Disability in a Technology-Driven Workplace

New Internet and Web-based technology applications have meant significant cost and time efficiencies to many American businesses. However, many employers have not yet fully grasped the impact of these new information and communication technologies on applicants and employees with certain disabilities such as vision impairments, hearing problems or limited dexterity. Although not all applicants and employees who have a disability may experience IT-access problems, to select groups it can pose a needless barrier. The increasing dominance of IT in the workplace presents both a challenge and an opportunity for workers with disabilities and their employers. It will be up to HR professionals to ensure that Web-based HR processes and workplace technologies are accessible to their employees with disabilities.

The Effects of Consensual Pain: A Look at Psychological and Physiological Changes of Giving and Receiving Tattoos

Past research has observed that extreme rituals and BDSM activities have the ability to produce altered states of consciousness. Currently it is unknown what role inducing or receiving painful stimuli may have in eliciting these responses. 22 participants (5 tattoo artists, 11 clients, and 6 observers) were recruited at a local tattoo parlor. Tattoo artists were expected to enter into a state of flow (Csikszentmihalyi & Csikszentmihalyi, 1988) as measured by the SHORT Flow State Scale while any altered state of consciousness found in clients was expected to be accounted for by Dietrich’s (2003) transient hypofrontality hypothesis (measured with a Stroop task via tablet). No evidence was found that participants entered into a state of flow or transient hypofrontality. Participants did show a reduction in positive affect as well as a trending reduction in negative affect. Tattoo artists and clients reported feeling closer to each other; other groups (e.g. artists and observers) had no significant changes in closeness. Ego depletion, as measured by a handgrip task, may have occurred although the small sample size, as well as hand fatigue in the tattoo artists after the tattoo procedure, may better account for this finding.B.A. (Bachelor of Arts

Decentering resources: A phenomenological study of interpretive pedagogies in patient education

The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to document an innovative approach to teaching patient education where RN–Bachelor of Science in Nursing students, through an online course, learned and applied the interpretive pedagogies in patient education. The online course was the educational intervention which laid the groundwork of the study. Data were then collected from 9 of 18 students who took the course and agreed to participate. Interviews were audiotaped face to face or by telephone and transcribed and interpreted for meanings. Two themes that emerged for teaching patient education included “Decentering Resources: Listening Through Questioning” and “Decentering Resources: Empowering Through Questioning.” This study revealed that, as students learned the interpretive pedagogies, resources (brochures, handouts, videos, etc.) took on less importance in their patient education practice. They recognized how resources frequently impeded patient–nurse interactions in teaching and learning encounters. Once students understood that they were perhaps depending too much on resources, they began engaging in questioning practices where significant meanings of listening and empowering in patient education unfolded. This study encourages nurse educators to teach students interpretive pedagogies in patient education to promote pedagogical literacy, which preserves the time-honored tradition of working together with patients during teaching and learning encounters

Ethics Education in Professional Psychology: A Survey of American Psychological Association Accredited Programs

Professional psychologists are expected to know ethical standards and engage in proactive analysis of ethical considerations across professional roles (e.g., practice, research, teaching). Yet, little is known about the current state of doctoral ethics education in professional psychology, including the content covered and pedagogical strategies used to ensure developing this core component of professional competency (de las Fuentes, Willmuth, & Yarrow, 2005). A survey of ethics educators from APAaccredited programs across the United States and Canada resulted in 136 instructors reporting on their program\u27s ethics training. The majority of questionnaires returned were from PhD programs (77.9%). A substantial number of programs were clinical (59.6%) and followed a scientist practitioner training model (69.9%). The response rate across specialties ranged from 34.5% to 41.4%. Nearly all (95.6%) reported having a required ethics course. Lectures (95.6%) were the most common teaching method reported. Fully 100% of ethics educators reported teaching about mandated reporting and informed consent to treatment. An overwhelming majority (90% and above) covered the same 11 other topics, showing notable convergence in content. The most commonly used document across programs (99.3%) was the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (APA, 2010). The most common type of assignment was reading (94.1%), and the most common teaching practice was teaching by example (90.4%). Finally the most endorsed teaching goal was advancement of critical thinking (94.9%). Implications for ethics education and future research directions are described. © 2014 American Psychological Association

Community- delivered infant- parent psychotherapy improves maternal sensitive caregiving: Evaluation of the Michigan model of infant mental health home visiting

The current study evaluated the effectiveness of a home- based psychotherapeutic Infant Mental Health Home Visiting (IMH- HV) intervention for enhancing parenting sensitivity; a secondary aim was to evaluate whether the use of video feedback was associated with greater treatment response. Participants were N = 78 mothers and their children (age at entry ranged from prebirth to 24- month old (M = 9.8, SD = 8.4), who were initiating IMH- HV services with community mental health- based therapists (N = 51). Dyads were assessed during extended home visits via standardized interviews and observational and questionnaire methods within the first month of treatment (baseline), and again 6 and 12 months thereafter. Following each of these extended home visits, study evaluators completed a standard Q- sort to capture observations of maternal sensitivity during the visit. Therapists completed fidelity checklists used to derive the total number of IMH- HV sessions received (i.e., dosage) and frequency with which therapists provided video feedback. Results indicated a dose- response relationship between number of sessions and maternal sensitivity, and that video review with parents independently contributed to improved maternal sensitivity. Discussion focuses on the effectiveness of this community- based psychotherapeutic home visiting model for enhancing parenting, as well as the value of video feedback as a specific therapeutic strategy.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154891/1/imhj21840_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154891/2/imhj21840.pd

