Distributing and Showing Farmer Learning Videos in Bangladesh

Purpose: To describe the results of showing farmer learning videos through different types of volunteers.

Design/Methodology/Approach: Semi-structured interviews with volunteers from different occupational groups in Bangladesh, and a phone survey with 227 respondents.

Findings: Each occupational group acted differently. Shop keepers, tillage service providers, agricultural input and machine dealers reached fairly small audiences. Tea stall owners had large, male audiences. Non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations, reached more women. The cable TV (dish-line) operators showed the videos on local TV, but some were reluctant to do so again. The Union Information Service Centres showed the videos and reached women viewers. Half of the official government extension agents surveyed also showed the videos publically.

Practical Implication: This video featured maize, wheat and rice seeding machinery. Because the machinery is complex and requires hands-on training, this first video aimed to expose tillage and sowing service providers and farmers to the machinery, without trying to teach them how to use it. But some farmers were so interested that they watched the video many times to learn more about the equipment. Before farmers and service providers decide to buy machinery for direct seeding, they still want to see and learn from demonstration plantings, to examine first-hand how the crop behaves when planted with the new equipment.

Originality/Value: Video can be an effective way of sharing high-quality information with a large audience, if properly distributed.     

Infant joint attention, temperament, and social competence in preschool children

Infant joint attention has been observed to be related to social-emotional outcomes in at-risk children. To address whether this relation is also evident in typically developing children, 52 children were tested at 12, 15, 24, and 30 months to examine associations between infant joint attention and social outcomes. Twelve-month initiating and responding to joint attention were related to 30-month social competence and externalizing behavior, even when accounting for 15-month temperament ratings, 24-month cognition and language, and demographic variables. These results suggest that, in addition to associations with language and cognition, infant joint attention reflects robust aspects of development that are related to individual differences in the emergence of social and behavioral competence in childhood.     

Developmental trends for object and spatial working memory: a psychophysiological analysis

This study examined developmental trends in object and spatial working memory (WM) using heart rate (HR) to provide an index of covert cognitive processes. Participants in 4 age groups (6-7, 9-10, 11-12, 18-26, n=20 each) performed object and spatial WM tasks, in which each trial was followed by feedback. Spatial WM task performance reached adult levels before object WM task performance. The differential developmental trends for object and spatial WM found in this study are taken to suggest that these WM components are separable. Negative performance feedback elicited HR slowing that was more pronounced for adults than for children. The development of performance monitoring as indexed by covert HR slowing following performance feedback contributes to WM performance.     

The directional links between students’ academic motivation and social integration during the first year of higher education

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Previous theoretical research proposed a link between students’ academic motivation and students’ experiences of social integration, but...     

“None of the Kings on Earth is Their Equal in ʿaṣabiyya”: The Mongols in Ibn Khaldūn's Works

The rise of the Mongol empire was a shock to the Arab world and led many Arab authors to describe these conquerors in decidedly negative terms. The great historian Ibn Khaldūn also discusses the Mongols' rise and their conquests. As a nomadic people they challenged and defeated sedentary populations and founded their own dynasties. Consequently, the Mongol conquests perfectly fit Ibn Khaldūn's theories on ?a?abiyya – which is superior in nomadic groups – and the rise and fall of dynasties. For the Maghrebi historian, the rise of the Mongols was a natural step in the course of history. This consequently colours his view of the Mongols and affects the way he portrays them, especially regarding the themes of violence and religion – recurring themes in many contemporary works dealing with the Mongols – and in his depiction of the Turco-Mongolian conqueror Timur, who is presented in a more favourable light by Ibn Khaldūn than he is in many contemporary works.     

A case of vitamin B12 deficiency neurological syndrome in a young adult due to late-onset cobalamin C (CblC) deficiency: a diagnostic challenge

Vitamin B12 deficiency can present with neurologic and psychiatric symptoms without macrocytic anaemia. We describe a case of late-onset cobalamin C deficiency which typically presents with normal serum vitamin B12 concentrations, posing an additional diagnostic challenge. A 23-year-old woman with decreased muscle strength and hallucinations was diagnosed with ‘catatonic depression’ and admitted to a residential mental health facility. She was referred to our hospital for further investigation 3 months later. Heteroanamnesis revealed that the symptoms had been evolving progressively over several months. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed diffuse symmetrical white matter lesions in both hemispheres. Routine laboratory tests including vitamin B12 and folic acid were normal except for a slight normocytic, normochromic anaemia. Over the next 6 weeks her symptoms deteriorated, and she became unresponsive to stimuli. A new MRI scan showed progression of the white matter lesions. The neurologist requested plasma homocysteine (Hcys) which was more than 8 times the upper limit of normal. Further testing revealed increased methylmalonic acid and the patient was diagnosed with adult-onset cobalamin C deficiency. This case illustrates that Hcys and/or methylmalonic acid should be determined in patients presenting with neuropsychiatric symptoms suggestive of vitamin B12 deficiency with a normal serum vitamin B12 to rule out a late-onset cobalamin C deficiency.     

