PSYCHOMETRIC EVALUATION OF THE GREEK VERSION OF THE BODY ESTEEM SCALE

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Greek version of the Body Esteem Scale (BES) in a community sample (N = 2162) of both genders. A set of questionnaires was administered. It included demographic data, Body Mass Index, the Body Esteem Scale (BES), the Body Appreciation Scale, the Other as Shamer, the Experience of Shame Scale, and Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale. The best solution for BES (according to confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis) supported a four-factor structure for both men and women. Cronbach’s α ranged from .77 to .89 in all subscales. All BES subscales significantly correlated (positively/negatively) with the rest of the questionnaires. Test-retest correlation coefficients ranged from .92 to .95 in all subscales. Age and BMI significantly predicted the BES score. In conclusion, the Greek version of the BES has adequate internal consistency reliability, construct validity, test-retest reliability and is suitable for research and clinical use

The "Beautiful" pain: cosmetic surgery and the embodiment of pain

This article focuses on women undergoing plastic surgery operations, highlighting their particular attitude toward pain, which is caused by the desperate pursuit of beauty. Extracting data from semi-structured interviews, it is shown how pain is defied, eliminated or even denied by individuals undergoing cosmetic surgery. Since cosmetic procedures are carried out for aesthetic reasons, people disconnect this process from any negative emotion and ignore pain and trauma yielded from surgical operation. Hence, a special kind of pain embodiment is reflexively emerged. Pain is not a one-dimensional biological stimulus; it is rather associated with how each social group perceives, interprets and reacts to the biological stimulus, producing a particular mode of embodiment

The adjoint mehod for automotive optimisation using a sphericity based morpher

A robust workflow for shape optimisation of internal and external flows with application to automotive design is demonstrated in this paper. A gradient based approach is presented, in which the surface sensitivity with respect to the flow variables is computed with the continuous adjoint method. For aerodynamic shape optimisation cases, mesh displacement algorithms are indispensable in order to avoid re-meshing the updated geometry in each optimisation step. Keeping the same mesh topology at every optimisation cycle secures gradient consistency and the possibility to use the previous solution as initial conditions in order to converge the CFD equations faster. Simple mesh displacement algorithms, such as the spring analogy, run into problems under complex surface deformations. Thus a mesh optimisation approach can be proved to be more robust as it copes better with complex elements optimising also the base mesh. In this paper the mesh displacement algorithm is based on sphericity, which quantifies the mesh quality. Solving an extra optimisation problem for the maximisation of the sphericity value, results in the new internal mesh nodes positions. The methodology is heuristic in nature in that it does not consider known numerical quality metrics explicitly. It has shown however to be exceptionally robust and effective allowing the maintenance of high cell quality even during extreme deformation events. The suggested method is applied to automotive test cases of internal and external aerodynamics. In such cases, the use of a robust morpher which preserves geometry features and delays mesh quality deterioration is found to be crucial

The "Beautiful" pain: cosmetic surgery and the embodiment of pain

This article focuses on women undergoing plastic surgery operations, highlighting their particular attitude toward pain, which is caused by the desperate pursuit of beauty. Extracting data from semi-structured interviews, it is shown how pain is defied, eliminated or even denied by individuals undergoing cosmetic surgery. Since cosmetic procedures are carried out for aesthetic reasons, people disconnect this process from any negative emotion and ignore pain and trauma yielded from surgical operation. Hence, a special kind of pain embodiment is reflexively emerged. Pain is not a one-dimensional biological stimulus; it is rather associated with how each social group perceives, interprets and reacts to the biological stimulus, producing a particular mode of embodiment

Embodiment and visual impairment : economic considerations and the social construction of blindness

This study examines the multiple and energetic ways the visually impaired persons perceive the image of their body in relation to their social identity. It as well examines the issue of disability, blindness and chronic disease regarding the social construction of everyday life of these people. The contribution is based on the qualitative sociological analysis of empirical material that was collected mainly in the form of semi-structured interviews with participants that experience severe difficulties with their vision. Triangulation was applied in order to ensure increased reliability and validity of the results. People with vision problems construct their social identity based on a strong relationship to their senses and bodies. More particularly, the interpretative schemes of the participants in research reveal that they follow concrete strategies promoting personal care and hygiene in order to increase the possibilities to interact with other social groups. Visually impaired people, as the interviews reveal, seem to emphasize more on their personal experiences than their external appearance, always compared to subjects with “normal” vision levels. The findings demonstrate that there is a significant difference in the ways people with visual impairment understand social reality and interact with others according to whether they have this problem since their birth or faced it at a later stage of their biography. The results may allow investments in medical economy with important repercussion in the well being of these people and in this sector of socio-economics. These investments may assist these people to get socially included and be energetic and active instead of being dependant and passive. That implies that some of these people may be included in some tasks with economic value.peer-reviewe

