Occupational Capacity Research Articles

Grazing management and tussock distribution in elephant grass

AbstractSoil occupation capacity via lateral expansion of tussocks in elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) may be associated with basal tillering. As grazing management alters the proportion of basal and aerial tillers in a tiller population, the hypothesis of this work was that grazing management affects tussock size and distribution with implications for plant population stability. The objective of this study was to evaluate the tiller population stability index, the proportion of basal and aerial tillers, tussock size, and the frequency of tussocks and bare ground in rotationally managed elephant grass cv. Napier. Treatments resulted from the combination of two post‐grazing heights (35 and 45 cm) and two pre‐grazing conditions (95% and maximum canopy light interception during regrowth – LI0·95 and LIMax) and were allocated to experimental units (850 m2 paddocks) according to a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement in a randomized complete block design, with four replications. Measurements were taken from January 2011 to April 2012. The post‐grazing height treatments affected the tiller population stability index, but did not influence the pattern of tussock distribution. On the other hand, the different grazing frequencies (targets of LI pre‐grazing) altered the pattern of tussock distribution and the proportion of bare ground. In general, the tiller population stability index and frequency of tussocks were higher and the frequency of bare ground lower on swards managed with the LI0·95 target relative to those managed with the LIMax target, regardless of the post‐grazing height used, indicating a larger soil occupation capacity of plants under the more frequent defoliation regime. Such responses were associated with larger population of basal tillers and highlight the importance of tiller category and perennation pathway in defining patterns of plant growth and tussock distribution.

Extending travel-time based models for dynamic network loading and assignment, to achieve adherence to first-in-first-out and link capacities

An important class of models for macroscopic dynamic network loading (DNL) and dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) is based on treating link travel times as a function of link occupancy. However, these models suffer from some problems or deficiencies namely (a) the link outflows can violate first-in-first-out (FIFO), (b) the link outflows can exceed the link outflow capacities, (c) the link inflows can exceed the link inflow capacities, and (d) the link occupancies can exceed the link occupancy capacities. In this paper we introduce methods to overcome each of these problems.To remove problems (a) and (b) we extend the link travel-time model to better reflect behaviour when traffic flow is varying over time. To remove problems (c) and (d) we introduce more substantial changes in the model, to introduce capacities, spillback and queues compatible with the model. These extensions strengthen the realism, behavioural basis and usability of the link travel-time model and the DNL and DTA models that are based on it. They have no obvious adverse implications or side effects and require little additional computational effort. The original model is a special case of the new/extended model: the above extensions are activated if and only if any of the problems (a)–(d) arise, otherwise the new model reduces to the original model.

Learning in the circumstances of practice

Learning in the circumstances of practice stands as the commonest and most enduring way occupational capacities have been learnt across human history, and, likely, are currently learnt. Yet, a comprehensive account of this means of learning remains absent, which limits the legitimacy of workplaces as sites of learning, the learning arising from them and understandings of how to organize, promote and evaluate that learning. When advancing this account, it is necessary to avoid being constrained by the discourse of schooling and orthodoxies of schooled societies, which can distort considerations of learning through practice on its own terms. When reviewed, anthropological and historical literature on learning occupational practices outside of educational provisions offers fresh suggestions including that such an account likely comprise elements of practice curriculum and pedagogies and personal epistemologies, albeit set within particular complexes of cultural, societal and situational factors. A key distinction arising from such a review is the emphasis on individuals’ active processes of learning and how these are enacted in the circumstances of practice, rather than on teaching or instruction. Such a distinction runs deep in this literature and has consequences for conceptions of understandings and efforts to promote and improve learning through practice.

Investigating the Effect of Entrepreneurship Aspects on Information Exploitation Considering the Moderating Role of Information Acquisition : Case Study : Medical Science University of Iran

Today, organizations and governments have found that organizational and private entrepreneurs have palyed a significant role to increase the competitive advantage at national and organizational level. Therefore, they are called as the most important competitive advantage. Entrepreneurs are considered as driving engines of economy. It can be due to some reasons including the role of job creation, innovation, facilitating changes, creative problem solving, and resolving their industrial and economic dilemmas.thus, training entrepreneurs and also investigating their role is necessary. The investigated organizational entrepreneurs are individuals who create new businesses and work in an organization and are able to influence the profit of the institute and increase the occupational capacity of the organization. Entrepreneurship aspects include some features such as risk taking, success motivation, and being active, leading, and innovative. Generally, entrepreneurs are characterized by these features.

