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AbstraktSyftet med denna studie var att skapa kunskaper om hur det är att vara förälder med fysisk funktionsnedsättning i samhället när det finns så normer och förväntningar på hur man ska vara som förälder. Syftet var även att lyfta vilka möjligheter och hinder som föräldrar med fysisk funktionsnedsättning upplever kring sitt föräldraskap. Denna studie bygger på en kvalitativ innehållsanalys där jag analyserat tre intervjuer publicerade i svensk media, med induktiv tematisk analys. Resultatet visade att på grund samhällets förväntningar på föräldraskap och omgivningens negativa attityder kring funktionsnedsättning, får personer med bland annat fysisk funktionsnedsättning gå igenom en lång process tills de kan bli föräldrar. När de väl blivit föräldrar så ifrågasätts de i sin roll som förälder. Ett annat resultat var att trots de negativa effekterna som funktionedsättning medför med sig för en förälder, menade föräldrarna att deras funktionsnedsättning var en möjlighet som kunde berika deras barn.Nyckelord: föräldraskap, fysisk funktionsnedsättning, normer, möjligheter och hinder. / AbstractThe aim of this study was to create knowledge about how it is to be a parent with physical disability in society when there are such norms and expectations how to be a parent. The aim was also to lift the possibilities and obstacles that parents with physical disabilities experience about their parenthood. This study is based on a qualitative content analysis where I analyzed three interviews published within Swedish media, with inductive thematic analysis.The result showed that, due to society's expectations of parenting and the negative attitude of disability around the environment, people with physical disabilities may go through a long process until they can become parents. Once they become parents, they are questioned in their role as parent. Another result was that despite the negative effects of functional impairment on a parent, the parents suggested that their disability was an opportunity that enriched their children.Keywords: parenthood, physical disability, norms, opportunities and obstacles.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Clinical Psychology) in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2015 / A novice therapist, by virtue of his or her professional status, is exposed, and often susceptible to a plethora of obstacles and challenges which stem from a variety of sources. These include deficits in clinical experience and reasoning, interpersonal conflicts, intrapsychic dynamics, as well as a multitude of other challenges which exist within the field of psychotherapy. Thus, this research investigation is rooted in fully exploring, understanding and verifying the most significant obstacles and challenges encountered by student and intern psychologists in the greater KwaZulu-Natal region. The uniqueness of the dynamics of the South African society must be highlighted, South Africa being a confluence of cultural, racial, traditional and social norms which add to the body of challenges and obstacles that the psychologist can be expected to encounter and negotiate. The major findings of this research investigation were that majority of the obstacles and challenges faced by student and intern psychologists are indeed linked to clinical inexperience and the chasm between theoretical academic knowledge and practical, clinical application needs to be bridged. Another facet of this investigation analysed the strategies, techniques and methods employed by the participants to overcome or minimise the impact of these obstacles.

Obesity is a worldwide public health epidemic with no sign of yet abating. Although previous studies have examined the impact of obesity on walking, little is known about the effects of practice on walking patterns in individuals with obesity. The purpose of this current study was to evaluate whether an obstacle-crossing task may detect walking deficits in a group of adults electing to undergo bariatric surgery. With a cross-sectional design, we collected walking parameters as 24 adults (M age= 46.19, SD= 12.90) with obese body mass index (BMI) scores (M BMI= 41.68, SD= 5.80) and 26 adults (M age= 21.88, SD= 3.48) with normal BMI scores (M BMI= 23.09, SD= 4.47) walked in 5 conditions for 5 trials each: on flat ground, crossing over low, medium, and high obstacles, and again on flat ground. The timing and distance of participants' steps were collected with a mechanized gait carpet (GAITRite, Inc.). We conducted 5 (condition) repeated measures (RM) ANOVAs on our main dependent variables, which measured how fast (velocity) and long (step length) participants' steps were and how much time they spent with one (single limb support time) versus two (double limb support time) feet on the ground. The results showed within session improvements in participants' walking patterns. Comparisons of the first and last trials on flat ground showed that participants took longer, faster steps by increasing step length and velocity (ps<.01). They also spent more time with one versus two feet on the ground via increased single limb support time and decreased double limb support time (ps<.001). Our findings suggest that an obstacle-crossing task may help spur improvements in walking patterns even before adults elect to undergo bariatric surgery.

Running on land is fraught with challenges. Changes in topography, material properties, and the general heterogeneity of terrain necessitate the ability to sense, process, and compensate for changes quickly and repeatedly. Failure to do so successfully has potentially fatal consequences on an animal’s survival. I used lizards as an experimental model to examine how animals move successfully across complex terrain, because they are found in a vast range of habitat types and have a foot shape conserved across many families. I found that sprawled running appears to confer surprising robustness against large surface drops without any decrease in running speed, through the interplay between changes in body and limb posture. Increased combinations of foot placement and positioning result in more stable solutions than are otherwise possible among animals with erect limb postures. Using high-speed x-ray to visualize subsurface foot motion while running on sand, I discovered that lizards often found on fine sand spread their toes to distances known to maximize particle-particle interactions for force production on sand. Finally, I used a hopping robot outfitted with 3-D printed bio-inspired feet to show that the toe spacing pattern used by sand specialist lizards increases jump height for both stiff and flexible foot models. In summary, this work illuminates how adaptations for complex terrain may not be largely driven by selection for foot shape, but rather through modifications of behavior and functional morphology which likely confer robustness during locomotion across a variety of terrain. / Biology

