Young men's ambivalence toward alcohol

There is widespread concern about the health and social consequences of excessive alcohol consumption among young men. Interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm will be affected by ambivalence toward alcohol, because ambivalent attitudes are worse predictors of behaviour than are homogeneous attitudes. It is therefore important to identify aspects of alcohol consumption about which young men are not ambivalent. In-depth interviews were conducted with a socioeconomically diverse sample of 31 men, aged 18–21 living in London, UK. Ambivalence toward alcohol was widespread. None of the drinkers who were interviewed had uncomplicated positive evaluations of drinking: all mentioned compelling reasons not to drink. Most motives for drinking were also identified as reasons for not drinking if consumption became excessive. However, three motives for not drinking were not also motives for drinking: violence, alcoholism, and cost. These findings should be considered during the design of interventions to reduce the health and social consequences of excessive alcohol consumption amongst young men

Spiritual training in the police force: are there lessons for other leaders and managers?

As a result of the traumatic conditions in which they often work, the police in the UK and the US have begun to recognise the importance of the spiritual dimension at work. As the credit crisis deepens, conditions in other professions are becoming very challenging and we may be able to learn from the police’s example

Hermeneutics, human sciences and health: linking theory and practice

This paper considers the relationship between hermeneutic theory and qualitative empirical research in the human sciences. I suggest that the human sciences can offer a useful crucible for thinking again about some of the ideas in hermeneutics. I then provide a small piece of data from an empirical study I conducted on identity change during the transition to motherhood and show how the data and analysis can be “re-illuminated” when thought of in terms of ideas from the hermeneutic writing of Schleiermacher, Heidegger and Gadamer. Finally, I suggest a project that would go round one particular hermeneutic circle in the different direction, using empirical research in the human sciences to further extend and develop hermeneutic theory

The accelerating influence of humans on mammalian macroecological patterns over the late Quaternary

The transition of hominins to a largely meat-based diet ~1.8 million years ago led to the exploitation of other mammals for food and resources. As hominins, particularly archaic and modern humans, became increasingly abundant and dispersed across the globe, a temporally and spatially transgressive extinction of large-bodied mammals followed; the degree of selectivity was unprecedented in the Cenozoic fossil record. Today, most remaining large-bodied mammal species are confined to Africa, where they coevolved with hominins. Here, using a comprehensive global dataset of mammal distribution, life history and ecology, we examine the consequences of “body size downgrading” of mammals over the late Quaternary on fundamental macroecological patterns. Specifically, we examine changes in species diversity, global and continental body size distributions, allometric scaling of geographic range size with body mass, and the scaling of maximum body size with area. Moreover, we project these patterns toward a potential future scenario in which all mammals currently listed as vulnerable on the IUCN\u27s Red List are extirpated. Our analysis demonstrates that anthropogenic impact on earth systems predates the terminal Pleistocene and has grown as populations increased and humans have become more widespread. Moreover, owing to the disproportionate influence on ecosystem structure and function of megafauna, past and present body size downgrading has reshaped Earth\u27s biosphere. Thus, macroecological studies based only on modern species yield distorted results, which are not representative of the patterns present for most of mammal evolution. Our review supports the concept of benchmarking the “Anthropocene” with the earliest activities of Homo sapiens

Waiting for a kidney from a deceased donor: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Demand for kidneys from deceased donors far outstrips supply. Despite this, there appears to be little research that focuses solely on the experience of waiting for a kidney from a deceased donor. This study uses the qualitative methodology Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore the lives of 10 people on the transplant list, with the aims of illuminating the potential psychological challenges those on the list may face during this time, and providing information to help clinicians more fully support such people in the future. Two themes connected to the experience of waiting – adjustment to the uncertainty of waiting and thinking about receiving a kidney from a living donor – are presented here. Participants describe a sense of confusion and uncertainty around life on the list, and discuss their strategies for dealing with this. Novel complexities around the ambiguous challenge of receiving an organ from a deceased donor are revealed. It is recommended that healthcare teams provide a forum for this patient group to work through these feelings of confusion and ambiguity

Interpretative phenomenological analysis

The Second Edition of The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research in Psychology provides comprehensive coverage of the qualitative methods, strategies, and research issues in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology has been transformed since the first edition's publication. Responding to this evolving field, existing chapters have been updated while three new chapters have been added on Thematic Analysis, Interpretation, and Netnography. With a focus on methodological progress throughout, the chapters are organised into three sections: Section One: Methods. Section Two: Perspectives and Techniques. Section Three: Applications. In the field of psychology and beyond, this handbook will constitute a valuable resource for both experienced qualitative researchers and novices for many years to come

