Measuring hope amongst Tanzanian women who participate in microfinance: An evaluation of the Snyder hope scale

ABSTRACT

Measuring hope reliably and accurately remains an important research objective, not least in less prosperous settings where ‘holding on to hope’ may be critically important in the struggle against adverse life conditions. The State Hope Scale was designed for use in the US. Despite reported application in diverse cultures and using translations the scale has not been extensively validated outside US populations. This study contributes to a larger project exploring the measurement of hope and provides a critique of Snyder’s scale as used in a Tanzanian female population of 1021 urban microfinance participants. We evaluate the scale’s validity through assessment of the empirical distribution of scores, item response profiles, internal consistency and discriminatory ability. Participants mostly scored very high and many reached very near the maximum attainable score. Hardly any endorsed the negative half of the response scale. Several problems are discussed including poor discrimination and strong evidence of acquiescence response bias. We also found little association of the scale scores with hypothesised correlates of hope. Future improvements on the measurement of hope are recommended, especially in studies outside the narrow Western context in which the scale was devised.     

再谈辛味药在方剂中的作用

气味理论是中药药性理论的核心内容。五味中之辛味能兼通四气,复兼四味。历代医籍有关气味配伍的记载有很多。如辛行淡渗、辛甘化阳、辛散咸软、辛散酸收、辛开苦降等配伍方法,充分体现了辛味药物在方剂配伍应用中的广泛性特点。因此,认真研究、总结辛味药在方剂中的作用并进而探讨其配伍规律,具有重要的理论意义和应用价值。本文以辛味药为例,探讨其在方剂学中的作用,发现:辛味药的作用主要体现在"运动"二字。这与中医学对机体的认识的主旨思想"阴阳相贯,如环无端"相一致。作用机理在于:以其"动"的特性,协其他药性之偏以纠正机体阴阳之偏,即以偏纠偏。     

The role of Self-Defined Race/Ethnicity in Population Structure Control

Population-based association studies are powerful tools for the genetic mapping of complex diseases. However, this method is sensitive to potential confounding by population structure. While statistical methods that use genetic markers to detect and control for population structure have been the focus of current literature, the utility of self-defined race/ethnicity in controlling for population structure has been controversial. In this study of 1334 individuals, who self-identified as either African American, European American or Hispanic, we demonstrated that when the true underlying genetic structure and the self-defined racial/ethnic groups were roughly in agreement with each other, the self-defined race/ethnicity information was useful in the control of population structure.     

Codon usage patterns in chromosomal and retrotransposon genes of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae

Codon usage was compiled for fourteen chromosomal genes and four retrotransposons from the mosquito Anopheles gambiae. Variation exists among chromosomal genes in the degree of bias. The genes showing the highest bias are probably most highly expressed. In these genes, the base composition at the third codon position is much richer in G + C than is the overall coding sequence. Thus, codon usage is biased toward G- or C-ending codons. Codon usage in each retrotransposon is quite different, not only from chromosomal genes but also from the other retrotransposons. Codon usage comparisons among homologous genes from An. gambiae and two other Dipterans, the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti and the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster, show that while there are similarities, particularly between An. gambiae and D. melanogaster in the preference for G-and C-ending codons, each species has evolved a distinct pattern of codon usage.     

Positive Thinking Among Slot Machine Gamblers: A Case of Maladaptive Coping?

