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PubMed2000

Examination of the psychometric properties of the perceived motivational climate in sport questionnaire-2 in a sample of female athletes.

We undertook two studies to determine the validity and reliability of the revised Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire (PMCSQ-2). In Study 1, 201 female athletes (mean age 16.4 years) were administered the initial version of the PMCSQ-2 and a measure of reported tension and pressure experienced in sport. Exploratory principal component analysis suggested that the PMCSQ-2 contained two higher-order scales (Task-Involving and Ego-Involving climates), each with three subscales (Task: Cooperative Learning, Effort/ Improvement, Important Role; Ego: Intra-Team Member Rivalry, Unequal Recognition, Punishment for Mistakes). In Study 2, 385 female volleyball players (mean age 15.2 years) completed the PMCSQ-2, the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory and a measure of Team Satisfaction. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to six competing models. The oblique six-factor model and oblique hierarchical model provided comparable fit to the data. Acceptable fit was reached based on model respecification. Across Studies 1 and 2, internal consistency was found to be acceptable for the higher-order scales and subscales (with the exception of the Intra-Team Member Rivalry subscale). We found evidence for the concurrent validity of the instrument.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Goal orientation profile differences on perceived motivational climate, perceived peer relationships, and motivation-related responses of youth athletes.

The aims of this study were twofold: (a) to determine if dispositional achievement goal orientation profiles that are reported in the literature would be observed in a sample of youth athletes, and (b) to examine potential achievement goal orientation profile differences on perceptions of the motivational climate, perceptions of peer relationships, and motivation-related responses. Male soccer players (n=223) aged 9-12 years (mean=10.9, s=0.6) completed a multi-section questionnaire containing assessments of dispositional goal (task, ego) orientations, the perceived task- and ego-involving features of the motivational climate, perceived peer acceptance and friendship quality (positive friendship quality, conflict), perceived ability, soccer enjoyment, and satisfaction with one's performance and the team. Four profiles were observed that closely matched those observed by Hodge and Petlichkoff (2000), though in the present study a lower proportion of participants exhibited achievement goal profiles consisting of relatively high ego orientation. Achievement goal profile differences were found for all variables except positive friendship quality, with a general trend for those reporting relatively lower task goal orientation to exhibit less adaptive responses. Overall, the findings support achievement goal frameworks (e.g. Nicholls, 1989) and suggest that further examination of dispositional achievement goals may afford a deeper understanding of social relationships and motivational processes in youth sport.

Achievement↗
PubMed2006

Improving teamwork climate in operating theatres: the shift from multiprofessionalismto interprofessionalism.

A multi-faceted, longitudinal and prospective collaborative inquiry was initiated in December 2002 with one half of the cohort of operating theatre personnel in a large, acute UK hospital serving a mainly rural population. The same intervention was introduced in January 2004 to the other half of the cohort. The project aims to improve patient safety through a structured educational intervention focussed upon changing teamwork practices. This article reports one critical element of the larger project - changing teamwork climate as a necessary precursor to establishing an interprofessional teamwork culture. The aggregate of individual, unidirectional attitude changes across a large cohort constitutes a change in climate. This shift challenges the conventional culture of multiprofessionalism, where uniprofessional identification (the "silo" mentality) is traditionally strong.

Education, Medical, Continuing↗
PubMed2004

Role clarity, fairness, and organizational climate as predictors of sickness absence: a prospective study in the private sector.

AIMS: The majority of the research on the effects of the psychosocial work environment on sickness absenteeism has focused on components of job strain and social support among public sector employees without stratification by socioeconomic status. The authors examined less-studied work-related psychosocial predictors of sickness absence in the private sector by socioeconomic status. METHODS: Questionnaire data on psychosocial factors at work were used to predict the rates of recorded short (1-3 days), long (4-21 days), and very long (over 21 days) sickness absences among 3,850 white- and blue-collar male and female employees in a large-scale enterprise. Multivariate Poisson regression models were adjusted for age, prior absence, and psychosocial factors at work. RESULTS: In white-collar men, low role clarity was associated with a 3.0 (95% CI 1.3-7.1) times greater rate of very long absences than high role clarity. Low fairness in the division of labor predicted a 1.3-fold (95% CI 1.1-1.5) rate of long absences in blue-collar men. In blue-collar women, poor organizational climate was associated with a 1.6 (95% CI 1.0-2.5) times greater rate of short absence spells than favorable organizational climate but among white-collar women all associations between work-related psychosocial factors and sickness absenteeism were weak. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that the actions to reduce psychosocial risk factors of sickness absence should match the specific needs of each socioeconomic group.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Comparative Phylogeography of Mesoamerican Highland Rodents: Concerted versus Independent Response to Past Climatic Fluctuations.