Saisir l’expérience : présentation de l’analyse phénoménologique interprétative comme méthodologie qualitative en psychologie Getting at experience: an outline of interpretative phenomenological analysis as a qualitative psychology methodology

L’analyse interprétative phénoménologique permet au chercheur d’explorer l’expérience de participants, le sens qu’ils donnent à leur expérience et les mécanismes psychologiques sous-jacents. Elle est devenue une des approches les plus reconnues en psychologie et elle est utilisée de façon croissante dans d’autres disciplines. Etant donné cet intérêt croissant apporté à l’IPA, une introduction française est devenue nécessaire. Cet article débute par un rappel général des fondements conceptuels de l’IPA, suivi d’une revue point par point des étapes d’une recherche interprétative phénoménologique. Cet article traite des différents enjeux soulevés par cette approche et conclut avec plusieurs idées de développements à venir. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) allows researchers to explore the participants' experiences, the meaning they gave to those experiences, and the underlying psychological processes. IPA recognizes this as involving a double hermeneutic where the participant is trying to make sense of what is happening to them and the researcher is then trying to make sense of the participant’s sense making. IPA has now become one of the best known and most widely used qualitative approaches in psychology. After a first decade of development in the United-Kingdom, IPA has become an integral part of the research landscape in health psychology and in clinical psychology, and is increasingly being used in other disciplines. It has helped to raise the awareness of a generation of researchers to what qualitative psychology can contribute, and it has enriched the repertoire of methodological practices available for addressing important issues in health. With the growing interest in IPA, we think it is now timely and valuable to offer a French introduction to this approach. The aim of this paper is to introduce to the French-speaking scientific community the foundations of IPA, the different steps involved in a research project and finally the avenues for developing the approach. This paper begins with a general overview of the theoretical foundations of IPA and its place in the scientific landscape in psychology. This is followed by a step-by-step guide to carrying out an IPA study. This begins with an outline of the structure and the content of the data collection process, and the conduct of the interview as well as the alternative frameworks to face-to-face interview and the recommended sample size. We have paid special attention to the analysis cycle and to the communication, assessment and scope of findings. To carry out good IPA requires grasping its core sensibilities. First, IPA has a commitment to an analysis which moves beyond the descriptive to the interpretative, but an interpretative grounded in the close reading of the participant’s account. Second, IPA is strongly idiographic, beginning with the close analysis of each case and only then moving to a second level of analysis of the patterning of convergences and divergences within the corpus. Finally, the article discusses various issues arising from the approach and concludes with some thoughts on the issue of language and on future developments like the contribution of single cases, studies of dyadic and group dynamics and the continued involvement of IPA within mixed methods designs

A stereodivergent asymmetric approach to difluorinated aldonic acids

A (bromodifluoromethyl)alkyne has been deployed in a stereoselective route to difluorinated aldonic acid analogues, in which a Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation reaction and diastereoisomer separation set the stage for phenyl group oxidation

Collider Signatures of SuperWIMP Warm Dark Matter

SuperWeakly-Interacting Massive Particles (superWIMPs) produced in the late decays of other particles are well-motivated dark matter candidates and may be favored over standard Weakly-Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) by small scale structure observations. Among the most promising frameworks that incorporate superWIMPs are R-parity conserving supersymmetry models in which the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) is the gravitino or the axino. In these well-defined particle models, astrophysical observations have direct implications for possible measurements at future colliders.Comment: Contributed to the 2005 International Linear Collider Physics and Detector Workshop and 2nd ILC Accelerator Workshop, Snowmass, Colorado, 14-27 Aug 2005. 3 pages, LaTeX, 1 figur

The impact of a high versus a low glycaemic index breakfast cereal meal on verbal episodic memory in healthy adolescents

In this study, healthy adolescents consumed a) a low glycaemic index (G.I.) breakfast cereal meal, or b) a high G.I. breakfast cereal meal, before completing a test of verbal episodic memory in which the memory materials were encoded under conditions of divided attention. Analysis of remembering/forgetting indices revealed that the High G.I. breakfast group remembered significantly more items relative to the Low G.I. breakfast group after a long delay. The superior performance observed in the High G.I. group, relative to the Low G.I. group, may be due to the additional glucose availability provided by the high G.I. meal at the time of memory encoding. This increased glucose availability may be necessary for effective encoding under dual task conditions