scholarly journals Which are the central aspects of infant sleep? The dynamic of sleep composites across infancy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah F. Schoch ◽  
Reto Huber ◽  
Malcolm Kohler ◽  
Salome Kurth

AbstractSleep is ubiquitous during infancy and important for the well-being of both infant and parent. Therefore, there is large interest to characterize infant sleep with reliable tools, for example by means of combining actigraphy with 24-h-diaries. However, it is critical to select the right variables to characterize sleep. With a principal component analysis, we identified 5 underlying sleep composites from 48 commonly used sleep variables: Sleep Night, Sleep Day, Sleep Activity, Sleep Timing and Sleep Variability. These composites accurately reflect the known changes of sleep throughout infancy as Sleep Day (representing naps), Sleep Activity (representing sleep efficiency and consolidation) and Sleep Variability (representing day-to-day stability) decrease across infancy, while Sleep Night (representing nighttime sleep) slightly increases and Sleep Timing becomes earlier with increasing age. Additionally, we uncover interesting dynamics between the sleep composites and demonstrate that infant sleep is not only highly variable between infants but also considerably dynamic within infants across time. Interestingly, Sleep Day is associated with behavioral development and therefore a potential marker for maturation. We recommend the use of sleep composites or of those specific single variables, which are solid representatives of the sleep composites for more reliable research.

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (24) ◽  
pp. 7188
Author(s):  
Sarah F. Schoch ◽  
Reto Huber ◽  
Malcolm Kohler ◽  
Salome Kurth

Sleep during infancy is important for the well-being of both infant and parent. Therefore, there is large interest in characterizing infant sleep with reliable tools, for example by combining actigraphy with 24-h-diaries. However, it is critical to select the right variables to characterize sleep. In a longitudinal investigation, we collected sleep data of 152 infants at ages 3, 6, and 12 months. Using principal component analysis, we identified five underlying sleep composites from 48 commonly-used sleep variables: Sleep Night, Sleep Day, Sleep Activity, Sleep Timing, and Sleep Variability. These composites accurately reflect known sleep dynamics throughout infancy as Sleep Day (representing naps), Sleep Activity (representing sleep efficiency and consolidation), and Sleep Variability (representing day-to-day stability) decrease across infancy, while Sleep Night (representing nighttime sleep) slightly increases, and Sleep Timing becomes earlier as one ages. We uncover interesting dynamics between the sleep composites and demonstrate that infant sleep is not only highly variable between infants but also dynamic within infants across time. Interestingly, Sleep Day is associated with behavioral development and therefore a potential marker for maturation. We recommend either the use of sleep composites or the core representative variables within each sleep composite for more reliable research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 737-747
Author(s):  
Jones Fiegenbaum ◽  
Marina Schmidt Dalzochio ◽  
Eduardo Périco ◽  
Neli Teresinha Galarce Machado

The Jê archeology has witnessed in the last decades a significant increase in information on the pattern of settlement, subsistence, mobility and ceremonial practices as a result of major projects developed in the South Brazilian Plateau. With the beginning of a systemic and procedural view in archeology, interdisciplinary studies in archaeological research are directed to the study on the understanding of human relations with the environment. Between the basins of the Forqueta and Guaporé Rivers, both tributaries of the right bank of the Taquari/Antas River, twenty-one archaeological sites were found with the presence of pit houses associated with Jê groups. Of the twenty-one areas of identified pit houses, nineteen are in areas close to wetlands. In an interdisciplinary perspective, we seek to understand the reasons why Jê groups established settlements close to wetlands. Six criteria were analyzed regarding the installation of pit houses and the proximity to wetlands, namely hydrography, distance from rivers with running water, clinography, terrain slope, hypsometry, altitude in relation to sea level, soils, soil quality, distance from wetlands, and phytoecological region (vegetation cover). The patterns of occupation of Jê groups were analyzed using the Principal Component Analysis technique on the variables presented.


2021 ◽  
pp. 141-146
Author(s):  
Carlo Cusatelli ◽  
Massimiliano Giacalone ◽  
Eugenia Nissi

Well being is a multidimensional phenomenon, that cannot be measured by a single descriptive indicator and that, it should be represented by multiple dimensions. It requires, to be measured by combination of different dimensions that can be considered together as components of the phenomenon. This combination can be obtained by applying methodologies knows as Composite Indicators (CIs). CIs are largely used to have a comprehensive view on a phenomenon that cannot be captured by a single indicator. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is one of the most popular multivariate statistical technique used for reducing data with many dimension, and often well being indicators are obtained using PCA. PCA is implicitly based on a reflective measurement model that it non suitable for all types of indicators. Mazziotta and Pareto (2013) in their paper discuss the use and misuse of PCA for measuring well-being. The classical PCA is not suitable for data collected on the territory because it does not take into account the spatial autocorrelation present in the data. The aim of this paper is to propose the use of Spatial Principal Component Analysis for measuring well being in the Italian Provinces.


