Mediamusic (E-Journal)
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Gender and International development:Searching for game changers in the midst of polarisation
No full textThis chapter explores how the polarization around religion and gender that plays out in contemporary international politics affects international development. It is that game changers in the context of polarization cannot be found by focusing on the loudest voices. The chapter explores the work of actors that are situated in the middle: religious feminists and religious development NGOs, in terms of how these actors navigate the polarization around religion and gender. It will conclude that rather than allowing the polarization in international politics to influence what happens at the grassroots, international development actors are uniquely equipped to depolarize by building networks and alliances in the middle that offer more inclusive language and approaches to promote gender equality and challenge gender-based violence. The chapter reflects on challenges and potential pitfalls of religious feminist and religious NGO approaches in their efforts to realize gender equality as part of their religious missions
Imaging
No full textImaging betekent beeldvorming en dus zou je elke techniek waarmee beelden worden gemaakt imaging kunnen noemen. Maar in de proefdierkunde verstaan we onder imaging het afbeelden van inwendige organen van levende proefdieren voor onderzoeksdoeleinden. Met imaging kun je anatomische details laten zien of biologische processen zichtbaar maken. In dit hoofdstuk laten we je zien waarom imaging zowel uit wetenschappelijk oogpunt als uit het oogpunt van dierenwelzijn van groot belang is. We leggen de basisprincipes van elke techniek uit en proberen de voordelen en beperkingen ervan aan te geven
The relationship of proficiency to speed fluency, pausing, and eye-gaze behaviours in L2 writing
No full textIn this study we investigated the extent to which writing proficiency predicts L2 writers’ speed fluency, pausing, and eye-gaze behaviours and the cognitive processes that underlie pausing. Additionally, we explored whether these relationships were influenced by stage of writing (beginning, middle stages, end). The participants were 60 Chinese second language users of English, with proficiency levels ranging from CEFR B1 to C1 levels. They all completed two independent TOEFL iBT writing tasks over two sessions, with the tasks being counterbalanced across participants. While composing, we recorded participants’ keystrokes and eye-gaze behaviours. Participants also took part in a stimulated recall session based on the last writing task they had completed. A series of mixed-effects regression models found that proficiency was the strongest predictor of speed fluency. The stimulated recall analysis revealed considerably less variation in cognitive activities among lower- than higher-proficiency writers across writing stages
Health care professionals' motivation, their behaviors, and the quality of hospital care:A mixed-methods systematic review
No full textBackground: Health care professionals’ workmotivation is assumed to be crucial for the quality of hospital care, but it is unclear which type of motivation ought to be stimulated to improve quality. Motivation and similar concepts arealigned along a motivational continuum that ranges from (intrinsic) autonomous motivation to (extrinsic) controlled motivation to provide a framework for this mixed-methods systematic review.Purpose: This mixed-methods systematic review aims to link various types of health care professionals’ motivation directly and through their work-related behaviors to quality of care.Methods: Six databases were searched from January 1990 to August 2016. Qualitative and quantitative studies were included if they reported on work motivation in relationship to work behavior and/or quality, and study participantswere health care professionals working in hospitals in high-income countries. Study bias was evaluated using th
Free will, control, and the possibility to do otherwise from a causal modeler's perspective
No full textStrong notions of free will are closely connected to the possibility to do otherwise as well as to an agent’s ability to causally influence her environment via her decisions controlling her actions. In this paper we employ techniques from the causal modeling literature to investigate whether a notion of free will subscribing to one or both of these requirements is compatible with naturalistic views of the world such as non-reductive physicalism to the background of determinism and indeterminism. We argue that from a causal modeler’s perspective the only possibility to get both requirements consists in subscribing to reductive physicalism and indeterminism
Two-year recovery courses of physical and mental impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions after total knee arthroplasty among working-age patients.
No full textPurpose: Total knee arthroplasty is increasingly performed on working-age individuals, but little is known about their recovery process. Therefore this study examined recovery courses of physical and mental impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions among working-age total knee arthroplasty recipients. Associated sociodemographic and health-related factors were also evaluated.Materials and methods: A prospective study among working total knee arthroplasty patients (aged <65 years) (n = 146). Surveys were completed preoperatively and 6 weeks and 3, 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively. Outcomes represented domains of the International Classification of Functioning, that is, physical impairments (pain, stiffness, vitality), mental impairments (mental health, depressive symptoms), activity limitations (physical functioning), and participation restrictions (social-, work functioning, working hours). Covariates included age, gender, education, home situation, body mass index, and comorbidity.Results: Largest improvements in physical and mental impairments and activity limitations were observed until 3 months postoperatively. Participation in social roles improved early after surgery, and improvements in work participation occurred from 6 to 12 months. Older age, being male and fewer comorbidities were associated with better recovery courses.Conclusion: Working-age total knee arthroplasty patients recover soon from physical and mental impairments, activity limitations, and participation in social roles, but participation at work occurs later. Younger patients, females, and those with musculoskeletal comorbidities appear at risk for suboptimal recovery after total knee arthroplasty.Implications for rehabilitationAn increasing number of working-age patients are asking for total knee arthroplasty and have high expectations of total knee arthroplasty, in particular, to participate in the workforce again;Recovery after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) does not occur in the short term and is not limited to clinical improvements for working-age TKA recipients only, as an important part of recovery, that is, participation occurs in the long term (>6 months);Closer collaboration between occupational physicians and orthopedic surgeons might result in increased and earlier ability to work full contractual hours;Rehabilitation after TKA should focus on patients with multiple comorbidities, whereby musculoskeletal diseases may even need additional preoperative treatment to optimize outcomes and prevent work disability.</p
