bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Clostridium Difficile in Urology
Authors: Hossain M , Crook TJ , Keoghane SR 
Published: January 2008

INTRODUCTION The objective was to determine the incidence of Clostridium difficile infection in a UK urology ward from 2000 to 2005, and correlate and compare the data with other specialty wards and national figures. PATIENTS AND METHODS Urology patients with a positive stool culture for C. difficile between 2000 and 2005 were identified from a hospital database. The medical records of these patients were reviewed and data such as antibiotic use, urological diagnosis and elective/emergency status of the patient were recorded and analysed. The number of C. difficile cases on an elderly care ward, an acute medical ward and an acute surgical ward were also recorded for this period. Data on the number of admissions and occupied bed-days on all 4 wards were compared. RESULTS There were 33 cases of C. difficile on the urology ward between 2000 and 2005. The incidence of this infection varied between 10.2 and 48.4 cases per 10,000 patient episodes (mean 21.0). There was a significant difference between the number of C. difficile cases per 1000 patient days between the urology ward and the acute medical ward (P = 0.002) and the elderly care ward (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS There is no evidence to suggest that there has been an increase in the incidence of C. difficile in a UK urology ward. The rates on the urology ward were lower than the national average, and significantly lower than those rates on an acute medical ward and an elderly care ward. There is a 0.21% chance of a patient testing positive for C. difficile during their stay on a urology ward.
Change Management in a Group Dental Practice
Authors: Holt Vernon P 
Published: January 2008

The drive for quality assurance in general dental practice has arisen as a response to changing standards and demands. Dentists need to develop skills in change management in this new culture of change. Groups of practitioners often encounter difficulties when managing change, yet it is essential that they lead the process. Such problems are common among groups of professionals. A wide range of topics is presented that may, from one point of view, represent challenging or problem areas ( obstacles) for a group practice but may also, from a different point of view, provide a framework of opportunities for improvement, and facilitate the management processes within the practice and the management of change in particular ( tools). The range of skills required to assist a professional group is such that individual dentists or advisers may not be able to achieve much on their own. The best way forward may be to interpret the problems as a professional training need and to organise training as a group. These issues will be considered under the following headings: partners and teams; introduction: the need for change management; the challenge for group practices; obstacles and tools; conclusion: the way forward—a case for training.
Epistemological beliefs in child care: Implications for vocational education
Authors: Brownlee J. , Boulton‐Lewis G. , Berthelsen D. 
Published: January 2008

Background. The quality of child care is of social and economic significance worldwide. The beliefs that child care workers hold about knowing and knowledge (epistemological beliefs) influence the quality of their professional work. However, attention to epistemological beliefs is rarely a focus in vocational education programmes.Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate the nature of child care students' epistemological beliefs.Sample(s). All first‐ and second‐year students completing a Diploma of Children's Services at three separate training institutes in a large metropolitan area in Australia were invited to participate in the study. There were 46 first‐ and 31 second‐year students (77 in total, 71 females).Method. This study used semi‐structured interviews based on a child care scenario to enable students to articulate their epistemological beliefs. A descriptive‐interpretative approach in which interviews were analysed for patterns of meaning was used in the content analysis. The categories, based on the work of Kuhn and Weinstock (2002), included objectivism, subjectivism, and evaluativism. While this proved to be a useful framework, the authors remained open to new categories emerging. This constituted the interpretive component of the analysis. Therefore, the data were analysed using both data‐driven and theory‐led approaches to analysis, which still made it possible to take account of many viewpoints before arriving at the categories of beliefs. The categories were audited by a second researcher to establish trustworthiness and credibility.Results. The findings of this study revealed a range of epistemological beliefs; however, a new way of thinking about evaluativistic beliefs called ‘basic evaluativism’ emerged. This view of knowledge relates to the construction of evidence‐based practice rather than knowledge as is typically the case in evaluativistic beliefs.Conclusions. Implications for the need to address epistemological beliefs in vocational education programmes for child care workers are discussed.
The influence of context‐specific and dispositional achievement goals on children's paired collaborative interaction
Authors: Harris Amanda , Yuill Nicola , Luckin Rosemary 
Published: January 2008

