Christopher W. Day, Alyson Simpson, Qiong Li, Yan Bi and Faye He
This study aimed to investigate associations between the organisational and cultural contexts in which Chinese teachers work, the influence of these on their understandings of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to investigate associations between the organisational and cultural contexts in which Chinese teachers work, the influence of these on their understandings of professionalism, and relationships between these and their perceived willingness and commitment to be effective in teaching to their best.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was part of a two-country collaboration between the universities of Beijing and Sydney into Australian and Chinese teachers' perceptions of influences on their professionalism in which research protocols were jointly developed and implemented. This paper focusses mainly upon the Chinese research but also refers to key differences between Australian and Chinese teachers' perspectives. Seventeen teachers in early, middle and later career phases were recruited from a convenience sample of primary and secondary schools in Beijing. Qualitative data analyses of individual interviews, and cross case comparative analyses were conducted.
Findings
The analyses of the data from Beijing indicated that almost all teachers emphasised their strong moral purposes and commitment to teach to their best, despite identifying the challenges of workload, school contexts and cultures and personal circumstances, which tested their resolve. In contrast, concerns about teacher autonomy and agency, which were common in the Australian study and other published research literature, were not highly visible in the Chinese data.
Research limitations/implications
The authors acknowledge that this study was small scale and data were collected from a narrow sample from one urban region of China, and we should be cautious with the generalisability of findings to other regions and schools of China since there are significant discrepancies between developed coastal areas and large cities and the remote rural areas in China. Furthermore, interview data were only collected once, restricting insight to a snapshot in time. This research may be seen as an encouragement to researchers from other regions and countries to further explore the impact of socially situated understandings of teacher professionalism on practice. Future research could also benefit from utilising multiple data sources, longitudinal design and cross-cultural collaborations to further explore the challenge of defining teachers' understandings of professionalism locally while engaging with global perspectives.
Practical implications
The practical implications relate to (1) expanding conceptualisations of teacher professionalism by developing locally nuanced understandings of perceptions and enactments of professionalism in different contexts across the profession, which take account of the unique roles of national and local cultural contexts; (2) designing initial teacher education and continuing professional development programmes so that they take account of the influences on the professions' ideals and individual teacher identities, of the ideological and practical interplay in the workplace of structures such as mandated standards, and different socio-economic geographical settings (e.g. rural and urban); (3) designing leadership development programmes that take account of research on associations between school leaders' values, qualities and practices on school cultures and their effects on teachers' well-being, and capacities and capabilities to fulfil their understandings of being professionals and teach to their best.
Social implications
The social implications relate to (1) further research on the associations between the effects of external policy demands on teachers' work and work–life tensions, teachers' sustained commitment and quality; and (2) further research on the impact of the collective influences of national cultures, broad-based policy conditions, personal values and the demands of particular schools, parents and students that influence teachers' experience, perceptions and enactments of professionalism in order to provide further insights into understanding the complexity of teachers' lives and promoting teachers' sustained enactments of professionalism in broad contexts.
Originality/value
The research findings, though tentative, revealed that the altruistic nature of their mission to serve students and the parental community was the dominant marker of professionalism for teachers in China, regardless of school structures, cultures, academic achievement imperatives and personal circumstance; and that their professionalism was informed by the socio-cultural formation of individual and collective moral responsibility, reinforced through national educational policies. These findings differed from the concerns reported by the teachers in the Australian study, which aligned with literature that suggests that teacher professionalism is being eroded through neo-liberal government policies, excessive workloads and performance-oriented cultures. Though the comparative data set is small, these findings suggest that whilst there are increasing policy convergences across nations, which seek to define teacher professionalism through their abilities to make improvements in students' measurable academic achievement, how teachers in different countries and cultures define themselves as professionals may differ.
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Alyson Simpson and Maureen Walsh
This paper aims to interrogate the place of literature in the digital world and the way a narrative is represented in digital spaces. In the changing landscape of digital, mobile…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to interrogate the place of literature in the digital world and the way a narrative is represented in digital spaces. In the changing landscape of digital, mobile and virtual texts, the authors aimed to examine how multimodal and animated elements in digital narratives engage young readers and encourage affective and aesthetic reader response?
