Non-pharmacological interventions in secondary schizophrenia

Schizophrenia may not be a single disease, but the result of a diverse set of related conditions. Modern neuroscience is beginning to reveal some of the genetic and environmental underpinnings of schizophrenia; however, an approach less well travelled is to examine the medical disorders that produce symptoms resembling schizophrenia. This book is the first major attempt to bring together the diseases that produce what has been termed 'secondary schizophrenia'. International experts from diverse backgrounds ask the questions: does this medical disorder, or drug, or condition cause psychosis? If yes, does it resemble schizophrenia? What mechanisms form the basis of this relationship? What implications does this understanding have for aetiology and treatment? The answers are a feast for clinicians and researchers of psychosis and schizophrenia. They mark the next step in trying to meet the most important challenge to modern neuroscience – understanding and conquering this most mysterious of human diseases.

New palladium catalysed reactions of bromoporphyrins: synthesis and crystal structures of nickel(II) complexes of primary 5-aminoporphyrin, 5,5’-bis(porphyrinyl) secondary amine, and 5-hydroxyporphyrin

Primary aminoporphyrin, secondary bis(porphyrinyl)amine and hydroxyporphyrin complexes have been isolated and characterised both spectroscopically and crystallographically from the reaction of 5-bromo-10,15,20-triphenylporphyrinato-nickel(II) with hydrazine under palladium catalysis.

A study of parents’ conceptions of their roles as home educators of their children

Home education is a growing phenomenon in Australia. It is the practice whereby parents engage in the full time education of their children at home. This study used a phenomenographic approach to identify and analyse how home educating parents conceive of their roles as home educators. Data analysis presented an outcome space of the parents‘ qualitatively different conceptions of their roles as home educators. This outcome space exemplifies the phenomenon of the roles of parent home educators. This thesis reports on the qualitatively different ways in which a group of 27 home educating parents viewed their roles in the education of their children. Four categories of description of parent home educator roles emerged from the analysis. These parents saw themselves in the role of a (1) learner, as they needed to gain knowledge and skills in order to both commence and to continue home education. Further, they perceived of themselves as (2) partners, usually with their spouse, in an educational partnership, which provided the family‘s educational infrastructure. They also saw themselves in the role of (3) teachers of their children, facilitating their education and development. Finally, they conceived of themselves as (4) educational pioneers in their communities. These four categories were linked and differentiated from each other by three key themes or dimensions of variation. These were the themes of (1) educational influence; (2) educational example; and (3) spirituality, which impacted both their families and the wider community. The findings of the study indicate that home educators experience their roles in four critically different ways, each of which contributes to their family educational enterprise. The findings suggest that home educators, are bona fide educators and that they access parental qualities that provide a form of education which differs from the educational practices characteristic of the majority of Australians. The study has the potential to generate further understandings of home education for home educators and for the wider community. It may also inform policy makers in the fields of education, social welfare, and the law, where there is a vested interest in the education and welfare of children and families.

Analysing the effect of digital technology on channel strategy, power and disintermediation in the home video market : the demise of the video store?

The antecedents of channel power (e.g. El-Ansary and Stern, 1972) and the impact of channel structure ( e.g. Anderson and Narus,1984) on channel dynamics have long been important topics within the channel literature. In addition to the theoretical and methodological contributions, research in these areas has helped channel managers to understand how power is generated and used in coordinating distribution strategies in different contexts. The study presented in this paper builds upon these previous literatures, which are first briefly reviewed below.

House as home : emotions centred design for disability

In this paper we highlight how current approaches to design for disability have failed to consider the emotional needs not only of those with disabilities but their families and other carers as well. In conjunction with this, we demonstrate through a review of literature the significance of the house, the home and home in the support and growth of the person as a whole in association with their loved ones, and the potential inequity that arises when the emotional and holistic dimensions of 'being' are neglected. With a growing trend nationally and internationally away from group and shared housing, a greater focus on the family and their home is required. However, as research has shown, home for families where a family member has a disability is not necessarily a positive experience; it can be a source of stress, work, conflict and burden, arousing emotions ranging from loss of control through guilt. As proposed in the paper, consideration of the negative as well as positive emotions demands exploration of the 'middle ground' between institutions and home-based care models. This paper outlines the beginning of one such exploration.