Trade-based skills versus occupational capacity: the example of bricklaying in Europe

This article shows why qualifications built on occupational capacity rather than on trade-based skills have more potential to accommodate the aims of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and changes in the labour process, going together with the development of occupational labour markets. The article challenges the distinct Anglo-Saxon notion of ‘skill’ attached to a trade-based system of vocational education and training (VET), where qualifications have weak labour market currency. This distinctiveness has implications for EQF implementation, built on common understanding of knowledge, skills and competences and intended to establish equivalence between different occupational qualifications. The article focuses on the example of bricklaying in England and Germany, an occupation archetypal of construction and skilled manual work. Clear differences are identified between bricklaying founded on developing occupational capacity through negotiation and regulation by stakeholders, recognized through qualifications, and bricklaying as a demarcated trade, defined by output and with ‘skills’ distinct from other trades.

Core Capacities of Speech-Language Pathologists in Korea

Objectives: This study was aimed to survey what are perceived to be the core capacities of speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Methods: One hundred and fifty SLPs were surveyed with a questionnaire of 43 items based on the occupational and internal capacities by O*NET. We investigated the importanc...

The Curriculum and Pedagogic Properties of Practice-based Experiences: The Case of Midwifery Students

This paper outlines curriculum considerations for the ordering, enactment and experiencing of practice-based experiences (e.g. practicums) in tertiary education programs developing occupational specific capacities. Increasingly, these programs are engaging students in practicum experiences (i.e. those in the circumstances of practice). These practice-based experiences require considerable investment on the part of all involved and so need to be used in ways that do justice to those investments. However, such experiences are often provided and engaged in by students without consideration being given to their educational purposes; their likely contributions and how they can be sequenced and utilised to achieve those purposes. Here, the specific concern is to identify bases for considering these purposes and how these might be realised through the selection and sequencing of student experiences. A case study of two practicum experiences comprising midwifery students’ ‘follow-through’ experiences with birthing women and clinical placements is used to identify the kinds of learning that can arise through different kinds of practice-based experiences and how they might be most effectively organised. The concern, therefore, is to identify how the midwifery curriculum (i.e. pathways of experiences) can be ordered and augmented by particular pedagogic practices that assist realise the program’s intended learning outcomes. The two different practice-based experiences are found to generate distinct learning outcomes for the students. The follow-throughs generate understandings about the birthing process from the birthing mothers’ perspectives and provide goal states for midwifery work and understandings about midwifery practice, whereas the development of clinical capacities that arise through clinical placements. Consequently, the formers kinds of experiences might be best provides before, or in conjunction with second. Importantly, rather than viewing these experiences as being supplementary to what is provided within tertiary education institutions, they need to be consider as particular kinds of experiences on their own terms and engage with and utilise their contributions accordingly.

Rescue of the HSC Maintenance Defects in Ku70-Deficient Mice by Overexpression of Bcl2 Reveals a Novel Role of Bcl2 in HSC

AbstractAbstract 1235Ku70 is a key component of the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway; Ku70-deficient mice are hypersensitive to radiation and show a leaky SCID phenotype. We find that HSC from Ku70-deficient mice are severely impaired in maintenance, defective in self-renewal, competitive repopulation and BM hematopoietic niche occupancy. HSCs from Ku70-deficient mice are not prone to spontaneous apoptosis, however, they display more active proliferation, and fewer cells in a quiescent state than HSC obtained from WT mice. Further, gene expression profiling showed that multiple HSC quiescence- related genes such as c-MPL and p57 were significantly downregulated in Ku70-deficient HSCs. These data suggested that loss of quiescence results in the dramatic defect in the maintenance of Ku70-deficient HSC.Bcl2 plays important roles in both anti-apoptosis and anti-proliferation, while the anti-apoptosis function of Bcl2 has been extensively studied and well established in various settings, including HSCs, the anti-proliferation function of Bcl2 in HSC has yet to be investigated. To exam whether overexpression of Bcl2 can rescue the HSC defect in Ku70-deficient mice, H2K-Bcl2 transgenic/Ku70-deficient double mutant mice were generated. Though overexpression of Bcl2 does not rescue the SCID phenotype in Ku70-deficient mice, overexpression of Bcl2 in Ku70-deficient HSCs almost completely rescued the impaired HSC quiescence, repopulation and BM hematopoietic niche occupancy capacities. At the transcriptional level, overexpression of Bcl2 restored the expression of c-MPL and p57 comparable to WT levels. However, additional deletion of Bax, a pro-apoptosis protein in the Bcl2 family, in Ku70-deficient mice could not rescue the HSC repopulation defect, suggesting that apoptosis is not the main mediator for the impaired HSC maintenance in Ku70-deficient mice.Together, our data indicate that the HSC maintenance defect of Ku70-deficient mice is due to the loss of HSC quiescence populations, whereas overexpression of Bcl2 rescues the HSC defect in Ku70-deficient mice by restoration of quiescence. Our study uncovers a novel role of Bcl2 in hematopoietic stem cell quiescence regulation. Disclosures:No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