Breast cancer in contemporary Greece : economic dimensions and socio-psychological effects

The main purpose of this article is to critically complete the economic perspective regarding breast cancer offering a more spherical understanding of the disease as well focusing on its socio-psychological effects. The contribution presents some specific socio-economic features of this particular illness in contemporary Greece, emphasizing on some of the core strategies these diagnosed women apply in respect with their professional re-orientation. It as well analyses the inter-subjective experience of breast cancer in as much as participants record it as a turning point regarding their economic status, socio-psychological state, biographies and overall relationships. The paper is based both on qualitative research, grounded on fourteen biographical interviews with Greek women, experiencing breast cancer and mastectomy and on quantitative data provided by secondary inquiry. In an integrated view, it is possible to formulate some preliminary conceptual tools that can account for the economic dimensions and socio-psychological implications of the disease. Besides, we present the energetic strategies these women employ to mitigate personal suffering and transform their “harmed” body to an energetic source of professional re-orientations and biographical re-constitutions.peer-reviewe

Experiential Learning in Action: A Collaborative Inquiry

In this paper, we describe a case study of an undergraduate course on research methodology, in which lecture was reduced to a minimum and replaced with experiential learning activities. The course design was project-based and spiraled through four phases: a mini-lecture on a given research method, an “early practice” activity, and “reflection on practice” tutor-guided small group collaborations which led to deeper understanding of the given research method. This particular course design constitutes a paradigm shift in comparison to the predominant in Greek higher education didactic pedagogical model. How this paradigm shift was received and experienced by the participating students? In order to get rich insights into the lived experiences of the participants (N=15), we adopted a blended qualitative research approach: thematic analysis combined with students’ critical reflections on their experience, aiming to produce a thick description of our intervention. The course design and implementation positioned students and their tutors as knowledgeable actors able to contribute research insights through their transactions

Differential contribution of cis -regulatory elements to higher order chromatin structure and expression of the CFTR locus

Higher order chromatin structure establishes domains that organize the genome and coordinate gene expression. However, the molecular mechanisms controlling transcription of individual loci within a topological domain (TAD) are not fully understood. The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene provides a paradigm for investigating these mechanisms. CFTR occupies a TAD bordered by CTCF/cohesin binding sites within which are cell-type-selective cis-regulatory elements for the locus. We showed previously that intronic and extragenic enhancers, when occupied by specific transcription factors, are recruited to the CFTR promoter by a looping mechanism to drive gene expression. Here we use a combination of CRISPR/Cas9 editing of cis-regulatory elements and siRNA-mediated depletion of architectural proteins to determine the relative contribution of structural elements and enhancers to the higher order structure and expression of the CFTR locus. We found the boundaries of the CFTR TAD are conserved among diverse cell types and are dependent on CTCF and cohesin complex. Removal of an upstream CTCF-binding insulator alters the interaction profile, but has little effect on CFTR expression. Within the TAD, intronic enhancers recruit cell-type selective transcription factors and deletion of a pivotal enhancer element dramatically decreases CFTR expression, but has minor effect on its 3D structure

Bodily crises in skilled performance: Considering the need for artistic habits

Empirical evidence demonstrates that performing artists are confronted by a variety of ‘bodily crises’ (e.g., injury, attrition of habits induced by ageing) over the course of their careers (Wainwright, Williams, & Turner, 2005). Such crises may present a serious threat to the embodied subject. Unfortunately, many prominent theories of skill acquisition (e.g., Fitts & Posner, 1967) appear to evacuate the body from performance by suggesting that any form of conscious processing (i.e., paying conscious attention to one's action during motor skill execution) will disrupt habitual behaviour. As a result, few researchers have considered how performers might tackle bodily anomalies. In the current paper, we seek to address this issue by discussing a variety of the ‘crises’ that confront the performing body. We start by discussing a number of disciplinary practices that may contribute to these crises. Next, we argue that habitual movements must be open to ‘acts of creativity’ in order to maintain a productive relationship between the performing body and the environment. Then we consider what this ‘creative action’ might involve and discuss a number of approaches (e.g., mindfulness, somaesthetic awareness) that could maintain and improve one's movement proficiency. Here, our argument draws on Dewey's (1922) pragmatist philosophy and his belief that ‘intelligent habit’ was required to help people to improve their movement functioning. Finally, we consider the implications of our argument for current conceptualisations of ‘habitual’ movement and recommend that researchers explore the adaptive and flexible capacity of the performing body