Increase In Willingness Research Articles

Temporal Stability of Receptiveness to Clinical Research on Alzheimer Disease

Research advance directives are a proposed mechanism for ensuring that decisions with regard to research participation adhere to preferences voiced by persons with Alzheimer disease (AD) before losing decisional capacity. Although this approach rests on the assumption that preferences with regard to research participation are consistent over time, little is known about the stability of such preferences. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the temporal stability of older adults' receptiveness to participation in clinical trials, neuroimaging studies, and psychosocial investigations on AD. One hundred and four participants in the University of Pittsburgh Alzheimer Disease Research Center were annually surveyed with regard to their willingness to be contacted with regard to clinical drug trials, neuroimaging studies, and psychosocial research for which they might be eligible. Receptiveness to contact with regard to AD research was compared at 2 time points, 1 year apart. At baseline, most respondents were willing to be contacted with regard to their eligibility for drug trials, imaging studies, and psychosocial research. Thirty-seven percent of respondents voiced a different set of preferences at year 2 as compared with year 1. Differences included both increased and decreased willingness to be contacted. Neither stability of preferences nor direction of change (more vs. less willing) varied by diagnostic group. Bivariate analyses revealed that participation in at least 1 ancillary research study was associated with an overall increase in willingness to be contacted. We conclude that a significant proportion of research-friendly individuals voice different sets of preferences with regard to the possibility of research participation when queried at different points in time. Amenability to participating in clinical research on AD is a relatively dynamic personal attribute that may be influenced by personal experience with research participation. This finding has relevance for the policy debate around research advance directives, an approach which assumes that preferences with regard to research participation are consistent over time.

Some aspects of sexuality and reproduction in groups of captive marmosets (Callitbrix jacchus).

Several aspects of sexual and reproductive behaviour of Callithrix jacchus were studied for almost five years. The most important results are as follows: (1) In artificial groups (AG), heterosexual interactions were observed with varying frequencies between all group members; in the family groups (FG), however only between the parents (a-male and a-female). (2) In general, sexual interactions between two animals in the AG were tolerated by the other group members; in the FG, the offspring tried to disturb all copulations between the parents. (3) Pre- and postcopulatory play, and copulation with intromission and ejaculation are limited to the highest ranking group members. No difference was found between the highest and lower ranking males in the duration of copulation and number of pelvic thrusts. (4) The breeding privilege is correlated with rankorder; that is, only the most dominant male and female reproduce. This gives the impression of a monogamous relationship between the a-animals. (5) Independent of follicle maturation and ovulation, the a-females indicate estrous characterized by a considerable increase in willingness to copulate, associative behaviour between the a-male and the a-female (both most likely influenced or caused by pheromone activity), as well as aggressive behaviour between the a-female and the lower ranking females in the AG. Conflicts between the dominant and lower ranking group members, especially the females in AG, usually cause the group to split. The ability of the lower ranking females to reproduce is adversely affected by the stress to which they are subjected. (6) The parents of the FG are extremely tolerant of their sexually mature adult sons and daughters; expulsion of offspringe by the parents has not occurred as yet in the FG. (7) There is no certain evidence of cyclic visible changes of the genital region or menstrual bleeding in C. jacchus. (8) Captive C. jacchus females breed all year long; gestation is 144--146 days. (9) Homo- and autosexuality is reported for the males of the FG.

A Test of Competing Cognitive Explanations for the Boomerang Effect in Response to the Deliberate Disruption of Media-Induced Aggression

This study advances research on the boomerang effect in response to anti-aggression media literacy interventions. Previous findings indicate that elementary school children can become more aggressive after exposure to such interventions. We test two competing explanations for the boomerang effect, media priming and psychological reactance, in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment with elementary school children (N = 128). Findings indicate that children may cognitively process antisocial elements of an intervention program in a manner that runs counter to the intended effect of prosocial messages. Specifically, children who were exposed to a media literacy intervention with violent media clips as examples reported an increase in willingness to use aggression, whereas children who were exposed to the same lesson without the clips did not. Therefore, the boomerang effect is best explained by the processing of violent clips (media priming) and is not likely due to resistance to the instructional elements of the lesson (psychological reactance). Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Don't it make my brown eyes blue: Co-witness misinformation about a target's appearance can impair target-absent line-up performance

Misinformation from another witness has been shown to impair eyewitness reports, but little is known about how it may influence eyewitness identification. In Experiment 1, adult pairs comprising one participant and one experimental confederate viewed a video clip of a staged theft. Half of the participants were then misinformed by the confederate that the thief's accomplice had blue eyes (in fact, they were brown). Next, individual participants described the accomplice and completed a target-absent photographic line-up task comprising blue-eyed members. Misinformed participants were several times more likely than controls to describe the accomplice as having blue eyes, and twice as likely to identify someone from the line-up. In Experiment 2, when line-up members’ eye colour was digitally altered from blue to brown, the line-up effect disappeared, suggesting that the increase in identifications in Experiment 1 was not a generalised increase in willingness to choose from the line-up. In Experiment 3, we discounted the possibility that discussion alone could account for the line-up misinformation effect, by subjecting all participants to co-witness discussion.

