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Impairments in social cognitions in schizophrenia are increasingly reported in the last decade but only a few studies have come from Asia. The objective of the study was to evaluated emotion perception, theory of mind and social knowledge in people with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. Participants were 36 clinically stable outpatients with schizophrenia and 36 normal controls with comparable age and level of education. We administered general neurocognition test (the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination), emotion perception (the Faces Test), theory of mind (the Eyes Test) and social knowledge (the Situational Features Recognition Test; SFRT). Schizophrenia patients displayed obvious impairment in all three social cognition domains i.e. the Faces Test [13.7 (2.9) vs 15.7 (1.9), P=0.001], the Eyes Test [18.9 (4.4) vs 23.5 (4.4), P<0.001] and SFRT [0.85 (0.09) vs 0.9 (0.05), P=0.002]. The performances on three social cognition tests did not correlate with positive symptoms. Only the Faces Test seemed to be related to negative symptoms. The results demonstrated that there are deficits of social cognitions in schizophrenia even in a clinically stable population.

Sleep disturbances, present in more than 90% of major depressive disorder (MDD) patients, are moderated by sex in adult MDD. In particular, slow-wave electroencephalographic activity (SWA; 0.5-4 Hz) accumulation is low and dissipation impaired. This SWA abnormality in depressed adult males does not change with age, suggesting that SWA abnormality appears at early ages. The present study evaluated sex differences in SWA in adolescents with MDD compared to healthy controls. We evaluated regularized sleep-wake schedules at home for 5-7 days, followed by two consecutive nights of sleep EEG recording. The study included 104 participants, 52 symptomatic and depressed subjects (MDD: 20 males and 32 females) and 52 healthy controls (HC: 20 males and 32 females), aged 13-18 years. SWA power and dissipation, and duration and latencies to each Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep period were calculated for each group. Results showed that SWA accumulation in the first NREM period was lower and its dissipation across the night more irregular in MDD males compared to HC males (P<0.009). By contrast, SWA was equivalent in MDD and HC females. In conclusion, as reported in adult MDD, the accumulation and dissipation of SWA was abnormal in depressed adolescents, but only in males. SWA abnormalities in adolescent MDD may relate to different depressive symptoms in females and males. These results underscore the need to develop sex-specific therapies to enhance and restore SWA in depressed adolescents.

Although microfinancing is considered a key tool for fostering women's entrepreneurship development, there is growing concern regarding the impact of loan repayment strategies on the mental health of women entrepreneurs. This study seeks to unravel the implications of microfinance loans on the mental well-being of women entrepreneurs.

A carefully structured questionnaire was distributed to a purposive sample of one hundred women entrepreneurs in Lagos State using a mixed-method research approach. Also, interviews were conducted using an interview guide, which directly mirrored the questionnaire administered to five focus groups within Lagos State.

The study found that loan repayment and recovery strategies positively and significantly impact women entrepreneurs' mental well-being, with psychological distress serving as a measure for measuring mental well-being. Additionally, other factors such as the number of dependants and household headship trigger psychological distress, while age in business was associated with a reduction in psychological distress.

This study contributes to the existing literature by delving into the psychological implications of loan repayment strategies on the mental health of female entrepreneurs in Lagos State, Nigeria. Furthermore, it employs a triangulation research approach to validate questionnaire responses through focus group discussions.

