1,152 research outputs found
Global value chains and human development: a class-relational framework
Global Value Chain proponents argue that regional and human development can be achieved through âstrategic couplingâ with transnational corporations. This argument is misleading for two reasons. First, GVC abstracts firm-firm and firm-state relations from their class-relational basis, obscuring fundamental developmental processes. Second, much GVC analysis promotes linear conceptions of development. This article provides a class-relational framework for GVC analysis. The formation and functioning of GVCs and the developmental effects associated with them are products of histories of evolving and often conflictive, class relations. A study of export horticulture in North East Brazil provides empirical support for these arguments
Ethnic Minority Young Adult Perspectives on Health Literacy Readiness for Adulthood
Health literacy is a social determinant of health and health disparity and low health literacy contributes to poor health outcomes in ethnic minority young adults (EMYAs). There is a gap in the literature regarding the health literacy readiness (HLR) of EMYAs transitioning to adulthood. The overarching research question concerned the perspectives of EMYAs on HLR for the transition to adulthood. A phenomenological study design was used with a theoretical framework that integrated concepts from the socioecological and health belief models. Twelve purposefully selected EMYAs ages 18-22 from a southern U.S. county participated in the study. Data were collected by telephone using semistructured interviews. The interview questions centered on EMYAs\u27 self-assessed HLR for the transition to adulthood, attitudes and beliefs about HLR, barriers to and benefits from HLR, and facilitators of HLR for the transition to adulthood. Recorded data were transcribed and analyzed, spirally coded, and reduced into overarching themes. Three categories emerged: deficient acumen, access problems, and application challenges. Results showed that EMYAs viewed HLR as vital for the transition to adulthood, though 92% reported low HLR. EMYAs reported individual factors; available time and deficient knowledge; and social factors, family support, and deficient school education as influencing their HLR. The study findings revealed poor HLR in EMYAs but identified areas that can be targeted to improve HLR. Results may contribute to positive social change by providing health educators with knowledge they can use to enhance community health engagement strategies and develop culturally sensitive interventions aimed at improving HLR in EMYAs
Unique and Overlapping Symptoms in Schizophrenia Spectrum and Dissociative Disorders in Relation to Models of Psychopathology:A Systematic Review
Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) and dissociative disorders (DDs) are described in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and tenth edition of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) as 2 categorically distinct diagnostic categories. However, several studies indicate high levels of co-occurrence between these diagnostic groups, which might be explained by overlapping symptoms. The aim of this systematic review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the research concerning overlap and differences in symptoms between schizophrenia spectrum and DDs. For this purpose the PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases were searched for relevant literature. The literature contained a large body of evidence showing the presence of symptoms of dissociation in SSDs. Although there are quantitative differences between diagnoses, overlapping symptoms are not limited to certain domains of dissociation, nor to nonpathological forms of dissociation. In addition, dissociation seems to be related to a history of trauma in SSDs, as is also seen in DDs. There is also evidence showing that positive and negative symptoms typically associated with schizophrenia may be present in DD. Implications of these results are discussed with regard to different models of psychopathology and clinical practice
Performativity, fabrication and trust: exploring computer-mediated moderation
Based on research conducted in an English secondary school, this paper explores computer mediated moderation as a performative tool. The Module Assessment Meeting (MAM) was the moderation approach under investigation. I mobilise ethnographic data generated by a key informant, and triangulated with that from other actors in the setting, in order to examine some of the meanings underpinning moderation within a performative environment. Drawing on the work of Ball (2003), Lyotard (1979) and Foucault (1977, 1979), I argue that in this particular case performativity has become entrenched in teachersâ day-to-day practices, and not only affects those practices but also teachersâ sense of self. I suggest that MAM represented performative and fabricated conditions and (re)defined what the key participant experienced as a vital constituent of her educational identities - trust. From examining the case in point, I hope to have illustrated for those interested in teachersâ work some of the implications of the interface between technology and performativity
Studies on the nature of the high-affinity trialkyltin binding site of rat liver mitochondria
Factors Influencing Terrestriality in Primates of the Americas and Madagascar
Among mammals, the order Primates is exceptional in having a high taxonomic richness in which the taxa are arboreal, semiterrestrial, or terrestrial. Although habitual terrestriality is pervasive among the apes and African and Asian monkeys (catarrhines), it is largely absent among monkeys of the Americas (platyrrhines), as well as galagos, lemurs, and lorises (strepsirrhines), which are mostly arboreal. Numerous ecological drivers and species-specific factors are suggested to set the conditions for an evolutionary shift from arboreality to terrestriality, and current environmental conditions may provide analogous scenarios to those transitional periods. Therefore, we investigated predominantly arboreal, diurnal primate genera from the Americas and Madagascar that lack fully terrestrial taxa, to determine whether ecological drivers (habitat canopy cover, predation risk, maximum temperature, precipitation, primate species richness, human population density, and distance to roads) or species-specific traits (bodymass, group size, and degree of frugivory) associate with increased terrestriality. We collated 150,961 observation hours across 2,227 months from 47 species at 20 sites in Madagascar and 48 sites in the Americas. Multiple factors were associated with ground use in these otherwise arboreal species, including increased temperature, a decrease in canopy cover, a dietary shift away from frugivory, and larger group size. These factors mostly explain intraspecific differences in terrestriality. As humanity modifies habitats and causes climate change, our results suggest that species already inhabiting hot, sparsely canopied sites, and exhibiting more generalized diets, are more likely to shift toward greater ground use
