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The Return of the Beehives, Brylcreem and Botanical! An Historical Review of Hair Care Practices with a view to Opportunities for Sustainable Design
This paper considers hair care as a network of activities and routines which have consequences for environmental sustainability and which may be modified by design. It proposes that together with cultural knowledge, embodied skill and objects, these activities can be thought of as ‘practices’ that are reproduced and also change through time (Shove 2006). They consume resources and are therefore implicated in the issue of environmental sustainability.
The paper draws on research into hair care practices conducted through in-depth interviews with female participants, as part of the first author’s PhD study. The discussion here however centres on historical work and Shove’s (2003) writing on bathing to explore the changing products and substances including ideas, technological and infrastructural aspects of cleansing and conditioning hair. Because these factors may determine when to wash or not to wash your hair they affect resource consumption.
The paper concludes by outlining opportunities for sustainable design that follow from the insights gained by investigating the history of hair care in relation to the data collected during in-depth interviews. It highlights, as outlined by Hand et al (2005), that the resources consumed through hair care are influenced by the integrative nature of hair care as a practice rather than by individuals being dedicated to sustainability.
To concentrate on single products without taking into account that hair care is practiced in everyday life is not likely to provide opportunities for sustainable living. What is considered ‘normal’ standards of hair care and means to achieve them needs to be conceptualised to identify opportunities to modify what is considered ‘normal’ through design.
Keywords:
Everyday Practices, Sustainable Design</p
Getting to Eportfolios Through Assessment: A Process Model for Integrating Eportfolio Pedagogical Concepts Through Training for Program Assessment
The American Association of Colleges and Universities recently named eportfolio as a high impact practice. Eportfolios’ potential to synergize different learning experiences through opportunities for student reflection and self-representation has led to calls for broad adoption at course and program levels. There are many studies of eportfolio efficacy but few accounts of strategies for successful program-level eportfolio implementation. This paper reflects upon the authors’ experience conducting a two-day training for incorporating eportfolio concepts into programs’ assessment models. The authors found that their incremental approach to training benefited participants in identifying assessment model and curriculum experiences that could incorporate eportfolio practices
Ranging behaviour of commercial free-range laying hens
Simple Summary: Commercial free-range production has become a significant sector of the fresh
egg market due to legislation banning conventional cages and consumer preference for products
perceived as welfare friendly, as access to outdoor range can lead to welfare benefits such as greater
freedom of movement and enhanced behavioural opportunities. This study investigated dispersal
patterns, feather condition and activity of laying hens in three distinct zones of the range area; the
apron area near shed; enriched zone 10–50 m from shed; and outer range beyond 50 m, in six flocks
of laying hens under commercial free-range conditions varying in size between 4000 and
24,000 hens. Each flock was visited for four days to record number of hens in each zone, their
behaviour, feather condition and nearest neighbour distances (NND), as well as record temperature
and relative humidity during the visit. Temperature and relative humidity varied across the study
period in line with seasonal variations and influenced the use of range with fewer hens out of shed
as temperature fell or relative humidity rose. On average, 12.5% of the hens were observed on the
range and most of these hens were recorded in the apron zone as hen density decreased rapidly
with increasing distance from the shed. Larger flocks appeared to have a lower proportion of hens
on range. The hens used the range more in the early morning followed by a progressive decrease
through to early afternoon. The NND was greatest in the outer range and decreased towards the
shed. Feather condition was generally good and hens observed in the outer range had the best
overall feather condition. Standing, pecking, walking and foraging were the most commonly
recorded behaviours and of these, standing occurred most in the apron whereas walking and
foraging behaviours were recorded most in the outer range. This study supported the findings of
previous studies that reported few hens in the range and greater use of areas closer to the shed in
free-range flocks. This study suggests that hens in the outer range engaged more in walking and
foraging activities and showed signs of better welfare than those closer to the shed.
Abstract: In this study, the range use and behaviour of laying hens in commercial free-range flocks
was explored. Six flocks were each visited on four separate days and data collected from their
outdoor area (divided into zones based on distance from shed and available resources). These were:
apron (0–10 m from shed normally without cover or other enrichments); enriched belt (10–50 m
from shed where resources such as manmade cover, saplings and dust baths were provided); and
outer range (beyond 50 m from shed with no cover and mainly grass pasture). Data collection
consisted of counting the number of hens in each zone and recording behaviour, feather condition
and nearest neighbour distance (NND) of 20 birds per zone on each visit day. In addition, we used
techniques derived from ecological surveys to establish four transects perpendicular to the shed,
running through the apron, enriched belt and outer range. Number of hens in each 10 m × 10 m
quadrat was recorded four times per day as was the temperature and relative humidity of the outer
range. On average, 12.5% of hens were found outside. Of these, 5.4% were found in the apron; 4.3%
in the enriched zone; and 2.8% were in the outer range. This pattern was supported by data from
quadrats, where the density of hens sharply dropped with increasing distance from shed.
