Volunteering for the Commonwealth Games: what can realist synthesis contribute to health policy making?

The aim of this thesis was to investigate, using the real-time test case of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, whether the realist synthesis methodology could contribute to the making of health policy in a meaningful way. This was done by looking at two distinct research questions: first, whether realist synthesis could contribute new insights to the health policymaking process, and second, whether the 2014 Commonwealth Games volunteer programme was likely to have any significant, measurable, impact on health inequalities experienced by large sections of the host population. The 2014 Commonwealth Games legacy laid out ambitious plans for the event, in which it was anticipated that it would provide explicit opportunities to impact positively on health inequalities. By using realist synthesis to unpick the theories underpinning the volunteer programme, the review identifies the population subgroups for whom the programme was likely to be successful, how this could be achieved and in what contexts. In answer to the first research question, the review found that while realist methods were able to provide a more nuanced exposition of the impacts of the Games volunteer programme on health inequalities than previous traditional reviews had been able to provide, there were several drawbacks to using the method. It was found to be resource-intensive and complex, encouraging the exploration of a much wider set of literatures at the expense of an in-depth grasp of the complexities of those literatures. In answer to the second research question, the review found that the Games were, if anything, likely to exacerbate health inequalities because the programme was designed in such a way that individuals recruited to it were most likely to be those in least need of the additional mental and physical health benefits that Games volunteering was designed to provide. The following thesis details the approach taken to investigate both the realist approach to evidence synthesis and the likelihood that the 2014 Games volunteer programme would yield the expected results.

The role of cultural heritage in attracting skilled individuals

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role played by built heritages and cultural environments, alongside other locational factors, in explaining the growth of human capital in Sweden. We distinguish between urban, natural and cultural qualities as different sources of regional attractiveness and estimate their influence on the observed growth of individuals with at least three years of higher education during 2001–2010. Neighborhood-level data are used, and unobserved heterogeneity and spatial dependencies are modeled by employing random effects estimations and an instrumental variable approach. Our findings indicate that the local supply of built heritages and cultural environments explain a significant part of human capital growth in Sweden. Results suggest that these types of cultural heritages are important place-based resources with a potential to contribute to improved regional attractiveness and growth.

Educação física escolar e relações de gênero : risco, confiança, organização e sociabilidades em diferentes conteúdos

Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Faculdade de Educação Física

A Dynamic Analysis of Tuberculosis Dissemination to Improve Control and Surveillance

Background: Detailed analysis of the dynamic interactions among biological, environmental, social, and economic factors that favour the spread of certain diseases is extremely useful for designing effective control strategies. Diseases like tuberculosis that kills somebody every 15 seconds in the world, require methods that take into account the disease dynamics to design truly efficient control and surveillance strategies. The usual and well established statistical approaches provide insights into the cause-effect relationships that favour disease transmission but they only estimate risk areas, spatial or temporal trends. Here we introduce a novel approach that allows figuring out the dynamical behaviour of the disease spreading. This information can subsequently be used to validate mathematical models of the dissemination process from which the underlying mechanisms that are responsible for this spreading could be inferred. Methodology/Principal Findings: The method presented here is based on the analysis of the spread of tuberculosis in a Brazilian endemic city during five consecutive years. The detailed analysis of the spatio-temporal correlation of the yearly geo-referenced data, using different characteristic times of the disease evolution, allowed us to trace the temporal path of the aetiological agent, to locate the sources of infection, and to characterize the dynamics of disease spreading. Consequently, the method also allowed for the identification of socio-economic factors that influence the process. Conclusions/Significance: The information obtained can contribute to more effective budget allocation, drug distribution and recruitment of human skilled resources, as well as guiding the design of vaccination programs. We propose that this novel strategy can also be applied to the evaluation of other diseases as well as other social processes.

Expertise and the perception of kinematic and situational probability information

Two experiments were conducted on the nature of expert perception in the sport of squash. In the first experiment, ten expert and fifteen novice players attempted to predict the direction and force of squash strokes from either a film display (occluded at variable time periods before and after the opposing player had struck the ball) or a matched point-light display (containing only the basic kinematic features of the opponent's movement pattern). Experts outperformed the novices under both display conditions, and the same basic time windows that characterised expert and novice pick-up of information in the film task also persisted in the point-light task. This suggests that the experts' perceptual advantage is directly related to their superior pick-up of essential kinematic information. In the second experiment, the vision of six expert and six less skilled players was occluded by remotely triggered liquid-crystal spectacles at quasi-random intervals during simulated match play. Players were required to complete their current stroke even when the display was occluded and their prediction performance was assessed with respect to whether they moved to the correct half of the court to match the direction and depth of the opponent's stroke. Consistent with experiment 1, experts were found to be superior in their advance pick-up of both directional and depth information when the display was occluded during the opponent's hitting action. However, experts also remained better than chance, and clearly superior to less skilled players, in their prediction performance under conditions where occlusion occurred before any significant pre-contact preparatory movement by the opposing player was visible. This additional source of expert superiority is attributable to their superior attunement to the information contained in the situational probabilities and sequential dependences within their opponent's pattern of play.

