Rhythm production at school entry as a predictor of poor reading and spelling at the end of first grade

Rhythm plays an organisational role in the prosody and phonology of language, and children with literacy difficulties have been found to demonstrate poor rhythmic perception. This study explored whether students’ performance on a simple rhythm task at school entry could serve as a predictor of whether they would face difficulties in word reading and spelling at the end of grade 1. The participants were 479 Norwegian 6-year-old first graders randomized as controls in the longitudinal RCT on track (n = 1171). Rhythmic timing and pre-reading skills were tested individually at school entry on a digital tablet. On the rhythm task, the students were told to tap a drum appearing on the screen to two different rhythms (2 Hz paced and 1.5 Hz paced). Children’s responses were recorded as they tapped on the screen with their index finger. Significant group differences were found in rhythm tapping ability measured at school entry, when groups were defined upon whether children went on to score above or below the 20th percentile reading and spelling thresholds in national assessment tests at the end of grade one. Inclusion of the school-entry rhythmic tapping measure into a model of classification accuracy for above or below threshold reading and spelling improved accuracy of classification by 6.2 and 9.2% respectively.publishedVersio

Is there a specific hemodynamic effect in reflexology? A systematic review of randomised controlled trials

Objectives: Reflexology claims that the feet are representative of the body and that massage to specific points of the feet increases blood supply to "mapped" organs in the body. This review provides the first systematic evaluation of existing reflexology randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to determine whether there is any evidence to suggest the existence of a reflexology treatment-related hemodynamic effect; to examine whether reflexology researchers used study designs that systematically controlled for nonspecific effects in order to isolate this specific component; and to highlight some of the methodological challenges that need to be overcome to demonstrate specific and beneficial hemodynamic effects. Design: Fifty-two RCTs of reflexology published from 1990 to September 2011 were initially retrieved. Setting/Location: Cardiorespiratory Department, Highland Heartbeat Centre, Raigmore Hospital, Inverness. Subjects: Adult subjects. Interventions: Studies using reflexology foot massage techniques as the intervention versus sham reflexology treatment, simple foot massage, conventional treatment, or no treatment as the control were then selected.  Outcome measures: Outcome measures included any hemodynamic parameter potentially involved in the regulation of circulating blood volume and flow, including heart rate and systolic and diastolic arterial blood pressure. Results: Seven RCTs suggested that reflexology has an effect on selected cardiovascular parameters; however, five of these delivered the reflexology intervention as a whole complex treatment, with the data collector often delivering the intervention themselves. Conclusions: This systematic review found that although reflexology has been shown to have an effect on selected hemodynamic variables, the lack of methodological control for nonspecific general massage effects means that there is little convincing evidence at this time to suggest the existence of a specific treatment-related hemodynamic effect. Furthermore, the review found that few studies of reflexology controlled for nonspecific effects in order to isolate any specific active component, despite the hemodynamic claim being a key part of the therapeutic value of reflexology. Therefore, further research approaches using more innovative designs and robust methods that can allow a treatment-induced, therapeutically beneficial hemodynamic effect to reveal itself are needed to help reflexology purchasers make a more informed decision about the safety and product quality of the reflexology hemodynamic claim and for reflexologists to be able to guarantee minimum product quality, validity, and safety standards in their practice

A proposed reductionist solution to address the methodological challenges of inconsistent reflexology maps and poor experimental controls in reflexology research: A discussion paper

Reflexology is a complex massage intervention, based on the concept that specific areas of the feet (reflex points) correspond to individual internal organs within the body. Reflexologists trained in the popular Ingham reflexology method claim that massage to these points, using massage techniques unique to reflexology, stimulates an increase in blood supply to the corresponding organ. Reflexology researchers face two key methodological challenges that need to be addressed if a specific treatment-related hemodynamic effect is to be scientifically demonstrated. The first is the problem of inconsistent reflexology foot maps; the second is the issue of poor experimental controls. This article proposes a potential experimental solution that we believe can address both methodological challenges and in doing so, allow any specific hemodynamic treatment effect unique to reflexology to experimentally reveal itself

'Death' at the Grassmarket

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Exploring the Determinants of the Relationships between the Land-Based Sectors with the Wider Rural Business Base in Scotland: An Empirical Analysis

Over the past two decades, the relative socio-economic importance of land-based sectors has declined in comparison to non-land-based businesses such as tourism, food and beverage activities. However, policy implementation and research have primarily focused on the economic contributions of land-based businesses, leaving businesses outside these sectors and in rural areas, referred to as non-land-based businesses, largely overlooked. Therefore, this study aims to examine the importance of non-land-based businesses and the key determinants of the relationships between non-land-based businesses and land-based (farming, forestry and landed estate) sectors in rural Scotland. Through a survey of 1500 businesses whose primary focus is not agriculture, forestry or landed rural estates in four Scottish regions, the key findings of the logit model reveal that businesses located in rural areas are more likely to have relationships, both direct (supplying or purchasing goods/services) and indirect, with farming, forestry and landed estate sectors than their urban counterparts. Focusing on rural businesses, the results show that business size, sectors, business age, exporting, importing and business constraints related to cash flow, digital connectivity and government financial support significantly influence their relationships with land-based sectors. The results of crosstab analysis also reveal differences in business performance, business challenges related to Brexit and future plans between non-land-based rural businesses having relationships with land-based sectors in different rural classifications: accessible/remote small towns, accessible rural areas and remote rural areas. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to support rural businesses and future land-based and non-land-based sectors in rural Scotland

Government Information Literacy in the “century of information” (Brown 2007)