‘This could be our reality in the next five to ten years’: a blogpost platform as an expectation generation device on the future of insurance markets

William James (1919) characterises hypotheses as either live or dead. A hypothesis is live when it is taken into account as a ‘real possibility’. We follow James’ suggestion to not attribute intrinsic properties to hypotheses, but rather investigate how they came into being and look at the effects they generate. Expectations of digital technologies are a topic of vivid debate in the insurance industry. Before these expectations can become ‘live’, they have, in the first place, to be generated by market devices. We investigate how the reinsurance blogpost platform Open Minds functions as an ‘expectation generation device’ on the future of insurance markets. Combining Beckert’s work on the role of fictional expectations with the pragmatist turn in sociology of markets, we propose to study ‘expectation generation devices’, provoking expectations on economic markets. In our empirical analysis, we demonstrate the explicit fictional character of the Open Minds contributions, and analyse how a contained space of openness is generated to provoke expectations. We demonstrate how Open Minds can become live through circulation to other expectation generation sites in the insurance industry and beyond. We conclude by reflecting on the importance of expectation generation devices as a particular type of market devices.     

A novel sleep optimisation programme to improve athletes’ well-being and performance

Objectives: To improve well-being and performance indicators in a group of Australian Football League (AFL) players via a six-week sleep optimisation programme. Design: Prospective intervention study following observations suggestive of reduced sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness in an AFL group. Methods: Athletes from the Adelaide Football Club were invited to participate if they had played AFL senior-level football for 1–5 years, or if they had excessive daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale [ESS] >10), measured via ESS. An initial education session explained normal sleep needs, and how to achieve increased sleep duration and quality. Participants (n?=?25) received ongoing feedback on their sleep, and a mid-programme education and feedback session. Sleep duration, quality and related outcomes were measured during week one and at the conclusion of the six-week intervention period using sleep diaries, actigraphy, ESS, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Profile of Mood States, Training Distress Scale, Perceived Stress Scale and the Psychomotor Vigilance Task. Results: Sleep diaries demonstrated an increase in total sleep time of approximately 20?min (498.8?±?53.8 to 518.7?±?34.3; p?<?.05) and a 2% increase in sleep efficiency (p?<?0.05). There was a corresponding increase in vigour (p?<?0.001) and decrease in fatigue (p?<?0.05). Conclusions: Improvements in measures of sleep efficiency, fatigue and vigour indicate that a sleep optimisation programme may improve athletes’ well-being. More research is required into the effects of sleep optimisation on athletic performance.     

The Dutch language anterior cruciate ligament return to sport after injury scale (ACL-RSI) – validity and reliability

The ACL-Return to Sport after Injury scale (ACL-RSI) measures athletes’ emotions, confidence in performance, and risk appraisal in relation to return to sport after ACL reconstruction. Aim of this study was to study the validity and reliability of the Dutch version of the ACL-RSI (ACL-RSI (NL)).

Total 150 patients, who were 3–16 months postoperative, completed the ACL-RSI(NL) and 5 other questionnaires regarding psychological readiness to return to sports, knee-specific physical functioning, kinesiophobia, and health-specific locus of control. Construct validity of the ACL-RSI(NL) was determined with factor analysis and by exploring 10 hypotheses regarding correlations between ACL-RSI(NL) and the other questionnaires. For test–retest reliability, 107 patients (5–16 months postoperative) completed the ACL-RSI(NL) again 2 weeks after the first administration. Cronbach’s alpha, Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), SEM, and SDC, were calculated. Bland–Altman analysis was conducted to assess bias between test and retest.

Nine hypotheses (90%) were confirmed, indicating good construct validity. The ACL-RSI(NL) showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha 0.94) and test–retest reliability (ICC 0.93). SEM was 5.5 and SDC was 15. A significant bias of 3.2 points between test and retest was found.

Therefore, the ACL-RSI(NL) can be used to investigate psychological factors relevant to returning to sport after ACL reconstruction.