Search

Art is an educational activity that can be done in any era or by any generation. Theatre art, which has contributed to the individual and social development of individuals since early times, has had a privileged place in the world of education. New approaches in the science of theatre and pedagogy have emerged in the current age and substantially contributed to participatory art. This current study was conducted regarding participatory art carried out as a theatrical staged work in the eastern Black Sea region of Turkey, Artvin Province, Hopa district. The participants in the study were 14 adult females aged between 28 to 55-years-old. Participants were observed during the staging process of a theatrical work and interviews were conducted. The data obtained were analysed and the effect of participatory art on the women's life satisfaction was determined. It was revealed through the results that there was a significant increase in the life satisfaction of working women who participated in this theatrical work. In research regarding the historical processes of participatory art, the importance of working women expressing themselves through a socio-cultural activity as well as the pedagogical approaches preferred in these studies were also mentioned.

This mixed-method study examined the attitudes and opinions of Artvin Çoruh University teacher candidates regarding the use of creative drama instruction within social studies courses. Participants were 24 university students attending their junior year in the Social Studies teacher education program. Creative drama instruction was planned and implemented over 24 instructional hours between February 20th - May 22nd, 2017. Participants' attitudes were measured through a "Creative Drama Attitude Scale", and their opinions were obtained via written responses to an "Opinion Evaluation Form", developed by the researcher. Results revealed no significant difference between the pre/post-test attitude scale results, which was interpreted as teacher candidates' having prior knowledge and positive impressions of creative drama instruction. Participants' opinions revealed they viewed creative drama as an effective methodology and believed that it was appropriate for teaching a variety of subjects. Teacher candidates participated in the study indicated that creative drama contributes to students' learning, motivation, communication, and personal development. In conclusion,, it is recommended that creative drama instruction can be utilised within social studies courses and that social studies teachers and teacher candidates have creative drama instructional training.

Some areas of education place students at the centre of learning; for example, creative drama is one of these active learning methods. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a "creative drama-supported psychology course" on the levels of self-concept, social anxiety, empathic tendency, and communication/assertiveness skills of 2nd year AÇÜ Faculty of Health Sciences Nursing Department students. For this study, a quasi-experimental research model with a control group, pre-test, and post-test design was utilized. The teaching methods suggested by the current psychology curriculum were utilized with both the control and experimental groups, and for the experimental group the identical curriculum was also supported through the creative drama method. The study was conducted on sophomore students enrolled in sections A and B of the psychology course offered in the nursing department of Artvin Çoruh University. Also, the group which was enrolled to take the drama-supported psychology course was selected randomly. It was determined that students in the experimental and control groups were similar in terms of their age, gender, family type, place of residence, level of social anxiety, empathic tendency skills, communication skills, and level of assertiveness. At the outset of the study, the number of students constituting the research group totalled 63, with 28 in the experimental group considered Class A, and 35 as a control group considered Class B; however, due to attrition from students quitting the university, transferring universities, and not completing the necessary data collection tools the number of participates decreased to a total of 47 with 19 in the experimental group and 28 students in the control group. The lessons planned for the research study were two hours a week over a period of ten weeks. The study data were collected via a "Personal Information Form", "Social Anxiety Scale", "Empathic Tendency Scale", "Communication Skills Evaluation Scale" and "Rathus Assertiveness Inventory". Data from the study were then analysed utilizing SPSS 17.0 through number, average, percentage, "Chi-square Compliance Test", "Mann-Whitney U test" and a "Willcoxon Signed Ranks Test". In addition, expert opinion was obtained regarding the validity and reliability of the study, as well as, the "Cronbach Alpha" was calculated. Furthermore, before beginning the study, an ethics committee approval from the university, written permission of the institution where the study was conducted, and informed consent of the participants were obtained. According to the findings from this study, it was determined that the creative drama-supported psychology course brought about positive increases in the levels of students' self-concept. It was also observed that the social anxiety scores of students in the experimental group who attended creative drama decreased. Also, the scores relating to empathic tendency, communication and assertiveness skill increased for students from the experimental group. Importantly, there was no statistically significant change in the variables in the control group. Finally, the results of this study are considered to contribute knowledge and understanding to the field of creative drama and psychology in terms use of active learning and teaching methods.