The phylogeography of Sumichrast's harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys sumichrasti) was examined through maximum-likelihood and parsimony analyses of 1,130 bp of mitochondrial Cytochrome b sequence data from 43 individuals. The phylogeography of this Middle American highland forest-dwelling species was compared to that previously published for the codistributed Aztec deer mouse complex (Peromyscus aztecus/Peromyscus hylocetes complex) in order to test competing hypotheses of concerted versus independent responses of codistributed forms to past climatic fluctuations. Qualitatively, there were strong similarities in the phylogeographic patterns of the two groups, yet there were also areas of incongruence. Likelihood-ratio tests (Kishino-Hasegawa-Templeton and parametric bootstrap tests) indicated that this incongruence is significant and cannot be attributed simply to uncertainty in phylogenetic estimation, thereby falsifying the concerted-response hypothesis. Conversely, tree-reconciliation analysis of the area relationships inferred for each group separately indicated that there has been a significant history of covicariance between the two groups, falsifying the independent-response hypothesis. It appears that codistributed taxa in the geologically complex highlands of Mesoamerica share more common biogeographical history than can be accounted for by the independent-response hypothesis yet have not responded to past climatic fluctuations in the lock-step fashion predicted by the concerted-response hypothesis.

Middle American highlands↗
PubMed2006

Adult blood pressure and climate conditions in infancy: a test of the hypothesis that dehydration in infancy is associated with higher adult blood pressure.

The authors hypothesized that individuals born in the early 20th century who experienced the hottest and driest summers during infancy would be more likely to have suffered severe infant diarrhea and dehydration, and consequently have had higher blood pressure in adulthood, than those who experienced cooler and wetter summers. In this context, these climate data act as an instrumental variable for the association of early-life dehydration with later blood pressure. For 3,964 randomly selected British women born between 1919 and 1940 and whose blood pressure was measured at age 60-79 years, a one standard deviation (1.3 degrees C) higher mean summer temperature in the first year of life was associated with a 1.12-mmHg (95% confidence interval: 0.33, 1.91) higher adult systolic blood pressure, and a one standard deviation higher mean summer rainfall (33.9 mm) was associated with lower systolic blood pressure (-1.65 mmHg, 95% confidence interval: -2.44, -0.85). Equivalent results for diastolic blood pressure were 0.11 (95% confidence interval: -0.65, 0.86) and -0.32 (95% confidence interval: -0.71, 0.05). The climate variables were not associated with potential confounding factors such as socioeconomic position or lifestyle risk factors. These findings provide some evidence in favor of the hypothesis that dehydration in infancy is associated with higher adult blood pressure.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Stomatal oscillations in orange trees under natural climatic conditions.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Stomatal oscillations have been reported in many plant species, but they are usually induced by sudden step changes in the environment when plants are grown under constant conditions. This study shows that in navel orange trees (Citrus sinensis) pronounced stomatal oscillations occur and persist under natural climatic conditions. METHODS: Oscillations in stomatal conductance were measured, and related to simultaneous measurements of leaf water potential, and flow rate of sap in the stems of young, potted plants. Cycling was also observed in soil-grown, mature orchard trees, as indicated by sap flow in stem and branches. KEY RESULTS: Oscillations in stomatal conductance were caused by the rapid propagation and synchronization of changes in xylem water potential throughout the tree, without rapid changes in atmospheric conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The results show marked stomatal oscillations persisting under natural climatic conditions and underscore the need to discover why this phenomenon is so pronounced in orange trees.

Biological Clocks↗
PubMed1998

The highly structured climate in families of adolescents with diabetes: functional or dysfunctional for metabolic control?

OBJECTIVE: Compare changes in perceived family climate over time in families with healthy adolescents and families with adolescents with diabetes and analyze the links to metabolic control. METHOD: In a total of four annually conducted surveys, 89 German adolescents with diabetes and 106 healthy adolescents as well as their parents completed the Family Environment Scale (FES). Metabolic control was determined by physicians' reports of adolescents' hemoglobin (HbA1) levels. RESULTS: Compared to families with healthy adolescents, families caring for an adolescent with diabetes portrayed their family interactions as considerably more structured and less cohesive and stimulating. Family climate was not associated with metabolic control and varied little with time, illness duration, and adolescents' gender. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that continued parental monitoring is necessary for good metabolic control. However, a balance must be found between medical adaptation to illness and the adolescent's developmental needs.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Family emotional climate, depression, emotional triggering of asthma, and disease severity in pediatric asthma: examination of pathways of effect.

