The Impact of a Civic Service Program on Biopsychosocial Outcomes of Post 9/11 U.S. Military Veterans

Volunteering as a health promotion intervention, improves physical health, mental health, and social outcomes particularly in older adults, yet limited research exists for veterans. We conducted a preliminary study to explore whether volunteering impacts a variety of biopsychosocial outcomes, including symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, among returning military veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. A survey enrolling a prospective cohort of United States (U.S.) veterans who served in the military after 11 September 2001 and who participated in a national civic service program was conducted. A total of 346 veterans completed standardized health, mental health, and psychosocial self-report measures before and after the program. Statistically significant differences were detected in overall health rating, level of emotional difficulty, PTSD and depression symptoms, purpose in life, self-efficacy, social isolation, and the perceived availability of social support at program completion. Screening positive for probable PTSD predicted improved perceived self-efficacy while probable depression predicted a decrease in loneliness, an increase in purpose in life, and an increase in perceived social support, at program completion. Volunteering was associated with significant improvements in health, mental health and social outcomes in returning veterans

Four Book Reviews

Fox, Mem. (1993) Radical reflections : passionate opinions on teaching, learning, and living. Sydney, Harcourt Brace. Ingvarson, L, and Chadbourne, R (Editors) (1994) Valuing teachers\u27 work : new directions in teacher appraisal. Camberwell, Vic : Australian Council for Educational Research. Shears, L. (Editor) (1995) Computers and schools. Camberwell, Vic : ACER. Maltby, F., Gage, N. L. & Berliner, D. (1995) Educational psychology : an Australian and New Zealand perspective. Brisbane : John Wiley

Gender and educational leadership in England: a comparison of secondary headteachers' views over time

In the context of gender being a barrier to accessing leadership, this paper presents a comparison of the views of men and women head teacher (principals) of secondary schools in England in the 1990s and in 2004. The same survey instrument was used on both occasions. The perceptions of the head teachers show change in some areas and no change in others. Overall, women are more likely to become head teachers and are now less likely to be categorised into pastoral roles, but in some cases women still meet prejudice from governors and others in the wider community. Women head teachers are more likely to have partners and children than in the 1990s, sharing equally or carrying most of the domestic responsibilities, whereas male colleagues are most likely to have partners who take the majority of responsibility in the home. Essentialist stereotypes about women and men as leaders still prevail, although both the women and men head teachers see themselves as adopting a traditionally ‘feminine’ style of leadership. Women head teachers are likely to see some benefits in being a woman in a role stereotypically associated with men. However, there has been an increase in the proportion of women who feel that they have to prove their worth as a leader, and this may be linked with increased levels of accountability in schools

Effects of Adaptive Bungee Trampolining for Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Single-Subject Study.

Purpose: To assess effects of adaptive bungee trampoline training for children with cerebral palsy. Methods: This was a single-subject intervention study, A-B-A, with 4 children aged 6 to 11 years. Measurements included muscle strength, balance, functional muscle strength, functional mobility, selected Gross Motor Function Measure items, heart rate, enjoyment, and for adverse effects—range of motion and spasticity. Goals were measured using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure. Results: Lower limb muscle strength improved in 3 children, and balance and functional strength in 2 children. The child who was not walking increased sitting and supported standing times. All participants had clinically significant increases on the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure. Adherence and enjoyment were high, with no adverse effects. Conclusion: Adaptive bungee trampoline training can improve strength, balance, and functional mobility in children with cerebral palsy

The Tumor Suppressor HHEX Inhibits Axon Growth when Prematurely Expressed in Developing Central Nervous System Neurons

Neurons in the embryonic and peripheral nervoussystem respond to injury by activating transcriptional programs supportive of axon growth, ultimately resulting in functional recovery. In contrast, neurons in the adult central nervous system (CNS) possess a limited capacity to regenerate axons after injury, fundamentally constraining repair. Activating pro-regenerative gene expression in CNS neurons is a promising therapeutic approach, but progress is hampered by incomplete knowledge of the relevant transcription factors. An emerging hypothesis is that factors implicated in cellular growth and motility outside the nervous system may also control axon growth in neurons. We therefore tested sixty-nine transcription factors, previously identified as possessing tumor suppressive or oncogenic properties in non-neuronal cells, in assays of neurite outgrowth. This screen identified YAP1 and E2F1 as enhancers of neurite outgrowth, and PITX1, RBM14, ZBTB16, and HHEX as inhibitors. Follow-up experiments are focused on the tumor suppressor HHEX, one of the strongest growth inhibitors. HHEX is widely expressed in adult CNS neurons, including corticospinal tract neurons after spinal injury, but is present only in trace amounts in immature cortical neurons and adult peripheral neurons. HHEX overexpression in early postnatal cortical neurons reduced both initial axonogenesis and the rate of axon elongation, and domain deletion analysis strongly implicated transcriptional repression as the underlying mechanism. These findings suggest a role for HHEX in restricting axon growth in the developing CNS, and substantiate the hypothesis that previously identified oncogenes and tumor suppressors can play conserved roles in axon extension

The nonabelian Liouville-Arnold integrability by quadratures problem: a symplectic approach

A symplectic theory approach is devised for solving the problem of algebraic-analytical construction of integral submanifold imbeddings for integrable (via the nonabelian Liouville-Arnold theorem) Hamiltonian systems on canonically symplectic phase spaces

Characterisation of ferroelectric domains in magnetite (Fe3O4)

Magnetite has long been investigated across many disciplines due to the interplay between its ferroic order parameters, namely its ferrimagnetism, ferroelasticity and ferroelectricty. Despite this, the experimental difficulty in measuring low temperature real space images of the ferroelectric domains has meant that the local behaviour of ferroelectric domains emergent below the 38 K phase transition have yet to be realised. This work presents real space images of the ferroelectric domains, and uses piezo force microscopy to, as a function of temperature, probe the onset of piezoelectricty and ferroelectricity across the 38 K transitionComment: 6 Pages, 3 figure