Erroneous Beliefs Research Articles

Flexible Sigmoidoscopy and CT Colonography Screening: Patients’ Experience with and Factors for Undergoing Screening—Insight from the Proteus Colon Trial

Purpose To compare the acceptability of computed tomographic (CT) colonography and flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) screening and the factors predicting CT colonographic screening participation, targeting participants in a randomized screening trial. Materials and Methods Eligible individuals aged 58 years (n = 1984) living in Turin, Italy, were randomly assigned to be invited to screening for colorectal cancer with FS or CT colonography. After individuals who had died or moved away (n = 28) were excluded, 264 of 976 (27.0%) underwent screening with FS and 298 of 980 (30.4%) underwent CT colonography. All attendees and a sample of CT colonography nonattendees (n = 299) were contacted for a telephone interview 3-6 months after invitation for screening, and screening experience and factors affecting participation were investigated. Odds ratios (ORs) were computed by means of multivariable logistic regression. Results For the telephone interviews, 239 of 264 (90.6%) FS attendees, 237 of 298 (79.5%) CT colonography attendees, and 182 of 299 (60.9%) CT colonography nonattendees responded. The percentage of attendees who would recommend the test to friends or relatives was 99.1% among FS and 93.3% among CT colonography attendees. Discomfort associated with bowel preparation was higher among CT colonography than FS attendees (OR, 2.77; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.47, 5.24). CT colonography nonattendees were less likely to be men (OR, 0.36; 95% CI: 0.18, 0.71), retired (OR, 0.31; 95% CI: 0.13, 0.75), to report regular physical activity (OR, 0.37; 95% CI: 0.20, 0.70), or to have read the information leaflet (OR, 0.18; 95% CI: 0.08, 0.41). They were more likely to mention screening-related anxiety (mild: OR, 6.30; 95% CI: 2.48, 15.97; moderate or severe: OR, 3.63; 95% CI: 1.87, 7.04), erroneous beliefs about screening (OR, 32.15; 95% CI: 6.26, 165.19), or having undergone a recent fecal occult blood test (OR, 13.69; 95% CI: 3.66, 51.29). Conclusion CT colonography and FS screening are well accepted, but further reducing the discomfort from bowel preparation may increase CT colonography screening acceptability. Negative attitudes, erroneous beliefs about screening, and organizational barriers are limiting screening uptake; all these factors are modifiable and therefore potentially susceptible to interventions. © RSNA, 2017 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

