Animistic pragmatism and native ways of knowing: adaptive strategies for overcoming the struggle for food in the sub-Arctic

Background. Subsistence norms are part of the “ecosophy” or ecological philosophy of Alaska Native Peoples in the sub-Arctic, such as the Inupiat of Seward Peninsula. This kind of animistic pragmatism is a special source of practical wisdom that spans over thousands of years and which has been instrumental in the Iñupiat’s struggle to survive and thrive in harsh and evolving environments. Objective. I hope to show how narrative in relationship to the “ecosophy” of Alaska Native peoples can help to promote a more ecological orientation to address food insecurity in rural communities in Alaska. Alaska Native ecosophy recommends central values and virtues necessary to help address concerns in Alaska’s rural communities. Design. Here, I will tease out the nature of this “ecosophy” in terms of animistic pragmatism and then show why this form of pragmatism can be instrumental for problematizing multi-scalar, intergenerational, uncertain and complex environmental challenges like food security. Results. Native elders have been the embodiment of trans-generational distributed cognition,1 for example, collective memory, norms, information, knowledge, technical skills and experimental adaptive strategies. They are human “supercomputers,” historical epistemologists and moral philosophers of a sort who use narrative, a form of moral testimony, to help their communities face challenges and seize opportunities in the wake of an ever-changing landscape. Conclusions. The “ecosophy” of the Iñupiat of Seward Peninsula offers examples of “focal practices”, which are essential for environmental education. These focal practices instil key virtues, namely humility, gratitude, self-reliance, attentiveness, responsibility and responsiveness, that are necessary for subsistence living

The impact on sleep of a multidisciplinary cognitive behavioural pain management programme: a pilot study

Background: Reduced sleep quality is a common complaint among patients with chronic pain, with 50-80% of patients reporting sleep disturbance. Improvements in pain and quality of life measures have been achieved using a multidisciplinary cognitive behavioural therapy pain management programme (CBT-PMP) that aims to recondition attitudes to pain, and improve patients' self-management of their condition. Despite its high prevalence in patients with chronic pain, there is very limited objective evidence for the effect of this intervention on sleep quality. The primary research objective is to investigate the short-term effect of a multidisciplinary CBTPMP on subjective (measured by Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index) and objective sleep quality (measured by Actigraphy) in patients with chronic pain by comparison with a control group. The secondary objectives will investigate changes in function and mood, and then explore the relationship between objective and subjective sleep quality and physical and psychological outcome measures. Methods/Design: Patients who fulfil the inclusion criteria for attendance on the multidisciplinary CBT-PMP in the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin and are currently listed on the PMP waiting list will be invited to participate in this pilot study. Potential patients will be screened for sleep disturbance [determined by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)]. Those patients with a sleep disturbance (PSQI >5) will be assigned to either the intervention group (immediate treatment), or control group (deferred treatment, i.e. the PMP they are listed for is more than six months away) based on where they appear on the waiting list. Baseline measures of sleep, function, and mood will be obtained using a combination of self-report questionnaires (the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Short Form 36 health survey, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia), and functional outcome measures. Sleep will be measured for seven days using actigraphy (Actiwatch 7). These measures will be repeated after the four week multidisciplinary cognitive behavioural therapy pain management programme, and at a two month follow-up. The waiting list control group will be assessed at baseline, and two months later. Analysis for the primary outcome will include between group differences of subjective and objective sleep parameters from baseline to follow-up using Independent T-tests or Mann-Whitney U tests. The secondary outcomes establishing relationships between the sleep variables and physical and psychological outcome measures will be established using multiple linear regression models. Discussion: This pilot study will evaluate the impact of a multidisciplinary CBT-PMP on both subjective and objective measures of sleep in patients with chronic pain and provide guidance for a larger clinical trial. Trial Registration: Current controlled trial ISRCTN: ISRCTN7491359

Application of ecological momentary assessment in stress-related diseases

Many physical diseases have been reported to be associated with psychosocial factors. In these diseases, assessment relies mainly on subjective symptoms in natural settings. Therefore, it is important to assess symptoms and/or relationships between psychosocial factors and symptoms in natural settings. Symptoms are usually assessed by self-report when patients visit their doctors. However, self-report by recall has an intrinsic problem; "recall bias". Recently, ecological momentary assessment (EMA) has been proposed as a reliable method to assess and record events and subjective symptoms as well as physiological and behavioral variables in natural settings. Although EMA is a useful method to assess stress-related diseases, it has not been fully acknowledged, especially by clinicians. Therefore, the present brief review introduces the application and future direction of EMA for the assessment and intervention for stress-related diseases

Altered sensory-weighting mechanisms is observed in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis

BACKGROUND: Scoliosis is the most common type of spinal deformity. In North American children, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) makes up about 90% of all cases of scoliosis. While its prevalence is about 2% to 3% in children aged between 10 to 16 years, girls are more at risk than boys for severe progression with a ratio of 3.6 to 1. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that idiopathic scoliosis interferes with the mechanisms responsible for sensory-reweighting during balance control. METHODS: Eight scoliosis patients (seven female and one male; mean age: 16.4 years) and nine healthy adolescents (average age 16.5 years) participated in the experiment. Visual and ankle proprioceptive information was perturbed (eyes closed and/or tendon vibration) suddenly and then returned to normal (eyes open and/or no tendon vibration). An AMTI force platform was used to compute centre of pressure root mean squared velocity and sway density curve. RESULTS: For the control condition (eyes open and no tendon vibration), adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients had a greater centre of pressure root mean squared velocity (variability) than control participants. Reintegration of ankle proprioception, when vision was either available or removed, led to an increased centre of pressure velocity variability for the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients whereas the control participants reduced their centre of pressure velocity variability. Moreover, in the absence of vision, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis exhibited an increased centre of pressure velocity variability when ankle proprioception was returned to normal (i.e. tendon vibration stopped). The analysis of the sway density plot suggests that adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients, during sensory reintegration, do not scale appropriately their balance control commands. CONCLUSION: Altogether, the present results demonstrate that idiopathic scoliosis adolescents have difficulty in reweighting sensory inputs following a brief period of sensory deprivation

Acacia trees on the cultural landscapes of the Red Sea Hills

This paper examines interactions between five pastoral nomadic culture groups of the Egyptian and Sudanese Red Sea Hills and the acacia trees Acacia tortilis (Forssk.) Hayne subsp. tortilis and subsp. raddiana growing in their arid environments. A. tortilis is described as a keystone species both ecologically and culturally: the trees play such critical roles in ecosystems and social groups that their removal would greatly impact both systems. Interviews in the field with the Semitic, Arabic-speaking Ma‘aza and Ababda, and the Cushitic, Beja, Bidhaawyeet-speaking Bishaari, Amar Ar and Hadandawa nomads probed the cultural and ecological contexts of acacias in pastoral nomadism, revealing deep insight into traditional ecological knowledge and traditional perceptions and uses of the trees. The paper describes how this knowledge guides pastoral decision-making, with acacias as a particularly critical component of the pastoral livelihood in both normal and stressful circumstances. A. tortilis is the most important reliable vegetation resource for nomads while also providing fuel and other useful products, ecosystem services for people and animals, and increased biodiversity by providing diverse microhabitats and resources for other species. We describe aspects of kinship, territorial organization, spiritual beliefs and tribal law underlying the significance of trees on the cultural landscape. We discuss environmental and economic challenges to human/tree relationships and to pastoral livelihoods. We challenge views of nomads as agents of ecological destruction, and propose maintenance and restoration of traditional pastoralism as viable alternatives in dryland development