Background. Research has demonstrated that working collaboratively can have positive effects on children's learning. While key factors have been identified which influence the quality of these interactions, little research has addressed the influence of children's achievement goals on collaborative behaviour.Aims. This paper investigates the influence of mastery and performance goals on the nature of children's collaborative participation while playing a problem‐solving computer game with a peer.Sample. Forty‐eight primary schoolchildren aged 8–10 years were divided into two groups: those displaying strong personal goal preferences (dispositional group: N = 14) and those whose goal preferences were context‐dependent, displaying no consistent bias for either mastery or performance goals (context‐dependent: N = 34). Children were paired on the basis of same gender, year group, and goal orientation.Method. Context‐dependent pairs were assigned to either a mastery or a performance condition in which they received goal‐focused instructions. Dispositional pairs received only the instructions to collaborate given to all groups. Collaborative sessions were videotaped and interactions coded.Results. Children who were assigned mastery goals engaged in significantly more elaborated problem‐solving discussion whilst children who were assigned performance goals engaged in more executive help seeking and displayed lower levels of metacognitive control. Dispositional pairs shared some similar patterns, according to goal orientation, as context‐dependent pairs.Conclusions. Goal‐focused instructions can be used to influence the nature and quality of children's paired interactions. Instructing children towards mastery goals appears to promote a more collaborative style of interaction.
Acting on voices: Omnipotence, sources of threat, and safety‐seeking behaviours
Authors: Hacker David. , Birchwood Max. , Tudway Jeremy. , Meaden Alan. , Amphlett Catherine. 
Published: January 2008

ObjectivesPrevious research indicates that beliefs about voice power and omnipotence are associated with distress, depression, and compliance. The present study investigates whether acting on voices to mitigate perceived threat, in a broader sense than compliance, is driven by delusional beliefs, as the Chadwick, Birchwood, and Trower cognitive‐behavioural model of voices would suggest. The role of safety behaviours in maintaining beliefs about voice omnipotence and distress is also examined.DesignA cross‐sectional investigation of 30 individuals with current experience of auditory verbal hallucinations was conducted.MethodParticipants were assessed on self‐report measures of voice topography, voice‐related threat and distress, safety behaviour use, beliefs about voices, and depression and anxiety.ResultsThree sources of threat were identified: physical harm, shame, and loss of control. Twenty‐six individuals had recently used safety behaviours, believing them to be effective in threat reduction. The degree of safety behaviour use and voice‐related distress were associated with voice omnipotence beliefs; mood or voice characteristics did not account for this relationship. The association of safety behaviours with increased distress was mediated by beliefs about voice omnipotence.ConclusionsActing on voices can be conceptualized as a form of safety seeking, associated with maintaining beliefs about voice omnipotence and distress.
Measuring criminal thinking styles: The construct validity and utility of the PICTS in a Dutch prison sample
Authors: Bulten Erik , Nijman Henk , van der Staak Cees 
Published: January 2008

Purpose. Criminal thinking and thinking styles are important areas in the assessment and treatment of offenders. The Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS: Walters, 2005) is designed to assess such criminal thinking styles. In the current study, the associations between criminal thinking styles on the one hand, and criminal histories, personality traits, and mental disorders of Dutch prisoners on the other, were explored. The aim is to test the reliability and construct validity of the PICTS in a population of male Dutch detainees.Methods. A sample of 191 randomly selected male prisoners of a large Dutch correctional institution were assessed by means of the PICTS, NEO‐PI‐R, and the MINI psychiatric interview. Prison inmates with very severe psychiatric symptoms and severe disruptive behaviours were excluded.Results. The psychometric qualities of the PICTS were found to be fair‐to‐good. The construct validity of the PICTS was supported by various convergent results with the criminal antecedents of the offenders, as well as with the scores on the scales measuring personality traits and psychiatric disorders.Conclusions. The associations between criminal thinking styles on the one hand and personality traits, antisocial personality disorder, and mental disorders on the other were rather strong. The current results suggest that the PICTS may be a valid and useful tool for assessing criminal thinking styles.
The relationship between job status, interviewing experience, gender, and police officers' adherence to open‐ended questions
Authors: Smith Rebecca M. , Powell Martine B. , Lum Jarrad 
Published: January 2008

Purpose. The current study examined whether several factors related to the job and demographic profile of police officers are associated with adherence to best‐practice guidelines when interviewing children.Method. One hundred and seventy‐eight police officers completed a standardized (simulated) interview regarding an allegation of abuse by a 5‐year‐old child. Immediately prior to this interview, details were obtained from the officers' regarding their job status, gender, interview experience, the timing and nature of prior training/supervision, and experience outside the policing profession with young children.Results. The results showed that timing of training was the only factor that related to interview performance. The proportion of open‐ended questions among participants who completed their interviewer training course less than 1 month prior to the simulated interview was better than those who completed the training earlier. Interestingly, the performance of the latter group was identical to that of a group of participants who had not yet received any formal interview training. The implications of the findings are discussed, along with directions for future research.
Childbirth‐related post‐traumatic stress disorder in couples: A qualitative study
Authors: Nicholls Karen , Ayers Susan 
Published: January 2008

