Post-extinction brachiopod faunas from the late Permian Wuchiapingian coal series of South China

This paper describes fourteen brachiopod species in eleven genera from the Late Permian Wuchiapingian Coal Series (Lungtan Formation) of South China. Of these, the shell bed fauna from the basal Lungtan Formation is interpreted to represent the onset of the recovery of shelly faunas in the aftermath of the Guadalupian/Lopingian (G/L) mass extinction in South China. The post-extinction brachiopod faunas in the Wuchiapingian are characterized by the presence of numerous Lazarus taxa, survivors, and newly originating taxa. These elements capable of adapting their life habits were relatively more resistant to the G/L crisis. The post-extinction faunas, including survivors and the elements originating in the recovery period, have no life habit preference, but they were all adapted to a variety of newly vacated niches in the Late Permian oceans. Two new species, Meekella beipeiensis and Niutoushania chongqingensis, are described, and two Chinese genera, Niutoushania and Chengxianoproductus, are emended based on re-examination of the type specimens and new topotype materials from the Lungtan Formation.

Effects of tv time and other sedentary pursuits

Television (TV) viewing is the dominant recreational pastime at all ages, especially for children and adolescents. Many studies have shown that higher TV viewing hours are associated with higher body mass index (BMI), lower levels of fitness and higher blood cholesterol levels. Although the effect size estimated from observational studies is small (with TV viewing explaining very little of the variance in BMI), the results of intervention studies show large effect sizes. The potential mediators of the effect of higher TV viewing on higher BMI include less time for physical activity, reduced resting metabolic rate (for which there is little supporting evidence) and increased energy intake (from more eating while watching TV and a greater exposure to marketing of energy dense foods). Electronic games may have an effect on unhealthy weight gain, but are less related to increased energy intake and their usage is relatively new, making effect size difficult to determine. Thus, TV viewing does not explain much of the differences in body size between individuals or the rise in obesity over time, perhaps because of the uniformly high, but relatively stable, TV viewing hours. Reducing TV viewing hours is a difficult prospect because potential actions, such as social marketing and education, are likely to be relatively weak interventions, although the evidence would suggest that, if viewing could be reduced, it could have a significant impact on reducing obesity prevalence. Regulations to reduce the heavy marketing of energy dense foods and beverages on TV may be the most effective public health measure available to minimize the impact of TV viewing on unhealthy weight gain.

Examining communication and team performance during clinical handover in a complex environment : the private sector post-anaesthetic care unit

* Threats to patient safety during clinical handover have been identified as an ongoing problem in health care delivery.

* In complex handover situations, organisational, cultural, behavioural and environmental factors associated with team performance can affect patient safety by undermining the stability of team functioning and the effectiveness of interprofessional communication.

* We present a practical framework for promoting systematic, comprehensive measurement of the factors involved in clinical handover.

* The framework can be used to develop viable solutions to the problems of clinical handover.

* The framework was devised and used in a recent project examining interprofessional communication and team performance during clinical handover in post-anaesthetic care units.

* The framework combines five key concepts: clinical governance, clinician engagement, ecological validity, safety culture and team climate, and sustainability.

* We believe that use of this framework will help overcome the limitations of previous research that has not taken into account the complex and multifaceted influences on clinical handover and interprofessional communication.

Is there global inclusion in publishing in the five leading advertising journals and does this relate to general publishing performance : a regional comparison

The question has been raised in academia whether there is global inclusion of authors in publishing. This has generally not been explored in the 30 years of research on advertising research activity and those works that do exist in advertising have generally only examined three North American focused journals. This paper expands the set of journals to five advertising focused journals and thus is a global examination of publishing in advertising. Within these five advertising journals there is an increased international involvement and thus it appears that a broader set of perspectives are being considered in the advertising literature. We also found that there is a positive correlation between publishing in the five leading advertising journals and four leading generalist journals, suggesting that institutions may be developing broader research cultures, rather than targeting works only in advertising.

The impact of caring for a child with cerebral palsy : quality of life for mothers and fathers

Background:  Although it is expected that caring for a child with cerebral palsy (CP) can impact on the quality of life (QOL) of caregivers, the QOL of carers' has yet to be adequately examined. The aims of this study are to: (1) explore the QOL of mothers and fathers of children with CP aged 3–18 years; and (2) examine whether the impact of caring for a child with CP changes from childhood to adolescence.

Method: A qualitative study was conducted utilizing a grounded theory framework. Twenty-four mothers and 13 fathers of children and adolescents with CP aged 3–7 years (n = 15), 8–12 years (n = 10) and 13–18 years (n = 12) and with varying levels of impairment (GMFCS Level I = 1, II = 4, II = 3, IV = 5, V = 12) participated in semi-structured interviews about their QOL. The transcripts were analysed to identify issues affecting parental QOL.

Results: There were no differences in parental QOL among subgroups (i.e. mothers and fathers, age groups, GMFCS levels). Parental QOL ranged across a wide spectrum. Caring for a child with CP affects a parent's physical well-being, social well-being, freedom and independence, family well-being and financial stability. Parents indicated that they often feel unsupported by the services they access.

Conclusions: Caring for a child with CP can both positively and negatively impact on a parent's life. There is value for both parents and children if parental concerns and determinants of QOL are considered in overall programme planning and service delivery for children and their families.

Why are childless women childless? Findings from an exploratory study in Victoria, Australia

Childlessness in Australia is increasing yet there is limited research exploring women’s reasons for childlessness. Previous research has typically examined childlessness within the context of fertility rather than childlessness itself. The limited research that has moved beyond looking at involuntary childlessness has labelled women with a type of childlessness during recruitment rather than exploring women’s reasons for childlessness as a part of the research process.