The Intensive Cognitive-Communication Rehabilitation Program for young adults with acquired brain injury

PURPOSE: This study investigated the effects of an intensive cognitive-communication rehabilitation (ICCR) program for young individuals with chronic acquired brain injury. METHOD: ICCR included classroom lectures; metacognitive instruction, modeling, and application; technology skills training; and individual cognitive-linguistic therapy. Four individuals participated in the intensive program (6 hr with 1-hr lunch break × 4 days × 12 weeks of treatment): 3 participants completed 3 consecutive semesters, and 1 participant completed 1 semester. Two controls did not receive treatment and completed assessments before and after the 12-week treatment interval only. RESULTS: All 4 experimental participants demonstrated significant improvements on at least 1 standardized cognitive-linguistic measure, whereas controls did not. Furthermore, time point significantly predicted participants' scores on 2 of the 4 standardized outcome measures, indicating that as duration in ICCR increased, scores also increased. Participants who completed multiple semesters of ICCR also improved in their therapy and personal goals, classroom behavior, life participation, and quality of life. CONCLUSION: After ICCR, participants showed gains in their cognitive-linguistic functioning, classroom participation, and individual therapy. They also demonstrated improvements outside the classroom and in their overall well-being. There is a gap between the large population of young adults with acquired brain injury who wish to return to higher education and a lack of rehabilitation programs supporting reentry into academic environments; ICCR is a first step in reducing that gap.T32 DC013017 - NIDCD NIH HHSAccepted manuscrip

Employees' Choice of Superannuation Plan: Effects of Risk Transfer Costs

Consistent with a worldwide trend away from defined benefits towards accumulation benefits, many Australian employers who traditionally offered their workers defined superannuation benefits are closing their defined benefit plans to new members and/or offering existing members the option of transferring to an accumulation plan. There has also been a push to allow members greater choice in terms of both funds and investments. Against this background, the Superannuation Scheme for Australian Universities (SSAU) made an offer to its members in 1998 to transfer from the defined benefit section to an accumulation-style plan. Their position was that the choice of fund for employees should be a matter for the employer and the employees at the workplace or their respective representative organizations. At the conclusion of the offer period only one-third of SSAU members had elected to transfer to the Investment Choice Plan (ICP). This study seeks to explain why the majority of SSAU members chose to remain in the defined benefit plan when offered the option of transferring to the accumulation-style ICP. We propose that ‘risk transfer costs’ explain the low ICP acceptance rate. Research findings show that both those who chose to stay in the DBP and those who elected to transfer to the ICP were prepared to accept tradeoffs in their choice. DBP members were prepared to forego a higher quantum of expected benefits for greater security of benefits expected in the DBP, whereas the ICP members were prepared to forego such security and accepted higher investment risk in return for a higher expected quantum and greater control over their benefits. Differences in financial proficiency and differences across academic disciplines confirm that risk transfer costs were a key reason for the majority of SSAU members rejecting the ICP choice. Important implications arising from this study include the need for greater transparency of the risk transfer costs involved in offers of benefit structure change, such as that offered by the SSAU, and the need to incorporate compensation for such costs into the offer. Cognizance also needs to be taken of the major risk transfer cost of becoming informed about superannuation and the consequences of such costs for the Government’s intentions to mandate superannuation fund choice for all Australian workers

Informing social objectives in fisheries policy :notions of fisheries 'dependency' and 'community' from Fraserburgh, the outer Hebrides and Shetland

PhD ThesisThere is an ongoing argument that the biological priorities of the CFP are not a straightforward solution to the problems facing international fisheries management, and that social objectives need to be incorporated into policy. However, the social arm of fisheries is little understood in a management structure that prioritises scientifically-produced quantitative data over narrative-based evidence concerning the everyday lives of those living and working within the fishing industry. By investigating notions of fisheries ‘dependency’ and ‘community’ - labels that currently pervade fisheries management but that remain poorly understood by decision-makers - with people in coastal fishing communities in Scotland, this research provides important new evidence to inform the social dimensions of fisheries policy. In-depth qualitative data collected through interviews and participant observation in three Scottish case study areas - Fraserburgh, the Outer Hebrides and Shetland - suggest that fisheries ‘dependency’ extends from a family’s income to the importance of fishing identity and heritage, whilst ideas of ‘community’ are complex and multiple. Empathy, created through shared routines of uncertainty and risk, emerges as an important factor in defining and binding people together. So too does the shared experience of living in remote areas, bringing together not only those who work in the fishing industry, but also those in the wider territorial community. The controversies that arise at the interface between the current constitutional set up of fisheries management and the heterogeneous nature of the fishing ‘community’ suggest that understandings of fisheries ‘dependency’ need to take into account the strength of attachment to fishing as a positive identity and the substantial commitment to the sector that people show. Rather than attempting to shift people away from fishing, steps might be taken to support the strong social and business networks linked to the industry, and increase flexibility within fisheries management to accommodate the complexities of the fishing ‘community’.ESRC and the Scottish Government

Predictors of Readiness to Quit Among a Diverse Sample of Sexual Minority Male Smokers

