The Impact of Attachment Style and a Biofeedback Relaxation Intervention on Self-Regulation

The transition to college is a critical developmental period during which young adults are uniquely vulnerable to high stress and anxiety due to the overwhelming demands of academic, social, emotional, and financial adjustment. This developmental transition often requires students to generalize previously developed self-regulatory skills, which are closely tied to early attachment patterns with caregivers (Feeney, 2000). Research continues to support the evidence for biofeedback as a promising psychophysiological intervention, especially when used in conjunction with relaxation techniques (Lynch & McGrady, 2006). The present study explored attachment style and the effectiveness a biofeedback-guided relaxation intervention on the ability to self-regulate among college students. Pre-intervention measures included self-reported general self-efficacy (GSE) and attachment style, as well as ability to self-regulate through a biofeedback procedure. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group and control group. The control group participants practiced the 5-minute relaxation intervention on their own 5 times per week, for 4 weeks. The intervention group participants also practiced the relaxation intervention on their own 5 times per week for 4 weeks but received an additional biofeedback-guided intervention session each week with the opportunity to visually monitor their physiological responses. Post-intervention measures included the self-reported GSE measure and the biofeedback procedure used in the pre-intervention session. The biofeedback data results showed there was no significant difference in ability to selfregulate based on the biofeedback-guided relaxation intervention. However, there was statistical significance in ability to self-regulate according to attachment style. The hypothesis that securely attached individuals would demonstrate a higher ability to self-regulate compared to the nonsecurely attached groups was not supported, suggesting important clinical implications for how attachment style may impact one’s response to distress and ability to learn self-regulatory skills. Finally, results from the GSE self-report data showed a significant increase in perceived selfefficacy for individuals post-intervention. Though initial results did not show a significant difference in GSE scores based on the biofeedback-guided intervention, once pre-intervention GSE scores were covaried, the results showed a significant difference between intervention and control groups. Consistent with the biofeedback results, there was a significant difference in GSE scores between the different attachment styles

Strategic planning methodology to evaluate low probability/high consequence tanker oil spills, using the Gulf of Mexico as a test area

Typescript (photocopy).Major oil spills from tankers represent a significant problem to companies involved in the shipment of oil by sea as tanker owners of cargo owners. When the supertanker Amoco Cadiz ran aground in 1978 off the coast of France, 230,000 tons of oil were spilled with resulting damage claims in excess of $2 billion. The risk of a major oil spill belongs to a group of risks called low probability/high consequence risks. These risks are typified by limited data availability (due to the low level of occurrence) and also by extremely high costs if the event occurs. This dissertation develops a methodology which allows companies to evaluate their level of exposure to the consequences of major oil spills. To illustrate how this model can be operationalized, the Gulf of Mexico is used as a test area. The Gulf was selected because of the high level of tanker traffic and U.S. petroleum industry activity in the area, and also because of the presence of competing uses of the Gulf which include commercial fishing and coastal tourism. The results from operationalizing the evaluation methodology suggest important conclusions. In terms of a purely cost-effective oriented analysis of alternatives for dealing with oil spills, companies are expected to prefer obtaining insurance, followed by efforts to lower the level of potential liability through favorable legislation. In constrast, however, the public is expected to prefer measures that actually reduce the frequency and severity of oil spills, followed by an acceptance of insurance alternatives, with the public tending to reject legislative limits on liability. The findings also demonstrate that companies will gravitate to differing alternatives depending upon company size and level of activity in an area. Finally, there can be expected to be a number of changes in coming years which will require companies to reconsider their existing strategies for dealing with spill risks

Exploring Contributing Factors to Oral Health Disparities Seen Among Adult Immigrants

The objective of the research study was to help identify sociodemographics, socioeconomic status, and cultural barriers that may have been a contributing or limiting factor to immigrants’ oral health. Each of these factors were looked at closer by narrowing down possible subproblems among three immigrant social groups of Brazilian, Indian, and Korean ethnicities at the researchers’ respective local churches (4 in total). A total of one-hundred and forty-nine subjects (n=149) were involved in the research study

