Luontoympäristö kuntoutujan tukena : "Where is Your Paradise"

Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli kuvata luontoympäristön merkitystä kuntoutusprosessissa. Näkökulma aiheeseen oli ympäristöpsykologinen ja kuntoutujakeskeinen. Kuntoutuja näh-tiin aktiivisena toimijana, joka luontoympäristön avulla voi saada tukea psyykkiseen it-sesäätelyyn, elpymiseen ja elämänhallintaan. Nämä ovat keskeisiä tekijöitä kuntoutuspro-sessissa. Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli etsiä vastausta kysymykseen: mikä on luontoym-päristön merkitys kuntoutusprosessissa. Opinnäytetyö on narratiivinen kuvaileva kirjallisuuskatsaus, joka toteutettiin kommentoi-valla otteella. Kirjallisuuskatsaukseen valittiin viisi tieteellistä artikkelia, jotka pohjautuvat pohjoismaiseen tutkimukseen luontoympäristön merkityksestä ihmisen hyvinvoinnille. Näiden lisäksi esiteltiin myös muuta aiheeseen liittyvää kirjallisuutta. Tavoitteena oli lisätä ymmärrystä luontoympäristön vaikuttavuudesta kuntoutusprosessissa sekä herättää kes-kustelua yhteiskunnallisesti tärkeästä aiheesta. Kokonaisvaltaisen hyvinvointikäsityksen mukaan luontoympäristö nähdään tärkeänä ele-menttinä kuntoutujan elämässä. Kirjallisuusanalyysin mukaan merkittäviä tekijöitä ovat luontoympäristön elvyttävyys ja luontomielipaikkojen tuki psyykkisessä itsesäätelyssä. Luontokokemukset edistävät elämänhallinnan tunnetta ja kuntoutumista sekä johtavat myönteiseen kehään, jossa luonto hoitaa kuntoutujaa ja kuntoutuja hoitaa luontoa. Kuntoutusmenetelmien kehittämiseksi tarvitaan lisää tutkimusta luontointerventioiden käytöstä ja vaikuttavuudesta kuntoutusprosessissa. Opinnäytetyön tekijät suosittelevat hyödyntämään luontoympäristöä aktiivisena osana kuntoutusta jokaisen kuntoutujan toi-veisiin ja mieltymyksiin perustuen.The aim of the thesis was to describe the significance of natural environments in a rehabili-tation process. The perspective on the topic was that of environmental psychology, and the focus was on the rehabilitee. The rehabilitee was seen as an active actor who can re-ceive support from the natural environment for mental self-regulation, recovery and life control. These are central factors in the rehabilitation process. The purpose of the thesis was to find the answer to the question: What is the significance of natural environments in the rehabilitation process? The thesis was a narrative and descriptive literature review with a commentary approach. Five scientific papers were selected for the literature review. They were based on Nordic research on natural environments’ importance to human well-being. In addition to these, other related literature was presented. The purpose was to increase the understanding of the impact of a natural environment in the rehabilitation process and to stimulate discus-sion on a socially important topic. In a holistic approach to well-being a natural environment is seen as an important element in a rehabilitee’s life. According to the literature analysis, the significant factors were the feeling of recovery in the natural environment and the support for mental self-regulation brought by the favourite places in nature. Nature experiences promote the feeling of life control and rehabilitation as well as lead to a positive circle where nature takes care of the rehabilitee and the rehabilitee takes care of nature. In order to develop rehabilitation interventions more research on nature-based interven-tions and their effectiveness is needed. The authors of the thesis recommend the use of natural environments as an active part of rehabilitation based on the rehabilitees’ individ-ual wishes and preferences

A pilot study of the relationship between the English language abilities of a group of primary school children and their tree-drawings

This pilot study attempts to assess the correlation between language ability and a projective Tree-drawing test. The hypothesis tested is that expounded by Sandra Michel, a psychologist working with Dr. A. A. Tomatis at the Language Centre in Paris. The theory of Language from which her work derives is that put forward by A. A. Tomatis in Vers l'écoute humaine (Towards Human Hearing), (1977) and Education and Dyslexia trans . , Louise Guiney, (1972). This hypothesis states that the Tree-drawing can give a clear indication of the kind of dialogue the testee will be able and willing to use. The claims for projective Tree-drawing 'tests' or techniques have been mainly concerned with personality or psychological assessments and sometimes with intelligence testing since Charles Koch first began his work in this field in the early forties. Sandra Michel in "The Tree Test", translated by T . Brown, (unpublished paper), Tomatis Centre (Scarbrough, Ontario, 1980) discusses a Tree-drawing scale that indicates both the developmental level of the child's language ability and his/her motivation towards dialogue and communication at this level. To test this hypothesis a sample of 1094 Tree-drawings was used. The drawings were done by Primary School children of both sexes from Sub. A. to Std . 5, collected over four years of research. These drawings were studied to see if the Tree scale of drawings described by Michel did in fact occur and if they occurred in the sequence she suggests. As a result of these preliminary investigations a developmental scale was devised and proposed as a refinement of Michel's scale. Scores from these two Tree-scales were correlated with English language scores using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and the Spearman Rank techniques. The sample for this correlation study was a group of 54 Std. 5 pupils whose English language ability was evaluated by (i) a school English Examination mark, (ii) a Questionnaire scoring receptive and expressive language behaviours and (iii) Verbal I.Q. scores. The positive correlation between these language scores and the Tree-drawing projective test scores are discussed and the implications for English language teaching and suggestions for further research mentioned