INTENSITY AND GAMBLING HARMS: EXPLORING BREADTH OF GAMBLING INVOLVEMENT AMONG ESPORTS BETTORS

Gaming Law ReviewVol. 21, No. 8 Brief ReportINTENSITY AND GAMBLING HARMS: EXPLORING BREADTH OF GAMBLING INVOLVEMENT AMONG ESPORTS BETTORSSally M. Gainsbury, Brett Abarbanel, and Alex BlaszczynskiSally M. GainsburySearch for more papers by this author, Brett AbarbanelSearch for more papers by this author, and Alex BlaszczynskiSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:1 Oct 2017https://doi.org/10.1089/glr2.2017.21812AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail View articleFiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byShort-term cognitive impacts of electronic gaming machines with and without a skill-based component: A comparative laboratory study26 August 2022 | Frontiers in Psychiatry, Vol. 13Motivations for Esports Betting and Skin Gambling and Their Association with Gambling Frequency, Problems, and Harm8 July 2022 | Journal of Gambling Studies, Vol. 14Adolescent betting on esports using cash and skins: Links with gaming, monetary gambling, and problematic gambling5 May 2022 | PLOS ONE, Vol. 17, No. 5Skin Gambling Contributes to Gambling Problems and Harm After Controlling for Other Forms of Traditional Gambling25 February 2022 | Journal of Gambling Studies, Vol. 20The importance of incorporating relevant-added value into esports sponsorships2 December 2021 | Journal of Contemporary Marketing Science, Vol. 4, No. 3Are esports bettors a new generation of harmed gamblers? A comparison with sports bettors on gambling involvement, problems, and harmJournal of Behavioral Addictions, Vol. 10, No. 3Between two worlds: Exploring esports betting in relation to problem gambling, gaming, and mental health problemsJournal of Behavioral Addictions, Vol. 10, No. 3Online Gambling Activity, Pay-to-Win Payments, Motivation to Gamble and Coping Strategies as Predictors of Gambling Disorder Among e-sports Bettors10 March 2021 | Journal of Gambling Studies, Vol. 13The gamblification of digital games23 March 2021 | Journal of Consumer Culture, Vol. 21, No. 1Impacts of the COVID-19 Shutdown on Gambling Patterns in AustraliaJournal of Addiction Medicine, Vol. Publish Ahead of PrintA qualitative study of participant experience with skill gaming machines in comparison to electronic gaming machines30 July 2020 | International Gambling Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3Defining the esports bettor: evidence from an online panel survey of emerging adults6 October 2020 | International Gambling Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3Skill gambling machines and electronic gaming machines: participation, erroneous beliefs, and understanding of outcomes19 October 2020 | International Gambling Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3Skill-Based Electronic Gaming Machines: a Review of Product Structures, Risks of Harm, and Policy Issues22 April 2020 | Current Addiction Reports, Vol. 7, No. 2Beyond loot boxes: a variety of gambling-like practices in video games are linked to both problem gambling and disordered gaming14 July 2020 | PeerJ, Vol. 8Gambling disorder25 July 2019 | Nature Reviews Disease Primers, Vol. 5, No. 1Isolating the impact of specific gambling activities and modes on problem gambling and psychological distress in internet gamblers25 October 2019 | BMC Public Health, Vol. 19, No. 1How Society’s Negative View of Videogames Can Discourage Brands from Sponsoring eSports27 December 2019eSports, skins and loot boxes: Participants, practices and problematic behaviour associated with emergent forms of gambling16 July 2018 | New Media & Society, Vol. 21, No. 1 Volume 21Issue 8Oct 2017 InformationCopyright 2017, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.To cite this article:Sally M. Gainsbury, Brett Abarbanel, and Alex Blaszczynski.INTENSITY AND GAMBLING HARMS: EXPLORING BREADTH OF GAMBLING INVOLVEMENT AMONG ESPORTS BETTORS.Gaming Law Review.Oct 2017.610-615.http://doi.org/10.1089/glr2.2017.21812Published in Volume: 21 Issue 8: October 1, 2017Keywordsonline gamblingesportsbettingintensityinvolvementfrequencygambling problemsPDF download

Kinesiophobia, functional disability and physical deconditioning evaluation in chronic low back pain

Chronic low back pain, which represents only 5 to 10% of the cases, is the cause of high health and social costs. Non-specific chronic low back pain has negative effects for physical activities and patient psychology. The aim of this study was to evaluate kinesiophobia, functional abilities and physical deconditioning in a population with chronic low back pain. The Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK) Arabic version was used to evaluate pain beliefs and fear of movement/(re) injury. To evaluate functional abilities, we used both Oswestry Disability index (ODI) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) of functional discomfort. Pain intensity was measured in calculating VAS of pain intensity. In order to assess endurance-responses, the following tests were used: Sorensen and Shirado tests. In addition, we studied relations between Kinesiophobia, Pain Intensity, Functional Disabilities and Endurance tests. To verify the significance of the correlations between the different variables, we used the Spearman correlation coefficient. The significance level was set at 5% ( P < 0.05). A total of 50 patients with non-specific chronic low back pain were recruited from Department of Physical Medicine and Functional Rehabilitation, Habib Bourguiba University Hospital of Sfax, Tunisia. The average Kinesiophobia score was high in our patients (48.5 ± 10.2). The mean Oswestry index was 34.4 ± 12.5%, whereas the functional VAS was 5.86 ± 2.13. High positive correlation was founded between global score of TSK and ODI ( r = 0.6, P < 0.001). Moreover, TSK was significantly correlated with VAS of functional discomfort ( r = 0.7, P < 0.001) and VAS of pain intensity ( r = 0.46, P = 0.001). About endurance variables, TSK showed negative correlations according Shirado test ( r = −0.51, P < 0.001) and Sorensen test ( r = −0.39, P = 0.004) on a moderate to low level. Given these results, Kinesiophobia presents a real problem in chronic low back pain patients since it has been significantly correlated with functional abilities and physical deconditioning. We intend to propose multidisciplinary therapeutic management programs. These programs will rely on psychological education and cognitive-behavioral therapies that allow patients to change their erroneous beliefs and to promote functional recovery.

