Another minority group: use of aged care day programs and community leisure services by older people with lifelong disability

Objective: This study examined the extent to which programs available to the general aged community are accessible to older people with lifelong disability. Method: Forty Victorian generic aged day activity and community leisure programs used by older people responded to a survey that sought information on the extent to which such services are used by older people with a lifelong disability. Results: More than half of these services are accessed by a small number of people with lifelong disability and overall there was a willingness to include this group in generic services. Barriers and solutions to successful generic service use were reported. Conclusions: The findings indicate that the issues for people with lifelong disability differ little from those of other minority groups. It is proposed that disability services have a role in brokering services for their older clients, and continued planning and collaboration between disability and aged services will benefit all older people.

Retirement or just a change of pace: an Australian national survey of disability day services used by older people with disabilities

The increasing number of people with disabilities surviving to old age raises questions regarding the type of day support programs necessary to meet their needs. In this paper the results of a national survey of specialist disability day programs used by older2 people with a lifelong disability are discussed. A postal survey of 596 day programs for people with disabilities was conducted, with a response rate of 28%. Findings show that only 19% of service users were aged over 55, and the largest subgroup were people with intellectual disability. Many older people attended programs that were not age specific and a typology of the seven program types utilised was constructed. Individualised planning, flexibility and choice were perceived as fundamental to a successful program. The location of activities in the community, maintenance of social relationships, and opportunities to develop new contacts were also seen as important. Little understanding, however, of the diversity of the ageing process or notions of healthy ageing was demonstrated by service providers, many of whom had limited expectations of older people. Challenges identified in providing day support for older people were lack of financial resources, knowledge and expertise amongst staff, and difficulties interfacing with other service systems.

Fair relationships and policies to support family day care educators’ mental health: a qualitative study

High quality child care is a population health investment that relies on the capacity of providers. The mental health and wellbeing of child care educators is fundamental to care quality and turnover, yet sector views on the relationship between working conditions and mental health and wellbeing are scarce. This paper examines child care educators' and sector key informants' perspectives on how working in family day care influences educator's mental health and wellbeing.

Effects of 60-day bed rest with and without exercise on cellular and humoral immunological parameters

Exercise at regular intervals is assumed to have a positive effect on immune functions. Conversely, after spaceflight and under simulated weightlessness (e.g., bed rest), immune functions can be suppressed. We aimed to assess the effects of simulated weightlessness (Second Berlin BedRest Study; BBR2-2) on immunological parameters and to investigate the effect of exercise (resistive exercise with and without vibration) on these changes. Twenty-four physically and mentally healthy male volunteers (20-45 years) performed resistive vibration exercise (n=7), resistance exercise without vibration (n=8) or no exercise (n=9) within 60 days of bed rest. Blood samples were taken 2 days before bed rest, on days 19 and 60 of bed rest. Composition of immune cells was analyzed by flow cytometry. Cytokines and neuroendocrine parameters were analyzed by Luminex technology and ELISA/RIA in plasma. General changes over time were identified by paired t-test, and exercise-dependent effects by pairwise repeated measurements (analysis of variance (ANOVA)). With all subjects pooled, the number of granulocytes, natural killer T cells, hematopoietic stem cells and CD45RA and CD25 co-expressing T cells increased and the number of monocytes decreased significantly during the study; the concentration of eotaxin decreased significantly. Different impacts of exercise were seen for lymphocytes, B cells, especially the IgD(+) subpopulation of B cells and the concentrations of IP-10, RANTES and DHEA-S. We conclude that prolonged bed rest significantly impacts immune cell populations and cytokine concentrations. Exercise was able to specifically influence different immunological parameters. In summary, our data fit the hypothesis of immunoprotection by exercise and may point toward even superior effects by resistive vibration exercise.Cellular & Molecular Immunology advance online publication, 10 November 2014; doi:10.1038/cmi.2014.106.

