Editorial Introduction: John d Brewer and Jennifer Platt

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La spécificité du Québec et du Canadadans les méthodologies en sociologie

Ce texte traite de la spécificité des méthodes de recherche canadiennes par une observation d’abord du schéma général des méthodes utilisées dans les articles empiriques publiés dans les revues canadiennes majeures depuis les années 1960, puis de la transformation de ces méthodes et de leur différence quant aux productions canadiennes-françaises et canadiennes-anglaises. Des enjeux quant à l’influence américaine soulevés par le débat antérieur sur la canadianisation sont également abordés. Il a pu être établi que les différences de genre, qui traversent ces divisions « nationales », ont été les plus marquantes. L’effet net est que le schéma général canadien partage des similarités avec ce qui a pu être observé pour d’autres pays, malgré qu’à un niveau plus détaillé, existent des effets spécifiquement canadiens ou québécois. Les raisons de ces similarités et différences sont abordées.This paper addresses the question of the distinctiveness of Canadian research methods by looking first at the broad pattern of methods used in empirical articles published in leading Canadian journals from the 1960s, how these have changed over time, and how they have differed between francophone and anglophone Canada. Issues of US influence raised by the earlier Canadianisation debate are also addressed. It is found that for the more recent period gender differences which cut across these ‘national’ divisions have been the more salient. The net effect is that the total Canadian pattern has something in common with that recorded for other countries, although at a more detailed level there are specifically Canadian or québécois effects. Reasons for the similarities and differences are discussed.Este texto trata de la especificidad de los métodos de investigación canadienses por una observación en primer lugar del esquema general de los métodos utilizados en los artículos empíricos publicados en las principales revistas canadienses desde los años 1960, luego la transformación de estos métodos y su diferencia en cuanto a las producciones canadiense- francesas y canadiense-inglesas. Se abordan también algunas problemáticas en cuanto a la influencia americana provocada por el debate anterior sobre la influencia canadiense. Se pudo establecer que las diferencias de género, que cruzan estas divisiones «nacionales», fueron las más destacadas. El efecto neto es que el esquema general canadiense comparte semejanzas con lo que pudo observarse para otros países, aunque a un nivel más detallado, existan efectos específicamente canadienses o de Quebec. Se abordan las razones de estas semejanzas y diferencias

Age-related gait standards for healthy children and young people: the GOS-ICH paediatric gait centiles

Objective To develop paediatric gait standards in healthy children and young people. Methods This observational study builds on earlier work to address the lack of population standards for gait measurements in children. Analysing gait in children affected by neurological or musculoskeletal conditions is an important component of paediatric assessment but is often confounded by developmental changes. The standards presented here do not require clinician expertise to interpret and offer an alternative to developmental tables of normalised gait data. Healthy children aged 1-19 years were recruited from community settings in London and Hertfordshire, U.K. The GAITRite ® walkway was used to record measurements for each child for velocity, cadence, step length, base of support, and stance, single and double support (as percentage of gait cycle). We fitted generalized linear additive models for location, scale and shape (gamlss). Results We constructed percentile charts for seven gait variables measured on 624 (321 males) contemporary healthy children using gamlss package in R. A clinical application of gait standards was explored. Conclusion Age-related, gender-specific standards for seven gait variables were developed and are presented here. They have a familiar format and can be used clinically to aid diagnoses, and to monitor change over time for both medical therapy and natural history of the condition. The clinical example demonstrates the potential of the GOS-ICH Paediatric Gait Centiles (GOS-ICH PGC) to enable meaningful interpretation of change in an individual’s performance, and describes characteristic features of gait from a specific population throughout childhood.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Institutionalizing Sanitation: A Mixed Methods Assessment of the Health Ministry's Role in Developing Countries

Forty percent of the world's population (2.5 billion)lives without adequate sanitation, such as a latrine at home (WHO, 2012). Because of poor sanitation, each year millions of people die and millions more get sick. Although sanitation is a public health fundamental, little research has been published regarding the public health role of the health ministry in developing countries in supporting sanitation. Furthermore, little research exists regarding how the health ministry influences sanitation use in developing countries. This mixed methods dissertation includes a qualitative comparison of three developing countries and a quantitative analysis of 83 developing countries. The qualitative multi-case comparison of Malawi, Nepal, and Sri Lanka uses a health sector functions framework to compare the level of primary health care (selective, transitional, and comprehensive) to the inclusion of sanitation within the health sector functions. The research found that sanitation was often excluded from the health sector functions in the selective and transitional primary health care (PHC) countries (Nepal and Malawi, respectively). These countries also focused minimal attention on public or environmental health programs. The quantitative analysis shows that although countries with transitional and comprehensive PHC were more likely to have higher sanitation use, progress in sanitation use between 1990 and 2008 was similar across the PHC groups. This research advances knowledge by: 1) using the health sector functions framework to evaluate health ministry engagement in sanitation, and 2) examining the relationship between health ministry engagement in sanitation (through PHC level) and increased sanitation use. The literature review and qualitative analysis provide initial evidence that incorporating sanitation into the health sector functions may institutionalize sanitation within the health ministry, which could increase a country's resilience to natural disasters, prevent outbreaks, and provide support for needed health gains. However, the scope of the qualitative research is limited to the health ministry's role in institutionalizing sanitation within the health ministry's policies and programs. This research does not consider the efforts of other ministries to institutionalize sanitation. The results show the need for more research regarding systematic efforts to address sanitation, within both health and other ministries in developing countries.Doctor of Public Healt