Objectives. Previous research has established that women can develop childbirth‐related post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but the effect of this on a couple's relationship has not been examined. This study aimed to look at the experience and impact of childbirth‐related PTSD in women and their partners.Design. This was a qualitative interview study of six couples, where at least one partner had clinically significant symptoms of childbirth‐related PTSD.Methods. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted separately with each partner and interview transcripts subjected to thematic analysis.Results. Analysis identified four themes with 18 subthemes as follows: (1) birth factors (pain, negative emotions in labour, perceived lack of control, lack of choice or lack of involvement in decision‐making, restricted movement or physical restraint, and expectations not being met); (2) quality of care (information provision, staff factors, continuity of care and environment); (3) effects on relationship with partner (impact on physical relationship, communication within the relationship, negative emotions within the relationship, receiving or giving support from partner, coping together as a couple and overall effect on the relationship); and (4) effects on relationship with child (perceptions of the child and parent‐baby bond).Conclusions. This study suggests that PTSD may have a negative impact on the couple's relationship and the parent–baby bond.
Testing the usability of access structures in a health education brochure
Authors: Kools Marieke , Ruiter Robert A. C. , van de Wiel Margaretha W. J. , Kok Gerjo 
Published: January 2008

Objectives. In health education, the design of written materials is seldom subject to experimental tests. Using insights from cognitive‐ergonomic literature on usability we tested a brochure against three stepwise improved versions. Effects were assessed of pictorials that flagged references in the brochure text, the use of tabs and colour coding of these pictorials and tabs, on finding information in the brochure.Methods. One hundred Dutch adults from the general population were videotaped while looking up search items. Dependent measures relating to search effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction and learnability were extracted.Results. Results showed a general inferiority of the original brochure. The presence of coloured tabs and pictorials contributed to a more usable brochure design, although errors were still made.Conclusion. It is concluded that this kind of research may provide valuable insights for more effective health education material design and thus contributes to the effectiveness of health education practice.
Using the affective priming paradigm to explore the attitudes underlying walking behaviour
Authors: Eves Frank F. , Scott Emma J. , Hoppé Roberta , French David P. 
Published: January 2008

Objectives. Walking is poorly represented in memory, making it difficult to measure using self‐report and even harder to predict. To circumvent this, we used the affective priming paradigm (Fazio, Sanbonmatsu, Powell, & Kardes, 1986) to assess implicit attitudes towards walking.Methods. Royal Air Force trainee aircraftsmen (N = 188) wore pedometers for 1 week prior to completing the affective priming paradigm, questionnaire and interview. The affective priming paradigm involved a computer‐based response latency task containing physical activity words as primes followed by adjectives as targets to be evaluated. Targets were drawn from two bipolar dichotomies, good–bad (the original Fazio et al. items) and happy–sad (mood).Results. Priming for mood items was related to levels of physical activity with high frequency participants priming for the positive (happy) pole and low frequency participants priming for the negative (sad). Both groups primed for the negative element of the Fazio (good–bad) dichotomy. Regarding walking and running, there was no differentiation on the basis of participation level. Instead, facilitated responses to happy targets contrasted with inhibited responses to sad targets for both types of locomotion. There was weak evidence that intentions to run were associated with priming of positive target items, irrespective of category.Conclusions. The relationship between implicit attitudes and behaviour is complex. Whereas implicit attitudes were related to overall exercise participation, they were not related to the specific activity of walking, despite the behaviour being mainly under automatic control.
The theory of planned behaviour predicts self‐reports of walking, but does not predict step count
Authors: Scott Emma J. , Eves Frank F. , French David P. , Hoppé Roberta 
Published: January 2008

