Community participation for individuals with spinal cord injury living in Queensland, Australia

Study design: Sequential mixed method design. Objectives: Determine factors associated with community participation for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Setting: Queensland, Australia. Methods: Phase I consisted of a quantitative telephone survey of 270 people who had sustained a SCI within the past 50 years. To verify and interpret survey findings, Phase II involved a qualitative investigation. One focus group, one dyadic and one in-depth interview were conducted with a separate sample of eight people who had sustained a SCI within the past 50 years. Results: In Phase I, employment, paid or unpaid, was the strongest independent factor associated with community participation, whereas time since injury, completeness of injury, secondary conditions and functional independence were also independently associated. In Phase II, participants expressed that survey findings were consistent with their lived experiences. They explained that overall, they needed a strong reason to participate so that benefits outweigh the effort required to participate. Once out in the community, they recognised that other opportunities for participation arise. Conclusion: Rehabilitation services need to support individuals with SCI to find meaningful employment and to engage in activities that provide them with a strong reason to participate.No Full Tex

Warming effects and plant trait control on the early-decomposition in alpine snowbeds

Background and aims In cold biomes, litter decomposition, which controls the nutrient availability for plants and the ecosystem carbon budget, is strongly influenced by climatic conditions. In this study, focused on the early litter decay within snowbed habitats, the magnitude of the short- and long-term influences of climate warming, the direction of the effects of warmer temperature and advanced snowmelt, and the control of microclimatic features and plant traits were compared. Methods Combining experimental warming and spacefor- time substitution, mass loss and nutrient release of different plant functional types were estimated in different climatic treatments with the litter bag method. Results Plant functional types produced a larger variation in the early-decomposition compared to that produced by climatic treatments. Litter decay was not affected by warmer summer temperatures and reduced by advanced snowmelt. Structural-related plant traits exerted the major control over litter decomposition. Conclusions Long-term effects of climate warming, resulting from shifts in litter quality due to changes in the abundance of plant functional types, will likely have a stronger impact on plant litter decomposition than shortterm variations in microclimatic features. This weaker response of litter decay to short-term climate changes may be partially due to the opposite influences of higher summer temperatures and advanced snowmelt time