bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Preschool children’s healthy lifestyles: South African parents’ and preschool staff perceptions
Authors: Daniels Karen , Forinder Ulla , Clarke Marina , Snyman Stefanus , Ringsberg Karin C 
Published: March 2016

Background: The worldwide growth of non-communicable diseases requires important lifestyle adaptations. The earlier a healthy lifestyle is adopted, the better. Enabling a healthy lifestyle for children during the preschool years ideally involves the cooperation of parents and teachers. Health promotion with parents and teachers is most effective if it takes into consideration their views and opinions, as well as context. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of health and healthy lifestyle from the perspective of preschool children’s parents, and the staff caring for children attending preschools in three diverse settings. Design: Qualitative in-depth study. Setting: Preschools in Western Cape Province, South Africa. Method: Data were collected through six focus group discussions and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Parents and staff shared a holistic view of health, agreeing that children and their health were primarily the responsibility of the parents. Informants described their own health and that of children as affected by a variety of interconnected factors, including environmental, economic, social and individual influences. Conclusion: When tailoring a health-promoting education programme, it is important to consider the pre-existing knowledge the participants have and the context in which intervention will take place. There is also a need to structurally address social determinants of health that may be beyond the control of the individuals.
How Do Evaluators Differentiate Successful From Less-Than-Successful Experiences With Collaborative Approaches to Evaluation?
Authors: Cousins J. Bradley , Shulha Lyn M. , Whitmore Elizabeth , Hudib Hind Al , Gilbert Nathalie 
Published: March 2016

Objectives: In this exploratory study, we wanted to know how evaluators differentiate collaborative approaches to evaluation (CAE) perceived to be successful from those perceived to be less-than-successful. Method: In an online questionnaire survey, we obtained 320 responses from evaluators who practice CAE (i.e., evaluations on which program stakeholders coproduce evaluation knowledge). Respondents identified two specific CAE projects from their own experience—one they believed to be “highly successful” and another they considered “far less successful than [they] had hoped.”—and offered their comments and reflections about them. They rated the respective evaluations on 5-point opinion and frequency scales about (i) antecedent stakeholder perspectives, (ii) the purposes and justifications for collaborative inquiry, and (iii) the form such inquiry takes. Findings: The results showed that successful evaluations, relative to their less-than-successful counterparts, tended to reflect higher levels of agreement among stakeholders about the focal program; higher intentionality estimates of evaluation justification and espoused purposes; and wider ranges and deeper levels of stakeholder participation. No differences were found for control of technical decision-making, and evaluators tended to lead evaluation decision making, regardless of success condition. Discussion: The results are discussed in terms of implications for ongoing research on CAE.
Trends in the Presentation, Management, and Outcomes of Little League Shoulder
Authors: Heyworth Benton E. , Kramer Dennis E. , Martin Daniel J. , Micheli Lyle J. , Kocher Mininder S. , Bae Donald S. 
Published: March 2016

Background: With rising participation in youth sports such as baseball, proximal humeral epiphysiolysis, or Little League shoulder (LLS), is being seen with increasing frequency. However, there remains a paucity of literature regarding the causes, natural history, or treatment outcomes of LLS. Purpose: To analyze the demographic, clinical, and diagnostic features of a population of LLS patients, with an emphasis on identifying underlying risk factors for the development and recurrence of LLS after nonoperative treatment. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: A departmental database at a high-volume regional children’s hospital was queried to identify cases of LLS between 1999 and 2013. Medical records were reviewed to allow for analysis of age, sex, athletic information, physical examination and radiologic findings, treatment details, clinical course, and rates of recurrence. Results: Ninety-five patients (93 males, 2 females; mean age, 13.1 years; range, 8-16 years) were diagnosed with LLS. The number of diagnosed cases increased annually over the study period. All patients had shoulder pain with overhead athletics; secondary symptoms included elbow pain in 13%, shoulder fatigue or weakness in 10%, and mechanical symptoms in 8%. While the majority of patients (97%) were baseball players (86% pitchers, 8% catchers, 7% other positions), a small subset (3%) were tennis players. On physical examination, 30% were reported to have glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD), defined as a decreased arc of rotational range of motion of the shoulder. Treatment recommendations included rest in 99% of cases, physical therapy in 79% (including 100% of patients with GIRD), and position change upon return to play in 26%. Average time to full resolution of symptoms was 2.6 months, while average time to return to competition was 4.2 months. Recurrent symptoms were reported in 7% of the overall cohort at a mean of 7.6 months after initial diagnosis. The odds of recurrence in the group with diagnosed GIRD (14%) were 3.6 times greater than those without GIRD (5%; 95% CI: 0.7-17.1), but this difference was not statistically significant ( P = .11). Conclusion: Little League shoulder is being diagnosed with increasing frequency. While most common in male baseball pitchers, the condition can occur in females, youth catchers, other baseball positions players, and tennis players. Concomitant elbow pain may be seen in up to 13%. After rest and physical therapy, recurrent symptoms may occur in a small subset of patients (7%), generally 3 to 6 months after return to sports. Almost one-third of LLS patients had GIRD, and this group had approximately three times higher probability of recurrence compared with those without GIRD.
“See How They Learn”: The Impact of Faculty and Student Learning Styles on Student Performance in Introductory Economics
Authors: Boatman Kara , Courtney Richard , Lee William 
Published: March 2016

