The relationship between stress and college adjustment: the moderating role of spirituality

Spirituality has been shown to moderate the negative effects of stress on physical and psychological adjustment; however, research utilizing a developmental approach in understanding the role of spirituality in the relation between stress and college adjustment has been scant. In the current study, spirituality was hypothesized to moderate the relation between stress and college adjustment (i.e., academic, social, personal-emotional, goal committed/institutional attachment). Also, stress was expected to differ by year in college and gender. Students (N = 131, Mage = 19.81, SD =1.35) from a mid-Atlantic medium-sized parochial comprehensive university completed several questionnaires; results were analyzed with hierarchical regressions. Gender, stress, and spirituality were related significantly to academic and personalemotional adjustment, whereas gender and spirituality were related positively and stress related negatively to both adjustment outcomes. A significant interaction between gender and stress on personal-emotional adjustment also was found. Implications for college students and their adjustment were discussed

Occurrence and impact of negative behaviour, including domestic violence and abuse, in men attending UK primary care health clinics: a cross-sectional survey

Objective: To measure the experience and perpetration of negative behaviour, including domestic violence and abuse (DVA), and investigate its associations with health conditions and behaviours in men attending general practice. Design: Cross-sectional questionnaire-based study conducted between September 2010 and June 2011. Setting: 16 general practices in the south west of England. Participants: Male patients aged 18 or older, attending alone, who could read and write English. A total of 1403 of eligible patients (58%) participated in the survey and 1368 (56%) completed the questions relevant to this paper. 97% of respondents reported they were heterosexual. Main outcome measures: Lifetime occurrence of negative behaviour consistent with DVA, perceived health impact of negative behaviours, associations with anxiety and depression symptoms, and cannabis use in the past 12 months and binge drinking. Results: 22.7% (95% CI 20.2% to 24.9%) of men reported ever experiencing negative behaviour (feeling frightened, physically hurt, forced sex, ask permission) from a partner. All negative behaviours were associated with a twofold to threefold increased odds of anxiety and depression symptoms in men experiencing or perpetrating negative behaviours or both. 34.9% (95% CI 28.7% to 41.7%) of men who reported experiencing negative behaviour from a partner, and 30.8% (95% CI 23.7% to 37.8%) of men who perpetrated negative behaviours said they had been in a domestically violent or abusive relationship. No associations with problematic drinking were found; there was a weak association with cannabis use. Conclusions: DVA is experienced or perpetrated by a large minority of men presenting to general practice, and these men were more likely to have current symptoms of depression and anxiety. Presentation of anxiety or depression to clinicians may be an indicator of male experience or perpetration of DVA victimisation

Regulation of the Phonotactic Threshold of the Female Cricket, Acheta domesticus: Juvenile Hormone III, Allatectomy, L1 Auditory Neuron Thresholds and Environmental Factors

Juvenile hormone III (JHIII), when applied to the abdomen of 1-day-old female Acheta domesticus (in quantities that would create JHIII titers in the hemolymph that were within the range measured in females of this species) caused a significant decrease in phonotactic thresholds (Fig. 1). Removal of the corpora allata from 5-day-old females with low phonotactic thresholds caused significantly increased phonotactic thresholds 2-5 days later. After a temporary increase (24 h) of, on average, about 25 dB, the phonotactic thresholds drop to about 10 dB above preallatectomy levels (Fig. 2), but remain significantly higher than controls. Application of JHIII to allatectomized females, with a mean increase in thresholds of 20 dB, results in significantly decreased thresholds (mean of about 20 dB) over the next 6 h (Fig. 3). Exposure to males 1 week before the imaginal molt causes the phonotactic thresholds of postimaginal females to drop 1-2 days significantly earlier than controls (Fig. 4). One- and 3-day-old females, phonotactically tested only once, exhibit lower thresholds in the early morning than they do in the late afternoon (Fig. 5). Five-day-old females do not exhibit such a diurnal rhythm. Phonotactically testing females more than once a day significantly influences their phonotactic thresholds (Figs. 6, 7). In 1-day-old females, with high (above 70 dB) phonotactic thresholds, the threshold of their L1 auditory interneurons can be 30 dB or more below their phonotactic threshold (Fig. 8). In females with phonotactic thresholds of 70 dB or lower, the L1 threshold is within 10 dB of their phonotactic threshold. Both JHIII and allatectomy influence phonotactic and L1 thresholds in a similar manner

Research challenges in evaluating gender-based violence response services in a refugee camp