MODERN PROBLEMS OF PERIODIC MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS HOLDING AND ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH OF WORKING POPULATION ACCORDING TO EXAMINATION RESULTS

Periodic medical examinations (PME) of working population exposed to impact of harmful and dangerous factors of working environment do not provide timely detection of occupational pathologies, what results in progress of persistent loss of occupational capacity in the period of occupational activities. Among the reasons of the situation, there is absence of lists of persons subjected to PME, data on working conditions for assessment of antecedent risk of occupational disease progress, as well as approved methods for assessment of their health indicators according to PME results and establishment of cause-effect relations of disease progress with working conditions. The study of the results of PME of population working in the Arkhangelsk industrial complex has allowed to determine indicators of PME completeness, quality, to calculate medical-biological health indicators for examined contingents, to establish cause-effect relations between disease progress and working conditions.

Teaching young dogs new tricks: improving occupational therapists' referral prioritization capacity with a web-based decision-training aid

Objective: A web-based clinical decision aid was designed to improve novices' capacity to prioritize occupational therapy referrals in community mental health teams. The aim of this research was to test the effectiveness of the decision aid. Design: A trial was conducted using a consensus expert policy as the educational intervention; a one-group pre-test, post-test design was chosen to measure any effect of training. Participants: A total of 100 pre-registration occupational therapy students accessed the decision aid; they prioritized a set of referrals before and after being trained with graphical and descriptive representations of the expert policy. Setting: Data were collected online via the World Wide Web from students at 12 UK universities. Results: The effect of training was demonstrated through more accurate prioritization ratings when matched with expert ratings on the same referrals and more accurate judgement policies when matched with the consensus standard judgement policy. Conclusion: The tool was found to be effective as it improved referral prioritization capacity.

QUALIFICATION OF EQUIPMENT: BIN BLENDER AND COMPRESSION MACHINE

Qualification is the planning, carrying out and recording of tests on equipment and systems, which will form a part of the validated process, to demonstrate that it will perform as intended. The performance qualification of the bin blender (200 L) for minimum (20%) and maximum (70%) occupancy capacities and blend uniformity at different blending time intervals and of the compression machine at different compression speeds i.e. 20 RPM to 50 RPM was done. The installation qualification (IQ) and operational qualification (OQ) protocols should be prepared, approved and performed as per the qualification master plan. Bin blenders which are used as dry mixers are used after the initial stages i.e. premixing and granulation. Compression machine is designed for high speed production capability as a modular system in tablet compressing chamber for manufacturing of tablets or press forming preparations. The prerequisites required before starting the performance qualification of equipment is that OQ should be successfully completed, all the necessary materials, procedures and testing arrangements should be made. For the bin blender samples were collected as per sampling plan at different time intervals and the collected samples analyzed for color content in each sample. For the compression machine (26 station), the tablets were checked for physical parameters such as appearance, weight variation, hardness, friability and thickness. The equipment qualification was carried out to demonstrate the efficiency of the equipment’s and ended with satisfactory results.