Meatworkers float during Mayday procession 1965 Brisbane Australia

Meatworkers float during Mayday procession 1965 Brisbane Australia. The Australasian Meat Industry Employees' Union, originally called the Australasian Federated Butchers Employees' Union, was formed in 1905 as an organisation of skilled and unskilled workers in all sectors of the Australian meat processing industry. Faced with a volatile industrial relations environment, AMIEU members developed a reputation for militancy and the AMIEU became one of Australia's most significant unions. In Queensland the union has been involved in many bitter industrial disputes, including the Townsville meatworkers' strike of 1918-19 and the 1946 meat industry strike.

Pinch my wig or winch my pig: Spelling, spoonerisms and other language skills

Phonological processing skills have often been assumed to play a minimal role in skilled adult spelling despite evidence showing their importance in the development of spelling skills. The present study investigated the relationship between phonological awareness and spelling in adults. It was hypothesised that subjects demonstrating higher levels of spelling proficiency would also show superior phonological processing skills. This relationship was expected to be mediated by sound-spelling mapping knowledge. Given the irregularities of sound-spelling correspondences in English, it was also predicted that knowledge of orthographic conventions would be related to spelling competency. Two measures of each component skill were used on seventy three university students. As predicted, the importance of spelling-sound mapping skills in spelling were demonstrated, as was a relationship between phonological awareness and spelling-sound correspondences. In addition a moderate correlation was found between orthographic tasks and spelling performance. It was concluded that, among university students at least, phonological ability makes an important contribution to skilled adult spelling.

Anxious children and their parents: What do they expect?

Assigned 73 children, ages 7 to 14, to 1 of 3 groups (anxious, clinical control, and nonclinical control) according to their diagnostic status. Within the anxious group, children were assigned to 1 of 2 further groups on the basis of self-reported parental anxiety-either the child anxiety only group or the child + parent anxiety group. All children completed an experimental task (giving a brief talk in front of a video camera), which was the focus for a series of structured family discussions between the child and his or her parents. The aims of the study were to measure and compare across groups (a) the evaluations of children and their parents regarding the child's predicted anxiety and skill level and (b) the effect of the family discussion on children's expectations. Results indicated that, prior to the family discussion, anxious children's expectations of their future performance did not differ from those of control children. Similarly, there were no differences in children's expectations between the child anxiety group and the child + parent anxiety group. Second, compared to mothers in the child anxiety group, mothers in the child + parent anxiety group expected that their children would be more anxious and more likely to choose an avoidant problem solution (but not less skilled). Finally, the family discussion was found to produce no changes in anxious children's expectations of their future performance. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Achieving the millennium development goals for health - Cost effectiveness analysis of strategies for. maternal and neonatal health in developing countries

Objective To determine the costs and benefits of interventions for maternal and newborn health to assess the appropriateness of current strategies and guide future plans to attain the millennium development goals. Design Cost effectiveness analysis. Setting Two regions classified by the World Health Organization according to their epidemiological grouping: Afr-E, those countries in sub-Saharan Africa with very high adult and high child mortality, and Sear-D, comprising countries in South East Asia with high adult and high child mortality. Data sources Effectiveness data from several sources, including trials, observational studies, and expert opinion. For resource inputs, quantifies came from WHO guidelines, literature, and expert opinion, and prices from the WHO choosing interventions that are cost effective database. Main outcome measures Cost per disability adjusted life year (DALY) averted in year 2000 international dollars. Results The most cost effective mix of interventions was similar in Afr-E and Sear-D. These were the community based newborn care package, followed by antenatal care (tetanus toxoid, screening for pre-eclampsia, screening and treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria and syphilis); skilled attendance at birth, offering first level maternal and neonatal care around childbirth; and emergency obstetric and neonatal care around and after birth. Screening and treatment of maternal syphilis, community based management of neonatal pneumonia, and steroids given during the antenatal period were relatively less cost effective in Sear-D. Scaling up all of the included interventions to 95% coverage would halve neonatal and maternal deaths. Conclusion Preventive interventions at the community level for newborn babies and at the primary care level for mothers and newborn babies are extremely cost effective, but the millennium development goals for maternal and child health will not be achieved without universal access to clinical services as well.

