Full-time Occupation Research Articles

The course of negative symptoms over the first five years of treatment: Data from an early intervention program for psychosis

BackgroundCross-sectional studies suggest that negative symptoms are constituted by separable domains of reduced expressiveness and reduced motivation, but there is little data on the longitudinal course of these symptoms. We examined evidence for differences in the course and correlates of these two domains in a prospective study of patients presenting with a first episode of psychosis. MethodsOf 132 patients who were followed up for five years, it was possible to monitor reduced expressiveness and motivation on a weekly basis for 127. Information on treatment delay, premorbid adjustment, intellectual functioning, anxiety, depression and psychosocial functioning were also collected. ResultsOver the five year follow-up, symptoms of reduced motivation occurred in 95.3% of patients and reduced expressiveness in 68.5%; and deficits in motivation were more likely to be unremitting (15.7%) than expressive deficits (5.5%). There were differences in the correlates of the proportion of time each patient experienced symptoms of each domain. Depression, weeks of full time occupation and weeks on a disability pension were associated with both domains. Anxiety was associated only with diminished motivation. Lower performance IQ; extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) and dysrhythmic EEG were associated only with proportion of time showing reduced expressiveness. ConclusionsThe prospective data support previous cross-sectional findings that, while these domains of negative symptoms are correlated, they do show differences in prevalence over time and in their correlates.

Managing Online Presence in the E-Learning Environment: Technological Support for Academic Staff

Over the last two decades the use of E-learning technology increased to such an extent that the role of the traditional academic has been forced to change. Focusing on academics’ views, this study examines their interactions in the E-learning environment and whether online learning applications have increased academic workload (Eynon, 2005; Olaniran, 2006). This study also identifies how their role has changed and the underlying factors which may cause negativity in their working environment. Based on a literature review and twelve interviews with academics the work suggests that online learning applications have increased workload. For some academics the use of E-learning technology in UK higher education can be a full time occupation. It is evident from the data that the drawbacks to current E-learning technology outweigh the number of benefits. A key concern is the high number of working hours spent on E-learning systems by academics. This research states unequivocally that the level of complexity for some academics is daunting as well as frustrating. A key finding from this research is a wish list made by academics that can help in their role as teachers in utilising E-learning technology. Managing expectations of academics is vital to the success of E-learning technology in higher education institutions.

Application of porter’s framework to assess aquaculture value chain in Kenya

Aquaculture (fish farming) is an agricultural as well as fisheries activity, competing with other agricultural enterprises and artisanal fisheries for the same basic inputs. Therefore, aquaculture is subject to the same basic resource constraints that traditional agricultural activities face. The literature suggests that competition within a value chain is between chains and not individual actors. This study examined the aquaculture value chain in Kenya, assessing the entire value chain, and determining the appropriate points to participate in economically sustainable ways. The competition analysis assessed attractiveness at each stage of the chain by reviewing the rivalry in terms of five competitive forces within the Kenyan aquaculture industry; competitive rivalry, the threat of new entrants, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of substitutes and bargaining power of buyers. The aquaculture industry in Kenya is assessed using Porter’s model with marketing mix (Ps) and factor evaluation matrix (FEM). Input supply is found to be the most difficult value chain function in which to participate because it requires relatively large initial capital outlays and additional operating funds. Although fish farming is the driving function of the entire value chain, the significant capital investments required could be a barrier to entry. Fish farming has largely benefited from the support of government, NGOs and other regional development initiatives. The study established that the easiest sector to enter (in terms of low barriers to entry and exit and low labour requirements) is the fish marketing sector. This chain function provides the most flexibility and liquidity to participants, whether as full-time or part-time occupation. Overall, participation in the Kenya aquaculture value chain will depend on the prospective entrant’s level of experience, time, capital commitment and financial goal (long term stability versus liquidity). Aquaculture requires a long term commitment and high capital outlays, as well as persistence, and should therefore be considered by those looking for long term stability and not short term benefits. Established fish farmers may consider diversifying into input supply and value addition as well. Key words: Kenya, aquaculture, tilapia, value chain

