bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Electric Feeder: An Efficacy Study
Authors: Einset Kari , Deitz Jean , Billingsley Felix , Harris Susan R.
Published: December 2014

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of art electric feeder, a device designed to increase independence in self-feeding tasks for persons with physical disabilities. This study used a single-subject research design across 4 subjects and two settings. Variables measured were the length of the meal, the amount of physical assistance needed, and the percentage of the meal eaten. The subjects also answered a questionnaire concerning their satisfaction with the feeder. The results of the study indicated that the use of the electric feeder increased the length of the meal in some cases and decreased the percentage of food eaten in all cases. Two of the 4 subjects showed a clear decrease in the amount of staff time needed when using the feeder. All subjects stated that the feeder increased independence, but only 2 indicated they would use it on a regular basis.
The Effects of Mental Practice on Walking Balance in an Elderly Population
Authors: Linden Cheryl A. , Uhley Joan E. , Smith Doris , Bush Mary Ann
Published: December 2014

This study examined the effects of mental practice on improving walking balance in an elderly population. Walking balance was defined as walking in an upright position without the elicitation of equilibrium reactions. The subjects were videotaped traversing an activity course, and trained observers measured equilibrium reactions (the number of upper extremity reactions elicited) and foot placement for each subject. Twenty-three female subjects between the ages of 61 and 90 years were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The experimental group mentally practiced traversing the activity course with the aid of a 6-minute audiotape. The control group participated in sedentary activities of equal duration. Both groups met for eight sessions. Independent and correlated t tests indicated no significant difference in walking balance between the groups ( p < .05). However, there was a significant difference in equilibrium reactions when subjects carried objects as opposed to walking with their hands free (p < .05). The results and implications of this study are discussed in terms of their significance to occupational therapy practice and research.
Specification of Daily Living Skills for Persons with Chronic Mental Illness
Authors: Leonardelli Carol A.
Published: December 2014

The study described here examined three issues: (a) therapists' perceptions of the relative value of certain daily living skills to function in chronically mentally ill persons, (b) the potential for clustering skills into defined groups, and (c) the relationship of therapists' perceptions of the relative value of these skills to the therapists' characteristics. An understanding of therapists' perceptions of the importance of certain skills to a clinical population assists in decision making regarding evaluation and treatment and can also assist in the process of establishing content validity for assessment instruments. The clustering of skills may suggest that different levels or categories of skills exist that may affect treatment. Recognition of the variables that influence the perceived value of skills to a clinical population aids in the understanding of the clinical reasoning process, especially if the terminology in a specific practice area varies or is not well defined.

The results of this pilot study show that daily living skills for chronically mentally ill persons can be identified and clustered into groups representing different levels of function. The therapists' characteristics examined here did not seem to influence the perceived value of these skills.
Work-Related Reinforcer Patterns in Occupational Therapy
Authors: Madill H.M. , Vargo J.W. , Brintnell E.S.G.
Published: December 2014

As students complete fieldwork courses, the source of work reinforcement provided by the practice environment is likely to alter their perception of occupational therapy as a career. The level of responsibility increases substantially when full qualifications are acquired, and it is possible that the original priority given to work-related reinforcers will also change. With a stratified random sample of 120 occupational therapists and students, issues surrounding different reinforcer patterns were investigated using the Minnesota Job Description Questionnaire, Research Version (Dawis & Lofquist, 1984). Significant differences at the .01 level were found on Achievement, Advancement, Authority, and Creativity, and at the .05 level on Activity, Security, Recognition, and Supervision-Technical.
Themes of Meaning: Occupational Therapists' Perspectives on Practice
Authors: Hasselkus Betty Risteen , Dickie Virginia Allen
Published: December 2014

As part of the broad effort in occupational therapy to define directions for future education and practice, a pilot study was conducted that focused on the meanings therapists find within their practice. Using a phenomenological approach, therapists were asked to describe their most satisfying practice experience. Five primary themes of meaning in occupational therapy were derived from the pilot data: Making a Difference, Being Valued by Others, Sense of Initiative, Sense of Inventiveness, and Agreeableness. These preliminary findings are discussed as they relate to previous research of job satisfaction in occupational therapy. Implications for occupational therapy and questions to be addressed in an expanded study are presented.
The Effectiveness of Inflatable Pressure Splints on Motor Function in Stroke Patients
Authors: Poole Janet L. , Whitney Susan L. , Hangeland Nancy , Baker Carol
Published: December 2014

