervision to Track Counselor Development: A Qualitative Content Analysis

The authors analyzed the narrative writings of four counselors-in-training in practicum using directed content analysis. Developmental themes corresponded to current theories of counselor development. Narratives and supervisor responses are sequentially provided to aid new counselors and supervisors in understanding the complexities of counselor developmental and counselor supervision

The Reality of Algorithm Agility:Studying the DNSSEC Algorithm Life-Cycle

The DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) add data origin authentication and data integrity to the Domain Name System (DNS), the naming system of the Internet. With DNSSEC, signatures are added to the information provided in the DNS using public key cryptography. Advances in both cryptography and cryptanalysis make it necessary to deploy new algorithms in DNSSEC, as well as deprecate those with weakened security. If this process is easy, then the protocol has achieved what the IETF terms "algorithm agility". In this paper, we study the lifetime of algorithms for DNSSEC. This includes: (i) standardizing the algorithm, (ii) implementing support in DNS software, (iii) deploying new algorithms at domains and recursive resolvers, and (iv) replacing deprecated algorithms. Using data from more than 6.7 million signed domains and over 10,000 vantage points in the DNS, combined with qualitative studies, we show that DNSSEC has only partially achieved algorithm agility. Standardizing new algorithms and deprecating insecure ones can take years. We highlight the main barriers for getting new algorithms deployed, but also discuss success factors. This study provides key insights to take into account when new algorithms are introduced, for example when the Internet must transition to quantum-safe public key cryptography

An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Informed Consent Process: Factors that Affect Participants’ Perceptions of the Informed Consent

Participant – researcher communication during the informed consent process has characterized such interactions as being informative. The present research provides participants’ perceptions of the informed consent process, factors that affect their decisions to participate, in addition to highlighting participants’ relationships with the various professionals involved. A telephone survey was conducted with 60 participants previously enrolled in one of five drug trails. Findings indicated that the majority of participants perceived the informed consent process was valid, understood their rights as participants, had a high level of trust for the professionals involved, and with self-benefit as one of the first reasons for participating. Conclusions focus on various factors that researchers should be aware of when conducting the informed consent process, particularly in the areas of risks and benefits

Creating a Healthy Classroom Environment in Multicultural Counseling Courses

To assist educators in developing transformative learning environments, and effectively engaging in difficult dialogues regarding multicultural counseling topics, we conducted a qualitative study to systemically examine the perceptions and reactions of twenty graduate counselor education students enrolled in a multicultural counseling course. In this particular course, students experienced various learning environments all designed to enhance the topic of the day. Students were instructed to journal their thoughts, which became the raw data that was later, analyzed for themes. Students reported a need to be in an environment where there was trust, an ongoing need to reflect on the content, and difficulty discussing their school experiences with friends/family who are not in the helping profession

Therapeutic potential of allicin-rich garlic preparations: Emphasis on clinical evidence toward upcoming drugs formulation

Garlic has been used for a long time in human history. Allicin, the main active compound present in freshly injured garlic, is enzymatically formed from alliin. Allicin has shown doubtless beneficial effects and even be conceived as medicine. The present review highlights allicin-associated studies. Indeed, clinical studies on healthy subjects have evidenced that standardized garlic treatment (900 mg/day) significantly reduces total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (c-LDL). Besides, allicin also led to a marked improvement in mouth opening, burning sensation, and oral health-related quality of life on stage II oral submucous fibrosis patients. Interestingly, in children, allicin also has been proposed for thrush prevention and as an alternative antibiotic therapy. Nonetheless, there is particular attention to allicin bioavailability, given its high instability. Although clinical evidence has promoted allicin release from garlic powder tablets under simulated gastrointestinal conditions, garlic tablets are those that have provided less alliinase protection due to its fast disintegration, releasing low allicin amounts.Natália Martins would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT-Portugal) for the Strategic project ref. UID/BIM/04293/2013 and "NORTE2020-Programa Operacional Regional do Norte" (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012)

Valuing nature-conservation interests on agricultural floodplains

The ecosystem approach and evaluation of ecosystem services is gaining increasing attention from scientists, practitioners and policy makers. An important part of this process is to establish the `value' of the nature-conservation assets within an area. This value can then be compared with data for other ecosystem services to identify management priorities under different future scenarios. However, there is little consensus on how to perform such an evaluation. In this study, we assess seven methods of valuing nature-conservation interest and compare their utility. Five agricultural land drainage schemes across lowland England were selected for study. The current land-use was determined and four different scenarios of future management were developed. The land-use and habitats predicted under each scenario were assessed using seven methods of determining value, namely: Ecological Impact Assessment method, reserve-selection criteria, target-based criteria, stakeholder-choice analysis, reserve-selection criteria guided by stakeholders, agri-environment scheme payments and contingent valuation. The first three methods derive values based on pre-defined priorities, the next two use stated preferences of stakeholders, and the last two methods derive monetary values based on revealed and expressed preference, respectively. The results obtained from the different methods were compared. The methods gave broadly similar results and were highly correlated, but each method emphasized a different aspect of conservation value, leading to different possible outcomes in some cases. The advantages and disadvantages of each method were evaluated. Synthesis and applications. As the ecosystem services approach becomes embedded in decision-making, ecologists are increasingly called upon to value the biodiversity of a site or to compare the value of different sites. This study has shown that seven different valuation methods, although all giving significantly correlated findings, resulted in seven different rankings of nature-conservation value for the 25 situations studied. This difference occurred in spite of the sites being of the same landscape type and occurring within the same country. The discussion concludes that each method has its strengths; monetary valuations are appropriate in some contexts, stakeholder preferences are paramount in others, but where objectivity is key, then assessment against independently defined criteria or targets should be the preferred method