Coping styles associated with post-traumatic stress and depression symptoms following childbirth in croatian women

Childbirth is a normative event in a woman's life and is considered as a positive event. However, one in three women perceive childbirth as a physical threat to themselves or their new-born and 3% of women develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following childbirth. Poor coping strategies have been associated with PTSD following childbirth. However, previous studies mainly utilised unidimensional measures of coping strategies, therefore, it remains to be investigated which specific dimensions of coping are more predictive of PTSD after childbirth. The aims of this study were to explore whether women in Croatia report PTSD symptoms following childbirth, and how different coping styles were related to PTSD and depression symptoms. Women (N = 160) who gave birth in the last two years, completed an online questionnaire measuring PTSD symptoms (Impact of Event Scale – IES), postnatal depression symptoms (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale – EPDS) and coping styles (Brief Cope). In this sample, 1.9% reported severe PTSD symptoms following childbirth and 21.9% reported depression symptoms. Many women (66.7%) with PTSD symptoms reported depression symptoms. On the other hand, 28.6% of women with depression symptoms also reported PTSD symptoms, showing that there is a higher co-morbidity of PTSD and depression than vice versa. Avoidant coping styles, specifically, denial and self-blame were positively correlated with both PTSD and depression symptoms. Moreover, of avoidant coping styles, behavioural disengagement was positively correlated with PTSD symptoms only, while self-distraction was positively correlated with depression symptoms only. Also, lower levels of planning and higher levels of emotional support were related to higher levels of depression. However, after controlling for postnatal psychopathology symptoms, coping styles were not significant predictors of PTSD symptoms, but self-blame was a significant predictor of depression symptoms. Psychopathological symptoms following childbirth are reported by Croatian women and are related to coping styles. The avoidant coping style, self-blame, is particularly associated with depression symptoms. Future studies should explore predictors of postpartum PTSD in Croatian women in more representative samples during pregnancy and with the follow-up after childbirth. Also, screening for postnatal psychopathological symptoms should be performed both for depression and PTSD symptoms

Making machinima: animation, games, and multimodal participation in the media arts

In the project discussed in this article, 30 11-year olds made an animated film in the machinima style, influenced by both film and game culture, and using a 3-D animation software tool, Moviestorm. The processes and products of the project will be analysed using a social semiotic/multimodal approach, exploring the social interests behind the integration of visual design, music, voice acting, story-writing, and animation which characterise the project. The outcomes suggest a need to move beyond established thinking and practice in media literacy practice and research in three ways. Firstly, we need to develop moving image education to recognise new genres and cultures. Secondly, we need to recognise that such productions are intensely multimodal, involving music, drama, story-writing, and visual design. Thirdly, such projects demand connected pedagogy across media, literacy, music, drama, computer science, and art

Playing Beowulf 1: Ludic Rhapsodies

I've chosen Chapter 7 as a sample because it gives something of an overview of projects run by myself and colleagues in young people's game designs based, in this case, on Beowulf. It draws heavily on my colleagues' published work, while also offering an in-depth analysis of one game made by a 10 year-old boy in the workshop we ran at the National Videogame Arcade in Nottingham. The chapter refers back to some of the arguments I've made in previous chapters about the playful disposition of literature in general, the cellular nature of game narrative in particular, the multimodal qualities of videogames, and the kinds of literacies that game play and game design involve. It anticipates further chapters which go on to explore videogame transformations of Beowulf by graduate students of Anglo-Saxon, and game designs of Macbeth by secondary students in Cambridge, Yorkshire and London. I hope readers may find this sample a sufficiently interesting taster to lead them to the whole book, which represents at least ten years of applied and theoretical research, as well as a hinterland of experience in classrooms, which honed my sense of the literature game and what young people make of it

Working on the Chain Gang - Adopting a SCM Approach to eBusiness Strategy

This paper proposes a new approach to strategic planning for e-commerce systems which incorporates a three stage chain analysis using value, supply and demand chain models. The resulting analysis can define the strategy and structure for an e-business enterprise with a robust approach to evolutionary e-business development and the management of chang

The COINS Sample - VLBA Identifications of Compact Symmetric Objects

We present results of multifrequency polarimetric VLBA observations of 34 compact radio sources. The observations are part of a large survey undertaken to identify CSOs Observed in the Northern Sky (COINS). Compact Symmetric Objects (CSOs) are of particular interest in the study of the physics and evolution of active galaxies. Based on VLBI continuum surveys of ~2000 compact radio sources, we have defined a sample of 52 CSOs and CSO candidates. In this paper, we identify 18 previously known CSOs, and introduce 33 new CSO candidates. We present continuum images at several frequencies and, where possible, images of the polarized flux density and spectral index distributions for the 33 new candidates and one previously known but unconfirmed source. We find evidence to support the inclusion of 10 of these condidates into the class of CSOs. Thirteen candidates, including the previously unconfirmed source, have been ruled out. Eleven sources require further investigation. The addition of the 10 new confirmed CSOs increases the size of this class of objects by 50%.Comment: 24 pages, incl 8 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Figure quality degraded in the interests of space, full gzipped PS version also available at http://www.ee.nmt.edu/~apeck/papers