The effectiveness of inflatable pressure splints was assessed by comparing upper extremity function in 18 subjects with hemiplegia. Matched pairs of subjects were randomly assigned to a splint or non-splint treatment condition. The splinted group had the splint applied for 30 minutes, 5 days a week, for 3 weeks, while the non-splint group received no treatment. Analysis of variance with repeated measures showed no statistically significant differences in mean change in upper extremity sensation, pain, and motor function from week 0 to week 3 between the splint and non-splint groups. These results are consistent with a previous finding in which a shorter treatment time period of 1 week was used. Suggestions for further research are discussed.
The Use of Pre-Admission Data to Predict Levels of Success in Selected Allied Health Students
Authors: Schmalz Gretchen M. , Rahr Richard R. , Allen Ruth M.
Published: December 2014

Selecting students from an applicant pool poses a challenge for allied health educators. The admission committee must evaluate a variety of information available on each applicant to determine whether the applicant will be a successful student and complete the program. There are few predictor variables that clearly determine the applicant's probability of completing a program. In this paper the variables that were studied included entering grade point average (GPA), age, number of credits taken at a 4-year institution, sex, marital status, ethnic origin, IQ scores, and a variety of departmental-specific admission testing procedures. Several variables that were common to more than one program were studied to determine which factors would predict a student's level of academic success. Significant predictive variables were identified: Otis Quick-Scoring Mental Abilities Test, institution, cumulative GPA, and occupational therapy department admissions essay scores. These variables provide admission committees with data they could use in making admission decisions among similarly qualified applicants.
Jamar Dynamometer and Adapted Sphygmomanometer for Measuring Grip Strength in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Agnew P.J. , Maas F.
Published: December 2014

Two instruments for measuring grip strength, the Jamar dynamometer and an adapted sphygmomanometer have been compared in 88 subjects with rheumatoid arthritis. Correlations have been found between instrument measurements of .83 for the right hand and .84 for the left hand. Because these correlations were found to be high and linear, regression tables for predicting grip strength from one instrument to the other have been provided. As norms for the Jamar dynamometer already exist, clinicians and researchers now have a standard for comparing patients and subjects and the normal population for grip strength.
Performance of Normal Children on the Pediatric Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction for Balance
Authors: Deitz Jean C. , Richardson Pamela , Atwater Sarah W. , Crowe Terry K. , Odiorne Margaret
Published: December 2014

The purpose of this study was to collect and examine descriptive data on the Pediatric Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction for Balance (P-CTSIB) for children ages 6 to 9 years. To guide decisions regarding grouping of data, hypotheses were tested concerning differences among means for duration of stance for gender and for age. Because results were inconclusive, descriptive data for duration of stance and degrees of sway for each of the six P-CTSIB Feet-Together tests and each of the six P-CTSIB Heel-Toe tests are reported by gender and age category. Recommendations are made for clinical use of this test, and directions for future research are identified.
The Daily Routines of Mothers with Young Children: Using a Socio-Political Model in Research
Authors: Dyck Isabel
Published: December 2014

This paper addresses the occupational behavior of mothers of young children, focusing on the relationships between the environment, the women's mothering role, and their daily routines. In this study, the use of qualitative methods and a socio-political perspective revealed the meanings the women's mothering role has for them, and the ways in which its content and enactment are shaped within a wider context of social and economic relationships. This paper discusses the implications the study findings have on developing the concept of role in occupational therapy models of practice, and their contribution to developing a science of occupation.
The Test of Orientation for Rehabilitation Patients: Test-Retest Reliability
Authors: Deitz Jean C. , Tovar Vicky S. , Beeman Clara , Thorn Deborah W. , Trevisan Michael S.
Published: December 2014

The Test of Orientation for Rehabilitation Patients was developed for assessing the orientation of inpatients with brain injuries in rehabilitation settings. The test is composed of 46 items grouped into five domains of orientation: 1) Person and Personal Situation, 2) Place, 3) Time, 4) Schedule, and 5) Temporal Continuity. Test-retest reliability and magnitudes of difference between scores on test and retest were examined using subgroups of 30 rehabilitation patients with brain injuries and 32 rehabilitation patients without brain injuries. The interval between test and retest ranged from 3 to 5 days. Test-retest reliability estimates (using the two-way random effects repeated measures model of the intraclass correlation coefficient) for the total test scores were good (r = .85) to excellent (r = .95) for the non-brain-injury and brain-injury groups, respectively. Reliability coefficients for the domain scores were higher for the brain-injury group than the non-brain-injury group. However, when agreements between test and retest scores were examined, the non-brain-injury group showed greater stability.
An Instrumentation Approach for Assessing the Effects of a Hand Positioning Device on Reaching Motion of Children with Cerebral Palsy
Authors: Reid Denise T.
Published: December 2014

