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Myths and Stereotypes: The Lived Experiences of People with Albinism
Issue:
Volume 8, Issue 3, June 2019
Pages:
61-66
Received:
29 March 2019
Accepted:
8 May 2019
Published:
24 June 2019
Abstract: The phenomenon of Albinos being treated badly is a growing concern in many Africa countries. Ghana is not an exception to the general trend of Albinos being discriminated against. However, very little is known about this unique population in Ghana. For most societies, albinism is hardly (or not) understood. Myths and misconceptions surround the condition, a common characteristic of albinos is that they experience stigma as people with white skin in black societies. Stigma and discrimination are sources of depression, guilt and anger among persons with Albinism. This study was conducted in Bolgatanga Municipality. The study employed a mixed method approach where both qualitative and quantitative techniques were espoused. The study used the probability and non-probability sampling methods to select the participants of the study. Simple random sampling technique was used to select thirty (31) albino participants. The study found that the outward appearance, myths and perception of people that Albinos wounds or sores do not heal exposed them to stigmatisation and discrimination in the community. Teasing and name calling are some of the difficulties Albinos in Bolgatanga face which sometimes leads to depression and frustrations. Based on the findings the study recommends that teachers and parents should encourage their Albino pupils/wards to stay in school and sensitization programs concerning Albinism should be introduced in schools to create awareness of the conditions to pupils so that they can accept their fellow students who are Albino.
Abstract: The phenomenon of Albinos being treated badly is a growing concern in many Africa countries. Ghana is not an exception to the general trend of Albinos being discriminated against. However, very little is known about this unique population in Ghana. For most societies, albinism is hardly (or not) understood. Myths and misconceptions surround the con...
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Spin: The Effects of Acute Exercise on Speech Perception
Lakyn Kearns,
Ashley Rich,
Natalie Pita,
Kayoko Okada
Issue:
Volume 8, Issue 3, June 2019
Pages:
67-71
Received:
8 April 2019
Accepted:
20 May 2019
Published:
26 June 2019
Abstract: Previous research suggests that adults who exercise regularly perform better on cognitive tasks. Most of these studies have focused on the benefits of aerobic exercise on executive function in the aging population. Very few studies to date have focused on how exercise affects perceptual abilities, particularly in healthy young adults. This is particularly important since poor cardiovascular health and low fitness levels are risk factors for hearing loss. The purpose of this study was to test whether exercising, defined as cycling for 30 minutes, affects auditory perception. College-aged participants performed a speech perception task before and after 30 minutes of aerobic exercise on a stationary bicycle. Auditory stimuli were speech that varied in intelligibility and have been used in previous experiments. Words were presented in noise and participants reported aloud the word they identified. The experimenter recorded participant responses during the experiment and the percentage of words correctly identified was calculated. Analysis revealed that there was a significant difference between the percentage of words correctly identified before exercise and after exercise. These results suggest that acute aerobic exercise has immediate effects that improve speech perception ability.
Abstract: Previous research suggests that adults who exercise regularly perform better on cognitive tasks. Most of these studies have focused on the benefits of aerobic exercise on executive function in the aging population. Very few studies to date have focused on how exercise affects perceptual abilities, particularly in healthy young adults. This is parti...
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The Index Predicting Power and Feedback Processing Characteristics in the WCST
Issue:
Volume 8, Issue 3, June 2019
Pages:
72-78
Received:
5 May 2019
Accepted:
12 June 2019
Published:
26 June 2019
Abstract: Based on the performance of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), participants can be divided into high and low cognitive flexibility groups. The cognitive differences between the two groups need further study. However, studies have grouped participants according to different criteria of the WCST. Based on the classical WCST, the present study investigated two issues in college students: (1) the power of indexes for predicting performance, and (2) the feedback processing characteristics of high and low cognitive flexibility participants. The regression analysis showed TCF (trials to complete the first classification) and PR% (the percentage of perseverative response) were powerful predictors. We further divided participants into high and low cognitive flexibility groups according to the regression equation. Regarding the feedback processing characteristics, we classified all trials in rule-search phase as one of four types: correct-correct (coCO), correct-error (coER), error-error (erER), and error-correct (erCO), which were based on the relationship between the former feedback and the current response. The results revealed that compared with the low cognitive flexibility group, the high cognitive flexibility group could learn effectively from feedback. Differences in the feedback processing ability may be one of the reasons for the differential performance of college students on the WCST task.
Abstract: Based on the performance of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), participants can be divided into high and low cognitive flexibility groups. The cognitive differences between the two groups need further study. However, studies have grouped participants according to different criteria of the WCST. Based on the classical WCST, the present study in...
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Painting Therapy in Improvement of the Symptoms of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Kaveh Moghaddam,
Aida Ravarian,
Farhoud Saied Ershadi
Issue:
Volume 8, Issue 3, June 2019
Pages:
79-84
Received:
27 December 2018
Accepted:
1 April 2019
Published:
8 July 2019
Abstract: Objective: Children with autism spectrum disorder suffer from problems such as qualitative impairment in the social interactions and stereotypical behaviors and the purpose of many interventions is the dynamic involvement of the families in the treatment and rehabilitation of these children. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of educational application of family-centered painting techniques on social interactions and stereotypical behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorder. Methods: This applied experimental study was conducted using the pre-test-posttest with follow-up and control group design. In this study, 20children with autism spectrum disorder and their parents were selected by the available sampling method and then, they were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Then, the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-I questionnaire was applied at pre-test, posttest and follow-up stages and educational application of family-centered painting techniques was applied just for the experimental group. Then the data were analyzed by the ANCOVA and the repeated measures as statistical methods. Results: An alpha of 0.05 was considered as the significance level and the results showed a significant difference between experimental and control groups in social interactions and stereotypical behaviors of the children. Follow-up tests showed a significant difference and durability, as well. Conclusions: The results showed that educational application of family-centered painting techniques can play an effective and durable role in improvement of social interactions and stereotypical behaviors of the children with autism spectrum disorder.
Abstract: Objective: Children with autism spectrum disorder suffer from problems such as qualitative impairment in the social interactions and stereotypical behaviors and the purpose of many interventions is the dynamic involvement of the families in the treatment and rehabilitation of these children. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate t...
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