Mindfulness Training and Teachers' Professional Development: An Emerging Area of Research and Practice

AbstractThis article focuses on how mindfulness training (MT) programs for teachers, by cultivating mindfulness and its application to stress management and the social‐emotional demands of teaching, represent emerging forms of teacher professional development (PD) aimed at improving teaching in public schools. MT is hypothesized to promote teachers' “habits of mind,” and thereby their occupational health, well‐being, and capacities to create and sustain both supportive relationships with students and classroom climates conducive to student engagement and learning. After defining mindfulness and its potential applications in teacher education and PD, this article discusses emerging MT programs for teachers, a logic model outlining potential MT program effects in educational settings, and directions for future research.

Mental Health Illiteracy? Perceiving Depression as a Disorder

World Health Organization statistics reveal that depression is not only one of the leading causes of disability in the world today but it is an illness on the rise. I review research into public attitudes to depression and the effectiveness of recent education campaigns. I contend that while there appears to be evidence that depression is met with serious and persistent stigma, there is a dearth of research in this area. In this article, I forward an explanation for how we might understand the apparent persistence of, and some of the stigmatizing responses to, depression; I term this hypothesis the “Cheater-Detection Model of Depression Stigmatisation” (CDMD). This article proposes that certain behavioral traits associated with depression (specifically: fatigue, cognitive and motor retardation, occupational impairment) may be detected (erroneously) via a specific suite of cognitive mechanisms which were selected for their capacity to gauge cooperation and social exchange among individuals. I argue that the symptoms of depressive behavior which interfere with social and occupational capacities may trigger responses which were selected for in order to avoid exploitation by “cheaters” (that is to say, individuals who are perceived to benefit from social exchange but who are not judged to reciprocate). Evolutionary psychology informs us that perception of cheating behavior tends to elicit affective responses such as anger and avoidance: I argue that some symptoms of depression tend to induce “false-positive” stigmatizing responses. I conclude that until we understand the cognition underlying stigmatization we cannot expect to target it effectively.

Learning in the circumstances of work: the didactics of practice

This paper discusses what constitutes the didactics of practice: learning in the circumstances of work. Learning through practice has and continues to be the principal process through which the occupational capacities upon which human society and individuals depend have been developed. Currently, there is an increased interest in this method of learning for extending experiences in educational programs, sustaining workers’ employability across lengthening working lives and assisting the transformation of work and occupational practices. These are important goals for societal purposes, communities, workplace continuity and workers’ employability and development. It seems timely, therefore, to outline an explanation of the qualities and characteristics of learning through experiences in practice settings, such as workplaces, and how these experiences can be used and enriched to support effective work-related learning across working lives: the didactics of learning through practice. It is proposed here, that practice-based curriculum and pedagogy, and workers’ personal epistemologies are the key framing elements of such didactics. However, these institutional and personal practices are also framed by global, cultural, societal and situated factors that shape individuals’ engagement in and their learning through work, and, hence, the didactic qualities and potential of learning through practice. Here, these elements, factors and their consequences are discussed in terms of understanding and enhancing learning experiences in the circumstances of work.

Grupo de psicoeducação no transtorno afetivo bipolar: reflexão sobre o modo asilar e o modo psicossocial

O Transtorno Afetivo Bipolar (TAB), conhecido por sua cronicidade, complexidade e altos índices de morbidade e mortalidade, é uma das principais causas de incapacitação no mundo. Há evidências crescentes de que seu curso pode ser modificado por abordagens psicoterápicas como a psicoeducação, que promove o aumento do funcionamento social e ocupacional, bem como da capacidade de manejarem situações estressantes. Trata-se de um relato de experiência sobre um grupo de psicoeducação para familiares e portadores de TAB, sendo esse pautado pela reflexão dos componentes do paradigma das práticas em saúde mental. A reflexão sobre os modos asilar e psicossocial quanto às concepções de objeto e modo de trabalho, possibilitou situar o grupo no modo psicossocial, pois o conhecimento e a vivência experimentados favorecem a autonomia dos sujeitos, que têm maiores chances de se posicionarem frente às dificuldades que lhes sobrevêm na sua existência-sofrimento.