The effects of a hand positioning device (HPD) on the quality of upper-extremity movement of five children with cerebral palsy were examined in this pilot study. Hand position was monitored during a reaching task using a single-point, 3°-of-freedom, three-dimensional tracker device. Three-dimensional path length, average velocity, movement time, response time, and the number of accelerations and decelerations (movement units) were measured. Operational definitions for each of these variables were developed for this study. Each subject performed 15 reaching trials at a pretest and posttest. A 6-week intervention period followed the pretest where each subject wore the HPD for 1 hour daily for functional activities. Group results showed no significant differences for any of the variables being measured. However, individual data analysis revealed that the HPD has the potential for modifying the quality of reaching motions in some children with cerebral palsy. The nature of the changes observed among these five subjects is discussed, as well as suggestions for future research studies. Finally, this initial study shows that the tracker is a sensitive method for recording qualitative changes in the upper-extremity motion of children with cerebral palsy in occupational therapy research.
Activities of Daily Living after Hip Fracture: Pre- and Post Discharge
Authors: Egan Mary , Warren S.A. , Hessel Patrick A. , Gilewich Gail
Published: December 2014

Sixty-one individuals hospitalized for hip fractures received activities of daily living (ADL) assessments during the 3 days prior to discharge. Information was also collected regarding anticipated role loss, depression, mental status, health status, and social support. Independence in ADL at home was measured 3 weeks following discharge by telephone interviews. The concordance between predischarge and post discharge ADL scores was low but statistically significant (Kw = .223; p < .05). Approximately 50.8% of the subjects demonstrated greater dependence post discharge. More dependent ADL performance at home was not related to role loss, depression, mental status, health status, or social support. Predischarge ADL assessments are often taken into consideration when formulating discharge plans. However, these evaluations do not always accurately predict post discharge ADL independence. It is recommended, therefore, that community follow-up be carried out with patients who have fractured hips.
Inter-Rater and Intra-Rater Reliability of the Occupational Therapy Diagnosis
Authors: Driessen Marie-Jose , Dekker Joost , Lankhorst Gustaaf J. , van der Zee Jouke
Published: December 2014

A registration form based on the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps (ICIDH) was developed and its reliability as a registration of occupational therapy (OT) diagnosis was assessed. Fifty patients from a psychiatric hospital and 57 patients from a rehabilitation center participated in this study. Reliability was determined using two measures: the percentage of agreement and Cohen's kappa. Findings of this study indicate that the reliability of the assessments of functional deficits of the patients by occupational therapists is satisfactory to very good. In the rehabilitation center all items, and in the psychiatric hospital 88% of the items, had a kappa value higher than .45. This implies that the registration form can be used in survey research.
Construct Validity of the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests
Authors: Lai Jin-Shei , Fisher Anne G. , Magalhães Lívia C. , Bundy Anita C.
Published: December 2014

The purpose of this study was to examine the construct validity of the praxis tests of the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests (SIPT) and to determine whether the practic component of sensory integration-based developmental dyspraxia is a unitary or a multidimensional disorder. Developmental dyspraxia is an impaired ability to plan and execute skilled or nonhabitual motor tasks; however, its underlying cause, or even whether praxis is a unitary or multidimensional function, is not yet clarified. In this study, the Rasch model of measurement (Linacre, 1989; Wright & Masters, 1982; Wright & Stone, 1979) was used to explore the underlying construct of developmental dyspraxia. The Rasch model was chosen because its use enabled us to (a) confirm goodness-of-fit of individual items within SIPT praxis tests and (b) examine the hierarchical structure of item difficulties.

The data included the raw scores of the SIPT praxis tests of 210 subjects from Canada and the United States. The results of the Rasch analyses revealed that each of these five SIPT praxis tests measures a single, unidimensional construct. When the items from the five tests were combined to create a single 117-item test, the items continued to define a single practic function. This indicates that a unitary practic component underlies both bilateral integration and sequencing deficits and somatodyspraxia. Finally, examination of the hierarchy of item difficulties resulted in recommendations for the development of a single screening test for developmental dyspraxia. The implications of these results for clinical practice and future research are discussed.
The Impact of Educational Level on Occupational and Physical Therapists' Perceptions of Professional Status
Authors: Bellner Anna-Lena
Published: December 2014

This article is a descriptive study of 356 occupational therapists and 346 physical therapists in Sweden regarding their perceptions of professional status. These groups were compared according to educational level to determine whether the transfer of their education to a university level had made a difference in their perception of their own professional status and that of others. The status differences between the groups remained, and the structure of professional status seemed stable through time and not dependent on educational level. Professionals with a more positivistic knowledge base—physical therapists—tended to perceive increased professional status of themselves and of other team members, and professionals with a more humanistic knowledge base—occupational therapists—tended to perceive a decreased status. A plausible explanation might be that university schooling and certification reinforce a positivistic view, which is most prevalent in physical therapy. The ongoing process of professionalization within occupational and physical therapy might be more influenced by the medical profession than expected. Whether or not these findings apply to therapists in other countries is worth continued exploration through similar research investigations. As the therapy professions are becoming more global, information about educational and professional concerns of peers in different countries can provide increased insights into the professions.
Institutional Ethnography: A Method for Showing How the Context Shapes Practice
Authors: Townsend Elizabeth
Published: December 2014

