Enter A Freeman (February 15-18, 22-24, 1996)

Program for Enter A Freeman (February 15-18, 22-24, 1996)

Depression in Women: Psychological Disorder or Social Problem?

Rates of depression consistently are found to be higher in women than men. Feminist analyses emphasize the disadvantaged position of women in society in accounting for the higher rates of depression among women. Mainstream theories of depression emphasize intra-individual factors. An evaluation of research on depression supports the conclusion that findings are more consistent with feminist than with mainstream formulations. A feminist perspective on depression, however, is unlikely to have much impact on mental health practice and policy, because of the dominant position of the psychiatric profession in legitimating clinical definitions of depressionLes taux de dépression et cela d’une manière consistante sont plus élevé chez la femme que chez l’homme. Les analyses des féministes accentuent la position désavantageuse des femmes dans la société en tenant compte des hauts taux de dépression parmi les femmes. Les théories en vigueur sur la dépression accentuent les facteurs biologique at intra-individuel. Une évaluation de recherche faite sur la dépression appui la conclusion que les constatations sont plus consistentes avec les féministes qu’avec les élaboriations en viqueur. Toutefois, il est peu probable que la prespective féministe ait un impact significatif sur l’habitude et la ligne de conduite de la santé mentale et cela du à la position dominate de la profession psychiatrique qui tarde a définir légitimement ce qu’est une dépression en terme médical

The Real Inspector Hound

This one act comedy by Tom Stoppard has two theatre critics watching a performance of a ludicrous murder mystery play. It was performed at John Carroll University in February of 1991.https://collected.jcu.edu/plays/1045/thumbnail.jp

When semantics aids phonology: a processing advantage for iconic word forms in aphasia

Iconicity is the non-arbitrary relation between properties of a phonological form and semantic content (e.g. “moo”, “splash”). It is a common feature of both spoken and signed languages, and recent evidence shows that iconic forms confer an advantage during word learning. We explored whether iconic forms conferred a processing advantage for 13 individuals with aphasia following left-hemisphere stroke. Iconic and control words were compared in four different tasks: repetition, reading aloud, auditory lexical decision and visual lexical decision. An advantage for iconic words was seen for some individuals in all tasks, with consistent group effects emerging in reading aloud and auditory lexical decision. Both these tasks rely on mapping between semantics and phonology. We conclude that iconicity aids spoken word processing for individuals with aphasia. This advantage may be due to a stronger connection between semantic information and phonological forms

Equine Assisted Learning for Primary School Children: Experiences of Teachers and Trainers

Equine-Assisted Learning Programme (EALP) was delivered by Equitots Lanarkshire Community Interest Company to promote the development of life skills using an experiential learning approach. The EALP focussed on activities that would improve confidence, communication, resilience, achievement, teamwork and relationships. The project aimed to evaluate the experiences of teachers and programme trainers of an EALP delivered by Equitots Lanarkshire. The research questions were: RQ1: What aspects of the programme work (or not)? RQ2: What changes in cognitive, psychomotor or social skills were witnessed during and/or after the EALP in the children or young persons? RQ3: What experiences do teachers and programme trainers report about the EALP? The intervention involved 25 sessions with 5 schools, with 4 children per school attending 5 sessions each. Primary schools were from two local authority areas in Scotland, UK. The intervention involved a variety of activities designed with and without the pony for primary school children (aged between 8-11). Ethical approval was gained through University of Stirling General University Ethics Panel GUEP509, and management approval was granted via the Head of Education in both Local Authorities. Sample: Seven teachers from 5 schools and one programme trainer volunteered to take part in the study. Participants were informed that they could withdraw at any time and refuse to answer any questions. Audio-recorded face-to-face or telephone interviews using a semi-structured set of questions, approximately 60-90 minutes in length, were used to collect data from participants. Data were held securely using General data Protection Regulation guidelines. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The main findings of the research are described within each research question: RQ1: Travelling to the facility, working directly with the pony (such as riding, grooming, and understanding equine behaviour), as well as craft activities (such as making a coat of arms) were cited as being active ingredients of the intervention that teachers felt worked really well for children within the EALP. There were no negative aspects of the programme identified, apart from the further availability of such a programme to children within each council area. RQ2: There were examples of immediate impact for the children, and this was often carried on for months after the intervention. Positive changes in social skills such as those associated with positive behaviour (e.g. building relationships with the teacher and other children), as well as improvement in the children’s confidence and communication skills, were provided as examples throughout every interview. Cognitive skills, such as maths, were improved by carrying out applied work during the sessions. RQ3: Interview data revealed that teachers’ experiences of EALP was viewed as an excellent means of engaging children in learning. It was generally more difficult to engage children within the classroom than within the outdoor environment with ponies. Teachers noted areas where they were proud of their children’s achievements both at EALP, and also in the months after the intervention. In conclusion, this qualitative exploration of the impact of the EALP intervention found that it was positive in terms of the positive influence it appears to have on the cognitive, psychomotor, and social improvement seen in children both during and after the intervention. More evaluative research is needed before the impact is fully understood. Early evidence would suggest that it may have the potential to have a significant impact on the way the child learn, as well as having longer-term benefits

