Multi-causational approach to illness in young children: the role of psychological and social factors

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

Intercultural Hierarchy Reinforced through North American Voluntourism Efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean

In this thesis, my goal is to share the insight I have gleaned from my academic, professional and personal involvement in the region. The most dominant theme I have observed is the rising trend of North American volunteer tourism (also referred to as “voluntourism”) in LAC and unanticipated consequences it involves. This trend reinforces an intercultural hierarchy, which will be the focus of my study. I will begin with an overview of the intercultural, hierarchical mentality and explain two key aspects it involves: the North American “Planner” or “fix-it” tendencies toward the region, and the region’s developed dependence on North America. The second section of my thesis will discuss the way North American communication reinforces hierarchical thinking. Finally, my thesis will culminate with guidelines for bridging the gap between North American providers and LAC recipients

Parent-Education Services for Deaf Adults

Non

Performative seduction: How management consultants influence practices of leadership

Purpose This paper tracks how a policy recommended by management consultants becomes embedded as an integral part of leadership practice. It explores the launch of the concept of “talent management” by McKinsey & Company and how it becomes adopted as part of expected leadership practices in the English National Health Service. The use of Management Consultants globally has increased exponentially, and the paper considers this phenomenon and the ways in which management consultant advice influences public sector leadership and practice at local level. Design/methodology/approach A case study approach is adopted, focussing on the introduction of the concept of talent management into the English NHS, following the wider emergence of the concept through influential reports published by McKinsey & Company in the late 1990s. An analysis of the emergence of the concept is conducted drawing on this series of reports and the adoption of talent management policies and practices by the English government's Department of Health. Findings These influential reports by the management consultancy firm, McKinsey & Company, constituted an urgent need for this newly identified concept of talent management and the secrecy surrounding its reception. It is this mystery surrounding the decisions about a talent management strategy in the NHS and the concealment of decisions behind closed doors, which leads us to offer a theory of management consultants' influence on leaders as one of performative seduction. Originality/value Management consultancy is a vast business whose influence reaches deeply into public and private sector organisations around the world. Understanding of the variegated policies and practices that constitute contemporary modes of governance therefore requires comprehension of management consultants' role within those policies and practices. This paper argues that management consultants influence public sector leadership through insertion of their products into definitions of, and performative constitution of, local level leadership

Self-Models and Relationship Threat: A Test of Risk Regulation Mechanisms

This study investigated a key claim of risk regulation theory, namely, that psychological internalizing of a relationship threat will serve as a mediator of the link between self-models (self-esteem and attachment anxiety) and relationship responses (moving closer to a partner vs. distancing from a partner). Participants (N = 101) received feedback that threatened their current romantic relationship (or no feedback) and then completed measures of internal–external focus, relationship closeness–distancing, and acceptance–rejection of the feedback. Results showed that participants with negative self-models responded to the relationship threat by becoming more internally focused and by distancing from their partners, whereas those with positive self-models became more externally focused and moved closer to their partners. Mediation analyses indicated that the link between self-models and relationship closeness–distancing was partially explained by internal focus

Food and Nutrition Practices and Education Needs in Florida\u27s Adult Family Care Homes

A statewide survey was carried out to determine food and nutrition practices and education needs of Florida\u27s adult family care homes (AFCHs). The 30-item survey included questions on food and nutrition education, supplement use, and menu planning. Infrequent use of menus and nutrition supplements was reported. A strong need was indicated for education on special diets, menu planning, pureed food preparation, and the nutritional needs of the elderly. Extension programming to meet these educational needs may result in improved nutritional wellbeing of frail older adults in care

