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In general, people are influenced by the standards set forth by groups of others; however, the levels of such conformity vary between people and across cultures. Here, we investigated factors related to country-level personality profile conformity (i.e., person-culture personality fit) across ∼5.9 million participants, residing in 57 different countries. We examined how each of the Big Five personality traits and cultural tightness are associated with variation in person-culture personality fit. We found that scoring higher in Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness and residing in a tight cultural context explains increased personality profile conformity, while scoring higher in Openness and Neuroticism and residing in a loose cultural context explains lower personality profile conformity. Furthermore, we found that Openness and Extraversion interact with cultural context to predict levels of personality profile conformity. These findings reveal that both dispositional and cultural factors correspond to the tendency to conform to country-level norms.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine whether patients treated with a caged reconstruction for metastatic acetabular disease would have a construct survival superior to that of their life expectancy. Patients and methods: We undertook a retrospective study, in a single centre in the United Kingdom, reviewing outcomes for 19 patients (20 hips) treated with a cage reconstruction for metastatic disease of their acetabulum over 6 years. Inclusion criteria were those with an impending fracture of the acetabulum, metastatic dissociation, fracture of the acetabulum and or femur and those whose life expectancy was considered by the oncology team to be >6 months. Results: In all patients the Restoration GAP II acetabular cage (Stryker, Howmedica Osteonics Corp, NJ, USA) was used in conjunction with a cemented acetabular cup and cemented femoral stem. The mean age at the time of surgery was 68 (44–87) years with breast cancer being the most common primary malignancy (31%) followed by prostate cancer (26%). Radiological survivorship estimates were 94.1% (95% CI, 99.2–65.0) at 12 and 24 months, 70.6% (95% CI, 93.6–16.0) at 36 months and 35.3% (95% CI, 78.2–1.2) at 48 months. There were 3 radiological failures of the implant due to disease progression. Complications occurred in 3 patients with 2 developing deep infection which was treated with suppressive antibiotic therapy following aspiration of the hip. 1 patient suffered a hip dislocation following trauma which was successfully reduced closed and no further intervention was required. Conclusions: This study represents the first published case series of the use of the GAP II cage in patients with metastatic acetabular disease. The construct generally outlives the patient and hence is suitable for the treatment of acetabular metastases.

There is growing evidence that psychological characteristics are spatially clustered across geographic regions and that regionally aggregated psychological characteristics are related to important outcomes. However, much of the evidence comes from research that relied on methods that are theoretically ill-suited for working with spatial data. The validity and generalizability of this work are thus unclear. Here we address two main challenges of working with spatial data (i.e., modifiable areal unit problem and spatial dependencies) and evaluate data-analysis techniques designed to tackle those challenges. To illustrate these issues, we investigate the robustness of regional Big Five personality differences and their correlates within the United States (Study 1; N = 3,387,303) and Germany (Study 2; N = 110,029). First, we display regional personality differences using a spatial smoothing approach. Second, we account for the modifiable areal unit problem by examining the correlates of regional personality scores across multiple spatial levels. Third, we account for spatial dependencies using spatial regression models. Our results suggest that regional psychological differences are robust and can reliably be studied across countries and spatial levels. The results also show that ignoring the methodological challenges of spatial data can have serious consequences for research concerned with regional psychological differences.

Loneliness levels were assessed in a longitudinal, nationwide sample ( N total = 6,010) collected over the course of the first 3 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. When in-person social contact restrictions were put in place, loneliness increased significantly compared to prepandemic levels but began to decrease again even before contact restrictions were eased. The loneliness costs were distributed unequally, such that greater increases in loneliness were experienced by women, younger, and extraverted, neurotic, and conscientious individuals. Our findings add to the growing literature on the importance of individual differences in crisis situations.

