Symptom Severity, Treatment Acceptability, and Motivational Predictors Related to Patient Improvement for Insomnia

With the widespread presence of sleep disorders in the United States, especially insomnia, it is pertinent to investigate beliefs that patients have about insomnia, symptom severity, and treatment acceptability in order to assess patients\u27 motivation for behavioral change. Participants in this archival study were thirty-one patients seeking help for sleep-related issues, whom were primarily from a Midwestern metropolitan area. Patients had completed pre-treatment measures that assessed insomnia symptoms, outcomes, treatment acceptability, and willingness to change and one post-treatment measure assessing insomnia outcomes. Because the purpose of the present study was to examine whether these variables predict patient improvement (higher scores on the post-treatment measure), a linear regression was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that pre-treatment insomnia outcomes, symptoms, change, and treatment acceptability did not predict higher scores of patient improvement. Because there has not been a significant amount of research conducted on the topic of predictors of insomnia treatment outcome and the fact that novel outcome measures were used, future research should focus on developing more psychometrically sound outcomes measures

Humorous Developments: Ridicule, Recognition, and the Development of Agency

In this thesis I examine various theories of humor to establish an account of the functional roles of humor in social interaction and agentive development. These roles are integrated into a view of agency developed by G.H. Mead, and further refined by the recognition theory of Axel Honneth. The core thesis is: Humor is under-examined as an aspect of human interaction, because it plays such an integral role in individual agency and social development. Understanding how humor works helps to explain how agents are formed through the internalization of the expectations of others via processes of recognition, either positively or negatively. Through the explication of the core humor theories—superiority, relief, incongruity, and play—insight is offered into the various processes of basic human interaction, understanding, and identity. The work has theoretical application by proving Mead\u27s and Honneth\u27s emphasis on recognition for development is justified, while also correcting an overly positive view of recognition by outlining the social policing function of humor. But the thesis has also obvious practical value in day to day human interaction, as it shows that humor is able to address issues that are very difficult through other modes of communication and understanding. Humor’s role in agentive interaction and formation cannot be overstated, both as a mode of expression and coping, but also since the threat of embarrassment through ridicule underpins and motivates a great deal of human interaction. The negative ethical implications of the role of humor, which are often overlooked, are extensively outlined and developed through the conceptual frameworks of social power (punching-up and punching down) as well as act-centered vs. agent-centered views of discriminatory humor. The thesis offers and analyzes ready examples from the work of Chris Rock and Bill Cosby, and looks at the implications of each through the theoretical lenses fleshed out in previous chapters. Through this it is clearly demonstrated, not only how these theories interconnect, but as well how such knowledge is of obvious, and practical value in day-to-day human interaction

Sexual Education and Attitudes toward Masturbation

The long-standing social stigma surrounding masturbation has led to its prohibition from being included in public school curriculum as a healthy sexual practice. Furthermore, not only is masturbation a healthy sexual practice for the individual, research has demonstrated masturbation to be helpful in treating sexual dysfunctions for couples. Therefore, if the topic of masturbation is included in comprehensive sexual education as a healthy sexual practice, it may promote sexual health among individuals both intra- and interpersonally. The present study recruited from a convenient sample from a medium sized state university in the upper Midwest. Participants completed two surveys, administered through an online data collection platform. The first survey, Attitudes Towards Masturbation, is an established measure with sound reliability and validity, which assessed the participants’ comfort and beliefs about masturbation. The second survey was created specifically for this study and assessed the type of sexual education (comprehensive versus abstinence) received at home and in formal school settings. It was predicted that participants who received positive masturbation education (at home or at school) will have more positive attitudes toward masturbation than participants who received negative or no masturbation education. The results of the study indicate that positive messages learned are not correlated with positive attitudes. However, negative messages are associated with negative attitudes towards masturbation

Recent pace of change in human impact on the world's ocean.

Humans interact with the oceans in diverse and profound ways. The scope, magnitude, footprint and ultimate cumulative impacts of human activities can threaten ocean ecosystems and have changed over time, resulting in new challenges and threats to marine ecosystems. A fundamental gap in understanding how humanity is affecting the oceans is our limited knowledge about the pace of change in cumulative impact on ocean ecosystems from expanding human activities - and the patterns, locations and drivers of most significant change. To help address this, we combined high resolution, annual data on the intensity of 14 human stressors and their impact on 21 marine ecosystems over 11 years (2003-2013) to assess pace of change in cumulative impacts on global oceans, where and how much that pace differs across the ocean, and which stressors and their impacts contribute most to those changes. We found that most of the ocean (59%) is experiencing significantly increasing cumulative impact, in particular due to climate change but also from fishing, land-based pollution and shipping. Nearly all countries saw increases in cumulative impacts in their coastal waters, as did all ecosystems, with coral reefs, seagrasses and mangroves at most risk. Mitigation of stressors most contributing to increases in overall cumulative impacts is urgently needed to sustain healthy oceans