A youth curfew: A retrospective view of the rise, fall and legacy of the Northbridge Policy

AbstractThis article presents policy, practice and theory implications of a case study of a youth curfew. The original case study of the Northbridge Policy Project set out to document the purposes of the Northbridge Policy, how policy was implemented, and to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach as a generalised response to child welfare and youth crime. The study synthesised data from multiple sources. The original study concluded that although the project was well resourced, well managed and had improved greatly inter‐agency collaboration for child protection, these benefits could have been achieved without the curfew, which undermined some preventative aspects of the project. The evaluation also concluded that previously documented successes of the curfew for crime protection and child protection had been achieved through displacement of young people to other locations that neither reduced crime nor increase safety. After the project was suddenly curtailed, analysis used moral panic theory to examine the legacy of the Northbridge curfew in terms of discourse about young people and legitimation of subsequent practices in youth policing. The analysis found that the legacy had been unhelpful because it reinforced the erroneous beliefs that the curfew had been an effective and necessary component of strategy.

Understanding the context of novel interventions for self-injurious thoughts and behaviors: A reply to Nielsen et al.

In this response to the commentary by Nielsen, Kirtley, & Townsend (in press), the authors note several points of agreement related to further testing of therapeutic evaluative conditioning (TEC) for self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs), navigating logistical and ethical issues surrounding mobile interventions, and integrating such interventions into traditional practice. They also note a common mission held by Nielsen et al., themselves, and the SITB research community more broadly: the large-scale reduction of SITBs. Given that national rates of SITBs have never declined appreciably and have been on the rise in recent decades, there is an urgent need for progress toward this goal. However, they also highlight several unsupported or inaccurate assumptions and specific points made by Nielsen et al. that are important to correct for the sake of accuracy and progress in the prediction and prevention of SITBs. These include an overly narrow conceptualization of what constitutes an intervention; an unsupported model of the causes of SITBs and how to best prevent them; an erroneous belief about the iatrogenic effects of SITB stimulus exposure; and inaccuracies in their description of the development, testing, and release of TEC. The authors hope that this brief discussion of the evidence will facilitate progress toward the mission of large-scale reductions in SITBs. (PsycINFO Database Record

Use of necrophagous insects as evidence of cadaver relocation: myth or reality?

The use of insects as indicators of post-mortem displacement is discussed in many texts, courses and TV shows, and several studies addressing this issue have been published. Although the concept is widely cited, it is poorly understood, and only a few forensic cases have successfully applied such a method. The use of necrophagous insects as evidence of cadaver relocation actually involves a wide range of biological aspects. Distribution, microhabitat, phenology, behavioral ecology, and molecular analysis are among the research areas associated with this topic. This article provides the first review of the current knowledge and addresses the potential and limitations of different methods to evaluate their applicability. This work reveals numerous weaknesses and erroneous beliefs as well as many possibilities and research opportunities.

Not the Last Word: Viscosupplementation, Opioid Overuse, and the Excesses of Empathy.

