Coping Variables Research Articles

Sheriff’s deputies and police officers: comparing their views

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare views of the community, views of the organization head, and perceptions of organizational justice between deputies working in sheriff’s offices and officers working in municipal police departments.Design/methodology/approachThis study used surveys of 2,012 sworn deputies representing 19 full-service county sheriff’s offices and 10,590 sworn officers representing 70 municipal police departments. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to compare the three dependent variables between sheriff’s offices and municipal police departments.FindingsDeputies in sheriff’s offices expressed more positive views of the community and organization head, and more favorable perceptions of organizational justice than officers in municipal police departments. Regression analyses indicated that views of the organization head and perceptions of organizational justice remained significantly more positive in sheriff’s offices than municipal departments, even after controlling for agency size and concentrated disadvantage.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample of agencies should not be considered as a representative of all sheriff’s offices and municipal police departments in the USA. The number and scope of agency-level variables included in the regression models were limited.Practical implicationsThe results suggest the importance of ensuring more equitable systems of rewards and organization heads taking steps to communicate more effectively with sworn personnel, especially in municipal departments.Originality/valueBy its focus on sheriff’s offices, the study broadens knowledge of law enforcement agencies and sworn personnel, which is usually based on studies of municipal police departments and officers.

What is the role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, radiation, and adjuvant treatment in resectable esophageal cancer?

The majority of patients with operable esophageal cancers present with locally advanced disease, for which surgical resection as a sole treatment modality has been historically associated with poor survival. Even following radical resection, most of these patients will eventually succumb to their disease due to distant metastasis. For this reason, there has been intense interest in the role of neoadjuvant therapy. Neoadjuvant therapy primarily consists of either chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a combination of the two. Multiple studies of variable scope, design, and patient characteristics have been conducted to determine whether neoadjuvant therapy is warranted, and-if so-what is the best modality of treatment. Despite nearly three decades of study, decisions regarding neoadjuvant therapy for esophageal cancer remain controversial. Regardless, the available evidence provided by large, prospective studies supports preoperative chemotherapy as opposed to surgery alone. Therefore, in our opinion, there is no longer any question as to whether induction therapy is appropriate for locally advanced esophageal cancer. Less clear, however, is the evidence that the addition of radiation to chemotherapy in the preoperative setting is superior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone. Our group generally advocates for neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone followed by radical esophageal resection. The data for adjuvant therapy are soft, and particularly troubling is the high rate of treatment drop out in trials studying adjuvant therapy. Therefore, we strongly prefer neoadjuvant chemotherapy and reserve adjuvant chemotherapy for those rare, highly selected patients-patients with T1 tumors, for example-who do not receive neoadjuvant treatment and are found to have occult nodal disease at the time of surgery.

Differences in Coping with Stressful Situations among Tanzanian and Emirati University Students

Differences in Coping with Stressful Situations among Tanzanian and Emirati University Students Abdullah Saif Abdullah Abstract Coping theories mostly postulate two or three dimensions. This study was an attempt to identify and examine the coping dimensions of Tanzanian and UAE university students. A sample of 233 students was randomly selected from each of the two countries and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) was used to assess their coping. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation was used to identify the coping dimensions of the two groups. Results showed significant variations in coping within each sample. In addition, considerable differences between the two samples were found in relation to age, gender, and marital status. The results were further discussed in relation to previous findings and limitations were highlighted. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jehd.v6n1a15

Intraoperative Archive of Right Colonic Vascular Variability Aids Central Vascular Ligation and Redefines Gastrocolic Trunk of Henle Variants.

