Differences in postural control and movement performance during goal directed reaching in children with developmental coordination disorder

Poor upper-limb coordination is a common difficulty for children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). One hypothesis is that deviant muscle timing in proximal muscle groups results in poor postural and movement control. The relationship between muscle timing, arm motion and children's upper-limb coordination deficits has not previously been studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between functional difficulties with upper-limb motor skills and neuromuscular components of postural stability and coordination. Sixty-four children aged 8-10 years, 32 with DCD and 32 without DCD, participated in the study. The study investigated timing of muscle activity and resultant arm movement during a rapid, voluntary, goal-directed arm movement. Results showed that compared to children without DCD, children with DCD took significantly longer to respond to visual signals and longer to complete the goal-directed movement. Children with DCD also demonstrated altered activity in postural muscles. In particular, shoulder muscles, except for serratus anterior, and posterior trunk muscles demonstrated early activation. Further, anterior trunk muscles demonstrated delayed activation. In children with DCD, anticipatory function was not present in three of the four anterior trunk muscles. These differences support the hypothesis that in children with DCD, altered postural muscle activity may contribute to poor proximal stability and consequently poor arm movement control when performing goal-directed movement. These results have educational and functional implications for children at school and during activities of daily living and leisure activities and for clinicians assessing and treating children with DCD.     

Motor fluency deficits in the sequencing of actions in schizophrenia

Many everyday activities depend on the capacity to organize and smoothly execute motor sequences. The authors tested the hypothesis that a sequencing deficit is associated with schizophrenia. They used a new method to distinguish between lower and higher order mechanisms for the impairment. The 1st task involved triggered sequences in which sensory information from 1 movement was the cue for initiation of the following movement. Results showed that the motor sequences were performed as fluently in patients as in controls. The 2nd and 3rd tasks involved sequences in which the entire movement sequence could be preplanned. Patients executed the sequences less fluently than controls but only under the condition where action sequences were required. Furthermore, the patients' fluency deficit increased with sequence complexity. The high discrimination power of Task 3 gave the authors a means to control for a potential psychometric confound involving differential discriminating power and to argue in favor of a specific higher order motor fluency deficit in patients with schizophrenia. It is suggested that basic lower order mechanisms that integrate sensory information with outgoing motor commands are preserved in schizophrenia, whereas higher order integrative mechanisms that are required for the smooth coordination of motor sequences are impaired.     

Analysis of a national toll free suicide crisis line in South Africa

The first national toll free suicide crisis line for South Africa was launched in October 2003 with the aim of providing a service dedicated to the prevention of suicide in this country. The intervention was motivated by South Africa's suicide rate which had risen higher than the global suicide rate, with the majority of attempted suicides occurring among people younger than 35 years of age (WHO, 2002). Demographic characteristics of callers were identified to evaluate the perceived helpfulness of this crisis line, so as to inform planning and implementation of future suicide prevention programs. Results showed that the majority of callers were female; between the ages of 16 and 18 years; and lived in the provinces of Gauteng, North West, or KwaZulu Natal. Callers were more likely to be from urban than rural areas; were still at school, unemployed, or studying at a tertiary institution; and had not previously attempted suicide. The majority of participants did perceive the crisis line as helpful. The continued collection of demographic data from the crisis line is recommended so that South Africa can create an updated database of areas and sectors of the population that require suicide intervention, and for planning and implementing suicide prevention programs in this country.     

Dash of Faith: A Faith-Based Participatory Research Pilot Study

The Dash of Faith pilot used a community-based participatory research approach to design an experiential dietary intervention based on two African-American churches, one intervention and one comparison. Congregation members identified components that were incorporated into 12 weekly and 4 monthly sessions, with a goal of increasing fruit and vegetable and lowering fat intake. At 2 months, a marginally significant (p = 0.07) increase in fruit and vegetable consumption was observed in the intervention group but was not maintained at study conclusion. We propose that these mixed findings may be attributable, in part, to bias introduced by the participatory nature of the design.     

Interfaith Dialogue in Lebanon: Between a Power Balancing Act and Theological Encounters

This essay explores trends and directions of interfaith dialogue in Lebanon with a special focus on developments since the Ta'if Agreement (1989) signed at the end of the civil war. While viewing the encounters of interfaith dialogue in Lebanon against the background of political and social developments, the particular focus of this study is the ventures and potential of “inter-theological dialogue.” In particular, it explores the new initiatives whose focus is on theological and spiritual dialogue, since they seem to have been virtually ignored by recent studies in the field, even though inter-theological discussions have constituted an important part of inter-religious dialogue in Lebanon. The article proposes that theological dialogue in Lebanon is necessary in order to reach true ta?āyush (living together), particularly because politics and religion are intricately intertwined. Focusing on two initiatives within the past 15 years, it shows how they strive to make theological discourse – sometimes a merely intellectual exercise – relevant for society.     

Facilitation effect of observed motor deviants in a cooperative motor task: Evidence for direct perception of social intention in action

Spatiotemporal parameters of voluntary motor action may help optimize human social interactions. Yet it is unknown whether individuals performing a cooperative task spontaneously perceive subtly informative social cues emerging through voluntary actions. In the present study, an auditory cue was provided through headphones to an actor and a partner who faced each other. Depending on the pitch of the auditory cue, either the actor or the partner were required to grasp and move a wooden dowel under time constraints from a central to a lateral position. Before this main action, the actor performed a preparatory action under no time constraint, consisting in placing the wooden dowel on the central location when receiving either a neutral (“prêt”–ready) or an informative auditory cue relative to who will be asked to perform the main action (the actor: “moi”–me, or the partner: “lui”–him). Although the task focused on the main action, analysis of motor performances revealed that actors performed the preparatory action with longer reaction times and higher trajectories when informed that the partner would be performing the main action. In this same condition, partners executed the main actions with shorter reaction times and lower velocities, despite having received no previous informative cues. These results demonstrate that the mere observation of socially driven motor actions spontaneously influences the low-level kinematics of voluntary motor actions performed by the observer during a cooperative motor task. These findings indicate that social intention can be anticipated from the mere observation of action patterns.     

Measuring adolescents’ beliefs in conspiracy theories: Development and validation of the Adolescent Conspiracy Beliefs Questionnaire (ACBQ)

Four studies (total n = 961) developed and validated the Adolescent Conspiracy Beliefs Questionnaire (ACBQ). Initial items were developed in collaboration with teachers. An exploratory factor analysis (Study 1, n = 208, aged 11–14) and a student focus group (N = 3, aged 11) enabled us to establish the factor structure of a 9-item scale. This was replicated via confirmatory factor analysis in Study 2 (N = 178, aged 11–17), and the scale displayed good convergent (i.e., relationship with paranoia and mistrust) and discriminant validity (i.e., no relationship with extraversion). Study 3a (N = 257) further tested convergent validity with a sample of 18-year-olds (i.e., relationship with adult-validated measures of conspiracy beliefs) and demonstrated strong test–retest reliability. Study 3b (N = 318) replicated these findings with a mixed-age adult sample. The ACBQ will allow researchers to explore the psychological antecedents and consequences of conspiracy thinking in young populations.