Managing Uncertainty in Young-Onset Parkinson\u27s Disease

Typically considered a disease of old-age, Parkinson’s disease can affect those younger in life, i.e., before the age of 55, when it is referred to as young-onset Parkinson’s disease (YOPD). Using constructionist grounded theory, this research sought to understand how, and why, individuals with YOPD became informed about their disease over time. A total of 39 individuals, who self-identified as living with YOPD, took part in this study which was organized according to four cycles of data collection. These cycles utilized focus groups, in-depth interviews and a private online discussion board, supplemented by 14 autobiographies written by individuals living with YOPD. As the research progressed, it became apparent the process of becoming informed about YOPD was entangled within larger processes of adjusting to, and building resilience to, uncertainty resulting from the disease; this uncertainty was rooted in one’s identity and in one’s ability to function. Resulting from this uncertainty was a perception of having lost control over one’s body and one’s life. The adjustment process described by individuals was categorized according to an initial level of logical adjustment followed by a second level of emotional adjustment that continued throughout one’s experience with the disease. Health information seeking was one of several resilience strategies used by individuals with YOPD to manage the uncertainty they experienced, in an attempt to restore the control they perceived they had lost. Health information was acquired through extant and elicited sources of information, differing primarily in the degree of interaction each afforded. Early after their diagnoses, individuals sought general information related to the disease, primarily from extant sources. Over time, as one adjusted to the disease, the information sought became more specific to the difficulties experienced by each person, and were acquired primarily through elicited sources. Knowledge accumulated from sources over time was filtered through one’s bodily experience with the disease to make the knowledge more personally relevant, while also influencing subsequent information seeking. The results of this research can help health care professionals provide care to those living with YOPD, and can also help in the design of patient education programs

Challenges & Strategies for Conducting Qualitative Research with Persons Diagnosed with Rare Movement Disorders

Unique features of Huntington’s disease and young-onset Parkinson’s disease, both neurodegenerative movement disorders, can pose challenges for conducting qualitative research. From the perspectives of two doctoral candidates conducting research with these groups, a number of challenges are presented and discussed alongside strategies for managing such challenges. Challenges are organized according to physical (e.g., movement), psychological (e.g., cognition) and social (e.g., speech impairment) aspects of these diseases. The strategies presented emphasize the importance of ethical reasoning in situations that can arise, as well as the relationships developed with the research participants. Author transparency and ethical reasoning are both important in conducting quality qualitative research. It is hoped that presenting these challenges and strategies will promote greater dialogue on such issues, and help researchers enable more people with rare movement disorders to participate in qualitative research

The Potential of Web 2.0 in Occupational Therapy Curricula Using Google Sites

For current and future faculty, a central challenge across disciplines has become the issue of ‘significance:’ students want to know why the content they are learning, and the work they are doing, is important (Wesch, 2010). Within occupational therapy (OT) programs, for example, students are often dissatisfied with the curricula’s heavy focus on theory and the lack of intervention knowledge (Hodgetts et al., 2007; Seah, Mackenzie, & Gamble, 2011). A second source of dissatisfaction for students stems from how their ability to acquire evidence-based knowledge, to inform their practice after graduation, is limited by current resources and underdeveloped information literacy opportunities (Morrison & Robertson, 2011; Powell & Case-Smith, 2003; Welch, 2002). As a result, some practicing therapists have started to develop ‘online communities of practice,’ where sharing and discussions about evidence and practice guidelines takes place (White, Basiletti, Carswell, Head, & Lin, 2008). Wesch (2007a) believes that the question of ‘significance’ in curricula has become important for students because the way we are teaching today, in higher education, is often outdated, and out of touch, with the ways that people access knowledge through the internet. It has now become easier than ever to collaborate with others and contribute to knowledge bases via digital technologies (Wesch, 2007b). The increased access that digitization offers to various communities, combined with the ease it brings in creating and collaborating (as well as sharing the knowledge that such technological advances bring) is referred to as Web 2.0. To begin to address the challenges confronting students and faculty, the goal of this workshop is to introduce one way in which digitized, evidence-based knowledge can be further developed in courses by using the design principles of Web 2.0. For the purposes of this workshop, Google Sites, a free web design and hosting service, will be used to illustrate a new way for professors and instructors to look at preparing and presenting their respective courses and projects. As a result of instructors incorporating Web 2.0 into their OT curricula planning and teaching, the content created by students can be used to help contribute to the culture of an “online community of practice.” The resources that students develop, as assignments in their courses, would then be accessible on the Internet. This accessibility would not only help these students in their practice after graduation; it would also help to equalize access to resources that may not otherwise be available in their future workplaces

Below-ground complementarity effects in a grassland biodiversity experiment are related to deep-rooting species

