Is There a Problem or is He Just Bone Lazy? A Study of Children with Low Academic Motivation

Children who are poorly motivated at school are at risk of academic underachievement and a range of other adverse social, economic and health outcomes. Attributions of laziness, reflected in comments about children needing to "try harder" and "make more effort" may mask specific cognitive and learning characteristics that explain low motivation in many children. This paper reports preliminary findings from an ongoing study of "lazy" children in the early years of primary school. In order to investigate possible explanations for low academic motivation such as learning difficulties, anxiety disorders, intellectual impairment, attentional problems and giftedness, children were assessed using appropriate psycho-educational instruments, tasks and questionnaires. The discussion focuses on developing a deeper understanding of academic motivation in the early school years through illustrative profiles of poorly motivated children

Antipsychotic medication for people with first episode schizophrenia: an exploratory economic analysis of alternative treatment algorithms

Available clinical evidence suggests that the newer antipsychotics are similar to conventional antipsychotics for positive symptom control. It has been suggested that they may also be superior for negative symptoms and side effects, but the evidence for this is unclear (Duggan et al, 1999, Kennedy et al, 1999, Srisurapanont et al, 1999, Thornley et al, 1999, Tuunainen and Gilbody, 1999, Wahlbeck et al, 1999). These differences if they exist, may lead to improvements in quality of life and patient satisfaction and subsequent rates of compliance with therapy. If the latter occurs, there may also be improvements in the overall level of symptom control and rate of relapse. Economic evaluations of risperidone suggest that these differences could lead to savings in the use of hospital inpatient care compared to conventional antipsychotics (Guest et al, 1996, Glennie, 1997). The available economic evidence suggests that the use of clozapine has the potential to improve the efficient use of health and social service resources in some patients (Revicki et al, 1990, Davies & Drummond, 1993, Meltzer et al, 1993, Aitchison & Kerwin, 1997, Glennie, 1997, Rosenheck et al, 1997). All of these studies indicate that overall, clozapine is associated with lower rates of hospital inpatient admissions and lower duration of inpatient stay. These are due to earlier discharge from the index inpatient admission and lower rates of relapse. These differences in the use of inpatient care are sufficient to offset the additional costs of purchasing clozapine. However, the designs of all the economic studies raise several issues of concern, such as control for biases, sources of data and methods of data collection, measurement of outcomes, the type and dose regimes of comparator drugs. In addition, the clinical and economic data for these evaluations were collected for a patient population with a long duration of illness and/or who are treatment resistant or intolerant of typical antipsychotic therapy. It is not clear that these are applicable to people with early schizophrenia or those who have not had problems with previous antipsychotics. Patients currently categorised as treatment resistant or treatment intolerant are likely to have a long history of schizophrenia. This is partly due to historical factors, such as the limited number of antipsychotics available, concerns about the safety of clozapine and the restricted use of expensive atypical antipsychotics. These factors may be associated with a relatively poor quality of life and more intensive use of health care services in patients with a longer duration of illness. Any improvements in clinical outcome as a result of a change in antipsychotic may also result in relatively important changes in health status and intensity of ealth service utilisation, compared to those with a recent diagnosis of schizophrenia. In addition, there is some limited evidence that the use of services following entry to a clinical trial is related to the level of resource use prior to entry (Rosenheck et al, 1999). Furthermore, there is a trend to reduce reliance on inpatient or institutional care for people with acute or chronic mental illness. The total number of commissioned hospital bed days for people with mental illness decreased from 14 million to 11.5 million between 1992-3 and 1997-8 and the number of ward attendees fell from 124000 to 93000 (Department of Health, 1998a). Over the same period the number of daily available hospital beds for people with mental illness declined from 47000 to 37000, while the number of outpatient attendances rose from 1.8 million to 2.1 million (HPSS, 1998). Creed et al (1997) suggest that approximately 40% of people with acute episodes of mental illness (including schizophrenia) can be treated by attending psychiatric day hospitals rather then with hospital inpatient admissions. These factors may over estimate the likely value for money of the atypical antipsychotics, in cohorts of people with first episode schizophrenia in the current UK mental health service (Rosenheck et al, 1999). Given the constraints on health and social care budgets, purchasers and providers need to ensure that resources are used efficiently. A variety of guidelines and treatment protocols have been published, or developed for use at a local level to support decisions about the choice of antipsychotic for people with a first episode of schizophrenia. In addition, there are wide variations in the availability and use of the atypical antipsychotics in the UK. Current published literature is not sufficient to address all the economic issues of concern and there is a need for evaluation of the relative efficiency of clozapine and the new antipsychotics. The NHS R&D HTA has funded primary research to assess the relative costs and utility of typical and atypical antipsychotics for people who are resistant to or intolerant of at least two antipsychotics. However, the results of the research will not be available for at least 3 years. In addition, it is also important to assess the value of the new drugs in the context of alternative prescribing guidelines, and for people with a first episode of schizophrenia. This paper presents the results of secondary research to explore the potential economic impact of atypical antipsychotics for people in the context of current clinical guidelines.schizophrenia, QALYs

Themes of drawing and digital context: student engagement with theory and practice using the tool of the integrated learning portfolio