We draw on genetics research to argue that complex psychological phenomena are most likely determined by a multitude of causes and that any individual cause is likely to have only a small effect. Building on this, we highlight the dangers of a publication culture that continues to demand large effects. First, it rewards inflated effects that are unlikely to be real and encourages practices likely to yield such effects. Second, it overlooks the small effects that are most likely to be real, hindering attempts to identify and understand the actual determinants of complex psychological phenomena. We then explain the theoretical and practical relevance of small effects, which can have substantial consequences, especially when considered at scale and over time. Finally, we suggest ways in which scholars can harness these insights to advance research and practices in psychology (i.e., leveraging the power of big data, machine learning, and crowdsourcing science; promoting rigorous preregistration, including prespecifying the smallest effect size of interest; contextualizing effects; changing cultural norms to reward accurate and meaningful effects rather than exaggerated and unreliable effects). Only once small effects are accepted as the norm, rather than the exception, can a reliable and reproducible cumulative psychological science be built.

Introduction Maths anxiety is defined as feelings of tension that interfere with dealing with numbers and mathematical problems. Self-efficacy, which is related to maths anxiety, can be defined as perceptions of one's abilities to math problems, tasks and math-related course work. This study aimed to investigate the effect of gender, age and year level on maths anxiety and self-efficacy and to study the relationship between self-efficacy and maths anxiety among paramedic students. Methods A cross-sectional study of paramedic students at Monash University in Victoria was conducted. Participants completed a 15-minute paper-based questionnaire which is composed of Maths Anxiety Rating Scale – Revised (MARS-R),) the Maths Self-Efficacy Scale (MSES) and demographic information. Results The questionnaires were completed and returned by 344 students. (81.3% return rate). The mean score for the MARS-R was 25.71 (SD=8.80) and for the MSES was 125.59 (SD=29.55). Females had higher maths anxiety levels (M=26.83, SD=9.00) than males (M=23.67, SD=8.26) and lower self-efficacy (M=119.59, SD=29.30) than males (M=135.73, SD=27.39). There was a significant negative relationship between MARS-R and MSES levels. Multiple linear regression indicated that maths self-efficacy (beta = -0.626, pConclusion There was a significant negative relationship between maths anxiety and self-efficacy levels reported by the paramedic student cohort. Gender plays an integral part in determining maths anxiety and self-efficacy level. To improve maths performance and reduce anxiety during calculation tasks, such as dose determinations, targeted education should be developed to improve maths self-efficacy.

Background: The major joint registries report better survivorship for ceramic on polyethylene over metal on polyethylene bearings in total hip arthroplasty and it is generally accepted that this is due to a lower polyethylene wear rate. We used evidence synthesis to compare survivorship, polyethylene wear rates and metal ion levels for metal-on-polyethylene (MoP) and ceramic-on-polyethylene (CoP) bearings. If wear rates are not dissimilar in vivo this difference in revision rate may have another cause. Modular junctions are a potential source of corrosion and it is postulated that this may result in higher revision rates. Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the survivorship of MoP and CoP bearings. Odds ratio (95% CI) of revision was calculated. Mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to compare secondary outcomes of polyethylene wear and metal ion levels. Meta-analysis was performed with a Mantel-Haenszel Random-Effects Model. Results: 6 randomised controlled trials were included. There was no statistically significant difference between MoP and CoP revision rate (OR 1.04; 95% CI, 0.37–2.90, I2 = 0%, p = 0.94), linear bearing wear (MD 0.00 mm; 95% CI, −0.05 –0.05, I2 = 98%, p = 0.90), nor volumetric bearing wear (MD 33.57 mm3; 95% CI, −215.56–282.70, I2 = 98%, p = 0.79). No studies evaluated metal ion levels. Conclusions: We found no evidence of a difference in revision rates nor linear and volumetric wear between MoP and CoP bearings in the randomised controlled trials currently available. Our study therefore does not advocate the additional cost associated with the use of ceramic heads in combination with polyethylene bearings in order to minimise revision rates. This contrasts the findings of in vitro studies and the major joint registries.