Modified “Trap Door” Approach for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Complicated by Subclavian Artery Aneurysm

Arterial thoracic syndrome is a rare condition that usually presents in young patients with upper extremity thromboembolization. The traditional surgical approaches described are supraclavicular and transaxillary. We hereby present the case of a 46-year-old male with left arterial thoracic outlet syndrome and left subclavian artery aneurysm. We describe our technique in approaching his condition with a modified “trap door” approach

The effect of rubber versus concrete passageways in cubicle housing on claw health and reproduction of pluriparous dairy cows

peer reviewedThe effect of covering the passageways and feed face of a cubicle house with rubber flooring was compared to concrete in terms of claw health, behaviour and reproductive performance of dairy cows from a grass-based milk production system. Sixty-two, autumn calving, pluriparous Holstein–Friesian cows were introduced to the housing treatments prior to calving. Foot lesions were scored at housing, 1, 7, 12 and 16 weeks post-partum. The behaviour (activity, posture, and location) of all cows was recorded by instantaneous scan sampling over 24 h once per week from ca. 3 weeks pre-partum to 12 weeks post-partum. Estrous activity was recorded by visual observation three times daily using tail-paint and continuously by radiotelemetry from 1 week after calving until the end of the breeding season. The rubber flooring had a negligible beneficial effect on heel erosion but no effect on haemorrhage or dermatitis scores and no effect on the proportion of cows affected by severe lesions. Furthermore, there were no benefits for estrous expression or subsequent reproductive performance. There were no differences between treatments in time spent standing by cows, but cows on concrete stood more in the cubicles, while cows on the rubber flooring stood more at the feed face. This suggests that cows prefer to stand on comfortable surfaces while not feeding and that they can use well-bedded, comfortable cubicles for standing to get relief for their feet from concrete floors. This also explains the lack of a difference between treatments in claw health

Centerscope

Centerscope, formerly Scope, was published by the Boston University Medical Center "to communicate the concern of the Medical Center for the development and maintenance of improved health care in contemporary society.

The marketing of herd health and production management services on Dutch dairy farms: perceptions of dairy farmers and their veterinary surgeons

A questionnaire-based survey on veterinary herd health and production management services was conducted on 194 specialist dairy veterinarians and 466 dairy farmers. The farmers were randomly selected from greater than 6,000 farmer clients of the surveyed veterinarians. This paper reports these survey findings and the findings of an earlier survey conducted among the veterinarians. The survey included questions on the attributes of the service itself, the practitioners delivering the service, reasons for participation and the expected future of herd health and production management services. Reasons farmers participated in herd health and production management programmes included; access to routine screening of their herd; increasing profits; and receiving regular veterinary advice or solutions to remedy existing problems. Advantages of participation named included: good management support; higher profits; structural solutions to problems; and being better informed. Differences between farming styles were observed, pointing to the different needs and goals of farming styles. Farmers cited high costs and the time investment required as major disadvantages. The proportion of farmers citing these reasons was lower than expected by the veterinarians. In the future, preventive healthcare will be the main reason of farmers to participate. Farmers who are not using the service can potentially be encouraged to engage the services after gaining increased insight into the herd health and management service structure, the planning of activities, the cost-benefit of the service, veterinary surgeons being more co-operative with other farm advisors and veterinarians being more willing to pay attention to quality issues on the dairy farm

Community brass : its role in music education and the development of professional musicians in the Western Cape