Media Literacy Interventions: What makes them Boom or Boomerang?

This study advances research on media literacy by comparing the effectiveness of two versions of a media literacy intervention over time. Participants (156 children in 4th or 5th grade) were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups or a control group. Both treatment groups were exposed to an instructional intervention designed to reduce the negative effects of media violence. One of the groups was given an additional cognitive activity immediately following the instructional intervention. Participants in all 3 groups had their aggressive tendencies measured at 4 points in time. Results indicate that when the children participated in a cognitive activity after receiving the media literacy intervention, they experienced an immediate reduction in willingness to use aggression after exposure to violent media. However, the same media literacy intervention without the cognitive activity led to an increase in willingness to use aggression. Our longitudinal results indicate that children receiving an intervention without a cognitive activity might also remain more willing to use aggression over time.

Ever again? The United States, genocide suppression, and the crisis in Darfur

This paper focuses on the United States and its policy on the Darfur crisis, which in 2004 was acknowledged as a case of genocide by both the US administration and Congress. It explores a range of questions, issues and themes, and their relevance to US policies on genocide suppression between April and November 2004, as manifested in regard to the crisis in Darfur. It is proposed that constraining effects of the war in Iraq, a deadlocked Security Council, a multifaceted defensive Sudanese government campaign against intervention aided by the existence of at least two key American interests in the country, and the perceived risks of military intervention have combined to impede a meaningful US action to stop the first genocide of the twenty-first century. It is however also argued that while the US government could and should have been much more active, non-militarily, on the issue of Darfur, its rhetoric and actions during 2004 did exhibit a certain increase of willingness, although for as yet uncertain motives, to attempt engagement in acts of genocide suppression. The study discusses the motives, obstacles and political realities that have led to a policy of, in fact, non-intervention.

Self‐sacrifice as self‐defence: Mortality salience increases efforts to affirm a symbolic immortal self at the expense of the physical self

AbstractThe increasing occurrence of suicide bombing attacks highlights a question that has received little direct empirical attention in social psychology. Why are people willing to sacrifice their lives to advance an ideological agenda? The current research suggests that willingness to self‐sacrifice reflects efforts to manage death awareness by investing in a symbolic identity that provides some form of immortality. If willingness to self‐sacrifice is a response to death awareness then increasing the salience of death thoughts should lead to an increase in willingness to self‐sacrifice for a death‐transcending symbolic identity (e.g. one's nation). Further, if self‐sacrifice after mortality salience (MS) is a striving for symbolic immortality then having participants imagine an alternative way to transcend death should moderate this effect. Support for these hypotheses was found as MS increased willingness of British participants to self‐sacrifice for England, but only when an alternative route to symbolic immortality was not provided. Implications are briefly discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Willingness to Communicate Organ Donation Intention

The study tested an intervention exposing people who planned to donate organs to written information about communicating with family their intention to donate organs. A pretest posttest double-blind experiment compared participants given written information about communicating with family and basic organ donation information, with participants given written information about only basic organ donation information. Participants included 109 adults who had not yet communicated their plans with family. Participants first responded to previous experience with organ donation, thoughts about organ donation, willingness to communicate with family about organ donation, and knowledge about organ donation. After reading the respective pamphlet, participants again responded to thoughts about communicating with their family and willingness to communicate with family. Both groups responded with the same high willingness to communicate before the intervention and a small but significant increase in willingness to communicate afterwards. Participants expressed a high degree of willingness to communicate about their organ donation intentions even though they had thus far not communicated their intentions. Factors in addition to willingness to communicate need to be identified in order to encourage better communication about organ donation intentions.

Regulating physician‐assisted dying for minors in the Netherlands: views of paediatricians and other physicians

In 2002, the Dutch Euthanasia Act came into effect, which made euthanasia available to individuals from the age of 12 and above. The objective of our study was to gain insight into how Dutch paediatricians and other physicians treating children feel about the regulation of physician-assisted dying. We interviewed 63 paediatricians, 125 general practitioners and 208 clinical specialists about their views on physician-assisted dying and the Euthanasia Act. Of the paediatricians, 44% agreed with the age limit of 12 years, and 52% agreed with the requirement that parents be involved. Somewhat more than half thought the Act could contribute to the disclosure of end-of-life practices (52%), the quality of the review procedure (61%), careful decision making (54%) and the reporting rate (65%). These percentages were comparable for other physicians. A minority of the physicians in all groups indicated that, with this Act in place, they would be more willing to report such practices. The most optimistic in this respect were the paediatricians, of whom 39% expected such an effect. About half of Dutch paediatricians support the Euthanasia Act and expect it to achieve its aims, which is the same percentage as was found for other clinical specialists and general practitioners. However, most physicians do not foresee an increase in willingness to report cases of physician-assisted dying.

