All Across Africa: Artisans as Regional Economic Drivers Report

The social impact of All Across Africa (AAA) is as deep as it is wide. With access to global markets, women artisans dramatically increase their incomes. In Rwanda, an artisan’s livelihood significantly improves the wellbeing of her family, and benefits spill over into her community and local economy. The genius of AAA is found in its efforts to recruit, support, and create livelihoods for artisans in their own communities, which transforms them into catalysts for economic development within their communities. They become economic “dynamos” generating local community benefits and initiating broader economic change. The sustained social and economic impacts are pervasive

All Across Africa: Artisan Profile Week 6

These profiles, written about specific artisans, focus on the unique journey of each weaver. Paired with portrait photographs, profiles bring the Western consumer closer to the artisans to portray how artisan lives are transforming as a result of customer engagement with the company. Each story captures different struggles women have had to overcome in Rwandan society and what role working for All Across plays in their success

All Across Africa: Recommendations for Ongoing Social Impact Assessment

Objective The objective was to design and test a survey to measure and track AAA’s social impact on an ongoing basis. The survey’s purpose is to showcase AAA’s transformative effect on the lives of artisan beneficiaries and their communities. Research Process Social impact reporting requires resources to administer. As a result, significant consideration was given to ensure a sustainable, cost effective solution that preserves data quality. The research team performed six weeks of in-field research, consisting of formal and informal interviews with artisans, AAA employees, and community members. The team developed, piloted, and finalized an impact survey. This report formalizes its findings and recommendations. The Survey The survey instrument measures 7 areas of impact - education, health, savings, income, nutrition, housing, and empowerment. The context of each question and potential uses for answers are explained in this report. The report also explains best practices for in-person interviews and data collection using mobile devices with the DeviceMagic app. Modifications to the survey are likely to ensure impact reporting is continual, relevant, and accurate. Estimated Cost The survey will likely cost $120-200 to administer, take 2-3 employees 7-10 field days to complete, with 4-10 hours of setup time

All Across Africa: Artisan Profile Week 2

These profiles, written about specific artisans, focus on the unique journey of each weaver. Paired with portrait photographs, profiles bring the Western consumer closer to the artisans to portray how artisan lives are transforming as a result of customer engagement with the company. Each story captures different struggles women have had to overcome in Rwandan society and what role working for All Across plays in their success

Effect of Therapeutic Exercise Versus Manual Therapy on Athletes with Chronic Low Back Pain

Rehabilitation professionals treat individuals suifering from chronic low back pain (CLBP) using a variety of treatment approaches including manual therapy and the prescription of therapeutic exercises. The use of manual therapy, specifically joint mobilization of the lumbar spine, may significantly decrease a patient\u27s pain and contribute to improvement in his or her functioning. Exercise may also improve pain and functioning, with some patients reporting gains up to 1 year after the last treatment session. Numerous investigations have assessed the potential benefits associated with either joint mobilization or therapeutic exercise for patients with acute or subacute low back pain or CLBP. Despite the literature to guide clinical decision making, clinicians often struggle to successfully or expeditiously treat patients with low back pain, A recent trend reported in the literature has been to use treatment-based classifications or clinical prediction rules. These reports provide evidence or clinical suggestions for treating patients with acute or subacute low back pain. To the best of our knowledge, there is a lack of these types of reports that address evaluation and treatment for patients with CLBP. When treating patients with CLBP it is not uncommon for some rehabilitation professionals to use 1 treatment approach primarily or exclusively. Using a treatment program supported by the research literature should generate the most effective outcomes for patients with CLBP

Geometric modelling of kink banding in laminated structures

An analytical model founded on geometric and potential energy principles for kink band deformation in laminated composite struts is presented. It is adapted from an earlier successful study for confined layered structures which was formulated to model kink band formation in the folding of geological layers. The principal aim is to explore the underlying mechanisms governing the kinking response of flat, laminated components comprising unidirectional composite laminae. A pilot parametric study suggests that the key features of the mechanical response are captured well and that quantitative comparisons with experiments presented in the literature are highly encouraging

Development of Items Designed to Evaluate Activity Performance and Participation in Children and Adolescents with Spinal Cord Injury

Background/Objective. Outcomes-based data, whether used clinically or for research, are difficult to collect in the pediatric spinal cord injury (SCI) population due to a lack of appropriate assessment measures. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to describe the process by which two item pools were developed to evaluate activity performance and participation among children with SCI and to introduce the resultant items specific to pediatric SCI. Methods. The process of item development, including construct development, review of related assessment tools, chart review, item writing and refinement using focus groups, cognitive interviews, and further refinement, was used to create the items pools for activity and participation for children and adolescents with SCI. Results. A total of 347 items were written for the activity performance construct and 61 items were written for the participation construct. Several domains were established within each construct and items were written for both child and parent respondents. Conclusion. The process of detailed item development is the first step in the process of developing an outcomes instrument for children and adolescents with SCI to assess activity performance and participation. The items are representative of pediatric SCI because they address areas specific to children and adolescents with SCI such as wheeled mobility, upper extremity function with adaptive equipment, role performance, and socialization. After testing these items in calibration studies, we will determine if these items can be developed into effective computer-adaptive testing applications

Brain MR Spectroscopy Changes Precede Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration Phenoconversion in Mapt Mutation Carriers.

Background and purposeThe objective of this study was to longitudinally investigate the trajectory of change in 1 H MRS measurements in asymptomatic MAPT mutation carriers who became symptomatic during follow-up, and to determine the time at which the neurochemical alterations accelerated during disease progression.MethodsWe identified eight MAPT mutations carriers who transitioned from asymptomatic to symptomatic disease during follow-up. All participants were longitudinally followed with an average of 7.75 years (range 4-11 years) and underwent two or more single voxel 1 H MRS examinations from the posterior cingulate voxel, with a total of 60 examinations. The rate of longitudinal change for each metabolite was estimated using linear mixed models. A flex point model was used to estimate the flex time point of the change in slope.ResultsThe decrease in the NAA/mI ratio accelerated 2.09 years prior to symptom onset, and continued to decline. A similar trajectory was observed in the presumed glial marker mI/Cr ratio accelerating 1.86 years prior to symptom onset.ConclusionsOur findings support the potential use of longitudinal 1 H MRS for monitoring the neurodegenerative progression in MAPT mutation carriers starting from the asymptomatic stage