“See How They Learn”: The Impact of Faculty and Student Learning Styles on Student Performance in Introductory Economics This paper reports the results of a recent study completed at Saint Mary's College of California, in which the TUCE was administered to introductory economics students. Students and instructors also completed the VARK questionnaire to identify which of the sensory modalities they prefer to use to learn information. Results suggest that a strong visual learning preference positively influences student performance. Our finding that neither ethnicity nor gender influence student performance confirms results of prior research, and suggests that ethnicity- and gender-based differences in student performance may be at least partially caused by differences in learning style preferences.
The Influence of Economists on Public Attitudes toward Government
Authors: Beaulier Scott A. , Boyes William J. , Mounts William S. 
Published: March 2016

One of John Maynard Keynes's most quoted statements (1935, p. 383) is: … the ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. The number of economists per capita in the United States has risen in the past few decades. At the same time, the public has become more comfortable with big government. This raises intriguing questions regarding just how economists are influencing public opinion; we are left wondering whether economists are instilling a desire in the public for more government or whether, in opposition to Keynes's statement, economists are losing influence. In this paper, we provide some answers. We find that the increased role of economists in society and in policymaking has led to an increase in favorable attitudes toward government intervention.
What Do Economists Know?
Authors: Schelling Thomas C. 
Published: March 2016

Editor’s Introduction Originally published in Volume 39, Number 1, Spring 1995, pages 20-22. Thomas Schelling (born 1921) shared the 2005 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences with Robert Auman for their work analyzing conflict and cooperation using methods derived from game theory. Throughout his career, Professor Schelling has been integrally involved with the problems of international arms control – from both the academic perspective as a researcher and writer, and from the practical perspective as an advisor and consultant for diplomats and policymakers. His influence during the Cold War reached into American popular culture as he was consulted by Stanley Kubrick prior to the making of his classic film, Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Professor Schelling’s first paper in this journal, “Economic Reasoning and Military Science,” appeared in 1960. This short paper, prepared thirty-five years later, presents Professor Schelling’s Commencement remarks to the Department of Economics at the University of California at Berkeley (his undergraduate alma mater) ten years before he received the Nobel. As the title reflects, the author seeks to identify a few of the basic truths that economists know about the world, even though these truths may not be intuitively obvious at first glance. Professor Schelling limits himself to five such truths, and they all turn out to be accounting identities.
Economic Education, Experimental Methods and the Structure-Conduct-Performance Paradigm
Authors: Ray Margaret A. 
Published: March 2016

The Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP) paradigm is commonly used in the field of industrial organization. The paradigm links market structure, firm behavior, and economic performance. Questions of industry organization, firm decision-making and economic efficiency in a wide variety of markets have been addressed using the SCP model. This paper applies the SCP paradigm to the area of economic education. To do this, an alternative model of economic education is developed. In this model, students are viewed as producers (of learning) while instructors determine the institutional setting and are one of the inputs into the production process. This view separates the areas where instructors may exert some control (setting class structure and providing good teaching) from the area where they have little control — student behavior. Using the model developed, this study employs an experiment to investigate student behavior. Students are placed in a strategic situation in which they must choose when and how much to study for weekly quizzes. The experiment represents a unique approach in economic education research and sheds light on student decision making.
Psychosocial Interventions in Reducing Cannabis Use in Early Phase Psychosis
Authors: Aydin Cristina , Tibbo Philip G. , Ursuliak Zenovia 
Published: March 2016