Vascular supply to the right colon has become an issue because of high variability and subsequent impact on minimally invasive surgery. Past cadaveric or radiologic anatomic assessments are noncomprehensive. Intraoperative charting of right colonic arteriovenous anatomy was undertaken to determine the incidence and scope of vascular variations. Vascular anatomy variations were documented in snapshot images, captured during laparoscopic video recordings or through open surgical digital photography. Data were drawn from consecutive right hemicolectomies, routinely entailing complete mesocolic excision with central vascular ligation. Seventy patients (mean age, 62.7 years; 37 women (52.8%); 33 men (47.2%)), each with surgically treatable right-sided colon cancer, were prospectively studied. Both ileocolic and middle colic arteries were regularly identified (100%), with right colic artery present in 41.4% of patients. Ileocolic and middle colic veins consistently drained into the right colon. Although the ileocolic vein always emptied into the superior mesenteric vein, drainage of the middle colic vein was split (superior mesenteric vein, 94.3%; gastrocolic trunk of Henle, 5.3%), as was drainage of the right colic (superior mesenteric vein, 43.3%; gastrocolic trunk of Henle, 56.7%) and accessory middle colic veins (superior mesenteric vein, 54.5%; gastrocolic trunk of Henle, 45.5%), present in 42.9% and 15.7% of patients. Gastrocolic trunk of Henle was found in 88.6% of patients, usually draining into the superior mesenteric vein. No significant sex-related differences were present regarding the incidence and scope of variability displayed by the right colic artery, right colic vein, accessory middle colic vein, or gastrocolic trunk of Henle classification (p > 0.05). The inconsistency between cadaver and live surgery anatomy and the low BMI of the Asian population might be drawbacks of our study. Variations in right colonic arteriovenous channels, assessed intraoperatively, corroborate those established by cadaveric and radiologic means, prompting a new gastrocolic trunk of Henle classification.

Student learning performance in human anatomy using a virtual dissection table

In medical training it is fundamental to have a 3D understanding of human anatomy [1]. Body dissection is considered mandatory in most of the bio-medical schools. Medical schools around the world, constantly face the problem of availability of the cadavers. Apart from the classic methods (lectures, podcasts, atlas or photographs, models) technology advances made available new instruments to learn/teach 3D anatomy, which allow cadaverless dissection with the help of simulator software or virtual cadavers. The Anatomage® and Sectra® tables are advanced anatomy visualization systems, adopted by many of the world’s leading medical schools and institutions [2,3]. Here we report our experience with Anatomage® during the Academic Year 2016-17, in the Postgraduate Courses of Medical and Surgical Specialization, Master degrees in Medicine, Dental Medicine, Biology of Health and Nutrition, as well as Basic Degrees in Nursing and Biotechnology, of the University of L’Aquila. We enrolled 30 MD postgraduate students, and 440 undergraduate students. Both postgraduate and undergraduate medical students were allowed to handle the table. The other students assisted to class table demonstrations. An evaluation test was administered to all students at the end of the Courses. Our preliminary observations suggest that the use of virtual dissection table into the anatomical curriculum improves the learning student performance. Each student have a different set of needs, and the base line skills may be different. So, the teacher should take in consideration the variable scope of practice of the specific health professions. We are currently evaluating the efficacy of this technology at the end of the examinations. In the present preliminary report, we account with our results that are indicative of a positive impact on both basic and advanced anatomical learning.

Optimizing R language execution via aggressive speculation

The R language, from the point of view of language design and implementation, is a unique combination of various programming language concepts. It has functional characteristics like lazy evaluation of arguments, but also allows expressions to have arbitrary side effects. Many runtime data structures, for example variable scopes and functions, are accessible and can be modified while a program executes. Several different object models allow for structured programming, but the object models can interact in surprising ways with each other and with the base operations of R. R works well in practice, but it is complex, and it is a challenge for language developers trying to improve on the current state-of-the-art, which is the reference implementation -- GNU R. The goal of this work is to demonstrate that, given the right approach and the right set of tools, it is possible to create an implementation of the R language that provides significantly better performance while keeping compatibility with the original implementation. In this paper we describe novel optimizations backed up by aggressive speculation techniques and implemented within FastR, an alternative R language implementation, utilizing Truffle -- a JVM-based language development framework developed at Oracle Labs. We also provide experimental evidence demonstrating effectiveness of these optimizations in comparison with GNU R, as well as Renjin and TERR implementations of the R language.