The article illustrates the sociological theory and method of institutional ethnography by describing a study of occupational therapy's mental health practice. Over almost 6 months, the author collected data through observation, interviews, and review of documents. Data describe the practice of occupational therapy in seven adult mental health day programs with at least one site in each of the four provinces of Atlantic Canada. The question asked was, What are the possibilities and constraints for occupational therapists to enable the empowerment of adults who attend mental health day programs? Although developed as a feminist methodology for displaying the social organization of patriarchy, institutional ethnography is used in this study to show how the organizational context invisibly shapes occupational therapy practice. Through this method, occupational therapy ideas about occupation can be seen to be organizationally subordinated. Occupational therapists' work in enabling empowerment through occupations such as “chores” is relegated to the background to make practice fit prevailing medical and psychologic ideas about health.
Sensory Defensiveness in Persons with Developmental Disabilities
Authors: Baranek Grace T. , Foster Laura G. , Berkson Gershon
Published: December 2014

Little empirical data about the nature of tactile defensiveness and other types of sensory defensiveness are available. Clinicians speculate that these various phenomena are related as part of the more general construct of sensory defensiveness. Furthermore, although it is suspected that these behaviors are prevalent in persons with developmental disabilities, no estimates are currently available. This study used data from a 54-item survey about various kinds of stereotyped and unusual behaviors completed by a large sample of adults (n=158) and children (n=88) with developmental disabilities. Six items from the survey were selected that were thought to represent types of sensory defensiveness. Estimates of relative prevalence of these behaviors ranged from 3% to 30%. Developmental differences emerged; children in the sample displayed a higher prevalence of noise sensitivity and other, general sensitivity. Many of the items were significantly correlated with one another. An initial principle component analysis provided some evidence for a general factor of sensory defensiveness. A second principle component analysis with varimax rotation demonstrated two subtypes: “Auditory/Other Hypersensitivity” and “Tactile Defensiveness.” These findings elucidated the complexity of the structure of sensory defensiveness and have implications for occupational therapy assessment and treatment, particularly in the area of sensory integration theory.
Types of Hazards in the Homes of Elderly People
Authors: Clemson Lindy , Roland Maryanne , Cumming Robert G.
Published: December 2014

This study describes the type and range of hazards found in the homes of elderly persons (n=257) referred to the occupational therapy department of a city teaching hospital. Homes were assessed using an abbreviated version of the Westmead Home Safety Assessment. The most commonly found hazards were in internal traffic ways (48%), the bathroom (40%), and access areas to and from the home (38%). Hazardous mats, pathways, and bathroom and toilet floor surfaces were the most commonly found individual hazards. Mildly cognitively impaired persons were found to have increased exposure to hazards in traffic ways; women were found to have more bed light hazards and people living with others were more likely to have a pet that may pose a risk of the elderly person falling. Otherwise, characteristics of people were generally not found to be associated with increased exposure to any particular type of hazard. We recommend further and more detailed investigation of home hazards, including in the homes of the well elderly.
Effect of Apraxia on the Ability to Learn One-Handed Shoe Tying
Authors: Poole Janet L.
Published: December 2014

This study examined the ability of participants with left-hemisphere cerebrovascular accident (LCVA) damage to learn one-handed shoe tying. Participants with LCVA with and without apraxia and control participants were taught how to tie their shoes with one hand. Retention was assessed after a 5-minute interval during which participants performed other tasks. All groups differed significantly in regard to the number of trials to learn the task. However, on the retention task, the control adults and participants with LCVA without apraxia required similar numbers of trials while the participants with LCVA and apraxia required significantly more trials than the other two groups. All groups required fewer trials on the retention task than the learning task.
Assessment of Occupational Functioning for Screening of Patients to Occupational Therapy in General Psychiatric Care
Authors: Haglund Lena , Thorell Lars-Hakan , Walinder Jan
Published: December 2014

A Swedish version of the Occupational Case Analysis Interview and Rating Scale (OCAIRS-S) has been tested earlier for interrater reliability. The present study, using the second version of OCAIRS-S and including a sample of 145 patients, showed interrater correlations between .88 and .96 (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient). The results indicate that OCAIRS-S predicts which patients should be included in and excluded from occupational therapy and identifies patients who should be observed more before making such decisions. The study indicates a need for further investigations regarding which components in OCAIRS-S influence the occupational therapist in judging the patient's need for occupational therapy.
The Effect of Strategy on the Recall of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure in Children with or without Learning Disabilities
Authors: Chen Christine C. , Cermak Sharon A. , Murray Elizabeth A. , Henderson Anne
Published: December 2014

