Measuring meaning in life

The present studies addressed the need for a comprehensive, economical, and psychometrically adequate measure of existential meaning. In Study 1, principal-axis factor analysis of participants’ responses to popular meaning measures identified five latent constructs underlying them, labelled purposeful life, principled life, valued life, exciting life, and accomplished life. These dimensions resonate with the meaning in life concept as= understood by Frankl (1963) and the panoply of subsequent theoretical definitions (e.g. Battista and Almond 1973). Study 2 used these results as a foundation for developing a psychometrically satisfactory self-report questionnaire of each of these aspects of meaning in life. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) validated a five-factor structure, with each factor loading on a common second-order factor. Study 3 provided evidence for this new measure’s convergent validity and economic property. The final Meaningful Life Measure is reported and provides comprehensive but differentiated measurement of the meaning in life construct

Tackling property damage: a guide for local commerce groups, councils and police

Introduction: Property damage is the intentional ‘destruction or defacement of public, commercial and private property’. This covers a range of different acts, including vandalism (eg smashing windows, knocking over letterboxes) and graffiti. Graffiti is the act of marking property with writing, symbols or graphics and is illegal when committed without the property owner’s consent. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Crime Victimisation Survey 2011–2012, malicious property damage was more common than any other property offence, with 7.5 percent of respondents reporting having been a victim in the previous 12 months. The cost of property damage to private property owners, local and state governments and businesses are significant, with an estimated cost of $1,522 per incident (in 2012 dollars) and a total cost to the Australian community of nearly$2 billion each year. Using the handbook This handbook forms part of a series of guides developed by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) to support local commerce groups (ie representative groups for business owners and operators), local government and the police to implement evidence-based crime prevention strategies. This handbook has been developed to help guide project managers through the stages of planning, implementing and evaluating a crime prevention project to reduce property damage offences in their local community, particularly in and around commercial precincts. The handbook provides an overview of the three key stages that are involved in delivering a project to reduce property damage: Stage 1: Planning; Stage 2: Implementation; and Stage 3: Review. These steps do not necessarily need to be undertaken in order. Some steps may be undertaken concurrently or it may be necessary to revisit earlier steps. However, it is vital that some steps, such as consulting stakeholders and planning for evaluation, be undertaken early on in the project. Property damage is a very broad offence category. The choice of a particular intervention or interventions will depend largely on the nature of the local problem. Similarly, the successful implementation of a prevention strategy will often be heavily influenced by the characteristics of the local community. This needs to be considered throughout the life of a project

Student diversity, extra-curricular activities and perceptions of graduate outcomes

This research will examine how different student groups engage with extra-curricular activities and what effect these activities have on their degree and graduate outcomes. Recent research has indicated that different student groups have different degree and employment outcomes, this research examines how different student groups engage with extra-curricular activities and what effect these activities have on their degree and graduate outcomes. It examines what extra-curricular activities students participate in and whether different groups have preferences for different types of activities (i.e. are there patterns of participation in certain activities by certain groups of students) and if so what impact does this patterning have on graduate employment potential. Extra-curricular activities are broadly defined in this research, such as part-time work, involvement in University union clubs and societies, (and different types of clubs and societies, cultural, sporting and other), other University related activities such as volunteering, class representation, etc. and other activities outside of University life, such as family commitments and community activitie

A systematic review of weight-related communication trainings for physicians: What do we know and how can we inform future development of training programs?

It is reported that physicians lack training to address weight-related concerns with patients. To overcome this, training programs have been implemented in medical settings to prepare physicians to have conversations with patients. However, it is unclear the degree of consistency among existing training programs and factors associated with better outcomes. The objective of this study was to systematically review the existing literature in this area to determine differences in content, outcomes, and implementation of existing studies that test weight-related communication training programs for physicians. A systematic literature review of online databases including PubMed, PsycINFO, and Proquest was conducted with the assistance of a librarian. Search terms included: health communication, training, physician training, weight, and obesity. Studies were selected based on the following inclusion criteria: physicians are post-graduate medical doctors; trainings encompassed weight-related communication; and outcomes were tied to physician uptake of skills, knowledge, and self-efficacy, or patient-related outcomes. Two coders reviewed studies using detailed inclusion criteria. Disagreements were resolved by consensus among authors. Half of studies assessed outcomes in both patients and physicians. Trainings including motivational interviewing (MI) assessing patient outcomes found increases in patient knowledge, satisfaction, motivation, and weight loss, respectively. Whereas, non-MI trainings assessing patient outcomes found an increase in patient weight loss, confidence and motivation, or no changes in patient outcomes. This review was the first to examine programs aimed to teach physicians to communicate with patients about weight. Future studies should examine the effect of physician communication on BMI.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1025/thumbnail.jp

What to do With Chronically Sick Animals? A Study of Pastoralists’ Decision-Making in the Far North Region of Cameroon