Effects of Daily Rejection on Health and Well-being

A daily diary methodology was used to investigate the effects of rejection on daily health and wellbeing as well as the moderating role of self-esteem. Participants completed an online diary for two weeks, reporting on rejection, mental well-being/resources, risky health behaviors, and healthrelated outcomes. Overall, daily rejection was associated with decreases in mental well-being/ resources but not with health behaviors or health-related outcomes. Additionally, self-esteem played an important moderating role. On high rejection days low self-esteem individuals were more likely to engage in risky health behaviors, and on the day following a high rejection day they reported decrements in health and well-being. Discussion centers on possible self-regulatory explanations for these findings and implications for the health of individuals with low self-esteem. Keywords: Daily diary; Health; Interpersonal rejection; Self-esteem; Self-regulation. People of all ages are most likely to thrive when they feel valued and accepted by others; but social acceptance is not always attainable. Even the most socially skilled people have experienced times when they felt socially excluded or rejected by others. These feelings of rejection are a common human experience that can lead to negative psychological consequences Despite the fact that rejection is normatively distressing, individuals differ in their responses to rejection, with some individuals displaying relative resilience following rejection and others displaying vulnerability to the poor outcomes associated with rejection. One factor that has been associated with resilience/vulnerability in the face of rejection is an individual's self-view. There is growing evidence that individuals with negative self-views (such as those with low self-esteem) respond to rejection in ways that are harmful to their psychological well-being (e.g., Responses to Rejection A number of theories assert that humans have a fundamental need to belong and that rejection is aversive because it threatens the fulfillment of this need Potential Pathways Linking Rejection and Health What are the mechanisms through which rejection might impact health and wellbeing? Rejection may impact health and well-being in at least three ways: (1) by triggering adverse cognitive, emotional, and physiological responses; (2) by shaping health-related behaviors; and (3) by interfering with restorative behaviors. Of these three possible mechanisms only the first one has received research attention. Thus, the goal of the current study was to extend research in two ways. First, we investigated the effects of rejection on health-related behaviors (pathway 2) and restorative behaviors (pathway 3). Second, we investigated the role of self-esteem in shaping health-related behaviors and restorative behaviors following rejection. Why might rejection influence health-related behaviors? A small number of laboratory studies have shown that rejection reduces self-regulatory ability Rejection may also impact health by affecting restorative behaviors, such as sleep. Although the association between rejection and sleep quality has not been explored there is evidence that other experiences that signify social devaluation, such as perceptions of social isolation and loneliness, are associated with poor sleep quality Self-esteem as a Moderator of Responses to Rejection Although rejection is normatively distressing, not everyone responds to it in the same way. There are important individual differences in sensitivity to subtle or ambiguous rejection cues, which are prevalent in everyday life. Some individuals have a lower threshold for appraising rejection cues as threatening to the self and are therefore more reactive to rejection. One variable that seems to play an important role in shaping reactivity to rejection is self-esteem. Specifically, individuals with low selfesteem (LSE) are more likely to see rejection as evidence of a flawed self Research findings are beginning to suggest that the response patterns exhibited by LSE individuals following rejection may make them vulnerable to both decrements in emotional well-being and poor health. For example, a recent longitudinal study of college students revealed that LSE was associated with poor health outcomes and that the association between LSE and poor health was mediated by interpersonal stressors The Present Study The current investigation had two main goals: (1) to examine the relationship between daily rejection and health and well-being; and (2) to examine the moderating role of SE on this relationship. To accomplish these goals we utilized a daily diary methodology in which participants answered questions about daily rejection, psychological well-being/resources (depressed mood, perceived stress, perceived ability to self-regulate behaviors), daily health-related responses (overeating, unsafe sex, substance use), and daily health outcomes (sleep quality, physical symptoms, and general feelings of health) each evening for two weeks. This methodology enabled us to conduct both within-person and between-person analyses. At the within-person level, we examined the normative effects of rejection on health by comparing participant's levels of health and well-being on their high rejection days versus their low rejection days. We predicted that rejection would be associated with decrements in psychological well-being, health behaviors, and health outcomes. At the between-person level, we examined SE differences in reactivity to rejection. We Self-esteem, Daily rejection, and Health 1

Evaluation of a Cooperative Extension Curriculum in Florida: Food Modification for Special Needs

State and national surveys of adult family care homes identified a strong need for education on texture-modified food preparation and the nutritional needs of older adults. An Extension curriculum, Food Modification for Special Needs, was developed to provide an overview of chewing and swallowing problems, food texture, pureed food preparation, and the nutritional needs of older adults as well as hands-on skill development. An evaluation demonstrated that use of the curriculum resulted in significant impacts among workshop participants on perceived knowledge and skills gained and implementation of skills learned. Further in-state and national dissemination of the Food Modification for Special Needs curriculum is required

Early trajectories of benthic coral reef communities following the 2015/16 coral bleaching event at remote Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles

Documenting post-bleaching trajectories of coral reef communities is crucial to understand their resilience to climate change. We investigated reef community changes following the 2015/16 bleaching event at Aldabra Atoll, where direct human impact is minimal. We combined benthic data collected pre- (2014) and post-bleaching (2016–2019) at 12 sites across three locations (lagoon, 2 m depth; seaward west and east, 5 and 15 m depth) with water temperature measurements. While seaward reefs experienced relative hard coral reductions of 51–62%, lagoonal coral loss was lower (− 34%), probably due to three-fold higher daily water temperature variability there. Between 2016 and 2019, hard coral cover did not change on deep reefs which remained dominated by turf algae and Halimeda, but absolute cover on shallow reefs increased annually by 1.3% (east), 2.3% (west) and 3.0% (lagoon), reaching, respectively, 54%, 68% and 93% of the pre-bleaching cover in 2019. Full recovery at the shallow seaward locations may take at least five more years, but remains uncertain for the deeper reefs. The expected increase in frequency and severity of coral bleaching events is likely to make even rapid recovery as observed in Aldabra’s lagoon too slow to prevent long-term reef degradation, even at remote sites