Where does it say I have to do that? How can secondary schools enact assessment policy for students with disabilities

This paper describes effective ways secondary school leaders can enact curriculum policy, particularly assessment practices, to support learning for students with disabilities in mainstream schools. Assessment for learning (AfL) as a pedagogic practice, has gained recent importance through inclusion in curriculum policy in Queensland, Australia. AfL is the frequent assessment of student progress that identifies learning needs and informs future teaching and learning. Assessment of student progress of the standards based curriculum has provided challenges for schools attempting to meet the needs of “all” learners. This paper highlights findings of a small case study to model successful leadership practices used in an inclusive secondary school to improve achievement of students with disabilities through assessment. Successful leadership practices that can be generalized to improve achievement of all learners include making sense of policy for staff; developing staff common and shared beliefs and actions; organizing professional learning opportunities and arranging collaborative curriculum planning and co-teaching.

Depth of focus and visual acuity with primary and secondary spherical aberration

It is known that the depth of focus (DOF) of the human eye can be affected by the higher order aberrations. We estimated the optimal combinations of primary and secondary Zernike spherical aberration to expand the DOF and evaluated their efficiency in real eyes using an adaptive optics system. The ratio between increased DOF and loss of visual acuity was used as the performance indicator. The results indicate that primary or secondary spherical aberration alone shows similar effectiveness in extending the DOF. However, combinations of primary and secondary spherical aberration with different signs provide better efficiency for expanding the DOF. This finding suggests that the optimal combinations of primary and secondary spherical aberration may be useful in the design of optical presbyopic corrections. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bringing protection home : healing the schism between international obligations and national safeguards created by extraterritorial processing

Extraterritorial processing schemes are designed to prevent and deter access to statutory and judicial safeguards in the country responsible for the interception and transfer of asylum seekers to a third country. In line with this objective, they incorporate interdiction, transfer and processing practices and standards that are deliberately isolated from the national legal and institutional protections within either the intercepting state or the third country where processing occurs. Australia's recent disbandment of its extraterritorial processing centres in third countries highlights the fact that extraterritorial processing schemes have proven unworkable as a matter of international law, as they negate the national safeguards fundamental to the satisfaction of a state's protection obligations.

Maximum recovery after knee replacement - the MARKER study rationale and protocol

Background There is little scientific evidence to support the usual practice of providing outpatient rehabilitation to patients undergoing total knee replacement surgery (TKR) immediately after discharge from the orthopaedic ward. It is hypothesised that the lack of clinical benefit is due to the low exercise intensity tolerated at this time, with patients still recovering from the effects of major orthopaedic surgery. The aim of the proposed clinical trial is to investigate the clinical and cost effectiveness of a novel rehabilitation strategy, consisting of an initial home exercise programme followed, approximately six weeks later, by higher intensity outpatient exercise classes. Methods/Design In this multicentre randomised controlled trial, 600 patients undergoing primary TKR will be recruited at the orthopaedic pre-admission clinic of 10 large public and private hospitals in Australia. There will be no change to the medical or rehabilitative care usually provided while the participant is admitted to the orthopaedic ward. After TKR, but prior to discharge from the orthopaedic ward, participants will be randomised to either the novel rehabilitation strategy or usual rehabilitative care as provided by the hospital or recommended by the orthopaedic surgeon. Outcomes assessments will be conducted at baseline (pre-admission clinic) and at 6 weeks, 6 months and 12 months following randomisation. The primary outcomes will be self-reported knee pain and physical function. Secondary outcomes include quality of life and objective measures of physical performance. Health economic data (health sector and community service utilisation, loss of productivity) will be recorded prospectively by participants in a patient diary. This patient cohort will also be followed-up annually for five years for knee pain, physical function and the need or actual incidence of further joint replacement surgery. Discussion The results of this pragmatic clinical trial can be directly implemented into clinical practice. If beneficial, the novel rehabilitation strategy of utilising outpatient exercise classes during a later rehabilitation phase would provide a feasible and potentially cost-effective intervention to optimise the physical well-being of the large number of people undergoing TKR.