Not the Last Word: Viscosupplementation, Opioid Overuse, and the Excesses of Empathy.

The Formal, Normative Theories of Savage, De Finetti, and Savage and De Finetti Require Additivity. They Never Introduced Sub or Non Additivity (Interval Valued Probability, Imprecise Probability, Indeterminate Probability) into Their Formal, Normative Theories of Subjective Probability or of Maximizing Subjective Expected Utility

George Boole was the first scholar to present a rigorous, mathematically derived, concept of upper and lower probability with a large number of applications in 1854 in The Laws of Thought. Boole made it clear that this was due to the existence of missing or insufficient information, evidence or knowledge. Boole mentioned a number of times that the problems under consideration would always have incomplete or insufficient data. He termed these kinds of problems as being logically indeterminate. If, however, there was no missing or unavailable information, then the upper and the lower probabilities will become equal to each other. There will no longer be any interval valued, or upper and lower, probabilities. There will be a determinate, exact or precise probability. Additivity will always hold. Keynes introduced his weight of the argument,V,a logical relation, in chapter 6 of the A Treatise on Probability. Its purpose was to grade single pieces of data or evidence. Thus V1(h/x1 x2 x3)>V2(h/ x1 x2) means that the weight of the argument, V1, is greater than V2. The comparable mathematical representation of V was accomplished by Keynes with his weight of the evidence variable, w. w was defined on p.315 of the A Treatise on Probability in chapter 26. W was defined on the unit interval [0,1], just like probability is defined on the unit interval between 0 and 1. A w=1 meant that there was no missing or unavailable evidence or knowledge. The evidence is complete. If w=1, then there can’t be any upper and lower probability estimates. Only if w<1 can interval valued probabilities be defined. If w=0, then no probability can be defined. This is G L S Shackle’s argument. Keynes integrated w into his decision weight formula, c. Keynes called c a “conventional coefficient of weight and risk”. C is defined as being equal to p [1/(1 q)][2w/(1 w)]. One obtains a decision rule when c is multiplied by the outcome A or the utility of the outcome, U(A ), and the adjective ‘Maximize’ is appended. [1/(1 q)] models probability preferences, which are assumed to be linear by Subjectivists. [2w/(1 w)] models weight, w, non linearly. W introduces sub and non additivity. Ellsberg, in a manner similar to Keynes, in 1961 modeled what he defined as the ambiguity of the evidence or data by a variable he defined as rho, ρ, where rho measures the degree of ambiguity. ρ, like Keynes’s w, is defined on the interval [0,1]. A rho equal to 0 means that there is no ambiguity. A rho equal to 1 means that complete ambiguity exists. Interval valued probabilities, based on Ellsberg’s analysis of the work of Smith and Good, is recommended by Ellsberg (Ellsberg,pp.111-125), in cases where 0<ρ<1. Feduzi, Runde and Zappia (2012, 2014, 2017) have claimed repeatedly that de Finetti and Savage formally allowed imprecise and indeterminate probabilities to be used by decision makers in their normative theory of decision making. The only way in which this can be formally incorporated into a decision theory is by the use of a variable similar to Keynes’s w or Ellsberg’s ρ. Nowhere in anything written by de Finetti and/or Savage in their lifetimes does any such variable appear in their formal theoretical analysis or in any of their supporting axioms. Savage stated that he did not know how to integrate such a variable, to take account of vagueness, into the additive probability measure that represented his formal, normative theory. Feduzi, Runde and Zappia (2012, 2014, 2017) have misinterpreted the de Finetti and Savage concerns and sympathy for vacillating, indecisive decision makers, confronted with vague and ambiguous evidence, with their recognition that defining one’s personal probabilities can be difficult, with the erroneous and mistaken belief that de Finetti and Savage incorporated a role for imprecise and indeterminate probabilities within their formal, subjectivist, normative theory of probability and their SEU decision theory that rests completely on additive probability. Feduzi, Runde and Zappia need to cite and show exactly where, in any written article, book, or co-authored paper, that Savage, de Finetti, or Savage and de Finetti introduced sub or non additivity into their formal, normative model. If they are unable to do so, then they need to publicly withdraw their claims in the journals in which they published their claims.

