A sociological analysis of who volunteers are, and why they volunteer in sport and non-sport organisations

The aim of this study was to explore, from a figurational perspective, 1) the similarities and differences between individuals who volunteer in a sporting environment and those that volunteer in other volunteering environments, and 2) the shared and distinct issues that might exist within each area of the voluntary sector. There is a reasonable amount of literature on volunteering generally, including some from a sociological perspective; however, there is much less available concerning volunteering in a sporting context. Furthermore, voluntary Sports Organisations are a substantial provider of services and opportunities for participation and central government include goals of increasing sport participation through them (Game Plan, 2002). The study was based in the county of Flintshire in North Wales. Using a combination of research approaches both questionnaires and interviews were used. The questionnaires aimed to produce demographic information about both sports and non-sports volunteers. For the most part, both groups of volunteers were above the age of 45 and well educated. Sports volunteers were more likely to be employed in full time roles. Non-sports volunteers were more likely to be female, where as sports volunteers were more likely to be male. Individuals from both groups were likely to undertake more than one role for their organisation. The purpose of conducting interviews was to provide a more in depth analysis of the views and perceptions of volunteers themselves, that is, what it is that they do and think about volunteering. For non-sports volunteers, their primary motivation was helping others, although when explored more closely, this was also aligned to the satisfaction gained from helping others often coupled with a number of other internal functions, such as, the socialising aspects and gaining a sense of purpose. For sports volunteers their motivation was very much aligned with their love of sport itself. This study found that for the sports volunteers interviewed, their voluntary activity was a way of them engaging with their sports. For some it was a necessary function in order to keep the club they played for going, for others it was a way of maintaining their connection with the sport. Non-sports volunteers made a proactive choice to volunteer where as, for the most part sports volunteers gradually became involved in the running of the organisation as a consequence of their membership. Both groups considered frustrations with their voluntary activity, for the most part non-sports volunteers discuss fund raising and bureaucracy. Sports volunteers frustrations were around a lack of commitment from others and difficulty in recruiting new members as well as funding. I have argued that it is the networks of figurations in which individuals are involved that influences behaviour. These networks have both constraining and enabling elements that either support or limit volunteering behaviour. Further, these networks influence the types of activity one in which one engages. The conclusions from this study have implications for both the methodology and future research questions. What is clear is that there is much more research to be undertaken reflecting on volunteering in sport and from a sociological perspective

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for stroke recovery.

