Práticas psicológicas nos Creas do interior do RS: o olhar de trabalhadoras(es) / Psychological practices on CREAS in the countryside of the state of Rio Grande do Sul: perspectives of workers / Prácticas psicológicas en CREAS en el interior de Rio Grande do Sul: perspectiva de trabajadoras/es

O presente texto tem o objetivo de explanar ações desempenhadas por psicólogas(os) trabalhadoras(es) dos Centros de Referência Especializados de Assistência Social (Creas), em situações de violência intrafamiliar, identificadas a partir do estude empírico realizado por mim, psicóloga pesquisadora, também trabalhadora de um Creas. Participaram da pesquisa doze psicólogas(os), trabalhadoras(es) destes centros, em sete municípios do interior do Rio Grande do Sul, onde foram realizadas, presencialmente, as entrevistas. A análise dos dados apontou para uma compreensão metodológica a partir de três dimensões já apontadas na bibliografia, sendo elas: a) Acolhida Inicial, que demonstra que esses profissionais geralmente iniciam suas práticas com uma família ou indivíduo indo ao encontro destes, buscando a vinculação dos mesmos com o serviço; b) Acompanhamento Especializado, onde essas(es) trabalhadoras(es) desenvolvem suas práticas com diversidade e criatividade, a partir de visitas domiciliares, trabalhos com grupos, indivíduos ou famílias, geralmente em conjunto com outros profissionais, principalmente assistentes sociais; c) Articulação com a Rede, onde se identificou um importante movimento para o trabalho em conjunto com outros serviços disponíveis no território. Por fim, as considerações finais indicam que ainda há um caminho a ser trilhado com relação à definição das práticas dos psicólogos no Creas. Porém, há muito que se falar a respeito de práticas que já estão ocorrendo. Assim, tornam-se relevantes as pesquisas acadêmicas nesse contexto, pois ao inserir os profissionais psicólogos trabalhadores da política, eles podem promover uma articulação entre a produção do fazer cotidiano e a reflexão teórica e acadêmica sustentada pelas pesquisas.(AU)

This study aims to explore the activities developed by psychologists from the Centros de Referência de Atenção Especializada (CREAS - Brazilian Specialized Social Assistance Reference Centers), regarding situations of intrafamily violence identified by me, the author, a research psychologist and, CREAS worker. Participants include 12 psychologists who work on such centers from 7 cities in the countryside of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where the interviews were conducted in person. The data analysis pointed toward a methodological comprehension based on 3 dimensions that have already been mentioned in the literature: the Initial Approach, which shows that these workers usually initiate their practices with a family or an individual by going after them, seeking bond development with the service. The Specialized Follow-up, in which these workers develop their practices with diversity and creativity, through home visits and activities with group, family or individual, often with other workers, such as social assistance workers. And the Network Articulation, in which a significant movement toward working with the public services available on each territory is identified. Finally, there is still a path to be taken regarding the definition of psychological practices on CREAS, however, there is much to be noticed of what has already been occurring. Thus, academic research on such context is relevant since the inclusion of psychologists who work in this policy may promote an articulation between daily activity and the theoretical and academic reflection, supported by the research.(AU)

Este texto tuvo por objetivo explicar las acciones desarrolladas por psicólogas/os trabajadoras/es en los "Centros de Referência Especializados de Assistência Social" (CREAS) (Centros de Referencia Especializados en Asistencia Social), respecto a las situaciones de violencia intrafamiliar, identificadas por un estudio empírico hecho por una psicóloga-investigadora que actúa en un CREAS. Participaron 12 psicólogas/os que trabajan en estos centros, en siete ciudades del interior de Rio Grande do Sul (Brasil), donde se llevó a cabo las entrevistas en persona. El análisis de datos apuntó a una comprensión metodológica de tres dimensiones ya destacadas en la bibliografía: la Acogida Inicial, que enseña que estos profesionales generalmente empiezan sus prácticas con una familia o individuo buscando el encuentro para la promoción de la vinculación con el servicio; El Seguimiento Especializado, en el que desarrollan sus prácticas con diversidad y creatividad desde visitas domiciliarias, trabajos con grupos, individuos o familias, generalmente junto a otros profesionales, sobre todo con trabajadores sociales; y Articulación con la Red de Servicios, en la cual se identificó un importante movimiento para el trabajo con otros servicios disponibles en el territorio. Por fin, se observa que todavía hay un camino por recorrer en relación a la definición de las prácticas de psicólogos en CREAS, aunque hay mucho que decir respecto a las prácticas que ya están ocurriendo. Así, se vuelven relevantes las investigaciones académicas en ese contexto por introducir a los profesionales psicólogos trabajadores de la política, las cuales pueden promover una articulación entre la producción del hacer cotidiano y la reflexión teórica y académica sustentada por las investigaciones.(AU)

The evolution of language families is shaped by the environment beyond neutral drift.