Promoting responsible gambling via prevention messages: insights from the evaluation of actual European messages

Prevention messages are short sentences supposed to broadcast preventive intentions. Three types of messages are noticeable: messages correcting erroneous beliefs, messages informing about the risks and messages promoting responsible gambling. While the results in the literature about messages promoting results are alerting, they are frequently used in European prevention campaigns. The present study relied on language and semantics models to evaluate the communicative and preventive values of 14 messages: 7 were actual European prevention messages and 7 messages were created for the study. Overall, 339 participants answered an online questionnaire in which they evaluated the communicative value of one of the messages and then ranked all the messages according to their preventive level. Results showed that messages informing about the risks and messages correcting erroneous beliefs have a higher level of communicative value than messages promoting responsible gambling. Indeed, the latter are judged as more ambiguous and as less preventive than the two other types of messages. As models of conversational pragmatics suggest that ambiguous messages convey at least two interpretations, the article discusses the possibility that individuals comprehend these messages as incentives to control their impulses (prevention) and incentives to control the game (promotion).

Do Cancer-Related Beliefs Influence the Severity, Incidence, and Persistence of Psychological Symptoms?

Previous studies have suggested that negative beliefs about cancer may impair patients' psychological well-being, but only a few of these studies focused on specific psychological symptoms, and many were cross-sectional. The aim of this study was to investigate longitudinally the relationship of cancer-related cognitions with the severity, incidence, and persistence of anxiety, fear of cancer recurrence, depression, and insomnia symptoms during an 18-month period. Patients scheduled to undergo surgery for cancer (N = 962) completed a questionnaire assessing cancer-related cognitions at baseline (T1), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the severity subscale of the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory, and the Insomnia Severity Index at baseline (T1) and 2 (T2), 6 (T3), 10 (T4), 14 (T5), and 18 (T6) months later. Group × time factorial analyses using mixed models revealed that participants endorsing more negative cancer-related cognitions consistently reported more severe symptoms throughout the 18-month period. Logistic regression analyses suggested that endorsing more negative cancer-related cognitions at T1 significantly increased incidence and persistence rates of clinical levels of psychological symptoms. These findings suggest that the endorsement of negative cancer-related beliefs at the perioperative period influences the longitudinal evolution of anxiety, fear of cancer recurrence, depression, and insomnia symptoms in the following months. These results highlight the relevance of using cognitive restructuring early during the cancer care trajectory to potentially revise erroneous beliefs about cancer and prevent the incidence and persistence of psychological disturbances over time.

Injuries During Physical Education Students as a Pedagogical Problem

The article focuses on the prevention of trauma in the process of physical education among students of higher educational institutions. It has been determined that pedagogical conditions for the prevention of accidents are the best means of combating injuries. The preventive focus of Ukrainian health care determines the implementation of a set of preventive measures for the preservation and strengthening of human health. These measures include a large-scale system of measures for the prevention of injuries, in particular in the process of physical education. To achieve this, you need to properly organize the classes, create the necessary conditions for the proper level of physical perfection. Promoting this will be the acquisition of elementary knowledge and skills that prevent injury, serious damage, and deterioration of health. Before performing physical exercises it is necessary to worry about the proper equipment – clothes, footwear, and protective equipment. All components of the sport form must be fitted in accordance with the figure, clean. The neglect of special means of safety is absolutely inadmissible. Nobody needs a reassessment of their physical perfection, the erroneous belief that insuring means of heavy and uncomfortable that they create the impression of lack of genuine courage provoke students to injuries. The next rule is qualitative warm-up. And this is not a formality, as it often seems to students. Preparatory exercises, presentation of the structure of the previous movements help to bring the nervous system to the optimum state, activate respiration and blood circulation, «warm up muscles» and «scroll» the joints. Man begins to better orient in space, its movements become more economical, internal organs and systems acquire the ability to withstand the most severe mode of physical and neuro-emotional stress.