Sport and recreation participation preferences in the Botswana Defence Force

Sport and recreation are used as vehicles to create military readiness. Botswana Defence Force (BDF) soldiers are constantly deployed to border posts and other areas where their missions involve anti-poaching activities, disaster management and foreign peace-keeping. When not deployed, they reside with their families in military barracks where they participate in sport and recreation activities. Sport and recreation are pracitised in military settings in residential and occupational capacity. Literature suggests that participation in sport and recreation in military settings is mainly focused on promoting and maintaining military efficiency and morale. This study aimed at determining the preferences of sports and recreation activities of military staff. This study utilised a survey design using self-administered questionnaires to determine participation in and preferences of sport and recreation activities within the BDF. Using a convenient sampling technique and eight hundred and fifty seven (857) respondents participated in the study. The results of this study indicated that participants preferred individual as well as team sport and recreation activities. The five most preferred activities were soccer (47.1%), running (33.6%), shooting (29.7%), volleyball (24.6%) and obstacle training (21.2%). This study emphasizes that individual activities were preferred and a change in preferences regarding participation in team sport and recreation activities was observed. This information is valuable to the management of sport and recreation at the BDF regarding sports and recreation interests of the soldiers and their families.Keywords: Military sport and recreation preferences, military sport and recreation patterns, military readiness, sport and recreation activities, Botswana Defence Force.

The Role of Occupational Self-Assessment in Client-Centered Practice in School-Based Settings

Recent changes in educational legislation and societal views of health and wellness have resulted in sweeping changes in occupational therapy services delivery in school-based settings. Occupational therapy practitioners are uniquely equipped to identify the influence of supports and barriers on participation in meaningful contexts. With an understanding of student perception of occupational capacity and interest, practitioners can design client-focused, occupation-based interventions that promote lifestyle sustainability and community participation. The purpose of this article is to explore the role of occupational self assessment to enhance therapeutic partnership and empower students to identify and prioritize occupational needs and goals.

Occupational stress and work capacity of nurses of a hospital group

The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between occupational stress and the work capacity index of 368 nurses (82.1% of the population) of a Hospital Group. A questionnaire with socio-occupational questions was used as well as two scales: the Job Stress Scale and the Work Capacity Index. The group of nurses was predominantly female (93.2%), worked in care activities (63.9%), had undertaken at least one Postgraduate course (76%) and were satisfied with the unit where they worked (70.5%). Occupational stress was present in 23.6% of the nurses, of these 15.2% presented High Strain work and 8.4% Passive Work. Social Support exercised a significant positive influence on all groups - exposed or not to occupational stress. Regarding the Work Capacity, this was Moderate (28-36 points) for 51.4% of the nurses and Good (37-43 points) for 47.4%. There was no correlation between stress and work capacity.

Mothers in Recovery: An Occupational Perspective

The purposes of this study were to discover the stories of mothers regarding their journeys to addiction and through recovery, to explore the impact of addiction on the occupational performance of mothers and to identify the factors perceived by these mothers as important in their treatment. A narrative inquiry with thematic analysis of data was utilized; semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 women in treatment for alcohol or other drug addiction who were all mothers of minor children. Alterations in occupational identity, occupational performance patterns and performance capacity were revealed. Environmental elements contributing to addiction and those important in recovery were identified and included structure (or the lack of it) and the persons populating the social environment. This qualitative study is not generalizable and should be viewed as relevant to these informants in this context; participants had histories of chronic substance addiction and are not representative of all addictions patients. Findings can be viewed within the context of other research to help enrich the reader's understanding of the complexity of issues. Further research is recommended to test the efficacy of occupational therapy interventions for substance addictions. Possible intervention studies might include those focused on environmental structure, exploration of interests in treatment and co-occupations of mother and child.

Using problem-based learning for occupational and environmental health nursing education: pesticide exposures among migrant agricultural workers.

Problem-based learning, which emphasizes group collaboration to solve real-world case scenarios, is an instructional approach that is well suited to occupational and environmental health nursing education. Learners actively work through case studies rather than passively receive information presented through lectures. Problem-based learning methods promote critical thinking skills and motivate learning, preparing learners for professional practice in complex, ever-changing environments. Despite these advantages, problem-based learning is under-utilized in nursing education compared to more traditional lecture methods. This article presents key concepts of problem-based learning, discusses problem-based learning in educating occupational and environmental health nurses, and describes the development of a problem-based learning case aimed at increasing occupational and environmental health nurses capacity to address pesticide exposure among migrant and seasonal agricultural workers.