Street-Level Bureaucrats as Individual Policymakers: The Relationship between Attitudes and Coping Behavior toward Vulnerable Children and Youth

ABSTRACTLipsky (1980) pointed out that street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) are important policymakers due to the discretion they exercise and argued from a structural perspective that these workers manifest relatively similar coping behaviors owing to their shared working conditions, characterized by chronically limited resources and non-voluntary clients. Using data from a national survey of municipal child welfare caseworkers in Denmark, we further develop Lipsky's theory from an agency perspective by focusing on variation in coping among SLBs and examining the extent to which such variation is explained by SLBs’ attitudes towards the target group, the objectives and content of their jobs, and their perceptions of the capacity of their institutions. We find that SLBs’ aversion to and tolerance of the client group, their perceptions of institutional capacity in terms of municipal resources and local political inefficacy, and their conceptual modification of job contents are all related to their use of coping.

Neighborhood disadvantage and preterm delivery in Urban African Americans: The moderating role of religious coping

Evidence suggests that neighborhood disadvantage predicts preterm delivery (PTD). However, the design of most existing studies precludes within-group analyses, which would allow the identification segments of the population at highest risk, as well as preventive factors. African Americans (AA) are disproportionately affected by PTD, are disproportionately concentrated in disadvantaged neighborhoods, and frequently use religious coping in response to chronic stressors. Our objective was to examine the association between neighborhood disadvantage and PTD, and whether religious coping moderated the associations, among postpartum AA women. Addresses from participants of the Life Influences on Fetal Environments Study (n=1387) were geocoded and linked to data from the American Community Survey. An index of neighborhood disadvantage was derived from a principal components analysis of the following variables: % below poverty, % unemployed, % receiving public assistance income, % college educated, % AA, % female-headed households, % owner occupied homes, median income, and median home value. Three domains of religious coping were assessed: organizational (church attendance), non-organizational (praying for self and asking others for prayer), and personal or subjective (experiences, perceptions, and sentiments about religion), and all were dichotomized as frequent/infrequent or satisfied/not satisfied. Preterm delivery was defined as birth before 37 completed weeks of gestation. Prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated with log binomial regression models. Neighborhood disadvantage did not predict PTD rates in the overall sample. However, there was evidence of moderation by asking others for prayer (P for asking for prayer X disadvantage index interaction term: 0.01). Among women who infrequently asked others for prayer, neighborhood disadvantage was positively associated with PTD rates (adjusted Prevalence ratio: 1.28, 95% Confidence Interval: 1.01, 1.63), and a null association was found for those who frequently asked others for prayer. No evidence of moderation by the other religious coping variables was present. Non-organizational religious coping may buffer against the adverse effects of neighborhood disadvantage on PTD rates, among urban AA women. Future research should examine the mechanisms of the reported relationships.