This article presents a reflective visual narrative documenting the learning encounters of BA (Hons) Surface Design undergraduates using the Integrated Learning Portfolio (ILP) tool in Year one. Theoretical themes of drawing, digital drawing design practice, and visual design research experientially blended the physical and the virtual learning tools, environments and collaborative culture through this integrated first year route. Parallel theory and practice on specific themes such as ‘drawing lines within the urban landscape’, ‘creating shadow silhouettes’, ‘using the body as a tool for drawing’, and ‘cultivating fortuitous accidents in drawing practice’, created a conceptual space for students to evaluate the future relevance of these drawing experiences within the context of their design programme

The earth image of Thomas Hardy

In the world of Thomas Hardy the individual who finds himself caring greatly for life is the same individual who must suffer the delusion of having his pilgrimage fail. In the conclusion of the short poem “For Life I Had Never Cared Greatly” the poet-novelist implies that, in spite of his better judgment in knowing that he is destined for misfortune, he cannot help becoming involved in living. Even though men are usually doomed to suffering, it is the ignoble life that does not make the effort to live; it is the heroic life that attempts in vain a worthwhile ambition

Causes of postnatal depression : perceptions of recovered women

Bibliography : leaves 122-145.Investigations into the causes of postnatal depression are, with few exceptions, quantitative in nature. Although there are psychological, interpersonal and sociocultural perspectives on postnatal depression, the medical one dominates in terms of academic, professional and lay understandings of aetiology. The medical model has produced a plethora of investigations into the causes of postnatal depression but has paid little attention to the insights of women who have experienced the condition. This study sought to redress this by exploring the causes of post-natal depression from a women-centred perspective. A feminist approach to postnatal depression was adopted. This approach has evolved largely as a critique of the medical model and is grounded in a more qualitative tradition. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with twenty women who had recovered from postnatal depression. Transcribed data from the interviews were thematically analysed to uncover the participants' attributed causes for their post-natal depression. A number of common themes emerged and could be broadly grouped under ""interpersonal factors"" (such as the impact of the woman's relationship with her own mother); ""psychological factors"" (such as the impact of unresolved issues and feelings of loss on the new mother) and ""biological factors"" (such as hormonal factors). The dominant theme that emerged from this study was that of ""motherhood"". Included under this heading were all those factors specifically associated with being a mother that were regarded by the women as being the cause of their postnatal depression (such as the experience of childbirth, breastfeeding and lack of sleep). At the core of this theme lay the realisation that motherhood was not what they had expected it to be. Their disappointment in not meeting their own expectations of motherhood contributed significantly to their postnatal depression. An interesting finding was that while many of the respondents located feelings of failure to live up to the ""ideal image"" of motherhood as a cause of their depression, few questioned the validity of the social construction of this ideal. This paper also examined the extent to which women's aetiological explanations resonate with existing models of post-natal depression. Their explanations were found to reflect some of the existing aetiological models of postnatal depression but no single model of explanation could be identified as the cause of their postnatal depression. Rather, women's attributions of cause were multi-layered and complex. They all attributed their depression following childbirth to a number of factors and they differed markedly from one another in their attributions. According to this research, postnatal depression results from a myriad of inter-related factors which interact with one another in different ways to produce a largely different picture for each and every woman. The limitations and contributions of this study are discussed

The Collapse of International Trade During the 2008-2009 Crisis: In Search of the Smoking Gun

One of the most striking aspects of the recent recession is the collapse in international trade. This paper uses disaggregated quarterly and monthly data on U.S. imports and exports to shed light on the anatomy of this collapse. We find that the recent reduction in trade relative to overall economic activity is far larger than in previous downturns. Information on quantities and prices of both domestic absorption and imports reveals a more than 50% shortfall in imports, relative to what would be predicted by a simple import demand relationship. In a sample of imports and exports disaggregated at the 6-digit NAICS level, we find that sectors used as intermediate inputs experienced significantly higher percentage reductions in both imports and exports. We also find support for compositional effects: sectors with larger reductions in domestic output had larger drops in trade. By contrast, we find no support for the hypothesis that trade credit played a role in the recent trade collapse.2008-2009 Crisis, International Trade

A Descriptive Study: The Views Of Touch As Related To Childrearing Practices Correlated With Certain Demographic Factors

This descriptive study was designed to correlate the views of touch as related to childrearing practices with certain demographic factors. The researcher hypothesized that there would be no significant difference when parent­ ing skills and abusive behavior were correlated with identified demographic variables based on the scores of the researcher-designed questionnaire. A researcher-designed survey was administered to 10 mothers who were participating in a Parents Anonymous group. Nine of the subjects had abused their child/children, while one subject stated she felt she could abuse. All subjects were natural mothers who had received prenatal care while pregnant. Seven subjects had experienced unplanned pregnancies. All stated they had a special child/children, either stubborn, spoiled, premature, or subject to illness. To test each of the null hypotheses regarding parenting skills and abusive behavior as related to age, income, race, education, employment, and marital status, the Pearson’s R and the Biserial Correlation were used. Age was the only demographic variable found to be significant at the .05 level. Because this variable was significant, the theoretical hypothesis was rejected

Through a glass darkly : the literary reputation of Henry James

In the course of any artist\u27s career there usually are changes in the attitudes towards him. If he is developing, the changes should be a fact, especially if the times are changing also. If the artist does not show any differences during his career, there is little point in his creating the first product