OBJECTIVES: (a) To assess emotional triggering of pediatric asthma and ascertain its contribution to disease morbidity and functional status; (b) to test whether negative family emotional climate (NFEQ) is associated with depressive and/or anxious symptoms and emotional triggering of asthma attacks in the child. METHOD: Children with asthma (N = 272, 56% male, age 7-17) and their primary caregivers answered together an Asthma Trigger Inventory (Ritz, Steptoe, Bobb, Harris, & Edwards, 2006). Children reported on anxious (STAIC) and depressive (CDI) symptoms and on asthma-related quality of life (PAQLQ). Parent(s) reported on their child's internalizing (CBCL-I) and depressive symptoms (CDI-P). A clinician also rated the child's depression using the structured CDRS-R. Asthma diagnosis was confirmed and disease severity rated according to NHLBI guidelines by an asthma clinician. RESULTS: Path analyses indicated that NFEQ was associated with depressive symptoms, which in turn were associated both directly and indirectly (by way of emotional triggering) with disease severity. Comparison of nested models indicated the possibility of differential roles and pathways for anxious versus depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: Findings elucidate possible pathways of effect by which family emotional climate and child depressive symptoms may influence pediatric asthma disease severity by way of potentiating emotional triggering of asthma.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

West Nile virus and the climate.

West Nile virus is transmitted by urban-dwelling mosquitoes to birds and other animals, with occasional "spillover" to humans. While the means by which West Nile virus was introduced into the Americas in 1999 remain unknown, the climatic conditions that amplify diseases that cycle among urban mosquitoes, birds, and humans are warm winters and spring droughts. This information can be useful in generating early warning systems and mobilizing timely and the most environmentally friendly public health interventions. The extreme weather conditions accompanying long-term climate change may also be contributing to the spread of West Nile virus in the United States and Europe.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Social climate on alcohol in Rotterdam, The Netherlands: public opinion on drinking behaviour and alcohol control measures.

Research was undertaken regarding the Dutch climate on alcohol in 1994 and results were compared with earlier findings. It was found that the social climate on alcohol in The Netherlands can be characterized by 'moderation'. Over the years, drinking without problems has become more acceptable (and is even encouraged at times) whereas excessive drinking and consequent problems still meet strong disapproval. Opinions concerning alcohol control measures mirror this attitude. Measures such as the restriction of drinking in public places and raising the age limits are endorsed by the public. However, more people are now against restrictions on the general availability of alcohol. Although drink-driving has decreased over the years, its prevalence is still high, especially among those who are most at risk.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Use of provenance tests to predict response to climate change: loblolly pine and Norway spruce.

Provenance tests are often used to determine genetic responses of seed sources to transfer to different climates. This study was undertaken to determine whether provenance tests can be used to predict tree response to rapid climate changes in situ. Data from provenance tests of loblolly pines (Pinus taeda L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) and other southern pines (subsect. AUSTRALES Loud.) were interpreted using regression models to relate growth to temperature variables. Results of different plantings were combined by expressing growth as a percent deviation from the "local" source, and expressing temperature at the source as a deviation from that of the planting site. The results of the loblolly pine and Norway spruce models predicted a loss of about 5 to 10% in height growth below that expected for a genetically adapted seed source, if the average yearly temperature increases by 4 degrees C.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Climate warming and the risk of frost damage to boreal forest trees: identification of critical ecophysiological traits.

According to a hypothesis presented in the mid-1980s, climate warming will, paradoxically, increase the risk of frost damage to trees in the boreal and temperate zones. Dehardening and even growth onset may occur in trees during mild spells in winter and early spring, resulting in damage during subsequent periods of frost. In the present study, ecophysiological traits critical to the occurrence of frost damage in trees in the boreal zone were identified. Diagnostic computer simulations were performed to examine why one simulation model of frost hardiness in an earlier study predicted heavy frost damage as a consequence of climate warming, whereas another closely related model did not. The modeling comparison revealed that the response of ontogenetic development to air temperature during quiescence is a critical factor determining the risk of frost damage. As the response can be readily determined in growth-chamber experiments, the findings of the present study can be used to guide experimental work on the environmental regulation of the annual cycle of frost hardiness in trees.

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed1981

Social climate perception and depression of patients and staff in a chronic hemodialysis unit.