Thesis (MMus (Music))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.Community music is at the innermost heart of any music society, yet its generally informal training structures have rendered it somehow second-class in the general view. South Africa‟s formal education structures have tended to favour the elite at the cost of those who are historically deprived, a pattern which developed centuries before the advent of legal Apartheid. This lack of official favour may be the source of the intensity of community music development in the Western Cape, a locus of cultural and ethnic diversity remarkable even in South Africa. Brass instruments, with their inherent portability and relative affordability, have been at the heart of much church music in the past two hundred years. For the Salvationists, the brass band has long been the „peripatetic organ‟ for use at services indoors or outdoors. For the German-related churches, the Posaunenchor, now a brass choir, fulfils many of the same functions. These and other informal structures like them tend to reproduce themselves by means of „apprenticeship‟ of novitiate players to experienced bandsmen. A substantial number of church-trained players have become professional in the context of military bands in the Cape and elsewhere in South Africa. Some have, with more formal training, become symphonic instrumentalists of considerable rank in South Africa. This dissertation sets out to describe the milieu from which brass-players have emerged when formal instrumental instruction has been unavailable to them. It describes past and current efforts to bolster and upgrade brass training for youth, and the ways in which this couples with social upliftment for youth. Perhaps most importantly, it furnishes information and tools for South Africa to join fully with international efforts to research the phenomena of community music and to better understand their significance

Luontoympäristö kuntoutujan tukena : "Where is Your Paradise"

Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli kuvata luontoympäristön merkitystä kuntoutusprosessissa. Näkökulma aiheeseen oli ympäristöpsykologinen ja kuntoutujakeskeinen. Kuntoutuja näh-tiin aktiivisena toimijana, joka luontoympäristön avulla voi saada tukea psyykkiseen it-sesäätelyyn, elpymiseen ja elämänhallintaan. Nämä ovat keskeisiä tekijöitä kuntoutuspro-sessissa. Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli etsiä vastausta kysymykseen: mikä on luontoym-päristön merkitys kuntoutusprosessissa. Opinnäytetyö on narratiivinen kuvaileva kirjallisuuskatsaus, joka toteutettiin kommentoi-valla otteella. Kirjallisuuskatsaukseen valittiin viisi tieteellistä artikkelia, jotka pohjautuvat pohjoismaiseen tutkimukseen luontoympäristön merkityksestä ihmisen hyvinvoinnille. Näiden lisäksi esiteltiin myös muuta aiheeseen liittyvää kirjallisuutta. Tavoitteena oli lisätä ymmärrystä luontoympäristön vaikuttavuudesta kuntoutusprosessissa sekä herättää kes-kustelua yhteiskunnallisesti tärkeästä aiheesta. Kokonaisvaltaisen hyvinvointikäsityksen mukaan luontoympäristö nähdään tärkeänä ele-menttinä kuntoutujan elämässä. Kirjallisuusanalyysin mukaan merkittäviä tekijöitä ovat luontoympäristön elvyttävyys ja luontomielipaikkojen tuki psyykkisessä itsesäätelyssä. Luontokokemukset edistävät elämänhallinnan tunnetta ja kuntoutumista sekä johtavat myönteiseen kehään, jossa luonto hoitaa kuntoutujaa ja kuntoutuja hoitaa luontoa. Kuntoutusmenetelmien kehittämiseksi tarvitaan lisää tutkimusta luontointerventioiden käytöstä ja vaikuttavuudesta kuntoutusprosessissa. Opinnäytetyön tekijät suosittelevat hyödyntämään luontoympäristöä aktiivisena osana kuntoutusta jokaisen kuntoutujan toi-veisiin ja mieltymyksiin perustuen.The aim of the thesis was to describe the significance of natural environments in a rehabili-tation process. The perspective on the topic was that of environmental psychology, and the focus was on the rehabilitee. The rehabilitee was seen as an active actor who can re-ceive support from the natural environment for mental self-regulation, recovery and life control. These are central factors in the rehabilitation process. The purpose of the thesis was to find the answer to the question: What is the significance of natural environments in the rehabilitation process? The thesis was a narrative and descriptive literature review with a commentary approach. Five scientific papers were selected for the literature review. They were based on Nordic research on natural environments’ importance to human well-being. In addition to these, other related literature was presented. The purpose was to increase the understanding of the impact of a natural environment in the rehabilitation process and to stimulate discus-sion on a socially important topic. In a holistic approach to well-being a natural environment is seen as an important element in a rehabilitee’s life. According to the literature analysis, the significant factors were the feeling of recovery in the natural environment and the support for mental self-regulation brought by the favourite places in nature. Nature experiences promote the feeling of life control and rehabilitation as well as lead to a positive circle where nature takes care of the rehabilitee and the rehabilitee takes care of nature. In order to develop rehabilitation interventions more research on nature-based interven-tions and their effectiveness is needed. The authors of the thesis recommend the use of natural environments as an active part of rehabilitation based on the rehabilitees’ individ-ual wishes and preferences