Democracy and monarchy as antithetical terms?: Iraq's elections of September 1954

Was Iraq's heritage British, or Turkish? Between 1922 and 1958, the country was a constitutional monarchy under Hashemite rulers; external observers considered its organic law one of the most advanced among all the Arab states, and its diplomats to have exercised an independent foreign policy unmatched in the region. On such a basis, Bernard Lewis observed that democracy fared well under the region's constitutional monarchies established under British guidance. The elections of September 1954 to Iraq's Chamber of Deputies provide the means to assess Lewis’s observation. Three factors are considered (the electoral law, the status of the opposition political parties, and status of Kurdish populations) in a general discussion of Britain's influence on political modernity in the Middle East. The data consulted includes government documents, memoirs, and transcripts of contemporary radio broadcasts; as an alternative to Lewis, Rashid Khalidi's description of 1912 elections to the Ottoman Chamber of Deputies is presented as an explanatory model

Developmental divergence: motor trajectories in children with fragile X syndrome with and without co-occurring autism.

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is highly prevalent in fragile X syndrome (FXS), affecting 50-70% of males. Motor impairments are a shared feature across autism and FXS that may help to better characterize autism in FXS. As motor skills provide a critical foundation for various language, cognitive, and social outcomes, they may serve an important mechanistic role for autism in FXS. As such, this study aimed to identify differences in motor trajectories across direct assessment and parent-report measures of fine and gross motor development between FXS with and without autism, and typical development, while controlling for cognitive functioning.MethodsThis prospective longitudinal study included 42 children with FXS, 24 of whom also had ASD (FXS + ASD), as well as 40 typically developing children. The Mullen Scales of Early Learning provided a direct measure of fine and gross motor skills, and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales provided a measure of parent-reported fine and gross motor skills. Random slopes and random intercepts multilevel models were tested to determine divergence in developmental motor trajectories between groups when controlling for cognitive level.ResultsModel results indicated the children with FXS + ASD diverged from TD children by 9-months on all measures of gross and fine motor skills, even when controlling for cognitive level. Results also indicated an early divergence in motor trajectories of fine and gross motor skills between the FXS + ASD and FXS groups when controlling for cognitive level. This divergence was statistically significant by 18 months, with the FXS + ASD showing decelerated growth in motor skills across direct observation and parent-report measures.ConclusionsThis study is the first to examine longitudinal trends in motor development in children with FXS with and without comorbid ASD using both direct assessment and parent-report measures of fine and gross motor. Furthermore, it is among the first to account for nonverbal cognitive delays, a step towards elucidating the isolated role of motor impairments in FXS with and without ASD. Findings underscore the role of motor impairments as a possible signal representing greater underlying genetic liability, or as a potential catalyst or consequence, of co-occurring autism in FXS

Delphi Method and Nominal Group Techniques in Family Planning and Reproductive Health Research

Both the Delphi method and nominal group technique offer structured, transparent and replicable ways of synthesising individual judgements and have been used extensively for priority setting and guideline development in health-related research including reproductive health. Within evidence-based practice they provide a means of collating expert opinion where little evidence exists.They are distinct from many other methods because they incorporate both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Both methods are inherently flexible; this article also discusses other strengths and weaknesses of these methods

Completing College in a Covid Moment -- Expectation vs. Reality for the Class of 2021’s College Experience

Using the overarching theoretical frameworks of emerging adulthood and ritual behavior, this qualitative study explores how students in Butler University\u27s Class of 2021 perceive their original college experience expectations vs. their current Covid moment reality and what supplemental behaviors these seniors are using to create a meaningful college experience despite the perceived disconnects

Adult Leadership Development and Spirituality in Martial Arts: A Grounded Theory Study on Servant Leadership in a Non-commercial Taekwondo Dojang

This grounded theory study sought to understand how leadership as a constructed concept develops in adult students engaged in learning a martial art, taekwondo. This was accomplished through a qualitative case study using the methods of data collection and analysis, specifically in-depth, semi-structured interviews, document and textual reviews, and field observations. The interviews were conducted with adult students at Yesha Ministries in Atoka, TN. Yesha Ministries is a non-profit, non-commercial accredited taekwondo dojang. The interviews were related to the perceptions and understanding of leadership and how taekwondo had affected the lives of adult students. The purpose of this student was to understand how taekwondo contributes to the holistic development of leaders and specifically development of servant leaders. Three themes emerged from the data that provided a theory on servant leader development from learning taekwondo; Authenticity, Identity, and Relationships. Learning taekwondo, adults progress through a developmental process where they explore fears, loss, challenges, conflicts and spiritual growth to find an authentic self; identify with a leader or follower paradigm and identify with the act of leading through service to others; and finally the process requires them to develop multiple roles and relationships through mentorships, friendships, and other roles. Studying servant leadership development in a non-commercial taekwondo program has added to the leadership discourse on how leaders develop cognitively, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. This study has implications for leader development research centered on understanding how leaders develop andin what environments are best suited to develop leaders. Spirituality and context are crucial to the pursuit of understanding this developmental process. Conclusions from this study indicate that research into servant leadership has great potential for the adult learning field as corporations, politics, social organizations, and higher education have a vested interest in future leaders who are knowledgeable, effective and ethical. The plethora of leadership theories that focus solely on characteristics or trait leadership are missing a large part of the leadership force. By expanding our own view of what is a leader and considering servant leaders as a vital and equivalent source of information, our understanding of leadership and leader development can only be improved

Review of Gabriele Schwab, Haunting Legacies: Violent Histories and Transgenerational Trauma.

Gabriele Schwab, Haunting Legacies: Violent Histories and Transgenerational Trauma. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010. xv + 227 pp. ISBN 9780231152563 (paper)

Using a cross-cultural conception of play to explore the play perspectives of children and parents of Somali heritage and primary school practitioners

This two phase study explored perspectives of play according to children and parents of Somali heritage and primary school practitioners, in a city in South West England. In an addition to the considerable research base concerning play, this study investigated the frequently overlooked cultural dimension of play and how this affects the education of Somali heritage children in England. The broader contentious concern of play’s role in Early Years and Primary education was also explored. A mixed methods pragmatic approach was employed in this study. In Phase One, a photograph sorting activity based on the Activity Apperception Story Procedure by Howard (2002), was used to enable the participation of young children and participants for whom English is not their first language. Established via this activity were definitions of play and work according to children and parents of Somali heritage and primary school practitioners. Exploratory Data Analysis was applied to examine this data. In Phase Two, a focus group design was used, with discussions drawing on cross-cultural conceptions of play (Gaskins, Haight & Lancy, 2007; Göncü, Tuermer, Jain & Johnson, 1999). This enabled the exploration of how parents of Somali heritage and primary school practitioners perceive play’s relationship to children’s development and learning, with consideration for their own experiences of childhood. Focus group data was analysed using thematic analysis, supported by the Cultural Historical Activity Theory framework. The findings of this study highlight shared and individual definitions of play, competing benefits of play and the cross-cultural importance of play being intrinsically motivated. Implications for practice centre on the need to recognise play as part of unique cultural milieus at a practitioner, school, educational psychology service and policy level