38,838 research outputs found

    Identification of Hindbrain Neural Substrates for Motor Initiation in the hatchling Xenopus laevis Tadpole

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    Animal survival profoundly depends on the ability to detect stimuli in the environment, process them and respond accordingly. In this respect, motor responses to a sensory stimulation evolved into a variety of coordinated movements, which involve the control of brain centres over spinal locomotor circuits. The hatchling Xenopus tadpole, even in its embryonic stage, is able to detect external sensory information and to swim away if the stimulus is considered noxious. To do so, the tadpole relies on well-known ascending sensory pathway, which carries the sensory information to the brain. When the stimulus is strong enough, descending interneurons are activated, leading to the excitation of spinal CPG neurons, which causes the undulatory movement of swimming. However, the activation of descending interneurons that marks the initiation of motor response appears after a long delay from the sensory stimulation. Furthermore, the long-latency response is variable in time, as observed in the slow-summating excitation measured in descending interneurons. These two features, i.e. long-latency and variability, cannot be explained by the firing time and pattern of the ascending sensory pathway of the Xenopus tadpole. Therefore, a novel neuronal population has been proposed to lie in the hindbrain of the tadpole, and being able to 'hold' the sensory information, thus accounting for the long and variable delay of swim initiation. In this work, the role of the hindbrain in the maintenance of the long and variable response to trunk skin stimulation is investigated in the Xenopustadpole at developmental stage 37/38. A multifaceted approach has been used to unravel the neuronal mechanisms underlying the delayed motor response, including behavioural experiments, electrophysiology analysis of fictive swimming, hindbrain extracellular recordings and imaging experiments. Two novel neuronal populations have been identified in the tadpole's hindbrain, which exhibit activation patterns compatible with the role of delaying the excitation of the spinal locomotor circuit. Future work on cellular properties and synaptic connections of these newly discovered populations might shed light on the mechanism of descending control active at embryonic stage. Identifying supraspinal neuronal populations in an embryonic organism could aid in understanding mechanisms of descending motor control in more complex vertebrates

    Interactive Sonic Environments: Sonic artwork via gameplay experience

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    The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of video-game technology in the design and implementation of interactive sonic centric artworks, the purpose of which is to create and contribute to the discourse and understanding of its effectiveness in electro-acoustic composition highlighting the creative process. Key research questions include: How can the language of electro-acoustic music be placed in a new framework derived from videogame aesthetics and technology? What new creative processes need to be considered when using this medium? Moreover, what aspects of 'play' should be considered when designing the systems? The findings of this study assert that composers and sonic art practitioners need little or no coding knowledge to create exciting applications and the myriad of options available to the composer when using video-game technology is limited only by imagination. Through a cyclic process of planning, building, testing and playing these applications the project revealed advantages and unique sonic opportunities in comparison to other sonic art installations. A portfolio of selected original compositions, both fixed and open are presented by the author to complement this study. The commentary serves to place the work in context with other practitioners in the field and to provide compositional approaches that have been taken

    Balancing the urban stomach: public health, food selling and consumption in London, c. 1558-1640

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    Until recently, public health histories have been predominantly shaped by medical and scientific perspectives, to the neglect of their wider social, economic and political contexts. These medically-minded studies have tended to present broad, sweeping narratives of health policy's explicit successes or failures, often focusing on extraordinary periods of epidemic disease viewed from a national context. This approach is problematic, particularly in studies of public health practice prior to 1800. Before the rise of modern scientific medicine, public health policies were more often influenced by shared social, cultural, economic and religious values which favoured maintaining hierarchy, stability and concern for 'the common good'. These values have frequently been overlooked by modern researchers. This has yielded pessimistic assessments of contemporary sanitation, implying that local authorities did not care about or prioritise the health of populations. Overly medicalised perspectives have further restricted historians' investigation and use of source material, their interpretation of multifaceted and sometimes contested cultural practices such as fasting, and their examination of habitual - and not just extraordinary - health actions. These perspectives have encouraged a focus on reactive - rather than preventative - measures. This thesis contributes to a growing body of research that expands our restrictive understandings of pre-modern public health. It focuses on how public health practices were regulated, monitored and expanded in later Tudor and early Stuart London, with a particular focus on consumption and food-selling. Acknowledging the fundamental public health value of maintaining urban foodways, it investigates how contemporaries sought to manage consumption, food production waste, and vending practices in the early modern City's wards and parishes. It delineates the practical and political distinctions between food and medicine, broadly investigates the activities, reputations of and correlations between London's guild and itinerant food vendors and licensed and irregular medical practitioners, traces the directions in which different kinds of public health policy filtered up or down, and explores how policies were enacted at a national and local level. Finally, it compares and contrasts habitual and extraordinary public health regulations, with a particular focus on how perceptions of and actual food shortages, paired with the omnipresent threat of disease, impacted broader aspects of civic life

    School Reintegration Following Hospital Treatment for an Eating Disorder; Two Case Studies with Multiple Perspectives on the Reintegration Process

