Introduction: Owing to its importance in the development and evaluation of health policies in favor of the general population, there is currently a greater interest in the study of well-being. Therefore, a valid and reliable measurement of well-being is necessary. In this context, this study evaluated the evidence of validity based on the internal structure, reliability, and factor invariance by sex of the General Well-Being Index (who-5 wbi). Materials and Methods: A total of 499 university students (female = 271; male = 228) from the city of Trujillo, Peru, participated in the study. A confirmatory factor analysis, reliability by internal consistency, and factor invariance by sex were performed using a multigroup analysis. Results: The confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the 5-dimensional model with 5 correlated errors of items 1 and 4 presented a good fit (χ² = 9.667 [gl = 4], p > 0.05; χ²/gl = 2.416; cfi = 0.994; rmsea = 0.053 [ic90% 0.006–0.097]; srmr = 0.018). In addition, acceptable reliability (ω = 0.758) and factor invariance by sex were reported. Conclusion: The who-5 wbi demonstrated empirical evidence in favor of validity based on internal structure, reliability of scores, and factor invariance that allow for a useful and rapid instrument for measuring subjective well-being in university students.

Volunteer tourism as an alternative to mass tourism has grown significantly since the 1970s, sparking research interest in the subject. However, there is little research that has examined future potential volunteer tourists' various perceptions, needs and wants. The purpose of this study was to understand how and in what way various potential volunteer tourists' beliefs, including attitudes, subjective norms, self-efficacy and motivation, influence their future intended participation in a volunteer tourism experience using the revised theory of planned behavior. Moreover, the potential moderating effect of past volunteer tourism experience was examined as well. The study collected 291 usable responses from potential volunteer tourists who were active members of volunteer tourism organizations. The study used second order confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling and hierarchical multiple regression analysis to test study hypotheses. The study also used meta-analysis to examine the effect size of the predicting variables and compared it with that of previous tourism research. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that two constructs, both attitudes and subjective norms, appeared to be statistically significant, while self-efficacy and motivation were not statistically significant in predicting potential volunteer tourists' intended participation. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis found a moderating effect of past volunteer tourism experience on motivation toward intended participation in a negative direction. In addition, the motivation factor "altruism" moderated in a negative direction. Meta-analysis found a large effect of attitudes, a medium effect of subjective norms, and a small effect of self-efficacy in relation to intended participation. In conclusion, the results did not validate the theory of planned behavior in the context of volunteer tourism research. Interestingly, the theory of reasoned action was found to be validated. Implications for volunteer tourism providers and organizations are also discussed. / Ph. D.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been shown to have significantly deleterious effects on an individual’s overall health (Felitti et al., 1998), including poor subjective experiences of health (Khrapatina & Berman, 2017). Difficulties in emotion regulation (DERs), which reflect the inability to identify, interpret, and manage strong emotions, may be one mechanism through which ACEs affect health. Successful emotion regulation has been associated with high levels of self-reported health, whereby DERs has been linked to poor selfreported health (Kinnunen et al., 2005). The current study seeks to determine whether DERs (Gratz & Roemer, 2004) mediate the relationship between ACEs and subjective experiences of health. Utilizing a sample of students from a mid-sized university in rural Appalachia, the mediating role of DERs was tested using the PROCESS macro for SPSS with bootstrapping (5000 samples). Results demonstrated that DERS did significantly mediate the relationship between ACEs and self-reported health [R2 = .12, F(2,616) = 43.60, p < .000; indirect effect of DERS total t(616) = -7.01, p < .000, CI = -.04, -.02]. The identification of DERs as one mechanism through which ACEs increases the risk of poor self-reported health offers one target for interventions designed to mitigate the negative outcomes of ACEs and promote resilience in the face of past adversity

No / The tilt aftereffect (TAE) has been used previously to probe whether contours defined by different attributes are subserved by the same or by different underlying mechanisms. Here, we compare two types of contours between texture surfaces, one with texture orientation contrast across the edge (orientation contrast contour; OC) and one without, commonly referred to as a subjective contour (SC). Both contour types produced curves of TAE versus adapting angle displaying typical positive and negative peaks at ~15 and 70 deg, respectively. The curves are well fit by difference of Gaussian (DoG) functions, with one Gaussian accounting for the contour adaptation effect and the other accounting for the texture orientation adaptation effect. Adaptation to OC elicited larger TAEs than did adaptation to SC, suggesting that they more effectively activate orientation-selective neurons in V1/V2 during prolonged viewing. Surprisingly, both contour types adapted a luminance contour (LC) as strongly as did an LC itself, suggesting that the second-order orientation cue contained in the texture edge activates the same set of orientation-selective neurons as does an LC. These findings have implications for the mechanisms by which the orientations of texture edges and SCs are encoded