There are more than 7,000 languages spoken in the world today1. It has been argued that the natural and social environment of languages drives this diversity2-13. However, a fundamental question is how strong are environmental pressures, and does neutral drift suffice as a mechanism to explain diversification? We estimate the phylogenetic signals of geographic dimensions, distance to water, climate and population size on more than 6,000 phylogenetic trees of 46 language families. Phylogenetic signals of environmental factors are generally stronger than expected under the null hypothesis of no relationship with the shape of family trees. Importantly, they are also-in most cases-not compatible with neutral drift models of constant-rate change across the family tree branches. Our results suggest that language diversification is driven by further adaptive and non-adaptive pressures. Language diversity cannot be understood without modelling the pressures that physical, ecological and social factors exert on language users in different environments across the globe.

What are the working mechanisms of a web-based workplace sitting intervention targeting psychosocial factors and action planning?

BACKGROUND: Office workers demonstrate high levels of sitting on workdays. As sitting is positively associated with adverse health risks in adults, a theory-driven web-based computer-tailored intervention to influence workplace sitting, named 'Start to Stand,' was developed. The intervention was found to be effective in reducing self-reported workplace sitting among Flemish employees. The aim of this study was to investigate through which mechanisms the web-based computer-tailored intervention influenced self-reported workplace sitting. METHODS: Employees (n = 155) participated in a clustered randomised controlled trial and reported socio-demographics (age, gender, education), work-related (hours at work, employment duration), health-related (weight and height, workplace sitting and physical activity) and psychosocial (knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, social support, intention regarding (changing) sitting behaviours) variables at baseline and 1-month follow-up. The product-of-coefficients test of MacKinnon based on multiple linear regression analyses was conducted to examine the mediating role of five psychosocial factors (knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, social support, intention). The influence of one self-regulation skill (action planning) in the association between the intervention and self-reported workplace sitting time was investigated via moderation analyses. RESULTS: The intervention had a positive influence on knowledge (p = 0.040), but none of the psychosocial variables did mediate the intervention effect on self-reported workplace sitting. Action planning was found to be a significant moderator (p < 0.001) as the decrease in self-reported workplace sitting only occurred in the group completing an action plan. CONCLUSIONS: Future interventions aimed at reducing employees' workplace sitting are suggested to focus on self-regulatory skills and promote action planning when using web-based computer-tailored advice. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02672215 ; (Archived by WebCite at https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02672215 ).

Food Insecurity and Risk of Depression Among Refugees and Immigrants in South Africa.

South Africa's refugee population has grown considerably over the last decade. Both food insecurity and mental illness are common in developing countries, but this relationship remains unexamined in an African refugee population. 335 adult refugees in Durban, South Africa were interviewed using a self-report of food insecurity and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25. The proportion of those who responded 'often true' to not having enough food and eating less was 23.1 and 54.3 %, respectively. The proportion of individuals with a significant level of anxiety and depressive symptomatology was 49.4 and 54.6 %, respectively. The adjusted logistic regression indicated that not eating enough was significantly associated with anxiety (aOR = 4.52, 95 % CI: 2.09-9.80) and depression (aOR = 4.51, 95 % CI: 2.01-10.09). Similarly, eating less was significantly associated with anxiety (aOR = 2.88, 95 % CI: 1.56-5.31) and depression (aOR = 2.88, 95 % CI: 1.54-5.39). The high prevalence of food insecurity, and its relationship to mental illness, highlight the importance of addressing basic needs among this population.

Perceptions of Family Participation in Intensive Care Unit Rounds and Telemedicine: A Qualitative Assessment.