Objectives. This paper compares multiple measures of walking in two studies, and the second study compares how well Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) constructs perform in predicting these different measures.Methods. In Study 1, 41 participants wore a New Lifestyles NL‐2000 pedometer for 1 week. Subsequently, participants completed a questionnaire containing measures of the TPB constructs and two self‐report measures of walking, followed by two interview measures of walking. For Study 2, 200 RAF trainee aircraftsmen wore pedometers for 2 weeks. At the end of each week, participants completed the questionnaire and interview measures of walking.Results. Both studies found no significant association between questionnaire measures of walking and pedometer measures. In Study 1, the interview measures produced significant, large correlations with the pedometer measure, but these relationships were markedly weaker in the second study. TPB variables were found to explain 22% of variance in intention to walk in Study 1 and 45% of the variance in Study 2. In Study 2, prediction of subsequent measures of behaviour was found to be weak, except when using a single‐item measure of walking.Conclusions. Recall of walking is poor, and accurate measurement by self‐report is problematic. Although the TPB predicts intentions to walk well, it does not predict actual amount of walking, as assessed by pedometer. Possible reasons for these findings include the unique nature of walking as an activity primarily used to facilitate higher order goals. The use of single‐item measures may exaggerate the effectiveness of the TPB model for walking, and possibly other forms of physical activity.
Expressive writing and post‐traumatic stress disorder: Effects on trauma symptoms, mood states, and cortisol reactivity
Authors: Smyth Joshua M. , Hockemeyer Jill R. , Tulloch Heather 
Published: January 2008

Objectives. This study investigates the boundary conditions (feasibility, safety, and efficacy) of an expressive writing intervention for individuals with post‐traumatic stress disorder [PTSD].Design. Randomized trial with baseline and 3‐month follow‐up measures of PTSD severity and symptoms, mood states, post‐traumatic growth, and (post‐only) cortisol reactivity to trauma‐related stress.Methods. Volunteers with a verified diagnosis of PTSD (N = 25) were randomly assigned to an experimental group (writing about their traumatic experience) or control group (writing about time management).Results. Expressive writing was acceptable to patients with PTSD and appeared safe to utilize. No changes in PTSD diagnosis or symptoms were observed, but significant improvements in mood and post‐traumatic growth were observed in the expressive writing group. Finally, expressive writing greatly attenuated neuroendocrine (cortisol) responses to trauma‐related memories.Conclusions. The present study provides insight into several boundary conditions of expressive writing. Writing did not decrease PTSD‐related symptom severity. Although patients continue to exhibit the core features of PTSD, their capacity to regulate those responses appears improved following expressive writing. Dysphoric mood decreased after writing and when exposed to traumatic memories, participants' physiological response is reduced and their recovery enhanced.
Written emotional disclosure and processing of trauma are associated with protected health status and immunity in people living with HIV/AIDS
Authors: O'Cleirigh Conall , Ironson Gail , Fletcher Mary Ann , Schneiderman Neil 
Published: January 2008

Objective. This study compared written emotional disclosure and processing of trauma among a relatively rare group of people with AIDS with atypically favourable disease status with an HIV+ comparison group. The study also examined the mediational role of emotional/cognitive processing and natural killer (NK) cells.Design. This study utilized a cross‐sectional group comparison design.Method. Two HIV+ groups, the Healthy Survivors (N = 37;>9‐months with <50 CD4 cells/mm3 and asymptomatic), and an HIV+ comparison groups (N = 100) wrote essays describing their reactions to past traumas; these were scored for emotional disclosure/processing.Results. Healthy survivors had higher levels of emotional disclosure and emotional/cognitive processing than the comparison group. Emotional/cognitive processing mediated the relationship between emotional disclosure and group membership. NK cell number mediated the relationship between emotional/cognitive processing and ‘healthy survival’.Conclusions. The results suggest that higher levels of emotional disclosure and processing of trauma may confer health and immunological benefits to people living with HIV/AIDS.
Who does expressive writing work for? Examination of alexithymia, splitting, and repressive coping style as moderators of the expressive writing paradigm
Authors: Baikie Karen A. 
Published: January 2008

Objective. This paper examines the moderating influence of alexithymia, splitting, and repressive coping style in the expressive writing paradigm.Method. Eighty‐eight university students randomized to four weekly 20‐minute expressive or neutral writing sessions, with 1‐month follow‐up.Results. Expressive writing was more beneficial for individuals scoring higher on alexithymia and splitting, but not repressive coping.Conclusions. Future research should include personality measures in explorations of expressive writing to further understand the boundary conditions of the expressive writing paradigm.
Poor cognitive‐emotional processing may impede the outcome of emotional disclosure interventions
Authors: van Middendorp Henriët , Geenen Rinie 
Published: January 2008

Objectives. To examine the potential relevance of alexithymia and induced cognitive–emotional processing for the efficacy of emotional disclosure.Methods. Associations were examined of alexithymia and emotional and cognitive word use with self‐assessed psychological and disease activity outcome in 37 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (23 females; mean age 58 years).Results. Cognitive and positive emotion word use during the disclosure sessions predicted improved psychological well‐being but not disease activity after the intervention. Negative emotion word use and alexithymia did not significantly predict outcome.Conclusion. Our study suggests that poor cognitive–emotional processing may impede the outcome of emotional disclosure interventions.