Willingness to participate in HIV vaccine research in a peri-urban South African community

Research on willingness to participate in HIV vaccine trials is important in preparations for HIV vaccine research, but there are few data from sub-Saharan Africa. We interviewed 198 individuals in a peri-urban South African community immediately after enrolment into an HIV vaccine preparedness study on their willingness to participate in hypothetical vaccine trials. Overall 23% of participants (n = 46) said that they would be willing to participate in an HIV vaccine trial. Willingness was associated with increasing age, male gender, and increasing knowledge about vaccines generally and HIV vaccines specifically. In multivariate analysis, a 1-unit increase in HIV vaccine knowledge score was associated with a 10-fold increase in willingness to participate (adjusted odds ratio, 10.72, 95% confidence intervals: 4.40-26.12). These results suggest that while willingness to participate in HIV vaccine trials is relatively low in this setting, educational campaigns may have a substantial impact on individuals' willingness to participate in research.

An orthodontic information package designed to increase patient awareness

Abstract Background: Most patients and their parents experience difficulty in fully appreciating the implications and demands of orthodontic treatment. This is largely because of inadequate understanding of the process of treatment or the commitment required. Objectives: To determine if a specifically developed video information package could significantly increase patient awareness of the implications of a full course of orthodontic treatment. Changes in attitude to orthodontic treatment after viewing the package were also measured. Methods: Year 7 (12 year-old) students in two primary schools in the City of Gold Coast, Australia were randomly allocated to either a study group or a control group. Knowledge of and attitude to orthodontic treatment were measured with self-administered questionnaires before and after viewing the information package. Results: The intervention group showed a 15 per cent gain in knowledge (p < 0.001). There was no gain in knowledge for the 45 students in the control group. There was no measured change in perception of need for orthodontic treatment in the study group. There was, however, an increase in potential compliance and positive attitude to the appearance of orthodontic appliances. There was a small increase in willingness to undertake treatment, but this was not statistically significant. Conclusions: The information package developed for this study increased awareness of the implications and practical difficulties which may be encountered during a course of orthodontic treatment, and produced some changes in attitude to treatment.

Gender differences in the perceived risk of buying online and the effects of receiving a site recommendation

This article examines how men and women differ in both their perceptions of the risks associated with shopping online and the effect of receiving a site recommendation from a friend. The first study examines how gender affects the perceptions of the probability of negative outcomes and the severity of such negative outcomes should they occur for five risks associated with buying online (i.e., credit card misuse, fraudulent sites, loss of privacy, shipping problems, and product failure). The second study examines gender differences in the effect of receiving a recommendation from a friend on perceptions of online purchase risk. The third study experimentally tests whether, compared to men, women will be more likely to increase their willingness to purchase online if they receive a site recommendation from a friend. The results suggest that, even when controlling for differences in Internet usage, women perceive a higher level of risk in online purchasing than do men. In addition, having a site recommended by a friend leads to both a greater reduction in perceived risk and a stronger increase in willingness to buy online among women than among men.

Are older people willing to give up their place in the queue for cardiac surgery to a younger person?

to measure whether people aged 65 and over living in Britain would be willing to give up their place on the cardiac surgery waiting list for someone younger than them. two British surveys, based on random types of people sampled for the Office for National Statistics Omnibus Surveys, identified respondents aged 65 and over for a module on waiting lists. They were asked to imagine they had a heart condition that required surgery, and that they were on an NHS waiting list. They were then asked if they would be prepared to give up their place on the cardiac surgery waiting list to a younger person (aged 45). The study compared responses to one of two relative waiting list time frames (6 and 12 months). two national random samples of the British public aged 65 and over. fifty eight per cent and 62% of Omnibus respondents aged 65 and over responded that it was not right to give up their place on the cardiac surgery waiting list for someone younger in relation to a 6 and 12 month wait respectively. Thirty seven per cent and 34% of each group of Omnibus respondents aged 65+ said it was right to give up their place on the cardiac surgery waiting list for someone younger than them, in relation to a 6 and 12 month relative waiting period respectively. Thus the length of the wait had little effect on response among British respondents. The proportions who were willing to cede priority are far less than that reported in a comparable Italian survey. Consistent with the Italian survey, willingness to cede priority increased with age. most older people in Britain do not wish to cede priority on the waiting list for cardiac surgery to people younger than themselves, although willingness to give up one's place increased with age. The specific time frame did not have an impact on people's responses. The increase in willingness to cede priority with older age could be interpreted as older people valuing themselves less, or that they feel that they have had their 'fair innings' and are willing to give younger people the chance of reaching their age. It could even reflect a cohort effect. It is likely that ageing 'baby boomers' may be even less willing to give up their place in the health service queue and will be more assertive about their right to equity in health care provision.