Objective: Cannabis use in people with early phase psychosis (EPP) can have a significant impact on long-term outcomes. The purpose of this investigation was to describe current cannabis use treatment practices in English-speaking early intervention services (EISs) in Canada and determine if their services are informed by available evidence. Method: Thirty-five Canadian English-speaking EISs for psychosis were approached to complete a survey through email, facsimile, or online in order to collect information regarding their current cannabis use treatment practices. Results: Data were acquired from 27 of the 35 (78%) programs approached. Only 12% of EISs offered formal services that targeted cannabis use, whereas the majority (63%) of EISs offered informal services for all substance use, not specifically cannabis. In programs with informal services, individual patient psychoeducation (86%) was slightly more common than individual motivational interviewing (MI) (76%) followed by group patient psychoeducation (52%) and information handouts (52%). Thirty-seven percent of EISs offered formal services for substance use, and compared to programs with informal services, more MI, cognitive-behavioural therapy, and family services were offered, with individual treatment modalities more common than groups. No EISs used contingency management, even though it has some preliminary evidence in chronic populations. Evidence-based service implementation barriers included appropriate training and administrative support. Conclusions: While most English-speaking Canadian EIS programs offer individual MI and psychoeducation, which is in line with the available literature, there is room for improvement in cannabis treatment services based on current evidence for both people with EPP and their families.
Concordance between the tuberculin skin test and interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) for diagnosing latent tuberculosis infection in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and patient characteristics associated with an indeterminate IGRA
Authors: Cho H , Kim Y W , Suh C-H , Jung J-Y , Um Y-J , Jung J-H , Kim H-A 
Published: March 2016

Objective We investigated the agreement between the tuberculin skin test (TST) and the QuantiFERON-TB gold (QFT-G) assay in the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Furthermore, we evaluated the factors associated with indeterminate results in the QFT-G assay in patients with SLE. Methods We enrolled 136 patients with SLE prospectively, and compared them to 66 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In addition to the TST, QFT-G assay, patients’ medications, and Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination status were also investigated. A positive TST or QFT-G assay result without an active tuberculosis lesion on chest x-ray was considered to indicate a diagnosis of LTBI. Results The prevalence of LTBI was 26.5% in patients with SLE and 30.3% in patients with RA. The agreement between the TST and QFT-G assay was fair in SLE patients, but poor in RA patients. BCG vaccination was one factor associated with discordance between TST and QFT-G. Older age and higher SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) score were associated with a negative TST/positive QFT-G result in patients with SLE. Higher SLEDAI score and increased glucocorticoid dose were associated with an indeterminate result in the QFT-G assay for patients with SLE. Conclusions Agreement between the QFT-G assay and TST in patients with SLE was found to be fair. However, BCG vaccination status, age, and SLEDAI score are all factors that could result in discordance between the two tests. Indeterminate results from the QFT-G assay may be caused by a higher SLEDAI score or increased glucocorticoid dose.
Quantifying the interplay of emotions and rationality in herding: A game-theoretic simulation study
Authors: Zia Kashif , Ferscha Alois , Din Ahmad , Farooq Umar 
Published: March 2016

In this paper, we apply game theory to analyze interplay between emotions and rationality, to reduce the effect of herding during evacuation. The simulation model developed for this work incorporates the social behavior of the crowd to ensure an improved evacuation. This model is simulated for four strategies, built upon both social and technological aspects of decision-making, with varied sets of the agents’ density and type being either rational or emotional. This work is evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively using parameters such as simulation time, agents’ distribution across exits, exit utilization, and panic. Mixed results were achieved in general; however, the game variation allowing more than one exit change showed an improvement over both variations of the game allowing a single exit change.
Physiotherapy assessment and diagnosis of musculoskeletal disorders of the knee via telerehabilitation
Authors: Richardson Bradley R , Truter Piers , Blumke Robert , Russell Trevor G 
Published: March 2016

