Associations of accelerometer-determined physical activity and sedentary behavior with sarcopenia and incident falls over 12 months in community-dwelling Swedish older adults

PurposeThis study was aimed to determine associations of accelerometer-determined time and bouts of sedentary behavior, light physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) with sarcopenia and incident falls over 12 months.MethodsA total of 3334 Swedish 70-year-olds were assessed for sarcopenia, as defined by the revised definition of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. Assessments were based on low scores for appendicular lean mass (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), hand grip strength, and the Timed Up and Go test. For 7 days after baseline, total time and total number of bouts (≥10 min of continuous activity at a given intensity) of activity performed at sedentary, LPA, and MVPA intensities were assessed by accelerometer. Incident falls were self-reported 6 months and 12 months after baseline.ResultsOnly 1.8% of participants had probable or confirmed sarcopenia. After multivariable adjustment for other levels of activity, only greater MVPA time was associated with a decreased likelihood of having low appendicular lean mass, low hand grip strength, and slow Timed Up and Go time as defined by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People criteria (all p < 0.05), and only MVPA time was associated with lower likelihood of probable or confirmed sarcopenia (odds ratio = 0.80, 95% confidence interval: 0.71–0.91 h/week). Similar associations were identified for total number of bouts, with no evidence of threshold effects for longer duration of bouts of MVPA. A total of 14% of participants reported ≥1 fall, but neither total time nor bouts of activity was associated with incident falls (all p > 0.05).ConclusionHigher amounts of accelerometer-determined MVPA are consistently associated with a decreased likelihood of sarcopenia and its components, regardless of the length of bouts or amounts of sedentary behavior.     

Relationship between perceived acculturation expectations and Muslim minority youth's acculturation and adaptation

Acculturation strategies have frequently been used to describe how members of ethnic minorities reconcile their heritage culture with the culture of their society of residence. Recently, studies have started to pay increased attention to the fact that the choice of acculturation strategy does not take place in a social vacuum. In the present study, we test whether the perception of assimilation expectations held by the societal majority (PSAE) as well as separation expectations held by ethnic peers (PESE) may be related to individuals’ own acculturation strategy. Furthermore, we investigate whether these perceived expectations are directly related to stress and indirectly to adaptation, mediated by acculturation strategies. All relationships were investigated using multi-group structural equation modeling with members from three Muslim minority groups: 301 German-Turks, 302 French-Maghrebis and 262 British-Pakistanis. Across the samples, PSAE was associated with higher degrees of stress. PESE was negatively related to integration, while it was positively related to separation. In addition, PESE was indirectly and negatively related with self-esteem and/or socio-cultural adaptation in all samples. The impact of societal assimilation expectation appears to be limited in this regard. In all, the present study suggests that perceived acculturation expectations may influence ethnic minorities’ acculturation strategy. The results also suggest that perceived expectations that contrast with individuals’ personal acculturation preference could result in higher levels of stress and lower levels of psychological and socio-cultural adaptation, mediated by acculturation strategies.     

Aragonese Tiles in a Flemish Castle: A Chivalric Gift-Exchange Network in Fifteenth-Century Europe

Excavation of the mid-fifteenth-century castle of Pieter Bladelin, a high-ranking Burgundian official, in the village of Middelburg-in-Flanders, near Bruges (Belgium), has unearthed a remarkable series of blue and white painted and glazed floor tiles. Post-excavation archival and heraldic inquiries into the tiles has led to a deeper understanding of the role that gift exchange of luxury objects played within the diplomatic network of Alfonso V “the Magnanimous”, King of Aragon, and Philip “the Good”, Duke of Burgundy, in shaping a shared chivalric and crusading culture between Burgundy and Aragon. The study demonstrates the added value of the integration of archaeological and historical data in studying economic, political and cultural processes for the later medieval or early modern period.     

