Indicators and predictors of return to work or education following traumatic brain injury : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology

The leading cause of brain damage in previously healthy young adults, many of whom are of working age, is traumatic brain injury (TBI). Research to date generally agrees that TBI can lead to unemployment. However, knowledge about the determinants of return to work following TBI in the New Zealand context is minimal. This is remarkable given that failure to return to work following TBI is associated with tremendous costs. These include economic implications such as contribution to the economy through work Vs the necessity of financial support through government and community funding (i.e. invalids benefits or long-term care facilities). Furthermore, work affects an individual's self-concept; it represents a major social role, offering self-esteem, social contact and social support. Therefore, a need exists to understand various predictors and indicators and their influence on a client's ability to return to work or education following TBI. The present study was divided into two parts. Part one, was a retrospective analysis of a pre-existing database. In this part, the predictors: pre-injury employment status, job classification at TBI, age at TBI, years of post primary education at TBI, ethnicity, substance abuse after TBI and motor impairments, significantly influenced return to work/education and non return to work/education following TBI. The predictors: age at time of assessment, gender, substance abuse prior to TBI, injury severity, epilepsy, visual difficulties, hearing difficulties and speech difficulties, however, did not. In addition, the indicators: verbal IQ, verbal memory, attention, information processing speed and executive functioning, significantly influenced return to work/education and non return to work/education following TBI, however, the indicators: performance IQ, full scale IQ and visual memory did not. Part two of the present study was a planned analysis. In this part, the predictors: pre-injury job classification, pre-injury job stability, tertiary qualifications and alcohol use after TBI, significantly influenced a persons job classification following TBI and/or the number of hours they were able to work per week following TBI. However, the predictors: pre-injury employment status, age, years of post primary education, ethnicity, gender, substance use before TBI, criminal offending, injury severity, early post trauma sequelae, did not. In addition, the indicators; attention, services of a General Practitioner, the length of time a General Practitioners service was received, cognitive ability and activities of daily living as reported by a relative or close other, significantly influenced a persons job classification following TBI and/or the number of hours they were able to work per week following TBI. However, the remaining cognitive sequelae, rehabilitation information, emotional, behavioural sequelae, participant and relative/close other reports, did not. Qualitative information was also provided by the participant and a relative or close other and the results presented. In conclusion, the findings of both parts of the present study are discussed in relation to the findings of previous research, together with recommendations for future research

Territorial cooperation and regional economic development: a case study

Cooperation may be defined as the collaboration between two or more parties which fuels initiatives that have shared, or converging interests and objectives. In the European Union territorial cohesion has recently been included in the draft of the European Constitution and is complementary to the EU drive towards economic and social cohesion. This adds a new dimension to European integration which clearly recognises that considering things from a territorial dimension is a tool for reducing the territorial disparity currently present in the EU. In fact, well before its enlargement, significant disparities in prosperity levels existed both between and within member states: prosperity levels in the ten most dynamic regions of the EU, based on GDP per capita, were nearly three times higher than that of the ten least developed regions and regional differences have widened with enlargement. In this context, the territorial cooperation objective aims to: improve cross-border cooperation through joint, local and regional initiatives; strengthen trans-national cooperation by means of actions conducive to integrated territorial development linked to Community priorities as well as to strengthen interregional cooperation and the exchange of experience at the appropriate territorial level. Three different typologies of territorial cooperation have been identified with the European territory: cross-border cooperation, trans-national cooperation and Interregional cooperation. The paper focuses on the territorial cooperation objective and presents a case study with large and strong economic, social and environmental disparities. It includes EU members and non EU members. More specifically, the IPA (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance) Adriatic Cross Border Cooperation (CBC) Program, which includes three EU Member States, one Candidate Country, and three Potential Candidates Countries.cooperation, regional disparities, european external instruments

An Gúm’s Censorship of Makers of Europe

The book publisher, An Gúm, was established in 1926 as part of the Department of Education of the Irish Free State to provide reading matter for Irish language learners and the Irish-speaking public. It was clear at the time of its establishment that there had been very little original writing made available in the Irish language in the previous years; therefore, An Gúm undertook an ambitious scheme of translation. During the 1930s alone, more than 250 translations from European languages were published; including both textbooks and general literature. Gradually, as more creative writers came forward writing original literature, the need for translations became less acute and, from 1940 on, less and less translations of literary titles were undertaken (‘An Gúm: Nóta Eolais’, 2018)

Crystallographic influences on the nanomanipulation of gold nanoclusters on molybdenum disulfide

This work investigates the manipulation behavior of thermally deposited gold nanoclusters with tens of nanometers in size on monocrystalline Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2) surfaces. Using scan raster patterns in the order of several m, dozens of Au islands can be displaced with a single scan, revealing a directional locking effect caused by the epitaxial nature of the nanoparticle growth on the MoS2 surface. Statistical analysis of tapping mode manipulation scans using pyramidal and conical AFM tips along with MD simulations lead to the conclusion that frictional anitrosopy governs the direction of displacement, with the preference to move along the zigzag- or armchair direction of the hexagonally structured surface. It further investigates the manipulation behavior on CVD grown mono- and bilayer MoS2 with the goal of formation of gold nanowires. For this several nanomanipulation and nanoscratching techniques are deployed to exploit the unique movement behavior of gold islands on a crystalline surface