People around the world own digital media devices that mediate and are in close proximity to their daily behaviours and situational contexts. These devices can be harnessed as sensing technologies to collect information from sensor and metadata logs that provide fine–grained records of everyday personality expression. In this paper, we present a conceptual framework and empirical illustration for personality sensing research, which leverages sensing technologies for personality theory development and assessment. To further empirical knowledge about the degree to which personality–relevant information is revealed via such data, we outline an agenda for three research domains that focus on the description, explanation, and prediction of personality. To illustrate the value of the personality sensing research agenda, we present findings from a large smartphone–based sensing study ( N = 633) characterizing individual differences in sensed behavioural patterns (physical activity, social behaviour, and smartphone use) and mapping sensed behaviours to the Big Five dimensions. For example, the findings show associations between behavioural tendencies and personality traits and daily behaviours and personality states. We conclude with a discussion of best practices and provide our outlook on how personality sensing will transform our understanding of personality and the way we conduct assessment in the years to come. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology

People’s experiences of the criminal justice system and, indeed, higher education are dominated by stories. We encourage service user input across the criminal justice system, and endeavour to understand the student experience in higher education, but we rarely think about how politically driven agendas reduce everything, and indeed everyone, to one experience, one identity, and ultimately, one story. Drawing upon our experience of Learning Together, we utilise the concept of storytelling to illustrate how pedagogical creativity and compassion can recast long-standing narratives about ‘service users’ and students so that new, informed stories can emerge.

Objective: To determine whether the Plan of Action for a Case (PACE) tool improved identification of workers at risk of delayed return to work. Design: Prospective cohort of workers with accepted workers’ compensation claims in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Interventions: The 41-item PACE tool was completed by the case manager within the first two weeks of a claim. The tool gathered information from the worker, employer and treating practitioner. Multivariate logistic regression models predicted work time loss of at least one and three months. Results: There were 524 claimants with complete PACE information. A total of 195 (37.2%) had work time loss of at least one month and 83 (15.8%) had time loss of at least three months. Being male, injury location, an Orebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire–Short Form score >50, having a small employer, suitable duties not being available, being certified unfit, and the worker having low one-month recovery expectations predicted time loss of over one month. For three months, injury location, a Short Form Orebro score >50, no return-to-work coordinator, and being certified unfit were significant predictors. The model incorporating PACE information provided a significantly better prediction of both one- and three-month outcomes than baseline information (area-under-the-curve statistics—one month: 0.85 and 0.68, respectively; three months: 0.85 and 0.69, respectively; both P Conclusion: The PACE tool improved the ability to identify workers at risk of ongoing work disability and identified modifiable factors suited to case manager–led intervention.

Introduction Paramedicine has undergone significant change in the past two decades. While the Anglo-American paramedic system continues to grow there appears to be a dearth of published literature regarding modern categorisation of this evolving paramedic system. The objective of this scoping review is to examine and map the existing evidence to provide an overview of the characteristics and structural similarities and differences of Anglo-American paramedic systems in English-speaking developed countries. Methods Databases, including Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, CINAHL, Google Scholar and Epistemonikos, will be searched from inception. A grey literature search strategy has also been developed to identify non-indexed relevant literature. Citations and references of included studies will also be searched. Two reviewers will undertake title and abstract screening, followed by full text screening. Data extraction will be conducted using a customised instrument. Inclusion criteria: results examining management, leadership or governance in paramedicine related to the Anglo-American paramedic model in English-speaking developed countries will be included in the review. Included studies will be summarised using narrative synthesis structured around themes of management, leadership and governance in paramedicine.