There are currently numerous drivers for change within the Scottish Government (SG), including the changing nature of the workforce and the changing skills and abilities required by the SG to undertake its work and achieve its goals in policy-making. The SG’s Government Economic Strategy (Scottish Government 2007a), its Skills for Scotland: A Lifelong Skills Strategy (Scottish Government 2007b) as well as the internally focused Skills and Learning Strategy (Scottish Government 2007c) and Information Strategy (Scottish Government 2008a) all point to a number of developments that are creating demands for new skills and behaviours across the Scottish Government. Taking these strategies as a starting point, the authors have developed an Information Literacy Strategy for the Scottish Government (Scottish Government 2008b), informed by local and national information literacy studies and recommendations from research carried out by the Scottish Information Literacy Project (Crawford and Irving 2009) and a survey of information use within the Scottish Government (Scottish Government 2008c). The focus of this study is information literacy in the workplace. Using interview based research and an online survey, the Scottish Information Literacy Project and the Scottish Government Library Services sought to provide a picture of information literacy in the Scottish Government. Information literacy was identified as an essential workplace decision making skill for Scottish Government staff. Information seeking skills were identified as a key area of deficit amongst Scottish Government staff, together with an awareness of the need for access to a wide range of information sources, and critical thinking and evaluation skills to support high quality decision making, was generally lacking. As a result of the research findings, the authors have developed and are rolling out an information literacy programme across the Scottish Government. The authors have also established stronger internal partnerships within the Scottish Government with those areas engaging in training and skills

E-Readers Are More Effective than Paper for Some with Dyslexia

E-readers are fast rivaling print as a dominant method for reading. Because they offer accessibility options that are impossible in print, they are potentially beneficial for those with impairments, such as dyslexia. Yet, little is known about how the use of these devices influences reading in those who struggle. Here, we observe reading comprehension and speed in 103 high school students with dyslexia. Reading on paper was compared with reading on a small handheld e-reader device, formatted to display few words per line. We found that use of the device significantly improved speed and comprehension, when compared with traditional presentations on paper for specific subsets of these individuals: Those who struggled most with phoneme decoding or efficient sight word reading read more rapidly using the device, and those with limited VA Spans gained in comprehension. Prior eye tracking studies demonstrated that short lines facilitate reading in dyslexia, suggesting that it is the use of short lines (and not the device per se) that leads to the observed benefits. We propose that these findings may be understood as a consequence of visual attention deficits, in some with dyslexia, that make it difficult to allocate attention to uncrowded text near fixation, as the gaze advances during reading. Short lines ameliorate this by guiding attention to the uncrowded span

Generating data, generating knowledge : professional development in the Strathclyde literacy clinic

This chapter describes how student teachers working in the Strathclyde Literacy Clinic “translate an experience of the landscape, both its practices and boundaries, into a meaningful moment of service (Wenger-Treyner et al 2015, p. 25). The Literacy Clinic is a collaborative learning project for student teachers undertaking the four-year BA in Education and Teaching at Strathclyde University. The project is designed to build student teachers’ fluency in real-time teaching responses in ways that provide a strong emotional and social dimension to their learning. They do not follow an externally-derived programme of work, but use an innovative assessment tool to collect data about the child’s cultural and social capital, identity as a reader, writer and learner, and cognitive knowledge and skills. Each team uses this to make decisions about the learning mix the child needs. The chapter details how the experience shapes their values, identity, understanding and practices as literacy teachers

Shorter Lines Facilitate Reading in Those Who Struggle

People with dyslexia, who ordinarily struggle to read, sometimes remark that reading is easier when e-readers are used. Here, we used eye tracking to observe high school students with dyslexia as they read using these devices. Among the factors investigated, we found that reading using a small device resulted in substantial benefits, improving reading speeds by 27%, reducing the number of fixations by 11%, and importantly, reducing the number of regressive saccades by more than a factor of 2, with no cost to comprehension. Given that an expected trade-off between horizontal and vertical regression was not observed when line lengths were altered, we speculate that these effects occur because sluggish attention spreads perception to the left as the gaze shifts during reading. Short lines eliminate crowded text to the left, reducing regression. The effects of attention modulation by the hand, and of increased letter spacing to reduce crowding, were also found to modulate the oculomotor dynamics in reading, but whether these factors resulted in benefits or costs depended on characteristics, such as visual attention span, that varied within our sample

Women’s and peer supporters’ experiences of an assets-based peer support intervention for increasing breastfeeding initiation and continuation: a qualitative study

Background and context. Breastfeeding peer support is valued by women, but UK trials have not demonstrated efficacy. The ABA feasibility trial offered pro-active peer support underpinned by behaviour change theory and an assets-based approach to women having their first baby, regardless of feeding intention. This paper explores women and infant feeding helpers’ (IFHs) views of the different components of the ABA intervention. Setting and participants. Trained IFHs offered 50 women an antenatal meeting to discuss infant feeding and identify community assets in two English sites - one with a paid peer support service and the other volunteer-led. Postnatally, daily contact was offered for the first 2 weeks, followed by less frequent contact until 5 months. Methods. Interviews with 21 women and focus groups/interviews with 13 IFHs were analysed using thematic and framework methods. Results. Five themes are reported highlighting that women talked positively about the antenatal meeting, mapping their network of support, receiving proactive contact from their IFH, keeping in touch using text messaging and access to local groups. The face-to-face antenatal visit facilitated regular text-based communication both in pregnancy and in the early weeks after birth. Volunteer IFHs were supportive of and enthusiastic about the intervention, whereas some of the paid IFHs disliked some intervention components and struggled with the distances to travel to participants. Conclusions. This proactive community assets-based approach with a woman-centred focus was acceptable to women and IFH’s and is a promising intervention warranting further research as to its effect on infant feeding outcomes