This study was designed to examine the effect of two copying strategies on children's recall of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF). The study included 75 children with learning disabilities (LD) and 75 typical children (NC). Children were assigned to either a three-step strategy (condition A), a seven-step strategy (condition B), or a no-strategy condition (condition C), with 25 children in the LD and NC groups in each condition. Children copied the ROCF and then drew it from memory immediately after. The results showed that the NC group performed better than the LD group on recall accuracy, and the groups receiving a strategy performed better than groups without a strategy. For recall organization, children in conditions A and B did better than children in condition C. However, there was no significant difference between the NC and the LD groups in condition A. For recall style, more drawings were “configurational” when a strategy was provided for both the LD and NC groups. This study confirmed that breaking down the steps of a complex task may facilitate its learning.
Implications of Rising Cost of Building Materials in Lagos State Nigeria
Authors: Akanni P. O. , Oke A. E. , Omotilewa O. J.
Published: December 2014

Over the past 10 years, there has been a dramatic increase in the costs of building materials in Nigeria, and this development threatens the performance of the construction industry. The objective of the study was to assess the implications of the rising cost of building materials in Lagos State Nigeria. The data pertaining to factors affecting and the implication of rising cost of building materials were sourced from the main contractors, builders’ merchants and consultants who are registered with government bodies through questionnaire survey. The data on the prices of building materials were obtained from the archives of the The Nation Newspaper, Lagos QS News Letter, and field survey of builders’ merchants in 2012. The averages of the prices were used in the calculations of price indices and rates of inflation on building materials. The three most rated factors responsible for the rising cost of building materials are the exchange rate of the Nigeria Naira with a Mean Rated Average (MRA) = 4.4; cost of fuel and power supply, MRA = 4.3; and changes in government policies and legislation, MRA = 4.2, while fluctuations in the construction cost with MRA = 2.8; reduced volume of construction output, MRA = 2.52; and risk of project abandonment, MRA = 2.51, were the three most rated implications. The study concluded that the implications could result in a downward effect on the gross domestic product (GDP) in the nation’s economy.
Modulation of peripheral T-cell function by interleukin-7 in rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Churchman Sarah M , El-Jawhari Jehan J , Burska Agata N , Parmar Rekha , Goëb Vincent , Conaghan Philip G , Emery Paul , Ponchel Frederique
Published: December 2014

Introduction

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is a cytokine essential for T-cell lymphopoiesis, survival and polarization with an emerging role in autoimmunity. We previously demonstrated reduced levels of circulating IL-7 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), although high amounts are expressed in joints, suggesting differences between systemic and synovial effects. We observed healthy levels of IL-7 in 48% of RA patients in clinical remission (CR) and aimed to investigate the consequences of IL-7 deficiency on T-cell responses.

Methods

We used RA patients with active disease and in CR presenting various levels of IL-7, to investigate its modulatory effects on T cells by analysing responses to phyto-haemagglutinin (PHA), expression of polarization or survival factors, or suppression by regulatory T cells (Tregs).

Results

IL-7 levels were normal (>10 pg/ml) in 48% of RA patients in CR. Amongst 63 CR patients followed up for 18 months, lack of IL-7 recovery was observed in 13 out of 15 (86%) patients experiencing relapse but only 11 out of 48 (23%) of those who did not (P = 0.0002). Binary regressions showed high significance for below normal IL-7 levels for self-reported maternal family history of arthritis (odds ratio (OR): 7.66, P = 0.006) and a trend for smoking (OR: 3.33, P = 0.068) with no further demographic or clinical associations. Serum IL-7 correlated with restored CD4+T-cell response to PHA (rho = 0.879); this was not related to an increase in T-cell proliferation capacity or expression of survival factors B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2) and BCL2-associated protein X (BAX). Expression of Th1 polarization factor (TBET) was also dependent on exposure to IL-7 in vivo (rho = 0.600). In contrast CD25highTregs’ response to PHA was not affected by in vivo IL-7, but their suppression capabilities were related to circulating IL-7 (rho = 0.589). Co-stimulation with IL-7 (mimicking the joint environment) increased responsiveness of CD4+T-cells to PHA, lowering the ability of CD25highTregs to suppress them.

Conclusions

Our data demonstrate that IL-7 has a critical role in modulating T-cell function in vivo, possibly explaining opposing effects observed systemically and in the joint. Lack of IL-7 recovery in CR by maintaining a suppressed immune system may be a determinant factor in the occurrence of relapse.
Un/Known Waters
Authors: Björkman Lisa
Published: December 2014