Animals 2016, 6, x 2 of 13
Consequently, NND was greatest in the outer range, least in the apron and intermediate in the
enriched belt. Hens sampled in outer range and enriched belts had better feather condition than
those from the apron. Standing, ground pecking, walking and foraging were the most commonly
recorded activities with standing and pecking most likely to occur in the apron, and walking and
foraging more common in the outer range. Use of the outer range declined with lower temperatures
and increasing relative humidity, though use of apron and enriched belt was not affected by
variation in these measures. These data support previous findings that outer range areas tend to be
under-utilized in commercial free-range flocks and suggest positive relationships between range
use, feather condition and increased behavioural opportunities and decline in the use of range in
cold and/or damp conditions
Introducing the multi-faceted teaching experiment
A mathematics classroom is comprised of many mathematicians with varying understanding of mathematics knowledge, including the teacher, students and sometimes researchers. To align with this conceptualisation of knowledge and understanding, the multi-faceted teaching experiment will be introduced as an approach to study all classroom participants’ interactions with the shared knowledge of mathematics. Drawing on the experiences of a large curriculum project, it is claimed that, unlike a multi-tiered teaching experiment, the multi-faceted teaching experiment provides a research framework that allows for the study of mathematicians’ building of knowledge in a classroom without privileging the experience of any one participant
Rehabilitation as a disability equality issue: a conceptual shift for disability studies?
Rehabilitation is a controversial subject in disability studies, often discussed in terms of oppression, normalisation, and unwanted intrusion. While there may be good reasons for positioning rehabilitation in this way, this has also meant that, as a lived experience, it is under-researched and neglected in disabilities literature, as we show by surveying leading disability studies journals. With some notable exceptions, rehabilitation research has remained the preserve of the rehabilitation sciences, and such studies have rarely included the voices of disabled people themselves, as we also demonstrate by surveying a cross-section of rehabilitation science literature. Next, drawing on new research, we argue for reframing access to rehabilitation as a disability equality issue. Through in-depth discussion of two case studies, we demonstrate that rehabilitation can be a tool for inclusion and for supporting an equal life. Indeed, we contend that rehabilitation merits disability researchers' sustained engagement, precisely to ensure that a "right-based rehabilitation" policy and practice can be developed, which is not oppressive, but reflects the views and experiences of the disabled people who rehabilitation should serve
Improving osteoporosis management in primary care: an audit of the impact of a community based fracture liaison nurse
Background:Â Osteoporosis and associated fragility fractures are a major health problem; they are more common in women over 50 years old. Fracture liaison nurses have been widely used in secondary care to promote the recognition of fragility fractures and to promote the use of bone-sparing medication to reduce the risk of recurrent facture.
Objective:Â Audit the impact of a primary care based fracture liaison nurse on the detection of fragility fractures in people with osteoporosis and their treatment with a bone-sparing medication.
Method: This audit took place in 12 GP practices using ‘before and after’ cross-sectional extractions of anonymised routine data. We report, for females 50–74 years and ≥75 years old, socio-economic deprivation index, the prevalence of osteoporosis, recording of fragility fractures, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), smoking, and body-mass index (BMI) and use of appropriate bone-sparing medication. We used Altman’s test of independent proportions to compare before and after data.
Results: Recording of the diagnosis of osteoporosis increased from 1.5% to 1.7% (p = 0.059); the rate of DXA scans fell (1.8% to 1.4%; p = 0.002); recording of fractures and fragility fractures more than doubled (0.8% to 2.0%; p<0.001 and 0.5% to 1.5%; p<0.001, respectively) with approximate doubling of the recording of smoking, and BMI (p<0.001 level). Fragility fracture recording rose from 8.8% to 15% in females aged 50 to 74, and from 0.8% to 2.3% in people aged ≥75years old (p<0.001). There appeared to be inequity in the service, people who were least deprived were more likely to receive DXA scans and the more deprived to be prescribed bone sparing agents.
Conclusion:Â A fracture liaison nurse in primary care has been associated with a period of improved management. Liaison nurses based in different parts of the health system should be tested in a prospective trial
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