Reading Videogames as (authorless) Literature
This article presents the outcomes of research, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in England and informed by work in the fields of new literacy research, gaming studies and the socio-cultural framing of education, for which the videogame L.A. Noire (Rockstar Games, 2011) was studied within the orthodox framing of the English Literature curriculum at A Level (pre-University) and Undergraduate (degree level). There is a plethora of published research into the kinds of literacy practices evident in videogame play, virtual world engagement and related forms of digital reading and writing (Gee, 2003; Juul, 2005; Merchant, Gillen, Marsh and Davies, 2012; Apperley and Walsh, 2012; Bazalgette and Buckingham, 2012) as well as the implications of such for home / school learning (Dowdall, 2006; Jenkins, 2006; Potter, 2012) and for teachersâ own digital lives (Graham, 2012). Such studies have tended to focus on younger children and this research is also distinct from such work in the field in its exploration of the potential for certain kinds of videogame to be understood as 'digital transformations' of conventional âschooledâ literature. The outcomes of this project raise implications of such a conception for a further implementation of a âreframedâ literacy (Marsh, 2007) within the contemporary curriculum of a traditional and conservative âsubjectâ. A mixed methods approach was adopted. Firstly, students contributing to a gamplay blog requiring them to discuss their in-game experience through the âlanguage gameâ of English Literature, culminating in answering a question constructed with the idioms of the subjectâs set text âfinal examinationâ. Secondly, students taught their teachers to play L.A. Noire, with free choice over the context for this collaboration. Thirdly, participants returned to traditional roles in order to work through a set of study materials provided, designed to reproduce the conventions of the âstudy guideâ for literature education. Interviews were conducted after each phase and the outcomes informed a redrafting of the study materials which are now available online for teachers â this being the âpracticalâ outcome of the research (Berger and McDougall, 2012). In the act of inserting the study of L.A. Noire into the English Literature curriculum as currently framed, this research moves, through a practical âimplementationâ beyond longstanding debates around narratology and ludology (Frasca, 2003; Juul, 2005) in the field of game studies (Leaning, 2012) through a direct connection to new literacy studies and raises epistemological questions about âsubject identityâ, informed by Bernstein (1996) and Bourdieu (1986) and the implications for digital transformations of texts for both ideas about cultural value in schooled literacy (Kendall and McDougall, 2011) and the politics of âexpertiseâ in pedagogic relations (Ranciere, 2009, Bennett, Kendall and McDougall, 2012a)
Mental health status and perceived burden in caregiving spouses of persons with psychotic illness (a study from India)
Mental illness poses a great deal of burden on other family members, particularly the primary caregiver. In the Indian context for a married person with mental illness, the caregiving burden is usually experienced by the spouse, who is considered to be the ânaturalâ option. This quantitative study used survey methodology to assess caregiving burden in fifty spouses of persons diagnosed with a psychotic illness. Data was collected at a neuro-psychiatric facility in Tiruchirappalli, India. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale and the Burden Assessment Schedule were the instruments administered to assess the mental health status of the spouse and their perceived burden. Findings revealed that the majority of spouses were classified as experiencing âsevereâ and âextremely severeâ in terms of their depression, anxiety and stress levels and âhighâ in terms of perceived burden. The specific âtypeâ of clinical diagnosis, however, did not differentiate the spouses on the key variables studied. The correlation of these key variables with other background variables has also been examined. The implications of the results of this study for psychosocial intervention have also been discussed in this article
Study of water supply & sanitation practices in India using geographic information systems: some design & other considerations in a village setting
Background & objectives: Availability of clean water and adequate sanitation facilities are of prime importance for limiting diarrhoeal diseases. We examined the water and sanitation facilities of a village in southern India using geographic information system (GIS) tools. Methods: Places of residence, water storage and distribution, sewage and places where people in the village defaecated were mapped and drinking water sources were tested for microbial contamination in Nelvoy village, Vellore district, Tamil Nadu. Results: Water in the village was found to be microbiologically unfit for consumption. Analysis using direct observations supplemented by GIS maps revealed poor planning, poor engineering design and lack of policing of the water distribution system causing possible contamination of drinking water from sewage at multiple sites. Interpretation & conclusions: Until appropriate engineering designs for water supply and sewage disposal to suit individual village needs are made available, point-of-use water disinfection methods could serve as an interim solution
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