ABSTRACT Introduction: Readiness to quit smoking - a pattern of attitudes, intentions, and behaviors that reflect a likelihood of engaging in cessation activities—is a useful heuristic for understanding smoking disparities based on sexual orientation. This study examined demographic, tobacco-use patterns, psychosocial and cognitive factors associated with readiness to quit among gay and bisexual male smokers. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted as part of a larger Tobacco Elimination and Control Collaboration (Q-TECC) initiative in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Readiness to quit was measured by a composite score created from four variables (motivation to quit, importance of quitting, plan to quit, and confidence in quitting) (alpha=.87, M=3.42, SD=.96, range 1-5). Results: The sexual minority smokers in the sample (N=208; M=33 years) were racially/ethnically diverse. Latino men had significantly lower levels of readiness to quit compared to African American and White men. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were performed to explore the relative contributions of sociodemographic, tobacco-use patterns, psychosocial and cognitive factors on Readiness to Quit. In the final model, the following variables were associated with readiness to quit scores: Latino ethnicity, fewer quit attempts, positive expectancies for the beneficial effects of smoking, and lower perceived importance of smoking as an important LGBT health issue. None of the psychosocial factors were associated with readiness to quit. Discussion: Readiness to quit scores were largely predicted by modifiable attitudes, behaviors, and expectancies. Study findings have implications for improving outreach and awareness and for the development of effective treatment approaches

An investigation into the interaction effects of simultaneous physical and cognitive task execution on performance, perceptual and physical responses

Many modern day work environments require some degree of dual tasking, particularly the simultaneous performance of cognitive jobs alongside physical activity. The nature of such tasks is often job dependent and may require cognitive functions such as perception, decision making, memory, or response selection/execution in conjunction to task specific physical requirements. Previous research has indicated a possible relationship between concurrent physical and cognitive demands and task performance, safety and efficiency. However, this research is limited and inconsistent. The current study aimed to identify the interaction, if any, between concurrent physical and mental demands, and determine the impact of sensory modality and stage of information processing on this interaction, with specific focus on the performance, perceptual and physical responses during different types of cognitive tasks performed concurrently with a lifting task. 20 (10 male, 10 female) Rhodes University students participated in this study. Each participant performed 9 test conditions - a physical lifting task, a visual and an auditory memory task, and a visual and an auditory decision making task in isolation, as well as the lifting task concurrently with each of these cognitive tasks. Performance was recorded via accuracy and work output of cognitive tasks and the number of lifts for each condition. Perceptual measures were obtained via the Borg RPE and Subjective Workload Assessment Technique. Spinal kinematics were measured using the Lumbar Motion Monitor, while muscle activity of the Erector Spinae, Rectus Abdominis, Rectus Femoris and Biceps Femoris muscles were recorded using the Biometrix Data Logger surface EMG equipment. Mean results were analysed using a dependent T-test to observe any general interaction, and a Two-way ANOVA for the impact of sensory modality and stage of processing. Individual responses were also considered to gain better understanding of both intra and inter-human variability under the various test conditions. Results showed a significant decrease in cognitive performance, increased perception of physical effort, time pressure, mental effort and psychological stress under simultaneous physical and mental demands, while no significant differences in physical responses were observed. Further observations included increased dual-task interference during visual and decision-making tasks when combined with physical demands compared to that of auditory and memory tasks respectively. Individual responses showed large variability between individuals indicating the presence of positive, negative and non-responders to concurrent physical and mental demands. Results therefore imply an individual specific interaction between concurrent physical and mental demands that may or may not be detrimental to worker productivity, job error, injury rates and worker well-being, and that the type of cognitive task performed may impact this interaction

Relationship Stress: Social Media Edition

Couples involved in a romantic relationships (dating, engaged, married) face a variety of stressors that can determine the quality and sustainability of the relationship. These stressors can include money, children, work schedules, and opinions of family and friends about the relationship or one’s significant other. With arrival of the internet, the use of social media has become a new source of stress among relationships. Altshule (2015) found social media use negatively impacts a relationship when one’s significant other is always on social media, engages in appropriate activity online, or is overly private when online (i.e. hiding online activity from their partner). Bea (2012) found that having a significant other who shares too much information about the relationship online, maintains contact with an ex (e.g. tagging, messaging, accepting a friend request), or who suspiciously monitors the online activity of his/her significant other can negatively affect a romantic relationship. Fritz (2015) found sending tweets to friends or followers of the opposite sex can create a source of stress within a romantic relationship. A four part survey was presented to participants, aimed at examining the relatively new stressor (social media) compared to more traditional stressors in relationships. The survey was provided to college students that were members of the Marshall University Psychology Department Human Subjects Pool (SONA)

Beyond Marine Reserves: Exploring the Approach of Selecting Areas where Fishing Is Permitted, Rather than Prohibited

Background:\ud Marine populations have been declining at a worrying rate, due in large part to fishing pressures. The challenge is to secure a future for marine life while minimizing impacts on fishers and fishing communities.\ud \ud Methods and Principal Findings:\ud Rather than selecting areas where fishing is banned – as is usually the case with spatial management – we assess the concept of designating areas where fishing is permitted. We use spatial catch statistics for thirteen commercial fisheries on Canada’s west coast to determine the minimum area that would be needed to maintain a pre-ascribed target percentage of current catches. We found that small reductions in fisheries yields, if strategically allocated, could result in large unfished areas that are representative of biophysical regions and habitat types, and have the potential to achieve remarkable conservation gains.\ud \ud Conclusions:\ud Our approach of selecting fishing areas instead of reserves could help redirect debate about the relative values that society places on conservation and extraction, in a framework that could gain much by losing little. Our ideas are intended to promote discussions about the current status quo in fisheries management, rather than providing a definitive solution

The Social Construction of Consumer Literacy: Consumer Empowerment among Adult Literacy Learners

This study explores how adult literacy learners negotiate the consumer marketplace. Findings challenge the functional model of literacy and support the conceptualization of consumer literacy as a social practice