Katie Chadd, Lauren Longhurst, Amit Kulkarni, Jaya Simpson, Emma Pagnamenta, Fiona Brettell, Della Money, Rosie Dowty, Josephine Wallinger, Sai Bangera, Rebecca Palmer and Victoria Joffe
This research priority setting partnership (PSP) aims to collaboratively identify the “top ten” research priorities relating to communication and swallowing for children and…
Abstract
Purpose
This research priority setting partnership (PSP) aims to collaboratively identify the “top ten” research priorities relating to communication and swallowing for children and adults with learning disabilities, across the lifespan in the UK, using a modified James Lind Alliance approach.
Design/methodology/approach
A steering group and reference group were established to oversee the PSP. A survey of speech and language therapists (SLTs) resulted in 157 research suggestions. These were further developed into 95 research questions through a multi-stakeholder workshop. Questions were prioritised via an online card-sort activity completed by SLTs, health-care or education professionals and carers. Research questions were analysed thematically. Ten adults with learning disabilities were supported to assign ratings to themes reflecting their prioritisation. The top ten research priorities were identified by combining results from these activities.
Findings
The top ten research priorities related to intervention, outcome measurement and service delivery around communication and dysphagia.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first UK-wide research PSP on learning disabilities and speech and language therapy across the lifespan. It uses a novel approach to incorporate the preferences of people with learning disabilities in the prioritisation.
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Rebecca Palmer, Pam Enderby and Mark Hawley
This paper discusses the opinions of people who use communication aids regarding the development of a voice input voice output communication aid (VIVOCA) using speech recognition…
Abstract
This paper discusses the opinions of people who use communication aids regarding the development of a voice input voice output communication aid (VIVOCA) using speech recognition technology. It uniquely combines the views of users of communication aids with those of speech and language therapists. Semi structured questionnaires were completed by 12 users of communication aids and 34 speech and language therapists discussed the concept of a VIVOCA in three focus groups. A thematic analysis of the information was carried out. Input, output and hardware requirements are discussed leading to specifications that therapists and users perceive would be required for a VIVOCA.
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Suniti Sharma and Althier Lazar
A major challenge in teacher education in the United States is how to address the academic and linguistic needs of the growing numbers of emergent bilingual students. A second…
Abstract
A major challenge in teacher education in the United States is how to address the academic and linguistic needs of the growing numbers of emergent bilingual students. A second challenge is how to prepare predominantly White monolingual preservice teachers with little exposure to speakers of languages other than English to educate culturally and linguistically diverse students. With these two challenges in mind, this study examines how a course on literacy, language, and culture grounded in pedagogies of discomfort shifts preservice teachers’ deficit orientations toward emergent bilingual students’ language and literacy resources. Using Ofelia García’s (2009) definition for emergent bilingualism, this mixed-method study was conducted from 2011 to 2013 with 73 preservice teacher participants enrolled at an urban mid-Atlantic university. Quantitative data consisted of pre and post surveys while qualitative data comprised written responses to open-ended statements, self-analyses, and participant interviews. Findings evidence preservice teachers’ endorsement of monolingualism before coursework; however, pedagogies of discomfort during coursework provoke critical reflection leading to significant shifts in preservice teachers’ dispositions toward teaching language diversity in the classroom with implications for teaching emergent bilingual students.
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Gráinne Fadden, Rebecca Heelis and Michelle Palmer
With more than 160,000 carers in Ireland, there is a considerable need to provide support and coping strategies to reduce the burden of care on both the individual and the…
Abstract
With more than 160,000 carers in Ireland, there is a considerable need to provide support and coping strategies to reduce the burden of care on both the individual and the economy. Government policies are increasingly involving carers within health services, as they provide real‐life insights into the needs of service users and carers. Further, healthcare professionals and carers can benefit from training delivered by the carers themselves.The current report was a highly successful initiative where carers and professionals from both sides of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland worked together effectively to deliver an 11‐week programme of support to carers of those with mental health problems. This innovative initiative aimed to achieve health gain and social well‐being in the border areas, as well as to build constructive partnerships. The participants were relatively inexperienced in delivering training prior to the training course, but acquired the skills and knowledge needed with the help of a detailed training manual and three follow‐up supervision days.The training trainers' course and subsequent caring for carers programme elivered by carers from both sides of the border were successful initiatives in bringing together people from both sides of the political divide in Northern Ireland, and in linking them with people from the Republic of Ireland.
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Anna Lloyd, Joseph Lloyd Davies, Rebecca Semmens-Wheeler, Ali Isa Alfaraj, Domingo Gonzalez Naranjo and Kieran Breen
This study aims to explore the ethical challenges of managing the weight of psychiatric patients in the least restrictive manner in secure mental health settings and whether these…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the ethical challenges of managing the weight of psychiatric patients in the least restrictive manner in secure mental health settings and whether these could be considered as a source of moral distress for health practitioners, which may be linked to staff burnout and ultimately lead to suboptimal patient care.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative semi-structured interview study design was used to explore the understanding, views and experiences of six staff members working on two medium-secure wards in a UK mental health hospital using an opportunity sampling technique and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.
