A study of the effectiveness of an uninterrupted sustained silent reading program as conducted in a Newfoundland school setting

Many young people lack a quiet place to read or have no adult model to foster a desire to read. S.S.R. attempts to provide both. (Moore, 1980, p.446) -- The need identified by Moore supplied the impetus for this study. Young people are not always given an opportunity at home or at school to experience the pleasure and value of reading. When this problem was recognized at Hollands Memorial, a solution was sought. A program of Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading was introduced and it was decided to study the program in depth. -- After a year of U.S.S.R. the students' attitudes towards reading were measured and changes noted. The findings confirmed that positive attitude change had occurred. How much of the change was a result of U.S.S.R. is difficult to estimate but it is felt that U.S.S.R. had a significant role to play in that change

Connecting workspace and health : a case study

The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of the physical workspace and work health on workplace connectivity (level and type of interactions). It summarises the first stage of research being undertaken by an interdisciplinary team of researchers on a university engineering research department that is relocating into temporary office accommodation. The research incorporates the measurement of spatial and social connectivity, as well as work health on two occasions: prior to the relocation from traditional cellular office accommodation and following the relocation into an open plan workspace. On completion of both stages, comparisons will be made to assess for changes that could be attributed to the change in workspace. The measurements taken before the move to temporary accommodation showed a limited level of physical connectivity in the traditional cellular office space. There were a number of individuals in the research department that had a much greater level of social connectivity but no pattern emerged in terms of their physical location in the workspace. However a pattern did emerge with regard to work health and social connectivity, where those with a high level of connectivity also had a high level of work stress. The practical implications of the research are to demonstrate a methodology for assessing social connectivity with workspace and health that can be applied to other organisations. It makes a contribution to the fields of work psychology, facilities management and environmental psychology that has not before considered spatiality and social connectivity with work health.</p

Organizational Image Repair Tactics and Crisis Type: Implications for Crisis Response Strategy Effectiveness

Existing models of organizational crisis response effectiveness provide useful insights but are limited in terms of offering a guide for practitioners dealing with actual crisis situations. This analysis examines the relative effectiveness of image repair tactics based on differences in root causes of crisis events. Results suggest that certain image repair tactics are seen as the most and the least effective regardless of crisis type. At the same time, there were some differences across crisis types that could guide practitioner tactic choices. Limited results here and in past research raise questions about whether image repair tactic effectiveness can be usefully mapped to situational variables, such as audience or crisis type. This article concludes with discussion on this matter and suggestions for future research

Genetics of clozapine-associated neutropenia: recent advances, challenges and future perspective

Clozapine is the only effective antipsychotic for treatment-resistant schizophrenia but remains widely under prescribed, at least in part due to its potential to cause agranulocytosis and neutropenia. In this article, we provide an overview of the current understanding of the genetics of clozapine-associated agranulocytosis and neutropenia. We now know that the genetic etiology of clozapine-associated neutropenia is complex and is likely to involve variants from several genes including HLA-DQB1, HLA-B and SLCO1B3/SLCO1B7. We describe recent findings relating to the Duffy-null genotype and its association with benign neutropenia in individuals with African ancestry. Further advances will come from sequencing studies, large, cross-population studies and in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying these associations

Examining cognition across the bipolar / schizophrenia diagnostic spectrum

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairments are well-established features of schizophrenia, but there is ongoing debate about the nature and degree of cognitive impairment in patients with schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder. We hypothesized that there is a spectrum of increasing impairment from bipolar disorder to schizoaffective disorder bipolar type, to schizoaffective disorder depressive type and schizophrenia. METHODS: We compared performance on the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) Consensus Cognitive Battery between participants with schizophrenia (n = 558), schizoaffective disorder depressive type (n = 112), schizoaffective disorder type (n = 76), bipolar disorder (n = 78) and healthy participants (n = 103) using analysis of covariance with post hoc comparisons. We conducted an ordinal logistic regression to examine whether cognitive impairments followed the hypothesized spectrum from bipolar disorder (least severe) to schizophrenia (most severe). In addition to categorical diagnoses, we addressed the influence of symptom domains, examining the association between cognition and mania, depression and psychosis. RESULTS: Cognitive impairments increased in severity from bipolar disorder to schizoaffective disorder bipolar type, to schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder depressive type. Participants with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder depressive type showed equivalent performance (d = 0.07, p = 0.90). The results of the ordinal logistic regression were consistent with a spectrum of deficits from bipolar disorder to schizoaffective disorder bipolar type, to schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder depressive type (odds ratio = 1.98, p < 0.001). In analyses of the associations between symptom dimensions and cognition, higher scores on the psychosis dimension were associated with poorer performance (B = 0.015, standard error = 0.002, p < 0.001). LIMITATIONS: There were fewer participants with schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder than schizophrenia. Despite this, our analyses were robust to differences in group sizes, and we were able to detect differences between groups. CONCLUSION: Cognitive impairments represent a symptom dimension that cuts across traditional diagnostic boundaries