Giving to poverty relief charities: the impact of beliefs and misperceptions toward income redistribution in a real donation experiment

Many Americans hold erroneous beliefs regarding the level of inequality in the United States and the efforts by the federal government to alleviate poverty. In general, they overestimate the extent of poverty relief undertaken by government. Given that poverty relief programs are a public good and likely underprovided, overestimation of the level of income redistribution is likely to exacerbate this under-provision by reducing giving to private charities. This paper considers if this misperception affects giving to poverty-relief charities. We report a real-donation experiment investigating links between contributions to poverty-relief charities and perceptions of federal transfers to low income households. We also ask participants to self-identify political affiliation, religiosity, race, and gender. We find that donations to our poverty relief charities are inversely related to the perceived transfers made to the poorest quintile. Donations are approximately $0.20 less for each $1000 of perceived transfers. Interestingly, we find little correlation between giving and political beliefs.

How Gullible are We? A Review of the Evidence from Psychology and Social Science

A long tradition of scholarship, from ancient Greece to Marxism or some contemporary social psychology, portrays humans as strongly gullible—wont to accept harmful messages by being unduly deferent. However, if humans are reasonably well adapted, they should not be strongly gullible: they should be vigilant toward communicated information. Evidence from experimental psychology reveals that humans are equipped with well-functioning mechanisms of epistemic vigilance. They check the plausibility of messages against their background beliefs, calibrate their trust as a function of the source's competence and benevolence, and critically evaluate arguments offered to them. Even if humans are equipped with well-functioning mechanisms of epistemic vigilance, an adaptive lag might render them gullible in the face of new challenges, from clever marketing to omnipresent propaganda. I review evidence from different cultural domains often taken as proof of strong gullibility: religion, demagoguery, propaganda, political campaigns, advertising, erroneous medical beliefs, and rumors. Converging evidence reveals that communication is much less influential than often believed—that religious proselytizing, propaganda, advertising, and so forth are generally not very effective at changing people's minds. Beliefs that lead to costly behavior are even less likely to be accepted. Finally, it is also argued that most cases of acceptance of misguided communicated information do not stem from undue deference, but from a fit between the communicated information and the audience's preexisting beliefs.

THE ROLE OF STIGMA IN THE GLOBAL MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

“This oppressive darkness is too much for me to bear alone, but my family and community tells me that nothing’s wrong with me. They say if I would only pray more, or if I would reach out and help others, then I would be fine.” This statement negates the depressive symptoms of the individual and attributes the “oppressive darkness” to the personhood of the individual in a negative light. Underlying those statements are erroneous beliefs, negative attitudes, and discriminatory behaviors related to mental illness. Stigma plays a large role in this. This is prevalent in many Low and Middle Income Countries as well as in High Income Countries. Across the globe, people with mental illness, either common mental health disorders or chronic mental illnesses, are not valued as equally nor treated as respectfully as persons who do not have mental illness. This article addresses the global mental health crisis and the continued need to make it a global health priority.

Infrequent Walks down Memory Lane: People Overestimate How Much They Will Retrospect about Experiences

People value experiences in part because of the memories they create. Yet, we find that people systematically overestimate how much they will retrospect about their experiences. This overestimation is driven by (a) a desire to retrospect about experiences and (b) an erroneous belief that this desire will necessarily lead to actual retrospection. We find that desirability is a significantly weaker predictor of actual retrospection than it is of predicted retrospection, resulting in more overestimation when the desirability of retrospection is greater. Importantly, people do not lose interest in retrospecting over time, but, instead, simply forget to remember. Furthermore, this overestimation of retrospection has consequences, as the degree of overestimation reliably predicts declining satisfaction with the experience over time. However, buying physical reminders (e.g., merchandise) mitigates this reduction in satisfaction by increasing how much people actually retrospect, bringing their realized retrospection more in line with their forecasts (and aspirations).