Background  Research has demonstrated that optimism and “positive illusions” can be used a coping mechanism among those facing adversity. Gamblers are a little studied group who also experience adversity and uncertainty. They often feel considerable levels of frustration, guilt, anger and a sense of feeling cheated after making significant losses. In order to deal with such feelings it is hypothesized that these individuals will search for positive consequences from their behaviour in order to offset this negative affect. Objectives  To (1) determine whether after gambling, gamblers compensate and reduce negative affect by identifying positive consequences from experiencing a loss, and (2) identify types of strategies which gamblers employ and consider how these should be classified. Materials and Methods  Eighty-seven regular slot machine gamblers were interviewed in a variety of environments housing slot machines. Each participant was asked a series of questions in a semi-structured format, to explore possible styles of positive thinking. Results  Nine types of ‘positive thinking’ experienced by gamblers were identified. These included Comparative thinking, Prophylactic thinking, Biased frequency thinking, Responsibility avoidance, Chasing Validation, Prioritization, Resourcefulness, Thoughtfulness, and Fear Reduction. Gamblers who were positive thinkers experienced significantly less guilt than non-positive thinkers. Conclusions  While reduction of negative affect may be perceived as positive in many other contexts, it is argued that it may counteract efforts to promote responsible gambling. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Subjective bias in reports of poor work adjustment in depressed patients

Twenty-five depressed inpatients were asked to report their adjustment at work during the 4-month period preceding their hospitalization. Two separate reports were given: the first during the acute illness phase and the second one 10-28 days later, after symptomatic remission following standardized pharmacotherapy. Thirty-two percent more patient ratings showed absence of adjustment problems on the second report compared with the first. Significant differences between the 2 reports were found in 7 of the 9 items on the Structured and Scaled Interview to Assess Maladjustment, which is designed to assess specific aspects of maladjustment at work. The changes in the scores of maladjustment correlated with the changes in the scores of depressive symptoms, and 40% of the variation in maladjustment scores was accounted for by the pessimism item of the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale. Much of the poor work adjustment reported by the acutely depressed patients thus seems to be caused by symptom-related subjective bias.     

Sampling Patients Within and Across Health Care Providers: Multi-Stage Non-Nested Samples in Health Services Research

In order to better inform study design decisions when sampling patients within and across health care providers we develop a simulation-based approach for designing complex multi-stage samples. The approach explores the tradeoff between competing design goals such as precision of estimates, coverage of the target population and cost.We elicit a number of sensible candidate designs, evaluate these designs with respect to multiple sampling goals, investigate their tradeoffs, and identify the design that is the best compromise among all goals. This approach recognizes that, in the practice of sampling, precision of the estimates is not the only important goal, and that there are tradeoffs with coverage and cost that should be explicitly considered. One can easily add other goals. We construct a sample frame with all phase III clinical cancer treatment trials that are conducted by cooperative oncology groups of the National Cancer Institute from October 1, 1998 through December 31, 1999. Simulation results for our study suggest sampling a different number of trials and institutions than initially considered.Simulations of different study designs can uncover efficiency gains both in terms of improved precision of the estimates and in terms of improved coverage of the target population. Simulations enable us to explore the tradeoffs between competing sampling goals and to quantify these efficiency gains. This is true even for complex designs where the stages are not strictly nested in one another.     

Use of current situational information and causal inference: Do dysphoric individuals make “unwarranted” causal inferences?

According to Beck's original theory, depressives make unwarranted negatively biased personal inferences. Specifically, Beck suggested that depressives ignore current positive situational information and are unduly influenced by current negative situational information in making inferences. To test Beck's theory, we used Kelley's normative model of causal inference to examine the utilization of causally relevant situational information by dysphoric, nondepressed, and very nondepressed subjects in making causal attributions for personal success and failure. We used Stevens and Jones' classic method from social psychology and embedded the relevant causal information in the natural flow of events. Results showed that dysphoric, nondepressed, and very nondepressed subjects did, to an equal degree, use such information to make causal attributions. Although dysphoric and both groups of nondepressed subjects used current situational information consistently with Kelley's model, clear-cut baseline differences in the content of their causal attributions existed. Thus, the results supported the reformulations of Beck's theory that emphasize content, rather than process, differences between depressive and nondepressive cognition for dysphoria.Preparation of this article was supported by a Vilas Award, a University of Wisconsin Graduate School Grant, a Romnes Fellowship, a Biomedical Grant, and NIMH Grant R01MH43866 to Lyn Y. Abramson.