Author(s):  
Julie Poláčková ◽  
Andrea Jindrová

The paper is focused on the methodological approaches to assess subjective aspects of the quality of life in the various regions. Besides, directly measurable indicators, which may not always correspond with the quality of life of the individuals in the regions, the subjective aspects of well-being are also in the spotlight. The pilot analysis examined the answers to questions such as: Are you satisfied with the health and social services, the cost of living, safety of public spaces, affordability of housing, or your personal job situation? These answers were used for an assessment of the quality of life in the different regions of the Czech Republic. We used multivariate modeling to explicitly account for the hierarchical structure of respondents within the Czech Republic, and for understanding patterns of variation between regions. The principal component analysis (PCA) was used for the general analysis of regional differences. The overall goal of principal component analysis is to reduce the dimensionality of a data set, while simultaneously retaining the information present in the data. The differences were illustrated by cartographic visualization and by scatter plots of the first three principal components. The cluster analysis was used to discover similarities and differences of the quality of life within various regions of the Czech Republic.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 833-853 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Carolina Rogelis ◽  
Micha Werner ◽  
Nelson Obregón ◽  
Nigel Wright

Abstract. In this paper a method is proposed to identify mountainous watersheds with the highest flood risk at the regional level. Through this, the watersheds to be subjected to more detailed risk studies can be prioritised in order to establish appropriate flood risk management strategies. The prioritisation is carried out through an index composed of a qualitative indicator of vulnerability and a qualitative flash flood/debris flow susceptibility indicator. At the regional level, vulnerability was assessed on the basis of a principal component analysis carried out with variables recognised in literature to contribute to vulnerability, using watersheds as the unit of analysis. The area exposed was obtained from a simplified flood extent analysis at the regional level, which provided a mask where vulnerability variables were extracted. The vulnerability indicator obtained from the principal component analysis was combined with an existing susceptibility indicator, thus providing an index that allows the watersheds to be prioritised in support of flood risk management at regional level. Results show that the components of vulnerability can be expressed in terms of three constituent indicators: (i) socio-economic fragility, which is composed of demography and lack of well-being; (ii) lack of resilience and coping capacity, which is composed of lack of education, lack of preparedness and response capacity, lack of rescue capacity, cohesiveness of the community; and (iii) physical exposure, which is composed of exposed infrastructure and exposed population. A sensitivity analysis shows that the classification of vulnerability is robust for watersheds with low and high values of the vulnerability indicator, while some watersheds with intermediate values of the indicator are sensitive to shifting between medium and high vulnerability.


Author(s):  
Bruce E. Winston

Taylor et al. evaluated Dupuy's general employee well-being measurement instrument and pointed out two concerns: a combination of positive and negative item wording and two different measurement response methods. Taylor et al. collected new data, ran a principal component analysis, and found three of Dupuy's five reported scales. In this study, the author reworded Taylor et al.'s final 18 items so that all items were worded positively, used a common measurement response, and removed double-barreled wording, which Taylor et al. did not note. The author of this current chapter conducted two studies. The first study's analysis of the new data produced a single eight-item scale with Cronbach alpha of .96 that explained 77% of the variance. The second study used confirmatory factor analysis that showed a four-item scale with GFI = 0.98, AGFI = 0.89, RMSEA = 0.13, and Chi-square = 9.96, df = 9, p < 0.000. The four-item scale had a Cronbach alpha of 0.86.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (7) ◽  
pp. 4265-4314
Author(s):  
M. C. Rogelis ◽  
M. Werner ◽  
N. Obregón ◽  
G. Wright