Islam's Modern Day Ibn Battutas: Gülen teachers journeying towards the divine

There is a longstanding debate on whether Muslims can be modern. Some argue that they can only be so if they forsake their traditions and embrace rationalism. In this article I argue that the Gülen Movement, a transnational Turkish Muslim educational activist network has found a middle ground by blending religious traditions with modern day realities. Drawing on interviews from the movement's teachers and graduates of its schools, from Turkey, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, I explore, through the prism of al-riḥla fī ṭalab al-ʿilm (travel in search of knowledge), their maintenance of the longstanding Islamic ritual of travel as a means of excelling both professionally and religiously. In turn, I demonstrate how the movement, on a number of levels, effectively reconciles the spiritual and the everyday through updating Islamic practices to better integrate themselves and other Muslims into a globalised world.

Is the efficient market hypothesis day-of-the-week dependent? Evidence from the banking sector

In this article, we propose a new hypothesis: that the efficient market hypothesis is day-of-the-week-dependent. We apply the test to firms belonging to the banking sector and listed on the NYSE. We find significant evidence that the efficient market hypothesis is day-of-the-week-dependent. Overall, for only 62% of firms, the unit root null hypothesis is rejected on all the five trading days. We also discover that when investors do not account for unit root properties in devising trading strategies, they obtain spurious profits.

Family day care educators’ knowledge, confidence and skills in promoting children’s social and emotional wellbeing: baseline data from Thrive

THIS PAPER PRESENTS BASELINE data from Thrive, a capacity-building program for family day care educators. Educators completed a self-report survey assessing knowledge and confidence in promoting children’s social and emotional wellbeing. An in-home observation was used to assess care quality. Twenty-four educators responded to the survey (40 per cent response rate). They had an average of nine years’ experience and 82 percent held childcare qualifications. Educators reported knowledge of, on average, three early signs of social and emotional problems in children, three risk factors and two protective factors. Using a scale from 0-10, mean educator confidence levels ranged from an average of 6.69 to 7.25. Quality of care ratings were moderate. Although educators had a good understanding of children’s social and emotional wellbeing, the study identified opportunities for significant changes in the quality of the educators’ interactions with children in their care and their professional development.

Switching to a 10-day Mediterranean-style diet improves mood and cardiovascular function in a controlled crossover study

OBJECTIVES: Even short-term adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet may benefit aspects of psychological functioning. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of switching to a 10-d Mediterranean-style diet on mood, cognition, and cardiovascular measures. METHODS: Using a crossover design, 24 women were randomly assigned to either the diet change (where they switched to a Mediterranean-style diet) or no diet change (normal diet) condition for 10 days before switching to the other condition for the same duration. Mood, cognition, and cardiovascular measures of blood pressure, blood flow velocity, and arterial stiffness were assessed at baseline and at the completion of the two diets (days 11 and 22). RESULTS: Independent of whether the Mediterranean-style diet was undertaken before or after the crossover, it was associated with significantly elevated contentment and alertness, and significantly reduced confusion. Additionally, aspects of cognition, such as memory recall, improved significantly as a result of switching to the Mediterranean-style diet. Regarding cardiovascular measures, there was a significant reduction in augmentation pressure associated with the Mediterranean-style diet intervention, but blood flow velocity through the common carotid artery did not change. CONCLUSIONS: This Mediterranean-style diet has the potential to enhance aspects of mood, cognition, and cardiovascular function in a young, healthy adult sample.

The role of the educational leader in long day care – how do they perceive their role?

National reforms introduced into the early childhood education and care sector across Australia have created a requirement for each service to appoint an ‘educational’ leader to provide curriculum direction to ensure that children achieve quality care and education to lead to positive outcomes. Leadership in the early childhood has often been contested and complex, but the addition of a new leadership for building pedagogy and practice has created additional complexities. This paper reports the findings of a small-scale qualitative research study investigating how a small number of educational leaders working in long day care settings in urban Australia perceive their role. The study identified that these educational leaders came to the position unwillingly and felt poorly prepared and supported to meet the challenges presented.