The state-of-the art in gelotophobia research: A review and some theoretical extensions

Research on gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) has come a long way since the first empirical studies published in 2008. Based on a review of the findings on gelotophobia, its structure, causes and consequences, updates to the model are introduced emphasizing the context of the fear and its dynamic nature. More precisely, external and internal factors are seen to moderate the effects of initial events on gelotophobia, and a spiral nature in the development of the fear is assumed. It is highlighted that gelotophobia needs to be studied in the context of related variables (such as timidity, shame-proneness and social anxiety), and research should focus on the time span in which this fear is most prevalent. The relevance of gelotophobia for humor theory, research and practice is highlighted and new areas of research are introduced. Among the latter the role of gelotophobia at work and in relation to life trajectories is discusse

The state-of-the art in gelotophobia research: A review and some theoretical extensions

Abstract Research on gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) has come a long way since the first empirical studies published in 2008. Based on a review of the findings on gelotophobia, its structure, causes and consequences, updates to the model are introduced emphasizing the context of the fear and its dynamic nature. More precisely, external and internal factors are seen to moderate the effects of initial events on gelotophobia, and a spiral nature in the development of the fear is assumed. It is highlighted that gelotophobia needs to be studied in the context of related variables (such as timidity, shame-proneness and social anxiety), and research should focus on the time span in which this fear is most prevalent. The relevance of gelotophobia for humor theory, research and practice is highlighted and new areas of research are introduced. Among the latter the role of gelotophobia at work and in relation to life trajectories is discussed

An Evaluation of State Compliance With the Agricultural Management Measures of the Coastal Nonpoint Pollution control Program

Section 6217 of the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990 requires all states with a federally approved coastal zone management program to develop a Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program by July 1995. The Program must address polluted runoff for several sources and must have state level enforceable policies to ensure implementation of management measures for each source category. The implications for agriculture, traditionally a lesser regulated source category than most, are discussed. Existing statutes, rules, and programs within North Carolina authorities are examined and compared to federal requirements contained in the Guidance Document issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. Where existing authorities may not fulfill the federal requirements, options for filling in the gaps are examined. The Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program is the first federal program to mandate a cross-the-board best management practices. The agricultural community in North Carolina implements sound management practices on a primarily voluntary basis, and has only recently had mandates issued in areas such as animal waste management. Implications for the agricultural sector are discussed, as well as ways to implement the Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program through various economic incentives. Recommendations are made to the Division of Coastal Management and the Division of Environmental Management on steps to be taken during the program development and implementation. The Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program will address nonpoint runoff, but exactly how the implementation will take place is uncertain.Master of Science in Public Healt

The association between negative attention biases and symptoms of depression in a community sample of adolescents

Adolescence is a vulnerable time for the onset of depression. Recent evidence from adult studies suggests not only that negative attention biases are correlated with symptoms of depression, but that reducing negative attention biases through training can in turn reduce symptomology. The role and plasticity of attention biases in adolescent depression, however, remains unclear. This study examines the association between symptoms of depression and attention biases, and whether such biases are modifiable, in a community sample of adolescents. We report data from 105 adolescents aged 13-17 who completed a dot-probe measure of attention bias before and after a single session of visual search-based cognitive bias modification training. This is the first study to find a significant association between negative attention biases and increased symptoms of depression in a community sample of adolescents. Contrary to expectations, we were unable to manipulate attention biases using a previously successful cognitive bias modification task. There were no significant effects of the training on positive affect and only modest effects of the training, identified in post-hoc analyses, were observed on negative affect. Our data replicate those from the adult literature, which suggest that adolescent depression is a disorder associated with negative attention biases, although we were unable to modify attention biases in our study. We identify numerous parameters of our methodology which may explain these null training effects, and which could be addressed in future cognitive bias modification studies of adolescent depression

The association between negative attention biases and symptoms of depression in a community sample of adolescents

Adolescence is a vulnerable time for the onset of depression. Recent evidence from adult studies suggests not only that negative attention biases are correlated with symptoms of depression, but that reducing negative attention biases through training can in turn reduce symptomology. The role and plasticity of attention biases in adolescent depression, however, remains unclear. This study examines the association between symptoms of depression and attention biases, and whether such biases are modifiable, in a community sample of adolescents. We report data from 105 adolescents aged 13-17 who completed a dot-probe measure of attention bias before and after a single session of visual search-based cognitive bias modification training. This is the first study to find a significant association between negative attention biases and increased symptoms of depression in a community sample of adolescents. Contrary to expectations, we were unable to manipulate attention biases using a previously successful cognitive bias modification task. There were no significant effects of the training on positive affect and only modest effects of the training, identified in post-hoc analyses, were observed on negative affect. Our data replicate those from the adult literature, which suggest that adolescent depression is a disorder associated with negative attention biases, although we were unable to modify attention biases in our study. We identify numerous parameters of our methodology which may explain these null training effects, and which could be addressed in future cognitive bias modification studies of adolescent depression