Abstract. A regional analysis of flood risk was carried out in the mountainous area surrounding the city of Bogotá (Colombia). Vulnerability at regional level was assessed on the basis of a principal component analysis carried out with variables recognised in literature to contribute to vulnerability; using watersheds as the unit of analysis. The area exposed was obtained from a simplified flood analysis at regional level to provide a mask where vulnerability variables were extracted. The vulnerability indicator obtained from the principal component analysis was combined with an existing susceptibility indicator, thus providing an index that allows the watersheds to be prioritised in support of flood risk management at regional level. Results show that the components of vulnerability can be expressed in terms of four constituent indicators; socio-economic fragility, which is composed of demography and lack of well-being; lack of resilience, which is composed of education, preparedness and response capacity, rescue capacity, social cohesion and participation; and physical exposure is composed of exposed infrastructure and exposed population. A sensitivity analysis shows that the classification of vulnerability is robust for watersheds with low and high values of the vulnerability indicator, while some watersheds with intermediate values of the indicator are sensitive to shifting between medium and high vulnerability. The complex interaction between vulnerability and hazard is evidenced in the case study. Environmental degradation in vulnerable watersheds shows the influence that vulnerability exerts on hazard and vice versa, thus establishing a cycle that builds up risk conditions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 137-158
Author(s):  
AMIR SYAWAL KAMIS ◽  
◽  
AHMAD FAIZAL AHMAD FUAD ◽  
MOHD SAIFUL IZWAAN SAADON ◽  
MOHD NAIM FADZIL

Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) Basic Training (BT) is mandatory for every seafarer before starting to work on board merchant ships. The knowledge, attitude, and behaviour (KAB) theory explains that knowledge enhances one’s attitude, thus leading to improved behaviour. Accordingly, this study determined the effects of BT on seafarers’ shipboard safety KAB. The process commenced by ascertaining whether the BT course offered in the Maritime Institutes was on par with BT contents provided by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). For data collection and filtration purposes, the factors, filtering elements, and filtered model (FFF model) were utilised to measure safety education and KAB. Following this, a measurable questionnaire was developed for this particular study survey. The data collected were then analysed by using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), which involved the use of SPSS and AMOS SPSS. Essentially, data obtained from the respondents successfully established the impacts of BT on the KAB, which revealed its role in improving the seafarers’ KAB. Therefore, the factors identified in this study are expected to be utilised in maritime institutions as BT syllabus incorporates domains aimed to instil the right attitudes among seafarers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-262
Author(s):  
Alexander A. Oboznov ◽  
Daria L. Petrovich ◽  
Irina V. Kozhanova ◽  
Yulia V. Bessonova

Subjective occupational well-being, as shown by the authors of this article, is one of the key conditions for occupational health and career longevity in our time. Along with this, existing models associate the achievement of occupational well-being with the realisation of aspirations for personal self-development and autonomy subject to professional competence and favourable emotional and psychosomatic states prevailing in a comfortable working environment. However, these models do not take into account the social and occupational relevance of actors as a factor in their occupational well-being, although any professional occupation is initially aimed at obtaining the results required by society. Any activity, the results of which do not meet the expectations and requirements of society, become unclaimed, the demand for its participants is lost, and the problem of their subjective occupational wellbeing becomes irrelevant. Therefore, it would be incorrect to consider the assessment of personal occupational well-being without correlating it with the assessment of personal social and occupational relevance. As shown in the article, human well-being should also be considered in ethnocultural terms. In this regard, the aim of the present study was to provide a theoretical and empirical justification for the construct of subjective occupational well-being, including the component of social-occupational relevance, using a Russian sample. To verify this point, we conducted an empirical study that involved 285 employees of Russian territorial tax authorities. Their employment records in the tax service ranged from 1 to 34 years, with less than three years in 18% of the sample. Their age range was 22-62 years, with 25% of the sample on the right side of thirty. The sample included 70% of women and 30% of men. The study used The Professional Demand Questionnaire (Kharitonova, 2014), The Occupational Well-Being Inventory (Rut, 2016), The Prevalent Positive Emotional State Questionnaire (Kulikov, 2003), and the single-scale questionnaires - The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-17) and Dutch Boredom Scale (DUBS) in Russian adaptation (Schaufeli, Diystra, Ivanova, 2015). The research methods included factor analysis (principal component analysis, varimax rotation) and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of the factor analysis showed that the newly proposed construct of subjective occupational well-being included three independent but, at the same time, interrelated components. The first component (27% of the variance explained) contained a set of self-esteems of the employees that reflected their awareness of their social and occupational relevance (I, as a competent and sought-after professional). The second component (19%) contained self-esteems that reflected the sustainable dominance of positive emotional states among the employees. And the third component (14%) contained self-esteems that reflected the degree to which the employees realised their aspirations for professional growth, satisfaction with their professional achievements and relationships in the work team. Two areas of further research on the problem of subjective occupational wellbeing are considered relevant. One area is the further elaboration of the ideas of the resource approach for developing and maintaining employees subjective occupational well-being (Schaufeli, Bakker, Van Rhenen, 2009). The other area is research in the framework of cross-cultural and cross-occupational approaches (Brauchli et al., 2013).


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