BACKGROUND: Stroke is the major cause of adult disability. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been used for many years to manage depression. Recently, small trials have demonstrated that SSRIs might improve recovery after stroke, even in people who are not depressed. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are the least biased way to bring together data from several trials. Given the promising effect of SSRIs on stroke recovery seen in small trials, a systematic review and meta-analysis is needed. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether SSRIs improve recovery after stroke, and whether treatment with SSRIs was associated with adverse effects. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (August 2011), Cochrane Depression Anxiety and Neurosis Group Trials Register (November 2011), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2011, Issue 8), MEDLINE (from 1948 to August 2011), EMBASE (from 1980 to August 2011), CINAHL (from 1982 to August 2011), AMED (Allied and Complementary Medicine) (from 1985 to August 2011), PsycINFO (from 1967 to August 2011) and PsycBITE (Pyschological Database for Brain Impairment Treatment Efficacy) (March 2012). To identify further published, unpublished and ongoing trials we searched trials registers, pharmaceutical websites, reference lists, contacted experts and performed citation tracking of included studies. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomised controlled trials that recruited stroke survivors (ischaemic or haemorrhagic) at any time within the first year. The intervention was any SSRI, given at any dose, for any period. We excluded drugs with mixed pharmacological effects. The comparator was usual care or placebo. In order to be included, trials had to collect data on at least one of our primary (dependence and disability) or secondary (impairments, depression, anxiety, quality of life, fatigue, healthcare cost, death, adverse events and leaving the trial early) outcomes. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We extracted data on demographics, type of stroke, time since stroke, our primary and secondary outcomes, and sources of bias. For trials in English, two review authors independently extracted data. For Chinese papers, one review author extracted data. We used standardised mean differences (SMD) to estimate treatment effects for continuous variables, and risk ratios (RR) for dichotomous effects, with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). MAIN RESULTS: We identified 56 completed trials of SSRI versus control, of which 52 trials (4059 participants) provided data for meta-analysis. There were statistically significant benefits of SSRI on both of the primary outcomes: RR for reducing dependency at the end of treatment was 0.81 (95% CI 0.68 to 0.97) based on one trial, and for disability score, the SMD was 0.91 (95% CI 0.60 to 1.22) (22 trials involving 1343 participants) with high heterogeneity between trials (I(2) = 87%; P < 0.0001). For neurological deficit, depression and anxiety, there were statistically significant benefits of SSRIs. For neurological deficit score, the SMD was -1.00 (95% CI -1.26 to -0.75) (29 trials involving 2011 participants) with high heterogeneity between trials (I(2) = 86%; P < 0.00001). For dichotomous depression scores, the RR was 0.43 (95% CI 0.24 to 0.77) (eight trials involving 771 participants) with high heterogeneity between trials (I(2) = 77%; P < 0.0001). For continuous depression scores, the SMD was -1.91 (95% CI -2.34 to -1.48) (39 trials involving 2728 participants) with high heterogeneity between trials (I(2) = 95%; P < 0.00001). For anxiety, the SMD was -0.77 (95% CI -1.52 to -0.02) (eight trials involving 413 participants) with high heterogeneity between trials (I(2) = 92%; P < 0.00001). There was no statistically significant benefit of SSRI on cognition, death, motor deficits and leaving the trial early. For cognition, the SMD was 0.32 (95% CI -0.23 to 0.86), (seven trials involving 425 participants) with high heterogeneity between trials (I(2) = 86%; P < 0.00001). The RR for death was 0.76 (95% CI 0.34 to 1.70) (46 trials involving 3344 participants) with no heterogeneity between trials (I(2) = 0%; P = 0.85). For motor deficits, the SMD was -0.33 (95% CI -1.22 to 0.56) (two trials involving 145 participants). The RR for leaving the trial early was 1.02 (95% CI 0.86 to 1.21) in favour of control, with no heterogeneity between trials. There was a non-significant excess of seizures (RR 2.67; 95% CI 0.61 to 11.63) (seven trials involving 444 participants), a non-significant excess of gastrointestinal side effects (RR 1.90; 95% CI 0.94 to 3.85) (14 trials involving 902 participants) and a non-significant excess of bleeding (RR 1.63; 95% CI 0.20 to 13.05) (two trials involving 249 participants) in those allocated SSRIs. Data were not available on quality of life, fatigue or healthcare costs.There was no clear evidence from subgroup analyses that one SSRI was consistently superior to another, or that time since stroke or depression at baseline had a major influence on effect sizes. Sensitivity analyses suggested that effect sizes were smaller when we excluded trials at high or unclear risk of bias.Only eight trials provided data on outcomes after treatment had been completed; the effect sizes were generally in favour of SSRIs but CIs were wide. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: SSRIs appeared to improve dependence, disability, neurological impairment, anxiety and depression after stroke, but there was heterogeneity between trials and methodological limitations in a substantial proportion of the trials. Large, well-designed trials are now needed to determine whether SSRIs should be given routinely to patients with stroke

