Group Process, Communication, and Relating as a Core Phenomenon in an Older Adult Support and Learning Group on Aging and Health

Supporting older adult clients to improve self-management of health is a focus of care for community-based nurses working with this population. The available literature on small group work indicates participation in a variety of group types has been shown to be beneficial for older adults. However, there is little research specifically on group work with adults over the age of 75 when individuals are at greater risk for actively facing illness and multiple personal losses and may need enhanced social supports to assist achievement of the psychosocial tasks of old age. This research examined a support and learning group on aging and health involving seven community-dwelling older adults over the age of 75 using grounded theory research method. One male and six female subjects aged 76-84 years old participated in the study. To identify themes occurring in group and communication process, transcripts of the meetings, pre and post interviews with individual participants, and other data sources were analyzed using open, axial and selective coding. On the Group Process level, themes of group action/interaction were categorized by time phases of Before, Beginning, Middle, End, and Beyond the time the group met. On the Communication Process level, themes were abstracted under categories of Initiating, Responding, Relating, and Integrating. Group and Communication processes were then nested and conceptualized as a fractal occurring both over the course of the eight weeks and in every group meeting. “Relating” was identified as a core phenomenon of the group and communication process, contributing to positive self-assessment regardless of whether the participant affirmed a similar or contrasting position in comparison with other participants. Findings support the achievement of group type objectives for support and learning groups and delineate more clearly group participants’ experience leading to the outcomes of reinforcement of a positive self-assessment and the development of knowledge and skills related to aging and health. Findings may assist the design and implementation of similar groups and may direct further research on specific aspects of individual and group process in small group work with community-dwelling older adults

THE VIOLA-GUITAR DUO: ANALYSIS AND PERFORMANCE CONSIDERATIONS IN GILBERT BIBERIANS FOLKLORE III

THE VIOLA-GUITAR DUO: ANALYSIS AND PERFORMANCE CONSIDERATIONS IN GILBERT BIBERIANS FOLKLORE II

Observations of the J = 2→1 transitions of ¹²C¹⁶O and ¹²C¹⁸O towards galactic H II regions

Observations are reported of the J = 2→1 transitions of CO and 12C18O at 230 and 219 GHz respectively from a number of galactic sources. A map of the central 1/2° × 1/2° of the Orion A molecular cloud is presented. The spectra are interpreted to derive molecular densities and abundance ratios in the molecular clouds observed

Culture and carelessness: Constituting disability in South India

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below.Professional and lay explanations of disability, collected via interviews and participant-observation during fieldwork in Hyderabad, South India, identify “carelessness” and “superstition” as major impediments to good health among the general population, and education as the key solution. In that such findings suggest a valorization of personal responsibility for self-care, the Foucauldian concept of biopower appeared a salient framework for analysis. Although illuminating, however, biopower was ultimately inadequate for explaining what emerged, on closer analysis, as significant discrepancies between assumptions about how disabled people engaged with healthcare services and their actual beliefs and practices; and between the moral interpretations different stakeholders made of “carelessness” in describing perceived causes of disability. My data also suggested that education was not in itself a key determinant in people's healthcare decisions. This article explores these differences between official and demotic discourses concerning the causes of disability and attempts to account for them ethnographically.The British Academ

Management of subcutaneous abscesses : prospective cross-sectional study (MAGIC)

Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to Catherine Moriarty (Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust) for providing access to and support with the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) platform during data collection. The authors are grateful to the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI), the North West Research Collaborative (NWRC), and the CRAMSurg group for disseminating the study protocol to participating sites. The authors are also grateful to the National Institute of Health and Care Research Surgical MedTech Co-operative for their assistance with disseminating the findings of this work.Peer reviewe

The effects of river flooding on dioxin and PCBs in beef

In 2008-2010, samples of meat from 40 beef cattle, along with grass, soil and commercial feed, taken from ten matched pairs of flood-prone and control farms, were analysed for PCDD/Fs and PCBs. Concentrations were higher in soil and grass from flood-prone farms. The beef samples from flood-prone farms had total TEQ levels about 20% higher than on control farms. A majority of flood-prone farms (7/10) had higher median levels in beef than on the corresponding control farm. This first controlled investigation into PCDD/F and PCB contamination in beef produced on flood-prone land, presents robust evidence that flooding is a contaminant transfer mechanism to cattle raised on river catchments with a history of urbanisation and industrialisation. PCDD/F and PCB sources in these river systems are likely to be a result of the legacy of contamination from previous industrialisation, as well as more recent combustion activity or pollution events. Crow

Emotional Intelligence and Psychopathic Personality Traits: Examination of Adult Male Sex Offenders in New Jersey

Sexual assault and abuse have a significant impact on victims and society. Although there has been a plethora of research studies examining the criminogenic aspects of sexual offending, sparse literature exists on the emotional aspects of sexual offending. Prior research established that sex offenders hold deficits in their emotional functioning that could be a result of psychopathic personality traits. This research study sought to expand the literature on sex offenders and investigate if adult male sex offenders in New Jersey differ in emotional intelligence and psychopathic personality traits depending on victim typology. This study was grounded in coercion and integrated theories to explore if there are differences between the emotional intelligence and psychopathic personality traits of adult male sex offenders in New Jersey who have adult victims and child victims. The research questions asked if adult male sex offenders in New Jersey with adult victims differ in emotional intelligence and psychopathic personality traits than adult male sex offenders with child victims. Data were collected from a sample of 80 adult sex offenders located in New Jersey who were administered the Bar-On EQ-I and PPI-R. Results were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of variance. The findings of the study showed that when compared to convicted sex offenders with adult victims, convicted sex offenders with child victims had higher total and subscale scores on the EQ-I and lower scores on the three dimensions of the PPI-R. The implications for positive social change include helping to tailor treatment programs to reduce the risk of recidivism based off the identified offender emotional intelligence and psychopathic personality differences

Emotional Intelligence and Psychopathic Personality Traits: Examination of Adult Male Sex Offenders in New Jersey

Sexual assault and abuse have a significant impact on victims and society. Although there has been a plethora of research studies examining the criminogenic aspects of sexual offending, sparse literature exists on the emotional aspects of sexual offending. Prior research established that sex offenders hold deficits in their emotional functioning that could be a result of psychopathic personality traits. This research study sought to expand the literature on sex offenders and investigate if adult male sex offenders in New Jersey differ in emotional intelligence and psychopathic personality traits depending on victim typology. This study was grounded in coercion and integrated theories to explore if there are differences between the emotional intelligence and psychopathic personality traits of adult male sex offenders in New Jersey who have adult victims and child victims. The research questions asked if adult male sex offenders in New Jersey with adult victims differ in emotional intelligence and psychopathic personality traits than adult male sex offenders with child victims. Data were collected from a sample of 80 adult sex offenders located in New Jersey who were administered the Bar-On EQ-I and PPI-R. Results were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of variance. The findings of the study showed that when compared to convicted sex offenders with adult victims, convicted sex offenders with child victims had higher total and subscale scores on the EQ-I and lower scores on the three dimensions of the PPI-R. The implications for positive social change include helping to tailor treatment programs to reduce the risk of recidivism based off the identified offender emotional intelligence and psychopathic personality differences