This socioecological study investigates the relationship of depression and social climate perception of patients (N = 59) and staff N = 18) in a chronic hemodialysis unit. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Moos Ward Atmosphere Scale (WAS) Form C revised for dialysis are used for measurement. Patients and staff are found to have significantly dissonant perception of the unit. Patients perceive the environment more negatively than the staff. Depressed patients correlate with Low WAS scores (p less than .03) indicating that depression influences social climate perception. Depressed patient BDI items are correlated with WAS items via a series of Pearson correlation coefficients for a perceptual profile. Discussion is made as to the dysfunctional affects of dissonance, depression, staff denial and withdrawal. Further studies on altering the social ecology of dialysis units as a method for reducing depression and staff turnover rates are called for.

Depression↗
PubMed2001

A new look at nurse burnout: the effects of environmental uncertainty and social climate.

As healthcare organizations deal with changes in the external environment, uncertainty in the internal environment is created. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among environmental uncertainty, social climate, and burnout among staff nurses. Multiple regression analysis was used to explore relationships among study variables. Perceived environmental uncertainty predicted burnout among staff nurses, although there was no significant relationship between burnout and objective measures of unit activity. The social climate of the workplace was negatively associated with burnout. The authors concluded that social networks are important during times of change and uncertainty in the work environment; in other words, a supportive workplace can protect against burnout.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Medical adherence and childhood chronic illness: family daily management skills and emotional climate as emerging contributors.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To describe recent research that examines family factors that promote or derail adherence to medical regimens for children with chronic health conditions, primarily asthma, diabetes, and cystic fibrosis. From the past 2 years, eight correlational studies were identified which specifically examined the links between family management strategies, family climate and medical adherence. RECENT FINDINGS: Findings from the studies suggest that team-based management strategies and cohesive family climate promote adherence to medical treatments over time. Family interactions that are characterized by conflict and disengagement tend to disrupt adherence and inevitably cause a decline in child health. Moreover, these findings seem to be moderated by child age in that poorer adherence often occurs when a child reaches adolescence and is searching for greater autonomy. SUMMARY: Future research should consider the challenges in measuring medical adherence in the family context as well as incorporating more naturalistic studies of family interactions. Randomized controlled trials using family-based interventions may consider focusing on medical adherence as an important mediator between family process and child health outcomes.

Asthma↗
PubMed2006

Sexual selection predicts advancement of avian spring migration in response to climate change.

Global warming has led to earlier spring arrival of migratory birds, but the extent of this advancement varies greatly among species, and it remains uncertain to what degree these changes are phenotypically plastic responses or microevolutionary adaptations to changing environmental conditions. We suggest that sexual selection could help to understand this variation, since early spring arrival of males is favoured by female choice. Climate change could weaken the strength of natural selection opposing sexual selection for early migration, which would predict greatest advancement in species with stronger female choice. We test this hypothesis comparatively by investigating the degree of long-term change in spring passage at two ringing stations in northern Europe in relation to a synthetic estimate of the strength of female choice, composed of degree of extra-pair paternity, relative testes size and degree of sexually dichromatic plumage colouration. We found that species with a stronger index of sexual selection have indeed advanced their date of spring passage to a greater extent. This relationship was stronger for the changes in the median passage date of the whole population than for changes in the timing of first-arriving individuals, suggesting that selection has not only acted on protandrous males. These results suggest that sexual selection may have an impact on the responses of organisms to climate change, and knowledge of a species' mating system might help to inform attempts at predicting these.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1989

Thermal regulation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase in c(3) and c(4) plants native to hot and temperate climates.

Exposure of leaf sections from 2-week-old seedlings of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) (C(4) plant), corn (Zea mays L.) (C(4)), peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) (C(3) plant), and soybean (Glycine max L.) (C(3)) to 40 or 45 degrees C for up to 4 hours resulted in significant increases in the levels of 102 kilodalton (C(4)), 52 kilodalton (C(3) and C(4)), and 15 kilodalton (C(3) and C(4)) polypeptides. These proteins comigrated, respectively, with authentic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) and the large (RLSU) and small (RSSU) subunits of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco) during both one- and two-dimensional SDS-PAGE and reacted with antisera raised against these enzymes. After 4 hours at 50 degrees C, levels of the polypeptides either remained relatively stable (PEPC, RLSU) or increased (RSSU) in sorghum and peanut (plants native to hot climates). In corn and soybean (plants native to temperate climates), levels of the proteins either fell sharply (corn) or showed strong evidence of incomplete processing and/or aggregation (soybean). In addition to changes in levels of the proteins, the activities of PEPC and Rubisco in extracts of leaves exposed to 50 degrees C fell by 84% and 11% of their respective control values in sorghum and by 54% each in peanut. In corn and soybean, the activities of both enzymes were depressed at 40 degrees C, with measured values at 50 degrees C not exceeding 5% of those from the nonstressed controls.

Journal Article↗