Participatory Approaches and the Measurement of Human Well-being

participation, appraisal, methodology

The reception in Russia of Darwinian doctrines concerning evolution

Imperial Users onl

Psychometric properties of the Mental Health Recovery Star.

BACKGROUND: The Mental Health Recovery Star (MHRS) is a popular outcome measure rated collaboratively by staff and service users, but its psychometric properties are unknown. AIMS: To assess the MHRS's acceptability, reliability and convergent validity. METHOD: A total of 172 services users and 120 staff from in-patient and community services participated. Interrater reliability of staff-only ratings and test-retest reliability of staff-only and collaborative ratings were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Convergent validity between MHRS ratings and standardised measures of social functioning and recovery was assessed using Pearson correlation. The influence of collaboration on ratings was assessed using descriptive statistics and ICCs. RESULTS: The MHRS was relatively quick and easy to use and had good test-retest reliability, but interrater reliability was inadequate. Collaborative ratings were slightly higher than staff-only ratings. Convergent validity suggests it assesses social function more than recovery. CONCLUSIONS: The MHRS cannot be recommended as a routine clinical outcome tool but may facilitate collaborative care planning

CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS FOR THE LANDSCAPE NURSERY INDUSTRY: NUTRIENT ASSIMILATION AND REMOVAL

Runoff from nursery operations is considered a potential non-point source contamination. Water quality and quantity are quickly becoming important factors that drive management practices at these facilities. Constructed wetland systems (CWS) are a management tool that can be used by nursery operations to improve water quality both for recycling within nursery production areas and for eventual release from nursery production areas into surrounding surface waters. The overall goal of this research was to optimize nutrient removal efficiencies in CWS. To accomplish this goal, I characterized the following: (1) the P sorption and desorption capacity of several substrates; (2) the effect of hydraulic retention time (HRT) and nutrient loading rate on nutrient retention efficiency in surface-flow CWS; (3) P sorption by an industrial mineral aggregate in a secondary, subsurface-flow treatment; (4) the impact of CWS planting style, whether floating mat, rooted plant material, or horticulturally-significant species, on nutrient removal; and (5) brick and industrial mineral aggregate root-bed substrate P sorption capacity under stable nutrient loading rates. The industrial mineral aggregate substrate displayed the greatest P sorption capacity of the substrates screened with a Langmuir Smax of 256.3 mg/kg P sorbed by the coarse aggregate (mesh size 4/20) and 462.9 mg/kg P sorbed by the fine aggregate (mesh size 24/48). Brick substrate (mesh size 4/20) exhibited substantially lower P sorption capacity with a Smax of only 6.79 mg/kg. The coarse aggregate sorbed 76% of the P in solution with exposure concentrations \u3c 100 mg P/L, and so seemed ideally suited as a subsurface flow CWS root-bed substrate. The brick sorbed substantially less P but is also less expensive and, therefore, may be a viable root bed substrate. Nutrient loading rate is very important. High nutrient inflow treatments were not adequately remediated with these experimental-scale systems, whereas the low and medium nutrient inflow treatments were efficiently assimilated. Hydraulic retention time was not a consistent factor influencing nutrient removal efficiency for N or P. The 4-day HRT resulted in consistently less P export from the CWS. Floating and rooted treatments demonstrated highly efficient N and P assimilation, while the horticulturally significant species were not as effective. Brick sorbed P efficiently but it saturated more quickly and did not reduce export concentrations as well as the industrial mineral aggregates, which effectively sorbed P from solution and reduced P exports from the mesocosms. The surface- to subsurface-flow CWS was effective at assimilating and fixing nutrients from simulated nursery runoff

Human Effigy Pipes from Spiro Mound, Leflore County, Oklahoma

Animal and human effigy tobacco pipes are not uncommon in Middle and Lower Mississippi culture sites, but are often rather crudely worked. However, the five human figurine pipes found during the University of Oklahoma - Works Project Administration excavation of the Spiro Mound are unusually perfect specimens of primitive stone sculpture and represent relatively finished examples of prehistoric art. The accompanying pen and ink sketches of these pipes give a general idea of the artistry they represent