Deformasi Bentuk Hanoman dalam Karya Keramik

Berawal dari pengalaman pada masa kecil yang sering mendengarkan cerita pewayangan Jawa terutama pewayangan Ramayana dan Mahabarata, penulis tertarik untuk menjadikan tokoh Hanoman sebagai sumber ide dalam penciptaan karya keramik. Hal tersebut dikarenakan Hanoman memiliki bentuk yang cukup unik. Selain itu, penulis ingin mengingatkan kembali kepada masyarakat terutama kalangan muda untuk terus melestarikan kebudayaan Jawa seperti halnya seni pewayangan. Selain beberapa alasan di atas penulis juga mempunyai keinginan untuk menciptakan kembali tokoh Hanoman ke dalam media keramik sesuai dengan versi penulis. Proses penciptaan karya-karya ini dilakukan dengan hati-hati dan berurutan. Dari pencarian sumber ide, sketsa, pemilihan bahan, sampai pada tahap pengerjaan karya mentah yang menggunakan beberapa macam teknik yaitu: teknik pijit, teknik pilin, teknik gores, dan teknik slab, pengeringan, pembakaran, pengglasiran, hingga yang terakhir pemajangan karya. Pemilihan materi yang dijadikan sumber ide pada penciptaan karya ini menggunakan beberapa teori pendukung, seperti: teori estetika, semiotika, teori “metode penciptaan 3 Tahap 6 langkah”, teori keramik, dan teori deformasi. Setelah melalui proses penciptaan yang panjang, terlahirlah sembilan karya seni dengan tema Hanoman. Secara keseluruhan terlihat bahwa pada karya-karya ini terdapat perubahan bentuk(deformasi) pada bentuk tubuh Hanoman yang menjadikannya terlihat imut dan lucu, berbeda dari Hanoman pada umumnya. Selain itu terdapat juga menambahkan sayap pada bagian punggungnya. Sayap ini diberikan sebagai simbol kebebasan yang dimiliki sang Hanoman. Terciptanya karya-karya ini diharapkan dapat melestarikan budaya Jawa sekaligus juga diharapkan dapat dijadikan referensi dalam dunia keramik, khususnya kepada seniman keramik. Kata Kunci: Deformasi, Hanoman, Kerami

Scientific aptitude better explains poor responses to teaching of evolution than psychological conflicts

It is considered a myth that non-acceptance of scientific consensus on emotive topics is owing to difficulties processing scientific information and is, instead, owing to belief-associated psychological conflicts, the strongest non-acceptors being highly educated. It has been unclear whether these results from adults explain variation in response to school-level teaching. We studied a cohort of UK secondary school students (aged 14-16) and assessed their acceptance and understanding of evolution. In addition, to address their aptitude for science we assessed their understanding of genetics and their teacher-derived assessment of science aptitude. As both models predict, students with low initial evolution acceptance scores showed lower increases in the understanding of evolution. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this effect is better explained by lack of aptitude: Before teaching, students with low acceptance had lower understanding of both evolution and of genetics; the low-acceptance students sat disproportionately in the foundation (rather than higher) science classes; low-acceptance students showed lower increments in the understanding of genetics; and student gain in the understanding of evolution correlated positively with gain in the understanding of genetics. We find no evidence either for a role for psychological conflict in determining response to teaching or that strong rejectors are more commonly of a higher ability. From qualitative data we hypothesize that religious students can avoid psychological conflict by adopting a compatibilist attitude. We conclude that there are students recalcitrant to the teaching of science (as currently taught) and that these students are more likely to not accept the scientific consensus. Optimizing methods to teach recalcitrant students is an important avenue for research.</p

The Genetic Drift Inventory: A Tool for Measuring What Advanced Undergraduates Have Mastered about Genetic Drift

Understanding genetic drift is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of biology, yet it is difficult to learn because it combines the conceptual challenges of both evolution and randomness. To help assess strategies for teaching genetic drift, we have developed and evaluated the Genetic Drift Inventory (GeDI), a concept inventory that measures upper-division students’ understanding of this concept. We used an iterative approach that included extensive interviews and field tests involving 1723 students across five different undergraduate campuses. The GeDI consists of 22 agree–disagree statements that assess four key concepts and six misconceptions. Student scores ranged from 4/22 to 22/22. Statements ranged in mean difficulty from 0.29 to 0.80 and in discrimination from 0.09 to 0.46. The internal consistency, as measured with Cronbach\u27s alpha, ranged from 0.58 to 0.88 across five iterations. Test–retest analysis resulted in a coefficient of stability of 0.82. The true–false format means that the GeDI can test how well students grasp key concepts central to understanding genetic drift, while simultaneously testing for the presence of misconceptions that indicate an incomplete understanding of genetic drift. The insights gained from this testing will, over time, allow us to improve instruction about this key component of evolution