The Seas and Shores of Human History

The Seas and Shores of Human History Robb Robinson (bio) W. Jeffrey Bolster . The Mortal Sea: Fishing the Atlantic in the Age of Sail. Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press , 2012 . xi + 378 pp. Figures, maps, illustrations, glossary, and index. $29.95 . John R. Gillis . The Human Shore: Seacoasts in History. Chicago : University of Chicago Press , 2012 . x + 241 pp. Illustrations, maps, notes, and index. $27.50 . There has been a widespread general perception that, until recent times, the vast oceans and seas that cover so much of our planet were largely unchanging over long epochs and were scarcely affected by human depredation. There is also still a prevailing residual temptation, when considering the longer-term cultural and human geography of coasts, to emphasize elements of continuity and stability. In both cases, significant disturbance of natural or traditional human maritime or littoral patterns has often been considered to be a product of the industrial age, of mechanization and urbanization. Continuity rather than change has usually been seen as the norm in the pre-industrial age. The authors of these well-argued, wide-ranging, and perceptive books would, however, beg to differ. There have been perhaps many good reasons for the perpetuation of a myopic view of aquatic and coastal change. In the first place, as John R. Gillis would probably argue, for a long time many Western historians generally have taken a rather terra-centric view of historical change and found it difficult to find an appropriate context for salt water, even shores, in their landed geographical or historical hypotheses. Such a view has ancient roots, and the seas were seen by many as alien environments—wild oceanic wildernesses. Moreover, our natural coastal margins tend to lack straight lines and even sharp boundaries between land and water, whilst our oceans have not been appropriated in quite the conventional landed sense of the term; the seabed also lacked the property divisions so important and prevalent on land. In other words, our coasts and seas defied the landed territorial logic so beloved of those who seek certainty and clarity; a study of the history of the tortured evolution of fishing limits, territorial waters, and Exclusive Economic Zones provides some indication of this. Fishing provides perhaps the best example [End Page 387] of the difficulty of applying landward classifications to the sea, for the occupation cannot be described as conventional industry, agriculture, or transport but contains aspects of all three. Yet fishermen themselves are, at heart, hunters deploying all the skills of the hunter to pursue and take a wild and fugitive prey across a vast marine wilderness. Yet for all that, fishing was not often, as Gillis points out, a full-time occupation across the North Atlantic until the early-modern period, but it was carried out in combination with the seasonal round of landed agricultural activities. For much of human history, oceans have been seen as enormous, unpredictable, untameable desolate places with wild weather and wild creatures, sometimes the resort of oceanic outlaws or pirates. Everything about them seemed marginal from many landward perspectives. They were considered a threat to those who ventured on them or dwelt by their shores, and they had the potential to inundate, either physically or metaphorically, what passed for landed order. Many of the sea’s mineral resources, if considered at all, were seen as out of human reach, whilst the stocks of marine creatures were often considered to be so immense and the waters they inhabited so great that it was impossible for people to have much adverse impact upon their numbers—at least until the onset of the modern mechanized and industrial era. It is no wonder they attracted little attention from many land-orientated observers; certainly, for much of recorded history, there was a lamentable lack of scientific interest or understanding of our vast oceans. As Gillis reminds us, oceanography was the last-born of earth sciences. There were few attempts to gain a proper understanding of our vast oceans until the late nineteenth century. Indeed, the systematic and scientific collection of data relating to catches and so forth only really commenced at the end of the nineteenth century, and this...

Chapter 23 Sulphur dioxide diffusion tube monitoring: Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat, 1995 to 2011

Abstract Sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) diffusion tube monitoring has been undertaken on Montserrat since 1995, providing a unique and insightful long-term dataset of ground-level SO 2 concentrations during the eruption of the Soufrière Hills Volcano (SHV). The monitoring of ground-level SO 2 is important to assess the potential of human exposure to high levels of SO 2 that may impact on health. Air-quality objectives for SO 2 are present in some countries to prevent potential health impacts. Here we summarise diffusion tube monitoring in Montserrat and analyse concentrations with respect to the potential for exposure to levels above recommended levels. We explore relationships that may exist with SO 2 flux measurements and volcanic events. Concentrations have been higher during pauses in lava extrusion. Diffusion tube concentrations are highest within 5 km of the volcano and at locations downwind of the plume. Areas where concentrations have exceeded relevant limits have been uninhabited since 1996. The potential for human exposure above recommended limits is, therefore, currently considered low, as the population would not have been exposed to high concentrations for extended periods of time. Full-time occupation and/or long-term exposure in the areas where concentrations exceed the relevant limits would not be advised.

