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Combination of Exercise Training and Dopamine Agonists in Patients with RLS on Dialysis
No full textBoth exercise training and treatment with dopamine agonists (DA) have been used with success for the amelioration of uremic restless legs syndrome (RLS) symptoms. However, no data are available combining those two approaches. The aim of the current randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to investigate the effects of a 6 month intradialytic exercise training in combination with a low dose of DA in patients suffering from uremic RLS symptoms. Fourteen stable patients with RLS on hemodialysis were randomly assigned to the exercise training plus DA group and the exercise training plus placebo group. Both combinations were found to equally reduce uremic RLS symptoms by approximately 60%. The combination of low dose of DA with aerobic exercise training could be considered an alternative approach to high DA dosage regimes in reducing RLS symptoms’ severity
Remaking Memory: Autoethnography, Memoir and the Ethics of Self
No full textWhen research is so connected to personal interest, experience, and familiarity that objectivity becomes a moveable feast, the line between documentation and invention blurs to near-invisibility. John Freeman asks what it means to locate oneself into research findings and narrative reports, and what happens when one's self goes further and becomes the research.
Subjecting received truths to a series of hard questions, readers are taken on a journey through self-performance;traumatic memoir; the lure of weasel words; emotional evocation; the vagaries of memory; creative nonfiction; cultural appropriation; illusion masquerading as truth and the complex ethics of university research.
Case studies from international autoethnographers run through the book and appendices provide invaluable advice to university researchers and supervisors. The result is a work that sheds new light on forms of narrative research that connect writers’ personal stories to the participatory cultures under investigation
Islands' tourist development and local residents' prosperity: reality or an unsolved problem?
No full textMost islands are developed as mass tourist destinations
that aim to be competitive, sacrificing though their
precious resources and balanced development. In this
regard, many problems of island destinations are related
to their limited resources and segregation. Hence, is
prosperity that tourist development brings, spread
harmonically in the whole society-environment of islands?
The paper examines how Cyprus can increase its
competitiveness and deal effectively with globalisation,
maintaining its attractiveness but also sustaining its
attributes and ensuring the well-being of its
residents/stakeholders. Based on in-depth interviews with
Cyprus tourism stakeholders’ representatives and
officials, the study reveals that in order for islands’ tourist development to be successful in the long-term, emphasis needs to be placed upon indigenous people peculiarities,characteristics and perceptions. Therefore, strategies for the incorporation of community’s views to the tourist policy making and planning are proposed
A review of necrophagous insects colonising human remains in South-east Queensland, Australia.
No full textA review of insects collected from decomposing human remains in south-east Queensland
yielded 32 species in three orders (Diptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera) and 11 families
(Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Muscidae, Phoridae, Sepsidae, Chironomidae, Dermestidae,
Cleridae, Histeridae, Staphylinidae, Encyrtidae). There were 15 cases where remains were
located indoors and five cases where remains were outdoors, in both terrestrial and aquatic
environments. Coleoptera were strongly associated with outdoors remains, while dipteran
species composition was similar in both indoor and outdoor habitats. Some Diptera were only
associated with indoors remains, while others were similarly restricted to remains recovered
outdoors. Hymenopteran parasitoids were active in both habitats.
The predominance of Calliphoridae (Chrysomya rufifacies, Ch. megacephala, Ch. saffranea,
and Ch. nigripes), which were present in 15 of the 20 cases, reflects its close association with
human and other vertebrate remains, justifying the ongoing use of blowflies in forensic
investigations. Sarcophagidae species were collected from 9 of the 20 mortuary cases, and in
three of these cases, were the only larvae present, indicating a potential for Sarcophaga
crassipalpis and S. impatiens to behave as primary invaders. They appeared to behave as
secondary invaders in other cases where much more developmentally advanced calliphorid
larvae were present.
Comparative collections were made from other vertebrate remains, including road-kill and
farmed animals throughout south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales during the
same period. Similar succession patterns and dominant species were observed over a range of
vertebrate remains in south-east Queensland
Is patient acceptance of the diagnosis of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures linked to symptomatology?