The role of literacy, occupation and income in dementia prevention: the Sao Paulo Ageing & Health Study (SPAH)

Background: Dementia is now a major public health issue in low- and middle-income countries, and strategies for primary prevention are needed. This study aimed to estimate the proportion of cases of dementia attributable to illiteracy, non-skilled occupation and low income, which are common, potentially modifiable social adversities that occur along the lifespan in low- and middle-income countries. Methods: This report is based on data from the Sao Paulo Ageing & Health Study (SPAH) study (N = 2003). All individuals aged 65 years and older residing within pre-defined socially deprived areas of the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, were included. The outcome of interest was prevalent dementia. Indicators of socioeconomic position (SEP) were literacy (distal indicator), highest occupational attainment (intermediate indicator), and monthly personal income (proximal indicator). We estimated the proportion of prevalent dementia attributable to each SEP indicator (illiteracy, non-skilled occupations and low income) by calculating their population attributable fractions (PAF). Results: Dementia was more prevalent amongst participants who were illiterate, had non-skilled occupations and lower income. Illiteracy, poor occupational achievement and low income accounted for 22.0%, 38.5% and 38.5% of the cases of dementia, respectively. There was a cumulative effect of socioeconomic adversities during the lifespan, and nearly 50% of the prevalence of dementia could be potentially attributed to the combination of two or three of the socioeconomic adversities investigated. Conclusions: Public policies aimed at improving education, occupational skills and income could potentially have a role in primary prevention of dementia. Governments should address this issue in a purposeful and systematic way.

Construction and Validation of the Brazilian Questionario de Respostas Socialmente Habilidosas Segundo Relato de Professores (QRSH-PR)

Behavioral problems in preschool children are one of the most frequent motives for seeking psychological care by parents and caregivers. Instruments are considered necessary, created from a Social Skills Training theoretical-practical perspective, which may systematically assist the identification of social skills and behavioral deficits. helping professionals in the prevention and/or reduction of behavioral problems. The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric validity and reliability of an instrument for evaluation of Socially Skilled Responses. from a teacher`s perspective (QRSH-PR). For this purpose, 260 preschool children were evaluated. differentiated in subgroups without and without behavioral difficulties, based on the Child Behavior Scale (Escala de Comportamento Infantil/ECI-Professor). Studies were conducted for construct. discrimination. concurrent and predictive validity. The Cronbach Alpha was calculated to evaluate internal consistency. The obtained results pointed to positive indicators in reference to construct, discrimination, and predictive validity, and even for good internal consistency. indicating that the items consistently measure the construct of social skills, and differentiated children with and without behavioral problems. The questionnaire is considered to be gauged for evaluation of socially skilled responses from preschool children. and applicable in educational and clinical environments.

Closing the gender gap in Bangladesh: Inequality in education, employment and earnings

Assesses the status of women in Bangladesh by analysing the dynamics of female participation in labour force and education as well as gender earnings differentials at the macro level. The study finds evidence of growing commercialisation of women’s work in Bangladesh. Although the bulk of the female labour force is engaged in self-employment activities in the rural area or in low-skilled textile and readymade garment industries in the urban area, women’s participation in high-skill and entrepreneurial jobs as well as various decision-making bodies is also on the rise. While the gender wage differentials have been considerably reduced in many industries, in general women tend to be paid less than men. There have been remarkable improvements in women’s educational attainments compared to men. Further, female access to education is found to be highly correlated with overall female labour force participation, and relative to male participation. The overall results are suggestive of an improvement in the status of women in Bangladesh.

Differences between older volunteers and nonvolunteers - Attitudinal, normative, and control beliefs

It has been suggested that older people are a rich potential source of volunteers, as prior literature has highlighted the benefits and rewards of volunteering in later life. This article examines differences between volunteers and nonvolunteers in a random sample of older people resident in Brisbane, Australia. Using the theory of planned behavior as a framework, the article focuses on the beliefs that distinguish those who volunteer from those who do not. Findings from the study allowed for an assessment of both the costs and benefits associated with volunteering; beliefs about the support of others, including the broader community, to volunteer; and beliefs about the barriers that might prevent volunteering. The implications of these finding's to a country with an aging population are discussed.

A simple rule of thumb for elegant prehension

Reaching out to grasp an object (prehension) is a deceptively elegant and skilled behavior. The movement prior to object contact can be described as having two components [1], the movement of the hand to an appropriate location for gripping the object, the transport component, and the opening and closing of the aperture between the fingers as they prepare to grip the target, the grasp component. The grasp component is sensitive to the size of the object, so that a larger grasp aperture is formed for wider objects [1]; the maximum grasp aperture (MGA) is a little wider than the width of the target object and occurs later in the movement for larger objects [1, 2]. We present a simple model that can account for the temporal relationship between the transport and grasp components, We report the results of an experiment providing empirical support for our rule of thumb. The model provides a simple, but plausible, account of a neural control strategy that has been the center of debate over the last two decades.