Understanding the Complexities and Resource Sustainability in Afram Plains, Ghana

The main objective of the study was to determine the key driving forces behind the ever increasing problem of tree species loss and environmental degradations in the Afram plains and propose management action areas for reducing the loss. The study used participatory research method tools to assess farmers' views on their livelihood strategies and the causes of dwindling forest resources in the area. There may be many forces jeopardising forest resources in the study area but charcoal production was reported as the single most important factor driving the loss of tree species in the area. Charcoal burning was becoming increasingly a full time occupation for many young people as their families struggle with poor soil fertility and declining agricultural productivity. There is, therefore, the need to consider financial and technological investment in agricultural diversification to be able to reduce biodiversity loss within the agroecosystems of the area. It will significantly help these forest dependent communities to diversify their economies and soften the impacts of charcoal production and farming activities on the agroecosystem biodiversity. In addition, due to low level capabilities of local people, an effective and efficient implementation of educational programs is needed to enhance their capabilities in managing agroecosystems. Finally, it worth emphasising that efforts to reduce forest tree species loss and environmental degradation will be jeopardised or eventually be unsustainable unless project initiators address cash income and energy needs of local people. Agroforestry systems including plantations development could be part of the solutions to sustainable management of the agroecosystems in the area.

Aphra Behn Online: The Case for Early Modern Open-Access Publishing

An obvious and important advantage to the digital turn in early modern studies is the accessibility afforded by online academic publishing, but scholars of the Early Modern period (1500-1800) have been slower than their modern counterparts to take these opportunities seriously.1 Though The Early Modern Commons now lists 305 blogs, and though many of our print journals have adopted a form of online presence, studies in the early modern period can claim roughly eleven peer-reviewed, open-access, online journals to date, in- cluding a large percentage of European-based, Spanish-language journals of interdisciplinary fields.2 Given the current push to provide access to scholarly journals and given the financial pressures on print journals, the move toward online publication seems like a simple solution. So why is there apparent reluc- tance to do so? Perhaps the more conservative stance toward online publication among early modern scholars-who have studied the challenges of massive change resulting from print technology-points to underlying complexities.The experience of the editors at ABO: An Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640-1830 supports this theory. ABO is an open-access (OA), peer- reviewed, online journal that first went live in March of 2011.3 Through the course of our first three years of publication, our understanding of what an online academic journal is and can be has radically changed, and the questions the editors at ABO have faced when establishing a new journal suggest a land- scape of potential and uncertainty for early modern studies in OA publishing. Our story may be of interest in thinking about issues of vital importance at this moment.4ABO is sponsored by the Aphra Behn Society, a small academic group committed to the study of fields related to Aphra Behn, namely women in the arts, 1640-1830. The society began in 1990 with the intention of holding an an- nual conference that challenged the standard, patriarchal way of organizing academic associations at the time. Like our namesake, the first woman to be- come a successful professional literary author, the society sought to contest the sexist hierarchies that structured our professional institutions. The meetings were focused on women authors and issues of gender. For the most part, the Aphra Behn Society downplayed the centrality of invited, plenary lectures, and it welcomed graduate students, creating opportunities, such as the annual essay prize, for graduate students to gain recognition. The alternative struc- ture of the society fostered women's creativity and scholarship and emphasized mentoring and productivity among generations of scholars interested in wom- en's work. Serious talk of starting a society journal began in 2007, and in view of the perceived crisis in academic publishing, we decided to create an online journal.5 The impulse was both financial and ideological. Unlike larger, more established academic associations for which subscriptions to bound journals supply needed income for their programs, our small academic society never felt a print journal would be sustainable. Moreover, the mission of the society, which involves breaking down barriers and creating discussion of women writ- ers, artists and their concerns, seemed to fit naturally with OA practices.When we began, we admittedly did not fully understand what it meant to create an online, OA, peer-reviewed journal. Launching a journal of any variety involves a tremendous startup and has a steep learning curve. We researched our professional standards through the Modern Language Association; we ap- plied for an ISSN; we connected with the Directory for Open Access Journals (DOAJ); we joined the Council of Editors of Learned Journals (CELJ); and we established a credentialed and respected editorial board across disciplines that supported our mission. Drafting procedures and policies became, it seemed, a full-time occupation. We selected a timely theme for our first volume and sent out our call for submissions as widely as we could without a budget. …

