Individuals with insomnia often report aspects of perfectionism alongside symptoms of anxiety and depression. However, there has been limited examination of these factors together. The current study investigated whether individuals with insomnia report increased perfectionism compared to normal-sleepers. Further, the mediating role of anxiety and depression was examined. Participants were 39 individuals with DSM-5 defined Insomnia Disorder, and 39 normal-sleepers, who completed two measures of multidimensional perfectionism and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.Results demonstrated that, compared to normal-sleepers, individuals with insomnia display increased perfectionistic traits of: concern over mistakes, doubts about action, and parental criticism. In addition, these differences were partiality mediated by symptoms of anxiety, but not depression. Our findings highlight the significance of treating symptoms of anxiety with the prospect of alleviating negative thoughts concerning one's mistakes, doubts about action, and perception of parental criticism, which may contribute to insomnia.

People with insomnia often display an attentional bias for sleep-specific stimuli. However, prior studies have mostly utilized sleep-related words and images, and research is yet to examine whether people with insomnia display an attentional bias for sleep-specific (i.e. tired appearing) facial stimuli. This study aimed to examine whether individuals with insomnia present an attentional bias for sleep-specific faces depicting tiredness compared to normal-sleepers. Additionally, we aimed to determine whether the presence of an attentional bias was characterized by vigilance or disengagement. Forty-one individuals who meet the DSM-5 criteria for Insomnia Disorder and 41 normal-sleepers completed a dot-probe task comprising of neutral and sleep-specific tired faces. The results demonstrated that vigilance and disengagement scores differed significantly between the insomnia and normal-sleeper groups. Specifically, individuals with insomnia displayed difficulty in both orienting to and disengaging attention from tired faces compared to normal-sleepers. Using tired facial stimuli, the current study provides novel evidence that insomnia is characterized by a sleep-related attentional bias. These outcomes support cognitive models of insomnia by suggesting that individuals with insomnia monitor tiredness in their social environment.

A crucial question facing cognitive science concerns the nature of conceptual representations as well as the constraints on the interactions between them. One specific question we address in this paper is what makes cross-representational interplay possible? We offer two distinct theoretical scenarios: according to the first scenario, co-activated knowledge representations interact with the help of an interface established between them via congruent activation in a mediating third-party general cognitive mechanism, e.g., attention. According to the second scenario, co-activated knowledge representations interact due to an overlap between their features, for example when they share a magnitude component. First, we make a case for cross-representational interplay based on grounded and situated theories of cognition. Second, we discuss interface-based interactions between distinct (i.e., non-overlapping) knowledge representations. Third, we discuss how co-activated representations may share their architecture via partial overlap. Finally, we outline constraints regarding the flexibility of these proposed mechanisms.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate staff knowledge of Mental Capacity Act (MCA) capacity assessments within the Learning Disabilities division of a Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Trust. The limited research available suggests staff knowledge tends to be poor, particularly concerning who is the decision maker. Design/methodology/approach A 12-item multiple choice questionnaire, which reflects the five core principles of MCA (2005), was developed. Questionnaires were completed by 262 health and social staff members who support people with LD. Findings Results show high variability of MCA capacity assessment knowledge within the LD division. However, qualified staff and those from health services scored significantly higher across all categories on the questionnaire compared to non-qualified and social care staff, respectively. On average, all staff scored poorly when asked to identify “who is the decision maker?” in a case scenario question. Research limitations/implications The main limitation is that we did not collect data on how many previous capacity assessments and discussions each person had been involved with. The findings clearly suggest current methods of training lack efficacy in helping staff apply MCA knowledge to their clinical work. Originality/value Compared to past literature, this study utilised a novel and more comprehensive questionnaire. This focused on case scenario questions to assess staff situational judgement. In addition, the findings add to a sparse evidence base that provides a foundation for future research.

An earthquake-induced sand blow was discovered in a shallow trench dug on the premises of the Colonial Dorchester State Historical Site in Summerville, South Carolina. A comparison of its location with available seismicity, seismic reflection, and shallow geological and geomorphologic data suggests that the sand blow was associated with a splay of the currently active Sawmill Branch fault zone. This is the first sand blow to be directly associated with a specific fault in the Middleton PlaceSummerville seismic zone, the source zone for the Charleston earthquakes. Geotechnical and vibracore data revealed that the source sand is ~3 m thick and the top of the sand is at a depth of ~2.5 m below the ground surface. The sand blow was associated with a pre-1886 earthquake that occurred possibly 3,500 YBP or earlier, with an estimated maximum magnitude of 5.6.