Engaging Older Youth: Program and City-Level Strategies to Support Sustained Participation in Out-of-School Time

With support from The Wallace Foundation, the Harvard Family Research Project and P/PV conducted a study of almost 200 out-of-school-time (OST) programs in six cities to better understand how they promote sustained participation among older youth.The resulting data indicated that two of the most important practices distinguishing high-retention programs were: ample leadership opportunities for youth and high levels of staff efforts to keep informed about participants' lives outside the programs. The study also compares and contrasts effective practices for middle school- versus high school-aged youth, noting the shortcomings of "one-size-fits-all" strategies. Finally, Engaging Older Youth details the influence of city-level OST initiatives on programs and identifies the types of city-level services that likely support participation

An Experimental Study on Using Instructional Pronunciation Video to Improve Students’ Pronunciation

Technology has been used in many ways to enhance language learning. Professional literature and research have shown that using video technology in the teaching and learning of pronunciation in the English language classroom has been useful. This study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of an Instructional Pronunciation Video (IPV) in helping students with low oral proficiency to improve their English pronunciation. The one group pre-test post-test experimental research design is employed in determining whether the use of the IPV will lead to improvement in the students’ pronunciation. The data of this quantitative study were generated from the audio recordings of the pre and post reading aloud tests of 20 university students for identifying students’ pronunciation errors. The numbers of pronunciation errors from the pre and post reading aloud tests were then compared, in order to determine if there is any difference in students’ achievement after the IPV intervention. It was found that students improved significantly in their post reading aloud test as they made less pronunciation errors in the post reading aloud test by 48.7%. Therefore, it is recommended that instructors utilise IPV to support English pronunciation learning

Comparison of public and private water utility financial and management strategies

Thesis (M.Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2001."June 2001."Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-64).Recently, there has been a growing trend towards public-private partnerships and privatization in the water supply industry. However, the benefits of public-private partnerships and privatization are not clear. In order to better understand the consequences of the shift towards the private sector, one must recognize the different approaches used by each sector. This study compares the financial and management strategies of the public and private water utilities. The various strategies are presented through six case studies of public and private water utilities in the United States. Each study focuses on the capital investment program, financing sources, and management practices of each utility. A financial analysis of each utility is performed to support the case study. Eight financial ratios are used to evaluate the utilities' financial leverage, efficiency and liquidity. Finally, some general conclusions about the different approaches used by each sector are discussed.by Priscilla P. Lee.M.Eng

Buspirone for the treatment of dementia with behavioral disturbance

Behavioral disturbances are common but serious symptoms in patients with dementia. Currently there are no FDA approved drugs for this purpose. There have been case reports and small case series of the use of buspirone. In this retrospective study, we review 179 patients prescribed buspirone for treatment of behavioral disturbance in dementia to better characterize the efficacy and potential side effects. All patients prescribed buspirone for behavioral disturbance due to dementia from a geropsychiatric outreach program were reviewed. Data was collected and analyzed using SPSS. One hundred-seventy-nine patients met criteria for the study with a mean age of 83.8 + 7. Alzheimer’s dementia was the most common dementia (n=111; 62%) followed by vascular type (n=81; 45.5%). Behavioral disturbances were mainly verbal aggression (n= 125; 72.3%), and physical aggression (n=116; 47.5%). Using the Clinical Global Impression scale, 72.8% of patients responded to buspirone, with 30.8% being moderately to markedly improved. The mean dose of buspirone was 25.7 mg ±12.50. Buspirone appears to be effective in treating behavioral disturbances in dementia. Future prospective and double blinded studies are needed

Engaging Older Youth: Program and City-Level Strategies to Support Sustained Participation in Out-of-School Time, Research Synopsis

With support from The Wallace Foundation, P/PV and the Harvard Family Research Project conducted a study of almost 200 out-of-school-time (OST) programs in six cities to better understand how they promote sustained participation among older youth. The study also explored effective practices for middle school- versus high school-aged youth and how city-level services may support participation. This Research Synopsis outlines the research strategies and methods employed in the study and explores its main findings. Implications for future investment and policy decisions about OST programming for older youth are also examined