Introduction Lower limb musculoskeletal disorders place a heavy burden on healthcare systems. Appropriate management of these conditions is critical, however access to appropriate physiotherapy services is difficult for those in geographically remote areas or those with mobility or transport difficulties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of an online musculoskeletal physiotherapy assessment of the knee complex using telerehabilitation compared to traditional face-to-face assessment. Methods In a repeated-measures design, 18 subjects who sought treatment for knee pain underwent a traditional face-to-face assessment and a remote telerehabilitation assessment. Telerehabilitation assessments were conducted with participants performing facilitated self-palpation, self-applied modified orthopaedic tests, active movements and functional tasks. Results Primary pathoanatomical diagnoses were in exact agreement in 67% of cases and were similar in 89% of cases. The system of pathology was found to be in agreement in 17 out of 18 cases (94%). Comparisons of objective findings from the two physical assessments demonstrated substantial agreement (kappa = 0.635) for categorical data and binary data (chi-squared = 400.36; p < 0.001). A high level of intra-rater (89%) and moderate level of inter-rater (67%) reliability was evident for telerehabilitation assessments. Discussion Telerehabilitation assessment of the knee complex appears to be feasible and reliable. This study has implications for clinical practice and the development of physiotherapy services to address the burden of lower limb musculoskeletal pain and disability.
Investigating the preferences of older people for telehealth as a new model of health care service delivery: A discrete choice experiment
Authors: Kaambwa Billingsley , Ratcliffe Julie , Shulver Wendy , Killington Maggie , Taylor Alan , Crotty Maria , Carati Colin , Tieman Jennifer , Wade Victoria , Kidd Michael R 
Published: March 2016

Introduction Telehealth approaches to health care delivery can potentially improve quality of care and clinical outcomes, reduce mortality and hospital utilisation, and complement conventional treatments. However, substantial research into the potential for integrating telehealth within health care in Australia, particularly in the provision of services relevant to older people, including palliative care, aged care and rehabilitation, is lacking. Furthermore, to date, no discrete choice experiment (DCE) studies internationally have sought the views and preferences of older people about the basic features that should make up a telehealth approach to these services. Methods Using a DCE, we investigated the relative importance of six salient features of telehealth (what aspects of care are to be pursued during telehealth sessions, distance to the nearest hospital or clinic, clinicians’ attitude to telehealth, patients’ experience of using technology, what types of assessments should be conducted face-to-face versus via telehealth sessions and the costs associated with receiving telehealth). Data were obtained from an online panel of older people aged 65 years and above, drawn from the Australian general population. Results The mean age for 330 study participants was 69 years. In general, individuals expressed strong preferences for telehealth services that offered all aspects of care, were relatively inexpensive and targeted specifically at individuals living in remote regions without easy access to a hospital or clinic. Participants also preferred telehealth services to be offered to individuals with some prior experience of using technology, provided by clinicians who were positive about telehealth but wanted all or some pre-telehealth health assessments to take place in a hospital or clinic. Preferences only differed by gender. Additionally, respondents did not feel that telehealth led to loss of privacy and confidentiality. Discussion Our findings indicate a preference amongst respondents for face-to-face pre-telehealth health assessments and, thereafter, a comprehensive telehealth model (in terms of services offered) targeted at those with some technological know-how as a substitute for attendance at hospitals and clinics, especially where these health facilities were far away from older people’s homes. The findings may be usefully incorporated into the design of future telehealth models of service delivery for older people.
Independent social work practices with adults in England: An appreciative inquiry of a pilot programme
Authors: Teater Barbra , Carpenter John 
Published: March 2016

Summary Social Work Practice Pilots with adults was a government initiative in England (2011–2014) that created seven social work practices independent from local authorities/government. The stated aims were to reduce bureaucracy, promote professional discretion and expertise, and reduce the size of the public sector. The Social Work Practice Pilots were social work-led and comprised between five and 100 social workers and/or other professionals/non-professionals. This article describes how the methodology of appreciative inquiry was used to investigate how the Social Work Practice Pilots in England were developing as independent practices. Information was obtained through two, two-day site visits at each Social Work Practice Pilot, and two shared learning workshops with representatives from the Social Work Practice Pilots. Findings Social Work Practice Pilots were found to be developing in accord with the following four key aims of the pilots: (1) spend more time with clients (service users), (2) a more responsive service, (3) more control over the day-to-day management, and (4) think creatively about resource use. Social Work Practice Pilots reported a reduction in bureaucracy and an ability to create flexible practices that more appropriately met the needs of the communities. Applications The findings provide an initial indication of how social work practice could develop independently of local authorities and suggest possible benefits to staff and clients. The study demonstrated how the AI approach to research and consultancy can serve as a participative learning process when exploring social work practice. The strengths and limitations of the approach are discussed.