Objectives The paper reports on an empirical study of Health and Wellbeing Boards (HWBs) in England. Established by the Health and Social Care Act 2012, HWBs act as place-based hubs for leaders in health, social care, local government and other sectors to come together to address health improvement and the wider determinants of health. Methods We conducted a three-year study of HWBs (2015–2017) in five localities across England. This involved collecting qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with key actors in the HWBs at strategic and operational levels, and focus group sessions with voluntary-sector participants at each HWB. Results HWBs have largely followed the path of previous partnerships in terms of a lack of clear aims and objectives, lack of ownership and accountability by partners, and an absence of any significant impact on health outcomes. Conclusions Many of the features of unsuccessful partnership working were largely displayed by HWBs. Boards require more executive power and ownership from the bottom up if they are to have any real impact.

Background Lecture absenteeism is a widespread issue and has been reported for a large range of university disciplines. The aim of this study was to describe face-to-face lecture attendance within a Bachelor of Paramedicine cohort at a large Australian university and explore associated factors. Methods A sequential mixed method study was undertaken using lecture attendance counts, a cross-sectional questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Attendance was recorded at four time points throughout one semester. The Lecture Attendance Scale, a standardised 34-item questionnaire with a 7-point Likert rating scale, was used to examine reasons behind students’ choice to attend lectures or not, followed by further exploration via semi-structured interviews. Results Lecture attendance ranged from 30% to 76%, with a mean of 49.2%. On analysis of the questionnaire, eight factors were identified, and these were largely supported by the interview data. Conclusion High levels of lecture attendance were not observed. This study suggests that the decision to attend a lecture can be complex and is influenced by a range of student and organisation-related factors. Understanding and utilising this information to modify and improve healthcare curricula delivery is vital, especially where there may be an association between attendance and the development of clinical skills, and professional attitudes and qualities. This is especially important in healthcare education in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era where the value of in-person education will continue to be examined.

The paper describes the development of an air passenger demand model for the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan region that was undertaken as part of a recently concluded ACRP project that explored the use of disaggregated socioeconomic data in air passenger demand studies. The model incorporated a variable reflecting the change in household income distribution, together with more traditional aggregate causal variables: population, employment, average household income, and airfares as measured by the average U.S. airline yield, as well as several year-specific dummy variables. The model was estimated on annual data for the period 1990 to 2010 and obtained statistically significant estimated coefficients for all variables, including both the average household income and the household income distribution variable. Including household income distribution in the model resulted in a significant change to the estimated coefficient for average household income, giving a much higher estimated elasticity of demand with respect to average household income compared with a model that does not consider changes in household income distribution. This has important implications for the use of such demand models for forecasting, as household income distribution and average household income may change in the future in quite different ways, which would affect the future levels of air passenger travel projected by the models.

International audience; Over the past 30 years, researchers have shown that human choices are highly sensitive to the ways in which alternatives are presented. For example, when individuals face a choice between a sure and a risky option, their willingness to take risks varies depending on whether the alternatives are framed in terms of gain or loss. The current major hypothesis that explains such a framing effect predicts that compared with an equivalent risky option, sure gains are emotionally attractive and sure losses are emotionally aversive. Using a behavioural paradigm, the main objective of the current study was to experimentally observe the extent to which the emotional attraction to sure gains and aversion to sure losses are at the core of framing susceptibility. First, our results showed that, as the literature suggests, the emotional attraction to sure gains and aversion to sure losses underpin the framing effect. Second, our results showed that methodological factors moderated the role of these emotional mechanisms in the framing effect. Implications and directions for future studies are discussed.

During military deployment, soldiers can become part of a system of people and experiences in their assigned military unit that may rival the importance of relationships and experiences within their natural families at home. Following deployment, returning soldiers may face the challenges of managing membership in two complex and powerful family systems, each with its own unique priorities, rules of engagement, and demands for the soldier’s attention and participation that may not always be compatible. Achieving a mutual understanding of the system of close relationships formed around military deployment and incorporating this new “unit family” system into a couple’s marital relationship and natural family system becomes a task that is important and, possibly, essential to successful family reintegration after deployment.