Equine Assisted Learning for Primary School Children: Experiences of Teachers and Trainers

Equine-Assisted Learning Programme (EALP) was delivered by Equitots Lanarkshire Community Interest Company to promote the development of life skills using an experiential learning approach. The EALP focussed on activities that would improve confidence, communication, resilience, achievement, teamwork and relationships. The project aimed to evaluate the experiences of teachers and programme trainers of an EALP delivered by Equitots Lanarkshire. The research questions were: RQ1: What aspects of the programme work (or not)? RQ2: What changes in cognitive, psychomotor or social skills were witnessed during and/or after the EALP in the children or young persons? RQ3: What experiences do teachers and programme trainers report about the EALP? The intervention involved 25 sessions with 5 schools, with 4 children per school attending 5 sessions each. Primary schools were from two local authority areas in Scotland, UK. The intervention involved a variety of activities designed with and without the pony for primary school children (aged between 8-11). Ethical approval was gained through University of Stirling General University Ethics Panel GUEP509, and management approval was granted via the Head of Education in both Local Authorities. Sample: Seven teachers from 5 schools and one programme trainer volunteered to take part in the study. Participants were informed that they could withdraw at any time and refuse to answer any questions. Audio-recorded face-to-face or telephone interviews using a semi-structured set of questions, approximately 60-90 minutes in length, were used to collect data from participants. Data were held securely using General data Protection Regulation guidelines. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The main findings of the research are described within each research question: RQ1: Travelling to the facility, working directly with the pony (such as riding, grooming, and understanding equine behaviour), as well as craft activities (such as making a coat of arms) were cited as being active ingredients of the intervention that teachers felt worked really well for children within the EALP. There were no negative aspects of the programme identified, apart from the further availability of such a programme to children within each council area. RQ2: There were examples of immediate impact for the children, and this was often carried on for months after the intervention. Positive changes in social skills such as those associated with positive behaviour (e.g. building relationships with the teacher and other children), as well as improvement in the children’s confidence and communication skills, were provided as examples throughout every interview. Cognitive skills, such as maths, were improved by carrying out applied work during the sessions. RQ3: Interview data revealed that teachers’ experiences of EALP was viewed as an excellent means of engaging children in learning. It was generally more difficult to engage children within the classroom than within the outdoor environment with ponies. Teachers noted areas where they were proud of their children’s achievements both at EALP, and also in the months after the intervention. In conclusion, this qualitative exploration of the impact of the EALP intervention found that it was positive in terms of the positive influence it appears to have on the cognitive, psychomotor, and social improvement seen in children both during and after the intervention. More evaluative research is needed before the impact is fully understood. Early evidence would suggest that it may have the potential to have a significant impact on the way the child learn, as well as having longer-term benefits

Invalid Ballots and Electoral Competition

In close elections, a sufficiently high share of invalid ballots—if driven by voter mistakes or electoral fraud—can jeopardize the electoral outcome. We study how the closeness of electoral race relates to the share of invalid ballots, under the traditional paper-ballot hand-counted voting technology. Using a large micro-level data set from the Italian parliamentary elections in 1994–2001, we find a strong robust negative relationship between the margin of victory of the leading candidate over the nearest rival and the share of invalid ballots. We argue that this relationship is not driven by voter mistakes, protest, or electoral fraud. The explanation that garners most support is that of rational allocation of effort by election officers and party representatives, with higher rates of detection of invalid ballots in close elections

How should we evaluate research on counselling and the treatment of depression? A case study on how NICE’s draft 2018 guideline considered what counts as best evidence