The role of advocacy in implementing the South African abortion law

In order to translate the abortion law in South Africa into services that ensure equity of access and women's right to control their bodies, interventions are needed to change judgemental views on abortion. This paper describes formative research conducted in the Northern Cape Province among 436 community members, 29 women seeking an abortion and 80 health service providers, to develop appropriate interventions to these ends. Based on the findings, two interventions were developed. These interventions appeared to substantially influence personal views by getting people to make a connection between the need for abortion services and the circumstances in which unwanted pregnancies occur. There was a shift towards greater support for women's right to choose in relation to abortion among women community members, though not among men, who resisted this right for married women. Amongst providers (almost all women) there was an increase in willingness to support service provision and to support staff working in abortion services. These tools could be used in sexuality education in schools and in nurse-midwifery/medical training, to complement current advocacy initiatives taking place at policy and programme levels in South Africa, to help to reduce the public health problem of unsafe abortion.

The Confusing Side of Yield Management: Myths, Errors, and Misconceptions

This article focuses on errors and misconceptions that clutter the literature on hotel yield management. Using the basic tools of economics, it deals with three main topics. First, the article shows that of the oft-quoted list of necessary conditions for yield management sys tems, only perishable product is a true requirement. Second, the article discusses the mis use of the price demand elasticity concept and how it is being confused with willingness to pay. Third, the article discusses the reasons behind the observed increase in willingness to pay as time draws closer to the date of stay It show that alongside the oft-cited explanation that business travelers with higher willingness to pay book later, there is another consumer behavior phenomenon that must not be ignored: Customers of any segment, even leisure travelers, with a relatively low willingness to pay, are willing to pay more for the same room as time nears the date of stay.

Changes in Physicians' Attitudes Toward AIDS During Residency Training: A Longitudinal Study of Medical School Graduates

Understanding the impact of training on the development of physicians' attitudes toward AIDS is important to furthering our knowledge of the mechanisms through which socialization affects professional outlook, as well as promoting an adequate supply of providers to treat people with AIDS (PWAs). This prospective panel study collected data on 383 physicians at two critical stages: as fourth-year medical students and as third-year residents. Aspects of residency training (e.g., residents' morale and positive faculty role models) were the most powerful predictors of increase in willingness to treat PWAs. Decline in willingness was primarily a product of negative social attitudes-homophobia and IVDU-phobia (aversion to intravenous drug users). Cynicism toward patient care acted as a trigger, activating the negative effects of IVDU-phobia; having an acquaintance who is HIV positive mediated the negative impact of homophobia. Notably, cynicism was associated with basic aspects of training (specific characteristics of the faculty and of the educational milieu). The findings support a view of socialization as a pervasive process implicating intrinsic aspects of training and having an impact on a broad spectrum of outlooks. Accordingly, interventions must address structural characteristics that transcend AIDS-specific concerns.

Education and Change in American Opinions on a Woman for President

During the early 1970s, the increase in willingness of Americans to vote for a woman for president was directly related to education and contrasts with the inverse relationshipbetween education and increasesinwillingness to vote for ablackforpresident. The contrast indicates that on some issues, the relationship between education and enlightened opinions is variable and characterizes mainly the middle stages of such issues' life histories. E. M. Schreiber is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. Public Opinion Quarterly ?) 1978 by The Trustees of Columbia University Published by Elsevier North-Holland, Inc. 0033-362X/78/0042-0171/$1.75 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.207 on Thu, 20 Oct 2016 04:08:01 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

Changes in Self-Concepts during a Physical Development Program

Abstract Three measures of self-concept were administered to children referred to a physical developmental clinic both before and after the six-week clinic program. The 74 children studied were referred primarily because of emotional disturbances, brain damage, and mental retardation. A comparison of preclinic and postclinic scores indicated the following significant changes: (a) decrease in self—self-ideal discrepancy on height, (b) increase in willingness to be with larger groups of children, (c) increase in willingness to be near the clinician, and (d) increase in desire (self-ideal) to be near the father. No significant changes occurred with respect to weight, arm length, leg length, or activity orientation.