285 research outputs found
Effect of maternal depression on infant-directed speech to prelinguistic infants: Implications for language development
The nature and timing of caregivers' speech provides an important foundation for infant attention and language development in the first year of life. Infant-directed speech is a key component of responsive parent-infant communication that is typically characterised by exaggerated intonation and positive affect. This study examines the effect of postnatal depression on the expression of positive vocal affect and pitch, the quantity of mothers' infant-directed speech input and the timing of vocal responses between mother and infant. Postnatal mothers currently experiencing symptoms of depression (n = 13) were matched to postnatal mothers who were not experiencing symptoms of depression (n = 13), and audio-recorded while playing with their 6-month-old infants. Compared with depressed mothers, non-depressed mothers used a higher mean pitch and pitch range, spoke more, gave faster verbal responses and were rated as expressing more positive valence in their voice. These preliminary findings indicate that mothers experiencing low mood use less infant-directed speech and less exaggerated pitch with prelinguistic infants. Postnatal depression is a major health issue that adversely impacts the parent and child. Early interventions for PND may benefit from identifying ways to support the timing of conversations and mothers' use of appropriate vocal pitch and infant-directed speech modifications. Further research is needed to confirm whether these strategies support early conversations
A qualitative investigation of consumer experiences of the child directed interaction phase of parentâchild interaction therapy with toddlers
Background: Parentâchild interaction therapy with toddlers (PCIT-T) is an adaptation of standard PCIT, developed to treat young children (12â24 months) with disruptive behaviours. The aim of this study was to gather preliminary qualitative data to gauge parental perceptions about the program. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five parents who received the first phase of the program, âchild directed interaction-Toddlerâ (CDI-T) at a community based child behaviour treatment clinic. Interview transcripts were analysed thematically. Results: Participants were initially motivated to seek treatment because of concerns about and difficulties managing child behaviour. All participants reported a range of positive gains as a result of CDI-T including new parenting strategies, improved parental confidence and improved parentâchild relationship quality. Live coaching from behind the one-way mirror, the relationship with the therapist and the home-based practice of skills between sessions were identified as important treatment components. Many participants spoke, however, about the difficulties they experienced with continuing to implement the home practice after program completion. Conclusions: Results suggest that CDI-T is perceived positively by consumers, and highlight a number of key program components
Qualitative evaluation of Australian Caregiver's experiences of parentâchild interaction therapy delivered in a community-based clinic setting
Background: Parentâchild interaction therapy (PCIT) is a short-term, evidence-based parent training program for parents of children aged 2â7 years with disruptive behaviour disorders (DBDs). The evidence-base for the effectiveness of PCIT is extensive but to date most studies have been quantitative in nature and conducted in university research clinics within the United States. Thus, understanding of the effectiveness and acceptability of PCIT in community-based settings in other countries, including Australia, is limited. Objective: This study used a qualitative methodology to explore Australian caregiver's perceptions of a standard PCIT program delivered at a community-based PCIT clinic. Method: Participants were nine mothers and one father who completed the PCIT program at the clinic for treatment of child DBD. Results: Thematic analysis yielded four major themes, namely âParenting challenges before PCITâ; âPositive treatment outcomesâ (sub-themes: improved child behaviour, increased parental confidence, increased insight into the child needs, and improved relationships with partner); âProgram strengthsâ (sub-themes: child-directed interaction, parent-directed interaction, home practice, therapeutic relationship); and âChallenges experienced.â. Conclusions: These findings highlight the benefits of the PCIT program for families who are struggling with DBD in early childhood, and point to the potential positive impacts of disseminating PCIT within clinical settings more widely across Australia
Supersymmetric transformations for coupled channels with threshold differences
The asymptotic behaviour of the superpotential of general SUSY
transformations for a coupled-channel Hamiltonian with different thresholds is
analyzed. It is shown that asymptotically the superpotential can tend to a
diagonal matrix with an arbitrary number of positive and negative entries
depending on the choice of the factorization solution. The transformation of
the Jost matrix is generalized to "non-conservative" SUSY transformations
introduced in Sparenberg et al (2006 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 39 L639). Applied
to the zero initial potential the method permits to construct superpartners
with a nontrivially coupled Jost-matrix. Illustrations are given for two- and
three-channel cases.Comment: 17 pages, 3 explicit examples and figures adde
Effects of crack tip geometry on dislocation emission and cleavage: A possible path to enhanced ductility
We present a systematic study of the effect of crack blunting on subsequent
crack propagation and dislocation emission. We show that the stress intensity
factor required to propagate the crack is increased as the crack is blunted by
up to thirteen atomic layers, but only by a relatively modest amount for a
crack with a sharp 60 corner. The effect of the blunting is far less
than would be expected from a smoothly blunted crack; the sharp corners
preserve the stress concentration, reducing the effect of the blunting.
