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1 – 10 of 70Heather Morris, Claire Blewitt, Amanda O'Connor and Helen Skouteris
The aim of this paper is to discuss how theories and practitioner-led theorising allow frontline workers to iteratively co-construct solutions that work in the real world.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to discuss how theories and practitioner-led theorising allow frontline workers to iteratively co-construct solutions that work in the real world.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper addresses the authors’ aim by proposing a social care theorising model
Findings
This study adopts a socio-ecological and epistemological lens when describing theorising and unpacks what this means when frontline workers adapt their practice and programs to work effectively with individuals and families. As frontline workers move towards a grand theory that determines their overarching theoretical perspectives through which they interpret their “social work” world, leadership, organisational culture and governance become crucial in supporting their use of discretion. This support is mostly manifested as supervision and coaching, and the authors argue here that a “researcher in residence” narrows the barriers to embedding research and evidence into practice. Discretion implies the choice of a practitioner to deliver program components in a way that fits the family, which may not align with rigid program protocols, and this calls in to question how to measure fidelity and compensate for adaptation. Furthermore, it highlights the limitations of some research methods and suggests that rapid data collection and analysis may be useful during this theorising process.
Originality/value
This paper conceptualises how frontline social care workers theorise in their practice, the ways these theories are shaped and suggests an option to narrow the research–practice gap.
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Amanda S. Hovious and Brian C. O'Connor
The purpose of this study was to explore the viability of transinformation analysis as a multimodal readability metric. A novel approach was called for, considering that existing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to explore the viability of transinformation analysis as a multimodal readability metric. A novel approach was called for, considering that existing and established readability metrics are strictly used to measure linguistic complexity. Yet, the corpus of multimodal literature continues to grow, along with the need to understand how non-linguistic modalities contribute to the complexity of the reading experience.
Design/methodology/approach
In this exploratory study, think aloud screen recordings of eighth-grade readers of the born-digital novel Inanimate Alice were analyzed for complexity, along with transcripts of post-oral retellings. Pixel-level entropy analysis served as both an objective measure of the document and a subjective measure of the amount of reader information attention. Post-oral retelling entropy was calculated at the unit level of the word, serving as an indication of complexity in recall.
Findings
Findings confirmed that transinformation analysis is a viable multimodal readability metric. Inanimate Alice is an objectively complex document, creating a subjectively complex reading experience for the participants. Readers largely attended to the linguistic mode of the story, effectively reducing the amount of information they processed. This was also evident in the brevity and below average complexity of their post-oral retellings, which relied on recall of the linguistic mode. There were no significant group differences among the readers.
Originality/value
This is the first study that uses entropy to analyze multimodal readability.
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Jenny Castle, Michael Rutter, Celia Beckett, Emma Colvert, Christine Groothues, Amanda Hawkins, Jana Kreppner, Thomas O'Connor, Suzanne Stevens and Edmund Sonuga‐Barke
Service use between six and 11 years of age is reported for children adopted from Romania into UK families, and compared with that for children adopted within the UK before six…
Abstract
Service use between six and 11 years of age is reported for children adopted from Romania into UK families, and compared with that for children adopted within the UK before six months of age. Between six and 11, there had been only one adoption breakdown, and about one in ten couples experienced a marital breakdown. Apart from continuing concerns over hepatitis B carrier status in a small number of children, physical health problems were not a prominent feature. By contrast, nearly one‐third of the children from Romania placed in UK families after the age of six months received mental health services provision ‐ a rate far higher than the 11 to 15% in the groups adopted before the age of six months. Such provision was strongly related to research assessments of mental health problems and largely concerned syndromes that were relatively specific to institutional deprivation (quasi‐autism, disinhibited attachment and inattention/overactivity). There were similar differences between the UK adoptees and the adoptees from Romania entering the UK after six months of age in major special educational provision and, again, the findings showed that the provision was in accord with research assessments of scholastic achievement. The between group differences for lesser special educational provision were much smaller and there was some tendency for the early adopted groups to receive such provision for lesser degrees of scholastic problems than the children adopted from Romania who entered the UK after six months of age. The policy and practice implications of the findings are briefly discussed.
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Sian May and Kevin House
This chapter argues we should not regard school-to-school collaboration as simply a mechanism for outcome-driven improvement but rather consider the establishment of teacher…
Abstract
This chapter argues we should not regard school-to-school collaboration as simply a mechanism for outcome-driven improvement but rather consider the establishment of teacher relationships as the necessary priority when building highly effective collaborative networks. By revisiting the research of Sandra Kruse, Amanda Datnow and Andy Hargreaves, we develop an additional tool to Hood’s matrix of regulation and cohesion in an effort to position collaborative networks in the context of international private fee-paying schools. The tool visualizes the collaborative network development as a relationship continuum in which time is the necessary driver of a network’s success. The 12 Asian private international schools in the case study were given collaborative framework guidance drawn from multiple sources. Subsequently, the enablers and hindrances reported by the collaboration leads highlight the need for trust and teacher agency development to be prioritized by leadership. Finally, on sharing some lessons learned from the case study, we close by arguing the value of collaboration lies in opening the door to allow for agenetic cultures that build reflexive practitioners.
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Shannon C. King, Amanda L. Rebar, Paul Oliveri and Robert Stanton
This paper aims to present the current state of evidence regarding the mental health literacy of paramedics and student paramedics and whether mental health literacy affects the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present the current state of evidence regarding the mental health literacy of paramedics and student paramedics and whether mental health literacy affects the care that paramedics provide to their patients with mental illness.