Multi Factorial Study of Megasonic Enhanced Photoresist Strip with DiO3

Keywords: Multi factorial screening, heated DiO3, dissolved ozone, megasonic, photoresist stripping, cavitation, OH° radicalsIntroduction Optimization of photoresist stripping recipes involves a number of parameters. But which factor or combination of factors has the most impact on removal rate of different photo resists? Cost of ownership considerations is also very important. In this study, a design of experiments (DoE) supported by software involving a number of controlled factors was performed. The different photoresists were treated with ozonized UPW (DiO3). In order to increase the strip rate parameters like dissolved ozone concentration, megasonic power density, temperature, spin speed and flow rate were varied. In order to obtain a better understanding a two level fractional factorial DoE approach was chosen. This multi factorial study provided a design space (allowed process window) showing optimization potential for different types of resist. Direct correlations between different parameters were found. Experimental Details APPARATUS— Silicon wafers were processed on a POLOS™ Spin200 advanced tabletop single substrate spin processor. A megasonic transducer and DiO3 source were both integrated with the Spin200 for these experiments. A radially uniform, large area sapphire megasonic transducer, the MegPie® was used. The DiO3 was supplied by an MKS LIQUOZON® Single Ozonated Water Delivery System. The liquid was heated with a Heateflex®. Details are described in [1] and Figure 1. MATERIALS — For the tests 8” Si wafers were used, coated with different types of Photoresist both positive and negative (see Table 1). The thickness was always 10 µm to ensure residual layer for strip rate measurement. Priming using a spin-on primer and coating of the PR was done on EVG®101 200mm Advanced Spin- and Spray Coating System, the process was optimized in order to achieve best coating uniformity in order to guarantee a minimum influence of the TTV (total thickness variation) on the strip rate evaluation. MEASUREMENT— PR film thickness was measured before and after the DiO3 stripping process using a FRT® Micro Glider Fully Automated Optical Surface Metrology, 44 point pattern along the x-axis through the center of the wafer. The average was used for before/after comparison. The difference divided by process time expressed as strip rate in nanometers per minute (nm/min). A baseline screening with AZ 9260 using MKS MODDE® design of experiments software was done with a total of 19 runs: 16 runs with changing factors from minimum to maximum level. Three runs were repeated at mean settings in order to determine the reproducibility of the tests (Table II). After validation of the program, more challenging photoresists (AZ nL of 2070, SU 8 UV + PEB, BCB 4024-40) were tested. Target was a removal rate of 150 to 300 nm/min. A very wide scope of process variables was tested for the impact on removal rate with several types of PR e.g. DiO3 concentration 40 – 120 mg/l, temperature 20 – 60°C. Results The screening provided both the design space visualized in a MODDE 4D contour plot and the ranking of most influencing factors (see Figure 2). All values within 4 sigma standard deviation, no outliers found, regression R² = 0.8718 (see Figure 3). Good fit of the software model was obtained which allowed interpolation of the design space.Targeted removal rate of 150-300 nm could be achieved both with baseline and verification test and even surpassed applying extended factors with up to 565 nm/min (AZ nLOF). Even for a challenging resist like SU 8 UV-PEB, a significant removal rate of 146 nm/min could be noted.The concentration of DiO3, temperature, flow rate, speed, megasonic power density and time were the ranking of factors by effect on the strip rate.In general the strip rates were enhanced by increasing the dissolved ozone concentration, DiO3 temperature as well as spin speed. Up to 70 % higher strip rate were observed by increasing the DiO3 concentration from 80 to 110 mg/l and doubling the spin speed. On the other side spin speed showed an allowed maximum in case of adding megasonic power (see Figure 4+5). The paper will present the interaction of the analyzed parameters and potential optimization for tool set-up.

Social Support and Persons with Psychiatric Disabilities: A Cluster Analysis

Background: Social support is linked to numerous biopsychosocial and vocational outcomes for persons with and without disabilities and is particularly salient to those living with psychiatric disabilities (PD). Studies show that persons with PD have smaller social networks, lack community participation, and experience loneliness and isolation. At present, the personal and environmental variables contributing to social support for persons with PD needs further investigation. Aims: a) To determine whether persons with PD can be clustered into social support groups based on three types of social support; b) to determine how the clusters differ on eight psychosocial variables; and c) to determine how the clusters differ on seven recovery and jive stigma coping variables. Method: The sample comprised of 101 adults with P D attending psychosocial rehabilitation programs in NYC and Boston area. Correlational, hierarchical cluster analysis and ANOVA were employed. Results: Two cluster groups were found: High- and Low- Social Support. The High-Social Support group was characterized by lower program attendance, living with family and friends, fewer jobs since age 18, more support providers, better quality of life and mental health recovery, and lower levels of loneliness and symptom distress. Discussion: Personal and environmental variables that contribute to high and low levels of social support are important areas to address in practice and research.

Novel GUCY2D mutation causes phenotypic variability of Leber congenital amaurosis ina large kindred.