Dynamic, Playful and Productive Literacies

This paper reflects on recent projects in a variety of media forms, in both formal and informal educational settings, discussing ways of expanding our notions of literacy practices which reflect their place in the wider lived experience of digital culture. We have collected these reflections under three headings. The first of these, Dynamic Literacies, presents an overarching view of literacy as both ideological, following the ‘new literacy studies’, and dynamic, incorporating both semiotic and sociocultural versions of literacy in ways which reflect the changing nature of lived experience in the digital age. The second strand, Productive Literacies, constructs an argument around digital making practices with younger learners which views these as media crafting, critique and artistry. The third strand, Playful Literacies, explores recent projects which are located in games and game-authoring practices as a specific example of connecting pedagogy to contemporary media forms and learner agency in formal and informal settings. Taken together, the three perspectives allow for common ground to be established between multimodal production practices, whilst providing suggestions for framing literacy pedagogy in response to the pervasive use of media and technology in contemporary digital culture

Strategies for I-Business in Virtual Markets: A Co-Evolutionary Approach

This paper presents proposals for current research into IT-based strategies within virtual markets. It argues for a more flexible and dynamic approach to IT enabled change which is a direct consequence of these new organisational forms. An initial overview is presented of the mechanisms and dynamics of change and the unique features of IBusiness is described. The paper then considers so-called ‘virtual market ecosystems’ where organisations evolve to support various changes to their environments through the adoption and implementation of electronic infrastructures. In this way organizations are attempting to deal with their surroundings which includes all aspects of IT-enabled learning and adaptation (Clegg et al, 1996; De Geus, 1997; Dvorak et al, 1997; Hackney et al, 1999). The contribution of the paper is to identify the fundamental theoretical approaches to meet the challenges of these emerging virtual markets and to propose appropriate IT strategies for I-Business in this respect

SPECS: A New Approach to Strategic Planning for E-Commerce Systems

This mini track position paper proposes a new paradigm for strategic planning for e-commerce systems (SPECS) and outlines the many issues that such an approach has to encompass. These include concepts such as virtual and electronic markets and the lifecycle of emarkets; supply chain management, value chains and exploiting virtual value chains; relationships within the market such as intermediaries and cybermediaries and value-based electronic market structures. All of these are pulled together in the SPECS framework and the problems of planning for and managing such e-commerce strategies reviewed

Game-Making as a means to deliver the new Computing curriculum in England

Integrating digital technologies into the curriculum has been a growing challenge, especially due to the failures of the majority of initiatives that were envisioned for this purpose. In an effort to comprehend and solve these issues, England has recently proposed a shift in the curricular approach, focusing in teaching technology's conceptual basis rather than technological applications. Thus, the new National Curriculum in England, valid in 2014, focuses on the development of new concepts and the empowerment of the students towards information and communication technologies (ICT). This article presents these recent discussions in the curricular field related to ICT/Computing teaching. It also describes an empirical experience carried out in England, in which students from primary schools explored game-making activities through computational and media culture perspectives as a means to promote this new curriculum. The results obtained through this preliminary research show that, although using digital games to connect Computing, Media and Arts in Education could be regarded as a complex activity, this is a possible path to reach the objectives outlined by the new National Curriculum

Visitor effects on zoo-housed Sulawesi crested macaque (Macaca nigra) behaviour: Can signs with ‘watching eyes’ requesting quietness help?

Visiting public can cause changes in the behaviour of zoo-housed primates. These effects, if indicative of stress, can be of welfare concern. However, few options to mitigate visitor effects through modulating visitor behaviour have been explored. Here we evaluated the effects of visitor number and visitor noise level on the behaviour of five UK groups of Sulawesi crested macaques. We also investigated whether visitor behaviour can be effectively modulated through targeted signage requesting visitors to be quiet, and assessed the use of signs incorporating salient ‘watching’ human eyes, novel to a zoo setting, alongside ‘control’ signs lacking eyes. We used scan sampling to collect over 100 h of behavioural observation data, analysis of which indicated that Sulawesi crested macaques were significantly affected by both visitor number and noise level at all five zoos. We found that active behaviours, such as locomotion or foraging, and behaviours identified as negative for welfare, such as vigilance, increased with increasing visitor number and noise levels, whereas resting and social huddling decreased. The extent to which these behavioural changes reflect welfare, particularly the increase seen in active behaviours, is not clear. We also found that both sign treatments, with and without salient eyes, slightly but significantly reduced visitor noise levels compared with no sign, although signs displaying human eyes were not more effective than the control signs. Our results highlight a need for further research into active behaviours to assess whether increases in these behaviours are associated with stress. While we found signage to be a promising tool to mitigate against these visitor effects, our results also suggest areas in which signs incorporating salient human eyes could be adapted for the zoo environment in order to realise their full potential