Design/methodology/approach
Embase, PubMed, Medline and Google Scholar were searched for recent (2010–2020) English language published articles using the key phrases paramedic AND/OR ambulance AND mental health AND mental health literacy. Additional searches of the reference lists of included articles were undertaken. A descriptive thematic analysis was used to arrive at a narrative synthesis of the study findings.
Findings
The emergency medical services system has taken a primary role in the care of patients with mental illness but has limited capacity for non-emergency psychosocial situations. Negative and judgemental attitudes amongst paramedics towards patients with mental illness is a significant issue and remains a barrier to patients seeking medical care for mental illness. Improved care provision and patient engagement might result from specific education aimed to better enhance paramedics’ mental health literacy.
Originality/value
This literature review provides insights into the current practice of mental health training for Australian undergraduate paramedic science students and the implications for patient care. Recommendations for educational strategies are provided.
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Aimee Riedel, Amanda Beatson, Rory Mulcahy and Byron Keating
The purpose of this study is to examine the underresearched transformative service research (TSR) and social marketing segment of young adults who use drugs and identify…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the underresearched transformative service research (TSR) and social marketing segment of young adults who use drugs and identify motivators that have been studied in previous literature, using a service ecosystem lens and provide direction for future research into this area. This research provides the evidence-based knowledge for transformative service and social marketing practitioners to design transformative services that target these motivators.
Design/methodology/approach
This systematic review, guided by the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis framework, examines and analyses 207 articles published between 2015 and 2020.
Findings
This study identified that young adults are motivated to take drugs to enhance one’s experience, to cope, for social reasons, because of individual characteristics and for other reasons. Research has largely focused on microsystem and mesosystem motivators with data collected mainly using a microsystem approach.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the TSR and social marketing literature by providing a holistic investigation into all motivators relevant to young adult drug use. An ecosystem classification and theoretical framework of the motivators is curated to help guide future TSR and social marketing research and interventions.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the intersection of teacher emotions, teacher collaboration and educational reform, particularly with respect to time, a key teacher…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the intersection of teacher emotions, teacher collaboration and educational reform, particularly with respect to time, a key teacher resource that is often impacted in school change.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws upon data gathered in an in-depth, two-year qualitative case study of teacher teams in two US elementary schools. A total of 57 interviews and 102 hours of teacher team meeting observations were conducted across the two schools. The data analysis process involved several rounds of content coding of interview transcripts and teacher team meeting observation notes using MAXQDA software.
Findings
Teachers at the two schools benefitted from collaborative school structures that allowed time and space to innovate and brought joy to their professional lives. Strong professional communities served as sources of support as teachers experienced stress and frustration with reforms that created demands on their time and shifts in their teaching. Leadership played an important role in providing emotional support and autonomy to teachers, allowing teachers to flourish collectively.
Originality/value
This study has important implications for how researchers, policymakers and practitioners conceptualize the emotional dimension of teachers’ time in educational reform efforts. It is critical to consider whether expectations for what teachers can accomplish in collaboration are realistic in light of current working conditions. Given that emotions are at the core of teaching and the process of change, it is important to continue to explore the connections between teacher emotions and the professional capital they build in collaboration with each other.
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Jeffrey DeMarco, Yael llan-Clarke, Amanda Bunn, Tom Isaac, John Criddle, Gillian Holdsworth and Antonia Bifulco
Current government policy aims to tackle youth anti-social behaviour and its psychological and social impacts. Given an increased likelihood that young victims of crime are also…
Abstract
Purpose
Current government policy aims to tackle youth anti-social behaviour and its psychological and social impacts. Given an increased likelihood that young victims of crime are also likely to engage in aggressive or deviant behaviour and to have psychological and social difficulties, interventions are needed which access vulnerable youth with adverse lifestyles to increase well-being and reduce offending. The current project utilised a hospital emergency department (ED) as an appropriate location to identify and interact with youth victims of violent crime; to support key lifestyle risk and mental health difficulties; and build resilience. The purpose of this paper is to use a youth work paradigm, to target vulnerable youth in a health setting at a crisis point where intervention may have a higher chance of uptake.
Design/methodology/approach
The study applied a quasi-experimental, longitudinal design. Using the strengths and difficulties questionnaire and the “What Do You Think” component of the ASSET risk assessment, data were collected from 120 youth aged 12-20, at baseline with 66 youth who successfully completed the programme with assessments at baseline and follow-up, at an average of 14 weeks.
Findings
There was significant reduction in both psychological problems and lifestyle risk at follow-up.
Research limitations/implications
These findings support the government initiative to intervene in youth violence in healthcare settings. Challenges revolve around increasing participation and greater formalisation of the intervention.
Originality/value
The youth work led violence intervention in the ED is successfully tackling psychological problems and lifestyle risk following injury.
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This chapter examines the influence of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy on some of the most important Supreme Court decisions of the past three decades. Mobilizing…
Abstract
This chapter examines the influence of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy on some of the most important Supreme Court decisions of the past three decades. Mobilizing the epistemic community framework, it demonstrates how network members, acting as amici curiae, litigators, academics, and judges worked to transmit intellectual capital to Supreme Court decision makers in 12 federalism and separation of powers cases decided between 1983 and 2001. It finds that Federalist Society members were most successful in diffusing ideas into Supreme Court opinions in cases where doctrinal distance was greatest; that is, cases where the Supreme Court moved the farthest from its established constitutional framework.