BACKGROUND: Family-centered rounds involve purposeful interactions between patients' families and care providers to refocus the delivery of care on patients' needs. OBJECTIVES: To examine perspectives of patients' family members and health care providers on family participation in rounds in the surgical intensive care unit (ICU) and the potential use of telemedicine to facilitate this process. METHODS: Patients' family members and surgical ICU care providers were recruited for semistructured interviews exploring stakeholders' perspectives on family participation in ICU rounds and the potential role of telemedicine. Thirty-two interviews were conducted, audio recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Common coding methods were facilitated by using NVivo 10. A mean coding agreement of 97.3% was calculated for 22% of transcripts. RESULTS: Both patients' family members and health care providers described inconsistent practices surrounding family participation in ICU rounds as well as barriers to and facilitators of family participation. Family members identified 3 primary logistical challenges to participation in ICU rounds: distance to hospitals, work/family obligations, and the rounding schedule. Both family members and providers reported receptivity to virtual participation as a potential solution to these challenges. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the barriers to and facilitators of family participation in ICU rounds is key to encouraging adoption of family-centered rounds. For families that live far away or have competing demands, telemedical options may facilitate participation.

The Socioecology of Territory Size and a "Work-Around" Hypothesis for the Adoption of Farming.

This paper combines theory from ecology and anthropology to investigate variation in the territory sizes of subsistence oriented agricultural societies. The results indicate that population and the dependence of individuals within a society on "wild" foods partly determine the territory sizes of agricultural societies. In contrast, the productivity of an agroecosystem is not an important determinant of territory size. A comparison of the population-territory size scaling dynamics of agricultural societies and human foragers indicates that foragers and farmers face the same constraints on their ability to expand their territory and intensify their use of resources within a territory. However, the higher density of food in an agroecosystem allows farmers, on average, to live at much higher population densities than human foragers. These macroecological patterns are consistent with a "work-around hypothesis" for the adoption of farming. This hypothesis is that as residential groups of foragers increase in size, farming can sometimes better reduce the tension between an individual's autonomy over resources and the need for social groups to function to provide public goods like defense and information.

Ecological variation in wealth-fertility relationships in Mongolia: the 'central theoretical problem of sociobiology' not a problem after all?

The negative wealth-fertility relationship brought about by market integration remains a puzzle to classic evolutionary models. Evolutionary ecologists have argued that this phenomenon results from both stronger trade-offs between reproductive and socioeconomic success in the highest social classes and the comparison of groups rather than individuals. Indeed, studies in contemporary low fertility settings have typically used aggregated samples that may mask positive wealth-fertility relationships. Furthermore, while much evidence attests to trade-offs between reproductive and socioeconomic success, few studies have explicitly tested the idea that such constraints are intensified by market integration. Using data from Mongolia, a post-socialist nation that underwent mass privatization, we examine wealth-fertility relationships over time and across a rural-urban gradient. Among post-reproductive women, reproductive fitness is the lowest in urban areas, but increases with wealth in all regions. After liberalization, a demographic-economic paradox emerges in urban areas: while educational attainment negatively impacts female fertility in all regions, education uniquely provides socioeconomic benefits in urban contexts. As market integration progresses, socio-economic returns to education increase and women who limit their reproduction to pursue education get wealthier. The results support the view that selection favoured mechanisms that respond to opportunities for status enhancement rather than fertility maximization.

Natural selection drives the evolution of ant life cycles.

The genetic origin of advanced social organization has long been one of the outstanding problems of evolutionary biology. Here we present an analysis of the major steps in ant evolution, based for the first time, to our knowledge, on combined recent advances in paleontology, phylogeny, and the study of contemporary life histories. We provide evidence of the causal forces of natural selection shaping several key phenomena: (i) the relative lateness and rarity in geological time of the emergence of eusociality in ants and other animal phylads; (ii) the prevalence of monogamy at the time of evolutionary origin; and (iii) the female-biased sex allocation observed in many ant species. We argue that a clear understanding of the evolution of social insects can emerge if, in addition to relatedness-based arguments, we take into account key factors of natural history and study how natural selection acts on alleles that modify social behavior.

Why do women have more children than they want? Understanding differences in women's ideal and actual family size in a natural fertility population.