Social support and functional outcomes in an early intervention program

ObjectiveTo examine social support at initiation of treatment of psychosis and after one year of treatment as predictors of functioning at five year follow-up. MethodsEarly social support was assessed for 132 patients. Follow-up assessments included number of weeks of full-time occupation, number of weeks on a disability pension and global assessment of functioning. ResultsOne year ratings of social support better predicted occupational activity at follow-up than initial social support. Social support predicted functional outcomes independently of other early characteristics. ConclusionsFindings support the importance of interventions to improve the level of support of individuals with psychotic disorders.

Effects of noise in primary schools on health facets in German teachers.

Empirical research indicates that children and teachers are exposed to mean sound levels between 65 and 87 dB (A) and peak sound levels of 100 dB (A) in schools, which may lead to hearing loss and mental health problems. A questionnaire containing 13 targeted questions about noise and sensitivity to noise was distributed to 43 teachers aged between 25 and 64 years at five different primary schools in the Cologne municipal area. The small number of interrogated teachers leads to a wide range of deviation and little significance in the results. Thus, several results are reported following tendencies. Significant results are obtained when comparing younger and older teachers and part- and full-time occupation. Teachers experience highest sound levels in the schoolyard, corridors and classrooms, and 68% of the teachers are annoyed by the noise. Specially, teachers older than 45 years of age suffer from sleep disturbances (44%), and 90% of the full-time employees are tired and exhausted in the evening. Work is judged as physical and mental strain by 51% of the whole sample, and 81% of the older teachers report a significant increase of complaints with increasing years of professional activity. Work-related noise may contribute to physical and mental health problems in teachers. Measures to prevent disease, such as early sensitization of the children to the work-related stressor noise by adequate education with noise lights and dosimeters in the classroom and/or equipping rooms with sound-absorbing materials, have to be discussed.

P-1279 - Social support and five year functional outcomes in an early intervention program for psychosis

Although there have been many cross-sectional studies of the relationships between social support and level of functioning for individuals with psychotic disorders, there have been few reported prospective studies. To examine the importance of social support early in the treatment of individuals with a psychotic disorder as a predictor of functional status at five year follow-up. Social support of 132 patients with a psychotic disorder was assessed at the time of entry into treatment and one year later. Five year functional outcomes were assessed using the General Assessment of Function (GAF), number of weeks of full-time occupation and weeks on a disability pension during the fourth and fifth year of follow-up. Social functioning assessed at initiation of treatment and at one year were significant predictors of general functioning, use of disability pension and full-time occupation at five year follow-up. This relationship was independent of other predictors such as gender, age of onset, treatment delay and early symptoms. Level of social support is an independent predictor of five year outcome for patients at early stages of treatment of psychosis. These findings provide further evidence the probable value of interventions that increase supportiveness of the social environment of those with psychotic disorders.

Winning and losing in the creative industries: an analysis of creative graduates' career opportunities across creative disciplines

Following earlier work looking at overall career difficulties and low economic rewards faced by graduates in creative disciplines, the paper takes a closer look into the different career patterns and economic performance of “Bohemian” graduates across different creative disciplines. While it is widely acknowledged in the literature that careers in the creative field tend to be unstructured, often relying on part-time work and low wages, our knowledge of how these characteristics differ across the creative industries and occupational sectors is very limited. The paper explores the different trajectory and career patterns experienced by graduates in different creative disciplinary fields and their ability to enter creative occupations. Data from the Higher Education Statistical Agency (HESA) are presented, articulating a complex picture of the reality of finding a creative occupation for creative graduates. While students of some disciplines struggle to find full-time work in the creative economy, for others full-time occupation is the norm. Geography plays a crucial role also in offering graduates opportunities in creative occupations and higher salaries. The findings are contextualised in the New Labour cultural policy framework and conclusions are drawn on whether the creative industries policy construct has hidden a very problematic reality of winners and losers in the creative economy.

