Determinants of Adaptive Behavior among Older Persons: Self-Efficacy, Importance, and Personal Dispositions as Directive Mechanisms

Successful aging calls for effective adaptation, which in turn implies flexible use of coping strategies to optimize personal functioning and well-being. The present paper studied adaptive choice behavior of older, independently living persons faced with complications in their houses. The goal was to gain insight into the concrete coping process and its outcome-in terms of the choice of assimilative vs. accommodative strategies-and in the role of three determinants on this process. The determinants were perceived self-efficacy, importance of the problem, and personal dispositions (flexibility and tenacity). A sample of 199 independently-living older persons participated in an experiment that was based on a scenario and questionnaire method, with problems stemming from the domain of independent living. Results mainly underlie the crucial role of perceived self-efficacy and are discussed in view of the concept of successful aging

Determinants of Adaptive Behavior among Older Persons: Self-Efficacy, Importance, and Personal Dispositions as Directive Mechanisms

Successful aging calls for effective adaptation, which in turn implies flexible use of coping strategies to optimize personal functioning and well-being. The present paper studied adaptive choice behavior of older, independently living persons faced with complications in their houses. The goal was to gain insight into the concrete coping process and its outcome-in terms of the choice of assimilative vs. accommodative strategies-and in the role of three determinants on this process. The determinants were perceived self-efficacy, importance of the problem, and personal dispositions (flexibility and tenacity). A sample of 199 independently-living older persons participated in an experiment that was based on a scenario and questionnaire method, with problems stemming from the domain of independent living. Results mainly underlie the crucial role of perceived self-efficacy and are discussed in view of the concept of successful aging

A probabilistic approach for determining railway infrastructure capacity

We consider the problem of determining the capacity of a planned railway infrastructure layout under uncertainties. In order to address the long-term nature of the problem, in which the exact (future) demand of service is unknown, we develop a "timetable"-free approach to avoid the specification of a particular timetable. We consider a generic infra-element that allows a concise representation of many different combinations of infrastructure, safety systems and traffic regimes, such as mixed double and single track lines (e.g., a double track line including a single tunnel tube), and train operations on partly overlapping routes at station yards. We translate the capacity assessment problem for such a generic infra-element into an optimization problem and provide a solution procedure. We illustrate our approach with a capacity assessment for the newly built high-speed railway line in The Netherlands. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Effect of Hydrocortisone Therapy Initiated 7 to 14 Days After Birth on Mortality or Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Among Very Preterm Infants Receiving Mechanical Ventilation A Randomized Clinical Trial

Developmen

Affiliative social relationships and coccidian oocyst excretion in a cooperatively breeding bird species

In group living animals, behavioural interactions with conspecifics strongly modulate an individual’s physiological stress response. Stable social relationships may reduce an individual’s stress response, which in turn can affect the immune system and health. Ultimately, positive health effects of stable social bonds may contribute to maintain group living. We investigated whether, in cooperatively breeding carrion crows (Corvus corone), the quality of social relationships correlates with coccidian oocyst and nematode eggs excretion. We repeatably collected behavioural data on dyadic social interactions and individual droppings to quantify parasite eggs and oocysts from 36 individuals in a captive population of carrion crows in northern Spain. Individuals with strong social bonds, living with more relatives and in larger groups excreted a significantly smaller proportion of droppings containing coccidian oocysts. The probability to excrete droppings containing nematode eggs was not affected by social factors. The relationship between social interactions and coccidian oocyst excretion is consistent with the idea that high quality social relationships can positively affects individual’s health, setting the stage for the evolution of stable social living