BackgroundLeber congenital amaurosis (LCA) is a severe retinal degenerative disease that manifests as blindness or poor vision in infancy. The purpose of this study was to clinically characterize and identify the cause of disease in a large inbred Bedouin Israeli tribe with LCA.MethodsThirty individuals of a single kindred, including eight affected with LCA, were recruited for this study. Patients’ clinical data and electroretinography (ERG) findings were collected. Molecular analysis included homozygosity mapping with polymorphic markers and Sanger sequencing of candidate genes.ResultsOf the eight affected individuals of the kindred, nystagmus was documented in five subjects and keratoconus in three. Cataract was found in 5 of 16 eyes. Photopic and scotopic ERG performed in 5 patients were extinguished. All affected subjects were nearly blind, their visual acuity ranged between finger counting and uncertain light perception. Assuming autosomal recessive heredity of a founder mutation, studies using polymorphic markers excluded homozygosity of affected individuals at the genomic loci of all previously known genes associated with LCA, except GUCY2D. Sequencing of GUCY2D identified a novel missense mutation (c.2129C>T; p.Ala710Val) resulting in substitution of alanine by valine at position 710 within the protein kinase domain of the retina-specific enzyme guanylate cyclase 1 (GC1) encoded by GUCY2D. Molecular modeling implied that the mutation changes the conformation of the regulatory segment within the kinase styk-domain of GC1 and causes loss of its helical structure, likely inhibiting phosphorylation of threonine residue within this segment, which is needed to activate the catalytic domain of the protein.ConclusionsThis is the first documentation of the p.Ala710Val mutation in GC1 and the second ever described mutation in its protein kinase domain. Our findings enlarge the scope of genetic variability of LCA, highlight the phenotypic heterogeneity found amongst individuals harboring an identical LCA mutation, and possibly provide hope for gene therapy in patients with this congenital blinding disease. As the Bedouin kindred studied originates from Saudi Arabia, the mutation found might be an ancient founder mutation in that large community.

Stressors and anxiety in dementia caregiving: multiple mediation analysis of rumination, experiential avoidance, and leisure.

Despite the robust associations between stressors and anxiety in dementia caregiving, there is a lack of research examining which factors contribute to explain this relationship. This study was designed to test a multiple mediation model of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) and anxiety that proposes higher levels of rumination and experiential avoidance and lower levels of leisure satisfaction as potential mediating variables. The sample consisted of 256 family caregivers. In order to test a simultaneously parallel multiple mediation model of the BPSD to anxiety pathway, a PROCESS method was used and bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrapping method was used to test confidence intervals. Higher levels of stressors significantly predicted anxiety. Greater stressors significantly predicted higher levels of rumination and experiential avoidance, and lower levels of leisure satisfaction. These three coping variables significantly predicted anxiety. Finally, rumination, experiential avoidance, and leisure satisfaction significantly mediated the link between stressors and anxiety. The explained variance for the final model was 47.09%. Significant contrasts were found between rumination and leisure satisfaction, with rumination being a significantly higher mediator. The results suggest that caregivers' experiential avoidance, rumination, and leisure satisfaction may function as mechanisms through which BPSD influence on caregivers' anxiety. Training caregivers in reducing their levels of experiential avoidance and rumination by techniques that foster their ability of acceptance of their negative internal experiences, and increase their level of leisure satisfaction, may be helpful to reduce their anxiety symptoms developed by stressors.

Coping With Moral Distress in Oncology Practice: Nurse and Physician Strategies.

To explore variations in coping with moral distress among physicians and nurses in a university hospital oncology setting. . Qualitative interview study. . Internal medicine (gastroenterology and medical oncology), gastrointestinal surgery, and day clinic chemotherapy at Ghent University Hospital in Belgium. . 17 doctors and 18 nurses with varying experience levels, working in three different oncology hospital settings. . Patients with cancer were interviewed based on the critical incident technique. Analyses were performed using thematic analysis. . Moral distress lingered if it was accompanied by emotional distress. Four dominant ways of coping (thoroughness, autonomy, compromise, and intuition) emerged, which could be mapped on two perpendicular continuous axes. Moral distress is a challenging phenomenon in oncology. However, when managed well, it can lead to more introspection and team reflection, resulting in a better interpersonal understanding. . Team leaders should recognize their own and their team members' preferred method of coping and tailored support should be offered to ease emotional distress.

