Effects of detailed information about dissection on intentions to bequeath bodies for use in teaching and research.
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Almost all UK medical schools teach anatomy using human bodies that have been bequeathed specifically for the purpose. Persons intending to make this most generous gift should be fully informed about how their body will be used. If detailed descriptions of dissection reduce the number of bequests, then this traditional and effective approach to anatomy teaching will have to change. To determine what effect detailed information has on intentions to bequeath, the Department of Anatomy at Bristol University sent all 139 people who asked for information, between July and December 2001, a description of dissection that included the statement 'Anatomical examination requires that bodies be dissected (taken apart) so that the fine detail of internal structures can be seen. Organs, such as the heart, lungs and brain, are often removed from the body to allow for more detailed study.' Views were sought by questionnaire (response rate 88%). Ninety-nine per cent of respondents intended to bequeath their body and 88% would allow it to be used in research or teaching with the department to make the final decision. Thus the provision of detailed information about dissection should not reduce the number of bequests and this mechanism could, subject to law, make bodies available for research as well as for teaching. (+info)
A stronger policy of organ retrieval from cadaveric donors: some ethical considerations.
(26/948)
Taking organs from dead people seems, prima facie, to raise fewer ethical complications than taking organs from other sources. There are, however, serious ethical problems in taking organs from the dead unless there is premortem evidence that this is what the deceased would have wanted, or at least, not have objected to. In this paper we will look at a "strong" opting out policy as proposed by John Harris. We will argue that people can be harmed after their death and that the posthumous removal of organs against their expressed wishes is one form that such harm might take. We also argue that Harris's claim that we show "equality of concern" between the donor and recipient requires too much. (+info)
Predicting adolescent pedestrians' road-crossing intentions: an application and extension of the Theory of Planned Behaviour.
(27/948)
The present paper reports an application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to the prediction of road-crossing intentions among adolescents. In addition, the sufficiency of the TPB was assessed by examining the additional predictive utility of moral norms, anticipated affect and self-identity. A sample of 1833 adolescents completed a questionnaire containing a scenario depicting a potentially hazardous road-crossing behaviour, followed by items measuring the TPB constructs, moral norms, anticipated affect and self-identity. Regression analyses revealed that the TPB was able to explain 25% of the variance in road-crossing intentions, over and above the influence of age and gender, with perceived behavioural control emerging as the strongest predictor. The additional variables were found to increase the predictive utility of the TPB. The results have a number of theoretical and practical implications. In particular, interventions should focus on perceptions of control in order to encourage safer road-crossing behaviour among adolescents. (+info)
Understanding soft drink consumption among female adolescents using the Theory of Planned Behavior.
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This study identified factors that influence regular soda consumption among 707 female students, aged 13-18 years, attending North Los Angeles County public high schools. Participants completed a group-administered Theory of Planned Behavior-based questionnaire. Almost all of the participants, 96.3%, reported that they currently drink soda; 50.1% reported drinking 2 glasses of soda or more per day during the past year. Students reported drinking regular soda more than diet soda and reported drinking phosphoric acid-containing soda more than non-phosphoric acid-containing soda. Attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control had statistically significant positive associations with intention, and were each significant predictors of intention to drink regular soda and together explained 64% of its variance. The strongest predictor was attitude, followed by perceived behavioral control and subjective norm. Our results suggest that efforts to reduce soda consumption among female adolescents should include parents and friends. It is also important that soda should not be excessively available at home or widely accessible to teenagers at schools. Healthy eating messages for adolescents need to be developed and incorporated into existing and future campaigns to reinforce the perception that there are other healthier drinks that quench thirst and that taste good as well. (+info)
'I came back here and started smoking again': perceptions and experiences of quitting among disadvantaged smokers.
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This paper draws upon qualitative research with 100 smokers (50 male and 50 female) in two Scottish areas of disadvantage to investigate their perceptions and experiences of quitting. The fieldwork took place between 1999 and 2000, with data collected through in-depth individual interviews and the completion of a smoking day grid. While many interviewees wanted to quit, they drew on their understandings of habit and addiction to illustrate the difficulties which quitting posed. Addiction was referenced through accounts of actual and anticipated unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, while accounts of the difficulties associated with quitting drew primarily upon habitual usage and routine aspects of their lives. Interviewees reported interacting frequently with other smokers. They also highlighted how stressful aspects of their lives perpetuated habitual smoking and prompted relapse following periods of cessation. Although the contexts inhabited by the interviewees were crucial in inhibiting successful quitting attempts, these factors acted in conjunction with and exacerbated feelings of physiological dependence on tobacco. Interviewees were sceptical about the effectiveness of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) other than in the immediate or short term. For the most part, interviewees felt that NRT could not address aspects of their lives that appeared to support and sustain smoking in the long term. The paper concludes that in order to facilitate and sustain smoking cessation, tobacco control interventions need to tackle both nicotine addiction and the material circumstances experienced by disadvantaged smokers. (+info)
"Hey John": signals conveying communicative intention toward the self activate brain regions associated with "mentalizing," regardless of modality.
(30/948)
Successful communication between two people depends first on the recognition of the intention to communicate. Such intentions may be conveyed by signals directed at the self, such as calling a person's name or making eye contact. In this study we use functional magnetic resonance imaging to show that the perception of these two signals, which differ in modality and sensory channel, activate common brain regions: the paracingulate cortex and temporal poles bilaterally. These regions are part of a network that has been consistently activated when people are asked to think about the mental states of others. Activation of this network is independent of arousal as measured by changes in pupil diameter. (+info)
Planning and representing intentional action.
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This paper reviews recent approaches to human action planning and the cognitive representation of intentional actions. Evidence suggests that action planning takes place in terms of anticipated features of the intended goal, that is, in terms of action effects. These effects are acquired from early infancy on by registering contingencies between movements and perceptual movement outcomes. Co-occurrence of movements and effects leads to the creation of bidirectional associations between the underlying internal codes, thus establishing distributed perception-action networks subserving both perceiving external events and intentionally producing them. Action plans determine only the general, goal-relevant features of intended actions, while the fine-tuning is left to on-line sensory-motor processing. Action plans emerge from competition for action control between several factors: overlearned habits, perceptual events, and emotional influences, among others. Accordingly, action control represents a balance between personal intentions and wishes on the one hand and environmental affordances and demands on the other. (+info)
Predicting the need for hospital admission in patients with intentional drug overdose.
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BACKGROUND: Self-poisoned patients are often admitted to a medical unit. However, often no treatment is given. We have developed a model to predict those patients who will not be treated and how long patients should be observed before this prediction can be safely made. METHODS: In this retrospective study a model to predict treatment was developed based on cases of self-poisoning in 1996 and validated on cases between 1997 and 1999. In a teaching hospital in The Netherlands 299 adults performing 353 episodes of self-poisoning were studied. The main outcome measures were predicted versus initiated medical treatment, time to prediction and time to initiation of treatment. RESULTS: The model predicted that in 51% (156/307) of all autointoxications no treatment would be given. In 2% (6/307) of all cases, treatment was incorrectly not predicted. All but one of these were preventive treatments based on the ingested compound. 4.5 hours after admission no additional patients fulfilled the criteria for prediction of treatment and all treatments were started within 4.5 hours. CONCLUSIONS: In 51% of patients that present with an autointoxication the model accurately predicts that no treatment will be initiated. This decision can be made in the first 4.5 hours after presentation. This model can be used for a first screening of patients. It can also be used as a basis for a further prospective study to establish rational guidelines in the management of these patients. (+info)