OBJECTIVES: We develop and test a conceptual model of factors influencing women's ideal family size (IFS) in a natural fertility population, the Tsimane of Bolivia. The model posits affects of socioecology, reproductive history, maternal condition, and men's IFS. We test three hypotheses for why women may exceed their IFS despite experiencing socioeconomic development: (H(1) ) limited autonomy; (H(2) ) improved maternal condition; and (H(3) ) low returns on investments in embodied capital. METHODS: Women's reproductive histories and prospective fertility data were collected from 2002 to 2008 (n = 305 women). Semistructured interviews were conducted with Tsimane women to study the perceived value of parental investment (n = 76). Multiple regression, t-tests, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) are used to test model predictions. RESULTS: Women's IFS is predicted by their socioecology, reproductive history, maternal condition, and husband's IFS. Hypotheses 2 and 3 are supported. Couples residing near town have smaller IFS (women = 3.75 ± 1.64; men = 3.87 ± 2.64) and less variance in IFS. However, the degree fertility exceeds IFS is inversely correlated with distance to town (Partial r = -0.189, df = 156, P = 0.018). Women living near town have greater maternal condition but 64% value traditional skills over formal schooling and 88% believe living in town is unfeasible. CONCLUSIONS: While reduced IFS is evident with socioeconomic development, fertility decline may not immediately follow. When perceived benefits of investment in novel forms of embodied capital are low, and somatic wealth and large kin networks persist as important components of fitness, fertility may remain high and increase if maternal condition improves.

Endangered species and a threatened discipline: behavioural ecology.

Behavioural ecologists often see little connection between the current conservation crisis and the future of their discipline. This view is myopic because our abilities to investigate and interpret the adaptive significance and evolutionary histories of behaviours are increasingly being compromised in human-dominated landscapes because of species extinctions, habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution, and climate change. In this review, we argue that many central issues in behavioural ecology will soon become prohibitively difficult to investigate and interpret, thus impeding the rapid progress that characterizes the field. To address these challenges, behavioural ecologists should design studies not only to answer basic scientific questions but also to provide ancillary information for protection and management of their study organisms and habitats, and then share their biological insights with the applied conservation community.

Parent-offspring conflict over mating: testing the tradeoffs hypothesis.

The difference in genetic relatedness between parents and offspring results into traits such as beauty being more beneficial in a spouse than in an in-law. As a consequence, mate and in-law preferences do not overlap, and each party tends to prefer more the traits that give it more benefits. This paper tests the hypothesis that this divergence in preferences interacts with the tradeoffs nature of mating to give rise to parent-offspring conflict over mating. In particular, using a design where mate choice is constrained by a budget, three hypotheses are tested: First, asymmetries between in-law and mate preferences result in asymmetrical compromises in the choice of an in-law and a spouse. Second, the hypothesis is tested that when choice is constrained, disagreement spreads to traits where there is no divergence between in-law and mate preferences. Finally, it is hypothesized that there is a negative relationship between mate value and parent-offspring conflict over mating. Evidence from two independent studies in two different countries provides support for all three hypotheses.

Does biology underlie the oldest profession? Prostitution and sex disparities in john behavior.

This study considers a biosocial explanation of why johns, the purchasers of commercial sex exchanges, are almost exclusively male. Trivers's theory of parental investment and sexual selection predicts that differential parental investment by biological sex will lead to divergent sex-based reproductive instincts. The sex bearing the larger parental investment will tend to be choosier whereas the sex bearing the lesser investment will tend to be relatively indiscriminate and competitive for access to sexual resources. We hypothesized that men are more likely than women to offer objects of value in exchange for access to sexual resources. Using self-reports of sex-purchasing from Add Health data (N = 14,544), we found that maleness was a robust predictor of john behavior even after controlling for well-known criminogenic risk factors.

A socio-biological explanation for social disparities in non-communicable chronic diseases: the product of history?

This study places social disparities in the major non-communicable chronic diseases within their global economic and historical contexts. Rapid economic transition outside the developed world provides a unique opportunity to re-examine the origins of, and biological mechanisms driving, social disparities. Gaps in prevailing theories focusing on material resources, civic infrastructure and social structure are identified. Using longstanding experimental evidence and epigenetic theories, it is suggested that exposure to economic development over generations (ie, improved living conditions over historical time) could by acting on different biological axes (somatotrophic and gonadotrophic) generate specific patterns of social disparities. Moreover, these same processes could initially generate a transient epidemic of diabetes as well as a permanent increase in male risk of premature ischaemic heart disease. As such, this study demonstrates the importance of context, and implies that current evidence from the developed world may be largely uninformative for preventing or mitigating social disparities in non-communicable chronic diseases elsewhere, suggesting research efforts should be focused on developing countries.