The role of appraisals and coping in predicting posttraumatic stress following pediatric injury.

Given the millions of children who experience potentially traumatic injuries each year and the need to maximize emotional and physical health outcomes following pediatric injury, the current study examined the individual and collective contributions of the malleable variables of appraisals and coping in predicting posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in children following injury. This study combined data from 3 prospective investigations of recovery from pediatric injury (N = 688) in which children ages 8-17 years were recruited shortly after an injury (within 4 weeks). At baseline (T1), children completed measures of their threat appraisals of the injury event and PTSS. Six to twelve weeks later (T2), children completed a measure of coping and PTSS. Finally, PTSS was assessed again 6 months post-injury (T3). Structural equation modeling analyses provide evidence that appraisals and coping contribute to PTSS. Furthermore, results suggest that escape coping mediates the relationship between threat appraisals and PTSS. Early interventions designed to prevent or reduce PTSS after pediatric injury may be more successful if they primarily target modifying escape coping behaviors. To best inform clinical practice, future research should examine factors influencing the development of children's appraisals and coping behaviors in the context of potentially traumatic events. (PsycINFO Database Record

Correlates of general quality of life are different in patients with primary insomnia as compared to patients with insomnia and psychiatric comorbidity

Chronic insomnia is known to have a negative influence on quality of life (QOL). To date, most studies on chronic insomnia have focused on health-related aspects of QOL. General QOL, which is a different construct, has not been studied in detail. Moreover, it is not known which factors are associated with general QOL in insomnia, and whether the presence of mental disorders, a condition known as comorbid insomnia, affects these variables. The present study focused on identifying sleep and psychosocial variables that might be associated with general QOL in primary and comorbid insomnia. Personality traits, coping variables, anxiety and depressive symptoms, fatigue and subjective sleep variables were assessed in 218 consecutive well-characterized patients with primary and comorbid insomnia, referred to a third line centre for sleep medicine. In primary insomnia, higher extraversion and lower discrepancies in social support were associated with higher QOL. Surprisingly, insomnia severity was not significantly associated with QOL in this group. However, lower fatigue, which can be seen as an important daytime consequence of insomnia was correlated with higher QOL in patients with primary insomnia. In both insomnia groups, low anxiety and depressive symptoms and low fatigue were associated with higher general QOL. In contrast with the primary insomnia group, lower insomnia severity was correlated with higher QOL in patients with comorbid insomnia. These results stress the importance of assessing and treating daytime fatigue in insomnia. In primary insomnia, improving social support might be an important treatment goal. Furthermore, this study supports the concept that treatment of insomnia should not be neglected in patients with comorbid insomnia. Indeed, both insomnia and indices of psychiatric disease are strongly associated with general QOL in this condition.

A Model to Explain the Observed Tendency to Aggression in University Students

Some approaches in psychology (e.g. Psychoanalysis) define aggression as an inborn behavior while some others (e.g. Behaviorism) define it as an acquired behavior. However, today it is a more widely admitted idea that aggression is a product of heredity-environment interactions and it has a relation with different psycho-social variables. It is observed that aggression was tried to be explained by more basic research models in previous studies. In this study; however, it was preferred to form a complex model to explain aggression selected as a dependent variable. The main objective of the study in this context is to examine the relation between aggression and the variables of perfectionism, forgiveness and coping with stress. The study group consists of 2744 university students studying in seven different cities. The data of the study was analyzed with the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results obtained from the study show that aggression is explained significantly by the variables of perfectionism (β=.13; p<.001), forgiveness (β=-.40; p<.001) and negative and passive coping (β=.17; p<.001). Some of the results show similarities with the previous findings while the others have some differences. In consideration of the results, some suggestions were made for the implementation process and for further researches.