Design/methodology/approach
The study was an exploratory, interpretive qualitative research study undertaken in a classroom of 28 10-year-old boys in grade 5. The investigators analysed data recorded during a lesson where students responded to the textual conventions and literary features of a traditional story read in print and multimodal digital format. Two coding systems were used to identify students’ understanding of textual conventions along with the nature of their responses.
Findings
The results suggested that when students are prompted to attend to the impact of multimodal layering in digital literature, affective, aesthetic and critical responses, they are encouraged in their interpretations. The responses emphasised the importance of teacher scaffolding and development of meta-language in teaching literature in both print and digital form.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the small sample and limited data set, the research results lack generalisability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed implications further.
Practical implications
The paper includes implications for teacher pedagogy, while teaching reading with multimodal narratives in digital form.
Originality/value
This paper offers insight into the differences between print and multimodal literary texts; it codes students’ responses to multimodal texts and offers a method for analysis.
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Mark Holloway and Alyson Norman
The purpose of this paper is to review safeguarding adult reviews (SARs) pertaining to individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) since 2014. This extended literature review…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review safeguarding adult reviews (SARs) pertaining to individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) since 2014. This extended literature review also explores the lessons and recommendations from these reviews in relation to social work practice within the UK.
Design/methodology/approach
The literature review reported and discussed findings across reviews and then used a thematic analysis to synthesise the findings and recommendations from the SARs reviews.
Findings
This paper identified four main themes: a lack of awareness of the needs of those with ABI and their families and around the symptoms and nuances of brain injury, particularly executive impairment and mental capacity, among social workers; poor interdisciplinarity led to a lack of shared communication and decision-making with professionals with such knowledge; a poor understanding of aspects of the mental capacity legislation, particularly surrounding unwise decisions, led to inappropriate or absent mental capacity assessments; and a lack of professional curiosity led to a lack of action where intervention or assessment was required.
Research limitations/implications
This review identifies significant shortcomings in social work practice, education and training within the UK with regards to ABI.
Practical implications
This paper provides recommendations to current social work practice and highlights the need for significant improvements in pre-qualification and post-qualification training and supervision of social workers.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, while there have been extensive reviews conducted on SARs, this is the only review that has focused solely on ABI.
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Forensic nursing is a term applied to nurses working in many different areas of clinical practice, such as high security hospitals, medium secure units, low secure units, acute…
Abstract
Forensic nursing is a term applied to nurses working in many different areas of clinical practice, such as high security hospitals, medium secure units, low secure units, acute mental health wards, specialised private hospitals, psychiatric intensive care units, court liaison schemes, and outpatient, community and rehabilitation services. Rarely is the term defined in the general literature and as a concept it is multifaceted. Concept analysis is a method for exploring and evaluating the meaning of words. It gives precise definitions, both theoretical and operational, for use in theory, clinical practice and research. A concept analysis provides a logical basis for defining terms and helps us to refine and define a concept that derives from practice, research and theory. This paper uses the strategy of concept analysis to explore the term ‘forensic nursing’ and finds a working definition of forensic mental health nursing. The historical background and literature are reviewed using concept analysis to bring the term into focus and to define it more clearly. Forensic nursing is found to derive from forensic practice. A proposed definition of forensic nursing is given.
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Sophie Moore, Rebecca Wotus, Alyson Norman, Mark Holloway and Jackie Dean
Brain Injury Case Managers (BICMs) work closely with individuals with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), assessing needs, structuring rehabilitation interventions and providing support…
Abstract
Purpose
Brain Injury Case Managers (BICMs) work closely with individuals with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), assessing needs, structuring rehabilitation interventions and providing support, and have significant experience of clients with impairments to decision making. The purpose of this paper is to explore the application of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and its guidance when applied to ABI survivors. This research aimed to: first, highlight potential conflicts or tensions that application of the MCA might pose, and second, identify approaches to mitigate the problems of the MCA and capacity assessments with ABI survivors. It is hoped that this will support improvements in the services offered.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a mixed method approach, 93 BICMs responded to an online questionnaire about decision making following ABI. Of these, 12 BICMs agreed to take part in a follow-up semi-structured telephone interview.
Findings
The data revealed four main themes: disagreements with other professionals, hidden disabilities, vulnerability in the community and implementation of the MCA and capacity assessments.