This article turns ethnographic attention to the everyday practices involved in managing the ever-present possibility of water shortage in contemporary Mumbai. Drawing on research carried out in a few different neighborhoods—both popular as well as “world class”—that are supplied water by a single reservoir, Björkman’s essay highlights the social and political fields through which water-shortage risk is encountered, as well as the everyday practices to which such risks give rise. Water risk, it is argued, inhabits a landscape of rumor, stealth, and speculation—on materialities such as pipe locations, water pressures, and the timings and operations of valves, as well as on the networks of power and influence that might underpin the appearances and disappearances of water. These risks are hedged by means of the continuous gathering and ongoing exchange of water-related knowledge and rumor. The opacities of the water distribution system, it is shown, mean that water-related risk does not map easily onto a socioeconomic geography. Expanding the scope of research beyond moments of spectacular breakdown thus allows for attention to the means by which everyday risks of shortage are mitigated, and provides insight not only into how the poor achieve a measure of water security, but also into how the “world-class” effect of uninterrupted infrastructure is produced.
Southeast Asia’s Middle East
Authors: Tagliacozzo Eric
Published: December 2014

It has been for some time now a truism of sorts that the Middle East is a wider locale than the arid landscapes traditionally identified by the moniker. The notional geographies that scholars have worked with for decades are no longer so set and bound. A number of high-profile thinkers have helped put into motion this paradigm shift, asking how and in which ways histories of the Middle East might be nudged in different directions. Tagliacozzo’s article travels in these same furrows, arguing that Southeast Asia—a place seldom envisioned as part of the Middle East—is also a part of the latter’s story. Although no one is arguing that the monsoon coasts of Southeast Asia are per se part of the Middle East, they are a component part of the history of this region of the world. Tagliacozzo shows how this embrace across the Indian Ocean came about, primarily though the lenses of commerce and religion, through trade and Islam. He examines this evolution, as human beings and the products they carried started to connect these two places across the breadth of the Indian Ocean world. He also looks at how imperial energies unleashed in a later time period (primarily the nineteenth century) brought these two world arenas closer to one another in certain identifiable manners. Finally, Tagliacozzo reflects on what adding Southeast Asia into the story of Islam and the Middle East ultimately means, and what we as an intellectual community might gain from this project.
The Means and Ends of Empire
Authors: Kennedy Dane
Published: December 2014

Kennedy’s “The Means and Ends of Empires” offers a commentary on Julian Go’s stimulating comparative study of the British and American empires, Patterns of Empire. It argues that Go’s book is strongest in its analysis of the means by which the United States forged an empire, providing fresh insights into its strategies of expansion and control. By highlighting the ways those strategies built on—and diverged from—the ones employed by the British Empire, the book provides a bracing challenge to claims of American exceptionalism. It is less illuminating or original, however, in its assessment of Britain’s imperial experience, and when Go turns from the means by which these empires are made and maintained to how they come to an end, he advances an argument that falls short both on evidentiary and interpretive grounds. The latter part of Kennedy’s essay exposes the problems with Go’s assessment of the causes and chronology of British imperial collapse, and it challenges his claim that the United States entered a similar stage of inexorable decline in the 1970s. It notes that the preoccupation with imperial decline often says more about the political and intellectual anxieties of its purveyors than it does about the empires themselves. Empires are resilient, making it difficult to differentiate temporary setbacks from lasting losses.
Patterns of Empire and the Politics of Comparison
Authors: Mawani Renisa
Published: December 2014

Mawani’s essay reads Julian Go’s Patterns of Empire through the politics of comparison and through a shared intellectual commitment to a postcolonial sociology. Patterns of Empire is an ambitious and challenging book that places sociology at the heart of Anglo-imperial history. Whereas Go makes important contributions to critiques of exceptionalism, his analytic approach reveals the limits of comparative historical sociology. Mawani asks to what extent sociology offers the requisite conceptual and methodological tools to study empires past and present or whether sociology itself needs to be provincialized.
We’re Exceptional Too! Power, Peripheries, and Imperial Connections
Authors: Sahadeo Jeff
Published: December 2014

Sahadeo’s article examines Julian Go’s Patterns of Empire from the viewpoint of a historian of Russia’s southern borderlands of the Caucasus and Central Asia. Go offers a pathway for scholars of other expansionist regimes, including the tsarist state and the Soviet Union, to break down exclusivist mythologies and think beyond the nation. In turn, Sahadeo’s article examines steps toward a transnational history of empire that builds on Go’s peripheral model.
Brain nonapeptide and gonadal steroid responses to deprivation of heterosexual contact in the black molly
Authors: Kulczykowska Ewa , Kalamarz-Kubiak Hanna , Nietrzeba Marta , Gozdowska Magdalena
Published: December 2014