Improving lecture skills: A time-efficient 10-step pedagogical consultation method for medical teachers in healthcare professions

Background: Staff development initiatives proposed over the past few decades have, for the most part, suggested training environments such as workshops, short courses and seminar series. However, for many healthcare professionals, lecturing constitutes an ancillary activity, and a full-time occupation in the healthcare industry makes participation in such time-consuming programmes difficult to envision.Aim: To develop and offer for critical review a time-efficient pedagogical consultation method to improve lecture skills for medical teachers of healthcare professions.Methods: Medical education literature was reviewed for factors known to facilitate successful pedagogical consultations. The result of this research was used to define the procedure of a consultation methodology. In subsequent trial runs, the consultation procedure was tested with eight healthcare professionals hired for lecturing in bachelor courses of healthcare professions.Results: The key elements of successful pedagogical consultations were isolated in the literature, and a 10-step consultation method was developed based on specific methodological components. Eight trial runs indicated feasibility, time-efficiency and effectiveness of the method.Conclusion: The pedagogical consultation method presented here can help teachers to improve their lecture skills. It is a feasible model which can be easily adopted by medical educators to support staff development activities.

Production of and trade in African indigenous vegetables in the urban and peri-urban areas of Durban, South Africa

This paper reports on the farming and trade of lesser known crops, here termed African indigenous vegetables (AIVs), in the Durban metropole. Most households grow AIVs, and collect them from the wild, primarily for home consumption. Modal income from sale was approximately R30 per month per farmer, most of whom were middle-aged to elderly females, with limited education, who had been cultivating AIVs here for many years. The main constraints to greater sales were deemed to be low market demand and adverse climate. The commonest AIVs grown were pumpkin leaves, taro and amaranth. Although most farmers sold very little, there is a thriving retail trade in AIVs. Generally, retailers were females, but younger and more educated than the farmers. The majority viewed retailing as a full-time occupation. Modal income for retailers was R450 per month, but included non-AIV produce. Most of the traders thought there was insufficient market demand for AIVs.

Jeremy R. Knowles (1935–2008)

Jeremy R. Knowles (1935–2008)

Do oral cancer patients return to full-time employment and feel socially acceptable after treatment?

Treatment for oral cancer has a potentially major effect on employment and social skills. Despite this there is little data available to support the notion that resection and complex reconstruction of oral cancer permits a return to full time occupation and social interaction. Such information may become increasingly important in economic terms if external powers seek to justify expensive treatments in healthcare.

Factors Influemcing Commercial Charcoal Production in the West Mamprusi District of Ghana

Charcoal production is increasingly becoming an important trade in the northern regions of Ghana in spite of its implication for deforestation and natural resources depletion. In the West Mamprusi District of northern Ghana, charcoal production is a major dry season activity in many communities. This paper examines factors influencing the increasing rate of charcoal production in the district from 1980 to 2005. Research instruments employed were: purposive and simple random sampling, direct observation; transect walks, stump count, focus group discussion, key informant and structured interviews. The study reveals that local and national organizational structures exist that monitor the natural environment in the District; community members are aware of the environmental impact of their activities, and that charcoal production is a livelihood activity of the people in the District. Findings from the research revealed that charcoal production was a full time occupation for many females (i.e., 65%); major buyers were from urban towns in Northern and Upper East Regions; charcoal production was a major source of income and livelihood activities in the district and the work of the Forestry Commission's monitoring was effective in the forest-reserved areas. It concludes therefore that existing institutional structures have failed to implement regulations to control the effects. Ghana Journal of Development Studies Vol. 4 (21) 2007: pp. 33-48