However, for some material parameters blunting changes the preferred
deformation mode from brittle cleavage to dislocation emission. In such
materials, the absorption of preexisting dislocations by the crack tip can
cause the crack tip to be locally arrested, causing a significant increase in
the microscopic toughness of the crack tip. Continuum plasticity models have
shown that even a moderate increase in the microscopic toughness can lead to an
increase in the macroscopic fracture toughness of the material by several
orders of magnitude. We thus propose an atomic-scale mechanism at the crack
tip, that ultimately may lead to a high fracture toughness in some materials
where a sharp crack would seem to be able to propagate in a brittle manner.
Results for blunt cracks loaded in mode II are also presented.Comment: 12 pages, REVTeX using epsfig.sty. 13 PostScript figures. Final
version to appear in Phys. Rev. B. Main changes: Discussion slightly
shortened, one figure remove
Aging and memory phenomena in magnetic and transport properties of vortex matter: a brief review
There is mounting experimental evidence that strong off-equilibrium
phenomena, such as ``memory'' or ``aging'' effects, play a crucial role in the
physics of vortices in type II superconductors. We give a short review, based
on a recently introduced schematic vortex model, of current progresses in
understanding out of equilibrium vortex behaviours. We develop a unified
description of ``memory'' phenomena in magnetic and transport properties, such
as magnetisation loops and their ``anomalous'' 2nd peak, logarithmic creep,
``anomalous'' finite creep rate in the limit of vanishing temperature,
``memory'' and ``irreversibility'' in I-V characteristics, time dependent
critical currents, ``rejuvenation'' and ``aging'' of the system response.Comment: updated versio
Eigenphase preserving two-channel SUSY transformations
We propose a new kind of supersymmetric (SUSY) transformation in the case of
the two-channel scattering problem with equal thresholds, for partial waves of
the same parity. This two-fold transformation is based on two imaginary
factorization energies with opposite signs and with mutually conjugated
factorization solutions. We call it an eigenphase preserving SUSY
transformation as it relates two Hamiltonians, the scattering matrices of which
have identical eigenphase shifts. In contrast to known phase-equivalent
transformations, the mixing parameter is modified by the eigenphase preserving
transformation.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figur
Parental experience of an early developmental surveillance programme for autism within Australian general practice: A qualitative study
Objectives Implementing support and services early in the life course has been shown to promote positive developmental outcomes for children at high likelihood of developmental conditions including autism. This study examined parents'/caregivers' experiences and perceptions about a digital developmental surveillance pathway for autism, the autism surveillance pathway (ASP), and usual care, the surveillance as usual (SaU) pathway, in the primary healthcare general practice setting. Design This qualitative study involves using a convenience selection process of the full sample of parents/caregivers that participated in the main programme, 'General Practice Surveillance for Autism', a cluster-randomised controlled trial study. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and coded using NVivo V.12 software. An inductive thematic interpretive approach was adopted and data were analysed thematically. Participants Twelve parents/caregivers of children with or without a developmental condition/autism (who participated in the main programme) in South Western Sydney and Melbourne were interviewed. Settings All interviews were completed over the phone. Results There were seven major themes and 20 subthemes that included positive experiences, such as pre-existing patient-doctor relationships and their perceptions on the importance of knowing and accessing early support/services. Barriers or challenges experienced while using the SaU pathway included long waiting periods, poor communication and lack of action plans, complexity associated with navigating the healthcare system and lack of understanding by general practitioners (GPs). Common suggestions for improvement included greater awareness/education for parents/carers and the availability of accessible resources on child development for parents/caregivers. Conclusion The findings support the use of digital screening tools for developmental surveillance, including for autism, using opportunistic contacts in the general practice setting. Trial registration number ANZCTR (ACTRN12619001200178)
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