The sociobiologic integrative model (SBIM): enhancing the integration of sociobehavioral, environmental, and biomolecular knowledge in urban health and disparities research.

Disentangling the myriad determinants of disease, within the context of urban health or health disparities, requires a transdisciplinary approach. Transdisciplinary approaches draw on concepts from multiple scientific disciplines to develop a novel, integrated perspective from which to conduct scientific investigation. Most historic and contemporary conceptual models of health were derived either from the sociobehavioral sciences or the biomolecular sciences. Those models deriving from the sociobehavioral sciences generally lack detail on involved biological mechanisms whereas those derived from the biomolecular sciences largely do not consider socioenvironmental determinants. As such, advances in transdisciplinary characterizations of health in complex systems like the urban environment or health disparities may be impeded. This paper suggests a sociobiologic organizing model that encourages a multilevel, integrative perspective in the study of urban health and health disparities.

A compensation election for binary social choice.

We report experimental results examining the properties of a bidding mechanism, the "Compensation Election," which is designed to implement a simple binary choice between two options. We may think of the group decision problem as a choice between a new rule and the status quo. The rule and the status quo are each common outcomes that apply across all individuals, but the value or cost that they induce on each individual differs according to each individual's circumstances: some gain, some lose, and others are unaffected by a change to the new from the old. Rather than casting votes, each subject submits a bid reflecting his willingness to pay to induce the group to select one option and the amount he wishes to be paid if the alternative option is selected. The Compensation Election chooses the option that receives the highest sum of bids. We find that, although the Compensation Election allows subjects to strategically bid above their value (or even for the option they do not prefer), such behavior is not the norm. We also find that subjects' bids more truthfully reveal their values when there are more bidders in the election.

Human dignity in the Nazi era: implications for contemporary bioethics.

BACKGROUND: The justification for Nazi programs involving involuntary euthanasia, forced sterilisation, eugenics and human experimentation were strongly influenced by views about human dignity. The historical development of these views should be examined today because discussions of human worth and value are integral to medical ethics and bioethics. We should learn lessons from how human dignity came to be so distorted to avoid repetition of similar distortions. DISCUSSION: Social Darwinism was foremost amongst the philosophies impacting views of human dignity in the decades leading up to Nazi power in Germany. Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory was quickly applied to human beings and social structure. The term 'survival of the fittest' was coined and seen to be applicable to humans. Belief in the inherent dignity of all humans was rejected by social Darwinists. Influential authors of the day proclaimed that an individual's worth and value were to be determined functionally and materialistically. The popularity of such views ideologically prepared German doctors and nurses to accept Nazi social policies promoting survival of only the fittest humans.A historical survey reveals five general presuppositions that strongly impacted medical ethics in the Nazi era. These same five beliefs are being promoted in different ways in contemporary bioethical discourse. Ethical controversies surrounding human embryos revolve around determinations of their moral status. Economic pressures force individuals and societies to examine whether some people's lives are no longer worth living. Human dignity is again being seen as a relative trait found in certain humans, not something inherent. These views strongly impact what is taken to be acceptable within medical ethics. SUMMARY: Five beliefs central to social Darwinism will be examined in light of their influence on current discussions in medical ethics and bioethics. Acceptance of these during the Nazi era proved destructive to many humans. Their widespread acceptance today would similarly lead to much human death and suffering. A different ethic is needed which views human dignity as inherent to all human individuals.

A social component in the negative effect of sons on maternal longevity in pre-industrial humans.

Due to their effect on maternal testosterone levels, sons are said to have reduced maternal longevity in pre-industrial humans. This analysis, using information from a Flemish agricultural village in the 18th-20th centuries, confirms the presence of a negative effect of sons on maternal longevity. However, the effect is mainly observed for mothers belonging to the least privileged social group and for sons surviving their fifth birthday. Both findings make the above-mentioned biological explanation relative. However, a plausible alternative, social interpretation is male-dominated intra-household resource competition. It is reasonable to assume that only sons above a certain age are able to claim a serious amount of resources and that competition is strongest within the least privileged social group.