Kashmir Goddard, Jane Montague and James Elander
This study aims to reflect on ways that the experiences of vulnerable users of drug and alcohol services can inform social work practice and policy to improve treatment engagement…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to reflect on ways that the experiences of vulnerable users of drug and alcohol services can inform social work practice and policy to improve treatment engagement and mitigate negative responses to interventions.
Design/methodology/approach
The research used semi-structured interviews and photovoice in an interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experiences of people in treatment for drug or alcohol problems whose child was the subject of a Child Protection or Child in Need order.
Findings
The research gave insights into participants’ experiences of loss of control, unfairness and stigma. Participants described how they felt powerless in the social services system and were afraid to be open and honest with practitioners for fear of having their children removed.
Practical implications
The research highlighted the need for more training and professional development for social work practitioners to address power imbalance issues, and the need to promote non-threatening professional practice that removes penalties for disclosure of substance use, enabling substance users who are parents to be more honest about their drug use.
Social implications
The research showed the value of phenomenological methods for investigating sensitive issues with vulnerable users of treatment services in a way that can inform policy and practice.
Originality/value
This paper explores ways that phenomenological research with vulnerable, hard-to-reach participants can produce insights about the potential benefits of social work practice that is non-threatening and encourages greater openness and honesty among substance users who are parents.
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Jenny Lunt, Sally Hemming, James Elander, Amy Baraniak, Kim Burton and Destiny Ellington
The prevalence and multi-system nature of post-COVID-19 symptoms warrants clearer understanding of their work ability implications within the working age population. An…
Abstract
Purpose
The prevalence and multi-system nature of post-COVID-19 symptoms warrants clearer understanding of their work ability implications within the working age population. An exploratory survey was undertaken to provide empirical evidence of the work-relevant experiences of workers recovering from COVID-19.
Design/methodology/approach
A bespoke online survey based on a biopsychosocial framework ran between December 2020 and February 2021. It collected quantitative ratings of work ability and return-to-work status, qualitative responses about return-to-work experiences, obstacles and recommendations, along with views on employer benefits for making accommodations. A sample of 145 UK workers recovering from COVID-19 was recruited via social media, professional networks and industry contacts. Qualitative data was subject to thematic analysis. Participants were mainly from health/social care (50%) and educational settings (14%).
Findings
Just over 90% indicated that they had experienced at least some post-COVID-19 symptoms, notably fatigue and cognitive effects. For 55%, symptoms lasted longer than six months. Only 15% had managed a full return-to-work. Of the 88 who provided workability ratings, just 13 and 18% respectively rated their physical and mental workability as good or very good. Difficulties in resuming work were attributed to symptom unpredictability, their interaction with job demands, managing symptoms and demands in parallel, unhelpful attitudes and expectations. Manager and peer support was reported as variable.
Originality/value
Workplace health management characterised by flexible long-term collaborative return-to-work planning, supported by more COVID-centric absence policies and organisational cultures, appear pivotal for sustaining the return-to-work of the large segments of the global workforce affected by post-COVID-19 symptoms.
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Clare Davies, Donna Waters and Jennifer Anne Fraser
The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a scoping review on the implementation of Article12 in health care. The scoping review will provide a summary and overview…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a scoping review on the implementation of Article12 in health care. The scoping review will provide a summary and overview of the key concepts and published literature on this topic internationally. Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) states that children have a right to express their views, to have them heard and for their views to be given due weight in all matters that affect them. Despite increased calls for Article 12 to be given attention in health care, there is little evidence to suggest this has been well implemented and embedded in Australian health-care delivery. The scoping review was undertaken to provide a summary and overview of the key concepts and published literature on this topic internationally.
Design/methodology/approach
A five-step methodological framework described by Arksey and O’Malley (2005) was used to undertake the scoping review. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis was used as a guideline for undertaking the study selection.
Findings
Children are still not routinely involved in health-care decision-making, are frequently left out of service planning and evaluation and the perception that they lack the capability to make rational decisions persists.
Originality/value
While there has been a focus on research that investigates children’s participation in health-care decision-making in recent years, there is little that directs attention specifically to the implementation of Article 12, particularly in Australian health care. Recommendations are made for further research in these areas.
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Daniel Salinas and David P. Baker
Recent developments in neuroscience have generated great expectations in the education world globally. However, building a bridge between brain science and education has been…
Abstract
Recent developments in neuroscience have generated great expectations in the education world globally. However, building a bridge between brain science and education has been hard. Educational researchers and practitioners more often than not hold unrealistic images of neuroscience, some naively positive and others blindly negative. Neuroscientist looking at how the brain reacts and changes during mental tasks involving reading or mathematics usually discuss education as some constant and undifferentiated “social environment” of the brain, either assuming it to be a “black box” or evoking an image of perfect schooling and full access to it. In this review, we claim that a more productive and realistic relationship between neuroscience and the comparative study of education can be thought about in terms of the hypothesis that formal education is having a significant role in the cognitive and neurological development of human populations around the world. We review research that supports this hypothesis and implications for future studies.
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Constance Bygrave, Ozen Asik-Dizdar and Guneet Kaur Saini
– The purpose of this paper is to provide insights for educators when adapting their pedagogy to suit the increasingly diverse international student body.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights for educators when adapting their pedagogy to suit the increasingly diverse international student body.
