A Review of Academic Literature on Men’s Health and Men’s Sheds

Men experience more incidence of morbidity and live fewer years than women (Mahalik et al., 2007; White and Holmes, 2006; Department of Health and Human Services, 1996; Fletcher, 1992). Suggested contributions to this include biological, psychological and sociological factors including: that ‘masculinity’ could be a determinant of health; that men are unwilling to burden health services; there is a lack of appropriate men-friendly health service provision (Connell, 1995; Evans et al., 2011; Gough, 2006; Marmot et al, 2010). In terms of pragmatic contributions that influence men’s health the literature points to a set of foundations in support of the concept of community based organisations where men can be facilitated to address health and wellbeing issues whilst affirming their masculinity (Bourdieu, 1986). This provides a rationale for reviewing Men’s Sheds: community organisations that provide space for men, often providing the opportunity to engage in activities (Golding et al., 2007). These organisations have been described as a health promotion vehicle with the potential to influence wellbeing outcomes for men. Across the world there are over 1,000 Men’s Sheds with more than 100,000 members (Cavanagh et al, 2014; Wilson and Cordier, 2013). A review of empirical research conducted to evaluate the merits of Men’s Sheds for the improvement of men’s health and wellbeing has been conducted with the initial question aiming to discover: What evidence is there that Men’s Sheds improve participant wellbeing? The review of the literature identifies eight themes arranged within two categories. There is a paucity of empirical research with eight articles included for this review. The reviewed literature indicates that Men’s Sheds are an entity comprising of mechanisms that contribute towards positive wellbeing outcomes for men. The reviewed studies encourage further research to be undertaken to understand men’s experiences of participating in community-based, non-Australian Men’s Sheds and within Men’s Sheds with a primary health and wellbeing focus which offer non-utilitarian activities (Ormsby et al., 2010; Cordier and Wilson, 2014)

Entanglement of multiparty stabilizer, symmetric, and antisymmetric states

We study various distance-like entanglement measures of multipartite states under certain symmetries. Using group averaging techniques we provide conditions under which the relative entropy of entanglement, the geometric measure of entanglement and the logarithmic robustness are equivalent. We consider important classes of multiparty states, and in particular show that these measures are equivalent for all stabilizer states, symmetric basis and antisymmetric basis states. We rigorously prove a conjecture that the closest product state of permutation symmetric states can always be chosen to be permutation symmetric. This allows us to calculate the explicit values of various entanglement measures for symmetric and antisymmetric basis states, observing that antisymmetric states are generally more entangled. We use these results to obtain a variety of interesting ensembles of quantum states for which the optimal LOCC discrimination probability may be explicitly determined and achieved. We also discuss applications to the construction of optimal entanglement witnesses

Thin-film Photovoltaics Under Extreme Wind Loading Due to Downbursts in the Washington D.C. Area

Extreme wind loading on buildings can be caused by a variety of different weather phenomenon, including straight-line wind-inducing events known as downbursts. With maximum wind gusts up to 168 mph, downbursts have the potential to cause significant damage to modern infrastructure, comparable to that of the more commonly-known tornado or hurricane. Among the many variables that affect the extent of damage to infrastructure from such events, the performance of a building is largely dependent on two factors - (a) the magnitude of the loads induced on a building, and (b) the strength of the building components resisting these loads. The goal of this research is to characterize the downburst-induced horizontal wind loads on a building façade of a given region, as well as the strength and behavior of a green building material used in the façade of buildings - known as thin-film building integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs). With downburst data collected from the Washington D.C.-Baltimore metropolitan area (WBMA), a failure probability model is derived for BIPVs specific to this region

Evaluation of an intervention for men experiencing angry emotions and violent behaviour

This poster explores the background and methodology of an evaluation of a programme intervention for men (16+ years) that experience angry emotions and/or exhibit violent behaviour. Men who experience feelings of anger and/or that behave in violent ways are limited in where they can go for support. In one locality, men who experience angry emotions or exhibit violent behaviour can self-refer, or can be mandated by court order, to attend a programme of facilitator and group-based peer support designed to reduce angry emotions and incidence of violent behaviour. A ‘realist’ methodology is being used in this evaluation, recognising that any programme intervention is embedded in existing social processes. The research (in progress) utilises qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. Qualitative data is elicited using semi-structured interviews. Interviews with intervention staff and stakeholders have led to the development of ‘programme theories’ about how the intervention works, for whom, in what contexts and why. These programme theories are expressed as Contexts, Mechanisms and Outcomes (CMO) configurations. These CMOc will be tested and refined in future fieldwork with the participants of the 12 week programme intervention