Supervised learning in the presence of concept drift:A modelling framework
No full textWe present a modelling framework for the investigation of supervised learning in non-stationary environments. Specifically, we model two example types of learning systems: prototype-based learning vector quantization (LVQ) for classification and shallow, layered neural networks for regression tasks. We investigate so-called student–teacher scenarios in which the systems are trained from a stream of high-dimensional, labeled data. Properties of the target task are considered to be non-stationary due to drift processes while the training is performed. Different types of concept drift are studied, which affect the density of example inputs only, the target rule itself, or both. By applying methods from statistical physics, we develop a modelling framework for the mathematical analysis of the training dynamics in non-stationary environments. Our results show that standard LVQ algorithms are already suitable for the training in non-stationary environments to a certain extent. However, the application of weight decay as an explicit mechanism of forgetting does not improve the performance under the considered drift processes. Furthermore, we investigate gradient-based training of layered neural networks with sigmoidal activation functions and compare with the use of rectified linear units. Our findings show that the sensitivity to concept drift and the effectiveness of weight decay differs significantly between the two types of activation function
The effects of an intradialytic resistance training on lower extremity muscle functions
No full textPurpose: The loss of muscle functions is a significant health issue among dialysis patients. Poor muscle strength negatively affects a patient's mobility, independence and quality of life. The aim of the study was to assess the effects of an intradialytic resistance training (IRT) on lower extremity muscle functions among dialysed patients.Materials and methods: Ninety patients were allocated into an experimental group (n = 57) or control group (CNG) (n = 33) according to the location of the dialysis service center. Fifty-eight patients completed the study follow-up. The intervention regarded 12-week IRT, while the controls remained physically inactive during hemodialysis. In both groups of patients, we assessed lower extremity muscle functions by a diagnostics of maximal isometric force generated during hip flexion (HF), hip extension (HE), and knee extension (KE) contractions at baseline, after the 12-weeks intervention and after a further 12-weeks follow up.Results: We found that improvements in HE between baseline and post-intervention were significantly larger for the experimental than the CNG (difference 32.0, 95% CI = 12.3-51.8, p = 0.002). For the other primary outcomes, we found no differences between the groups, and neither for the two other indices of muscle strength (HF and KE). At 12-weeks follow-up, we found no statistically significant differences between the two groups.Conclusions: Our findings indicate that exercise during dialysis not just suppresses adverse effects in muscle strength and functioning, but effectively and safely increases lower extremities muscle function in a relatively short time.Implications for RehabilitationRegular, progressive, resistance training realized during dialysis is well tolerated and safe for exercise interventions in hemodialysis patients.A 12-weeks intradialytic resistance training is effective in the prevention and clinical management of muscle function loss among hemodialysis patients.The range of improvements in muscle functions, demonstrated by the assessment of maximal isometric force, varied severely during different lower extremity movements of hemodialysis patients.</p
Different measures for auditory hallucinations in populations with psychosis. The Validation of the Spanish versions of the Auditory Vocal Hallucination Rating Scale (AVHRS) and the Positive and Useful Voices Inquiry (PUVI)
No full textINTRODUCTION: An updated summary of the most used instruments assessing auditory hallucinations in population with psychosis, allows us to underline the scarceness and need of Spanish versions of important instruments. The aim of the study is to examine the psychometric characteristics of two different and complementary instruments for assessing auditory hallucinations, the Spanish version of the Auditory Vocal Hallucination Scale (AVHRS) and the Spanish version of the Positive and Useful Voices Inquiry (PUVI).MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sample of 68 patients from four different centres, with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder presenting with auditory hallucinations were included. Apart from the AVHRS and the PUVI, the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales-Auditory Hallucinations subscale (PSYRATS-AH) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) were also administered to all patients, plus an acceptability questionnaire.RESULTS: The Spanish version of the AVHRS showed a good internal consistency, a moderate to high inter-rater reliability, a medium to moderate test-retest reliability, and a good convergent and discriminant validity. The Spanish version of the PUVI showed a good internal consistency and a heterogeneous, but in general moderate, test-retest reliability.CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish versions of the AVHRS and the PUVI have good psychometric properties and are well accepted among patients.</p
Subtyping late-life depression according to inflammatory and metabolic dysregulation:a prospective study
No full textBackground Inflammation and metabolic dysregulation are age-related physiological changes and are associated with depressive disorder. We tried to identify subgroups of depressed older patients based on their metabolic-inflammatory profile and examined the course of depression for these subgroups. Methods This clinical cohort study was conducted in a sample of 364 depressed older (> 60 years) patients according to DSM-IV criteria. Severity of depressive symptoms was monitored every 6 months and a formal diagnostic interview repeated at 2-year follow-up. Latent class analyses based on baseline metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers were performed. Adjusted for confounders, we compared remission of depression at 2-year follow-up between the metabolic-inflammatory subgroups with logistic regression and the course of depression severity over 2-years by linear mixed models. Results We identified a 'healthy' subgroup (n = 181, 49.7%) and five subgroups characterized by different profiles of metabolic-inflammatory dysregulation. Compared to the healthy subgroup, patients in the subgroup with mild 'metabolic and inflammatory dysregulation' (n = 137, 37.6%) had higher depressive symptom scores, a lower rate of improvement in the first year, and were less likely to be remitted after 2-years [OR 0.49 (95% CI 0.26-0.91)]. The four smaller subgroups characterized by a more specific immune-inflammatory dysregulation profile did not differ from the two main subgroups regarding the course of depression. Conclusions Nearly half of the patients with late-life depressions suffer from metabolic-inflammatory dysregulation, which is also associated with more severe depression and a worse prognosis. Future studies should examine whether these depressed older patients benefit from a metabolic-inflammatory targeted treatment.</p