Returning children from public care

Research Briefing 4

Pubic Lice (Pthirus pubis): History, Biology and Treatment vs. Knowledge and Beliefs of US College Students

Pubic lice (Pthirus pubis) maintain a worldwide parasitic population infesting two to over 10 percent of human populations, continuing a presence that has been constant since early evidence 10,000 years ago. Outbreaks in the 1970s have been recorded, but incomplete records preclude description of a definitive population cycle. Current levels of infestation in a US college student population were investigated in this study. Knowledge and opinions of students were also recorded in an online survey administered to college students taking a basic health course at a mid-sized East Coast University. In a group of 817 students, 35 reported experience with pubic lice or other STD infection. Knowledge, beliefs, and treatment attitudes were examined for the 782 students who did not have experience with either pubic lice or STD infection. These students deemed antibiotics as a viable treatment for pubic lice infestation. They also indicated negative attitudes toward the use of pesticide crèmes, which are the most useful prescription. Symptoms and transmission myths in student answers are described. Publisher's version available at: http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/6/2

Promising Payment Reform: Risk-Sharing With Accountable Care Organizations

Describes the implementation of shared payer-provider risk payment models at eight private accountable care organizations. Analyzes challenges for providers, purchasers, and payers, including securing the infrastructure for successful risk management

Penalty structures and seterrence in a swo-stage model: Experimental evidence

Increasing penalty structures for repeat offenses are ubiquitous in penal codes, despite little empirical or theoretical support. Multi-period models of criminal enforcement based on the standard economic approach of Becker (1968) generally find that the optimal penalty structure is either flat or declining. We experimentally test a two-stage theoretical model that predicts decreasing penalty structures will yield greater deterrence than increasing penalty structures. We find that decreasing fine structures are more effective at reducing risky behavior. Additionally, our econometric analyses reveal a number of behavioral findings. Subjects are deterred by past convictions, even though the probability of detection is independent across decisions. Further, subjects appear to take the two-stage nature of the decision making task into account, suggesting that subjects consider both current and future penalties. Even controlling for the fine a subject faces for any given decision, being in a decreasing fine structure has a significant effect on deterrence

Hermitian unitary matrices with modular permutation symmetry

We study Hermitian unitary matrices $\mathcal{S}\in\mathbb{C}^{n,n}$ with the following property: There exist $r\geq0$ and $t>0$ such that the entries of $\mathcal{S}$ satisfy $|\mathcal{S}_{jj}|=r$ and $|\mathcal{S}_{jk}|=t$ for all $j,k=1,\ldots,n$, $j\neq k$. We derive necessary conditions on the ratio $d:=r/t$ and show that these conditions are very restrictive except for the case when $n$ is even and the sum of the diagonal elements of $\S$ is zero. Examples of families of matrices $\mathcal{S}$ are constructed for $d$ belonging to certain intervals. The case of real matrices $\mathcal{S}$ is examined in more detail. It is demonstrated that a real $\mathcal{S}$ can exist only for $d=\frac{n}{2}-1$, or for $n$ even and $\frac{n}{2}+d\equiv1\pmod 2$. We provide a detailed description of the structure of real $\mathcal{S}$ with $d\geq\frac{n}{4}-\frac{3}{2}$, and derive a sufficient and necessary condition of their existence in terms of the existence of certain symmetric $(v,k,\lambda)$-designs. We prove that there exist no real $\mathcal{S}$ with $d\in\left(\frac{n}{6}-1,\frac{n}{4}-\frac{3}{2}\right)$. A parametrization of Hermitian unitary matrices is also proposed, and its generalization to general unitary matrices is given. At the end of the paper, the role of the studied matrices in quantum mechanics on graphs is briefly explained.Comment: revised version, 21 page

Evaluation of older people\u27s knowledge, awareness, motivation and perceptions about falls and falls prevention in residential aged care homes: A tale of two cities

Falls prevention strategies can only be effective in reducing falls amongst older people if they are adopted and enacted in their daily lives. There is limited evidence identifying what older people in residential aged care (RAC) homes understand about falls and falls prevention, or what may limit or enable their adoption of strategies. This study was conducted in two countries and explored older people’s knowledge and awareness of falls and their preferences, opportunities and motivation to undertake falls prevention strategies. A cross-sectional survey was administered to participants (N = 70) aged 65 years and over, living in six RAC homes in Perth, Australia and six RAC homes in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Participants had limited knowledge about intrinsic falls risk factors and strategies to address these and frequently expressed self-blame regarding falling. Almost all (N = 67, 95.7%) participants felt highly motivated to maintain their current functional mobility and independence in everyday tasks. Key preferences for receiving falls prevention messages favoured a positive approach promoting wellness and independence (N = 41, 58.6%) via pictorial posters or brochures (N = 37, 52.9%) and small group discussions preferably with demonstrations (N = 18, 25.7%). Findings from this study may assist organisations and staff to more effectively engage with older people living in RAC about falls prevention and design targeted resources to address the motivations and preferences of this population

Performance on Middle School Geometry Problems with Geometry Clues Matched to Three Different Cognitive Styles

This study investigated the relationship between 3 ability-based cognitive styles (verbal deductive, spatial imagery, and object imagery) and performance on geometry problems that provided different types of clues. The purpose was to determine whether students with a specific cognitive style outperformed other students, when the geometry problems provided clues compatible with their cognitive style. Students were identified as having a particular cognitive style when they scored equal to or above the median on the measure assessing this ability. A geometry test was developed in which each problem could be solved on the basis of verbal reasoning clues (matching verbal deductive cognitive style), mental rotation clues (matching spatial imagery cognitive style), or shape memory clues (matching object imagery cognitive style). Straightforward cognitive style–clue-compatibility relationships were not supported. Instead, for the geometry problems with either mental rotation or shape memory clues, students with a combination of both verbal and spatial cognitive styles tended to do the best. For the problems with verbal reasoning clues, students with either a verbal or a spatial cognitive style did well, with each cognitive style contributing separately to success. Thus, both spatial imagery and verbal deductive cognitive styles were important for solving geometry problems, whereas object imagery was not. For girls, a spatial imagery cognitive style was advantageous for geometry problem solving, regardless of type of clues provided.Psycholog

Playing with Death: The Potential for Violent Video Games to Induce Mortality Salience

Mortality salience, the realization of the inevitability of death, creates intense psychological terror within humans. Terror Management Theory posits that particular behavioral patterns, such as establishing and defending a worldview, reduce this terror (Greenberg et al., 1990). Behaviors due to mortality salience are strikingly similar to behaviors seen with violent video games. Violent video games may induce mortality salience in video game players, thus some of the outcomes of violent video games may be in part due to mortality salience. This paper will provide an explanation of mortality salience and Terror Management Theory, investigate behavioral patterns surrounding mortality salience and violent video games, propose a study exploring if violent video games can induce mortality salience, and discuss implications of mortality salience within violent video games

Visual Framing: A Study in Face-ism from the Websites for the 108th United States Congress.

Websites are being used by increasing numbers to target a market with a message unfiltered by the media. This content analysis examined the website front-screens for the members of the 108th United States Congress to determine if the photographic images displayed reinforced the media\u27s stereotypical frame of female politicians. A total of 3,892 photographic images were captured from 540 websites and coded using the face-ism index. Overall, the results supported the face-ism theory. Images of females were cropped lower on their bodies than images of males. The face-ism effect was not supported until the number of people in the photograph numbered six or more. Results revealed that photographic images of female representatives and senators were cropped no differently than their male peers. The research indicated females in Congress are successful in framing their own image but future website designs can portray a positive frame for all females presented on Congressional websites