Pbx homeodomain proteins pattern both the zebrafish retina and tectum

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Pbx </it>genes encode TALE class homeodomain transcription factors that pattern the developing neural tube, pancreas, and blood. Within the hindbrain, Pbx cooperates with Hox proteins to regulate rhombomere segment identity. Pbx cooperates with Eng to regulate midbrain-hindbrain boundary maintenance, and with MyoD to control fast muscle cell differentiation. Although previous results have demonstrated that Pbx is required for proper eye size, functions in regulating retinal cell identity and patterning have not yet been examined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Analysis of retinal ganglion cell axon pathfinding and outgrowth in <it>pbx2/4 </it>null embryos demonstrated a key role for <it>pbx </it>genes in regulating neural cell behavior. To identify Pbx-dependent genes involved in regulating retino-tectal pathfinding, we conducted a microarray screen for Pbx-dependent transcripts in zebrafish, and detected genes that are specifically expressed in the eye and tectum. A subset of Pbx-dependent retinal transcripts delineate specific domains in the dorso-temporal lobe of the developing retina. Furthermore, we determined that some Pbx-dependent transcripts also require Meis1 and Gdf6a function. Since <it>gdf6a </it>expression is also dependent on Pbx, we propose a model in which Pbx proteins regulate expression of the growth factor <it>gdf6a</it>, which in turn regulates patterning of the dorso-temporal lobe of the retina. This, in concert with aberrant tectal patterning in <it>pbx2/4 </it>null embryos, may lead to the observed defects in RGC outgrowth.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These data define a novel role for Pbx in patterning the vertebrate retina and tectum in a manner required for proper retinal ganglion cell axon outgrowth.</p

Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Attentional Control in the Aging Brain

A growing body of literature provides evidence for the prophylactic influence of cardiorespiratory fitness on cognitive decline in older adults. This study examined the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and recruitment of the neural circuits involved in an attentional control task in a group of healthy older adults. Employing a version of the Stroop task, we examined whether higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness were associated with an increase in activation in cortical regions responsible for imposing attentional control along with an up-regulation of activity in sensory brain regions that process task-relevant representations. Higher fitness levels were associated with better behavioral performance and an increase in the recruitment of prefrontal and parietal cortices in the most challenging condition, thus providing evidence that cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with an increase in the recruitment of the anterior processing regions. There was a top-down modulation of extrastriate visual areas that process both task-relevant and task-irrelevant attributes relative to the baseline. However, fitness was not associated with differential activation in the posterior processing regions, suggesting that fitness enhances attentional function by primarily influencing the neural circuitry of anterior cortical regions. This study provides novel evidence of a differential association of fitness with anterior and posterior brain regions, shedding further light onto the neural changes accompanying cardiorespiratory fitness

Predicting Filipino Mothers\u27 and Fathers\u27 Reported Use of Corporal Punishment From Education, Authoritarian Attitudes, and Endorsement of Corporal Punishment

The relations of education, authoritarian childrearing attitudes, and endorsement of corporal punishment to Filipino parents\u27 reported use of corporal punishment were examined using two waves of data. Structured interviews using self-report questionnaires were conducted with 117 mothers and 98 fathers from 120 families when their children were 8 years old, and when their children were 9 years old. Path analyses showed that, among mothers, higher education predicted lower authoritarian attitudes, which in turn predicted lower reports of corporal punishment use. Among fathers, higher education predicted lower endorsement of corporal punishment, which in turn predicted lower reports of its use. Results suggest that education has an indirect relation to use of corporal punishment through parenting cognitions, and highlight distinctions in Filipino mothers\u27 and fathers\u27 parenting roles

Multiple sodium channel isoforms mediate the pathological effects of Pacific ciguatoxin-1

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Human intoxication with the seafood poison ciguatoxin, a dinoflagellate polyether that activates voltage-gated sodium channels (NaV), causes ciguatera, a disease characterised by gastrointestinal and neurological disturbances. We assessed the activity of the most potent congener, Pacific ciguatoxin-1 (P-CTX-1), on NaV1.1–1.9 using imaging and electrophysiological approaches. Although P-CTX-1 is essentially a non-selective NaV toxin and shifted the voltage-dependence of activation to more hyperpolarising potentials at all NaV subtypes, an increase in the inactivation time constant was observed only at NaV1.8, while the slope factor of the conductance-voltage curves was significantly increased for NaV1.7 and peak current was significantly increased for NaV1.6. Accordingly, P-CTX-1-induced visceral and cutaneous pain behaviours were significantly decreased after pharmacological inhibition of NaV1.8 and the tetrodotoxin-sensitive isoforms NaV1.7 and NaV1.6, respectively. The contribution of these isoforms to excitability of peripheral C- and A-fibre sensory neurons, confirmed using murine skin and visceral single-fibre recordings, reflects the expression pattern of NaV isoforms in peripheral sensory neurons and their contribution to membrane depolarisation, action potential initiation and propagation