Below-ground resource partitioning is often proposed as the underlying mechanism for the positive relationship between plant species richness and productivity. For example, if species have different root distributions, a mixture of plant species may be able to use the available resources more completely than the individual species in a monoculture. However, there is little experimental evidence for differentiation in vertical root distributions among species and its contribution to biodiversity effects. We determined species-specific root standing biomass over depth using molecular techniques (real-time qPCR) in a large grassland biodiversity experiment (one to eight plant species mixtures), in 2 years. Species-specific root biomass data were used to disentangle the effects of positive interactions between species (complementarity effects) and effects due to dominance of productive species (selection effects) on root biomass in mixtures. In a next step, these biodiversity effects were linked to the diversity of rooting depths and the averaged rooting depth of the community. Root biomass increased with species richness. This was mainly due to positive interactions (the complementarity effect), which increased with species richness below-ground. In contrast, the selection effect decreased with species richness. Although there was considerable variation in vertical root distribution between species in monocultures, the diversity of rooting strategies did not explain the complementarity effect. Rather, the abundance of deep-rooting species in mixtures (i.e. high community-weighted mean) was significantly related to the complementarity effect. Comparing the "predicted" root distribution (based on monocultures) to the actual distribution in mixtures, we found that mixtures rooted deeper than expected, but this did not better explain the complementarity effect. Synthesis. This study demonstrates that vertical root distributions of species provide only subtle evidence for resource partitioning. We found no evidence that functional diversity in vertical rooting patterns was important for the complementarity effect, in contrast to our expectation that the enhancement of productivity was due to resource partitioning. Alternatively, we found significant but weak relationships between the complementarity effect and deep-rooting communities, based on the community-weighted mean root distribution. This suggests that factors other than below-ground resource partitioning alone may drive the biodiversity-productivity relationship.</p

Data from: Belowground complementarity effects in a grassland biodiversity experiment are related to deep-rooting species

1. Belowground resource partitioning is often proposed as the underlying mechanism for the positive relationship between plant species richness and productivity. For example, if species have different root distributions, a mixture of plant species may be able to use the available resources more completely than the individual species in a monoculture. However, there is little experimental evidence for differentiation in vertical root distributions among species and its contribution to biodiversity effects. 2. We determined species-specific root standing biomass over depth using molecular techniques (real time-qPCR) in a large grassland biodiversity experiment (1-8 plant species mixtures), in two years. Species-specific root biomass data were used to disentangle the effects of positive interactions between species (complementarity effects) and effects due to dominance of productive species (selection effects) on root biomass in mixtures. In a next step, these biodiversity effects were linked to the diversity of rooting depths and the averaged rooting depth of the community. 3. Root biomass increased with species richness. This was mainly due to positive interactions (the complementarity effect), which increased with species richness belowground. In contrast, the selection effect decreased with species richness. Although there was considerable variation in vertical root distribution between species in monocultures, the diversity of rooting strategies did not explain the complementarity effect. Rather, the abundance of deep-rooting species in mixtures (i.e. high community weighted mean) was significantly related to the complementarity effect. Comparing the ‘predicted’ root distribution (based on monocultures) to the actual distribution in mixtures, we found that mixtures rooted deeper than expected, but this did not better explain the complementarity effect. 4. Synthesis: This study demonstrates that vertical root distributions of species provide only subtle evidence for resource partitioning. We found no evidence that functional diversity in vertical rooting patterns was important for the complementarity effect, in contrast to our expectation that the enhancement of productivity was due to resource partitioning. Alternatively, we found significant but weak relationships between the complementarity effect and deep-rooting communities, based on the community weighted mean root distribution. This suggests that factors other than belowground resource partitioning alone may drive the biodiversity-productivity relationship

Below-ground complementarity effects in a grassland biodiversity experiment are related to deep-rooting species

Below-ground resource partitioning is often proposed as the underlying mechanism for the positive relationship between plant species richness and productivity. For example, if species have different root distributions, a mixture of plant species may be able to use the available resources more completely than the individual species in a monoculture. However, there is little experimental evidence for differentiation in vertical root distributions among species and its contribution to biodiversity effects. We determined species-specific root standing biomass over depth using molecular techniques (real-time qPCR) in a large grassland biodiversity experiment (one to eight plant species mixtures), in 2 years. Species-specific root biomass data were used to disentangle the effects of positive interactions between species (complementarity effects) and effects due to dominance of productive species (selection effects) on root biomass in mixtures. In a next step, these biodiversity effects were linked to the diversity of rooting depths and the averaged rooting depth of the community. Root biomass increased with species richness. This was mainly due to positive interactions (the complementarity effect), which increased with species richness below-ground. In contrast, the selection effect decreased with species richness. Although there was considerable variation in vertical root distribution between species in monocultures, the diversity of rooting strategies did not explain the complementarity effect. Rather, the abundance of deep-rooting species in mixtures (i.e. high community-weighted mean) was significantly related to the complementarity effect. Comparing the "predicted" root distribution (based on monocultures) to the actual distribution in mixtures, we found that mixtures rooted deeper than expected, but this did not better explain the complementarity effect. Synthesis. This study demonstrates that vertical root distributions of species provide only subtle evidence for resource partitioning. We found no evidence that functional diversity in vertical rooting patterns was important for the complementarity effect, in contrast to our expectation that the enhancement of productivity was due to resource partitioning. Alternatively, we found significant but weak relationships between the complementarity effect and deep-rooting communities, based on the community-weighted mean root distribution. This suggests that factors other than below-ground resource partitioning alone may drive the biodiversity-productivity relationship.</p