Practical implications
The findings highlight the need for changes to the way mental capacity assessments are conducted and the need for training for professionals in the hidden effects of ABI.
Originality/value
Limited research exists on potential limitations of the application of the MCA for individuals with an ABI. This paper provides much needed research on the difficulties surrounding mental capacity and ABI.
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The purpose of this paper is to review the care management of a man with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) from a family member’s perspective.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the care management of a man with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) from a family member’s perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides a case history of “Tom” both prior to his TBI and after.
Findings
Tom was the subject of a safeguarding adults case review in Somerset following his death in 2014. Ultimately the paper highlights the shortcomings and failures in the care Tom received by various organisations which ultimately contributed to his suicide.
Practical implications
The paper highlights the need for more effective communication between professionals managing the care of those with TBI. Furthermore, professionals need training in the need for mental capacity assessments and improved safeguarding and risk assessments with adults with TBI.
Originality/value
This paper provides insight into the needs of an adult with TBI from the perspective of a family member who is also a trained psychologist.
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Thalia Anthony, Juanita Sherwood, Harry Blagg and Kieran Tranter
Sonette Du Preez, Alyson Johnson, Ryan F. LeBouf, Stephanus J.L. Linde, Aleksandr B. Stefaniak and Johan Du Plessis
This paper aims to measure exposures to airborne contaminants during three-dimensional (3-D) printing and post-processing tasks in an industrial workplace.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to measure exposures to airborne contaminants during three-dimensional (3-D) printing and post-processing tasks in an industrial workplace.
Design/methodology/approach
Contaminant concentrations were assessed using real-time particle number (0.007 to 1 µm) and total volatile organic compound (TVOC) monitors and thermal desorption tubes during various tasks at a manufacturing facility using fused deposition modeling (FDMTM) 3-D printers. Personal exposures were measured for two workers using nanoparticle respiratory deposition samplers for metals and passive badges for specific VOCs.
Findings
Opening industrial-scale FDMTM 3-D printer doors after printing, removing desktop FDMTM 3-D printer covers during printing, acetone vapor polishing (AVP) and chloroform vapor polishing (CVP) tasks all resulted in transient increases in levels of submicrometer-scale particles and/or organic vapors, a portion of which enter the workers’ breathing zone, resulting in exposure. Personal exposure to quantifiable levels of metals in particles <300 nm were 0.02 mg/m3 for aluminum, chromium, copper, iron and titanium during FDMTM printing. Personal exposures were 0.38 to 6.47 mg/m3 for acetone during AVP and 0.18 mg/m3 for chloroform during CVP.
Originality/value
Characterization of tasks provided insights on factors that influenced contaminant levels, and in turn exposures to various particles, metals < 300 nm and organic vapors. These concentration and exposure factors data are useful for identifying tasks and work processes to consider for implementation of new or improved control technologies to mitigate exposures in manufacturing facilities using FDMTM 3-D printers.
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Borrowing from the literature on social cognition and schema theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine sexual orientation and sex discrimination, to critique and refine that…
Abstract
Purpose
Borrowing from the literature on social cognition and schema theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine sexual orientation and sex discrimination, to critique and refine that doctrine, particularly when traditional gender roles are enforced in workplaces. The insights of cognitive schemas on lesbian and gay identity are employed to link models of judicial decision making and gender/sexual orientation.
Design/methodology/approach
Methodologically, the paper is located in the sociolegal tradition, but also uses case analysis to supplement and advance its thesis. Because US nondiscrimination law distinguishes between sexuality and gender discrimination, it provides a unique laboratory to critique not only American law, but the structure of nondiscrimination law generally.
Findings
Judges' and others' schemas of lesbian and gay men suggest explanations for the analytical confusion in nondiscrimination law. Additionally, the paper's specific findings both supplement and question aspects of extant models of judicial decision making and gender/sexuality.
Originality/value
Social cognition framework enables judges and commentators to reconceptualize facts and relevant doctrine in gender and sexual orientation discrimination cases and to critique some fundamental assumptions of nondiscrimination law. Further, because the paper bridges judicial decision making and gender/sexuality, researchers in those areas can use this analysis of a specific legal context to provide additional insights into how those models work and their underlying, hidden assumptions. This is a conference paper based on this author's work on schema theory and sexual orientation identity in nondiscrimination law.