Ethnicity and the Mental Health Act 1983

Background Black and minority ethnic (BME) patients are disproportionately detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. There has been no systematic exploration of differences within and between ethnic groups, nor of the explanations put forward for this excess. Aims To systematically review detention and ethnicity, with meta-analyses of detention rates for BME groups, and to explore the explanations offered for ethnic differences in detention rates. Method Literature search and meta-analysis. Explanations offered were categorised, supporting literature was accessed and the strength of the evidence evaluated. Results In all, 49 studies met inclusion criteria; of these, 19 were included in the meta-analyses. Compared with White patients, Black patients were 3.83 times, BME patients 3.35 times and Asian patients 2.06 times more likely to be detained. The most common explanations related to misdiagnosis and discrimination against BME patients, higher incidence of psychosis and differences in illness expression. Many explanations, including that of racism within mental health services, were not supported by clear evidence. Conclusions Although BME status predicts psychiatric detention in the UK, most explanations offered for the excess detention of BME patients are largely unsupported

Masculine Misuse

A review of:Raymond MalewitzThe Practice of Misuse: Rugged Consumerism in Contemporary American CultureStanford University Press, Stanford, 2014ISBN: 9780804791960 US$55.0

Towards an Interdisciplinary Approach to Wellbeing: Life Histories and Self-Determination Theory in Rural Zambia

What are the prospects for a cross-cultural, interdisciplinary and methodologically plural approach to wellbeing? This question is addressed using Self-Determination Theory (SDT), a psychological theory based on quantitative empirical methods, to structure qualitative analysis of wellbeing in life history interviews in Chiawa, rural Zambia. Enquiry goes beyond simply reading across methods, disciplines and contexts, to consider fundamental differences in constructions of the human subject, and how these relate to understandings of wellbeing. Field research took place in two periods, August–November, 2010 and 2012. Analysis draws primarily on 46 individual case studies, conducted through open-ended interviews. These were identified through a survey with an average of 390 male and female household heads in each round, including 25% female headed households. As SDT predicts, the interviews confirm its key elements of autonomy, competence and relatedness as vital to wellbeing. However, these are expressed in ways that highlight material and relational, rather than psychological, factors. Key findings are: the mutual constitution of autonomy, competence and relatedness; the appreciation of autonomy as independence in action; the importance of social competence; and the centrality of relatedness. People appear as social and above all moral subjects. The paper concludes by endorsing SDT's utility in interdisciplinary approaches to wellbeing, but only if it admits its own cultural grounding in the construction of a psychological subject. This would go beyond recognising that autonomy, competence and relatedness may take socially and culturally distinctive forms, to questioning their universal status as basic psychological needs. Implications for organisations working on wellbeing are discussed

Nutrition Knowledge and Child Care Feeding Practices of Early Childhood Education Students: A Preliminary Study

The purpose of this study was to describe the nutrition knowledge and child care feeding practices of Early Childhood Education students in a university setting. Thirty-three Early Childhood Education students from seven geographically diverse universities completed a web-based survey assessing nutrition knowledge and child feeding practices. A nutrition knowledge instrument was developed and validated to measure knowledge of nutrition for preschool-aged children. The Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire, which has been previously validated in parents, was slightly modified and used to assess child feeding practices. Mean scores for the nutrition knowledge and child feeding practices were determined. Multivariate analyses were conducted to determine differences in mean nutrition knowledge and feeding practices scores across sample characteristics. Early Childhood Education students were found to have more knowledge of MyPyramid food groups and dietary sources of nutrients than dietary intake recommendations for preschool-aged children. Students who had completed a college-level nutrition course scored higher on MyPyramid food groups and food sources of nutrients than those who had not, although these differences were not statistically significant. A nonsignificant trend was observed in knowledge of dietary recommendations according to practicum status. Additionally, students who had not started a practicum reported using food as a reward significantly more than students who had completed a practicum. Results suggest roles for both nutrition coursework and practicum training in optimizing nutrition knowledge and child feeding practices among future leaders in early childhood education. Further research is needed to more clearly identify nutrition knowledge and child feeding practices in this population

Differentiating Instruction for Gifted Learners in the Regular Classroom: A Quick-Reference Guide for Teachers

Today’s educators face the daunting challenge of presenting mandated curriculum content to a very diverse set of students. Furthermore, their success as an educator is often determined by the scores their students earn on standardized tests at the year’s end. Focus is therefore shifted to the struggling student population, and meanwhile, the advanced learners may be left to their own devices, at least as far as their education is concerned. While pullout programs are in place in some school districts, students usually spend the majority of their time in the regular education classroom, where their needs must be adequately met. In this study, several resources discussing the differentiation of education for gifted students in the regular classroom are examined and reported concisely. Teachers need to know where to begin their quest for information on the subject of differentiation, and they have no time to spare. It is the researcher’s hope that this study will provide teachers with a solid starting point