Background: Health guidelines are developed to improve patient care by ensuring the most recent and “best available evidence” is used to guide treatment recommendations (NICE Guidance, 2017). NICE’s revised guideline development methodology acknowledges that evidence needed to answer one question (treatment efficacy) may be different from evidence needed to answer another (cost effectiveness, treatment acceptability to patients; NICE, 2014/2017). This review uses counselling in the treatment of depression as a case study, and interrogates the constructs of ‘best’ evidence and ‘best’ guideline methodologies. Method: The review comprises six sections: (1) the implications of diverse definitions of counselling in research; (2) research findings from meta-analyses and randomised controlled trials (RCTs); (3) limitations to trials-based evidence; (4) findings from large routine outcome datasets; (5) the inclusion of qualitative research that emphasises service-user voices; and (6) conclusions and recommendations. Results: Research from meta-analyses and RCTs reviewed in the draft 2018 NICE guideline is limited but positive in relation to the effectiveness of counselling in the treatment for depression. The weight of evidence suggests little, if any, advantage to CBT over counselling once bias and researcher allegiance are taken into account. A growing body of evidence from large NHS datasets also evidences that counselling is both effective and cost-effective when delivered in NHS settings. Conclusion: Recommendations in NICE’s own updated procedures suggest that sole reliance on RCTs and meta-analyses as best methodologies is no longer adequate. There is a need to include large standardised collected datasets from routine practice as well as the voice of patients via high-quality qualitative research

Where form and substance meet: using the narrative approach of re-storying to generate research findings and community rapprochement in (university) mathematics education

Storytelling is an engaging way through which lived experience can be shared and reflected upon, and a tool through which difference, diversity—and even conflict—can be acknowledged and elaborated upon. Narrative approaches to research bring the richness and vibrancy of storytelling into how data is collected and interpretations of it shared. In this paper, I demonstrate the potency of the narrative approach of re-storying for a certain type of university mathematics education research (non-deficit, non-prescriptive, context-specific, example-centred and mathematically focused) conducted at the interface of two communities: mathematics education and mathematics. I do so through reference to Amongst Mathematicians (Nardi, 2008), a study carried out in collaboration with 20 university mathematicians from six UK mathematics departments. The study deployed re-storying to present data and analyses in the form of a dialogue between two fictional, yet entirely data-grounded, characters—M, mathematician, and RME, researcher in mathematics education. In the dialogues, the typically conflicting epistemologies—and mutual perceptions of such epistemologies—of the two communities come to the fore as do the feasibility-of, benefits-from, obstacles-in and conditions-for collaboration between these communities. First, I outline the use of narrative approaches in mathematics education research. Then, I introduce the study and its use of re-storying, illustrating this with an example: the construction of a dialogue from interview data in which the participating mathematicians discuss the potentialities and pitfalls of visualisation in university mathematics teaching. I conclude by outlining re-storying as a vehicle for community rapprochement achieved through generating and sharing research findings—the substance of research—in forms that reflect the fundamental principles and aims that underpin this research. My conclusions resonate with sociocultural constructs that view mathematics teacher education as contemporary praxis and the aforementioned inter-community discussion as taking place within a third space

The effects of tualang honey on female reproductive organs, tibia bone and hormonal profile in ovariectomised rats - animal model for menopause

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Honey is a highly nutritional natural product that has been widely used in folk medicine for a number of therapeutic purposes. We evaluated whether Malaysian Tualang honey (AgroMas, Malaysia) was effective in reducing menopausal syndrome in ovariectomised female rats; an animal model for menopause.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The rats were divided into two control groups and three test groups. The control groups were sham-operated (SH) and ovariectomised (OVX) rats. The SH and OVX control rats were fed on 0.5 ml of distill water. The rats in the test groups were fed with low dose 0.2 g/kg (THL), medium dose, 1.0 g/kg (THM) and high dose 2.0 g/kg (THH) of Tualang honey in 0.5 ml of distill water. The administration was given by oral gavage once daily for 2 weeks. The reproductive organs (uterus and vagina), tibia bone and aorta were taken for histopathological examination while serum for hormonal assays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Administration of Tualang honey for 2 weeks to ovariectomised rats significantly increased the weight of the uterus and the thickness of vaginal epithelium, restored the morphology of the tibia bones and reduced the body weight compared to rats in the ovariectomised group. The levels of estradiol and progesterone, in honey treated groups were markedly lower than that in the OVX group. At low doses (0.2 g/kg; THL group) of Tualang honey there was an increased in serum free testosterone levels compared to OVX group (P < 0.01). Progesterone concentrations was significantly decreased in the OVX group as compared to SHAM group (P < 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Tualang honey was shown to have beneficial effects on menopausal (ovariectomised) rats by preventing uterine atrophy, increased bone density and suppression of increased body weight. Honey could be an alternative to HRT.</p