Chinese Beliefs in Luck are Linked to Gambling Problems via Strengthened Cognitive Biases: A Mediation Test.

Problematic patterns of gambling and their harms are known to have culturally specific expressions. For ethnic Chinese people, patterns of superstitious belief in this community appear to be linked to the elevated rates of gambling-related harms; however, little is known about the mediating psychological mechanisms. To address this issue, we surveyed 333 Chinese gamblers residing internationally and used a mediation analysis to explore how gambling-related cognitive biases, gambling frequency and variety of gambling forms ('scope') mediate the association between beliefs in luck and gambling problems. We found that cognitive biases and scope were significant mediators of this link but that the former is a stronger mediator than the latter. The mediating erroneous beliefs were not specific to any particular type of cognitive bias. These results suggest that Chinese beliefs in luck are expressed as gambling cognitive biases that increase the likelihood of gambling problems, and that biases that promote gambling (and its harms) are best understood within their socio-cultural context.

Reassessing Judicial Independence and Impartiality against the Backdrop of Judicial Appointments in South Africa

The South African Judicial Service Commission (JSC), considered to be exemplary for its independence, plays a pivotal part in judicial appointments. Yet the Commission has long been marred by tensions that have lately erupted into a full-blown conflict between those who could here be referred to as the transformationists, on the one hand, and the liberals, on the other. The transformationists, who may generally be regarded as falling within the sphere of influence of the ruling elite under the African National Congress (ANC), are bent on pursuing the policy of transformation. Hence they insist that the composition of the bench must reflect the national population profile and on individual judges' pursuing the ruling party's ideological goals. The liberals reject this as a threat to judicial independence and the professional competence of the judiciary. On close analysis the clash is based on incompatible interpretations of judicial independence and impartiality. This article is a critique of these interpretations against the backdrop of an assessment of what these notions can reasonably be expected to achieve.&#x0D; It is argued that the liberals are harbouring unrealistic views about judiciaries, believing them to wield power which may even extend over matters of political significance, powers on a par with or even outweighing those of the political branches. However, on proper analysis it is clear that the judiciary is in fact, firstly, inherently weak and dependent on the support of the political branches; and, secondly, it is integrated into the ruling elite with whom they share the same ideological assumptions without any inclination to oppose them. Hence, the impartiality of the courts, when it comes to politically sensitive issues, is distinctively politically (regime) relative and ideologically conditioned.&#x0D; Ironically the transformationists have bought into the liberals' erroneous belief in the potency of the courts (in the above-mentioned sense) and they fear, without foundation, for the political risks the courts might be posing to the ruling elite. This fear is based on an exaggerated vision of the far-reaching consequences that they ascribe to judicial independence and impartiality, believing it to render the judiciary a formidable political force on a par with the political branches. The transformationists would therefore go to extreme lengths to secure an amenable judiciary. This is exemplified by their rather improper insistence that the best candidates need not be appointed, thus compromising even the (limited) independence and impartiality which courts, on a realistic assessment, should have. In doing this the transformationists show a serious lack of appreciation of the distinctive professional nature of the judiciary, whose independence, impartiality and effectiveness are rooted not in political might but in the exceptional professional competence of the incumbents on the bench, who should be drawn from the best candidates the legal professional can produce.&#x0D;

