Establishing Normative Values for the Barnett Balance Assessment Tool: A Preliminary Study

The purpose of this study was to establish normative data for the Barnett Balance Assessment (BBA) for individuals ages 18-70+ years. The BBA is a newly developed assessment tool that may address limitations present in other assessments currently used to detect balance deficits. The BBA was administered to 141 participants who had no history of medical issues that could impact balance. A review of the normative data collected indicated little variation in total assessment scores in the age categories of 18-29, 30-39, and 40-49, due to the presence of a ceiling effect. Variations existed in scores among participants in the remaining age categories (50-59, 60-69, and 70+). These findings may imply that the BBA has its greatest discriminative power in assessing individuals with impaired balance, and/or that the BBA is not sensitive enough to detect differences in individuals with mild balance impairments. The researchers suggest future studies be conducted with the BBA to establish norms with populations with known orthopedic or neurological conditions that may impair balance. Results of these studies could then be compared with the baseline data gathered in this study to determine the BBA’s usefulness in detecting balance impairments with clinical populations

Computational and mathematical approaches to societal transitions

After an introduction of the theoretical framework and concepts of transition studies, this article gives an overview of how structural change in social systems has been studied from various disciplinary perspectives. This overview first leads to the conclusion that computational and mathematical approaches and their practical form, modeling, up till now, have been almost absent in the research and theorizing of structural change or transitions in social systems. Second, this review of the social science literature suggests numerous theoretical constructs relevant for transition modeling. Relevant concepts include the conceptualization of the micro-to-macro link, the importance of explaining both stability and change, quantitative and qualitative definitions of structural change, the use of dichotomies, synchronic and diachronic reasoning in explaining structural change, definitions of basic patterns of social change, the conceptualization of resistance to change and intentional and normative aspects of social change. This article employs these theoretical concepts to describe and discuss the models presented in this special issue in order to develop an understanding of what exactly entails a computational or mathematical approach to societal transitions

The limits of partnership : an exit-action strategy for local democratic inclusion

The challenge of enhancing the `democratic anchorage' of partnerships has become a central concern in policy studies. Radical reform proposals designed to level the deliberative playing field include community veto powers and the appointment of neutral arbiters. Welcome as they would be, however, it is questionable whether such reforms would overcome power asymmetries in the partnership arena. A study of the local politics of social inclusion in two UK cities, Dundee and Hull, suggests that managerialism, driven by national governments, is eroding the prospects for partnership democratisation. But more significantly for the reformist agenda, public managers and community activists think in incompatible frames about the role of partnerships and in ways that are not understood by the other party. Non-communication undermines the prospects for an equitable democratic consensus. Insights from Bourdieu suggest that even in environments more favourable to equitable democratic discourse than those in Dundee and Hull, subtle manifestations of power in culture, discourse and bearing would undermine the potential for a Habermasian consensus between radically unequal actors. In a radical departure from the network governance paradigm, it is therefore argued that empowerment may depend less on enhanced network democracy than on strong independent community organisation capable of acting separately and coercively against governing institutions and elites - an exit-action strategy. These preliminary conclusions point to a substantial research agenda on the politics of the state-civil society nexus