Pottery-Making in Bonakire, Ghana

| african arts SPRING 2007 B onakire is a predominantly Mo-speaking village located approximately 17km (101⁄2 miles) northwest of the ancient archaeological site of Begho in the Brong-Ahafo region of north-central Ghana.1 In 1979 I conducted a brief ethnographic study of Bonakire’s pottery industry as part of a three-month archaeological fi eld school directed by Dr. Merrick Posnansky at the site of Begho B2.2 Th is study, along with others preceding it, was undertaken to explore how mid to late twentieth century pottery-making compared with the ceramic data collected at Begho (see Crossland 1973, 1989; Goody 1963; Wilks 1961). Th is brief research note does not off er such an analysis but rather describes the distinctive method of making pottery I observed in Bonakire as well as the role of women in the cash economy of this small rural village. Pottery production was the fulltime occupation of nearly all Bonakire women, and daughters typically learned from their mothers and grandmothers by observation and apprenticeship. Pottery-making was also taught in the village school (fig. 1). Every female past the age of about 15 was actively producing pottery during my visit, and each potter was responsible for the production and sale of her own wares. Other than basic household duties, such as fetching water, preparing food, washing utensils and clothing, and caring for children, women spent much of the day engaged in pottery-making and its associated tasks.3 Th ey worked in two, 3–4 hour sessions, one in the morning starting about 9:00–10:00 am and lasting until the preparation of the noon-time meal and a second longer session lasting all aft ernoon until the preparation of the evening meal. Th ree days in the six-day Mo temporal cycle (days 2, 5, and 6) were reserved for the collection of clay and the fi ring of vessels. Male relatives dug the clay from large pits located only about 60m (651⁄2 Pottery-Making in Bonakire, Ghana

Traditional Burnt-Lime Production at Mayapán, Mexico

Lime was widely utilized throughout ancient Mesoamerica. Drawing on the expertise of traditional Maya lime producers from a small local community, we address the energetics, material inputs, and archaeological signature of burnt-lime production in the Northern Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. When compared with the estimated lime usage at the Maya site of Mayapan, the data collected from experimental lime burning suggest that traditional lime production was reasonably labor intensive and used large, albeit sustainable, quantities of raw materials, especially wood. Lime manufacture was an important component of ancient Mesoamerican economic life, especially in urban settings where it may have been a full time occupation for some, at least during certain parts of the year. This analysis allows us to predict what the remains of lime burning sites should look like and where they are most likely to be encountered archaeologically.

Determinants of Technical Efficiency in Urban Food Crop Production in Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT This study analysed the level and the determinants of technical efficiency among urban crop farmers in Ibadan metropolis. The random sampling technique was used in selecting 85 farmers from the following three areas where urban food crop production is prominent: Ajibode, Ijokodo, and Eleyele. The data were collected through structured questionnaires and analysed using both descriptive statistics and stochastic production frontier based on the Cobb-Douglas production function. The results reveal that farmland, family labour, and plantlings are statistical determinants of urban food crop production in the study area. Fertilizer and hired labour are, however, not statistically significant in influencing urban food crop production. The result of the determinants of technical efficiency model reveals that full-time occupation in urban farming and sole-cropping pattern were positively related to technical efficiency. An increase in the age, experience, and years of formal education of the urban farmers increases the level of technical efficiency. The policy implication is that there are still more opportunities to raise the present level of technical efficiency of urban crop production in the study area. Educating farmers so that they are more receptive to modern improved technologies coming from the agricultural research system can lead to higher output per unit of input.

Peopling of the northern Tibetan Plateau

Early archaeological investigations on the Tibetan Plateau concluded that this harsh, high-elevation environment was successfully colonized around 30,000 years ago. Genetic studies have tended to support this view on the assumption that the uniquely evolved physiological capacities seen among modern Tibetan populations required long-term exposure to high-elevation selective pressures. Archaeological evidence amassed over the last decade suggests, however, that colonization leading to full-time occupation occurred much later. Seasonal foraging forays into high-elevation settings at c. 30 and 15 cal. ka appear to have been limited ‘adaptive radiations’ coincident, respectively, with the appearance of early and late Upper Palaeolithic adaptations in low-elevation source areas around the plateau. More permanent occupation of the plateau probably did not begin before c. 8200 cal. bp and may have been driven by ‘competitive exclusion’ of late Upper Palaeolithic foragers from low-elevation environments by emerging settled agricultural groups. The appearance of specialized epi-Palaeolithic blade and bladelet technologies on the high plateau, after 8200 cal. ka, may indicate ‘directional selection’ impacting on these new full-time residents. An ‘adaptive radiation’ of agriculturalists into the mid-elevations of the plateau, this time leading to year-round occupation, is again seen after 6000 cal. bp.