It is unclear whether information obtained from a one parent can be used to infer the other parent's history of psychopathology. Two hundred and one parental dyads were asked to complete psychiatric interviews. Based on maternal report, non-participating husbands/ fathers had higher rates than participating fathers of psychiatric illness. For fathers who did participate, maternal report did not match direct interview of paternal psychopathology with sensitivities less than 0.40 and positive predictive values of 0.33 to 0.74. Psychopa -thology may be over-represented among fathers who do not participate in research. Mother report of paternal symptoms is not an effective proxy. Alternative methods need to be developed to: i) improve father participation or ii) identify psychiatric status in fathers who do not participate in research projects.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a neurostimulatory technique used to modulate orbital frontal corticostriatal (OFC) activity and clinical symptomatology for psychiatric disorders involving OFC dysfunction. We examined the effectiveness of rTMS in the treatment of major depressive disorder in an applied clinical setting (Awakening KC CNI) to assess efficacy and optimize rTMS parameters within clinical practice. A retrospective review of medical records was carried out on patients with major depressive disorder undergoing rTMS therapy at Awakenings KC Clinical Neuroscience Institute (CNI), a suburban tertiary psychiatric clinic. A detailed de-identified data set of clinical outcomes was compiled. Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) total score, clinical remission rate and week achieved were evaluated over 6 weeks of treatment to assess clinical response referencing two different rTMS instruments (MagVenture; NeuroStar). Our survey included 247 participants from males (N=98) and females (N=149) with average baseline PHQ-9 scores of 21.7±4, classified as severe depression. Clinically rated remission rates of 72% were achieved in 3.1±1.0 weeks and associated with prior history of psychiatric hospitalization, suicide attempts and substance use disorder. Average baseline PHQ-9 scores decreased significantly over time with proportionately greater remission rates achieved for patients treated using the MagVenture over NeuroStar instrument. rTMS in applied clinical practice is efficacious over a wide range of settings and patients. Clinical response was related to severity of depression symptoms (e.g., prior hospitalization; suicide attempts) validating efficacy in critically ill groups. Clinical response may be impacted by rTMS instrument, magnetic field parameters or individual factors.

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that can have profound physical, social and psychological consequences. We aimed to assess the clinical predictors of quality of life of people with epilepsy. We recruited 31 patients suffering from epilepsy in this cross-sectional study. Their clinical profile was recorded. Quality Of Life in Epilepsy (QOLIE-31) was used to assess quality of life of our patients. Depression was screened by Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory in Epilepsy (NDDI-E). Among all the clinical variables, only seizure frequency significantly correlated with seizure worry (P=0.002), emotional well-being (P=0.026) and social functions (P=0.013) subscales of QOLIE-31. NDDIE score showed a significant negative correlation with all the subscales of QOLIE-31 except medication effects (P=0.993). A significant positive correlation was also noted between seizure frequency and NDDI-E score (r=0.417, P=0.020). Seizure frequency and depression are the most important predictors of quality of life in epilepsy patients. The management of patients with epilepsy should not only be aimed at just preventing seizures but the treating clinicians should also be cognizant about depression which itself can significantly affect the quality of life of patients.

Betting games have become a global industry worth billions of dollars providing employment to millions and contributing to the gross domestic product (GDP) of several countries. While there are debates and controversies surrounding betting games discourse, a growing body of literature shows that it has been exacerbated by growing unemployment rates. This paper aims to examine the nexus between the increasing involvement of youth in betting games and unemployment from the Nigerian perspective.

The study adopts simple random and stratified sampling techniques to select participants for the study. Three hypotheses were tested for this study and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses.

The three hypotheses tested in this study were coined from previous literature. The study established a direct link between technology advancement, promises of winning big coupled with bonuses while unemployment was not significant to youth involvement in betting games. The study also showed that playing betting games provides another source of income to the youth, who are already engaged in one form of work or another. Finally, youth involvement in betting games has created awareness regarding different sports in the world, while contributing to Nigeria’s economy.

As betting games centre as a business in Nigeria has contributed substantially and positively to unemployment in Nigeria; the Government of Nigeria are encouraged to streamline and regulate the activities of the sector such that they can contribute significantly to the country GDP and provide employment opportunities to the youths.

The research shows that the reason why betting games have a massive turnaround of youths in Nigeria is not majorly because of unemployment but as another means to a substantial financial individual/family income. Thus, Nigerian youths see betting games as an avenue to make more money. The study is the first of its kind to examine the nexus between betting games, technology and unemployment hence, its contribution to knowledge.