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    School reintegration following hospitalisation has been explored for children and young people (CYP) with medical and mental health needs. No previous research was identified that specifically focused on the experiences of CYP who have returned to school following inpatient care for an eating disorder. A multiple case study design was used to retrospectively explore the experiences of two young people who successfully reintegrated to school following hospital support for an eating disorder. The study compromised of two case studies. The research focused on exploring ‘what went well’ and ‘what could have been even better’ during the school reintegration process. Semi-structured interviews were used in two case studies of a young person who had spent time at inpatient unit for over 6 months for support with anorexia nervosa before reintegrating into sixth form. Views were gathered from four participants in each case study: the young person, their parent, the young person's previous hospital school key teacher and the home school key person (who supported with the reintegration). The interviews were carried out remotely, via Microsoft Teams, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The dataset from each case study was analysed separately using thematic analysis and an overall thematic map was presented for the findings from each case study. Three themes were identified in Case Study One: young person’s strengths, preparation for young person’s return and supportive relationships and environment. Four themes were identified in Case Study Two: young person’s internal motivators and external motivators, preparing for school return, support systems, and sense of school belonging and connectedness. Findings are discussed in relation to previous research that has explored school reintegration following hospital support for mental health difficulties more broadly and psychological theory. Strengths, limitations and implications for schools, families and educational psychologists are highlighted. Recommendations for future research are also discussed

    The Lived Experiences of Yoga Practice for Female Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

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    Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) permeates all aspects of personhood including the body. There is a surge in the interest in reviewing yoga’s potential usefulness for trauma survivors in clinical trials. However, very little research focuses on women’s perspectives who experienced CSA and have subsequently practised yoga in community settings. This study investigated six women’s lived experiences of yoga practice, mainly focusing on the helpful and unhelpful aspects of yoga that mediated their recovery. Adult women survivors with experience of movement-based yoga in a group setting for at least eight weeks in the last year were recruited. Data were collected using individual, face-to-face, and semi-structured interviews. The transcribed data were analysed using Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) underpinned by constructivist ontology, phenomenological epistemology, and feminist axiology. Three emergent themes were identified- “Coming to yoga”, “Process of becoming” and “Reclaiming life”. Women’s narratives in this study illustrated that they found yoga a useful and resilience-building resource in their journey of healing. With consistent and frequent practice, they reported feeling more present, self-aware, and compassionate towards themselves. Teacher’s qualities such as fostering safety, choice and holistic focus were identified as significant mediating factors that aided this journey, whereas crowded, mixed-gender, and posture-focused practice presented challenges for some respondents. This study has the potential to help Counselling psychologists (CoP), therapists, psychologists, mental health practitioners, yoga teachers, and health professionals involved in the care of the CSA survivors in implementing an evidence-based and holistic approach that facilitates self-directed recovery of CSA survivors. Further research is needed to establish if the benefits and challenges of different aspects of practice apply to the diverse population and its potential usefulness in various phases of recovery. Also, find ways to standardize the yoga practice considering variations in the approach to ensure safe and ethical practice

    Bank managers in Jordan: a study of motivation, job satisfaction and comparative organizational practices

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    This thesis is an attempt to fill a gap in research in the area of motivation and job satisfaction in the Jordanian/Arab managerial context. It is basically built on a representative sample of 266 Jordanian managers taken from 21 Jordanian/Arab and Western (Anglo-American) banks in Jordan. The thesis is an exploratory and comparative organizational behaviour and management study. It implements two instruments of investigation, a standardized questionnair and in-depth interviews. The major findings of the thesis that Jordanian bank managers' patterns of motivation and job satisfaction and their interpretation of the 'higher goals of the job' (for example, autonomy) are similar to Western managers'. The assessmentf about 20 related factors on bank managers' motivation and job satisfaction reveal that different demographic and social and other organizational factors contribute to the significant impact on bank managers' motivation and job satisfaction. However, the significant impact of job related factors is more noticeable compared with other factors. The thesis, with consideration to the recommendation and the implications of relevant research, extends the study beyond managers' attitudes and includes relevant managerial practices and systems. It also attemps to reflect on the interaction of the organization within the wider environment. The comparison of the managerial practices and systems (for example, delegation of authority) and other organizational variables (for example, specialization) relevant to bank managers' motivation and job satisfaction reveal that major and significant differences are found between Western (Anglo-American) and Jordanian/Arab banks. It also reveals that the type of managerial practices and systems in the Jordanian/Arab banks is, by and large, traditional and less bureaucratic compared with the managerial practices in Western (Anglo-American) banks. The thesis addresses the main managerial implications Jordanian/Arab banks could consider when designing their motivational and job satisfaction systems. In an attempt to interpret the traditional managerial practices in the Jordanian/Arab banks, pertinent factors are discussed. These relate to particular factors of the Jordanian/Arab banks and to specific cultural and social factors in the Jordanian/Arab societies
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