Two recent electoral results—Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president and the UK’s Brexit vote—have reignited debate on the psychological factors underlying voting behavior. Both campaigns promoted themes of fear, lost pride, and loss aversion, which are relevant to the personality dimension of neuroticism, a construct previously not associated with voting behavior. To that end, we investigate whether regional prevalence of neurotic personality traits (neuroticism, anxiety, and depression) predicted voting behavior in the United States ( N = 3,167,041) and the United Kingdom ( N = 417,217), comparing these effects with previous models, which have emphasized the roles of openness and conscientiousness. Neurotic traits positively predicted share of Brexit and Trump votes, and Trump gains from Romney. Many of these effects persisted in additional robustness tests controlling for regional industrial heritage, political attitude, and socioeconomic features, particularly in the United States. The “sleeper effect” of neurotic traits may profoundly impact the geopolitical landscape.

Over the past 2 decades, many social scientists have expanded their data-collection capabilities by using various online research tools. In the 2011 article “Amazon’s Mechanical Turk: A new source of inexpensive, yet high-quality, data?” in Perspectives on Psychological Science, Buhrmester, Kwang, and Gosling introduced researchers to what was then considered to be a promising but nascent research platform. Since then, thousands of social scientists from seemingly every field have conducted research using the platform. Here, we reflect on the impact of Mechanical Turk on the social sciences and our article’s role in its rise, provide the newest data-driven recommendations to help researchers effectively use the platform, and highlight other online research platforms worth consideration.

© 2017, © The Author(s) 2017. Self-tracking consists of recording the behaviors that occur in one’s daily life. Self-tracking studies can provide researchers with passively sensed information about individual’s daily behaviors and environments and actively logged information (e.g., self-reports). This method has great promise for obtaining detailed records of behavior in naturalistic contexts, but it is not known what factors would motivate individuals to participate in self-tracking studies. Here, we analyze students’ interest in self-tracking and their compliance with self-tracking using smartphones. Three dimensions of self-tracking motivations were identified: productivity and health behaviors, well-being and daily activities, and social life on campus; these motivations were related to participation preferences and individual characteristics. We also present evidence from three studies that suggest personalized feedback combined with other incentives (course credit toward a class assignment, monetary compensation, or a prize reward) can be an effective recruitment strategy. Recommendations for the design of future self-tracking studies are presented.

Studies have shown that cognitive ability is correlated with parental socioeconomic status (pSES). However, little is known about the correlation between personality and pSES. To better understand this relation, we conducted a meta-analysis of the correlations between pSES and personality traits and temperament dimensions. The correlations were generally very small with the exception of the correlation between pSES and openness to experience. Our results were replicated in a large ( N = 2,183,377) data set of self-reported personality scores collected online. Using this data set, we also examined the interaction between pSES and personality on attained education and socioeconomic status. We found evidence for the resource substitution hypothesis, which proposes that personality compensates for background disadvantage.

A widespread stereotype holds that the Germans are notorious worriers, an idea captured by the term German angst. An analysis of country–level neurotic personality traits (trait anxiety, trait depression, and trait neuroticism; N = 7 210 276) across 109 countries provided mixed support for this idea; Germany ranked 20th, 31st, and 53rd for depression, anxiety, and neuroticism, respectively, suggesting, at best, the national stereotype is only partly valid. Theories put forward to explain the stereotypical characterization of Germany focus on the collective traumatic events experienced by Germany during World War II (WWII), such as the massive strategic bombing of German cities. We thus examined the link between strategic bombing of 89 German cities and today's regional levels in neurotic traits ( N = 33 534) and related mental health problems. Contrary to the WWII bombing hypothesis, we found negative effects of strategic bombing on regional trait depression and mental health problems. This finding was robust when controlling for a host of economic factors and social structure. We also found Resilience × Stressor interactions: Cities with more severe bombings show more resilience today (lower levels of neurotic traits and mental health problems in the face of a current major stressor—economic hardship). Copyright © 2017 European Association of Personality Psychology