Findings
Analysis of semi-structured interviews revealed a multitude of moral events that evoked feelings of frustration, powerlessness and anxiety related to the management of obesity in the least restrictive way, which is indicative of moral distress.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the small sample size and the qualitative nature of the research, the findings of this study are of explorative in nature. Further quantitative research would be required to establish a causative link between the ethical challenges associated with obesity management and staff’s moral distress.
Practical implications
Addressing the health-care professionals’ knowledge deficit on how to achieve the right balance in their duty of care through inclusion of bioethics into professional discussions and training could improve staff’s well-being and the organisation’s ethical climate.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first qualitative work exploring the role of least restrictive practice in the challenges associated with health promotion within secure psychiatric settings, and the effect these challenges have on mental health staff.
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Qihang Wu, Daifeng Li, Lu Huang and Biyun Ye
Entity relation extraction is an important research direction to obtain structured information. However, most of the current methods are to determine the relations between…
Abstract
Purpose
Entity relation extraction is an important research direction to obtain structured information. However, most of the current methods are to determine the relations between entities in a given sentence based on a stepwise method, seldom considering entities and relations into a unified framework. The joint learning method is an optimal solution that combines relations and entities. This paper aims to optimize hierarchical reinforcement learning framework and provide an efficient model to extract entity relation.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on the hierarchical reinforcement learning framework of joint learning and combines the model with BERT, the best language representation model, to optimize the word embedding and encoding process. Besides, this paper adjusts some punctuation marks to make the data set more standardized, and introduces positional information to improve the performance of the model.
Findings
Experiments show that the model proposed in this paper outperforms the baseline model with a 13% improvement, and achieve 0.742 in F1 score in NYT10 data set. This model can effectively extract entities and relations in large-scale unstructured text and can be applied to the fields of multi-domain information retrieval, intelligent understanding and intelligent interaction.
Originality/value
The research provides an efficient solution for researchers in a different domain to make use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to process their unstructured text more accurately.
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Peter Halliwell, Rebecca Mitchell and Brendan Boyle
The purpose of this paper is to investigate interrelations between enhanced emotional intelligence, leadership self-efficacy and task-oriented leadership behaviour following…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate interrelations between enhanced emotional intelligence, leadership self-efficacy and task-oriented leadership behaviour following participation in leadership coaching.
Design/methodology/approach
Organisational leaders (coachees) (N = 70) and their subordinates (N = 175) completed online questionnaires pre- and post-coaching. To account for pre-coaching scores, construct latent change scores were assessed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
Results indicate a positive association between enhanced emotional intelligence and leadership self-efficacy, however, little support was found for leadership self-efficacy as a mediator explaining an association between enhanced emotional intelligence and task-oriented leadership behaviour.
Practical implications
Organisations aiming to improve leader performance through enhancing emotional intelligence and leadership self-efficacy may find value in leadership coaching due to the intervention's positive effect on these constructs, and the positive association observed between developmental changes in these constructs.
Originality/value
Research on the interrelation between emotional intelligence and leadership self-efficacy is scarce. This study extends the literature by investigating the interrelation between developmental changes between these constructs brought about by leadership coaching using latent change scores and PLS-SEM. The study also assesses whether enhanced leadership self-efficacy mediates an association between enhanced emotional intelligence and task-oriented leadership behaviour building on the literature explaining coaching's effect mechanisms.
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Nicolle Robertson, Adam Qureshi and Rebecca L. Monk
This study aims to represent a first attempt to examine in a non-clinical population the interplay between social engagement, executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to represent a first attempt to examine in a non-clinical population the interplay between social engagement, executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM) within a social motivation theory framework.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 170 participants (135 female; mean age = 19.01 and standard deviation = 1.27) completed measures of ToM (Faux Pas task), autistic traits (Autism Spectrum Quotient), social engagement (reward dependence subscale of the Temperament and Character Inventory), sociability and EF (both subscales of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire).
Findings
Path analyses found that EF, sociability and social engagement were negatively associated with autistic traits both directly and indirectly. Results indicate that EF may impact sociability and social engagement and their interaction may relate to the degree of autistic traits shown in a typical sample. However, ToM (as measured by the Faux Pas test) was not related to any of the other variables.
Originality/value
Sociability, social engagement and effortful control deficits may be linked to higher levels of autistic traits. These factors appear to form a hierarchy of factors underpinning autism spectrum disorder, with EF contributing to all aspects, followed by sociability and social engagement at a higher level. Future research examining in clinical populations the utility of a more integrated model of social motivation that incorporates EF appears warranted.