Received a 2nd Place award in the Social and Behavioral Sciences division at the Denman Undergraduate Research ForumPrevious literature has found that the long-term goal of African pastoralists is the healthy, longevity of the herd. However, herders in the Far North Region, Cameroon, do not always remove sick animals from their herds, which seems in direct opposition to this long-term goal. Diseases endemic to the region, such as Brucellosis, have the potential to cause fertility problems for the herd and are highly contagious. Using an ethnographic approach to capture the herders’ perspective on disease and fertility, semi-structured interviews were conducted with sedentary and mobile herders to better understand why herders decide not to sell sick animals and if disease management strategies among Far North Region pastoralists have an impact on herd fertility. Biological samples taken in the two previous years and basic demographic information collected during the interviews were compared against ethnographic information provided by the herders in order to measure the effect of disease management strategies on herd fertility. It was found that herders keep sick animals within their herds due to rational, economic reasons. Time and financial resources have been invested in each animal and selling a sick animal will result in a loss on that investment. Additionally, the prevalence of Brucellosis does not have a negative impact on herd fertility.Ecology of Infectious Diseases (EID) program from the National Science Foundation (DEB-­‐1015908)Public Health Preparedness for Infectious Diseases (PHPID) at the Ohio State UniversityEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (R24-­27 HD058484)National Science Foundation, REU grant (DEB-­‐1015908)Arts and Sciences Committee Honors International Research GrantCollege of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research ScholarshipCollege of Social and Behavioral Sciences Undergraduate Research GrantNo embarg

Must The Corporation Pay For The Sins Of The Employee After United States ex rel. Vavra v. Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., 727 F.3d 343 (5th Cir. 2013)?

This Note analyses the Fifth Circuit’s decision in United States ex rel Varva v. Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc. to award civil punitive damages against a corporation after an employee violated the Anti-Kickback Act, 41 U.S.C. §§ 51-56 (1986). The statute prohibits individuals from offering bribes to the U.S. government in exchange for preferential treatment under government contracts. Traditionally, corporations were held liable for employee violations in amounts equal to the value of the kickback. Essentially, the corporation was responsible for making the government whole in recoupment of the benefit received by the corporation. Individuals, on the other hand, suffered more stringent penalties for knowingly violating the statute. The statute punished knowing violations with $11,000 per occurrence penalties, plus the value of the kickback. InKellogg, the Fifth Circuit Court held that a corporation can be vicariously liable for knowing violations of the statute and suffer per occurrence penalties. This Note argues that the Fifth Circuit inappropriately determined that vicarious liability could be imputed to a corporation by dismissing the statute’s punitive characteristics and disregarding the application of the act-for-the-benefit-of-the-principal rule of agency. It provides background information on the Anti-Kickback Act and its applicability in government contracts. It also describes the application of vicarious liability and punitive damages under similar statutes

Documenting Death: Photojournalism and Spectacles of the Morbid in the Tabloid and Elite Press

Most broadly, this research investigates journalistic norms, the nature of photographic meaning, and the relationship between the word and image. These issues converge here in a study of photojoumalistic representations of death. This project identifies and analyzes the different visual codes constructing the massmediated experience of death produced by American photojournalism over the last three decades. This project considers how these news photos routinely envision death. What is shown? What is concealed? What can be said in words but not shown in pictures? And what significance can be attributed to these decisions? These questions are asked of the elite and popular or tabloid press. To answer the questions, I observed and interviewed American newsworkers, assessing the professional beliefs and norms that inform decisions about when and how to publish images of death. I also categorized, counted, and analyzed various types of published death photographs in two elite papers (the New York Times and Washington Post\u27) and two tabloids (the New York Post and Philadelphia Daily News). Many of my findings overturn conventional thinking about the role of photojournalism in the American press, especially as it is found in tabloid papers. I explain that while explicit pictorial depictions of death are rare, verbal accounts are not. Tabloid photojournalism, compared to that in the elite papers, is particularly reluctant to show death. The corpses shown in the elite papers often depict the foreigner’s corpse, making that body a public spectacle while preserving the privacy of the American death. When tabloid papers cover international or domestic death they are more likely than the elite papers to displace the corpse with some connotative reference to death, instead depicting, for instance, the crumpled car, leveled building, or distraught survivors. While “tabloid” or “sensational” influences are commonly blamed for increasingly saturating the press with images of blood and gore, the less respected papers have continued to shun such sights. These and other findings help us to better understand how reportorial practices routinely organize verbal and visual discourse concerning one of our most symbolic events: death

The Effect of Therapeutic Riding on Classroom Attention of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Research indicates children with disabilities benefit from therapeutic horseback riding (TR). This study examined the impact TR had on attention behaviors of five children with various developmental disabilities in a preschool classroom. Children were observed in the classroom setting twice weekly for 10 weeks on a day they participated in TR services and on a day they did not participate in TR. Single case experiments suggested there was not a significant difference in all but one child’s sustained attention in the classroom on days children received TR services. An independent samples t-test suggested there was no significant difference in scores between riding day (M\u3c./I\u3e = 1.78, SD =.247) and non-riding days (M = 1.76, SD = .262); t(87) = -.481, p = .632 for the group as a whole. Further research should be conducted to determine TR’s effect on behaviors in the classroom