Suggestions that change can be handled through ‘adaptation and resilience’ assume continuity of cultural norms and value judgements, but here we explore what might happen if cultural assumptions are upset by radically discontinuous change. We ask what it means to be in change that is beyond adaptation, change that utterly confounds our notions of what is good or great, what is natural or just; in particular, what would it mean for leadership? There are many historical examples to draw on, and in this paper we refer to Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, which examines the transformation of a dynamic and conflicted, but more or less stable traditional culture when it is impacted by colonialism. We discuss themes of identity, authority, masculinity, justice, change, virtue and otherness as elucidated in relation to the novel’s protagonist, Okonkwo; and suggest analogies with potentially catastrophic effects of climate and economic change in our own societies. We also discuss ways in which referring to fiction – our method – provides an alternative to the kinds of reductionist processes inherent in more common social science framings of leadership (psychological, political, cultural, etc).

The connective potentials of digital media have been positioned as a key part of a contemporary museum visitor experience. Using a sociology of translation, we construct a network of visitor experiences using data from a digital media engagement project at a large and multi-sited museum in the United Kingdom. These experiences relate to (dis)connections with the museum, museum objects and other visitors. Through this analysis, we disclose the often contradictory roles of the non-human, including and going beyond the digital, as contributors to the success and failure of attempts to change museum visitor experiences through engagement activities rooted in narratives of participation and connectivity.

Drawing upon the findings of a 31-month ethnographic study in a residential Therapeutic Community (TC) for substance use, this article sheds light on the challenges and contradictions which surround the introduction of increasingly commercial/business-orientated decisions within the alcohol and drug treatment field. The aim of this article is to critically reflect upon the implementation of an outcome-orientated policy directive, typically referred to as payment by results (PbR), in a residential rehabilitation service, and consider the implications which surround the initiative for those at the coal face of service delivery. The fundamental principles of PbR and the TC are discussed, as are the tensions and dilemmas which surround the implementation of a high-level policy directive that is fundamentally dissimilar to the theoretical ambitions and practice that takes place on the ground in a residential rehabilitation service. To conclude, the article suggests that incentives, with a clear focus on saving money rather than saving lives, provide little more than additional pressures and strains at the coal face of service delivery, transforming individual progression into a financially driven bureaucratic process. The findings not only illustrate the dehumanizing properties of outcome-based payment schemes but bring mainstream representations of effectiveness into sharp focus.

Purpose: To examine the hypothesis that alternative flush media could be used for lower extremity optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging in long lesions that would normally require excessive use of contrast. Methods: The OPTical Imaging Measurement of Intravascular Solution Efficacy (OPTIMISE) trial was a single-center, prospective study ( ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01743872) that enrolled 23 patients (mean age 68±11 years; 14 men) undergoing endovascular intervention involving the superficial femoral artery. Four flush media (heparinized saline, dextran, carbon dioxide, and contrast) were used in succession in random order for each image pullback. Quality was defined as ≥270° visualization of vessel wall layers from each axial image. Mean proportions (± standard deviation) of image quality for each flush medium were assessed using 1-way analysis of variance and are reported with the 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Four OCT catheters failed, leaving 19 patients who completed the OCT imaging protocol; from this cohort, 51 highest quality runs were selected for analysis. Average vessel diameter was 3.99±1.01 mm. OCT imaging allowed 10- to 15-μm resolution of the lumen border, with diminishing quality as vessel diameter increased. Plaque characterization revealed fibrotic lesions. Mean proportions of image quality were dextran 87.2%±12% (95% CI 0.81 to 0.94), heparinized saline 74.3%±24.8% (95% CI 0.66 to 0.93), contrast 70.1%±30.5% (95% CI 0.52 to 0.88), and carbon dioxide 10.0%±10.4% (95% CI 0.00 to 0.26). Dextran, saline, and contrast provided better quality than carbon dioxide (p