Violence among the Youth in Turkey: An Assessment of General Strain Theory

Most tests of criminological theories have been carried out in the western world, especially the United States. Agnew developed a General Strain Theory and claimed that it could account for deviance/crime in the developing countries. However, the support for the theory was generally mixed at best. The goal of this study is to examine the major theses of general strain theory in relation to youth violence in Nigde, a small city in central part of Turkey. The data came from a random sample of 974 students drawn from the lists of the university students at Nigde University (N= 12,514). Data were analyzed by using logistic regression analysis. The present study focused on three important research questions: Is the influence of strain on violence positive, Is the impact of strain on violence is mediated by anger, and Is the effect of strain on violence moderated by some criminal and non-criminal copings? The results indicated that few strain variables had direct positive impacts on violence. Anger had positive effect on the dependent variable. Few interactions between the strain and coping variables were observed. In short, the overall results gave a limited support for the three major arguments of general strain theory.

Feelings of Usefulness to Others Predict Active Coping With Osteoarthritis Knee Pain.

To investigate associations of perceived usefulness to other people with active versus passive coping strategies among adults with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Additional aims explored contributions of personality variables to this dynamic. 199 persons (70.3 years ± 10.4) with knee OA reported personality, coping, and psychosocial data using the Big Five Inventory, subscales from the Social Provisions Scale, and the Coping With Illness measure. Regression analyses identified predictors of perceived usefulness and its independent and interactive associations with active versus passive coping and personality variables. Better subjective health predicted perceived usefulness. Older adults with higher reported perceived usefulness employed more active than passive pain coping strategies. Passive coping was associated with neuroticism and greater functional disability. Usefulness predicted active OA pain coping, suggesting that it may promote well-being among persons with chronic pain. Further study investigating perceived usefulness in promoting positive health behaviors is needed.

Budget Rules and Flexibility in the Public Sector: Towards a Taxonomy

AbstractThe practices and norms of public budgeting have often been seen as a brake on the flexibility needed of government organisations. This remains true despite historically significant financial management reforms designed around budgetary devolution. Seeing flexibility as operating along two dimensions – devolution and discretion – this paper revisits the underlying features of traditional public budgeting to develop a taxonomy of six generic ‘budget rules’. By isolating key properties of budget control, the paper uses two of the more prominent rules – annuality and purpose – to illustrate how the rules interact to generate control capacity, as well as the scope for rule variability in promoting increased flexibility.

Psychological stress and coping in recently discharged postsurgical cancer patients

Objective:Cancer patients and survivors need to cope with various stressful situations and problems even after treatment. In this study, we sought to investigate psychological stress and coping in recently discharged postsurgical cancer patients.Methods:A mail-in questionnaire survey about stress response, perceived illness-related demands, and coping strategies and styles was administered to postsurgical Japanese cancer patients. The questionnaires were returned a week after the patients’ discharge from the hospital. Descriptive and nonparametric statistical analyses were used.Results:Forty-two patients completed the questionnaire; their average age was 58.1 years, and 61.9% were female. The stress response scale-18 (SRS-18) score was lower than that reported among the general population. The proportion of patients who were concentrating coping on social support or positive reappraisal was high. The scores for problem- and emotion-focused coping were nearly identical. SRS-18 scores were weakly correlated with those for emotion-focused coping (r = 0.38, P = 0.014). The demographic data were not significantly associated with any of the stress or coping variables. However, SRS-18 scores for patients who had adjuvant therapy and physical, functional disorders were significantly higher than those for patients who did not (P = 0.004 and P = 0.008, respectively).Conclusions:Most of the patients had a low-stress response and used appropriate coping strategies. However, the findings suggest that attention must be paid to stress-coping in patients who have a physical, functional disorder as well as in those receiving adjuvant therapy.