Information Flow in Secret Sharing Protocols

The entangled graph states have emerged as an elegant and powerful quantum resource, indeed almost all multiparty protocols can be written in terms of graph states including measurement based quantum computation (MBQC), error correction and secret sharing amongst others. In addition they are at the forefront in terms of implementations. As such they represent an excellent opportunity to move towards integrated protocols involving many of these elements. In this paper we look at expressing and extending graph state secret sharing and MBQC in a common framework and graphical language related to flow. We do so with two main contributions. First we express in entirely graphical terms which set of players can access which information in graph state secret sharing protocols. These succinct graphical descriptions of access allow us to take known results from graph theory to make statements on the generalisation of the previous schemes to present new secret sharing protocols. Second, we give a set of necessary conditions as to when a graph with flow, i.e. capable of performing a class of unitary operations, can be extended to include vertices which can be ignored, pointless measurements, and hence considered as unauthorised players in terms of secret sharing, or error qubits in terms of fault tolerance. This offers a way to extend existing MBQC patterns to secret sharing protocols. Our characterisation of pointless measurements is believed also to be a useful tool for further integrated measurement based schemes, for example in constructing fault tolerant MBQC schemes

Neither playing the game nor keeping it real: media logics and Big Brother

Sam Pepper, one of the contestants in Big Brother 11, at one point accused fellow housemates Josie and John James of feigning romantic feelings for each other in order to cash in on lucrative deals with celebrity magazines such as OK! and Hello!. The provocation caused much apparent offence, and led to a prolonged and predominantly rancorous debate about authenticity and inauthenticity, soon extending to revelations that other housemates (Rachel, Corinne) aimed to appear in soft pornography titles like Nuts and Zoo, and as such, ‘couldn’t be trusted’. The clear subtext was that any economic motivation was considered a breach of the rules of the Big Brother game – not the explicit parameters of the competition, but the spirit in which it should be played. Being a worthy winner is a matter of who you are rather than what you do, which raises the question of how we came to know Josie and co, as well as how we come to know celebrity selves generally. If BB has taught us anything about the formation of mediated selves, it is that an authentic mediated self cannot exist – and yet authenticity still matters. This piece reflects on this tension and its implications for our increasingly reflexive media culture

Patient perceptions of physician empathy, satisfaction with physician, interpersonal trust, and compliance

Objectives: This study was designed to investigate psychometric properties of the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE), and to examine correlations between its scores and measures of overall satisfaction with physicians, personal trust, and indicators of patient compliance. Methods: Research participants included 535 out-patients (between 18-75 years old, 66% female). A survey was mailed to participants which included the JSPPPE (5-item), a scale for measuring overall satisfaction with the primary care physician (10-item), and demographic questions. Patients were also asked about compliance with their physician\u27s recommendation for preventive tests (colonoscopy, mammogram, and PSA for age and gender appropriate patients). Results: Factor analysis of the JSPPPE resulted in one prominent component. Corrected item-total score correlations ranged from .88 to .94. Correlation between scores of the JSPPPE and scores on the patient satisfaction scale was 0.93. Scores of the JSPPPE were highly correlated with measures of physician-patient trust (r \u3e.73). Higher scores of the JSPPPE were significantly associated with physicians\u27 recommendations for preventive tests (colonoscopy, mammogram, and PSA) and with compliance rates which were \u3e .80). Cronbach\u27s coefficient alpha for the JSPPPE ranged from .97 to .99 for the total sample and for patients in different gender and age groups. Conclusions: Empirical evidence supported the psychometrics of the JSPPPE, and confirmed significant links with patients\u27 satisfaction with their physicians, interpersonal trust, and compliance with physicians\u27 recommendations. Availability of this psychometrically sound instrument will facilitate empirical research on empathy in patient care in different countries

Attendance Control Techniques: Union vs. Non-Union Differences in the Southeast United States

This research examines both the rate of absenteeism and the attendance control methods found in a sample of 423 union and non-union organizations located in the Southeast United States. These data indicate that absenteeism rates for union and non-union organizations are not significantly different. Methods of controlling absenteeism are reported for both union and non-union facilities. Implications for the control of absenteeism are discussed

Raising awareness of assistive technology in older adults through a community-based, Cooperative Extension program

The Fashion an Easier Lifestyle with Assistive Technology (FELAT) curriculum was developed as a needs-based, community educational program provided through a state Cooperative Extension Service. The overall goal for participants was to raise awareness of assistive technology. Program evaluation included a post-assessment and subsequent interview to determine short-term knowledge gain and longer-term behavior change. The sample consisted of mainly older, married females. The FELAT program was effective at raising awareness and increasing knowledge of assistive technology, and for many participants, the program acted as a catalyst for planning to or taking action related to assistive technology