Supervised Versus Independent Student Laboratories

The purpose of this study was to determine if classroom laboratory time could be reduced in a basic physical agents course. Fifty-seven junior physical therapy students were randomly assigned to three laboratory sections. All students received identical lectures, demonstrations, course materials, and laboratory manuals. The control group, Section 1, received supervision and assistance during laboratory practice. Students in Section 2 and Section 3 worked independent of instructor supervision but could receive assistance from the instructor in an adjacent room. Students in Section 2 were provided with feedback following periodic assessment by the instructor. Attitudinal questionnaire responses indicated that the students preferred the supervised laboratory section. The presence of the instructor during classroom laboratory practice of basic physical agents did not affect student performance. Comparison of written and practical examination results indicated no significant differences in student performance. Classroom laboratory time for faculty and students was reduced when students worked independently

Three-dimensional foot shape analysis in children : a pilot analysis using three-dimensional shape descriptors

Existing clinical measures to describe foot morphology are limited in that they are commonly two-dimensional, low in resolution and accuracy, and do not accurately represent the multi-planar and complex changes during development across childhood. Using three-dimensional (3D) scanner technology provides the opportunity to understand more about morphological changes throughout childhood with higher resolution and potentially more relevant 3D shape measures. This is important to advance the prevailing arguments about the typical development of children's feet and inform the development of appropriate clinical measures. 3D shape descriptors derived from 3D scanning can be used to quantify changes in shape at each point of the 3D surface. The aim of this study was to determine whether 3D shape descriptors derived from 3D scanning data can identify differences in foot morphology between children of different ages. Fifteen children were recruited from three age groups (2, 5, and 7 years of age). Both feet were scanned in bipedal stance, using the Artec Eva (Artec Group, Luxembourg, Luxembourg) hand-held scanner. Three dimensional shape descriptors were extracted from the 3D scans of the right foot, to create histograms for each age group and heat maps of representative participants for comparison. There were changes to the dorsal, medial and lateral surfaces of the feet with age. The surfaces became less round along with an increase in indented areas. This is supported by the heat maps which demonstrated that the surfaces of the anatomical landmarks (e.g. the malleoli and navicular tuberosity) became more rounded and protruding, with indented surfaces appearing around these landmarks. On the plantar surface, the concavity of the midfoot was evident and this concavity extended into the midfoot from the medial aspect as age increased. The findings of this study indicated that with increasing age the foot becomes thinner in 3D, with bony architecture emerging, and the medial longitudinal arch (MLA) increases in area and concavity. Three-dimensional shape descriptors have shown good potential for locating and quantifying changes in foot structure across childhood. Three-dimensional shape descriptor data will be beneficial for understanding more about foot development and quantifying changes over time

Beyond nostalgia? Class identity, memory and the Soviet past in Russia and the ‘near abroad’

This paper explores the role of memory in the emergence of a new working class identity in the post-soviet space. Intellectuals have looked at popular nostalgia for socialism with disdain: the legacy of ‘totalitarian mentality’ preventing democratic citizenship and reproducing passive dependency from the state. On the basis of findings from case study research, this paper argues that workers have developed memories of the soviet past which are distinct from official discourse. These have become a yardstick for critically engaging with the new social reality of ‘market democracy’ as well as an important tool to legitimize mobilization in the workplace. Beyond the simplistic ‘before it was better’ argument there is more understanding of the social constraints of both Stalinism and the new capitalist order than the unsuspecting liberal intellectual would admit

Post-Soviet management and critical agency theory.

This paper intends to explore issues of trust and control, as they emerged from the labour process debate, in the context of management restructuring in Transformation Economies. On the basis of ethnographic research in post-soviet manufacturing industry, the paper will present problems faced by managers and owners in carrying out restructuring, unveil the contradictions that constrain their relationship and identify the nature of the social transformation at work in the process. The paper will contend that critical agency theory (Armstrong 1984, 1989, 199) is the best suited tool in problematising the ownership-management relationship in this context. The post-soviet context in turn, with capitalist transition still in its early stages, represents an ideal field for operationalising this approach. The peculiarity of the soviet economic system rests in the limited control by the elites over the production process, which, in turn, translates into a conflictual and mistrustful relationship within management. The emergence of outside ownership in privatised enterprises introduces a new dimension to this contradiction. This calls for problematising managerial issues of control and decision-making, keeping in sight the way in which managerial work occurs in the circuit of capital

The convergent validity of two sensory processing scales used with school - age children : comparing the sensory profile and the sensory processing measure

Abstract: Aim: To investigate the convergent validity between the Sensory Profile, the Sensory Profile School Companion, and the Home and Main Classroom Forms of the Sensory Processing Measure. Method: Thirty mothers completed the Sensory Profile and the Sensory Processing Measure - Home Form on one child each. Nineteen teachers of the same children completed the Sensory Profile School Companion and the Sensory Processing Measure - Main Classroom Form. Results: The Sensory Profile and the Sensory Processing Measure - Home Form were significantly correlated (rho=0.86, p less-than .01). The Sensory Profile School Companion and Sensory Processing Measure - Main Classroom Form were also significantly correlated (rho=.74, p less-than .01). Conclusion: The two sets of sensory processing scales had moderate levels of convergent validity.<br /