<p> Previous studies on subjective response to noise have been conducted during the summer months. These studies have served as the basis for noise standards and legislation; therefore an implicit assumption has been made that response to noise is similar in summer and winter. Whether or not this applies equally well to the winter months, which represent approximately one-half of the year, warranted investigation. Data on summer and winter responses to comparable noise levels were collected and hypotheses were tested for differences in response to overall noise levels and to specific noise sources. The results indicated that there were no significant differences between summer and winter responses.</p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Passive exoskeletons hold promise in reducing the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, however further research is essential before widespread adoption can occur. This study explores the feasibility of using subjective measures of physical demand in place of costly and less practical objective measures. Normalized electromyography (nEMG) data and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were collected from seven different studies conducted by the Occupational Ergonomics and Biomechanics Lab (OEB lab). Employing a repeated measures three-way ANOVA, we assessed the influence of nEMG, gender, and exoskeleton type on RPE. Additionally, mean nEMG and RPE from seven passive exoskeleton-based studies conducted outside the OEB lab were assessed in order to determine if the findings from the OEB lab existed across other research environments. The results demonstrated a general positive linear trend between nEMG and RPE for both the individual and mean results. Substantial inconsistencies emerged when considering the influence of gender, exoskeleton type, and task conditions on the relationship between nEMG and RPE. These discrepancies underscore the need for more in-depth research into this topic, specifically investigating the effects of gender and exoskeleton design. / Master of Science / Passive exoskeletons, devices designed to improve safety and provide support to the body, offer the potential for reducing muscle strain and reducing work-related injury risk. However, before these devices can be widely adopted, more research is necessary. Subjective measures of exertion, an affordable and user-friendly alternative to objective measures, require further investigation before replacing traditional methods in exoskeleton research. This study explores the possible connection between subjective and objective assessments of physical demand during passive exoskeleton usage. We analyzed data from seven studies conducted by the Occupational Ergonomics and Biomechanics Lab (OEB lab), focusing on muscle activity (an objective measure) and perceived exertion (a subjective measure). Our analysis examined the relationship between these objective and subjective measures, as well as how gender, exoskeleton type, and task conditions influenced this relationship. Additionally, we considered mean values from seven passive exoskeleton studies conducted outside the OEB lab, to investigate whether our findings existed in other research environments. The results revealed that as muscle activity increased, perceived exertion tended to increase as well. Moreover, our findings demonstrated that gender, exoskeleton type, and task conditions did influence the relationship, although there was significant variability in how these factors affected it. This research sheds light on the potential for using subjective measures in exoskeleton studies, bringing us closer to making exoskeletons more practical and accessible for real-world applications while acknowledging the complexities of this relationship.

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Many studies suggest that aging women have unique experiences in widowhood, which are different from those of aging men because of gender inequality. This study explored the 2014 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to discover whether gender influences the factors that affect subjective well-being of elderly widows and widowers (aged 65 and over). To look at subjective well-being, I used a feminist gerontological approach to explore possible gender differences and examined life satisfaction, a life satisfaction scale, and happiness, their corresponding predictive factors, and their importance for each of the measures of subjective well-being. This study found that there were gender differences in total household income and social support from friends. Although gender did not affect subjective well-being directly, there were gender differences in the ways that education, total household income, total wealth, and social support from children and friends affected the subjective well-being of widows and widowers. / Master of Science / Aging is getting increasing attention from scholars, policymakers, and the general public. However, the experiences of widowed elders are not at the center of attention, even though they constitute a considerable portion of the aging population. When scholars do focus on widowhood, the typical approach is to examine the negative sides of widowhood, such as depression. However, this study investigates the subjective wellbeing of widowed elders in terms of life satisfaction and happiness. Specifically, this study focuses on potential gender differences in sources of subjective well-being, and how these might relate to gender inequalities over the life course. The findings suggest that the ways education, income, wealth, and some sources of social support that affected life satisfaction and happiness did differ between widows and widowers. Women’s roles as wives and mothers and their domestic labor meant that income and social support from children were important to their life satisfaction and happiness; widowers’ life satisfaction was related only to income, although their happiness was sensitive to many factors. Further, even though elderly widows had much lower income and wealth, they still had comparable levels of subjective well-being as did elderly widowers. The results point to ways that inequality in terms of the gender division of labor shaped the sources of seemingly equal levels of subjective well-being.