A photoionization model of the compact HII region G29.96-0.02

We present a detailed photoionization model of G29.96-0.02 (hereafter G29.96), one of the brightest Galactic Ultra Compact HII (UCHII) regions in the Galaxy. This source has been observed extensively at radio and infrared wavelengths. The most recent data include a complete ISO (SWS and LWS) spectrum, which displays a remarkable richness in atomic fine-structure lines. The number of observables is twice as much as the number available in previous studies. In addition, most atomic species are now observed in two ionization stages. The radio and infrared data on G29.96 are best reproduced using a nebular model with two density components: a diffuse (n_e~680cm-3) extended (~1 pc) component surrounding a compact (~0.1 pc) dense (n_e~57000cm-3) core. The properties of the ionizing star were derived using state-of-the-art stellar atmosphere models. CoStar models yield an effective temperature of \~30^{+2}_{-1} kK whereas more recent non-LTE line blanketed atmospheres with stellar winds indicate somewhat higher values, Teff~32--38 kK. This range in Teff is compatible with all observational constraints, including near-infrared photometry and bolometric luminosity. The range 33-36 kK is also compatible with the spectral type O5-O8 determined by Watson and Hanson (97) when recent downward revisions of the effective temperature scale of O stars are taken into account. The age of the ionizing star of G29.96 is found to be a few 10^6 yr, much older than the expected lifetime of UCHII regions. Accurate gas phase abundances are derived with the most robust results being Ne/S=7.5 and N/O=0.43 (1.3 and 3.5 times the solar values, respectively).Comment: Accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysic

An Optimization Model for Valuating Process Flexibility

Although flexible processes are deemed critical for many companies and constitute a key concern of business process management, there is a lack of approaches for valuating process flexibility from an economic perspective and for determining an appropriate level of process flexibility. Today, companies do not know how flexible their processes should be. While generally advocating balanced investments, scholars provide concrete recommendations for very specific settings only. What is missing is a more general guidance and a deeper investigation of the positive economic effects of flexible processes, which are hard-to-measure and beset with risks. Against this backdrop, we propose an optimization model that enables determining the optimal level of process flexibility in line with the principles of value-based business process management. We also report on the insights gained from applying the optimization model to the production processes of an international company from the semi-conductor industry

Analyzing the Trade-Off between Traditional and Agile Software Development - A Cost/Risk Perspective

Digitalization heralds a new era of enterprise IT. It challenges CIOs to find a balance between renovating legacy IT and seizing the opportunities of digital technologies to keep up with competitors and start-ups. This requires organizations to operate two software development modes simultaneously: the traditional and the agile mode. Despite substantial research on both modes, little is known about whether to implement distinct software development projects traditionally or agile. As a first step to addressing this gap, we propose a quantitative decision model that compares the cost and risk profiles of both modes associated with the implementation of a distinct project. The decision model integrates qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the project in focus and of the traditional and the agile mode. As for evaluation, we implemented the decision model as a software prototype and validated its behavior using sample projects as well as a sensitivity analysis

The Business Value of Process Flexibility - An OptimizationModel and Its Application in the Service Sector

Promising to cope with increasing demand variety and uncertainty, flexibility in general and process flexibility in particular are becoming ever more desired corporate capabilities. During the last years, the business process management and the production/operations management communities have proposed numerous approaches that investigate how to valuate and determine an appropriate level of process flexibility. Most of these approaches are very restrictive regarding their application domain, neglect characteristics of the involved processes and outputs other than demand and capacity, and do not conduct a thorough economic analysis of process flexibility. Against this backdrop, the authors propose an optimization model that determines an appropriate level of process flexibility in line with the principles of valuebased business process management. The model includes demand uncertainty, variability, criticality, and similarity as process characteristics. The paper also reports on the insights gained from applying the optimization model to the coverage switching processes of an insurance broker pool compan

Die heilsgeschichtliche Theologie Erich Sauers im Kontext missionarischer Verantwortung

This dissertation makes an attempt to scientifically investigate Erich Sauer's theology of salvation history for the first time. Sauer grew up in a vital missionary context in the setting of the Open Brethren fellowship and the Alliance Bible School in Berlin. He studied history, philology and theology at the Humboldt University in Berlin, with the goal of promoting missions. Because of an acute eye ailment he was forced to discontinue his studies. He was invited to Wiedenest, where he found his life's work in the Bible School, which had moved in 1919. Here he worked for almost forty years as a teacher and a writer and travelling unceasingly to preach, lecture and hold biblical seminars on the topic of salvation history and missions. His theology, which is indebted to the theory of revelation history, was influenced by federal theology, theology of salvation history and the scientific, exegetic theology of German theological positivism. Sauer derives the authority of Scripture from history and develops a complex, salvation historical model, which is characterised by the classic structure of protology, soteriology and eschatology. His pre-millennial character is not dispensationally restricted, but has, rather, its own independent formation, that allows for the universal dimensions of God's completion act, without supporting a universal redemption theory. Through the high rating that he gives the position of the ecclesia in salvation history, Sauer has achieved a programmatic missions concept, which sees a missions-oriented church within every local church. With this paradigmatic theory, Sauer contributed to a revival of missions in German Brethren congregations, in conjunction with his professional colleague Schrupp.Christian Spirituality, Church Hist and MissiologyD.Th