Design/methodology/approach
Archival analysis was conducted at three levels: students’ teaching style preference; epistemology of the students’ home culture; and national sociocultural dimensions.
Findings
The study elucidates the importance of recognizing heterogeneity rather than homogeneity of the increasingly international student body. It extends understanding of sociocultural underpinnings of different student learning styles and encourages educators to increase their cultural empathy to adapt their pedagogy.
Originality/value
This paper helps forge the way to a truly global learning environment. Understanding, adapting to and celebrating the differences among international students helps to create more inclusive learning about our global community.
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Fernanda Gobbi de Boer Garbin, Carla Schwengber ten Caten and Diego Augusto de Jesus Pacheco
Although active learning methodologies are recognized as an effective means to achieve expected educational demands, in practice, the teaching and learning processes are still…
Abstract
Purpose
Although active learning methodologies are recognized as an effective means to achieve expected educational demands, in practice, the teaching and learning processes are still widely characterized by traditional pedagogy aspects. As a result, teaching innovations in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education are carried out in isolation in specific disciplines, programs or departments. To addresses these challenges and to stimulate useful teaching innovations, this study aims to propose the capability maturity model to active learning (CMMAL) for assessing the maturity level of active learning methodologies in higher education institutions (HEIs).
Design/methodology/approach
The CMMAL provides inputs for planning and decision-making, identifying variables such as the current state of teaching and learning processes, project management, team development, allocation of resources and infrastructure and the choice of evaluation and assessment methods. From the relevant literature, the primary aspects that impact on active learning were identified and incorporated into the structure of the model. Next, a survey was performed with 295 STEM professors and experts validating the scope of the model proposed.
Findings
The findings demonstrated the contribution of the CMMAL mainly to (1) assess the maturity levels of active methodologies in higher education and (2) stimulate the institutionalization of active learning practices in HEIs to minimize some problems related to the dissemination of new teaching practices.
Practical implications
The primary practical and academic contribution of our study is the proposition of an artifact with a scope compatible with the need of the HEIs for the implementation of active learning methodologies. This paper presents a different perspective of current literature in active learning in STEM education, introducing a model that contributes to open the dialogue with HEIs interested in better understand and improve the performance in student-centered pedagogy.
Originality/value
The model also informs and leads to specific recommendations for HEIs seeking to enhance the performance of and alter the culture around active learning methodologies.
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Roger Bennett, Wendy Mousley and Rehnuma Ali‐Choudhury
The purpose of this research is to examine the influences of certain factors that helped determine students' assessments of the usefulness of a higher education orientation unit…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to examine the influences of certain factors that helped determine students' assessments of the usefulness of a higher education orientation unit (HEOU) in a large post‐1992 university.
Design/methodology/approach
All students in a university business studies department who had completed or were near to completing a compulsory one‐semester HEOU were asked to fill in a questionnaire that explored specific personal characteristics that a review of prior academic literature had identified as potentially relevant to the explanation of how well or badly students respond to a HEOU. The outcomes were then related to the participants' views on the overall value of the unit and whether their attendance had led to improved academic performance.
Findings
Students who claimed that they had obtained the greatest advantages from the HEOU tended to be “academic” individuals who were highly committed to being a student, intrinsically motivated to study, high in academic self‐concept, academically able, and prior to their entry to the institution had been well‐prepared for university life. This was not necessarily the profile of the students that the unit had been designed to assist.
Research limitations/implications
Data on key variables was (necessarily) self‐reported. The investigation took place in a single institution and in a particular subject area. Also the students who filled in the questionnaire were, ipso facto, “survivors” and as such may not have been typical of students who had dropped out.
Practical implications
The outcomes to the study imply that “one size fits all” approaches to the design of study skills units might not be appropriate. Rather, specially constructed units may be needed to cater for the academically ill‐prepared.
Originality/value
At the time the research was conducted this was the first major empirical study to have related students' perceptions of the usefulness of an HEOU to their backgrounds, traits, and other personal characteristics.
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Donal K. Casey, James S. Lawless and Patrick G. Wall
This paper aims to provide a focused overview of two dioxin incidents, with particular emphasis on regulatory successes and failures and their respective causes. The paper seeks…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a focused overview of two dioxin incidents, with particular emphasis on regulatory successes and failures and their respective causes. The paper seeks to adopt a comparative approach to the case studies, with considerable use made of primary sources such as parliamentary debate, government reports and EC legislation.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is a review of the strengths and weaknesses in the management of the Belgian and Irish dioxin contanimation incidents.
Findings
It is concluded that open, transparent and decisive risk management, based on robust risk assessment, is paramount in ensuring confidence in both the food supply chain and, in the feed and food safety regulatory process. It is also concluded that the 2008 Irish dioxin incident tested the reforms prompted by previous food scares.
Practical implications
It is important that the lessons from these two incidents are learnt if they are not to be repeated in other jurisdictions.
Originality/value
This is the first academic study of the 2008 Irish dioxin incident, one of the most significant recent food scares in the European Communities. The incident emphasises the vital role of open, transparent and decisive decision making in managing risk. In addition, through a comparative analysis of the Belgian and Irish incidents, the utility of the reforms prompted by previous food scares is demonstrated. In particular, the study highlights the important role played by the European Food Safety Authority in one of its first major tests as a risk assessor and risk communicator.