A Hippotherapy Protocol for Occupational Therapists

Hippotherapy is an occupational, physical, and speech therapy treatment strategy that utilizes equine movement. Hippotherapy is utilized as part of an integrated treatment program to achieve functional outcomes. In hippo therapy, the client engages in activities that are enjoyable and challenging while the therapist modifies the horse\u27s movement and grades sensory input to improve neurological function and sensory processing (American Hippotherapy Association, 2003). The purpose of this scholarly project was to create a hippotherapy protocol for occupational therapists interested in developing a hippotherapy program. It was the intent that this hippotherapy protocol be utilized with individuals of all ages who would benefit from hippotherapy treatment. The authors completed an extensive review of literature on hippotherapy treatment for individuals of various ages and diagnoses. Based on the literatUre review, a hippotherapy protocol specific to occupational therapists was created based on the Person-Environment-Occupation Model. The hippotherapy protocol contains information on the following areas: facility and equipment, horses, personnel, clients, treatment programming, legalities, and budget and billing. There are also sections containing contact information and references as well as initial client profile forms and HIP AA Release forms. The goal of this proposed occupational therapy protocol is to provide occupational therapists with a beneficial tool when developing a hippo therapy program

Evolution of a stream ecosystem in recently deglaciated terrain

Climate change and associated glacial recession create new stream habitat that leads to the assembly of new riverine communities through primary succession. However, there are still very few studies of the patterns and processes of community assembly during primary succession for stream ecosystems. We illustrate the rapidity with which biotic communities can colonize and establish in recently formed streams by examining Stonefly Creek in Glacier Bay, Alaska (USA), which began to emerge from a remnant glacial ice mass between 1976 and 1979. By 2002, 57 macroinvertebrate and 27 microcrustacea species had become established. Within 10 years of the stream's formation, pink salmon and Dolly Varden charr colonized, followed by other fish species, including juvenile red and silver salmon, Coast Range sculpin, and sticklebacks. Stable-isotope analyses indicate that marine-derived nitrogen from the decay of salmon carcasses was substantially assimilated within the aquatic food web by 2004. The findings from Stonefly Creek are compared with those from a long-term study of a similarly formed but older stream (12 km to the northeast) to examine possible similarities in macroinvertebrate community and biological trait composition between streams at similar stages of development. Macroinvertebrate community assembly appears to have been initially strongly deterministic owing to low water temperature associated with remnant ice masses. In contrast, microcrustacean community assembly appears to have been more stochastic. However, as stream age and water temperature increased, macroinvertebrate colonization was also more stochastic, and taxonomic similarity between Stonefly Creek and a stream at the same stage of development was,<50%. However the most abundant taxa were similar, and functional diversity of the two communities was almost identical. Tolerance is suggested as the major mechanism of community assembly. The rapidity with which salmonids and invertebrate communities have become established across an entire watershed has implications for the conservation of biodiversity in freshwater habitats

Socio-technical Challenges to the Smart City: a citizen-centric perspective

By 2050, approximately 70% of the global population will be living in cities, catalysing both socio-economic and environmental challenges. Therefore, in order to ensure sustainable growth, cities around the world are adopting the concept of ‘smart cities’. There is consensus that the smart city has the potential to address the urgent need for sustainable urbanism through innovations and ICT systems that are both designed to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, and that can provide high-quality living for its citizens. However, the concept has been broadly critiqued for being driven by technocratic agendas and not actually meeting the needs of the citizens. While recent initiatives claim to include citizens in smart city developments through collaboration and co-creation, there is significant debate regarding the extent to which this has stimulated a more inclusive approach. Consequently, to create a more citizen-centric smart city there remains a need to introduce citizens' perceptions and improve engagement. Institutions such as universities are playing an increasingly important role in the urban sustainability challenge and energy transitions in smart cities. Through conducting a survey of students (n=1007) living in the smart city district of Manchester, UK, this research found low awareness and understanding of the smart city concept, with three-quarters of respondents reporting they had never heard of the smart city. Moreover, interviews with smart city implementers (n=12) revealed contesting perceptions of ‘smart’. Whilst both students and implementers placed technology at the heart of the concept, students understood it as a city that would ensure protection of the environment whilst implementers adamantly claimed it would increase quality of life of citizens. However, when implementers described the role of citizens in the smart city, this research found that their perceptions were underpinned by a tokenistic rhetoric. Furthermore, by adopting a co-creational approach with citizens, this research explored the potential for smart solutions to overcome a split incentive scenario energy challenge. An Innovation Challenge (n=13) and focus groups with students (n=49) found encouraging indications that provision of contextualized information using intuitive visual cues which, coupled with gamification, could change students’ energy behaviours in halls of residence where financial drivers do not exist

Exploring obesogenic environments : the design and development of the migrant obesogenic perception of the environment questionnaire (MOPE-Q) using a sample of Iranian migrants in Australia

BACKGROUND: Although there are a number of studies examining the effect of migration on obesity, these studies tend to focus on the role of acculturation in this relationship. However, there are indications that the change in environment may also be an important factor. Indeed, there is a considerable lack of psychometric tools designed to assess the association between environment and migrant health behaviour. The current study aimed to assess the literature on the link between environment and health for migrants, and on the basis of this information, design and develop the Migrant Obesogenic Perception of the Environment questionnaire (MOPE-Q). The MOPE-Q is the first comprehensive measure of the impact of environmental factors on migrant health behaviour related to physical activity, food habits and body image concern, as well as weight change. METHODS: Using a systematic approach, an initial pool of items for the questionnaire was developed and refined on the basis of rigorous content and face validity assessments and factor analysis. Further, reliability tests and test re-test studies were undertaken. Differences between Iranian and Australian environmental factors as they relate to obesogenic behaviour were explored using the developed measure. RESULTS: A total of 36 items were developed for the MOPE-Q. Principal factor analysis identified three similar factor structures of environmental factors related to obesity (categorized in terms of facilitators, barriers and pressures) for each country. The final questionnaire consisted of four distinct subscales pertaining specifically to the Australian environment and five subscales pertaining to the Iranian environment, accounting for 59% and 63%, respectively, of the total variance in obesity rates. Data suggests that the MOPE-Q is a reliable and valid self-report measure for assessing the relationship between environmental factors linked to obesity and obesogenic behaviour for this particular migrant group. CONCLUSION: The variations in environmental factors linked to obesity behaviour between home (Iran) and host (Australia) countries have been incorporated into the MOPE-Q instrument which has shown good psychometric properties. The MOPE-Q can be adapted and applied to other environments and populations to help explain changes in diet, physical activity patterns and body weight in migrant groups as they acculturate

Booksellers as placemakers: the contribution of booksellers to the vitality and viability of high streets

This report outlines the main findings of the research on the contribution of bookshops to the vitality and viability of high streets in the UK and Ireland. The initial sections of the report summarise some of the main current structural changes facing high streets within towns and cities and explore how the recent pandemic has brought new and additional challenges for our centres. The report also investigates how far a specific retail sub-sector, booksellers, contributes to the top 25 priorities based on IPM’s extensive research and engagement in relation to the vitality and viability of high streets and central places and then analyses the results from both the surveys and detailed interviews