Cannabis: A cognitive illusion

IntroductionThe vision of cannabis as a soft drug is due to the low risk perception that young and old people have of the drug. This perception is based on erroneous beliefs that people have about the drug. ObjectiveTo compare the beliefs of cannabis use and consequences among adolescents with a lifetime prevalence of cannabis use and those without a lifetime prevalence of cannabis use. MethodQuantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study with a probability sample of 156 high school students who completed an ad-hoc questionnaire that included sociodemographic data and 22 questions about the beliefs that young people had about cannabis use and its consequences. ResultsThe lifetime prevalence of cannabis use was 13.5%. The prevalence group consisted mostly of males. Statistically significant differences between different groups and different beliefs were found. The group with no lifetime prevalence of cannabis use perceived higher risk as regards the damage that cannabis can cause to memory, other cognitive functions, neurons, mental health, and general health. The group with a lifetime prevalence of cannabis use perceived a lower risk as regards the use of cannabis, and think that intelligent people smoke cannabis, and that cannabis has positive effects on the brain, increasing creativity and is used to cure mental diseases. ConclusionsThose who used cannabis once in their life perceive the use of the substance as less harmful or less potential danger to health compared to those who never consumed. In fact those who consumed at some time even have beliefs that suggest positive effects in those people that consume it.

A qualitative examination of factors underlying transitions in problem gambling severity: Findings from the Leisure, Lifestyle, & Lifecycle Project

Background: The current study sought to explore the narrative accounts of individuals who underwent changes in their problem gambling severity, and identify subjective factors underlying these transitions. Additionally, respondents’ perceived change in their gambling behavior was compared with a validated measure of problem gambling severity.Methods: Participants were recruited from The Leisure, Lifestyle, & Lifecycle Project (LLLP), a prospective cohort study based in Alberta, Canada. In-depth, semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with a subset of participants identified as showing a significant increase or decrease in problem gambling severity between Wave 4 and 5 of the LLLP (n = 41). Principles of phenomenology and grounded theory were used to thematically code interviews.Results: About half of respondents increased in problem gambling severity between Wave 4 and 5 (n = 22), while 19 respondents decreased. For those who perceived this change (n = 13), the most common factors underlying increases in problem gambling severity were the same factors underlying decreases and included financial, social, and internal reasons. More than half of the sample (n = 28) perceived stability in, or a change in their gambling behavior that was incongruent with their problem gambling severity score. These respondents tended to endorse a greater degree of gambling fallacies, dissonant feelings, and mental health issues, compared to those who had accurately perceived their change.Conclusions: The findings suggest that many individuals may not accurately perceive transitions in their gambling. Gambling fallacies and dissonant feelings seem to underlie this discrepancy, highlighting the need for public health initiatives to focus on correcting these erroneous beliefs.

Índice de vulnerabilidad al VIH en población habitante de calle

Objetivo. Se reconoce que las vulnerabilidades sociales tienden a ocurrir con el VIH, pero pocos estudios han tratado de medir la vulnerabilidad al VIH y no se logra identificar en la literatura la unificación frente al concepto y la manera de operativizarlo. El objetivo de esta investigación fue determinar un índice de vulnerabilidad, y su relación con la infección por VIH en población habitante de calle de la ciudad de Medellín&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Material y método. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo transversal con 338 habitantes de calle de Medellín utilizando el muestreo de tiempo y lugar. En la construcción del índice se realizó un análisis factorial de tipo exploratorio y un análisis factorial confirmatorio. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Resultados. Se identificaron cuatro factores que explicaron el 50,49% de la varianza. Se encontró que la población con alta vulnerabilidad al VIH tenía cinco veces el riesgo de tener VIH, esta asociación fue ajustada por variables sociodemográficas de edad, sexo, estado civil y nivel de escolaridad.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Conclusiones. Se propone un índice de vulnerabilidad al VIH, el cual se definió como la reducción de la capacidad de anticiparse (conocimientos y creencias erróneas), resistirse (prácticas sexuales y consumo de drogas) y recuperarse (apoyo social y rechazo). Lo cual limita la capacidad para acceder a servicios de prevención, atención, y apoyo al VIH.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;