Transition to retirement for expatriates in the UAE: a psychological perspective

As people increasingly tend to live for longer, the study of aging has become a growing area of research. Among the themes that have been highlighted in the international literature, the topic of retirement is gaining prominence due to the increasing number of years individuals are expected to live in retirement. This extension of retirement, as a stage of life, means that understanding the aging and adjustment processes and what older people are actually looking for is important for promoting emotional and psychological well-being for those living longer. Many studies have been conducted on the psychological aspects involved in the adjustment to retirement and old age. Some studies have covered the issues of globalization and even migration in retirement, but few publications specifically explore the issue of repatriation as part of the transition to retirement

Neuro-linguistic-programming: a critical review of NLP research and the application of NLP in coaching

The huge popularity of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) over the past three decades has in some ways mirrored the growth in coaching psychology. This paper is part of a series of four papers in a special issue within ICPR that aims to explore NLP coaching from diverse perspectives, offering personal insights or reviews of evidence. As part of this process a pair of authors were invited to advance the case for and the case against NLP. This paper aims to adopt a critical stance; reviewing the concept of NLP, exploring the claims made by advocates and critically reviewing the evidence from a psychological perspective. In undertaking this review we completed a series of literature searches using a range of discovery tools to identify research papers, based on pre-determined search criteria. This review led us to the conclusion that unique NLP practices are poorly supported by research evidence

‘I never really left the university:’ continuity amongst male academics in the transition from work to retirement

This study investigates the transition to retirement of male academics. It applies approaches drawn from Cumulative Advantage and Disadvantage (CAD) principles to expand Continuity theory by examining evidence for continuity and inequalities in the lifestyles of the respondents. Biographical-Narrative interviews with 20 retired academics in Brazil and the United Kingdom were conducted and analysed using Thematic Analysis. An exploration of the same occupational group in different cultural and social contexts was carried out to capture a diversity of CAD influences on retirement outcomes. The experience of continuity was individualised to each participant due to their unique combination of advantages, and their subjective interpretation of their experiences. Cumulative processes identified in this study related to (1) occupational roles played in their career; and (2) organisational level policies and practices for retirement. At the level of individual retired men, cultural and social context factors were not perceived as influential in the achievement of continuity in retirement. Continuity theory is still supported, but alone offers limited explanations of the diversity of experiences in the transition to retirement of male academics. A consideration of the role of cumulative processes and systemic dynamics, including how individuals respond to their experiences in retirement, shows how these different factors interact and affect retirement and ageing. Further studies should investigate the processes identified with other occupations, as well as women and minority groups

DNA Footprints: Using Parasites to Detect Elusive Animals, Proof of Principle in Hedgehogs

The Western European Hedgehog (Erinaceous europaeus) is a nocturnal animal that is in decline in much of Europe, but the monitoring of this species is subjective, prone to error, and an inadequate basis for estimating population trends. Here, we report the use of Crenosoma striatum, a parasitic nematode specific to hedgehogs as definitive hosts, to detect hedgehog presence in the natural environment. This is achieved through collecting and sampling the parasites within their intermediate hosts, gastropoda, a group much simpler to locate and sample in both urban and rural habitats. C. striatum and Crenosoma vulpis were collected post-mortem from the lungs of hedgehogs and foxes, respectively. Slugs were collected in two sessions, during spring and autumn, from Skomer Island (n = 21), which is known to be free of hedgehogs (and foxes); and Pennard, Swansea (n = 42), known to have a healthy hedgehog population. The second internal transcribed spacer of parasite ribosomal DNA was used to develop a highly specific, novel, PCR based multiplex assay. Crenosoma striatum was found only at the site known to be inhabited by hedgehogs, at an average prevalence in gastropods of 10% in spring and autumn. The molecular test was highly specific: One mollusc was positive for both C. striatum and C. vulpis, and differentiation between the two nematode species was clear. This study demonstrates proof of principle for using detection of specific parasite DNA in easily sampled intermediate hosts to confirm the presence of an elusive nocturnal definitive host species. The approach has great potential as an adaptable, objective tool to supplement and support existing ecological survey methods

Towards environmentally sustainable human behaviour: targeting non-conscious and conscious processes for effective and acceptable policies.

Meeting climate change targets to limit global warming to 2°C requires rapid and large reductions in demand for products that most contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These include production of bulk materials (e.g. steel and cement), energy supply (e.g. fossil fuels) and animal source foods (particularly ruminants and their products). Effective strategies to meet these targets require transformative changes in supply as well as demand, involving changes in economic, political and legal systems at local, national and international levels, building on evidence from many disciplines. This paper outlines contributions from behavioural science in reducing demand. Grounded in dual-process models of human behaviour (involving non-conscious and conscious processes) this paper considers first why interventions aimed at changing population values towards the environment are usually insufficient or unnecessary for reducing demand although they may be important in increasing public acceptability of policies that could reduce demand. It then outlines two sets of evidence from behavioural science towards effective systems-based strategies, to identify interventions likely to be effective at: (i) reducing demand for products that contribute most to GHG emissions, mainly targeting non-conscious processes and (ii) increasing public acceptability for policy changes to enable these interventions, targeting conscious processes.This article is part of the themed issue 'Material demand reduction'

Hydrogen penetration into titanium from environment in different states

In this paper, the accumulation of hydrogen in titanium from media of different aggregate states is considered, since the accumulation of hydrogen in structural and functional materials, which ultimately can lead to the destruction of structures, essentially depends on the environments in which these structures operate. Obtained: electrolytic and plasma saturation is characterized by hydrogen entrapment by low-temperature traps with weak binding energy (point defects and their complexes, vacancies and their complexes, etc. The method of Siwerst is characterized by capture of high-temperature traps (microcracks of microcracks, intergranular boundaries, etc.)