Autism and the Knowledge and Beliefs of Specialists in Kazakhstan.

In Kazakhstan, the diagnosis of autism relies upon the expertise of various specialists and a range of measures that have not been researched to date. The present study collected data from a range of health specialists across Kazakhstan currently known to be involved in the diagnosis of children with autism. The research was an explanatory mixed methods design; survey followed by interviews.

Analysis of touch used by occupational therapy practitioners in skilled nursing facilities.

Instrumental touch is identified as having purposeful physical contact in order to complete a task. Expressive touch is identified as warm, friendly physical contact and is not solely for performing a task. Expressive touch has been associated with improved client status, increased rapport and greater gains made during therapy.

Use of the population potential model for predicting the growth of cities in a region (with reference to Moscow Oblast).

"A modification of the population potential model is used to analyze the structure of the potential of population for cities of the Moscow region, to develop a relationship between population potential and city size, and to use this procedure to forecast future population change in Moscow Oblast cities." Cities in the region with a population of 50,000 or more at the censuses of 1959, 1970, and 1979 are included.

The cities of the RSFSR: trends and prospects of development.

The relationship between function and city size in cities of the Russian part of the USSR with a population of over 100,000 is examined for the period 1939 to 1980. The results suggest that "the relationship between city growth and functional change is wavelike in nature. In the initial stages of development of a city, it is the construction and transport functions that predominate, and they are associated with high rates of population growth.