Introduction: Death occurs frequently in emergency departments (EDs). Obstacles present in EDs can make providing end-of-life (EOL) care stressful and challenging for emergency nurses. Although death is common in EDs, there is a paucity of research regarding ED design as an obstacle to EOL care. The purpose of this study was to identify emergency nurses experiences and recommendations regarding ways ED designs negatively or positively impacted EOL care for dying patients and their families. Methods: At 25-item questionnaire regarding ED design and EOL care was sent to a geographically dispersed, national random sample of 500 emergency nurses. Inclusion criteria were nurses who could read English, worked in an emergency department, and had cared for at least one patient at the EOL. Responses were individually reviewed and coded by the research team.Results: Major obstacles relating to ED design identified by emergency nurses included (1) many issues related to limited space, (2) poor department layout and design features, and (3) the lack of privacy. Despite EDs being a challenging place to provide EOL care, positive ED design characteristics impacted EOL care for dying patients and families.Discussion: Emergency nurses understand the need for family presence during resuscitation, for secure body stowage areas, and for more resuscitation rooms so that families have time to grieve before being removed due to the immediate need for a second trauma patient and family. Nurses can evaluate existing facilities and identify areas where potential change and remodeling would improve patient care, increase patient privacy, or further utilize space. Conclusion: Understanding ED designs impact on EOL care is crucial. Modifications to ED layout and design may be challenging; however, improvements to space, layout, and privacy need to be considered when planning new EDs or remodeling existing departments. Further research is required to determine the impact of ED design on EOL care.

Introduction: Death occurs frequently in emergency departments (EDs). Obstacles present in EDs can make providing end-of-life (EOL) care stressful and challenging for emergency nurses. Although death is common in EDs, there is a paucity of research regarding ED design as an obstacle to EOL care. The purpose of this study was to identify emergency nurses experiences and recommendations regarding ways ED designs negatively or positively impacted EOL care for dying patients and their families. Methods: At 25-item questionnaire regarding ED design and EOL care was sent to a geographically dispersed, national random sample of 500 emergency nurses. Inclusion criteria were nurses who could read English, worked in an emergency department, and had cared for at least one patient at the EOL. Responses were individually reviewed and coded by the research team.Results: Major obstacles relating to ED design identified by emergency nurses included (1) many issues related to limited space, (2) poor department layout and design features, and (3) the lack of privacy. Despite EDs being a challenging place to provide EOL care, positive ED design characteristics impacted EOL care for dying patients and families.Discussion: Emergency nurses understand the need for family presence during resuscitation, for secure body stowage areas, and for more resuscitation rooms so that families have time to grieve before being removed due to the immediate need for a second trauma patient and family. Nurses can evaluate existing facilities and identify areas where potential change and remodeling would improve patient care, increase patient privacy, or further utilize space. Conclusion: Understanding ED designs impact on EOL care is crucial. Modifications to ED layout and design may be challenging; however, improvements to space, layout, and privacy need to be considered when planning new EDs or remodeling existing departments. Further research is required to determine the impact of ED design on EOL care.

Contexte : La santé mentale des étudiants immigrés et leur utilisation des services de santé mentale sont encore peu documentées malgré l'augmentation significative du nombre de ces étudiants dans de nombreux pays à revenu élevé. Objectif : Cette revue de portée vise à rassembler les résultats des études afin d'identifier les barrières/facilitateurs et se documenter sur la santé mentale des étudiants immigrés et leur utilisation des services de soins de santé mentale dans les pays à revenu élevé. Méthodes: La recherche de données a été effectuée sur les bases de données Ovid Medline, APA PsycInfo, Éducation Source, CINAHL, Web of Science et 30 études incluses selon des critères préétablis ont été retenu pour analyse. Résultats : Les étudiants immigrants rencontrent plusieurs problèmes qui affectent leur santé mentale et préfèrent souvent s’autogérer ou avoir recours à des sources d’aide informelles. Ils utilisent moins les services de santé mentale que les étudiants nationaux, ils rencontrent plusieurs barrières à l’utilisation de tels services. Conclusion : Ces étudiants vivent des expériences uniques et leurs besoins sont souvent non satisfaits. Afin d’améliorer leur santé mentale et leur utilisation des services de santé mentale, il faudrait prendre en compte leur expérience unique dans leur contexte de vie spécifique et avoir des approches ou des programmes d'intervention mieux adaptés.

Obstacle detection and avoidance plays a crucial role in the autonomous navigation of unmanned ground vehicles (UGV). Information about the obstacles decreases as the distance between the UGV and obstacles increases. However, this information decreases much more rapidly for negative obstacles than for positive obstacles. UGV navigation becomes more challenging in off-road environments due to the higher probability of finding negative obstacles (e.g., potholes, ditches, trenches, etc.) compared with on-road environments. One approach to solve this problem is to avoid the candidate path with a negative obstacle, but in off-road environments avoiding negative obstacles in all situations is not possible. In such cases, the local path planner may need to choose a candidate path with a negative obstacle that causes the least amount of damage to the vehicle. To deal better with these types of scenarios, this research introduces a novel approach to perform 3D shape estimation of negative obstacles using LiDAR point cloud data. The dimensions (width, diameter, and depth), location (center), and curvature of negative obstacles were calculated based on an estimated shape. The presented approach can estimate the shape of different kinds of negative obstacles such as holes, trenches, in addition to large and complicated negative obstacles. This approach was tested on different terrain types using the Mississippi Autonomous Vehicle Simulation (MAVS).

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