Recent service studies suggest focusing on the service triad consisting of technology-customer-frontline employee (FLE). This study empirically investigates the role of service robots in this service triad, with the aim to understand the augmentation or substitution role of service robots in driving utilitarian and hedonic value and ultimately customer repatronage.

In study 1, field data are collected from customers (n = 108) who interacted with a service robot and FLE in a fast casual dining restaurant. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to test hypotheses about the impact of service robots' anthropomorphism, social presence, value perceptions and augmentation opportunities in the service triad. In study 2, empirical data from a scenario-based experimental design (n = 361) complement the field study by further scrutinizing the interplay between the service robot and FLEs within the service triad.

The study provides three important contributions. First, the authors provide empirical evidence for the interplay between different actors in the “customer-FLE-technology” service triad resulting in customer repatronage. Second, the empirical findings advance the service management literature by unraveling the relationship between anthropomorphism and social presence and their effect on perceived value in the service triad. And third, the study identifies utilitarian value of service robots as a driver of customer repatronage in fast casual dining restaurants.

The results help service managers, service robot engineers and designers, and policy makers to better understand the implications of anthropomorphism, and how the utilitarian value of service robots can offer the potential for augmentation or substitution roles in the service triad.

Building on existing conceptual and laboratory studies on service robots, this is one of the first field studies on the service triad consisting of service robots – customers – frontline employees. The empirical study on service triads provides evidence for the potential of FLEs to augment service robots that exhibit lower levels of functional performance to achieve customer repatronage. FLEs can do this by demonstrating a high willingness to help and having excellent interactions with customers. This finding advocates the joint service delivery by FLE – service robot teams in situations where service robot technology is not fully optimized.

This paper intervenes in the consequences of a myth propagated in academic discourse about the dancesport world, according to which half of the men in Latin dancesport are gay. I challenge two assumptions that surround this myth: that cisgender gay men do not contribute to the reification of the heteronormative gender binary, and that the dancesport scene is inclusive of gay people. These assumptions are based on a blatant lack of understanding of the position of gay men within the dancesport world – that is, the ways in which subjects are constituted through the effects of power.

This work is based on empirical research I conducted in the dancesport community, including ethnographic and autoethnographic fieldwork, extant documents (e.g. books, blogs, Judging Regulations) and interviews with experts and participants of the dancesport scene (2021/2022). To analyse the data, I relied on the principles of dispositive analysis, grounded theory and dance analysis.

I show that gay dancers have turned to assimilation as their only available strategy. I discuss the negative consequences of assimilation as a political strategy and how it impacted queer dancers – between invisibilisation, residual shame and a failure to challenge the heteronormative gender binary. This led gay dancers to rationalise and perpetrate harm based on the systems of oppression they had internalised.

I conclude the paper by highlighting a way beyond assimilation for queer dancers.

This paper addresses a critical gap in research on LGBT + inclusion in dancesport.

This paper examines the relationship between indigenous cultures and employee efficiency and how cronyism strengthens or weakens the relationship in the Ghanaian state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in response to the employee efficiency.

This study employs a quantitative approach by a cross-sectional survey to collect data from 400 workers in ten SOEs in Ghana. The analysis is done by using descriptive statistics and hierarchical regression techniques.

The findings indicate that showing gratitude is the predominant indigenous culture in the SOEs of Ghana while irregularity (absenteeism) is not dominant. Moreover, the practice of cronyism is high. It reveals that the indigenous cultures, except for respect for the elderly, relate negatively to employee efficiency, and cronyism strengthens the relationship between indigenous cultures and employee efficiency.

The paper contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence that cronyism effectively strengthens the relationship between indigenous cultures and employee efficiency in a developing country. Strategies to discourage cronyism should be the key focus of public administrators, as well as mechanisms to limit the practice of adverse indigenous cultures.