Fish may respond to different social situations with changes in both physiology and behaviour. A unique feature of fish is that social interactions between males and females strongly affect the sexual characteristics of individuals. Here we provide the first insight into the endocrine background of two phenomena that occur in mono-sex groups of the black molly (Poecilia sphenops): masculinization in females and same-sex sexual behaviour, manifested by gonopodial displays towards same-sex tank mates and copulation attempts in males. In socially controlled situations, brain neurohormones impact phenotypic sex determination and sexual behaviour. Among these hormones are the nonapeptides arginine vasotocin (AVT) and isotocin (IT), counterparts of the well-known mammalian arginine vasopressin and oxytocin, respectively. To reveal potential hormone interactions, we measured the concentrations of bioactive AVT and IT in the brain, along with those of the sex steroids 17β-estradiol and 11-ketotestosterone in the gonads, of females, masculinized females, males displaying same-sex sexual behaviour and those who did not. These data were supplemented by morphological and histological analyses of the gonads. Correlations between brain nonapeptides and gonadal steroids strongly suggest a cross talk between hormonal systems. In the black molly, the masculinization process was associated with the production of brain AVT and gonadal steroids, whereas same-sex sexual behaviour involves both brain nonapeptides, but neither of the sex steroids. This study extends current knowledge of endocrine control of phenotypic sex and sexual behaviour in fish and for the first time links brain nonapeptides with the occurrence of male-male sexual behaviour in lower vertebrates.
Presynaptic NMDA receptors: dynamics and distribution in developing axons in vitro and in vivo
Authors: Gill Ishwar , Droubi Sammy , Giovedi Silvia , Fedder Karlie , Bury Luke A. D. , Bosco Federica , Sceniak Michael P. , Benfenati Fabio , Sabo Shasta L.
Published: December 2014

During cortical development, NMDA receptors (NMDARs) facilitate presynaptic terminal formation, enhance neurotransmitter release, and are required in presynaptic neurons for spike timing-dependent LTD. However, the extent to which NMDARs are found within cortical presynaptic terminals has remained controversial, and the sub-synaptic localization and dynamics of axonal NMDARs are unknown. Here, using live confocal imaging and biochemical purification of presynaptic membranes, we provide strong evidence that NMDARs localize to presynaptic terminals in vitro and in vivo, in a developmentally regulated manner. NR1 and NR2B subunits are found within the active zone membrane, where they could respond to synaptic glutamate release. Surprisingly, NR1 also appears in glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic vesicles. During synaptogenesis, NR1 is mobile throughout axons - including growth cones and filopodia, structures that are involved in synaptogenesis. Upon synaptogenic contact, NMDA receptors are quickly recruited to terminals by neuroligin-1/neurexin signaling. Unlike dendrites, the trafficking and distribution of axonal NR1 are insensitive to activity changes, including NMDA exposure, local glutamate uncaging or action potential blockade. These results support the idea that presynaptic NMDARs play an early role in presynaptic development.
Incredible Babies programme: A pilot evaluation in Northern Ireland
Authors: Braiden Hannah-Jane , Marshall Roberta
Published: December 2014

A practice-based evaluation within a health Trust in Northern Ireland investigated the impact of the Incredible Years parents and babies programme on parenting self-efficacy. Thirteen mothers of babies aged 2–8 months participated in an 8-week group-based programme. Data were collected using a pre-test and post-test design. Results indicated that mothers reported increased self-efficacy following participation. These results support the use of the Incredible Babies programme in early intervention service provision with very young babies.
Talking to families about nutrition
Authors: Grady Amanda
Published: December 2014

Realising that knowledge of nutrition and health differs from one family to the next, Amanda Grady considers how health visitors can help promote a healthy diet for all.
Research roundup: December 2014
Authors: Hoskins Rebecca , Brook Judy , Jenkins Annie
Published: December 2014

In this section, a range of brief synopses of recently published articles that may be of interest to health visitors is presented. The aim of this roundup is to provide an overview, rather than a detailed summary, of the research papers selected. Should you wish to look at any of the papers in more detail, a full reference is provided.
Reflecting on 2014 and looking ahead
Authors: Oldman Crystal
Published: December 2014

The health visiting profession has enjoyed some strong achievements this year. Crystal Oldman highlights some of the successes and challenges, and considers the next steps.
Producing Christian docility: The female body in contemporary American evangelical dance
Authors: Wright Emily R.
Published: December 2014

Contemporary American evangelical dance, both in novice and professional iterations, is a burgeoning subculture, that in its pursuit of excellence in honour of God, deploys many of the dominant discourses of power utilized by western concert dance, such as ideal body type in terms of size, race and gender. In addition to these discourses, contemporary Christian dance establishes additional discourses of power designed to promote an evangelical Christian message through such elements as movement vocabulary, costume and musical accompaniment. Dance studies scholars have utilized Foucault’s notion of ‘docile bodies’ as a technology of power to investigate the practices of ballet pedagogy and performance in western concert dance in general. However, no scholars to date have looked at the particular ways in which these practices are implemented by the subculture of American evangelical dance. This article examines the practices of two contemporary, professional, Christian dance companies in terms of movement vocabulary and costume choices to uncover the complex ways in which these companies cultivate discourses of power that contribute to a particular kind of docile body, the docile body that is controlled, disciplined and de-eroticized for Christian worship. I argue that uncovering the ways in which these practices contribute to docility in Christian dance leads scholars to a greater understanding of the dynamics between religious beliefs and the body in contemporary society.
Review
Authors: LaMothe Kimerer L
Published: December 2014