Reasons for discontinuing clozapine: a cohort study of patients commencing treatment

Background Clozapine is uniquely effective in the management of treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). However, a substantial proportion of patients discontinue treatment and this carries a poor prognosis. Methods We investigated the risk factors, reasons and timing of clozapine discontinuation in a two-year retrospective cohort study of 316 patients with TRS receiving their first course of clozapine. Reasons for discontinuation of clozapine and duration of treatment were obtained from case notes and Cox regression was employed to test the association of baseline clinical factors with clozapine discontinuation. Results A total of 142 (45%) patients discontinued clozapine within two years. By studying the reasons for discontinuations due to a patient decision, we found that adverse drug reactions (ADRs) accounted for over half of clozapine discontinuations. Sedation was the most common ADR cited as a reason for discontinuation and the risk of discontinuation due to ADRs was highest in the first few months of clozapine treatment. High levels of deprivation in the neighbourhood where the patient lived were associated with increased risk of clozapine discontinuation (HR = 2.12, 95% CI 1.30–3.47). Conclusions Living in a deprived neighbourhood was strongly associated with clozapine discontinuation. Clinical management to reduce the burden of ADRs in the first few months of treatment may have a significant impact and help more patients experience the benefits of clozapine treatment

Ethnicity and the Writing of Medieval Scottish history

Historians have long tended to define medieval Scottish society in terms of interactions between ethnic groups. This approach was developed over the course of the long nineteenth century, a formative period for the study of medieval Scotland. At that time, many scholars based their analysis upon scientific principles, long since debunked, which held that medieval 'peoples' could only be understood in terms of 'full ethnic packages'. This approach was combined with a positivist historical narrative that defined Germanic Anglo-Saxons and Normans as the harbingers of advances of Civilisation. While the prejudices of that era have largely faded away, the modern discipline still relies all too often on a dualistic ethnic framework. This is particularly evident in a structure of periodisation that draws a clear line between the 'Celtic' eleventh century and the 'Norman' twelfth. Furthermore, dualistic oppositions based on ethnicity continue, particularly in discussions of the law, kingship, lordship and religion

Chigurh’s haircut: three dialogues on provocation

This 3000 word essay, due for publication in December 2011, is part of a publication on the subject of ‘Provocation’, part of the series ‘Transmission’ published by Sheffield Hallam University/Site Gallery. The subject of this essay is the dialogue between the provocateur and her audience. My central claim is that the dialogue between provocateur and audience is balanced between two very distinct modes that define ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ provocative art. In ‘weak’ provocative art, there is complicity with moral failure that is expressed in the mutual recognition of opposing positions or interpretations. In ‘strong’ provocative art, the artist assumes this moral failure as her personal cause or mission. In the first case, the provocateur interprets a structural problem of ethics in inter-subjective terms; in the second case, this inter-subjective solution is itself rejected as unethical, in favour of a personal commitment to the structural problem

Early neutrophil trajectory following clozapine may predict clozapine response - Results from an observational study using electronic health records

Background: Clozapine has unique effectiveness in treatment-resistant schizophrenia and is known to cause immunological side-effects. A transient spike in neutrophils commonly occurs in the first weeks of clozapine therapy. There is contradictory evidence in the literature as to whether neutrophil changes with clozapine are linked to treatment response. Aims: The current study aims to further examine the neutrophil changes in response to clozapine and explore any association between neutrophil trajectory and treatment response. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing their first treatment with clozapine and continuing for at least 2 years identified 425 patients (69% male/31% female). Neutrophil counts at baseline, 3 weeks and 1 month were obtained predominantly by linkage with data from the clozapine monitoring service. Clinical Global Impression- Severity (CGI-S) was rated from case notes at the time of clozapine initiation and at 2 years. Latent class growth analysis (LCGA) was performed to define distinct trajectories of neutrophil changes during the first month of treatment. Logistic regression was then conducted to investigate for association between the trajectory of neutrophil count changes in month 1 and clinical response at 2 years as well as between baseline neutrophil count and response. Results: Of the original cohort, 397 (93%) patients had useable neutrophil data during the first 6 weeks of clozapine treatment. LCGA revealed significant differences in neutrophil trajectories with a three-class model being the most parsimonious. The classes had similar trajectory profiles but differed primarily on overall neutrophil count: with low, high-normal and high neutrophil classes, comprising 52%, 40% and 8% of the sample respectively. Membership of the high-normal group was associated with significantly increased odds of a positive response to clozapine, as compared to the low neutrophil group [Odds ratio (OR) = 2.10, p-value = 0.002; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.31–3.36]. Baseline neutrophil count was a predictor of response to clozapine at 2 years, with counts of ≥5 × 109/l significantly associated with positive response (OR = 1.60, p-value = 0.03; 95% CI = 1.03–2.49). Conclusions: Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that patients with low-level inflammation, reflected in a high-normal neutrophil count, are more likely to respond to clozapine, raising the possibility that clozapine exerts its superior efficacy via immune mechanisms.</p