The roots and routes of environmental and sustainability education policy research – an introduction to a virtual special issue

This article introduces the themes of a virtual special issue (VSI) of Environmental Education Research (http://explore.tandfonline.com/content/ed/ceer-vsi) focused on policy research in environmental and sustainability education (ESE). The broad purpose behind preparing the VSI was to consider the challenges involved in linking particular concepts of environment and sustainability with key themes in educational policy, and how this remains a heavily contested practice. Examples drawn from two decades of studies published in the journal show how these might be illustrated, addressed, problematized and possibly transcended. The introduction traces how ESE researchers have dealt with key trends, complexities and issues in the policy-practice-research nexus both conceptually and empirically. It also illustrates how researchers within the field might reimagine and reinvigorate policy research on ESE, and how working with researchers from other fields who offer different perspectives, ideas and expertise might aid the cross-fertilisation of a complex terrain of ideas, policy and practice. In so doing, we hope the accompanying VSI inspires renewed interest into the (at times, fickle) relationship between ESE, and the dual worlds of possibility and tension that take place both within, and surrounding, their fields of policy and research.     

A quantitative assessment of an outsourced agricultural extension service in the Umzimkhulu District of KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa

Purpose: This study evaluates the impact of an outsourced extension service delivered by Lima Rural Development Foundation (Lima) in the Umzimkhulu district of South Africa. The evaluation is conducted at both the household and program levels.

Design/methodology/approach: Household impacts were estimated using two-stage regression with instrumental variables to account for selection bias. Gains in household income were extrapolated to estimate the net incremental benefit of the program and its financial return at district level. These analyses were underpinned by a rigorous sampling design.

Findings: The results show that the outsourced extension service made a significant and substantial contribution to household crop income and net income. In addition, clients perceived a range of socio-economic benefits such as better diets, improved product quality, and job creation. Analysis of the financial cost and benefit of the extension service at district level suggests an annual net incremental benefit of R5 million (US$0.4 million), and a 95% probability that returns to the service exceeded 20% in 2012/2013.

Practical implications: These results suggest that there is good reason for donors to continue funding effective extension services to small farmers in areas of high agricultural potential.

Theoretical implications: This is an empirical study. It uses well-established methods to measure the impact but introduces a local economy multiplier to capture some of the indirect effects of agricultural extension.

Originality/value: This research is valuable as very few studies worldwide have evaluated the impact of agricultural extension services at both the farm and program levels.     

The Use of New Technologies in the Education of Blind Students Integrated into Ordinary Schools

Abstract

A couple of years ago most of us were deeply involved in discussions concerning the threats and the possibilities of new information technology. At that time the arguments were rather general and education was mentioned only as an exception. Looking back I am surprised that the picture of threat was not stressed more emphatically as only a few years earlier we had finally put educational technology, especially programmed instruction and the simple stimulus‐response paradigm, to death. Visually impaired students were hardly mentioned in the discussions and even then the question was merely how to give them access to the new technology. The nature of discussions in 1988 is very similar. One of the reasons why we have not painted a picture of threat results, in my opinion, from our limited knowledge. This is especially true when it comes to the use of technology for the education of blind students, integrated within ordinary schools. By new technology I mean computers and microprocessor‐controlled aids.     

The Interplay Between Content, Expressions and Their Meaning When Expressing Understanding

In the intentional-expressive approach, a development within the phenomenographic tradition, an alternative view of the role of language is adopted. The approach focuses the learner’s use of expressions and intended meanings, in relation to his/her conception of a phenomenon. The article presents empirical findings from a study made at a university of technology using a special dialogue structure. The aim of the dialogue is to capture the individual’s way of reflecting on the interplay between the expressions he or she uses, their intended meanings, and his or her conception of the phenomenon. Twenty-four students participated and were presented an everyday situation involving the physical motion of a body. The results show that the interplay was ambiguous and dynamic. The relationships between expression and meaning were much weaker than between meaning and conception. In learning situations, this may cause problems concerning students’ knowledge formation, since a stable relationship is often taken for granted in learning and teaching.     

Every Viewer has a Price: On the Differentiation of TV Channels

The authors analyzed the implications of targeted advertising on the equilibrium level of channel profile differentiation (e.g., in terms of political positioning), in free-to-air broadcasting industries. When consumers have no preferences over program content (e.g., entertainment vs. news) standard Hotelling type results apply. Market forces minimize differentiation while the optimal degree is at an intermediate level. As preferences over program content get somewhat stronger, the difference between optimal and market outcomes is initially reduced. However, when preferences over program content get more pronounced, minimal differentiation suddenly becomes optimal while market forces lead to excessive differentiation. Hence, policies aimed at increasing diversity are beneficial only when viewers care little about differences in program content.