Dissecting aneurysms in patients with spontaneous cervical artery dissections have, so far, been reported as "benign", but more specific information is scarce. We aimed to elucidate (1) vascular risk factors, (2) local and ischemic symptoms, and (3) long-term prognosis compared to non-aneurysmal dissections. This case–control study included consecutive patients with spontaneous cervical artery dissection from three university hospitals in Switzerland and France, evaluated at baseline and at 3 months. In addition, further follow-ups were performed at the discretion of the treating physician. Dissecting aneurysms were diagnosed with duplex sonography, magnetic resonance angiography, and/or digital subtraction angiography. Of 1012 patients, 151 (14.9%) presented with 167 dissecting aneurysms at baseline (n = 103) or follow-up (n = 64). The median follow-up was 24.9 months (IQR: 6.8–60.8). Compared to patients without a dissecting aneurysm there were no significant differences in the vascular risk factors or local symptoms (91.4 vs. 89.8%). Ischemic strokes at baseline were less common (29.1% vs. 54.4%; OR: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.28–0.60) in patients with a dissecting aneurysm, even after correction for the degree of stenosis of the dissected arteries (OR: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.34–0.81). Patients with a dissecting aneurysm more often had a favorable clinical outcome (modified Rankin Scale Score of 0–1) at 3 months (80.6% vs. 54.5%). There was no significant difference in recurrent cerebrovascular events at 3 months or overall. The lower rate of ischemic strokes at baseline may reflect a different pathogenic mechanism, such as a smaller initial tear in the vessel wall or an increased vessel caliber from an early or primary intramural hematoma with a different shape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Uncertainty remains regarding antithrombotic treatment in cervical artery dissection. This analysis aimed to explore whether certain patient profiles influence the effects of different types of antithrombotic treatment. Methods: This was a post hoc exploratory analysis based on the per‐protocol dataset from TREAT‐CAD (NCT02046460), a randomized controlled trial comparing aspirin to anticoagulation in patients with cervical artery dissection. We explored the potential effects of distinct patient profiles on outcomes in participants treated with either aspirin or anticoagulation. Profiles included (1) presenting with ischemia (no/yes), (2) occlusion of the dissected artery (no/yes), (3) early versus delayed treatment start (median), and (4) intracranial extension of the dissection (no/yes). Outcomes included clinical (stroke, major hemorrhage, death) and magnetic resonance imaging outcomes (new ischemic or hemorrhagic brain lesions) and were assessed for each subgroup in separate logistic models without adjustment for multiple testing. Results: All 173 (100%) per‐protocol participants were eligible for the analyses. Participants without occlusion had decreased odds of events when treated with anticoagulation (odds ratio [OR] = 0.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.07–0.86). This effect was more pronounced in participants presenting with cerebral ischemia (n = 118; OR = 0.16, 95% CI = 0.04–0.55). In the latter, those with early treatment (OR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.07–0.85) or without intracranial extension of the dissection (OR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.11–0.97) had decreased odds of events when treated with anticoagulation. Interpretation: Anticoagulation might be preferable in patients with cervical artery dissection presenting with ischemia and no occlusion or no intracranial extension of the dissection. These findings need confirmation. ANN NEUROL 2024;95:886–897 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Smoking is an established risk factor for stroke. However, several studies have reported a better outcome after stroke for patients who smoke. According to this "smoking paradox" hypothesis, smoking might promote less severe strokes, higher collateral scores, and smaller infarct cores. Methods: In this retrospective study, we screened data of 2,980 acute ischemic stroke patients with MCA-M1 occlusion treated with mechanical thrombectomy. Patients were categorized according to smoking status (current, former, or never). We assessed univariate associations between clinical characteristics and smoking status. Subsequently, we used adjusted regression analysis to evaluate associations of smoking with stroke severity on admission (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS]; primary endpoint), infarct core volume, and collateral status (secondary endpoints). Results: Out of 320 patients, 19.7% (n = 63) were current smokers and 18.8% (n = 60) were former smokers. Admission NIHSS, reperfusion success, and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) after 3–6 months were similar in all groups. Current smokers were younger, more often male and less likely to have atrial fibrillation compared to former and never smokers. In regression analyses, smoking status was neither associated with admission NIHSS (estimate 0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −1.27–2.35, p = 0.557) nor with collateral status (estimate 0.79, 95% CI: 0.44–1.44, p = 0.447) or infarct core volume (estimate −0.69, 95% CI: −15.15–13.77, p = 0.925 for current vs. never smokers). Conclusion: We could not confirm the smoking paradox. Our results support the fact that smoking causes stroke at a younger age, highlighting the role of smoking as a modifiable vascular risk factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]