Get PDFIntroduction: An assessment was made of general symptoms in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), comparing those who do versus those who do not accept the diagnosis. Method: A questionnaire pilot study of newly diagnosed psychogenic nonepileptic seizure patients confirmed by video electroencephalography (EEG) was carried out, using a 59-item general symptom questionnaire, with frequency (score) ranging from never (0) to every day (5). Subsequent blinded assessment of patient’s acceptance of diagnosis was made. Results: Of 13 patients studied, over a 5-month period, 8 accepted the diagnosis, and 5 did not. Acceptance of diagnosis was associated with a lower total symptom score (p < .001) and significantly lower symptom scores in 7 of the 10 symptom subscales. Conclusion: The underlying symptomatology of psychogenic nonepileptic seizure patients differs between those who do versus those who do not accept the diagnosis. The complexity of additional symptoms may contribute to poorer outcomes in those that do not accept the psychogenic nonepileptic seizure diagnosis
Knowledge, agency and collective action as barriers to energy-saving behaviour
Get PDFEnergy saving is becoming a rising priority as a response to climate change and fossil fuel depletion in recent years. However, despite energy-related behaviour change being an important part of many environmental education initiatives, “energy literacy” among citizens remains patchy in both the USA and the UK, with evidence of strong positive attitudes but less consistent knowledge. Whilst it is clear that increasing knowledge does not automatically produce behaviour changes, potential questions must be asked about the logic of focusing solely on behaviour without simultaneously exploring and enhancing understanding of energy issues. This research, undertaken at a higher education institution with a strong focus on sustainability, illustrates the potential risks of targeting behaviour change and individual action at the expense of increasing knowledge, or encouraging collaborative and democratic endeavours. Results from an online survey indicate widespread misconceptions about energy which may reduce the effectiveness of energy-saving behaviours, alongside variable levels of motivation and engagement with energy issues. Respondents report a strong belief in the efficacy of personal changes, yet uncertainty about their capacity to influence business and government alongside a persistent faith in science to provide solutions to energy issues. The paper concludes by reflecting on the challenges arising from these findings for understanding agency and effectiveness in energy relationships
Thinking outside the boxes: Using current reading models to assess and treat developmental surface dyslexia
No full textImproving the reading performance of children with developmental surface dyslexia has proved challenging, with limited generalisation of reading skills typically reported after intervention. The aim of this study was to provide tailored, theoretically motivated intervention to two children with developmental surface dyslexia. Our objectives were to improve their reading performance, and to evaluate the utility of current reading models in therapeutic practice. Detailed reading and cognitive profiles for two male children with developmental surface dyslexia were compared to the results obtained by age-matched control groups. The specific area of single-word reading difficulty for each child was identified within the dual route model (DRM) of reading, following which a theoretically motivated intervention programme was devised. Both children showed significant improvements in single-word reading ability after training, with generalisation effects observed for untrained words. However, the assessment and intervention results also differed for each child, reinforcing the view that the causes and consequences of developmental dyslexia, even within subtypes, are not homogeneous. Overall, the results of the interventions corresponded more closely with the DRM than other current reading models, in that real word reading improved in the absence of enhanced nonword reading for both children
How Children Learn
No full textUnderstanding How Children Learn is a vital part of working with children. Every child is unique and understanding differences in learning helps all to benefit.
This book goes beyond simply understanding the work of key theorists and the various theories of learning to recognise what learning actually looks like and how it is best facilitated in any setting
Developing ‘know how’: a participatory approach to assessment of placement learning
Get PDFThis paper is based on research undertaken on the supervised practice of an undergraduate programme of study which leads to both BA (Hons) degree and a professional qualification in youth work in a university in England. Youth work, for those unfamiliar with it, is a form of informal and experiential educational practice with young people often located in community settings. The purpose of youth work is to help young people learn about themselves, others and society through the use of educational activities which combine enjoyment, challenge and learning. Importantly, however, the findings of this paper we would argue are directly transferable to a variety of practice-based educational and vocational settings where students need to reflect on, analyse and either assess their own practice or have their practice assessed by others
Putting collective reflective dialogue at the heart of the evaluation process
Get PDFThe study informing this paper set out to reframe evaluation as a collaborative, participatory, dialogical process with a focus on learning rather than accountability. Evaluation, much like reflective practice, has been shaped in terms of individual activity and deficit-based discourses. Using an ‘insider’ approach, an innovative methodology was developed and implemented in a voluntary youth organisation in the UK. Data gathered via semi-structured interviews before and after the implementation were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis approach. The findings suggest that collective spaces for reflection and dialogue are disappearing and yet practitioners highly valued this for its re-energising and restorative properties. Evidence is presented to suggest that narratives, in this case co-constructed stories, enabled collective critical reflection and the development of a shared understanding of practice which in turn supported and strengthened professional autonomy. This paper offers a significant contribution to knowledge in regard to the design and use of participatory evaluation. It is argued that the appreciative, collaborative and reflective aspects of the methodology enabled the learning and development functions to be realised. Evaluation based on collective, reflective dialogue has the potential to provide an evidence base of good practice, enhance staff well-being and improve practice outcomes