Dance in Scripture: How Biblical Dancers Can Revolutionize Worship Today, A. Yarber (2013) Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers ISBN 13: 9781620326626, p/bk, $16.00
Serotonin is required for pharyngeal arch morphogenesis in zebrafish
Authors: Bashammakh Saleh , Würtele Martin , Kotnik Katarina , Abdelilah-Seyfried Salim , Bader Michael
Published: December 2014

Serotonin (5-HT) is not only a neurotransmitter but also a mediator of developmental processes in vertebrates. In this study, we analyzed the importance of 5-HT during zebrafish development. The expression patterns of three zebrafish tryptophan hydroxylase isoforms (Tph1A, Tph1B, Tph2), the rate-limiting enzymes in 5-HT synthesis, were analyzed and compared to the appearance and distribution of 5-HT. 5-HT was found in the raphe nuclei correlating with tph2 expression and in the pineal gland correlating with tph1a and tph2 expressions. Tph2-deficient fish generated with antisense morpholino oligonucleotides exhibited morphogenesis defects during pharyngeal arch development. The correct specification of neural crest (NC) cells was not affected in tph2 morphants as shown by the expression of early markers, but the survival and differentiation of pharyngeal arch progenitor cells were impaired. An organizing role of 5-HT in pharyngeal arch morphogenesis was suggested by a highly regular pattern of 5-HT positive cells in this tissue. Moreover, the 5-HT2B receptor was expressed in the pharyngeal arches and its pharmacological inhibition also induced defects in pharyngeal arch morphogenesis. These results support an important role of Tph2-derived serotonin as a morphogenetic factor in the development of NC-derived tissues.
Usability of iStudyGuides: A confirmatory factor analysis model
Authors: Khiat Henry , Yun Xuan Koh
Published: December 2014

With the advances of technology, technological learning tools are becoming more important in enabling learners to study more effectively. The pre-requisite for the success of any technological learning tool hinges on its usability or technical ease of use. A tool that is not usable has the undesired effect of disrupting the user’s learning as more time is expended on learning the tool than the contents (Wong, Nguyen, Chang & Jayaratna, 2003). Therefore, the aim of this research is to explore and uncover the dimensions of the usability of the interactive e-study guide known as the iStudyGuide used as one of the main learning resources in the context of SIM University (UniSIM). Therefore, the research question in this study is “What are the dimensions that determine the usability of iStudyGuides?”. It employs a survey research methodology, utilising the statistical methods of exploratory and confirmation factor analysis. Data are collected from 278 students who used iStudyGuides in their learning at UniSIM. In the confirmatory factor analysis process, Bollen-Stine bootstrap p = 0.688. CFI = 0.996, RMSEA = 0.026 and PCLOSE= 0.918. The confirmatory factor analysis shows that the final model of usability of the iStudyGuides that comprises of the dimension of reliability, utility, learnability, accessibility and control has a good fit on the data. The emergence of the model of usability of iStudyGuides sets as the basis that iStudyGuides can be evaluated to ensure quality assurance in terms of usability.
Sexual size dimorphism and sex determination by morphometric measurements in locally adapted muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) in Nigeria
Authors: OGUNTUNJI Abel Olusegun , AYORINDE Kolawole Luke
Published: December 2014

Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is a common phenomenon in most mammalian and poultry species. This study was undertaken to investigate SSD in nondescript locally adapted Muscovy ducks in Nigeria by applying descriptive analysis, sexual dimorphism index (SDI), sexual size dimorphism index (SSDI) and Principal Component analysis to morphological variables. Besides, attempt was made to identify best morphological predictors of sex using Stepwise Discriminant analysis. Data on ten morphological traits; body weight, body girth, body length, wing length, shank length, shank circumference, thigh length, total leg length, bill length and bill width were taken from 1,020 extensively managed adult Muscovy ducks comprising 287 males and 733 females. These birds were randomly sampled from Rain Forest, Derived Savanna and Guinea Savanna agro-ecological zones of Nigeria. Sex significantly (P < 0.001) affected all morphometric measurements in favour of males. Assessment of relative contribution of morphological traits to SSD through SDI and SSDI revealed that body weight followed by skeletal frame-related variables (body length and wing length) were the most dimorphic traits. Three Principal Components were generated for each sex; accounting for 62.70 % and 54.24 % of the total variance explained of male and female ducks, respectively. In tandem with the SDI and SSDI results, Stepwise Discriminant analysis indicated body weight as the best predictor of sex of adult Muscovy ducks followed by wing length and body length; correctly classifying 98.5 % of ducks and are reliable for sex determination in the field. The established SSD in this study could be employed for description, utilization, selection and planning of improvement programs of male and female Muscovy ducks.