This article presents a case study of research in Dadaab, Kenya to highlight some of the relevant challenges encountered while conducting gender-based violence research in humanitarian settings. A longitudinal mixed-methods design was used to evaluate a comprehensive case-management intervention in the refugee complex near the border of Kenya and Somalia. We present an overview of both expected and unexpected challenges during preparation and implementation of the research, adaptations made to the research design, and lessons learned for future research in similar contexts. Some of the key challenges were attributed to the highly securitized and remote environment of Dadaab refugee camp, like many refugee camp settings, which created limitations for sampling designs, interview locations, and also created particular burdens for the research team members conducting interviews. In addition to the camp environment, the dynamic nature of events and trends in the camp setting created barriers to follow-up with longitudinal cohort participants as well as uncertainty on how to plan for future implementation of research design phases in response to camp changes. Conducting research in humanitarian settings requires a flexible approach to accommodate the challenges that can impact both service delivery and research activities. The discussion presented in this article contributes to the evolving practical guidance on conducting research in humanitarian settings

OperA/ALIVE/OperettA

Comprehensive models for organizations must, on the one hand, be able to specify global goals and requirements but, on the other hand, cannot assume that particular actors will always act according to the needs and expectations of the system design. Concepts as organizational rules (Zambonelli 2002), norms and institutions (Dignum and Dignum 2001; Esteva et al. 2002), and social structures (Parunak and Odell 2002) arise from the idea that the effective engineering of organizations needs high-level, actor-independent concepts and abstractions that explicitly define the organization in which agents live (Zambonelli 2002).Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Adapting Component-based Systems at Runtime via Policies with Temporal Patterns

International audienceDynamic reconfiguration allows adding or removing components of component-based systems without incurring any system downtime. To satisfy specific requirements, adaptation policies provide the means to dynamically reconfigure the systems in relation to (events in) their environment. This paper extends event-based adaptation policies by integrating temporal requirements into them. The challenge is to reconfigure component-based systems at runtime while considering both their functional and non-functional requirements. We illustrate our theoretical contributions with an example of an autonomous vehicle location system. An implementation using the Fractal component model constitutes a practical contribution. It enables dynamic reconfigurations guided by either enforcement or reflection adaptation policies

Disability, violence, and mental health among Somali refugee women in a humanitarian setting

Background There is limited evidence on the relationship between disability, experiences of gender-based violence (GBV), and mental health among refugee women in humanitarian contexts. Methods A cross-sectional analysis was conducted of baseline data (n = 209) collected from women enrolled in a cohort study of refugee women accessing GBV response services in the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya. Women were surveyed about GBV experiences (past 12 months, before the last 12 months, before arriving in the refugee camps), functional disability status, and mental health (anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress), and we explored the inter-relationship of these factors. Results Among women accessing GBV response services, 44% reported a disability. A higher proportion of women with a disability (69%) reported a past-year experience of physical intimate partner violence and/or physical or sexual non-partner violence, compared to women without a disability (54%). A higher proportion of women with a disability (32%) experienced non-partner physical or sexual violence before arriving in the camp compared to women without a disability (16%). Disability was associated with higher scores for depression (1.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.54–3.33), PTSD (2.26, 95% CI 0.03–4.49), and anxiety (1.54, 95% CI 0.13–2.95) after adjusting for age, length of encampment, partner status, number of children, and GBV indicators. Conclusions A large proportion of refugee women seeking GBV response services have disabilities, and refugee women with a disability are at high risk of poor mental health. This research highlights the need for mental health and disability screening within GBV response programming

Experiences of being exposed to intimate partner violence during pregnancy

In this study a phenomenological approach was used in order to enter deeply into the experience of living with violence during pregnancy. The aim of the study was to gain a deeper understanding of women's experiences of being exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy. The data were collected through in-depth interviews with five Norwegian women; two during pregnancy and three after the birth. The women were between the age of 20 and 38 years. All women had received support from a professional research and treatment centre. The essential structure shows that IPV during pregnancy is characterized by difficult existential choices related to ambivalence. Existential choices mean questioning one's existence, the meaning of life as well as one's responsibility for oneself and others. Five constituents further explain the essential structure: Living in unpredictability, the violence is living in the body, losing oneself, feeling lonely and being pregnant leads to change. Future life with the child is experienced as a possibility for existential change. It is important for health professionals to recognize and support pregnant women who are exposed to violence as well as treating their bodies with care and respect

Core-Guided and Core-Boosted Search for CP

Peer reviewe